Straight Talk: Biblical Christianity V. Religion

By Roy Standifer

A look at the Creators answers regarding who we are, our origin, and what life is all about. God has revealed Himself extensively and His revelations are straightforward but we have distorted and clouded them with religion. He has paid the full price Himself for our violations of His holiness so our failure to respond in faith constitutes rejection and has the consequence of eternal separation from Him. The main reason you havent responded is that you havent taken the time to look you have simply been going along with the crowd. Shouldnt you at least take the time to look and see where that crowd is taking you? After looking, reject as you wish, just dont reject without looking thats foolish!

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jun 12, 2013
• ISBN: 9781449793777

Roy Standifer

Roy Standifer is a retired military officer who, with the encouragement and support of wife, Suk Hi, has taught the Bible and served in church ministries for more than twenty-five years. He holds a BA (summa cum laude) in Sociology from Saint Martin’s University and an MS in Education from USC.

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Copyright © 2013 Roy Standifer.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (North American Edition) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.

ISBN: 978-1-4497-9376-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-9378-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-9377-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013907829

WestBow Press rev. date: 6/2/2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

Introduction

PART ONE

The Revelation of God

Chapter 1 God's Existence

Does A Creator-God Exist?

How Many Gods Exist?

What is the Creator-God Like?

Chapter 2 Is the Lord Jesus Christ God?

Chapter 3 Is the Holy Bible From God?

Chapter 4 Selected Synopsis of the Holy Bible

Chapter 5 The Holy Trinity

God the Father

God the Son

God the Holy Spirit

Chapter 6 God in Flesh

PART TWO

What's Going On?

Chapter 7 What is Life All About?

Chapter 8 What does our Creator-God Want?

Chapter 9 What is Our Need?

PART THREE

What's Wrong with Religion?

Chapter 10 Religion Provides a Senseless Worldview

Chapter 11 The Adversary of God

Chapter 12 The Distortion of Mary

PART FOUR

What Does It Mean to be Saved?

Chapter 13 How Can You Be Sure?

Chapter 14 Relating One to Another

Chapter 15 Next Steps

Get a Bible

Find a Bible-based Church

Spread the Word

Concluding Thoughts

Acknowledgements

Selected Scripture Subjects

Preface

T his book is a simple, straight-forward presentation of Biblical Christianity's answers to three questions we all have. It makes direct references to the Holy Bible and not to people's explanation of it. You won't find non-biblical references and this may be disconcerting for some but my desire is to make direct reference to the Holy Scriptures themselves. A dilemma we face today is being so wrapped up in people's explanations, traditions, and philosophies that we are easily deceived by the enemy of our Creator and blinded from the revelation of God's plain truths.

My belief is that many people are, in fact, intimidated by the sheer volume and what they perceive as depth of information that is available today and therefore do not take the time to come and see as Philip told Nathaniel (John 1:46b). Certainly I've learned much over the years from the works of many reputable Bible scholars, preachers and teachers but this book is not about them (or me!). So please bear with the lack of attributions to other than the word of God. To stress heartfelt thought, I have frequently placed emphasis -- including within biblical passages - through the use of italics or underlining. Rarely does such emphasis exist in the Bible.

In a very direct, plain-talk way, the Word of God tells us what we need to know about who we are, our origin, and what life is all about. The latter, of course, addresses what happens at the conclusion of life here on earth. God's Word is simple enough to be understood by the laymen, while at the same time it is so complex that no one on earth can fully comprehend all of it. I believe that our Creator structured His holy word so that, with the Holy Spirit's guidance, all can understand it and can spend a life time on earth learning from it. The problem is that many of the creatures are alienated from their Creator and are dissuaded from looking to see His revelation.

People who are not well-grounded in the Bible are my target audience and the hope is that their attention will be attracted to God's grace and to mining the treasures of Holy Scripture. There is no intention of breaking new theological ground here; my desire is to introduce readers to the Holy Word of God as it is written -- not to highlight points of contention that have varying interpretation. In my view this straightforward, plain-talk approach is badly needed today where one can find libraries filled with volumes about Christianity, some of which are biblical but many that are simply religious.

Throughout this book, the term Christianity refers directly to what God says through His Word and makes reference to the Church He established. By the term religion, I will be referring to concepts and ideas ostensibly from man, with prodding by God's adversary, Satan. Oftentimes these ideas are presented as a part of Christianity but are without Biblical foundation. The problem is often one of reading into the text instead of exegesis -- drawing the meaning out of a text.

In the final analysis, religion either claims divinity apart from Christianity or it attempts to modify the divine revelation of Christianity. We find religion throughout the world, in cultures and in faiths totally distinct from the Bible as well as within those faiths claiming to be among the fellowship of Christian believers. We will see that our creator God is the author of Christianity whereas Satan, the father of lies, is the ultimate source of religion. If anything contradicts, violates or adds to what God says in His Word it is obviously man's idea and, as we shall see, such ideas are often buttressed by demonic initiatives and influences.

The Word of God will substantiate that our Creator's revelation and appeal are straightforward -- all we have to do is come and see!

Introduction

T he main reason you are not a Christian is probably because you haven't looked. Therefore, today can be both the best day of your life and the beginning of a new life in Christ! You are finally seeking answers to the three questions all of us have:

1. Who am I?

2. Where did I come from?

3. What's going on/what's life all about?

I like to characterize these as issues of origin and disposition. We're here! We must have an origin somewhere - with at least the implication that we have a purpose. Having a purpose suggests that we have a disposition -- a direction toward which we are headed. Instead of taking the time to investigate this, many people simply go along with the crowd and, for example, accept the absurd notion that we oozed-up like slime on a beach someplace and evolved. (Ironically, these same people will then try to add a dimension of nobility to what they have otherwise defined as evolved slime!)

Take a minute to look and you will see scientists admitting that the odds against the chance formation of even the hemoglobin molecule are beyond human comprehension. Further, science now agrees that something unseen holds the material universe together. For many, this invisible power is called dark matter. A lot of people choose to believe that their lives are governed by the alignment of the planets and stars -- though these are nothing but large rocks and gaseous spheres. What makes people believe such nonsense?

If you will simply look, you'll necessarily come to the realization that the Christian Bible tells the only story of origin and disposition that the human mind is capable of rationalizing. We simply cannot comprehend, for example, a cosmic egg exploding with a big bang without there being a cosmic chicken somewhere. We also know from constant daily experiences that everything has a cause; that, as the song says nothing comes from nothing -- nothing ever could. We shall see that the Bible specifically tells us it isn't dark matter but the Light of the world that holds all things together!

Our discussion is entitled straight talk and is intended as a simple introduction to the written and demonstrated revelations provided to us by our Creator. Our Creator has also revealed Himself in His creation but our primary focus will be His Word -- both the Holy Bible and the Word that became flesh (John 1:14). Today there are many books which are claimed to be Holy but I will show that the Holy Bible can be proven as divine.

Within the context of this book, Christianity refers to revelations by the Creator to mankind, addressing our three questions and providing us an eternal disposition; the word religion will be used to denote what are actually attempts by people to establish or reveal ways to a creator who exists only in their minds. Oftentimes religion operates within the framework of what is supposed to be the Christian Church; sometimes it is clearly cultist, professing an entirely different theology yet still claiming to be Christian. All religion either requires doctrinal sources other than the Holy Bible or it seeks to modify the Holy Bible. I will show that the Holy Bible directly refutes much of what religion teaches and that, when religion claims to be Christian, the Bible is its biggest obstacle.

The plain truth is that our Creator has revealed himself extensively and is appealing to the good old horse-sense with which he endowed us. (I especially like that metaphor because our God made a donkey speak to a pagan prophet about using good old horse-sense; you can read about this in chapter 22 of the book of Numbers.) The point is that we don't need advanced degrees or the guidance of doctors of philosophy to reach our God in faith and answer his call. If you're an unbeliever, perhaps the greatest obstacle you have is the perception that you can't reach belief by responding with the ability and faith that our creator God gave you. Hopefully, you shall see that nothing could be further from the truth!

I should add a word about your obligation. You shall see that the overwhelming testimony of Scripture is that everyone who walks this earth must either believe in Jesus Christ or perish. If you brought children into this world, don't you owe it to them to at least tell them that these are claims the creator God makes on their lives? Put another way, what manner of love do you have for them if you decline to tell them what the Bible says about the three questions they have?

An appropriate starting point for us is to deal with the issues of whether a creator God exists and whether he has communicated to his creatures. Our first chapter addresses the questions:

Is there a creator God?

Is there more than one God?

What is God like?

After examining the above issues, we will present a brief overview of the Bible including citations from most books. This is an introduction to the Word of God! My goal, my hope, my prayer is that readers will be drawn to the Living God and motivated to pursue His precious Word. Since I am not seeking to expound upon the Bible or to provide new theology or to address difficult issues, people who are already well-versed in the Bible might not learn much from this book (yet, they might find it useful for friends and acquaintances who are not familiar with the Bible). I simply want to identify, in plain terms, divine answers to our three questions -- with the plea that you follow-thru and receive the free gift of eternal life which our God created you to receive.

Here's food for thought as we begin! Wherever you may be with regard to the faith issue, there's one undeniable, practical fact that you cannot ignore: something happened 2,000 years ago that was so profound the world system changed its calendar. The world literally said time-out, let's start all over again; this was year number 1! Consider: What would have to happen today to make us do something like that?

Our format for presentation of Holy Scripture is to cite book, chapter and verse, e.g., Hebrews 11:1-4, 12-14 refers to the book of Hebrews, Chapter 11, verses 1 through 4 followed by verses 12 through 14.

Roy Standifer

Olympia, Washington

PART ONE

The Revelation of God

CHAPTER ONE

God's Existence

...even scientists who believe in evolution have to acknowledge

that the universe did not just happen, it had to be caused.

Does A Creator-God Exist?

W hile many people try to avoid it, the issue of whether a creator God exists is properly recognized by some as the most profound of all questions. Many people take the position that we cannot truly know the answer, however, our good sense tells us that, if a creator God exists, He would provide us an answer - otherwise we could never know the point of creation!

Let's see what logic dictates. The laws of thermodynamics state that everything we observe is winding down or is deteriorating -- including the universe itself. These laws say that organized energy constantly tends to disintegrate or to take simpler forms or something to that effect. Well, the Holy Bible tells us that what we see is actually passing away and that it is the unseen that is eternal: So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18)

It is a valid question to ask: If we have an all-knowing and

all-powerful creator God, why is His creation deteriorating?

If constant disintegration is the status quo of the universe, simple deduction tells us there had to be a beginning to it -- a starting point! Using our good sense we can think back to the beginning and realize that, because something cannot come from nothing, something apart from the universe -- indeed, something immaterial and eternal - must have existed to bring it into existence. If one is trying to avoid the fact of God, one can distort, manipulate or attempt to ignore this logical deduction but it remains the inescapable resolution of the issue. The universe could not create itself!

Science also tells us that what is called dark matter holds things together. We'll deal with what holds things together shortly. For now, just recognize that even scientists who believe in evolution have to acknowledge that the universe did not just happen, it had to be caused. The only One who could cause it would have to be a supernatural being, without any limitations that finite humans would be able to comprehend. Accept these truths and you will have gained wisdom!

It is a valid question to ask: If we have an all-knowing and all-powerful creator God, why is His creation deteriorating? The Holy Bible answers that this deterioration is attributed directly to man's sin -- our violations of His holiness. In Genesis 3:17, we see that the ground was cursed because of the sin of Adam and Eve.

The good news is that our creator God promises that new heavens

and a new earth will be created, which will not suffer deterioration.

In Romans 8, we can see where the creation awaits deliverance from the decay that was caused by our sin: The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. (Romans 8:19-22) The bottom line is that sin violates the holiness of our creator God and it has consequences.

The good news is that our creator God promises that new heavens and a new earth will be created, which will not suffer deterioration. The apostle Peter tells us: "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? [Emphasis added]You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise