He Didn't Need Bread

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

Matthew 4:4, NKJV

Jesus was in crisis.

Baptized, anointed by the Holy Spirit, acclaimed by God, now He had been driven into the wilderness by the Spirit where he fasted forty days and forty nights.  During that time he was tempted by the devil, threatened by wild beasts, and afterward he was hungry.  I would imagine he was very hungry, physically ravished from the self-denial of his fast.  But regarding that fast he was in good company—Moses and Elijah both endured forty day fasts as they prepared themselves for the work of the Lord.

Weakened in flesh, but empowered in Spirit, Jesus is confronted by Satan, who says to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

Jesus could have done it.  Later he will fill Peter’s nets with fish on at least two occasions and multiply the five loaves and two fish to feed 5000 men and their families, and multiply seven loaves and a few small fish to feed 4000 men and their families.  He will even turn water into wine and a mudball into an eyeball.  Jesus certainly had the power and ability to turn those rocks into bread.  So if he was hungry…

At least that was the devil’s reasoning.  You have the power.  You’re hungry.  If you are who those angels said you were 30 years ago, if you are who you claimed you were in the temple at 12, if you are who that voice at the Jordan said you were, if you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread. 

Jesus had the ability.  But he refused to exercise it.  Why?

In three and a half years of ministry that followed, Jesus took the same course over and over again.  He never used his own power for his own personal benefit.  Not once.  Not when he was tired.  Not when he was thirsty.  Not when he was hungry.  Not when he was hurting.  Not when he was rejected.  He told James and John they did not know the heart of God when they wanted to call fire down on the Samaritans who rejected him.  He told Peter to sheath his sword when the priests came to arrest him; ten thousand angels stood ready to heed his beck and call if he wanted them.  Instead, he submitted according to his own prayer moments before—Not my will, Father, but thine be done.

Jesus had the ability, but he did not have the authority.  It was not in the heart and will of God for Jesus to turn stones into bread.  Jesus’ needs would soon be met by angels; he just needed to hold out a while longer in the testing.  He could have given up, given in, given over to the tempting of the devil.  He could have called forth a nice MLT—a mutton, lettuce and tomato, where the mutton is lean, and the lettuce is crisp, and the tomato is nice and juicy.  He could have used his power to meet his own need.  But he didn’t, because it wasn’t what the Father wanted Him to do.  So He goes to the word.

It is written, he said.  He gave us a good pattern for combating the temptations of the flesh and the devil.  Quote the word to your desires, quote the word to combat the whispers of the devil.  It is written, he said.  Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. 

He was quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, where Moses is teaching the Children of Israel an important lesson.  When they were wandering in the wilderness those first few days after the triumphant Red Sea crossing, they ran out of water, they ran out of food, and they ran into an enemy.  These tests were put there by God, to humble Israel and reveal what was in their hearts.  God wanted to see if they were really going to honor his commandments.  Of course, they didn’t.

Moses says, “He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.”  He goes on to tell how their clothes and shoes did not wear out, nor did their feet swell during all that wilderness wandering.  That God took care of them, as long as they obeyed Him.  Israel thought they needed bread to eat and water to drink; God showed them all they needed was Him.

Philippians 2:8 says that Jesus humbled himself and became obedient.  He humbled himself from his position of shared glory with the Father.  He humbled himself from his place at the right hand of the majesty on high.  He humbled himself from his eternally coexistence with God, and when He became a man, He put off the glory of the godhead and put on the cloak of humanity in all of its weaknesses and frailties.  He took on the ability to become less than the full Incarnation of God, and if he had chosen disobedience or rebellion instead of submission, he would have become just a man.  Instead, he chose humility and obedience.  He chose to deny himself and his abilities, to deny his own flesh, and rely upon God.

Jesus understood He did not need bread; He just needed God.

Rapture: The Secrets of the Open Door, part 4

After these things I looked, and behold,

a door standing open in heaven.

And the first voice which I heard

was like a trumpet speaking with me,

saying, "Come up here,

and I will show you things

which must take place after this."

Immediately I was in the Spirit;

and behold, a throne set in heaven,

and One sat on the throne.

--John, Revelation 4:1-2, NKJV

This is not the first time that The Door is used as Rapture imagery in the Scriptures.  Like I've said before, there is nothing new to be found in The Revelation.  It is a summary of all things prophetic that had already been revealed and recorded.  If you read the rest of the Bible first, nothing in Revelation should be a surprise.

In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus said Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

In Luke 13:24-25, Jesus said Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.  When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, ' I do not know you, where you are from.'

The door to eternal life, to salvation, and to heaven is standing open to any and all who would believe on Jesus Christ and be faithful to him.  It cannot be too strongly emphasized that the open door of Revelation is given to the faithful church, those believers who are doing what they are supposed to be doing, and living the way they are supposed to live.  The other churches that Jesus addressed were given warnings about their behavior, warnings that if they did not change, they would be extinguished as lights, removed as candlesticks, killed and cast into great tribulation for their destruction.

But something else that the Bible makes clear is that the door will not always remain open.  There is coming a time when the door, both to salvation and entrance into heaven, will be closed.  Revelation 10:6-7 tells of Christ standing on the earth and sea and making this declaration:  There will be no more delay; the mystery of God is finished.  Revelation 14:14-20 describes two great harvests at the hands of Jesus, a final harvest of souls for salvation, and a harvest of wrath for the unbelievers.  Revelation 15:8 reveals the heavenly temple being filled with God's presence, preventing anyone from entering or performing any of the ministries of grace until the wrath of God was completely poured out on the earth.  As a result, Revelation 16 reveals repeatedly the cursing and blasphemies of a humanity that will not repent.

Referencing the days of Noah, Jesus said there would be direct correlation between them and the days of his coming.  When we read the story of Noah in Genesis 6-7, we discover that after a century of building and preaching, Noah has finished his little construction project and the ark stands complete and ready for launch.  All they need now is to load up and wait for the rain.  In Genesis 7:1, the Lord speaks to Noah and says Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation...for after seven more days I will cause it to rain...and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made."  The Bible goes on to say that on that very same day, Noah did as the Lord commanded, and the Lord shut him in.  What is curious to me is Jesus remark in Matthew 24:38-39 that people carried on about their business until the day Noah entered the ark, and they did not know until the flood came and took them all away!  After a hundred years of hearing him preach and pound nails, no one missed his voice when it fell silent inside the ark.  No one noticed that the door was shut, until it started to rain and they couldn't get in.

Jesus also taught of that door being closed, not just in Matthew and Luke as quoted above, but also in Matthew 25, in a parable that has especially significant connections to the Rapture of the Church.  It's about the ten bridesmaids assigned to keep the bride ready for her groom and waiting in anticipation.  On the night when the bridegroom calls, when the cry of his friend rings through the streets, "The Bridegroom is coming, the Bridegroom is coming," the bridesmaids rush out into the night with their lamps to light the way to the bride.  Only on this night, the Bridegroom is delayed.  The night waxes dark, the stamina of the bridesmaids is diminished, and soon their lamps sputter out and they all drift into sleep.

When the cry of the approaching Bridegroom stirs them from slumber, they all arise and trim their lamps, and five of their number produce jars of oil with which to fill their lamps.  The other five were foolish and forgot to bring extra oil, and when they beg to borrow from their wiser sisters, they are told to go find some for themselves, lest the Bridegroom be delayed longer and there not be enough.  But while the deficient five are out looking for more oil, the Bridegroom comes.  Those who are ready go in with him to the wedding, and the door was shut.

Arriving late--and Jesus does not tell us whether or not they found any oil; I am personally doubtful--the oil-lackers pound on the door crying out, "Lord, Lord, open to us!"  But the answer came back, "I do not know you."  And they were left outside.

To the faithful church, Jesus alone claimed the power and authority to open that door, and to shut it.  But once it is shut, there is no one who will be getting in until he opens it again.  The Open Door is something you don't want to miss.  You want to go through it now, while it stands open for your entrance.  You want to be among that number that hears the call, "Come up here!" and goes to heaven through the Open Door.  You don't want to wait until it closes.

Rapture: The Secrets of the Open Door, part 3

After these things I looked,

and behold, a door standing open in heaven.

And the first voice which I heard

was like a trumpet speaking with me,

saying, "Come up here,

and I will show you things

which must take place after this."

Immediately I was in the Spirit;

and behold, a throne set in heaven,

and One sat on the throne.

--John, Revelation 4:1-2, NKJV

The Rapture is an integral part of Biblical prophecy regarding events of the end times.  In Jesus' ultimate eschatological discourse on the Mount of Olives, recorded in Matthew 24-25, half of his teaching was taken up by talking about the rapture.  Though almost every New Testament epistle mentions the return of Jesus Christ, Paul alone dealt with the subject of the rapture.  He was so energized by the thought that two of his earliest writings, First and Second Thessalonians, expanded specifically the doctrine of the rapture--revealing the who, what, where, when, why and how of it.  In First Thessalonians and First Corinthians both, Paul emphasizes his own expectation that the imminent return of Christ will happen in his lifetime.  It is the blessed hope of the church, the promise of Jesus to return, to receive us to himself, and take us to that place he has prepared for us in heaven.  And one would think that in The Revelation, which puts summary to the whole of Bible prophecy, there would be a place for such an important doctrine as the Rapture of the Church.

Various attempts have been made to place the rapture elsewhere in the Revelation than in Chapter Four.  Some have tried to find it in Revelation 7:9, 14 with the great multitude that no one can number.  Others have looked for it in Revelation 11:12 with the resurrection and rapture of the two witnesses, or in Revelation 7:15 with the sounding of the seventh trumpet, or in Revelation 12:5 with the catching away of the Man-Child.  Still others have pointed to Revelation 14:1-2, the rapture of the 144,000 Jewish witnesses, or to Revelation 14:14-16 with the harvest of the earth.  And some even wait to place it in Revelation 19:11, 14, making it synonymous with the return of Christ to earth.

But wherever one places the rapture in The Revelation, it has to be in agreement with all the prophetic revelation about the event that has come before.

In Matthew 24:37-39, Jesus compared the time of his coming to the days of Noah, in which God gathered Noah and his family into the ark to preserve them seven days before He sent the flood that annihilated the inhabitants of the planet.

In Luke 17:28-30, Jesus compared the time of his coming to the days of Lot, in which God delivered Lot and his family from Sodom before He sent the fire of heaven to consume the wicked cities of the plain.

In Luke 21:34-36, Jesus warned that the Day of judgment was coming upon all those who dwelt on the whole earth, but that believers should watch and pray to be counted worthy to escape all the things that would come to pass and stand in the presence of the Lord.

In 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10, Paul warned that the Day of judgment and wrath was coming, but that Jesus would deliver believers from the wrath to come.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4, 9, Paul assured believers that they were not appointed to suffer wrath, but to obtain salvation and physical rescue through the Lord Jesus Christ.

In 2 Thessalonians 1:6-8, Paul acknowledged the trouble inflicted upon believers in the world, but he reassured those believers that God would repay with tribulation and vengeance those who troubled the believers, while at the same time giving the believers rest.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, Paul revealed that the day of God's wrath and judgment would not, indeed could not, begin until the believers departed from this planet and the antichrist was revealed.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8, Paul said that the full power of lawlessness and antichrist would be held in check until that which restrains--the Holy Spirit working in and through the faithful church--is removed.

In Revelation 3:10-11, Jesus promised the faithful church that he would keep them from the hour of trial that would come upon the whole earth.

At least nine promises have been made throughout the course of the New Testament promising believers escape and deliverance before the time of God's judgment, vengeance, and wrath upon the earth and its inhabitants.  Nine times, the Bible makes it explicitly clear judgment is coming, but that believers will be given safety and rest in the presence of God during that time.  In my last post, I mentioned that the Revelation is a linear progression of events.  So if the Rapture of the church must precede the judgment, otherwise known as The Tribulation, it must be placed before such judgment is described in the Revelation.

Revelation Chapter Six tells of Jesus opening a scroll sealed with seven seals.  With the first seal, a spirit of conquest rides forth to conquer the earth.  The second seal releases a spirit of conflict between nations and between people.  The third seal inflicts a spirit of economic crisis.  And the third seal unleashes death and hell upon the population.  Each one of them is granted or given power, authority which can only come from God.

The fifth seal gives voice to the martyrs of Christianity, who cry out for vengeance and are told to wait a little while until their numbers are complete.  They are given white robes of righteousness and told to rest a little while longer.

And when the sixth seal is broken, a great earthquake accompanied by cosmic signs shakes the entire earth so violently that every person on earth cries out to the mountain and rocks, "Hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!  For the great day of His wrath has come!"  They weren't looking forward to an outpouring of God's wrath that was still future; they were experiencing it in the here and now of Revelation Six.  The great day of God's wrath had come.

One more point, and then I'm finished for today.  When John is caught up to heaven in Revelation Four to witness the things which must take place "after this", he sees first the throne shining with the brilliance of God's presence.  And around the throne are twenty-four other thrones occupied by elders wearing white robes of righteousness and golden crowns of reward.  Revelation 5:6 gives them harps of worship and bowls of intercession as well.  I will not attempt to identify the twenty-four elders, except to say that they are representatives of all the Old and New Testament saints, chosen by God to sit around the throne as Jesus said in Matthew 20:23.  And as saints, they have already stood before the judgment seat of Christ.  They have already given account of all the works done in their lifetimes.  And they have already received their rewards--robes, crowns, harps, bowls and thrones.  How can this have happened for John to see it in the Revelation, unless the Rapture had already brought all believers, both the living and the dead, to heaven?

The conclusion then, regarding the timing of the Rapture and its place in the Revelation, is that it will happen in time the same way it happened to John.  The Church Age is now, the Tribulation is coming, but between the two the church will be resurrected and transformed, raptured into heaven to face the judgment seat of Christ, receive their rewards and assignments for the kingdom, worship together around the throne, and participate in that great Marriage Supper of the Lamb before the King of kings directs us to the stables and says, "Mount up, friends!  We're going back."

Rapture: The Secrets of the Open Door, part 2

After these things I looked,

and behold, a door standing open in heaven.

And the first voice which I heard

was like a trumpet speaking with me,

saying, "Come up here,

and I will show you things

which must take place after this.

Immediately I was in the Spirit;

and behold, a throne set in heaven,

and One sat on the throne.

--John, Revelation 4:1-2, NKJV

Jesus said to the faithful church, "I have set before you an open door."  Many have viewed this, and I myself have taught it, as an open door of opportunity and ministry, but the text doesn't exactly bear that out.  It says because of their works, because of their strength, because they kept the word of Christ and did not deny His name, because they kept the command to persevere, because of all those things, they have been given the open door.  Because they have been faithful, they will be delivered from the great trial coming upon the earth.  Because they have been faithful, Jesus is coming quickly to give them a crown of reward and a new name, and to make them permanent fixtures in the presence of God.

So what is the open door?  It is mentioned again in Revelation 4:1, an open door standing in the heavens.  From the vantage point of Patmos, John lifts his eyes upward.  He has been communing with Jesus in worship on the Lord's Day, caught up in the Spirit, and suddenly has a vision of Jesus.  It starts with the sound of the Lord's voice, declaring His identity and His instructions for John to get a pen and write all this down.  John turns there on the beach and sees seven golden menorahs, with Jesus in their midst.  The Glorified Lord is dressed as their great high priest, and in his hand he holds seven stars.  He tells John, "The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches."

Jesus spoke, and John wrote, and when they had finished the seven letters to the seven churches, John said, "After these things..."

I'd like to point out here that if Revelation is a message about past, present, and future--as indicated when Jesus commanded John, "Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this"--John continually uses phrases that indicate a linear progression of events, one after the other.  His Gospel, his letters, and his testimony about the Isle of Patmos recorded the things that John had seen; in other words, his past.  The letters to the seven churches revealed the things which are, even to this day, in the church of Jesus Christ.  But after this...

John looked up and saw a door standing open in heaven.  Having just heard from Jesus about an open door for the faithful church, I would imagine the imagery was clear.  And as he looked, he heard the first voice again, a loud voice, like a trumpet.  And it said, "Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this."  In an instant, John was "in the Spirit," caught up to heaven and the presence of God.

A loud voice.  A Trumpet.  A catching away.  Does this sound familiar?  Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.  And the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And thus we shall always be with the Lord."  John got to experience that very thing in an upclose and personal preview of that great day!

And he went to heaven right through the open door!

Rapture: The Secrets of the Open Door, part 1

"These things says He who is holy,

He who is true,

'He who has the key of David,

He who opens and no one shuts,

and shuts and no one opens,'

I know your works.

See, I have set before you an open door,

and no one can shut it."

Jesus, Revelation 3:7-8, NKJV

Jesus is talking to His faithful church, His beautiful bride, His true believers.  That Philadelphian church was small, but committed to the Word and the Name of Jesus Christ.  Persecuted by pretenders, they had kept the command to persevere through the hardships.  Compared to the other churches addressed by Jesus in the Revelation, the Philadelphians were doing it right.  Not so everywhere else.

In Ephesus, the believers were self-righteous, legalistic and had lost their love.

In Pergamos, the believers had compromised their belief and practice in the face of persecution.

In Thyatira, the believers had followed false teachers into the corruption of license and vice.

In Sardis, the believers were busy with a semblance of church life to cover up their own spiritual death.

And in Laodicea, the believers had prospered to the point of comfort and complacency. 

Only in Philadelphia (and in Smyrna, where the believers were experiencing intense persecution), were the believers holding fast to their belief in Christ and their purity in the world.  Only with Phildelphia and Smyrna was Jesus pleased.  In the modern world, there are two kinds of churches with which Jesus is pleased--those churches that are faithful in the midst of terrible trial and tribulation, and those churches that are faithful in the vale of peace.  To everyone else Jesus offers rebuke and a call to repent.  But to these faithful churches Jesus makes great and precious promises.

To the downtrodden believers at Smyrna He says, "Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer...be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.  He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death."

And to the thriving believers at Philadelphia He says, "I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it...I will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.  Behold, I am coming quickly!"

In those two promises, Jesus revisits the declaration He made at the tomb of Lazarus, where he the dead who believed in Him would live again, and the living who believed would never die.  He reminds us of Paul's expectation of being transformed and translated alive into heaven along with the resurrected dead in Christ.  He says that some will escape this world and its troubles through death, and others He will deliver completely from the troublesome trial.  And we can be reminded of Paul again, who said the Lord would punish with tribulation those who trouble us while giving those who are troubled rest!

For the believers, there are only two ways out of this world--death, or the rapture.  And Jesus has set before us an open door through which we may enter the Kingdom of God and life everlasting!

One Way

She was an intelligent woman.  Well read.  Educated, I'm sure.  She seemed rational and reasonable, and her words demonstrated an ability to communicate effectively.  And she was sincere.  It was written all over her face, reflected in her eyes and the timber of her voice.  Her body language emphasized the strength of her conviction as she leaned forward, looked right into my eyes, and poured out the driving philosophy of her life.

"I've investigated them all," she said.  "I've read all the books.  I've looked at all the variations.  And I discovered something!  All religions are the same.  God is energy and light, and he is everywhere and in everybody, and everybody is going to get to Him in their own way.  No religion can claim they are the only way."

All religions are the same???  I wanted to take this sincere, intelligent, educated, rational, idiotic woman by the shoulders and shake her senseless!  Do you even know what "all" religions believe about God, about man, about salvation and eternal life?  How can you put "all" religions side by side and come to the conclusion that they are all the same and all are leading to the same place?  Honestly, the only people I've ever heard say this are people who don't have--and don't want--any religion at all.  By saying that each belief-system in the world is the same as every other, they are really just giving themselves permission to believe whatever they want and feel justified and secure.  And they are sadly mistaken.

We do not have the time or space in this venue to explore every religion in the world--likely there are multitudinous myriads of belief systems among the 7 Billion people on this planet.  But we can look at a handful of the major, more recognizable religions and determine if they are all teaching the same thing.

What do the five major world religions teach?  Do you know?

Hindus believe that God is a universal spirit, everywhere and everything, that everything (including you) is part of it, and that God is manifested in (some have estimated) 333 Million gods and goddesses who can all be worshiped.  Humanity is engaged in a cycle of reincarnation, with each life being a step toward (or a step away from) oneness with the universal spirit.  That oneness is achieved through ritual meditation and accumulating enough good karma through good behavior to outweigh the bad karma of bad behavior. 

Buddhists don't believe in any specific deity, but rather in a universal consciousness into which all thing will eventually merge.  Suffering is brought on by desire, so the goal of humanity is to escape suffering by eliminating desire.  There is no eternal soul, but feelings are transferred from one life to another in a cycle of reincarnation that ends when those feelings have become enlightened by all the right stuff and ceased from desire, thereby escaping suffering, merging with the universe in nirvana (which has been described as the state of perfect nothingness).

Muslims believe there is only one God, whose name is Allah, and that Mohammad was the last and greatest in a long line of prophets revealing the will of God, to which one must submit.  Humanity is basically good, but the destiny of the immortal soul in heaven or hell is determined by doing enough good deeds to outweigh the bad deeds.

Jews (in the traditional religious sense) believe there is only one God who has revealed Himself and His will through Moses and the prophets.  Through prayer, repentance, and obedience to the Law (the 10 Commandments and all the additional rules, laws, commandments, and traditions that go with it) one can be saved and have hope of the resurrection and eternal life.

Christians (for the most part) believe in one God, eternally existent in the triune Godhead of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Jesus Christ is the only begotten son of God, born of a virgin, sinless in life, who died a sacrificial and substitutionary death to pay for the sins of humanity.  We are born in sin, for which we will be condemned unless we repent and follow Christ.  Salvation and eternal life are obtained through belief in Christ as savior and trusting in the grace, mercy, and love of God to forgive and accept us as His children.

Hindus view Jesus Christ as one of many incarnations or manifestations of God.  Buddhists view Jesus Christ as an enlightened man, just like their founder.  Muslims view Jesus Christ as a prophet, virgin born, but not the Son of God and Savior of the world.  Jews view Jesus as a revolutionary extremist at best, a false messiah at worst, and are awaiting the coming of their true messiah.

But Jesus Christ Himself made the following statements:

I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.

 He who hates me, hates the Father.

The Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Whoever believes in me will have eternal life.

Now let me ask you a simple question:  Do these five religions teach the same thing?  Do they believe in the same God?  Are they all leading the same way?

Is God everything and nothing, the Only One and one among many, all at the same time?

I've got an even better question:  If God wanted His creation to come to Him, would He leave it up to us to figure out how, or would He tell us how?

People say that a loving God would not make only one way to get to heaven and receive eternal life.  But I say to you that a loving God would not present a dozen different roads, each of them leading in a different direction, and expect you to believe that they will all end up in the same location.

There is only one God, and only one way to get to Him, and that way is through Jesus Christ.  Salvation is not by my works; I know myself well enough to say that the good deeds and the bad deeds might be just about even.  And from what I've seen, it's the same with most other people.  Our works will not tip the scales in our favor.  Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

And you want to know the funny thing about that woman who told me she had it all figured out, that all religions were the same?  She was concerned that Harry Potter would warp her kids' sense of reality.