By John Larkins
False teachers depend upon “Happy Talk” to fund their career pursuits instead of our salvation. Many of them do not know or believe in God’s word and cannot accept Jesus at His word since they hold no authority to preach nor to administer the sacraments (also known as sources of salvific grace) that Jesus provides for our use in order to gaining entrance to Heaven.
More fundamentally, Jesus departed the Earth some 2,000 years ago after having won His victory over death. Jesus’ prize from His Father was the power over human sin, using the Church and its priests to convert the world’s peoples and thus opening the way for their entry into Heaven. That in and of itself is The Good News!
Jesus had no contact with any such Johnny Come Lately preachers, so it is no surprise that we seldom hear Jesus’s message that saves us from them. The Biblical writing that we call “Acts of the Apostles” is accurately named, as these records contain much of what Christ’s apostles did in obedience to their master. The eternal command, given at the end of both Matthew and Mark’s gospels, should send shivers up our spines at its clarity, expression of love and concern for us, as well as the gravity of importance and challenge for His subordinates.
Matthew 28:16-20 says, “Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Wow! The Son of God said, “All authority in heaven and on Earth has been given me.” Can we imagine the complete idiocy of the many weak and insignificant politicians and their dupes who crow about how they do not care what Jesus said?
Reflect on this from Romans 1:18-27: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
“For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal men and birds. Therefore, God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchange the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator, who is forever praised. Amen.
Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way, the men abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.”
The supporting visuals for this message were found in recent television coverage on the White House lawn.
If there is any way I can be of service, please email me at johnlarkins@bellsouth.net.