The Keener Way

  Note: This may not be content for the *cough* too youthful. And some search engines may even hide this content for the keywords repetitively used. But these topics are way too taboo in the modern church. I debated creating substitute words for the article, but the Bible doesn't, so why should I? "You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." ~Matthew 5:27-28 BSB Now, I will say from the start, grace covers a multitude of sins. Else-wise we are ALL condemned. But also, we live in a world where sex and sexual sins have just about become the world's biggest and most devout religion. And the second biggest religion is the other side of the coin, those who go to drastic legalistic measures to try and stay pure. Thus I believe these are important topics to get right, because Yeshua calls his followers to a higher standard than the righteo...

     In a debate group that I am part of, the topic recently surfaced, if we are once saved, are we always saved. This immediately became a hot topic, with many members weighing in.      At first, while I had my leanings, I was undecided which side of the debate I adhered to. After all, why does it matter ultimately? We do well to live as though we could lose our salvation, according to Philippians 2:12, which says, "Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. "      But for the sake of argument, I spent the next several days pouring over scripture, trying to find any and all patterns of rejection and redemption. Do we have examples of known saved people rejecting and thus losing their salvation?      The reality is, we don't. We simply do not know the state of a man's heart. Only God knows. So if ...

       In Matthew Chapter 3, we see an odd ritual being preformed by John, cousin of Jesus. He is dipping people in the Jordan River. We're never really told why he was doing it. It's kinda just assumed that the people of that era knew why he was doing it.      But the fact that we're never told the purpose of this ritual always kinda bugged me. Baptism just never made sense. Really, it seemed a ludicrous thing. And even from a young age, I hated things that didn't make sense. Why do people get dunked in a giant bathtub in front of a bunch of other people? What in the world does that have to do with anything else about being a Christian?       Over the years, I put forth various excuses as to why I elected to not go through with it. Part of my inhibition was the extreme insecurity I had of doing anything in front of a crowd. Especially being dipped in a giant bathtub. Super awkward. But the other part was, I didn't feel right doi...