Category: Ministry

Why I Believe

For me belief in God is an acceptance of a proposition of descriptive facts. 1. The Moral Evidence that Jesus taught, 2. The Physical Evidence that proves the Bible, 3. The textual evidence within the Bible itself that predicts Jesus and 4. The natural conscience of man. And 5. The coherent nature of our universe--which is what Newton described, and when he discovered Gravity everyone thought was proof God exists, because the universe had actual laws that determined it. 6. The light that shines off of a person who has God, as that's called Shekinah Glory (וְשָׁכַנְתִּי) in the Bible. And 7. The fruits of the Spirit.

Morality just is. Like Thales' Theorem. Morality exists, it's on our consciences and obeying it produces the best quality life not only for you, but for everyone around you. However, there've been societies where rape and murder was perfectly legal, that lasted for at least a millennia. That's not why Rape and Murder are wrong.

Why Rome Fell

Rome fell for a number of reasons, [homosexuality] being one of them. I wouldn't say it's the cause of the fall, but it's definitely a correlation. Probably, you can read in Horace that women were getting promiscuous, and that's usually the first sign toward social failure, which Rome's was a long winding spiral downhill for about three hundred years, ever since Augustus. Like, under Tiberius they literally crucified God, and put a Pear Tree on Trial. And in the time of Horace, we see the women are beginning to be predatory, and are starting to not have fidelity, which that stirs up a lot of problems in a culture. Probably that's the root cause of why societies fall, is men lose faith in women and the fidelity of marriage as a binding social contract, and begin to be androgynous as a result. And that leads to weak ethics, and men who can't bear the weight of society, so another society comes and conquers them.

Homily on Fortune

I don't think Faith is a means to getting rich. Paul wasn't rich. Neither was Jesus. Neither was Onesimus or Polycarp, or Titus, or Ignatius. Lydia was rich, but she happened on her riches before she became saved.

Fortune's a lot. God gives people riches according to their work, not their level of obedience. Which, if you're in obedience to the LORD, and doing the work He's given you faithfully, you'll be made rich, and will come the added effect of having not one sorrow attached to it, or even a hindrance to your faith.

But the reverse is also true, if you work evil, and wrought destruction for yourself, your riches will add many sorrows, both worldly and spiritual.

Why the Church is Falling Away

This is why so many are losing their faith. "I believe." What exactly? Do you believe in evolution, creation science, Islam, God, the universe, alien space demons, empathy? What exactly do you believe in?

I see so many Christian artists lose their faith, because they hadn't a deep knowledge of the LORD. It may not be entirely their fault, either, because I've seen a lot of Christians lose faith over Evolution because someone taught them God wasn't omnipotent. That He had to play by the rules of our cosmos. I've seen Christians lose their faith over LGBTQ---because they had no foundation of understanding right from wrong.

Unfortunately, this is the world we live in. Where not many have the Gospel preached to them in power, but rather church is a fun place we go, and hop up and down, go to the tattoo parlor down the street, get Jesus' name scribbled on our arm, then go to the coffee shop and Christian book store, and draw up enneagrams and anoint ourselves with magic waters. Get taught how to feel good about ourselves, and how to succeed in this vain life.

The fire of the LORD is about quenched in our youths, as they didn't learn the Gospel truth. Which is repentance from sin.

On Vulgarisms and Taboos in Christianity

"And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected."

"Fox" was a curse word in Roman times. While I agree with everything you're saying--and notice He's not preaching a sermon here, or in congregation and communion with God--sometimes you need to use harsh language to get the point across. Like, a Christian can kill in war, can he not? I think in some contexts---and most serious Christian authors have used foul language in literature---it's necessary to speak harsh words. Just saying...

I'm not saying Ray should start cussing in his videos--by all means--but sometimes a vulgarism is needed to add emphasis, especially when dealing with a sin. Like, again when sin is called a "Filthy Rag" we don't have an equivalent in English, but it'd be the same as calling sin "Shit".

And I'm certainly not telling anyone to make a habit out of it. Simply, though, to express disgust at a sin, sometimes you need to use words that can accurately describe it. But, Ray, don't start doing that in your video. I'm just speaking, as someone who writes literature, I do that because I'm not expressly calling what I write "Holy". It's just literature. But you should never blaspheme. That's something you ought not do. Or use filthy language. It's used in this context, to address a man who was pure evil, and it cut for that reason. There's a season to use swear words, and a season not to.

Why You Go to Hell

If you think it comforts me that anyone goes to hell, you’re wrong. The issue is, without Christ’s righteousness, where will you go? You’ll go somewhere.

Sin is why there’s suffering. It’s why you suffer, it’s why the world suffers. And, if you are capable of sinning, you aren’t capable of being in heaven. Instead, you’ll go to a place where everyone, that’s all they have is sin, and no more love, joy, peace, or any of God’s Spirit or power to make you right. But, all you have to do, to have that righteousness, is to ask Jesus to give it to you, and start being empowered by His Spirit while on Earth, until the process is complete.

Sermon on Epicurus

Ah, Epicurus was a genius. He’s one of my favorites. But this little quibble doesn’t matter. I’d just retort—with all the suffering in this world, there’d better be a better one.

I mean, the great philosophers have all agreed life’s pretty pointless, and some philosophers actually encourage bad behavior for its expedience.

Certainly, there’s an objective Ethics, which Epicurus is famous for quantifying the rational means to getting there, but then there’s people who don’t care about the collective, and only themselves, and there’s people who do care about the collective, but do all sorts of harm. It’s the fact that people are sinful, this world is cursed, but our hope should be to reach a better one through God’s power. As could heaven be heaven, if man had his original nature? That’s why we need Christ.

Love God’s Law

"Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.'"

God's law is self evident. It's the best law, and that's what's going to convert the nations. It is the effects that God's law has on the heart, that's what causes the heathen to convert.

As it says, "The Law Converts the heart." Why? Because it's self evident. Not everything self evident can be understood by everyone. It's difficult. An element in Euclid isn't going to be understood by everyone, but we see the effects engineering has, by holding up bridges and building machines. The same thing with God's Law, it makes a better world for everyone.

But, again, you argue with me, I think that's because you don't understand what I'm saying.

If you don't realize Christ's law is self evident, and objectively better, and observably so, I don't think you can call yourself wise yet, and by contending with me, you strive with the wind to try to convince me of this vanity. As, the only apologetics that is going to work, is showing people the error in their way, and knowing why Sin causes suffering, and justifying God through the Holy Statutes of His Commandments.

As Paul said, "We minister through power." And that power is through the Law of God, and Grace, and its self evident nature, that NO ONE can say it is faulty. They do, you can still show them it's not, through ministering to them by exposing their sins, which they all know are wrong.

You're just wrong. If God's law isn't self evident, then there is no hope for anyone to come to Christ. None. If the Heathen do what's wrong, then you prove to the sheep that the heathen suffer for it, and that they have no love, peace or joy. That's what we minister with.

If the Law is not self evident, then there is certainly no way to convert anyone. The Gospel is to no effect, and is noisy cymbals. It's the fact that God's statutes are true, and everyone knows it, and they do create better people. That's what saves people. Nothing else.

On Mormonism

This is giving me flashbacks to my Messianic Jewish days. Christianity is a robust faith, because it has nothing to do with dietary restrictions, but simply doing what's right. It has nothing to do with Touch not, Taste Not, Do Not. It has everything to do with how you treat other people. It's a religion that encompasses love and compassion, but also discipline. Like Sin to a Christian has teeth. What Paul lists in his letters as sins, are to rational people,---not brainwashed by the culture,---common sense. I've always preferred the faith of Tchaikovsky,  Michelangelo, Tolstoy and Hans Christian, to the constipated faith found in Evangelical circles lately. Like this hearkens to Evangelicalism, when Jesus wasn't necessarily a prude at all. He drank wine at weddings, cussed once or twice, and taught His disciples to enjoy their life and one another's company. But there were clear boundaries. And I'm more of a Baptist, Lutheran Catholic than anything else. I learned my New Testament from Lutherans. My Old Testament from Baptists. And my aesthetic and moral judgment from Catholics. I'm not really a protestant or catholic, but a hybrid of the two. I think it's obvious what the faith is, and that's what made it so persuasive, but we've gotten a long way from that.