Heritage

Heritage

by Pete Berardi

There are many things to be proud of in this world. Status, financial security, material possessions, relationships are all things that are as feathers in the cap of many people. One feather that many people place a lot of faith in and are proud of is their heritage. My family is especially proud of their heritage. I have many relatives that are from the old country and are quite selective when it comes to making friends and choosing which people to like. It is the opinion of many people in my family that if you are Italian, you are okay in my book.

My heritage, although I am a descendent of the Italians, is not Italian. When people become saved, put their faith in Christ, and call themselves Christians, they become part of the family of God. This is their new heritage. Romans 9:4 states Who are Israelites; to whom [pertaineth] the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service [of God], and the promises;

When Moses brought the Israelites out of the bondage of Egypt, God promised them the land of Canaan. This land was the inheritance of the Israelites and became a symbol of their heritage. It is as if God’s people are all adopted by Him and their new heritage is him. Exodus 6:8 states And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I [am] the LORD.

The same holds true for us today. Because I am a Christian, I am a part of the Family of God. My heritage is the testimonies of God (Psalms 119:111a). God has adopted me into his family and I am his son.

Yes I am Italian. But my heritage is God. I will only have pride in the fact that God chose me and adopted me. His testimonies are the rejoicing of my heart (Psalms 119:111b). As Christians we should consider all fellow Christians as family. A fellow believer is a brother and a sister. Mark 3:34 states, speaking of Jesus, And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!

Interestingly enough, God also thinks of his people as his heritage. Micah 7:18 states Who [is] a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth [in] mercy.

Perfect Hatred

Perfect Hatred

by Pete Berardi

Psalm 139:22 I hate them with a perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.

Most Psalms are hymns and prayers. Here in this verse of the book of the Psalms David is praying to God. The context is him praying to God about God’s enemies. He claims that God’s enemies are his enemies. But what are God’s enemies. God does have an enemy. And surprisingly to some, God does hate.

Proverbs 6: states These six [things] doth the LORD hate: yea, seven [are] an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness [that] speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Part of our battle with sin is not just to love God and to follow his laws. An important part of keeping from sin is to make God’s enemies our enemies. It is not enough sometimes to keep away from sin but we must hate it with a perfect hatred. Romans 12:9 calls us to abhor that which is evil as well as to cleave to that which is good.

Hatred may seem as if it is a bad thing, an unholy thing and an ungodly thing however nothing could be further from the truth. In fact God claims hatred as a characteristic of himself and says that the fear of the Lord is to hate evil (Proverbs 8:13).

The things of this world are diametrically opposite of the things of God. By focusing on the things of the world we are automatically taking our focus off of the things of God. By making the things of this world our enemy, we greatly increase our chances of becoming free from sin.

Make sin your enemy and hate it with a perfect hatred. If it be the sin of drugs or alcohol, hate it with all your heart. If our battle is lust after the opposite sex, learn to hate the feeling of lust. If we steal or lie or cheat, learn to hate these things. Make it your enemy.

Why Be Holy (if I am going to heaven anyway)?

Why Be Holy (if I am going to heaven anyway)?

by Pete Berardi

All this talk about the gift of grace has made me think to myself that since I am forgiven of all my sins and God has chosen me as his child, I can do whatever I want. I mean what the heck, I am going to heaven anyhow right? The fact of the matter is that there is no sin that can send me to hell. Just as there is nothing that a man can do in order to be saved, there is only one thing that keeps a man out of heaven. Mark 3:28-29 quotes Jesus: Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation. God is a forgiving God. Joel 2:12 states And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. He will forgive any sin that his child commits. The only sin that a man can commit that will keep him out of heaven is to blaspheme the Holy Spirit.

So now the question appears. Why should I not sin? If God is going to forgive everything that I do, I can just do whatever I want and I will still go to heaven.

This is a dangerous thought. In fact Paul asks this question to his audience in the book of Romans Chapter 6 verse 1. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? In fact the whole sixth chapter of Romans is dedicated to this very question. Paul’s answer comes in the last sentence. Romans 6:23 states: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. God loves us that not only did he give us a way out of the hell to come but also the hell here on earth. By following God’s laws we can have a happier and better life. God’s laws are given to us to protect us, to teach how to live.

The laws that I am referring to are the Ten Commandments. These laws are our school master and a guide for to live our life by. These laws protect us from evil. God knows what is best for us and what will truly make us happy. By following God’s laws we can be assured that the life that is truly best for us will occur.

When Jesus came down to earth, he fulfilled and established the whole law with two simple sentences:

Mark 12:30 states And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Mark 12:31 states And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

The Divine Nature

The Divine Nature
by Pete Berardi

2 Peter 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

When one becomes a Christian and has placed his faith in Jesus Christ, a change occurs. The verse in 2 Peter 1:4 discusses Christians as being the “partakers of the divine nature”. The best way to understand the “divine nature” is to examine a few verses that can shed light on it. The word divine in this verse means of God, of Christ and of the Holy Spirit. Three things from the Bible are of extreme importance regarding the conversion of a man to Christianity.

1. He was born dead in his sins and trespasses.
2. Christians are offspring of God.
3. When one believes, he becomes something new.

Romans 5:12 states that sin passed from Adam unto all men. What Paul is discussing in this verse is our sinful nature. Man is born a sinner with a sinful nature. Before a man places his faith in Jesus Christ, he is spiritually dead.

John 1:12, 13 states that “as many as received him…where born of God". God chose his children before the foundations of the world (Ephesians 1:4). When his children come to know him and Jesus blesses us with his grace, we receive the gift of faith which then renews us and gives our spirit a rebirth. At that moment we are children of God. Acts 17:28 states that Christians are his offspring and in him we live.

People have been using the term “born again Christians” for as long as I can remember. This term has a certain connotation to it; almost hippy like. In fact all men that place their faith in Jesus Christ are born again. John 3:3 quotes Jesus when he says “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Paul states that if any man be “in Christ” he is a new creature (2Cor 5:17). This rebirth gives Christians the Holy Spirit and he dwells within them.

Christians are very different from people that are not Christians because of their divine nature. To quote Jesus once more in John 3:6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit”. It is the divine nature which separates us from the people that do not believe.