Featured Archives - Redeeming God

Adventures in Fishing for Men – A Humorous Satire of Evangelism

Jeremy Myers — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 17:00:56 +0000

Don’t tell one more person about Jesus until you read my new book. Don’t attempt any more evangelism until you read it.

Seriously.

Most Christians are doing more harm than good with how they attempt to “share Jesus” with others.

Many of the modern “evangelistic” efforts of Christians only do harm to the cause of Christ and the message of the gospel.

If you want to see what I mean, I “explain” it all in parable form through my new book, (#AmazonAdLink) Adventures in Fishing for Men.

This book is an allegory, or parable, about evangelism. In it, a nameless man (Is it you? Is it me?) attempts to become a world-famous fisherman … all without ever catching any fish.

The book is funny, hilarious, entertaining, and most of all, insightful and instructional.

Here is what some others are saying about (#AmazonAdLink) Adventures in Fishing for Men.

(#AmazonAdLink)

Adventures in Fishing for Men

This book was originally published back in 2012, but it has been significantly revised and expanded. It contains 50% new material, and also has a set of Discussion Questions to go along with each chapter.

These discussion questions will help you use this book for your small group class or Bible study. And since this book is humorous, if you use it for your small group Bible study or discussion group, it will be unlike any other study you have done. You will still learn, but through story and humor instead!

Did you want to learn about evangelism through humor?

Join my discipleship group and take the course which is related to this book. When you take this course, you will also gain background information about each chapter in the book, as well as some discussion questions to help you think through the content of the chapters. If you just want to buy the book, you can get it on Amazon here.

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How Central is the Cross of Jesus to your Life and Theology?

Jeremy Myers — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 15:00:09 +0000

Do you understand everything that occurred in the crucifixion of Jesus, and how central it is to your life and theology?

Whether you think so or not, let me introduce you to the cross of Jesus and how truly significant it really is.

For me, the death and resurrection of Jesus is the foundation to how I read and study Scripture. The cross is at the center of my theology. What Jesus did on the cross provides the pinnacle example of how Christians are to live our lives. Without the cross, there is no Gospel. And as Paul says, if Christ is not raised, our faith is in vain (1 Cor 15:17).

I have written a lot on this blog about the death and resurrection of Jesus, and some people have asked that I make these posts more accessible to readers. So to help you see the same thing, I have decided to make several of my central blog posts about the death and resurrection of Jesus available to people by email.

If you want to receive my posts on the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus in your email inbox for you to read at your leisure, I have now created a way for you to do just that. To get started, add your name and email address in the form at the bottom of this post.

The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus forms the foundation for everything I write on this blog. Everything.

What Jesus accomplished on the cross and through His resurrection is central to everything else. The death and resurrection of Jesus are not only central to Scripture and the Gospel, but are also central to learning (maybe for the first time) what God is like, and how we are supposed to live our lives as followers of Jesus.

By reading these emails, you are forming a firm foundation for understanding Scripture, theology, church, and life. You are gaining what I like to call “crucivision.” You will learn to see everything through the lens of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Fill out the form below to get started. I cannot wait for you to start fully understanding the significance of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

There are about 26 emails in this series, and you will get one every Friday, which means that by getting these emails, you can spend the next six months focusing your mind on “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.” This will be revolutionary for you. See you soon!

The cross of Jesus is CENTRAL to everything!

Transform your life and theology by focusing on the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus:

Fill out the form below to receive several emails from me about the death and resurrection of Jesus.

(Note: If you are a member of RedeemingGod.com, login and then revisit this page to update your membership.)

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Words of Calvinism and the Word of God

Jeremy Myers — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 12:00:00 +0000

As with much of what I write on this blog, my current blog series on Calvinism will eventually become a book. I have decided to call this book The Words of Calvinism and the Word of God. To make sure you get a free PDF of this book when it comes out, please request to get updates from me using one of the forms on this site.

Until then, I will try to update this page with the current list of blog posts on Calvinism. Please note that even though you will be able to read much of the content of this book using the links below, the final version of the book will be altered and updated to reflect additional research and any changes I might want to make to the posts based on the feedback and comments I receive on each individual post.

In other words, please read through the posts and leave comments! I value your input and learn from your suggestions — even if it is just to point out a typographical mistake!

So here are the posts in this series on Calvinism so far:

Introduction to Calvinsim

Calvinism and the Dictionary

Faith
Gospel
Salvation
Forgiveness – Two Kinds of Forgiveness: One is free; one is conditional
Repentance – Repentance is not a condition for eternal life
Eternal Life
Grace
Calvinism and the NIV
3 Tactics Calvinists Use Against Non-Calvinists

Total Depravity

Unconditional Election

Unconditional Election According to Calvinists
Unconditional Election According to Scripture
The Last Word on Unconditional Election
- Coming Soon!

Limited Atonement

Posts Coming Soon!

Irresistible Grace

Posts Coming Soon!

Perseverance of the Saints

Posts Coming Soon!

The Sovereignty of God

Posts Coming Soon!

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When God Pled Guilty

Jeremy Myers — Sun, 13 Apr 2014 12:00:53 +0000

I tend to write my books on my blog. I do this for various reasons, one of which is that I desire input, questions, and suggestions from readers. The following posts are from my book When God Pled Guilty, which is an examination of how to understand the violent actions of God in the Old Testament in light of Jesus Christ, and especially, Jesus Christ dying for His enemies on the cross.

So read through the posts below, and join the conversation on each post. Also, invite others to read these posts by using the sharing buttons at the bottom, because many people struggle with how to understand the violence of God in the Bible.

When God Pled Guilty

Introduction: God is Guilty

Theories on the Violence of God in the Old Testament

My Proposal for Understanding the Violence of God in the Old Testament

Theological Chaos Theory

The Violence of the Flood

More Coming Soon! Subscribe to the Blog to Keep Updated!

Miscellaneous Posts on the Violence of God in Scripture

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How to Be the Church In Your Community

Jeremy Myers — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 16:00:06 +0000

It is popular today for people to say, “Don’t go to church; BE the church.” Everybody nods their heads at this, but few actually know what it means or how to truly “be the church.” With this post, Sam Riviera is starting a series of posts on how to be the church in your community. If you have ever wondered how to be the church in your community, you don’t want to miss a post. I will try to put one up each Monday for the next several weeks.

When most people in our culture think of church, what comes to mind?

Most people think of church as a location with buildings and property, or as an organization. When asked about our relationship with “church”, people usually ask us “Where do you go to church?”, “What church do you belong to?” or “Where is your church”?

While that understanding of church is common, my wife and I think of church as “those people who follow Jesus.” For some, that may include properties, buildings, programs, staff, and all the other accouterments that go with the organizational, institutional understanding of church. For some of us, it does not.

While we find it important to gather with other believers to share the common hope we have in Jesus, we do not limit that to the organizational, institutional scenario. We try to “be the church” in the community – every single day.

What Does It Look Like To “Be The Church In The Community”?

As we proceed through this series, I will give various examples of what this looks like for us and encourage you to share examples of what this looks like for you in your community. None of these examples are intended to be a model for you to follow. Instead, they are only instances that will not only help us to dream of what it looks like to be the church in our communities, but also help us to live out our calling to follow Jesus in our communities.

A Day in the Life of Being the Church

What does a typical day of “being the church in the community” look like for us? I doubt that there is such a thing for us as a typical day, but I will describe what it looked like for us today.

After spending the morning on jury duty, I came home and changed to go running. First, however, I watered plants and pulled weeds for a neighbor who is out of town. Then I talked with another neighbor whose wife recently left him. I invited him to our upcoming block party.

After running, I talked to another neighbor about some details for the upcoming block party that she is helping us organize, then greeted another neighbor, a widow who told me her phones had not worked for two days and she could not call anyone because she had also lost her cell phone. A couple of hours later, we had determined that there was a problem with her phone system, and had found her cell phone so she could report the problem with her landline to her landline provider.

After my wife came home from work we walked through our neighborhood before leaving for our evening class. We greeted several neighbors, then drove to class. After class, we discovered a backpack in the parking lot next to our car. We opened it (No, it didn’t explode) and found a driver’s license, credit card and other personal items for a person vacationing from out of the area. With the help of a friend who has a smart phone app that found a phone number for the address on the driver’s license, we reached the owner of the backpack and arranged for her to pick up her backpack.

It Takes Nothing Big to Be the Church.

As you can see, nothing about our day would be material for a book or a mini series. It would never be the sermon illustration for a mega-church sermon. Yet we see days like this as a somewhat typical day of being the church in the community.

To be the church, all we do is keep our eyes and ears open to the people around us, and try to show them love in whatever way we can.

In future posts we will look at various other ways we have sought to be the church in the community, will give examples of other people we know who are being the church in their communities, and will encourage you to give examples from your experience.

Be the Church in Your Community

Want to be the church in your community but don't know? Here are some posts which not only explain what it means to be the church in your community, but also gives concrete, practical examples of what it looks like and how to be the church whatever you do and wherever you go. Remember, you ARE the church, and wherever you go, Jesus goes with you!

If you have questions about how to be the church in your community, please let us know in the comment sections below, and we will try to write a post which answers your question.

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How to Get to Know Your Neighbors

Sam Riviera — Mon, 13 May 2013 18:35:03 +0000

Do you want to get to know your neighbors? Do you want to share with them the love of Jesus? Let me share with you what has worked for us …

My wife and I know most of the people in our neighborhood and in the two adjoining neighborhoods, a total of about three hundred homes. Several neighbors have told us that we know more neighbors than anyone else in the neighborhood, and asked us how that happened, since many of our neighbors have lived here longer than we have.

Follow Jesus to Your Neighbor’s House

We enjoy getting to know neighbors. It may appear to come natural to us, but we make it an intentional part of following Jesus.

In this series I will discuss some of the methods that have worked for us in getting to know our neighbors, how we move some of the relationships beyond just being acquainted, and what we’re doing now to move those relationships to yet another level.

Living in Neighborly Isolation

Most of us drive home from work, push the button on our remote garage door opener, pull into the garage, close the garage door, and go into the house. If we emerge from the house that evening, we may go only to our backyard, possibly to play with our children, or to grill something on our outdoor grill. The next morning, we raise the garage door, back out, and wave to a neighbor as we pull away from our house.

If we hire a lawn service, we may rarely spend any time in our front yard. If we’re lucky, we may know the people who live next to us, but probably don’t know most of the people who live two or three houses away from ours. We may notice a house with an unkempt yard, or the house with several broken-down cars parked in front. But we don’t know the people who live there, and assume they’re probably lazy.

Many of us find our friends and build relationships at work, church, or among relatives. When we have a party, those are the people we invite. When the party runs a little late on a warm summer evening when all of our neighbors have their windows open, and our guests are laughing and singing and some neighbor calls the police to complain, we’re offended. We silently make a vow to get even with every neighbor who does anything to annoy us. We have our rights and have to stand up for them! Right?

That’s what Jesus would do, right? Didn’t He throw the moneylenders out of the temple, His temple? If Jesus could display His righteous anger, shouldn’t it be OK for us to do the same?

Loving Your Neighbors Like Jesus

We have discovered there is another way, a way that not only doesn’t get the neighbors upset with us and us mad at the neighbors, but a way that looks a whole lot more like Jesus.

This “other way” begins with getting to know our neighbors.

Let me show you how we have come to know our neighbors, and how you can too.

If you truly want to live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it begins by getting to know your neighbors.

What are some easy, practical ways to do that? We’ll look at some of those ways in the series of posts on getting to know your neighbors. Sign up to receive them all for free by filling out the form below.

As you receive these emails, you will discover that there are better ways to love your neighbors than by passing out Bible tracts or inviting them to church. Sign up below to see how.

Do you want to share Jesus with your neighbors?

There's more to it than inviting them to church...

Fill out the form below to receive several emails about how to get to know your neighbors and love them like Jesus.

(Note: If you are a member of RedeemingGod.com, login and then revisit this page to update your membership.)

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How You Can Help Homeless People

Jeremy Myers — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 19:00:00 +0000

There are homeless people all around. You live near them, walk by them, and see them almost every day.

But what do you DO about them? What can you do?

If you give them money, will they spend it on drugs and alcohol? Aren’t they homeless because they don’t want to work? Shouldn’t they just go get a job? Isn’t the government taking care of them?

There are so many questions about homeless people. And so few of us have any answers.

Learn the answers to these questions and learn how to love homeless people from someone who spends large amounts of time with the homeless every week.

Learn how to help the homeless

Sam Riviera has been loving and serving the homeless people in his area for many years. I have recently been trying to begin showing love and service to the homeless in my own area, and asked him for suggestions and advice. In response, he wrote 13 blog posts on how to love the homeless.

The stories Sam shares are often heart-wrenching, but more than this, Sam’s deep love for Jesus and how he wants to share this love with those who rarely see it is truly beautiful.

If you have questions along the way about loving and serving the homeless, Sam is quite active in the comments on this blog, and will be more than happy to answer any questions you might have.

I have been helped by reading these posts, and believe that if you want to learn how to love the homeless in your area by meeting their needs and showing them the love of Jesus, you also will benefit from reading these posts.

And it is super easy to read them all! Just sign up to have them sent to your email inbox. There are 13 emails total, and you will receive a new one every Friday. Sign up below to learn how to love and minister to the homeless.

There is so much need in the world!

And YOU can help.

Fill out the form below to receive several emails about how to love and serve the poor and homeless.

(Note: If you are a member of RedeemingGod.com, login and then revisit this page to update your membership.)

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Are you afraid of the Unforgivable Sin? Don’t be. You have NOT committed it!

Jeremy Myers — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 00:15:24 +0000

Most Christians have wondered at one time or another if they have committed the unforgivable sin. Have you?

If this is your fear, be encouraged. You have not committed the unforgivable sin.

You are not eternally damned.

You are not forsaken by God.

You are not hated by God.

You are not outside the bounds of His love and grace.

Quite to the contrary, you are loved by God more than you possibly know.

You are forgiven. You are accepted. God loves you!

When I first became a pastor, the very first counseling session I had was with a member of my church who was afraid they had committed the unpardonable sin.

I had personally struggled with fear about this sin in my own life, but I sort of thought that I was alone in this struggle. As I talked with this church member, I clearly remember feeling a sense of relief that I was not alone in being afraid about this sin. There were two of us!

A month later, a high-school student in the church asked me about this sin. He was angry with God and said some things to God that he regretted. He wanted to know if he was now doomed to hell.

Then I received an email from a single mother in the church who had gotten pregnant out of wedlock. Twice. The first pregnancy had been aborted. Someone told her that she was now a murderer and God would never forgive her. She wanted to know if that was true.

I began to see that fear about committing a sin that God would never forgive was a common fear in the lives of other people. So I decided to preach a sermon about the Unpardonable Sin, and what I believed the Scriptures taught about God’s love and forgiveness for us – no matter what we say or do.

To this day, this sermon on the Unforgivable Sin is still my most popular sermon on this website, and I get weekly emails from people all over the world who are afraid they have committed the unforgivable sin and want to know if God still loves them and if there is hope for them.

I do not know if you struggle with fear about the unpardonable sin. But if not, I guarantee that you know people who do. They may not express this fear to you, but there are people in your life who have done something they fear God will never forgive.

If you are afraid you committed the unforgivable sin, I have created a short series of emails you can receive about this sin (You can sign up below).

These emails explain what this sin is (and is not) and how to know that you have not committed it.

Even if you do not personally struggle with fear about this sin, you might want to get these emails anyway, since you almost certainly will encounter somebody who is afraid of it, and it would be helpful for you to have a way to encourage them and give them hope about God’s love and forgiveness.

In this series of emails on the Unforgivable Sin, I show why you have not committed this sin, and you can know that you have not committed it.

If you struggle with fear about committing the unforgivable sin, this free series of emails is for you.

This series of posts begins by surveying the various views about the unforgivable sin, which is also called “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.” This survey includes an examination of Matthew 12:31-32 so that we can understand what Jesus meant when He talked about the unforgivable sin.

The most common theories about the unpardonable sin (also called the unforgivable sin) include the sins of adultery, divorce, murder, and even cursing the Holy Spirit. None of these are the unforgivable sin.

Not even suicide is the unforgivable sin.

While many churches and pastors teach that those who commit since like those listed above can never be forgiven, this series of posts reveals that all such sins are forgivable by God.

If you have committed adultery, you are forgiven!

If you got a divorce, you are forgiven!

If you had an abortion, you are forgiven!

If a friend of yours committed suicide, this does not mean they automatically went to hell.

If you are afraid that you blasphemed the Holy Spirit, do not worry — God has already forgiven you for whatever you said or whatever you did.

Even if you cursed God, cursed the Holy Spirit, or said some terrible things to them, God still loves you and still forgives you.

Yes, it is true… There is a sin in the Bible which is “unpardonable.” Yes, the Bible talks about a sin which cannot be forgiven.

But there is so much bad teaching in the church about what this sin is, how it is committed, and whether or not there is hope for those who commit this sin, but you do not need to worry about committing it.

Some churches teach that there are seven unforgivable sins in the Bible, or that there is one thing you can say which will cause God to hate you forever, or that if you have done something terrible in your past there is no hope for your eternal soul.

All such teachings are unhealthy! They do not reflect the heart of God, His great love for you, or the infinite forgiveness He has provided to you in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

If there is a sin you have committed which you think is unforgivable, or which makes you think God does not love you, or makes you feel like you cannot be forgiven, do not worry any longer. This series of emails will give you hope for your future and reveal to you the infinite love, grace, and mercy of God for you.

In the end, you will learn that you have not committed the unforgivable sin.

If you fear you have committed the unforgivable sin, or if you simply want to learn what this sin is (and is not), sign up below to receive a series of free emails about this sin.

Do you fear that you have committed the Unforgivable Sin?

Fear not! You are forgiven. You are loved.

Fill out the form below to receive several emails from me which explains how you can know that you are loved and forgiven by God.

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Bibliology is Dangerous

Jeremy Myers — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 18:49:29 +0000

I am quite hesitant to begin blogging through my seminary class notes on Bibliology — the Study of the Bible.

Why?

Because Bibliology is dangerous. It lays traps and creates a labyrinth from which it is very hard to escape. I’ve been trapped in a certain Bibliology for about thirteen years, and in many ways, I feel I am just starting to escape. I would hate to trap anybody else. Of course, maybe I’m entering a new labyrinth and don’t even know it…

Let me back up….

The problem with Bibliology (and Systematic Theology in general) is that the questions it asks are loaded questions. In legal terms, the questions would be considered “leading the witness.” This is a dangerous thing to do when the “witness” is the Word of God.

Here is how Bibliology works:

A theologian (like a lawyer) wants to prove a certain point to the judge and jury. So to prove that point, he calls forward a witness which he views as the ultimate authority — Scripture, the very Word of God.

But the judge and jury are not ready to accept the authority of Scripture. They doubt the credibility of the witness. So the theologian has to back up and make an argument for the authority of Scripture. This is what Bibliology is. It is an attempt to prove the accuracy, authority, and credibility of Scripture.

This seems like a good thing to do until you realize that the people trying to prove these things have an agenda. They are not unbiased. They are lawyers wanting to win their case. They want to “stack the deck” in such a way that if you accept what they say about the accuracy, authority, and credibility of Scripture, then you will most likely also accept their interpretation and understanding of Scripture (what the witness says), if you do this, then you will also buy into the rest of their theological system that they were trying to prove in the first place.

It should not surprise you that many of the famous theologians throughout history were also lawyers. They knew how to make their case to a jury — by creating a framework for the jury through which they will be compelled to agree with the perspective and argument of the lawyer/theologian.

The framework which forms the foundation and basis for all theology is Bibliology (and the accompanying Hermeneutics, which are the rules of interpreting Scripture). If you agree with a person’s view of Scripture, and you agree with their rules of interpreting Scripture, you will also agree with them in almost everything relating to their theology.

So by way of example, let’s say a person wants to prove that God sends people to burn forever in the flames of hell. To do this, they first have to prove that this is the way God is. To prove that, they have to prove that this is how God is described in Scripture. And to prove that, they have to not only prove the accuracy and authority of Scripture, but also the specific rules of interpreting and understanding Scripture which will eventually lead you to the the view of God and hell that they are trying to prove.

You see how this works?

And like it or not, this is true of all theology. One’s view of Scripture (Bibliology) and one’s rules for interpreting Scripture (Hermeneutics) form the foundation on which the rest of theology is built.

So why am I hesitant to launch into a review of my seminary notes on Bibliology? For three reasons:

Bibliology has Traps

The Bibliology I learned in Bible College and Seminary lays some dangerous traps. I don’t want any of you, my wonderful, online friends, to get trapped. To counteract this, as I blog through my notes, I will attempt to point out the traps as best I can.

My Bibliology is Changing

The problem with me pointing out the traps is that in so doing, I may be laying new traps. You see, my Bibliology has gone through some seismic shifts over the past five years, and I am not sure that my new Bibliology is correct. I have barely begun to test it, and as I do, something gets “tweaked” on it almost every single day. One of these days, I might find myself in another trap, or experience another seismic shift, and realize all my “tweaks” were horribly wrong.

But this time around, I have something going for me which I didn’t have the last time. This time, I am fully aware that — just like every other theologian — I have my own theological agenda. The problem is that I am just not yet fully sure what my agenda is. I am trying to tip my hand as much as I can so you don’t walk into any Bibliology trap which I might be laying unaware. But still, I don’t want to lead anyone off a cliff.

Which brings me to my third reason for being hestitant.

Bibliology Brings out the Name-Callers

I’m tired of being called a heretic, apostate, and reprobate by people who disagree. I know it’s going to happen, but that doesn’t mean I like it.

I don’t mind if you disagree. But if you do, rather than condemn me to the pit of hell for being of the spirit of the antichrist, can we at least have a cordial conversation first? I am open to learning from others, and I will admit anywhere I have gone wrong, but I learn best from people who also want to learn. If you don’t want to learn, well, in the words of my friend “Sam“, you should probably just donate your computer to Goodwill.

So, this is my introductory post to Bibliology. Did I scare you off? I hope not!

Want to learn more about the Bible?

Do you want to learn more about Scripture, and the theological terms and ideas related to the Bible? In theological circles, we call this "Bibliology," which is a fancy term for "the study of the Bible." Regardless, here are some more posts on the Bible to inform and challenge your thinking about Scripture.

Posts about Inspiration

Posts about Inerrancy

The Canon of Scripture

On Sola Scriptura

How to Study and Obey the Bible

If you have questions about how we got the Bible or how to understand Scripture, please leave them in the comment section below!