The church Christ built is worthless to man if it is impossible to find (or establish), if it only existed in ancient history, and cannot be known today. Fortunately, like all things that exist, there are marks of identification that allow us to know his church from those made by mere men. We are able to distinguish one thing from another in life because of characteristics that each possess that differ from another in one way or another. True, there may be many similarities, as there are say between a dog and a cat (both have 4 legs, two ears, a tail, walk on all fours, have bodies covered with hair, etc.) but the differences are such as to make identification easy in distinguishing between the two.

What are the marks of identification of the Lords church versus man made churches.

(1) The time of its founding. The Lords church began in the first century on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. Any church that was built or came into existence centuries later for the first time cannot be the church Jesus built.

(2) The builder " Christ himself built his church. If a church can trace its beginnings back to a particular man or group of men that can be named for its founding it is clearly not the church Christ built.

(3) Its name. If a church is the church Jesus built then one would expect that it would not have a name attached to it given by men. Actually, no formal name was ever given to the church Jesus built. It was often referred to by various figures such as: the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23, 4:12), the Lambs bride (Rev. 21:9-10, Rom. 7:4), the church of God (Acts 20:28), the church of Christ (Rom. 16:16), the church of the living God (1 Tim. 3:15), the church of the firstborn (Heb. 12:23), the household of God (Eph. 2:19), the flock of God (1 Peter 5:2), Gods field (1 Cor. 2:9), Gods building (1 Cor. 2:9), the house of God (1 Tim. 3:15), the house of Christ (Heb. 3:6), the temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16-17), and, of course, the most common name used for the church in the Bible is just the word church itself as all Bible readers know.

The listing above is not an exhaustive list but it is enough of a list as to give you an idea that the church is not given a formal name in the New Testament. Are there any implications that can be correctly drawn from what has been studied here? One thing sticks out to me as I look back over the list " the name Christ or God is given in all the references found (the Lamb is Christ in the Rev. 21:9-10 reference, Christ was the firstborn from the dead in the Heb. 12:23 reference). What is the point?

The church built by Jesus does not belong to you or me or man. It is his and he is the one that is to be honored. When we give a church a mans name, or give a church a man made name, such brings no honor to God and in fact deprives him of any credit whatsoever. A man is honored by the name, or a movement or method is given honor by the name, but God is to be given glory in the church (Eph. 3:20-21), not a man or a movement. If a church has an unscriptural name it is just that " unscriptural " and there is no making that wrong right as long as the name remains unchanged. A wrong name also becomes a marker for a wrong church, a man made one rather than the one Christ built.

(4) Its members " their names. In the church built by Jesus no member was called anything other than a disciple, a brother or a sister as the case might be or just as brethren when taken collectively, a child of God, a saint, or just by the name Christian (Acts 11:26). Again this listing is not necessarily exhaustive but is sufficient to make a needed point. In the New Testament church there was no such beings as Christians who also had an additional appellation or name to distinguish them from others. This was the very thing Paul condemned in 1 Cor. 2:4 when he said, For when one says, I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos, are you not carnal? (NKJV)

No church that wants or insists its members be called by a denominational name in addition to the name Christian is any part of the church Jesus built. Not only is it carnal as Paul speaking by the Holy Spirit said but it is also dishonoring to God as if it is not good enough to just be called a Christian or child of God. The name Christian is a Christ honoring name. Denominational names dishonor Christ as his name is replaced for that which the Bible knows nothing about. More could be said about the name but space will not allow it.

(5) Membership " how do people become members of Christs church? This is an easily answered question. The church was established on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. When Peter confessed Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, in Matt. 16:16, Jesus responded by saying, on this rock I will build my church. (Matt. 16:18 NKJV) But then in the very next verse he tells Peter, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 16:19 NKJV) Jesus thus uses the terms the church and the kingdom interchangeably making them one and the same. The kingdom of God is not something that in our own time is yet down the road in the future. Jesus said to those with whom he was speaking in Mark 9:1, Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power. (NKJV) Paul says some years later in Col. 1:13, He has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love. (NKJV)

Peter used the keys of the kingdom (the keys being the gospel message with its requirements) on the day of Pentecost. When the 3,000 that day heard the message, believed it, repented of their sins (as instructed to do " Acts 2:38), and were baptized for the forgiveness of sins (as instructed to do " Acts 2:38) they were then translated into the kingdom of God by God himself. It is in that kingdom, not out of it, where salvation is found. If saved that day, does anyone doubt that they were (?), they were that day translated into the kingdom of the Son of his love.

Men do not join the church (the kingdom of God) but rather God adds them upon conditions. The Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:47 NKJV) The conditions are those set forth by Peter on the day of Pentecost. Jesus said, Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:5 NKJV) There are only two kingdoms, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. One must be in the kingdom of God for salvation but Jesus is the Savior of the body (Eph. 5:23) which is the church (Col. 1:24). The kingdom and the body, the church, are one and the same the difference being only in the way it is being described. The kingdom has a king, the body has a head, but the same one who is king is also the head " the head of the body and of the church which are one and the same (Col. 1:24).

Membership in this body, this church of Christ, this church Jesus built, is granted only on the basis of the new birth (John 3:5). It begins with the Spirit in that through the Spirits word, the gospel message, man is led to faith and repentance and a willingness and desire to confess Christ for who he is - the Son of God - and culminates in baptism for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38, 22:16) but more succinctly to put to death the old man of sin and to arise a new spiritual creation (Rom. 6:4-6). The old man dies in baptism (Rom. 6:4), we were buried with him through baptism into death. (NKJV) We come up from the water clothed with Christ (Gal. 3:27 NAS). Paul is thus able to say, For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one bodyand have all been made to drink into one Spirit. (1 Cor. 12:13 NKJV)

These then are the terms of membership if one desires to be in the church Jesus built. One can get into churches built by men on other terms, into manmade churches, but there is only one way into the Lords church. We must go back to the New Testament and enter the Lords church on the same terms of membership that they did back then. The same process that makes one a Christian also makes him a member of the church Jesus built, also adds him to the church, the Lord doing the adding when the requirements are met.

(6) Another mark of the Lords church is its organization. Each congregation was on its own running its own affairs with no guidance from any kind of national church organization. Each congregation was to have elders appointed who met certain requirements as set out in 1 Tim. 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. This group of men was sometimes referred to under various terms in the same way Christians were as discussed earlier. The terms used were elders, overseers, shepherds, bishops, pastors, and rulers. One of the requirements for a bishop or elder was that he be the husband of one wife (1 Tim. 3:2, Titus 1:6) and thus the church Jesus built was led by men. There were no women in leadership positions in the church. Perhaps the reason is given by Paul in 1 Tim. 2 when he says, I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a manfor Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. (1 Tim. 2:12-14 NKJV) This is a historical reason that time will never be able to change and thus it was not a matter of culture as some teach today.

If you find a congregation that is in violation of Gods plan for church leadership you can be certain, though cries may be made to high heaven, that it is not the church Jesus built. The eldership was always made up of a number of men and not just a single individual (Titus 1:5, Heb. 13:17). Thus in the church Christ built there were no women in leadership positions or teaching over men (preachers) nor was there any such thing as the modern pastor system. Those things are from men, not God.

Finally, there was a group of men known as deacons who also had an organized work to do under the direction of the eldership. Qualifications for these men are found in 1 Tim. 3:8-13. Some feel the 7 men chosen to supervise the daily distribution in the church at Jerusalem as found in Acts 6:1-6 were the first deacons. They certainly filled the role deacons might well serve.

(7) Worship of the church. The church Jesus built never prayed to saints departed or otherwise. Peter would not allow himself to be worshiped but when Cornelius attempted to do so, Peter lifted him up, saying, Stand up; I myself am also a man. (Acts 10:26 NKJV) Paul and Barnabas had a somewhat similar experience in Lystra where the inhabitants wanted to sacrifice to them but they would not have it and restrained the people (Acts 14:11-18). By contrast there is one well known religious group today whos leader not only will accept worship with men bowing down to him but is even so bold as to make himself God on earth. Praying to dead saints rather to God is a common practice among them. Needless to say you find nothing like this in the New Testament and it is thus no part of the church Jesus built.

But when we talk about the worship of the church there is more to it than just the correct object of worship " God in heaven. Jesus said we must worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:24). He then says in John 17:17 that, Your word is truth. (NKJV) This means, obviously, that man is not free to worship God just any old man made up way he chooses and call it worship pleasing to God. God gets to decide what pleases, not man. If you recall the church at Corinth in 1 Cor. 11 had a worshipping problem as it pertained to the Lords Supper. Not just any old way of doing things pleases God.

What are the acts of worship as found in the New Testament that when done in the right manner pleases God? Partaking of the Lords Supper on the first day of the week is one (Acts 20:7), prayer is another, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs (Eph. 5:19-20, Col. 3:16) is included, teaching of Gods word in which exhortation would be a part, and giving. Very few if any would object to any of these things for all are pretty much in agreement that these things can be found on the pages of the New Testament as things authorized in worship. We can do all of these things in the name of the Lord Jesus. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Col. 3:17 NKJV)

The problem today, when one is searching for the church built by Christ as far as it pertains to the worship, is finding a church that has not added to it. All kinds of entertainment has been made a part of the worship - plays, dramas, musical entertainment (generally called in my part of the country special music), special events, and around election time even political rallies passed off as worship service. No, if we want the church the saints had in the first century, the one that belonged to Christ, we will have to content ourselves with doing what they did under divine approval and say that is good enough for it is good indeed as it came to us from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. (James 1:17 NKJV)

(8) The works of the church. The works of the church I think all are pretty much in agreement on as one looks back at the church in the New Testament. What did they do? They taught the gospel, they attempted to build each other up in the faith and lend a hand to one another as needed; they were encouraged in every good work, and helped the poor and needy.

The mission of the church was spiritual but that did not mean it was divorced from the cares of this world completely. Whoever has this worlds goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? (1 John 3:17 NKJV)

Much that you see being done in churches today was never a part of the New Testament church. There were no ball teams, no seminars on how to do your taxes, or lose weight, no business enterprises to raise money versus giving it out of your own pocket, and the list could go on and on. We need to learn what work the New Testament churches were involved in and get back to it and forget about everything else.

In this article I have tried to set forth the marks of identification for the church Christ built. That is the church we need to be in and need to get back to. If we did all denominations would cease to exist so men will fight it tooth and nail for it is one thing to say we want it and it is another thing to really want it enough to give up the things we have for it. In other words the old saying talk is cheap was and is more than just a saying.

Can we have the church Jesus built in our own day and time? I knew a lady that once said no. She was in error. We can have it if we want it. Do we really want it is the question.

Visit dennysmith.net to read more of Dennys articles and listen to over 100 audio sermons by Waymon Swain. While preaching the gospel for over 50 years Waymon has also preached and lived in Africa having made 20 trips there in his life time. You will also find on site links to some of the better resource materials available online today related to Bible study.

Psalm 25 reads as follows from the New King James version of the Bible:

1 To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me. 3 Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.

4 Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. 5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.

6 Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, For they are from of old. 7 Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness sake, O LORD.

8 Good and upright is the LORD; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way. 9 The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way. 10 All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth, To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies. 11 For Your names sake, O LORD, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.

12 Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall He[a] teach in the way He[chooses. 13 He himself shall dwell in prosperity, And his descendants shall inherit the earth. 14 The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant. 15 My eyes are ever toward the LORD, For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.

16 Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, For I am desolate and afflicted. 17 The troubles of my heart have enlarged; Bring me out of my distresses! 18 Look on my affliction and my pain, And forgive all my sins. 19 Consider my enemies, for they are many; And they hate me with cruel hatred. 20 Keep my soul, and deliver me; Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You. 21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for You.

22 Redeem Israel, O God, Out of all their troubles!

What is particularly startling about this psalm, is that you can see some of the closeness and depth of the relationship between the Lord and David in the writing of this psalm where he bares his soul.

In verse 1 he says to you oh Lord I lift up my soul.

He asks the Lord to look deeply into his pain and affliction and you can see in the words of this that there was a deep back and forth relationship between David and the Lord even from the rocky ground that David was sometimes finding himself upon..

The troubles of his heart have enlarged and his distresses have increased to the point where they are overwhelming his soul, like giant waves rocking a ship to an uncertain end. Part of this is troubles from without and part of this is his great sins which is it speculated by those who have studied this psalm could have been the Bathsheba situation where he deeply offended the Lord.

It can be seen that David is calling upon the tender mercy of the Lord which is described as the mercy of old. This is a mercy that David pondered deeply and which has a timeless nature as it precedes even the dawn of time.

We can see in scenes in movies, how distressed individuals will seek the timeless beauty and timeless scenes in nature as they look for a sense of relief from their own pressing and overwhelming distresses whether it be the mountains or woodlands or any other of the wonderful scenes of nature.

Mercy of old indicates the expanse of Gods mercy is limitless, matchless, unlimited like looking into the horizon.

Giving troubles to God they lose their size and power.

In the context of God they are small.

You and God against troubles is a big advantage

In the movie Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet played by Keira Knightley begins to feel the pressure of realizing that she might have brushed away her soul mate and the now fleeting chance for love of her lifetime may be missed and she is also feeling a deepening aloneness which is facing off with her soul and then she seeks solace in nature and in scenes overlooking the vast and timeless coastlines and behind that really is a hope in the timeless love and mercy of the Lord somehow reaching into her present reality and also in this moment seeing the mercy present in herself and to herself.

In the book of Jeremiah Chapter 31 it says I have loved you with an everlasting love and this is really a timeless love and at the level of the soul that is so clearly unveiled in this psalm. The verse from chapter 31 verse 3 reads as follows,

3 The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying

Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with loving-kindness I have drawn you.

Here we see again mention of old which indicates that there is a timeless nature to this love and presence to the individual soul.

The key part in understanding this psalm comes from a related verse in psalm 79 where is says to send your tender mercies and this is something to ask for in prayer and also to know that as part of the Lords everlasting mercy and love, he has very specific tender mercies and tender loving kindnesses to give for specific temporal realities that you are facing right now.

Psalm 79 verse 8 says,

8 Oh, do not remember former iniquities against us! Let Your tender mercies come speedily to meet us, For we have been brought very low.

These mercies even though they are eternal, meet us in the present in speedy fashion and can be called upon. Part of the tender mercies does include the presence of swift angels. The mercy meets those even who have been brought low, in whatever ways it is possible to be brought low. The mercy meets them right where they are and in the deepest of trouble and in the deepest mire of sin.

This everlasting love and nature draws us, just like the timeless and seemingly endless beauty of nature, the woodlands, the coastlines draw us. That the Lord is drawn to a particular soul, shows the between the Lord and me nature of the relationship as His loving-kindness is drawn toward a particular soul, and if today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts as it says in psalm 95.

We are drawn to the mercy of Lord just as we are drawn towards nature as deep troubles begin to unfold yet we can grasp that the depths and wonders of nature outlast fleeting troubles and have a greater presence than our troubles. Someone who might say be having a particularly difficult time at work just be drawn to looking a say a flower as giving a sense of abiding relief and in the same way as trouble dawns the draw it towards the mercy of the Lord, timeless and of old and every present into the far future.

The mercy of the Lord is an infinitely greater Presence.

This mercy and grace is something that is made available.

In psalm 89 it says in verses 1 and 2,

1 I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations. 2 For I have said, Mercy shall be built up forever; Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens

The mercy of old is part of the faithfulness of the Lord to his people. It builds up, even forever. Mercy is for the building up of the individual and to all individuals even throughout the generations and is part of the faithfulness of the Lord that is established to the very heavens yet meets with the soul of cne person as it does here between David and the Lord and reveals secrets to the soul of David which indeed are further revealed in a special way in the psalms.

And a call can be made to these mercies of old even from the very present moment within distresses that indeed are real . These timeless mercies can indeed be called upon, that they appear to the specific troubles that you may have right now, troubles indeed that David was facing off with and squaring up with in this psalm in his present realities as he wrote this psalm.

Even as troubles mount, the Lord will visit you with mercy. The troubles that never did arrive are also part of the mercy that has been made available to you.

The square off, the face off, would be David against his troubles but with the Lord and his mercy and loving-kindness of old, the match takes and different proportion where it is the Lord and David against his troubles. Any trouble, no matter how enlarged it becomes to the soul, is small or minuscule in the overshadowing presence of the almighty Lord and his tender mercies and loving- kindnesses.

Shamefully, every one of the Sabbath-keeping Church of God groups shy away from being as blunt as God when it comes to speaking of races, families and nations, and always make blunted references to the “English-speaking peoples” as the descendants of Jacob-Israel. It appears the Church of God groups are more concerned with being friends of this world, receiving the approval of the politically correct, than daring to share the plain truth of the Bible - an ethnocentric book with its focus on the Family of Jacob-Israel!

Unlike such spiritual cowards, I'm determined to be as “racist” as God's Word teaches me to be to help explain what's going on and testify where it's leading if we fail to remember our Hebrew roots and biblical responsibilities.

Is the plain truth too strong? Not according to the Word and Will of God that commands we're to cry aloud and spare not! Not whisper to the world and preach to the choir, singing lullabies as the nation dies in its sleep!

We see the prophecies for the physical descendants of Israel and Judah coming true before our very eyes with militant minorities, with the tail wagging the dog, the animals running the farm, everything upside down and confused and out of order, an unnatural state of domestic and international affairs, with White Israelites maligned, hated, discriminated against and endangered by ungrateful Gentiles, as we've been ungrateful to our Great Creator God (Deuteronomy 28:43).

The brilliant Anglo-Saxon-Celtic influence and dominance in the United States and throughout the civilized world appears to be history for the forseeable future, with dire consequences for all mankind, as non-whites and/or Gentiles rise as we fall. (See Suicide–Or Murder? Kaufmann's Rise and Fall of Anglo-America).

Truly, these are the frightening times the Bible refers to as the beginning of sorrows, leading into the Time of Jacob's Trouble (there's that ethnocentric reference again, even though the whole world will suffer, God focuses on our family), the Great Tribulation - the Times of the Gentiles - that will demand divine intervention to save some Israelites and Jews alive!

We are the ethnic Elect, beloved for the fathers' Abraham, Isaac and Jacob's sakes, for whom the King of the Jews, the King of Israel, will specifically return to save and preserve from extinction! The GOOD NEWS is sent primarily to the Twelve Tribes of Israel and assures us of our NATIONAL DELIVERANCE, not just spiritual salvation. The Two Witnesses will testify to this truth before our captive audience.

The Plain Truth About Race And Responsibility
The English-Speaking Nations of White Israelites
BLACK DAY IN AMERICA: Obama Wins, America Loses

David Ben-Ariel is the Christian-Zionist author of Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall. Check out his Beyond Babylon blog.

Estimates are that about 9,500 people die per day in America. That means thousands of special services are carried on daily to honor the departed and ponder our own mortality. When celebrities or iconic figures die we are moved on a national scale to weigh our own brief stay on the planet. But what do we actually ponder and what questions does the death of icons provoke?

Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon are reported to be Catholic while Michael Jackson was a Jehovahs Witness and Walter Cronkite was an Episcopalian. Some who belong to these religions may feel assured that because of their respective religious affiliations all is well with each of them.

The Biblical view is that they may have ended up with God after death not because of their religion but in spite of it. The Bible view of salvation is quite explicit and involves no requirement to belong to any specific religion. While that may be a subject for another time it does well to remind ourselves of the thief on the cross who died next to Christ at the crucifixion.

The thief on the cross had no time to be baptized, join a religion or become familiar with scripture but Jesus promised him that he would be with him in paradise that very day. (Lk 23:43) The childlike faith that consented to the belief that Christ was not only innocent but that he was exactly who he was reported to be was all it took. That is still all it takes.

Religion and the faltering reasoning of mankind always create entrance requirements for heaven that is wrong. The Biblical view stands alone to correct this error. The most common belief is that God holds us up daily and places our lives and actions on an imaginary scale to see if our good out weigh our bads. This paints a picture of God that is ridiculous. He is not that frivolous.

In a phone conversation I had with an old friend in washington the day after Michael Jacksons death I was to surprised to hear my friend remark that Jackson must be OK with God because he gave to over 39 separate charities. Having been well taught in scriptures I was amazed to hear my friend use the imaginary scale in the sky idea to console him self about Jacksons death.

Was Jackson redeemed because of his giving and in spite of his connection to a religion that mainstream Christianity often views as a cult, or a life that may have left a lot to be desired? My answer is simply I havent a clue. If I knew Michael Jackson well enough to say whether he answered the all important Biblical question then I could say with perfect clarity where the soul of the pop icon is at this very moment. I will leave both the question and the answer in the hands of the Almighty for now and I will not presume.

The same rule applies in my thinking as it concerns the rest of the souls of the departed icons who have drawn our attention of late. Regardless of their religious affiliations or the lack of them I cant say that each of them did not have a moment in time when they asked the all important Biblical question in their own words and in their own way. Only God knows that.

Christians are so worried that Jackson may have slipped away without reckoning with God that they began to believe a rumor floating around the internet that famed singer Andre Crouch and his wife ministered the question to Jackson shortly before his death and he responded positively. A recent report in Charisma magazine dispelled the rumor with a categorical denial from Crouch that anything like that ever happened.

When lifes greatest difficulties are all around me and I ponder my own mortality and the brevity of life I always think on the great question. Yet it is not the question alone that stands as the great comforting thought in my darkest moments. It is the answer I chose to make well over four decades past. So what is the question?

As the Apostle Paul and his young disciple Timothy travelled through ancient Macedonia they stopped to preach the gospel in the city of Philippi. They were well received until they cast an evil spirit out of a young woman who was being used to make prognostications (fortune telling) for two men who made good money for themselves as a result. For this they were thrown into a prison where they were held in chains.

They filled the night with prayer and singing praises to God which resulted in a divine intervention. There was a brief earthquake and the prison doors all flew open. The Phillipian jailer knew that to allow even one prisoner to escape would cost him his own life under Roman law so he was about to kill himself instead of waiting for a sure public execution. Paul seeing what was about to happen called out to the warden and told him that everyone was still present and accounted for and that he should not harm himself.

The Philippian jailer was so moved by the events that he came in and threw himself at the feet of Paul and Timothy and cried Sirs, what must I do to be saved? (Acts 16:30) This question is to this day the most important question any human being can ask of God. It is the crux of any true relationship with God and it cannot be replaced by religious tenants, conscience giving or imaginary scales in the sky.

The answer given by Paul is the difference between eternal life and eternal separation from God. It is a question that neither regards a persons status in life, poverty or riches, fame or obscurity or any other condition. Paul said Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31) The jailer did believe and his wife and family followed suit.

In the quiet and deeply personal moments of anyones life this question is still paramount. It is the question of the ages with an eternal result. What would your answer be?

http://www.americanprophet.org is the place for news, articles, movie and book reviews and other insights for life. Rev Bresciani is a columnist for online and print publications and has over two million readers and counting. Download your copy of Rev Brescianis eBook An American Prophet and His Message absolutely free at Sword of the Spirit Publishing

The apostle Paul made the following statement in 2 Cor. 2:15-16, For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death to death, and to the other the aroma of life to life. And who is sufficient for these things? (NKJV) I like the phrase the fragrance of Christ. When I think of the word fragrance I think of that which has a pleasant smell " a flower out of the garden. But there are many wonderful fragrances when you live out in the country as I do. The smell of new mown hay, the smell of a cornfield in July on a late summer evening about dusk, the smell of the farm field after having just been turned over (plowed) in the spring. All evoke pleasant thoughts; arouse an inner peace and contentment, a satisfaction with Gods creation, and a comfort in knowing he is out there Lord over all his creation. Strange how smells can direct one to thoughts of God but then God created them that way. Nature is a witness of God (Rom. 1:20, also read Gods answer to Job beginning in Job 38).

If we are a Christian when we think of Christ the thought of him should have the same kind of effect on us as the aromas we have been talking about. It is pleasant to think about Christ. Like the pleasant smells of a country evening in late summer thoughts of Christ should bring a peace and contentment to our souls and they do, that is if Christ is in us and we are in him. When Paul preached Christ those who accepted Christ found the tree of life for Christ was and is that tree, a tree figuratively speaking, with pleasant blooms, a sweet fragrance of life, bearing as its fruit life itself.

But, as there are pleasant smells there are also unpleasant ones " the open sewer, the hog pen, skunks, decaying animals killed in the road, etc. From those we flee. Christ and his gospel are like the unpleasant offensive smell of death in those who are rejecting him. Ever wonder why some just do not want to hear it, the gospel? I am persuaded that deep down they know their guilt and their need but the desire is to live their life as they please (the Bible in the newer translations sometimes uses the phrase selfish ambition, or the word selfishness, or self-seeking with regards to a certain state of mind) and they thus harden their heart as they do not want to hear what they will not accept and that which condemns them.

To the one who hears the gospel and accepts it there is a sense of freedom, the conscience is made clean, and burdens are lifted as the song goes at Calvary. To the one who will not hear, does not want to hear, his view of Christ and his gospel is a message of enslavement, of the loss of personal freedom. Thus the fragrance of Christ is to the one party pleasantness while to the other offensive. One mans heart is hardened by the gospel of Christ while the other mans is softened and made tender but it is always a personal choice as to which it will be for either way we allow it.

In Eph. 5:2 the New King James version of the Bible talks of Christs sacrifice of himself for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. I think the International Standard Version states it best as far as the meaning of the passage goes when it says Christ gave himself for us as an offering and sacrifice, a fragrant aroma to God. That is to say God was pleased. He was satisfied. Christs sacrifice was sufficient.

The fragrance of Christ is the fragrance of life, of pleasantness. Each of us must choose either the fragrance of life or the fragrance of death. We get to choose which it will be. Moses, in speaking to the children of Israel in Deut. 30:19 spoke words that are applicable to us today as well. I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live. (NKJV) Why not choose Christ?

Visit Denny Smiths web site to read more of his articles and also listen to over 110 audio sermons on many different subjects from Where Are the Dead? to The Weavers Shuttle, to What Must I Do To Be Saved? The audio sermons are by a good friend of his, Waymon Swain. Why not visit his site now dennysmith.net? You are sure to find a sermon topic or article of interest.