Not of This World

YBible

Not of This

World

The truths of the Bible are contrary to the desires of mankind.  

People want riches. Jesus said:

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 

No man can serve two masters… Ye cannot serve God and mammon (money). - Matthew 6:24

 People want pleasure. Jesus said:

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. - Matthew 16:24

He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. - John 12:25

People are prideful. Jesus said:

And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. - Matthew 23:12

People want fame. Jesus said:

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? - Mark 8:36

False teachers desire these things using Jesus’ name, He warned about them also:

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. - Matthew 7:15

The Bible is Not of This world

15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. - 1 John 2:15-17

Jesus said:

I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. - John 17:14

Otherworldly Bible Truth

The Trinity (Godhead)

God interacts with the universe by three persons (The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost/Spirit), each can be separate in thought and location but all three are one God. This is the doctrine of the Trinity and it is beyond human comprehension, even otherworldly.

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. - 1 John 5:7

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. - John 1:1 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.. - John 1:14 (Jesus)

The universe and everything in it is comprised of three parts.

Water: Ice, liquid and vapor.

Sunlight: Visible, ultraviolet and infrared.

Atom: Proton, neutron and electron.

Universe: Time, space and matter.

Even you have a spirit, soul and body. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

Salvation is by faith without works, works are the result not the cause.

The worlds religions including Catholicism teach that heaven is earned based on your good works and behavior. The bible teaches salvation is only by the grace of God, a gift that cannot be earned because even our good isn’t really good. Good works result from from salvation not the other way around.

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. - Ephesians 2:8-10

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.. - Titus 3:5

Mankind is basically evil, not good. Our own body (the flesh) is opposed to the truths of God.

They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. - Romans 3:12 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; - Romans 3:23

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. - Romans 7:18 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other.. - Galatians 5:17

Heaven is otherworldly.

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. - 1 Corinthians 2:9

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. - Revelation 21:4

The universe was created perfectly, without death and suffering, our sin brought these into the world.

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: - Romans 5:12

Our lives here are but a vapor and nothing compared to eternity.

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. - James 4:14

The majority always end up deceived, and few are saved.

13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. - Matthew 7:13-14

There will only ever be true world peace when Jesus returns.

And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. - Micah 4:3 

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. - Isaiah 11:6

God will hit the reset button on our universe someday. God didn’t create the world this way and He won’t allow it to last much longer.

10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. - 2 Peter 3:10-13

For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. - Isaiah 65:17

The Goodness of God

Those who attack the Bible often do so by citing examples of war and God’s justice in the Old Testament, but they never show you the goodness of God.

Old Testament

Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. - Deuteronomy 10:19

Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: - Proverbs 3:3

thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself... - Leviticus 19:18

...the meek shall inherit the earth... - Psalms 37:11

The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. - Psalms 34:18

And oppress not the widow, nor the father-less, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. - Zechariah 7:10

...for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. - 1 Samual 16:7

New Testament

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. - Matthew 22:37-40

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? - 1 John 4:20

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. - Matthew 5:16

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you, - Matthew 5:44

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. - Galatians 5:22-24

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Do unto others what you would want them to do unto you.

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. - Matthew 7:12

The Bible Vs. the Bible

I'm talking about the Bible's transparency when it comes to its authors’ and leading figures’ failures, weaknesses, and sins. Over and over, the authors of the Bible avoid the temptation to cast themselves, the fathers of the faith (e.g., Abraham or Moses), or their own people (the Israelites) in good light. This is surprising to first time readers of the Bible.

Have you ever gone to a website, maybe for a company or charity, and clicked the “About Us” button? There's nearly always a carefully-crafted, glowing overview of what that company, political organization, or religious group is about. If they have an “Our History” button or “Our Founder” button, again you nearly always get a favorable overview of the founder. You never read that the founder is an adulterer or has a criminal record—for obvious reasons. Well, not so with the Bible! Again and again, the Biblical writers are very transparent, very forthright, about the failures, weaknesses, downfalls, and sins of its leading characters and even its authors. Does this prove the Bible is trustworthy? No. But I think this transparency helps strengthen the case that the Bible appears to be an honest work. Allow me to remind you of some transparent details we read about in the Bible. We read of...

• Noah getting drunk shortly after getting off the ark (Genesis 9:21) 

• Abraham lying (on more than one occasion) about Sarah being his sister (Genesis 12:13, 20:2) 

• Moses’s murder of a man in Egypt (Exodus 2:11–12), his outburst of anger in the wilderness, how he misrepresented God and as a result wasn’t allowed to enter into the Promised Land (Numbers 20:10-12). Who wrote the books of Exodus and Numbers where these matters are explained? Moses. He tells us about his failures and sins in his own writings. These sound like the words of someone who was committed to communicating the truth. 

• The nation of Israel rejecting God on numerous occasions to worship other false gods (e.g., the Book of Judges). What nation did God use to write down the Scriptures? Israel (the Jews). Is this the kind of thing they would make up about themselves? How unfaithful they were to the very God who saved them from their slavery in Egypt? I don't think so. 

• David’s adultery with Bathsheba and subsequent murder of her husband Uriah (2 Samuel 11) 

• Jesus called Peter "Satan" (Mark 8:33) 

• Peter denying he knew Jesus, after promising he would never do such a thing (Matthew 26:33ff) 

• The time Paul had to rebuke Peter for his fear of being seen eating with Gentiles (Galatians 2:11-12) 

• The disciples' prideful argument over which one of them was the greatest (Luke 22:24) 

• The disciples falling asleep when Jesus asked them to pray (Mark 14:32-41) 

• The disciples running away to save their own necks when Jesus was arrested (Mark 14:50)...not to mention Peter cutting off the ear of the priest’s servant a short time earlier, swiftly drawing a rebuke from Jesus (John 18:10) 

• Paul's confession that he was “a wretched man” (Romans 7:24) and the “chief” of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15) 

• Paul and Barnabas's argument over Mark being allowed to travel with them (Acts 15:37-39)

I could go on. Question for you: Do these sound like the words of men who were lying?

Not at all. And if you add to this evidence the fact that these men imparted to the world the highest standards of conduct the world has ever seen, the case is only strengthened.