The Rapture The Rapture of the Church is one of the most anticipated events ever looked for in Christianity. It is the next event sought for on the Christian calendar. Nothing needs to precede it but much needless confusion has surrounded it. M’aider Firstly, it is worth noting that then word Mayday has nothing to do with the spring festival held in the other hemisphere on the 1stof May, even though I have committed to doing a series on Prophecy in the month of May. Only wanted to use it as a memory construct. The word Mayday began to be used as the universal, verbal distress call of life threatening concern in 1927, it does over the radio what the SOS signal does over Morse Code. The word itself is the French word M’aider and is pronounced Mayday! It simply means “Help Me”. Over the radio it needs to be called three consecutive times to ensure it is a distress call. Mayday, Mayday, Mayday.  The signal is recognized around d the world, what better Title can be used for a world in distress. This Mayday series is in regard to what the Bible teaches is The Blessed Hope, also understood as a strange event known to us as The Rapture of the Church. Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. The Strangeness of The Doctrine The letter is one of the Pastoral Epistles, it is distinct from the letters written to different churches like Romans, and Corinthians, Ephesians, Galatians etc, it is written to a man, a pastor of a Church. Paul begins that chapter saying to Titus, “But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:” (Tit 2:1) “Sound doctrine”, the things that are true, all that will be needful to the Church, all that which will warn them, encourage them, challenge them and bless them.  Those things that will help them to grow, to focus on that which is needful and beneficial, that they might be witnesses of Christ in their manner of life, (v10) “that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.” These are some of the things Paul is advising the Godly man Titus, concluding with that which would draw the focus of the Church to encourage them  THE KEY VERSE IS “13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” The entire passage is one of encouragement, “That Blessed Hope”. The entomology of the word Blessed relates to happy, blissful, pleasant. And that is just how the word is used here. Beloved, the position I hold relating to the Rapture of the Churchis unabashedly Pre-Tribulational. I want to make certain that you do not need to get to the end of the MAYDAY series, through twists and turns deceptively trying to persuade you through subtilty before you understand what I am teaching.  The blessed and happy hope I am looking for is the appearing of the Lord JesusChristBEFORE the pouring out of Gods wrath upon a wicked world. The entire periodknown as the Tribulation, a period of seven years, is a period of Gods Wrath.  My desire is to teach what Paul is telling Titus; to preach the wonderful words of the Lord, to exhort with all long suffering of the dangers in this world, to preach the Gospel of Christ and always Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” But not all are Looking for that blessed, or happy hope. Some expect to go through misery before the coming of the Lord.  Dr Ed Hindson, the author of “Can We Still Believe in the Rapture”, was listening to an amillennial pastor friend preach a message on the second coming

PUT ON TRUTH In a day and age where the vast majority of people in the world consider truth as a personal preference rather than an absolute, it is important for us all to remember from where truth comes. So vital it is to attain truth, and then to retain truth in order for any person to ever proclaim truth. Put On Truth as we are to Put On Christ, for he alone is the way, the truth and the life. Put on Truth “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth…”  Ephesians 6:14 Introduction: In a previous message titled “Be Strong in the Lord” we saw that this exhortation comes at the commencement of our reading today which outlines what we commonly refer to as “The Armour of God”.  Today’s message is titled “Put on Truth” and Truth is the first piece of that armour.  Besides the fact that we are commanded to “put on the armour of God”, I have titled this message so because the principle of firstly putting OFF and then putting ON is one which is taught in several places throughout scripture. [turn to] The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ,and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. Romans 13:12-14 Before we get too far into our study, we should define TRUTH. During his trial Jesus is asked by Pilate what is probably one of the most important questions anybody could ask:  Jesus states that his purpose for coming; which was to bear witness to the truth; and to this Pilate [dare I say bluntly] replies: “Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.”  John 18:38 Sadly having the opportunity to have this question FULLY explained to him; he walks out: still in darkness.  We could [or more importantly, SHOULD] very well ask that question ourselves or better still ask of the one who said “I am the truth”.  It is becoming more and more apparent that we are living in a time when truth is fallen in the streets and the opposite is being taught as truth. There is at least one reason for this and it is simple: this world places far more importance on emotion and subjective experiences [which rely on interpretation]; emotions or feelings become their confirmation of truth: Yet they deny or even ignore objective reality. For the most part mankind has descended into a belief that truth is RELATIVE[you have your truth and I have mine] and in saying this, the belief is that:  THERE ARE NO ABSOLUTES.  THIS IS IN ITSELF A SELF-REFUTING STATEMENT  Those who make the definitive statement: “ There is no such thing as absolute truth”,  are making an absolute statement itself and are incapable of seeing the illogic of such a position.  And so to say that truth is relative is an absurditysince two truths CANNOT co-exist and still be true. In the study of logic we have what is known as “the law of no-contradiction”. An apple isn’t an orange and likewise and orange isn’t an apple; [I know I am being simplistic here] but this isn’t just a matter of semantics.  Yet when it comes to language and semantics [and actually defining truth] it seems those with a relativistic world view are experts at creating confusion.  God isn’t the author of confusion. Likewise, believers shouldn’t live in a state of confusion. When we talk of relativism; as believers we  are particularly concerned with the area of MORAL RELATIVISM ; this in contrast [or contradiction] to MORAL ABSOLUTES.  What we should also realize is that most people live according to the rule “seeing is believing” despite being blind to objective reality.  For example:  We all know that electricity exists even though we can’t see it

Saved by his life Question of eternal security One of the most fundamental questions asked by a Christians is “can I lose my salvation”. The question of eternal security is one of the most fundamental of all to those who have trusted in Christ for their salvation. How can a person know and understand that they are saved and that salvation is, from the moment of the new birth, until we are with the Lord in heaven, secured? Paul, from chapter verse 6 through to the end of chapter 5 goes into exquisite and clear detail as to how what we have come to believe concerning Christ is secure. Verses such as Romans 5:6-8 demonstrate the purpose of the death of Jesus Christ 6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8 Verses 9-10 then providing that declarative truth concerning the precious value of our state through his life.  9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.Romans 5:9-10 From verse 11 through to the end of the Chapter Paul presents a wonderful historical understanding of what Jesus did and how it all makes perfect sense. I pray the sermon is a blessing to you. Pr Edi

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Rejoice in Hope The passage we see given us in Romans 5:1-4 is one that should rejoice the hearts of all people, especially those who have taken Jesus Christ at his word and have been saved by their faith in the work that he did specifically for them on the cross. God made an opportunity for all people to be perfectly forgiven for their sin and wonderfully have their hope secured for everlasting life. This is why those who now have “peace with God”, actually “rejoice in hope” because of what Jesus had done for them. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.Romans 5:1-2 Who can comprehend the incredible joy that a person has now attained to? Peace with God? How many today can truly be comfortable to know this verse applies to them? How many can die in peace knowing that their sin is forgiven? That they are indeed justified? So great is this opportunity that this has become the very purpose of the lives of those who now rejoice in hope. Our purpose is to share the Gospel of this wonderful reality, this salvation, this peace. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope:Romans 5:3-4  Incredible to consider that even our trials and difficulties now have purpose, reason, real reason that, thought we don’t think so at the time, works within us to reveal a wonderful joy and reliance on the Lord Jesus Christ. Its the very reason we should have such joy that is evident to all people, that we might tell of the hope that is within us (1 Pet 3:15) Imagine what it is like to “Glory in tribulations”. Can anything now affect those who have peace with God? if we rejoice when things are well, what must it be like to rejoice also when things are difficult? But more, what must it be like to see it work within us an eternal as well as temporal benefit? Tribulations to Patience, and Patience to Experience, and Experience to Hope. And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. Romans 5:5  It’s indeed a hope that we shall never be ashamed of when it is revealed to us. But many there are who certainly will be ashamed, they have trusted in a vain hope, a hope that they have made their plans well this side of eternity, a hope that all things will be OK when they die. They will be ashamed when they have all their sin in life stand in that witness seat testifying against them before God, when all the books are opened and their names are not found in the most important book of all, the book of life. Why? Because they simply would not avail themselves of the gift of God, they would not believe Jesus died for their sin, but vainly thought they were ‘ok’ on their own. But to those who have trusted in God and the wonderful provision made for them, they have a hope they shall not be ashamed of, and they rejoice in it. I hope the message preached on this day is a blessing to you, and that one day you too might rejoice in hope if you do not already. Pr Edi Giudetti

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Eternity Bridged Eternity, a concept bridged here in this passage of the bible by a single conjunction, the word ‘Therefore’. What an incredible word and what a wonderful placement of it. What I desired to do in this message is to bring out both the value of a single word, and its placement in scripture, as well as an opportunity, through the sermon, to summarise what we have discovered in the journey through the book of Romans so far. The place we find ourselves in this portion of the book of Romans I think is important. It is at this junction that all that has gone before linkswith all that comes ahead.  A single word provides the bridge. It’s not an accident that this first word of Chapter five is directly after the last word of chapter four. “Therefore” When we see the word ‘therefore’ we should understand and know what it is there for! Here, the significance of this word, particularly its placement, is possibly the most important in all of scripture. We need to remind ourselves why the Lord Jesus Christ had to die, whyGod himself was manifest in the flesh, why the Bible was given by God to mankind; indeed, whyGod created the universe and all that there is therein, in the first place.  It is that God may have a personal relationship with man. If we don’t understand Gods reason for this entire creation , we won’t comprehend his motive for our salvation! What is difficult today is that most of the western world are being continually given ‘Bread and Circuses’. Cisero coined the phrase in the 1stcentury BC, referring to giving men just enough to live on, and keeping them amused enough so the reality of life would pass them by. We are entertained to death in the west, fiction and reality seems to merge to a point where it is hard to tell the truth. FICS-ALITY?  Wax models of Christians believe they are just as safe from the wrath of God as those that KNOW they are NOT Christians.  The book of ROMANS GIVES CLARITY to our reality. Therefore………being justified ………..by faith,……… we have peace with God …………through our Lord Jesus Christ!Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God Therefore being justified Therefore ALL THAT HAS GONE BEFORE THIS CONJUNCTION, this ETERNAL BRIDGE, speaks to us of the work GOD has done to reconcile SINFUL MAN, to HIMSELF.  ALL THAT HAS GONE BEFORE this junction, IS OF ABSOLUTE IMPORTANCE, as it is both the state of man apart from God and the CONDITION for which man may have PEACE WITH GOD! All that comes after this simple grammatical word,…well…is life everlasting! 1.   Therefore: Links What Is Told Before We find that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against ALL ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. (1:18)(Ch1), and that God will render to every man according to his deeds(Ch2), and we discover that we all come short of the Glory of God (Ch3). And then finally in chapter 4 we incredibly discover the solution to all our woes, that Righteousness shall be imputed (Credited) to us as it was to Abraham, “if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.”(Rom 4:24-25) Thereforebeing justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ! That was the summary, lets expand on it just a little for this first point. What was the Point? Therefore Links that Which Was Before.  Romans 1, The Wrath of God. The full case of God against man is rounded up explicitly in chapter one. It’s what is termed by Donald Grey Barnhouse 5 volume set on the book of Romans as “The Ruin of Man.” Chapter 1 demonstrates the potential, continuing depravity of man as he rejects that which has been revealed to him from heaven; as it is “the invisible things of him, from the creation of the worldare clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, the pass

What Saith The Scripture? Salvation, is it by works or by faith? This is the question addressed by Paul in this chapter and it is curious that there remains still so much confusion. The answer is plain, but many have sought to confuse the words in the chapter to make them not mean precisely what they say. What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? 2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereofto glory; but not before God. 3     For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Romans 4:1-3 There was a question asked the other day on a website called Quora. Question was “how can I know if I am believing a lie?”  Well that is the ultimate question,  how do you know if you are believing a lie?  The answer I gave related directly to the Bible,  because there is no other source of truth found in anything else.   In order to know if what you are believing is true you must have a standard by which everything can be measured.  Without this standard you have no ability to know if you are believing a lie.  The greatest question a person can ask is the question respecting everlasting life.   I don’t know anyone who does not want to go to heaven when they die. There is no other question greater than this, this is the question of all questions.  Second to this is the question of howyou can go to heaven when you die?  This question is the foundation of every religious system on Earth throughout history. If that is true then you can know that the vast majority of people in the world want to know how to get to heaven.  Perhaps that’s a good question to start a conversation.  Do you know if you’re going to go to heaven when you die?  Well, if most of the religions in the world through history, are created  by the people of the world to answer this question,  you might find the majority of peopleyou ask will also want to know the answer to this question.   Many are the variations which men have devised that might give answers to how one is to attain to everlasting life,  but each of them boil down to one of two methods. WorksFaith Is it by works or faith? The world is divided in opinion but its not an even split,  by far all the world believes works will save them. only biblical Christianity teaches that it is by faith in the works of Jesus Christ that will save.   Nevertheless only one of these two options can be true, both cannot be true because they are opposed to one another.  Either a man is justified by the works of the law or by faith.  How then can we know that we are believing is a lie or is true? Do we get to heaven by works Or is it through faith in the Works of Jesus Christ? How can we know? What standard are we to employ? Paul provides the answer in verse three: For what saith the scripture?  But he begins the passage with the question in the first verse Romans chapter 4 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? Abraham is the beginning of the Hebrew Nation.  All Israel count this man as righteous,  but how did he attain to this righteousness?  That’s what Paul is asking. What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? Paul then follows on with the statement 2     For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereofto glory; but not before God. Certainly if Abraham is justified by works he would have we’re off to glory.  If it were possible for any man to be justified by works Abraham would be that man.  You recall that God have asked Abraham to sacrifice his own son and Abraham immediately obeyed.  The Jews hold this man in great esteem, because his works were great.  In fact many believe that’s because of the righteous works of Abraham they too may be saved claiming his righteousness.  But as we recognized last week man’s righteousness can only cou

Justice Established Through Fait Pr Edi Giudetti 24-03-2019 If you have ever worked on a jigsaw puzzle you find that there is a basic strategy that needs to be first employed if you have any chance at completing the puzzle in good time. That begins with finding one of the four pieces that forms the corners of a square or rectangular jigsaw puzzle.  Once you have those four pieces in place, everything works together to fill in the rest of the jigsaw. There are times when some of the most profound and greatest questions in Christianity need answering first, and once answered all the other questions seem to find their rightful place. The question of why salvation can only be attained by faith is one of those questions, and Paul begins to reveal the answer to us in the following chapters beginning here in Romans 3 and hitting the ground running from verse 21. The Blessed Exclusion 21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 3:21-23 Imagine for a moment that verse 20 was the end of the matter and now there is nothing more to be said but all of mankind rightly condemned before God. Respecting God, theyknow him evidentiallythrough the knowledge of Creation, that “that which may be known of God is manifest in them for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made” (Rom 1:19-20) And that they are inexcusable to know of the righteousness of his Law“for wherein thou judgest another thou condemnest thyself: for thou that judgest doest the same things” (Rom 2:1). Their hypocrisy therefore testifying a confession before the very law they reject! And then leaving us with that last verse in verse 20   “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Imagine it being left there, what now would become of man? We speak often about the value of words in the Bibleand how each and every word is placed there on purpose, I guess the only way of wondering the of the value of certain words is the consideration of what it would mean if some words were NOT there?  “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” And there it stops! Where would we now be? what will become of man? Will Job ever have an answer to his own question? Job 9:2-3 2 I know it is so of a truth:But how should man be just with God?3 If he will contend with him,He cannot answer him one of a thousand. And that wonderful Song of Degrees in Psalm 130:3 If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? None is the answer, none could stand and what now? If there is no sacrifice for sin, what now other than, “But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.” as the Apostle to the Hebrews wrote (Heb10:27) Paul refers to this again when speaking to the Corinthians of the lack of Hope, if Christ be not raised, and its logical consequence if there is no answer to Job and no Answer to Davidfor who shall stand saying; And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 1 Cor 15:17-19 Indeed, if that be so for the case of man what else is there for man to do but to take his fill with sin, to eat and to drink for tomorrow we die? O but what wonderful anticipation we have when we see the words begin in verse 21; 21 But now….but now….but now the righteousness of God

Every Mouth Stopped What happens to us when we run out of excuses? What happens if every excuse only furthers the evidence of guilt? That is the state of all people today, Romans 1 and 2 condemns all of mankind based on what they are expected to know and that, based on what is revealed to them externally and internally, so that every mouth may be stopped and all the world guilty before God. Externally is the evidence that God is, “For the invisible things of him are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made” Rom 1:20 There are a total of eleven rhetorical questions posed by the apostle Paul from verse 1 to 20. Questions that are designed to pre-empt any error relating to how it is that a soul is saved by God, but also to ensure that the errors considered in light of the simplicity of salvation, is dealt with from the beginning. Last week we dealt with the Jew and what logical advantage he has in light of the fact that he too is in the same predicament as the gentile respecting his lost condition.  If the Jew is also lost, then “What advantage hath the Jew…?”. Now the question arise with regard to faith, consider The Law is True in Spite of Faith 3For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? 4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.  Paul denies the notion that the faithlessness of some “make the faith of God without effect” For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? In other words, it is not your faith that determines the truth of a matter.  Your level of faith, or what you believe is true, has no bearing on the reality of Gods work and all he has promised. What he has determined is true, is trueirrespective of whether or not you believe it is true. Let me provide a couple of examples going from what many Lost people believe is true to what a believer might also believe is true. THE LOST STATEMENT 1: “I don’t believe God exists”. The Bibles says “The fool hath said in his heart there is no God”.  The atheist seems to have unwittingly made a declaration concerning himself. Nevertheless, saying you do not believe God exists is immaterial to his existence. God either exists or he does not exist irrespective of a persons faith concerning him.  The only difference is that what you believe concerning God has very serious consequences if you are wrong. Not so much for the believer.  Here we come to an idea called ‘Pascals Wager’. Blaise Pascal was a 17thCentury French Philosopher and mathematician who proposed an argument that was quite persuasive and also quite logical respecting its outcome concerning Faith in God. In short he said it is wiser to gamble that God does exist than that God does not due to what might be referred to as a “Risk / Reward” analysis.  What is my risk if I bet that he does exist compared to my reward. What is my risk if I bet that he does notexist compared to my reward. There are six quick points to Pascals Wager, In short Pascal claims that;  God either is or is not, reason alone cannot determine it. (NB: According to Pascal, not Romans 1)A game is being played where heads or tails will turn up.You must wager (This is not optional)Weigh the gain or loss in waging that God is. There are two chances, if you gain, you gain all. (In other words, if God is you gain everything, and its value is infinite.) But if you lose, and God is not, you lose nothing. (More accurately, your loss is limited or finite.)Wager then that he is!If you cannot believe, work with all diligence to believe.  Risk Reward Explained If you wager he is, the cost of the wager is finite, the gain infinite.If you wager he is not, the gain (whatever that is) is finite but the loss is infinite. Essentially this is a one way

The Advantage  What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profitis thereof circumcision? 2Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.Romans 3:1-2 Advantage Assumed 1What advantage then hath the Jew? Paul makes a particular claim that the Jews are expected to have an advantage. “What advantage then hath the Jew…” Within the question we can’t help but the notice the expectation of it; Why else would Paul ask such a rhetorical question but in anticipationfor what many would also be asking? “What advantage then hath the jew…?” PERSONAL ANECDOTE In my early life BC, there was nothing I desired more than to have an advantage. Not just a small advantage I wanted a huge advantage. The advantage I sought for was nothing less that the answers to the questions that would lead me to the most fulfilled and prosperous life I could ever hope to attain. Naturally, as a BC man, there was nothing I thought that could fill that desire better than the attainment of wealth, material wealth. It was therefore to that that I sought the Advantage. Imagine if you would, finding a book that might do that! A book that would give the greatest advantage to the life all people seek after.  “Surely it must be hidden” I thought, “The book must be hidden, and it must be old”. I scoured many bookshops looking for that sacred book of advantage, and there it was. I found it located in an airport lounge business section.  “The Greatest Salesman in the World” by Og Mandino.  I devoured that book, finished it in a day. It had such an impact on me that I even felt richer by just reading it. Maybe there is another book that can make me feel rich! Lo and behold there it was, in the hidden alcoves of a city newsagent; ‘Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill So, I thought about being rich every day, and I felt rich and started working in my own effort to get the possession of it. “More, there must be more books to find that I might get an advantage”and I wondered where I might go. A man can into my Pizza business and started drawing circles, before I knew it I was selling Amway TO GET AN ADVANTAGE! I joined the book of the Month Club and just kept reading. “How to win friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie“The Road Less Travelled” By Scott M Peck“The Richest Man in Babylon” Another book By my favorite author Og Mandino “The power of Positive thinking” By Norman Vincent Peele‘Seven Habits of Highly effective People” By Stephen Covey “Surely, surely now I had the advantage, surely now I will gain the affluence that I desired….” AND I KEPT WORKING AND DREAMING You know, I’m not alone in my desire to get an advantage. In fact, the entire world does so. Every business on earth that has begun by an entrepreneur has its success dependent upon any advantage it can have over its competitors. Sports teams bid for the best players to get an advantage; Career people do all they can to get an advantage From Fashion magazines to toilet paper manufacturers, all look for an advantage. (Apologies for linking those two…completely unintentional) War machines were built to get an advantage. Arm to arm, then sword to sword, bow from a distance until Gun Powder created the greatest advantage. Cannon, air force, guided missiles and now even drones. We go to such extents to get an advantage that we would even defame our own names to do so. This is the desperate way we strive for it. We cheat in exams to get a result advantageWe steal to attain a possessional advantageWe cheat on our taxes to get financial advantageThink of what you are doing every time you lie….. Positive and negative are the means we seek to gain an advantage and we all desire it. So Paul asks, “What advantage then hath the Jew, or what profit is their of circumcision?” Indeed, if it’s true that he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the

Witnessed Against Ourselves Pr Edi Giudetti 04-03-2019   The Witness of Conscience 11 For there is no respect of persons with God. 12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; 13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. 14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) 16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.Romans 2:11-16 It’s quite difficult to have a conscience that witnesses against you. Your own conscience bares testimony and you are the guilty party. You essentially become a Witness Against  Yourself, which is the title of this message. In 1966 a man by the name of Ernesto Miranda confessed to and was therefore found guilty of kidnapping and rape by an Arizona court and sentenced to 20-30 years of prison. That same year his attorney stated that Ernesto Miranda’s confession for his crimes should be struck out, as proper warnings and procedures should have been given him to ensure he understood his rights under the fifth amendment of the Bill of Rights in the US. The State supreme court held up the original ruling and Ernesto remained behind bars. His attorney then appealed to the US Supreme Court who ruled 5-4 in favor of Ernesto Miranda.  Chief Justice Earl Warren on July 13th1966, writing for the majority opinion, stated that  “without proper safeguards, the process of in-custody interrogation of persons suspected or accused of crime contains inherently compelling pressures which work to undermine the individual’s will to resist and to compel him to speak where he would otherwise do so freely.”[1] From that ruling came the standard reading of an arrested persons rights prior to interrogation by the Police in the United states. The readings we see when watching any US movie of Cops and Robbers, are called The Miranda Rights. In short, the Miranda Rights are protections against Self Incrimination. What are we to say when our own conscience bears witness against us? Lets consider the passage 11 For there is no respect of persons with God. It will not be your skin colour, the country you were born in or the priveledges life has offered you. It will not be the level of education you attained or the income level you had or did not have. No matter if you are poor or rich, slave or a freeman. It will not be how many of the hungry of the world you have fed, how many people in the third world you have helped come out of poverty. Whether you are a King or a Priest, a Soldier or a Poet, a Peasant or an Artisan, there is no respect of persons with God.  Why? 12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; All have sinned and come short of the glory of God and that is regardless of whether or not you were able to find out about the written and specific Law of God or not.  You say this seems rather unfair! How can a man be rightly judged without the law just as those with the Law? Well you might have been right unless you would read the explanation in parenthesis found in the next verses.  13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. 14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughtsthe mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)