MYTH #26-To Jesus salvation is all about heaven!

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The emphasis upon salvation throughout the years tends to over focus on salvation as the channel or gateway to heaven. This has become an overriding theme in Christianity and yet is a myth. Salvation is so much more than a gateway to heaven or eternal life.
In the Old Testament Scriptures the concept of Shalom is a primary theme. Shalom is where people experience a peaceful and satisfying relationship with every aspect of life. Shalom encompasses the idea of peace, well-being, prosperity, and the experience of God's blessings. Everywhere in the Old Testament, peace and prosperity are seen as God's reward to those whose ways are pleasing to Him. In Proverbs 16:7 it says: "When a man's ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him." And in Psalm 128:1-2 it says: "Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways. You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours." Where "salvation" or "saved" is used in the Old Testament, it is in a "quite concrete" sense that "covers more than spiritual blessings," such as deliverance from earthly enemies, well-being and "the effect of God's goodness on his people". This sense of an all-embracing salvation is continued in the New Testament, even though the more spiritual aspect of forgiveness of sin receives a stronger emphasis today.

Jesus speaks of a wider sense of what salvation means. In Luke 7:50, Jesus says to the "sinful woman" regarding forgiveness of her sins, "Your faith has saved you", and in Mark 10:52 He uses the same Greek word for the blind man to imply restoration of sight. In Mark 5:28, He uses "saved" with a double meaning when he told the woman who had been suffering from bleeding, "Daughter, your faith has healed you, go in peace and be freed from your suffering." The word "healed" there is the word for "salvation". So, physical healing and spiritual salvation are found in the same term. Jesus didn't separate the physical from the spiritual.

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MYTH #25-Jesus requires all to say the sinner's prayer!

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Since the 1950's most of evangelical Christianity has nearly totally embraced a theological concept that has come to be known as the "Sinner's Prayer." There are so many varieties of what this prayer is, but basically it is a prayer event where a person acknowledges he/she is a sinner and needs the Savior. Many believe Jesus requires that everyone must pray such a prayer in order to have salvation. That simply is not true. It's a myth!
One of the first questions that must be asked is, "Where is the sinner's prayer in Scripture?" It's just not there. There are two that have become most popular. One is the scene in Luke 18:9-14. It's where Jesus tells a parable where two men are observed praying-one a sinner and the other a religious Pharisee. Let's look at it: And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. "The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' "But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!' "I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."

This is a great comparison between a humble sinner and a prideful Pharisee, but it is not a universal special prayer that somehow must be prayed for salvation. Jesus just doesn't mean it for that reason.

The second common passage used to illustrate what a sinner's prayer might look like is in Revelation 3:20: 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.' Although this has a great imagery to it, the context for this verse has to do with those who are already believers, but they are not fellowshipping with Jesus-maybe not walking with Him as He would like.

The damage of believing there is some sort of magical happening or prayer that one prays that will automatically bring about salvation is to miss what salvation is all about. You might call it "accepting Christ" or "meeting Christ" or "receiving Jesus as your personal Savior", but this just isn't what Jesus taught.

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MYTH #24-Satan doesn't believe Jesus is the Son of God!

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This is a very different myth, but well worth tracking. There was a great challenge in the beginning to spread the Good News of Jesus to the Jewish and non-Jewish cultures. Jesus was not from a traditional school. Everyone was astonished at the authority with which Jesus taught. He didn't quote anyone. 
The authority, authenticity and attractive perspective on old truths and traditions were awesome and revolutionary. It was so different from what they had been taught.

Endless questioning and debating followed Jesus everywhere. Everyone had an opinion on Jesus' identity. Even the disciples had a sense of doubt and timidity about what they really thought about this Jesus. They were a work in progress, for sure.

But in the midst of all of this questioning and discussion about who this new Rabbi Jesus was, there is a group who already and always knew the true identity of Jesus. This group is so unlikely. That's why I call it a myth. The groups are energized and serve as emissaries of Satan. Satan does believe Jesus is the Son of God.

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MYTH #23-Christ is Jesus' last name!

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This myth is a simple one. We so often refer to Jesus as JESUS CHRIST that it seems like Christ is Jesus' last name. Well, it isn't. That is a myth-a common misunderstanding. The debunking process is very simple-that is, Christ is Jesus' title. It is best translated as "the Christ" or "the Messiah".
Now in order to work our way through this myth I think it's best to examine the title, CHRIST, and then the name, JESUS. FIRST-The term "Christ" literally means to anoint-to rub or smear a symbolic oil or ointment on someone to establish a person in an official position. In the Hebrew culture there were three major offices among the people of Israel-prophet, priest and king. Each of these official positions were filled with people who were anointed-sort of set apart unto the God of gods. These three offices were quite distinct. The prophet spoke God's words to the people-representing God to man. The priest offered sacrifices, prayers and praises to God on behalf of the people-representing man in the presence of God. The king ruled over the people as God's representative on earth-representing the original dominion of man. Each person who was anointed was functioning as a servant of God.

Although these three anointed positions were distinct and exercised by different people in the Old Testament, they are all three united in the one person of the coming Messiah-the Christ. All three are fulfilled and brought to an ultimate conclusion in the Christ. The Christ-the anointed one-was to be God's servant-the Son of Man.

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MYTH #22-Jesus sent Paul primarily to the Gentiles!

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This myth is so common and is so easily debunked that it becomes a tester for whether or not we are really paying attention to the words of Jesus as recorded in the Gospel writings. How is it possible to have the words of Jesus clearly written, not requiring any linguistic or cultural interpretation, to be so misunderstood and mis-taught? Yet we are finding these kinds of myths all around us. 

The greatest damage comes when those who are freshly searching out the teachings and principles of Jesus discover that the traditional teachings don't match up with what Jesus actually did and said. In fact, there is such an undercurrent of concern within Christianity right now over losing the youth. This has been called the last Christian generation and I think there is great reason for this concern. It's because of teaching and holding to the many man-made traditions and teachings that just cannot be established by a simple reading of the life of Jesus. What's lacking is authenticity. This is why we continue to work our way through the many myths that have developed over the years.

This myth has a couple of dimensions. The first dimension is the traditional division that says Peter was sent to the Jews and Paul was sent to the gentiles. That's even the way I was taught how to divide the book of Acts. Acts 1-8 was about Peter and 9-28 was all about Paul.

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