The book Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow became the basis for the Tony-award-winning music Hamilton. Author Ron Chernow served as the historical consultant for the play.
There’s a story in Chernow’s book about Alexander Hamilton and someone’s misperception of him that made me laugh out loud. It serves as a classic illustration of how perception is not always reality.
Before I get to the anecdote, think about your life for a moment.
Your perception becomes your reality, often with disastrous consequences.
Author Gregory Berns states in his book Iconoclast, “Perception is the brain’s way of interpreting ambiguous visual signals in the most likely explanation possible. These explanations are a direct result of past experience.”
We filter our minds to often believe what we fear, think we perceive, or terribly desire, often missing the reality or the truth.
A glance away can be interpreted as a cold shoulder from a friend, a shoulder which may actually be warm toward you.
Words spoken with passion by a friend or co-worker are interpreted as anger, an emotion that may not be present in the speaker.
An attitude you “pick up on” in your spouse may trigger a negative response from you, puzzling the one who knows you best.
That is how our perceived world becomes our real world. And sometimes we make poor decisions because we’re living in a false reality.
The Boston Tea Party
Let me illustrate for you.
Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant from St. Croix, entered King’s College (now Columbia University), New York City, in the fall of 1773. The Boston Tea Party occurred in Boston on December 16, 1773, shortly after Hamilton completed his first semester at King’s Collge as an eighteen-year-old. In the Boston Harbor, American Colonists revolted the against English Parliament by casting barrels of English tea overboard. The Americans were enraged at the Tea Tax and showed their outrage by throwing the tea overboard, shouting “no taxation without representation.”
Tensions increased between the American Colonists and the King of England after the Tea Party. Americans desiring Independence as a country were called Patriots, and those colonists who were loyalists to King George of England we called Tories). Some English politicians who served in the English Parliament in London wished to destroy the city of Boston as punishment for the Tea Rebellion and “turn it into a modern Carthage.”
On July 6, 1774, six months after the Boston Tea Party, collegian Alexander Hamilton went to The Commons (now City Hall Park) and climbed a “box” to speak to the crowd which had gathered. The Commons regularly hosted impromptu political speeches, debates, and news, and New Yorkers gathered regularly to keep informed. This was Hamilton’s first public speech. He started slowly and quietly, but words began to flow more quickly and passionately as Hamilton eloquently defended the Patriots of Boston and stated his logical, legal, and civil arguments for American Independence.
After listening to nineteen-year-old Hamilton’s stirring speech, the crowd began to whisper “It is a collegian!”
That speech marks the beginning of Hamilton’s meteoric rise as one of America’s Founding Fathers.
On April 19, 1775, less than a year after Hamilton’s speech, British soldiers killed 8 colonists at Lexington and 2 more at Concord, and the American Revolutionary War began.
Hamilton was still a student at King’s College when the Revolutionary War began.
Dr. Myles Cooper
The President of King’s College, Myles Cooper, had been known as the most vocal Tory in New York. Dr. Cooper despised the rebels who wished to throw off English authority, and he made known his opposition to American Independence as often as possible. In December 1773, President Cooper had admitted the autodidactic Hamilton into King’s College as an “exception” to the typical college entrance requirements.
For that grace and for other reasons, Alexander Hamilton looked on President Cooper “as a father to me.”
But Alexander Hamilton’s vocal support of the American Patriots which began on July 6, 1774, and continued through his erudite essays published in the King’s College newsletter caused President Cooper to wrongly believe Alexander Hamilton had become his enemy.
That was Myles Cooper’s perception, and thus his reality.
This leads us to the anecdote of how false reality can harm you. Five days after Lexington and Concord, an anonymous pamphlet appeared in New York blaming Myles Cooper and four other “obnoxious gentlemen” for the deaths of American Patriots in Massachusetts. Listen to Ron Chernow recount what happened next (emphasis mine).
On April 24, a huge throng of patriots, some eight thousand strong, massed in front of City Hall. While radicals grew giddy with excitement, many terrified Tory merchants began to book passage for England. The next day, an anonymous handbill blamed Myles Cooper and four other “obnoxious gentlemen” for the patriotic deaths in Massachusetts and said the moment had passed for symbolic gestures, such as burning Tories in effigy. “The injury you have done to your country cannot admit of reparation,” these five Loyalists were warned. “Fly for your lives or anticipate your doom by becoming your own executioners.” This blatant death threat was signed, “Three Millions.’ A defiant Myles Cooper stuck to his college post.
After a demonstration on the night of May 10, hundreds of protesters armed with clubs and heated by a heady brew of political rhetoric and strong drink descended on King’s College, ready to inflict rough justice on Myles Cooper. Hercules Mulligan recalled that Cooper “was a Tory and an obnoxious man and the mob went to the college with the intention of tarring and feathering him or riding him upon a rail.” Nicholas Ogden, a King’s alumnus, saw the angry mob swarming toward the college and raced ahead to Cooper’s room, urging the president to scramble out a back window. Because Hamilton and Troup shared a room near Cooper’s quarters, Ogden also alerted them to the approaching mob. “Whereupon Hamilton instantly resolved to take his stand on the stairs [i.e., the outer stoop] in front of the Doctor’s apartment and there to detain the mob as long as he could by a harangue in order to gain the Doctor the more time for his escape,” Troup later recorded.
After the mob knocked down the gate and surged toward the residence, Hamilton launched into an impassioned speech, telling the vociferous protesters that their conduct, instead of promoting their cause, would “disgrace and injure the glorious cause of liberty.” One account has the slightly deaf Cooper poking his head from an upper-story window and observing Hamilton gesticulating on the stoop below. He mistakenly thought that his pupil was inciting the crowd instead of pacifying them and shouted, “Don’t mind what he says. He’s crazy!” Another account has Cooper shouting at the ruffians: “Don’t believe anything Hamilton says. He’s a little fool!” The more plausible version is that Cooper had long since vanished, having scampered away in his nightgown on Ogden’s warning.
Hamilton likely knew he couldn’t stop the intruders, but he won the vital minutes necessary for Cooper to clamber over a back fence and rush down to the Hudson. Afraid for his life, Cooper meandered along the shore all night. The next day, he boarded a man-of-war bound for England, where he resumed his tirades against the colonists from the safety of a study. Among other things, he published a melodramatic poem about his escape. He told how the rabble—“a murderous band”—had burst into his room, “And whilst their curses load my head / With piercing steel they probe the bed / And thirst for human gore.” This image of the president set upon by bloodthirsty rebels was more satisfying than the banal truth that he cravenly ran off half-dressed into the night. Cooper never saw Hamilton again and wept copiously when England lost the Revolution. He could not resist grumbling in his will that “all my affairs have been shattered to pieces by this abominable rebellion.”
Chernow, Ron. Alexander Hamilton (p. 63-64). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
“Don’t mind what he says, he’s crazy!” Dr. Cooper had yelled about the man trying to save him.
Dr. Cooper’s false reality almost cost him his life.
May God grant us all the grace to recognize that our perceptions are sometimes wrong, and our false realities can lead to catastrophes.
Wade,
GREAT POST!
It reminded me of my brother, Hez’s ‘Tea party’. He had remodeled a house in the country that he planned to rent. It was across the road from an abandoned house that was partly burned. He didn’t know it caught on fire when police raided the place, and the people that were selling drugs accidently set it on fire while they were trying to get rid of their drugs.
Hez was shocked when the druggies got out of jail and set up business again. He found out who owned the house and was the head ‘drug lord’. Hez told him his problem, and asked if he could move the house. He agreed and told him of a place that he liked better. Hez got him to sign a paper giving him permission to move it.
Hez had a meeting of the farmers and told them his plans. Some had children who had died in that house, and had tried many years to get rid of it.
Hez talked to a TV station, and told them of farmers having their own ‘Boston Tea Party’. The TV station filmed the farmers smashing the house with a bulldozer, and hauling it away on trucks and wagons.
Several people told Hez the Drug Lord would put a bomb in his house. One night after everyone had gone to bed, he and his son heard nocking, but no one was at the door. He turned the lights off and they crawled around on their knees. His daughter heard them and asked what was going on. She wanted to call the police, but he said no.
She went back to bed and after a while, came back laughing. Said she would stop her husband from snoring by knocking on the headboard of the bed. End of story.
Well, that wasn’t the real end. The Drug Lord never retaliated even though he had to pay to have his house moved to a landfill.
Wade,
FRANCE SHOULD NOT COMPLAIN
JFK’s Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in France in the early 60’s when DE Gaulle decided to pull out of NATO. DE Gaulle said he wanted all US military out of France as soon as possible. Rusk replied, “Does that include those who are buried there?”
There was a conference of Admirals from America, England, Canada, Australia, and France. Everyone was speaking English when a French Admiral complained why was only the English language being spoken rather than French? An American said, “Maybe it’s because we all arranged it so you wouldn’t have to speak German.”
Robert Whiting was 83 when he arrived in Paris at the French Customs. It took him several minutes to find his passport which upset the customs officer. He sarcastically asked, “Have you been to France before?”
“Yes, I have.”
“Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.”
“The last time I was here, I didn’t show one.”
“Impossible, Americans have to show their passport on arrival in France.”
“When I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, not one Frenchman asked me for a passport.”
Rex, you truly have the BEST stories. Write a book about your life.
REX RAY,
writing a book about your own life would be a ‘best-seller’ . . . I can only imagine the terrific reviews from editors you would get
it’s a GOOD idea! Think about it! – if nothing more, tape record your ‘story’ so that it is on record; once you have ‘spoken’ your story, then just write the words you spoke down and it will be ‘in your own voice’
Wade is right. Great idea, this! 🙂
Wade and CHRISTIANE,
THANKS. I’m planning on writing a book
Dear folks who write and read here, this:
at sundown, the Church begins the observance of the Tridium which culminates on Easter morning. I wish to all here the very best of this sacred time of remembrance and prayer. Let the blessings of this season come to all of good will and to all who need Our Lord
‘What Wondrous Love Is This, O my soul, O my soul?’
https://youtu.be/DsVnvN3EVxY
CHRISTIANE,
Above our slide is a large star that lights up red at night. Yesterday, I switch it to light up a large white cross.
I love the song: “I’ll Rise Again…Ain’t no power on earth can tie Me down…”
Wade,
This week the Leader newspaper of Bonham, Texas that has a publication of 15 thousand, printed the Boston Tea Party story with no charge that I wrote.
When we were thirteen, I could ‘dog-paddle’ better than my twin brother and decided to swim across a lake. He told me it was too far, and I’d drown. From the bank, he called for me to come back. Then he started following me. His cries got garbled because he got choked. I feared he was going to drown, so I went back. It made me angry, but today I realize it was too far and I’d have drowned. Would we know how much God loves us if Jesus had stayed in heaven?
Hez got a speeding ticket while driving my car. He didn’t pay because he thought the owner of the car had to pay. Later, his truck smoked so bad, a policeman thought his truck was on fire. He followed him into the school yard where he was teaching. Upon checking his driver’s license, the policeman saw his speeding ticket, He arrested and put handcuffs on him in front of his students.
Many years later, his son, Dwain, got a speeding ticket in Colorado, and was to pay a fine in a few days. A good paying job came up in New York, and Hez told Dwain he would pay his fine and for him do the job. Hez tried to pay but was told his son had to pay. Dwain came back in three weeks, and they went to pay his fine. The judge was a woman in a business suit, and told Dwain to write a check for $100. Hez asked her if police had stopped his son in New York, would he have gone to jail. After she said yes, he started telling her what was wrong with that law. She became angry and told Dwain to make his check $200.
“You can’t fine my son because you’re angry with me!” He got her so angry, she started swearing.
“It’s against the law to swear in court, I’M PLACING YOU UNDER CITIZEN’S ARREST!”
She almost ran out of the court room. She came back wearing a judge’s robe. Said, “Make that check for $100. I’m sorry I used profanity. Case dismissed.”
It’s the only time my brother ‘fought’ the law and won.
DISASTER STRIKES by coach Hez Ray
Six high school boys and I started clearing the snow off an abandoned World War II aircraft hangar that was 55 feet high, 150 feet wide, and 200 feet long. It was to be disassembled and moved 150 miles to Fairbanks, Alaska to be used for recreation. Snow hid large holes in the roof.
“Doug’s screams ripped our hearts out. They ricocheted off the hangar’s beams, and escaped out the snowy tarmac to be lost in the Alaska wilderness. They were the most terrifying sounds I’ve ever heard. He’d fallen through a hole and his shoe was caught in a brace 12 feet below.”
“Someone hold my ankles and lower me down!” Barney did, and the others lowered us.
Doug said, “Hurry coach, my shoe’s coming off!”
Coach needs one more foot!
“His shoe slipped off, and he fell six inches before I grabbed his ankle.”
Thirty years later, I went back to Fairbanks. A man said, “Do you know who I am?”
“No.”
“You grabbed my ankle.”
“DOUG!”
When we were 18, one night, Hez said, “Let’s go visit Rex’s girl!” There were four of us. Betty lived two miles from us. We drove Dad’s car. It took two people to start it; one to turn the crank and another to operate the gas.
They didn’t have any electricity and had gone to bed. Hez said, “Let’s wake them up by throwing clods on the roof.” The dirt road had plenty of clods. Each of us got four clods, and threw the first one as high as we could, then not so high so that 16 clods hit their roof about the same time. (Betty said later they thought the chimney had slide down the roof.) We ran away laughing. Hez said, “Let’s do it again.” We didn’t see Betty’s father, Ted, behind a tree with a shotgun. Later, he said he started to shoot one (me) close to him, but he saw three running and wanted to shoot three more than one, so he shot at the others. I ran to the car, but they didn’t show up. Soon, a flashlight hit me; I thought I was dead.
“Is that you Rex?”
In a voice about to cry. “Yes sir.”
“You boys shouldn’t do what makes others do what they shouldn’t do!
He helped get the car started, and I drove home without seeing the others. (They stayed hidden because they thought Ted might be in the car.)
Hez was the only one hit. Mother got the bird shot out of his leg with tweezers. We weren’t in trouble, but Dad was: “See, all your trick stories are going to get our boys killed!”
Great stories, REX RAY
Hope you had a good Easter Day with your people and all is as good as can be with you.
I had my family over for a meal at the big teak table from Denmark that I have kept with me as ‘remembrance’ of another time when the whole family was with me . . . how time changes for us, so treasure the times with family and don’t take anything for granted which is a lesson that you know already very well. Getting older is getting wiser, but the lessons are sometimes hard ones, yes.
I’ve got roses and lilacs blooming in the yard in my new place by ‘the sea’ and winter is over here!!! The coming of springtime is nature’s sign of ‘resurrection’ and the celebration of life eternal. What a blessing. 🙂
How are you doing these days? Take care and try to stay well and safe.
CHRISTIANE,
Thanks for the kind words. Yesterday, this verse in our Sunday School lesson bothered me: “But he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved.” (Matthew 24:13 KJ) So I asked Google. 🙂
“Interpreters offer three basic possibilities for Jesus’ meaning:
One is that those who remain faithful to Christ until death will see eternal salvation—meaning those who fall away will lose their salvation.
Second is that lifelong faithfulness is a sign of true salvation.
Third is that those who survive the catastrophic events leading up to Christ’s second coming will be spared from death and be physically present in His earthly kingdom.
The most likely meaning is the third: that those who survive the tribulation will be “saved” in the sense of being “spared,” and will continue to live in the millennial kingdom.
The concept that one could lose or walk away from eternal life is contrary to: “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believed in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (NLT)
REX RAY,
The Good Lord can be ‘trusted’ and you can rest in Him. I expect that I will be judged and that God’s judgment of me will be far greater than anything humanly possible,
as only God knows the human heart.
I suspect that ‘salvation’ is far more possible for far more people than many denominations have declared. Why?
Because God will save whom He will save, and because the Holy Spirit goes where He wills to go, and because ALL mankind is gifted with a moral conscience that helps them and guides them away from evil and towards what is ‘the good way’.
If someone is saying ‘Lord, Lord’ and still harbors contempt and hatred for ‘those other sinners’, we know from sacred Scripture that they may incur the wrath of God rather than His justification and salvation,
but that revelation is from Christ Himself. I have known for a long time that I have failed in judging others myself and I seek help from God to ‘change’ and to walk away from any refuge that would ask for me to hold others in contempt . . . . especially those who are handicapped or ill or who are born ‘different’ from the norm, and also those who are mentally and emotionally ill and are more preyed upon than not. So I ask for mercy and for the grace to ‘let go’ of being judgmental of ‘those other sinners’ and I TRUST the Good Lord to help me to find the better way . . . . for me, REX RAY, this ‘battle’ will go on until I am before God and I trust HIM to know that I need His help to ‘let go’ of my own pride and self-righteousness in the face of this broken world’s victims. He asks us to have humility before Him. He asks us to trust in Him and to ‘fear not’.
REX RAY, I think we have a chance for salvation if we are people of ‘good will towards all’ and if we leave the judging of others, including ourselves, up to Him alone. ‘Be not afraid’ works for me IF at the times when I cannot make sense of the suffering of this world, I spend time looking at a Crucifix . . . . so I too find meaning in the words ‘For God so loved the world . . . ” but I also know that I can ONLY love Christ if I do not harbor ill will towards others, and I also know that the only way that can happen is if I see myself in need of Christ and His mercy ALL the days of my life. He IS ‘the Salvation of us all’. 🙂
Trust in Christ, REX RAY. And ‘be not afraid’. ‘All shall be well in the Kingdom of Our Lord. ‘ You can be at peace.
Scriptures Showing Security of Believers
Scriptures from NLT
1. John 3:16 “For God loved the world so much, that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone that believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
2. John 3:36 “Anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life.”
3. John 5:24 “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.”
4. John 6:39 “And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day.”
5. John 10:27-29 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and He is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.”
6. 1 John 5:11-12 “This is what God testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the God’s Son does not have life.”
7. 1 John 5:13 “I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.”
8. Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
9. Romans 8:38-39 “I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow; not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below; indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
10. Romans 10:9 “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
11. Romans 11:29 “For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn.”
12. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
13. Ephesians 1:13-14 “And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believe in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.”
14. Ephesians 2:8 “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
15. Ephesians 4:30 “And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.”
16. Philippians 1:6 “I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”
17. Colossians 1:22 “Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without fault.”
18.1 Timothy 1:16 “But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.”
19.Titus 1:2 “This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God; who never lies; promised them before the world began.”
20. Titus 3:5 “He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit…and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.”
21.Hebrews 13:5 “Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have, for God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”
22. 1 Peter 1:23 “For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal living word of God.”
23. Jude 1:24 “Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.”
Scriptures Showing Security of Believers
Scriptures from NLT
1. John 3:16 “For God loved the world so much, that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone that believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
2. John 3:36 “Anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life.”
3. John 5:24 “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.”
4. John 6:39 “And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day.”
5. John 10:27-29 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and He is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.”
6. 1 John 5:11-12 “This is what God testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the God’s Son does not have life.”
7. 1 John 5:13 “I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.”
8. Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
9. Romans 8:38-39 “I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow; not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below; indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
10. Romans 10:9 “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
11. Romans 11:29 “For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn.”
12. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
13. Ephesians 1:13-14 “And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believe in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.”
14. Ephesians 2:8 “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
15. Ephesians 4:30 “And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.”
16. Philippians 1:6 “I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”
17. Colossians 1:22 “Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without fault.”
18.1 Timothy 1:16 “But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.”
19.Titus 1:2 “This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God; who never lies; promised them before the world began.”
20. Titus 3:5 “He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit…and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.”
21.Hebrews 13:5 “Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have, for God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”
22. 1 Peter 1:23 “For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal living word of God.”
23. Jude 1:24 “Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.”
CHRISTIANE,
Scriptures Showing Security of Believers
Scriptures from NLT
1. John 3:16 “For God loved the world so much, that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone that believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
2. John 3:36 “Anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life.”
3. John 5:24 “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.”
4. John 6:39 “And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day.”
5. John 10:27-29 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and He is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.”
6. 1 John 5:11-12 “This is what God testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the God’s Son does not have life.”
7. 1 John 5:13 “I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.”
8. Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
9. Romans 8:38-39 “I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow; not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below; indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
10. Romans 10:9 “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
CHRISTIANE,
When my niece was in college, she and a Presbyterian, (I’ll name X) were given an assignment for college credit in the summer to visit and report on different church denominations in Arkansas.
After attending a Baptist service, X said they were a wild bunch. My niece said, Baptists weren’t near as wild as their next visit would be a Pentecostal church.
When they entered, they wanted to sit at the back and observe, but were told all visitors had to sit on the front-row. After a while someone told the pastor the TV reported some fighting going on somewhere. The pastor became hysterical and said, “It’s Armageddon! Lock all the doors, and nobody leaves until everyone’s saved!”
People started marching up and down the aisles. One lady swooned and almost fell on X. Someone said, “Get the snakes!” X wanted to know what they meant. My niece said they believed in handling snakes. X said she was going out a window. My niece followed.
Google states that 92 people have died from handling snakes during worship.