Dan A. Rodriguez Articles, Books, and Podcasts
Religion & Spirituality:Christianity
Allow me to share this with some sarcasm. It is sometimes necessary to get a point across.
Jesus used sarcasm and satire repeatedly. If you don't think so, then your Bible interpretation is lacking the truth! Jesus had a cutting sense of humor that was often sarcastic against the religious establishment. One good example is where Jesus asks the Pharisees repeatedly if they can even read the Scripture! (Matthew 12:5, 19:4, 21:16, 21:42, 22:29, 31).
Also look at John 10:31-39 and note the sarcasm there when Jesus states, “Is it not written in your law?” In modern speech it sounds like this: “What, can’t you imbeciles (the Jewish leaders present there) read out of your own book?” Don’t get me started and say that Jesus would never call anybody a moron or imbecile. Really? How about Him calling people much worse things? “Imbecile” and “moron” are soft toned compared to the following vitriol laid against the bad Pharisees in the Pharisaic movement of the day found in Matthew 23.
“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! ...“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are!
And Jesus was just warming up!
..Do not neglect the more important things. Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel! …“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! You blind Pharisee! …Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness. …Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell? (Excerpted from Matthew 23 NLT. Read the whole chapter!)
"How readest thou?" (Luke 10:26 KJV) I've used that one a lot! It's a, "What, can't you dummies read" moment! You say you know the Scripture? Are you kidding me? For Jesus to ask a Pharisee if he knew his Bible was akin to asking rocket scientists or astrophysicists if they know that 2+2 equals 4 because they didn't get something you were saying at the moment! Would that be sarcastic and considered highly offensive? Yes, especially to the prideful that thought they were ALL THAT and more! In effect, Jesus was calling the Pharisees He was addressing spiritual morons even though they could quote the Scripture verbatim from the age of ten or so.
At his time in history, a Pharisee could quote the entire Bible from their memory by age ten, or at least they could quote large parts of it. Memorization was highly valued in ancient times, much more than it is today. Why, you ask? Books and scrolls were tedious to produce because they had to be written by hand. The printing press wasn't invented by Gutenberg until around 1440, and so, manuscripts were VERY, VERY, expensive! Consistent repetition and memorization were the keys to learning in those days.
What about Paul’s statement against the Christian false teachers that claimed that all males must be circumcised to be right with God. (Galatians 5:10-12) In Greek vernacular, Paul simply states sarcastically that those that teach that mess should just go ahead and finish the job by cutting off their male member! He was talking sarcastically about self-inflicted mutilation! “Go ahead and cut it off” is rough and very graphic sarcasm! Paul uses sarcasm and satire repeatedly in his epistles, often in very biting terms, and sometimes humorous.
Have you ever heard the term RINO? It is speaking about those Republicans in name only that are registered as Republicans, but their morals are more in line with left leaning policies and they are loose morally in their voting. There are some RINO's among us in Christianity, but they are “Joe- The Christian In Name Only”. This "Joe" promotes what he believes is the “perfect preacher”. I present to you below my sarcasm and satire to get the point across. It's nothing new to those that have heard me before. I use sarcasm in my preaching as did the prophets, Jesus, and let us not forget Paul. All used it to one degree or another to deliver the messages they had burning in their hearts from the Father. R U Ready 4 this?
My Perfect Preacher
"If you want to be my perfect preacher, then don’t rebuke, refute, or correct me because I don’t believe any of that is love. I want you to give me an easy listening sermonette that requires me to do nothing. I want my preacher to remove all the harsh and hard words by no longer mentioning sin, iniquity, and rebellion to God. If you can always preach to me heaven and good stuff, and make no mention of hell, eternal punishment, or the lake of fire, then you are my kind of preacher.
Don’t tell me that, for example, adultery, fornication, and homosexuality are sins and condemned by God in the Bible. Tell me that the commandments are irrelevant today, because once I receive Jesus, God no longer sees my present or future sin. Tell me that God will never condemn me for my sins as a Christian because they are already forgiven.
Tell me I don’t even need to repent or confess my sins because that is a “works mentality.” Tell me that I am free from accountability and that, though I am in an adulterous affair, I will still go to heaven even if I die right in the middle of it.
Tell me that my homosexual “Christian” cousin is going to heaven because all their future sins are forgiven. Tell me I can practice fornication, shack up unmarried, and still make heaven. Tell me that that is the truth because God doesn't give forgiveness in installments. Tell me that that is PURE grace and I will swallow it hook, line, sinker, boat, fishing pole, and the fisherman!
Tell me I can be blessed, healed and prosperous even if I am living a sloppy and sinful "Christian" life. Tell me that neither holiness nor purity are that important as far as going to heaven is concerned.
Tell me that the evil actions of my body are my flesh and that my spirit stays pure because it is righteous no matter what I do. Tell me God winks at my sin because His grace is all I need and it is sufficient! Tell me that God's love for me is unconditional and that Jesus will love and take me to heaven even if I do not repent and confess my sins. Tell me that my continued sin will never affect my righteousness in Christ or my relationship with God.
Tell me that keeping the moral commandments of God is bondage and the "works of the law." Tell me that the harsh words of Jesus in the Gospels are not relevant today because they were all under the law.
Tell me the Sermon on the Mount was the law on steroids.
Tell me that faith is “only believe” without faithfulness and loyalty to the Lord.
Tell me that the Old Testament should not even be a part of our Christian Bible, and that it was an unfortunate mistake. Tell me that only the epistles of Paul and what he taught on grace is all that is important to the believer. Tell me that all the other epistles and the book of Revelation were written to the Jews and Gnostics and not to Christians from a gentile background, even though Revelation chapters 2 and 3 were written to 7 churches among the Gentiles. Tell me we can learn ONLY examples and shadows from the Old Testament, but that it was all law, and there are no moral lessons there for me under grace.
Tell me there is NEVER judgment for the Christian that continues practicing sin, as for example in the story of Ananias and Saphira, and the man committing incest with his father's wife. Tell me that was for another era and not applicable today under grace, though both incidents are in the book of Acts and 1 Corinthians 5.
Tell me that I am always righteous because I can never ever mess up my grace gift of righteousness regardless of the sin I choose to practice. Tell me that, because of grace, once I am saved, I am saved forever even though I live contrary to all of God's commandments and reject the words and commandments of Jesus in the gospels.
Tell me that the Holy Spirit will never convict the Christian of sin because there is now no condemnation.
Tell me that PURE grace requires NO faithfulness, accountability, Biblical morality, keeping the commandments, or doing the Word, because that it is all the works of the law. Tell me we are not under any of that old stuff if we have our faith in Jesus.
Tell me all that the above and I will make sure to spread your message by telling everybody that you are a faith/pure-grace preacher and give you time on my influential Christian TV programs. Tell me that and we will celebrate your message as the truth! Tell me all that and we will say that you are right in the middle of the greatest revival known to man with your message of PURE grace. Give me PURE grace alone, please, and you will be my preacher and will have gained my financial support because you are the perfect preacher, the man of the hour!"
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Joe the Christian In Name Only is one very mixed up and deceived individual. This “Joe” represents those believing in a perverted grace message. In our sarcasm he is a fictional character. I am changing the following saying applicable to all the Joe's out there: If the shoe fits... throw it away! Whatever you do, DON'T wear it!
…Our fathers acted arrogantly; they became stubborn and would not listen to Your (God’s) commandments. They refused to listen… So, they became stubborn and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. (Nehemiah 9:16, 17)
People that rebel and reject God’s moral commandments begin to look for a leader that is also a rejecter of God's commands. They don’t know it, but these leaders are actually leading them back into slavery! Paul taught that some people that have an itch that needs to be scratched, and those are the ones that heap up to themselves teachers. (2 Timothy 3:16 through 4:4) This happens even though these false teachers promise them freedom with their ungodly message. (2 Peter 2:17-19)
Back in the 60’s and 70’s, the hippie culture sang long and hard that they were free and lived free from any moral commands, restraints, or government laws. They talked of the freedom of “free love” (sexual encounters with many different people without any commitments whatsoever), doing drugs, getting drunk, being rebellious, disobeying authority, and living any way they wanted to live. That led many to an early grave because of alcoholism, drug abuse, law breaking, and sexually transmitted diseases.
False teachers of a perverted message of grace want us to believe that their commandment-free and no-rules gospel of grace is true freedom. People may experience some euphoria at first because of this “gospel of grace” and its promise of freedom, but if you follow that message, it will lead to BONDAGE and DEATH. A grace message that ignores Biblical moral commands as NECESSARY for real and true freedom in Christ will end up in the dung heap of wallowing again in the mire and filth of this world. (2 Peter 2:20-22) They are headed for destruction!
Here is the clincher. Some of these “gospel of grace” preachers once taught and preached good stuff and strong Bible principles. Now their once good messages are sprinkled with an ever-increasing amount of a false message of grace. Some have already run the gamut of this false message. Everything is seen and preached from their false ideas of grace. Many Christians are being fooled into thinking, “Oh they believe just like I do”, because they are hearing the outside without seeing what is inside. Satan is tricky. He does not give you the full error at first. He gives you some of the meat and leaves the poison for later.
That is the way some people got rid of bad stray dogs in one neighborhood I lived in many years ago. Give them a big chunk of raw meat with poison in it. To kill a bad rodent or pest you never give them the poison alone. You give them the poison wrapped up in something like peanut butter. That way they will eat all of it and die!
Satan transforms himself as an angel of light and he is good at it. (2Corinthians 11:14) It is not a surprise if his ministers do the same!
If this has struck a nerve in your heart, send it to as many people as you can. Read my book below, "Faith that Receives the Grace of God" and see what the Scripture says about faith and grace! It is a free download.
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Jesus spoke about entering into life through the narrow gate in Matthew 7. Do you know what that means for the believer? Here are some powerful truths! Listen to Part 3 in the podcast below. This is last podcast in the mini series. Be mightily and overwhelmingly blessed!
Get A Call to Return: Restoring The Roots of Our Relationship With Jesus as an ebook, softcover, or hardcover book from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Christianbook, Westbow Press, or order it through your favorite bookstore.
From the Back Cover:
A Call to Return—Restoring the Roots of Our Relationship with Jesus explores the depths of the Scriptures to excavate, refine, and lift up its words of power, revealing deep truths that will radically change the lives of believers. By tapping into this rich vein of biblical insight, Dan Alan Rodriguez offers Christians the insights to enable them to set out upon paths of discipleship that follow Jesus closely and that lead to profound experiences of His presence and power.
Drawing upon the author’s study of first-century Judaism and Christianity and resting upon a diverse array of sources steeped in the foundational texts of these traditions, the twelve chapters of A Call to Return address a series of interlocking topics: a prophetic call to return; the revival of lawlessness; the revival, purpose, and preexistence of God’s commandments; the church’s commandments and their connections to faith, grace, and good works; the association of works of the law to Jewish tradition and ceremony; holiness; the fear of the Lord; each believer as a temple of the holy; and the meaning of loving the Lord Jesus.
If you have a sense that Jesus’s message and ministry are calling you to embark upon a walk with Him that might take you away from all in Christianity that requires no accountability or responsibility before God, then A Call to Return—Restoring the Roots of Our Relationship with Jesus is the right book for you to read. It will give you the keys for understanding and responding to the Lord’s call to return to Him and to follow where He leads.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev. 2:29 NASB).
The PDF of the entire book is free of charge! Use this link to go to the page and download it. Be mightily blessed!
Faith that Receives the Grace of God is so important for you and me right now! There is an abundance of strange teaching in the area of grace. Grace has become for many a proposition "sin all you want without accountability", and a "do-nothing to receive from God." Grace for many is a rejection of Biblical moral commandments, and for others it is a denial of the words of Jesus. Grace, when it is in its right place Scripturally, is beautiful, abundant, and powerful, but it can be misused and misapplied. Unfortunately, grace is often taught wrongly. Instead of amazing grace, it has become gross, devilish, pseudo “grease” and not the Blood-bought-grace taught in the New Testament! This book was written so the Biblical perspective on faith and grace could be clearly presented by using verses in their context and according to the intent of the writers of the New Testament. If you have questions in this area, this free 266-page book is for you. Download the free PDF file here.
Documento portátil (PDF) es completamente gratis.
Tres Días y Tres Noches en el Corazón de la Tierra debe ser una parte necesaria en la vida de todo Cristiano. El libro enseña específicamente acerca del sacrificio de Jesús. Esto incluye la cruz, resurrección, y especialmente lo que tomó lugar durante las horas en que el espíritu de Jesús dejó Su cuerpo, y cuando su cuerpo fue resucitado de entre los muertos. El mundo tiene sus héroes, pero lo que Jesús hizo por nosotros lo hace el Supremo y Máximo Héroe y Conquistador de todo el universo. La derrota de Satanás, y la potestad dada a la iglesia en el Nombre de Jesucristo, fueron actos sin igual en la eternidad. No te pierdas este libro GRATIS. Ninguna película ha mostrado el verdadero sufrimiento del Maestro en el Calvario y en el centro de la tierra. Prepárate para una aventura gloriosa. Descarga el libro PDF completo usando este eslabón.
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Has anyone ever told you that God loves you and that He has a wonderful plan for your life? I have a real quick, but important question to ask you. If you were to die this very second, do you know for sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you would go to Heaven?
Let me quickly share with you what the Holy Bible reads. It reads “for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” and “for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”. The Bible also reads, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”. And you’re a “whosoever” right? Of course you are; all of us are.
I’m going to say a quick prayer for you. Lord, bless the person reading this and his/her family with long and healthy lives. Jesus, make Yourself real to him/her and do a quick work in his/her heart. If If you have not received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, I pray you will do so now.
If you would like to receive the gift that God has for you today, say this after me with your heart and lips out loud.
"Dear Lord Jesus, come into my heart. Forgive me of my sin. Wash me and cleanse me. Set me free. Jesus, thank You that You died for me. I believe that You are risen from the dead and that You’re coming back again for me. Fill me with the Holy Spirit. Give me a passion for the lost, a hunger for the things of God and a holy boldness to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. I’m saved; I’m born again, I’m forgiven and I’m on my way to Heaven because I have Jesus in my heart."
As a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I tell you today that all of your sins are forgiven. Always remember to run to God and not from God because He loves you and has a great plan for your life.
Contact me and let me know you received Jesus as Lord and Savior!
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Here are some important and powerful Scripture references that teach about giving and receiving.
Let him who receives instruction in the Word [of God] share all good things with his teacher [contributing to his support].(Galatians 6:6 Amplified Bible)
If we have sown [the seed of] spiritual good among you, [is it too] much if we reap from your material benefits? (1 Corinthians 9:11 (Amplified Bible)
God is able to make every good and perfect gift come to you as you give. He has abundance in mind for the generous giver because He wants such a one to be a conduit (not a reservoir) to continue being generous. Believe it! Where is that in Scripture? Look closely at 2 Corinthians 9:6-11 in the Amplified Bible version:
6 Now [remember] this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows generously [that blessings may come to others] will also reap generously [and be blessed]. 7 Let each one give [thoughtfully and with purpose] just as he has decided in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver [and delights in the one whose heart is in his gift].(A) 8 And God is able to make all grace [every favor and earthly blessing] come in abundance to you, so that you may always [under all circumstances, regardless of the need] have complete sufficiency in everything [being completely self-sufficient in Him], and have an abundance for every good work and act of charity. 9 As it is written and forever remains written, “He [the benevolent and generous person] scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, His righteousness endures forever!”(B) 10 Now He who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your seed for sowing [that is, your resources] and increase the harvest of your righteousness [which shows itself in active goodness, kindness, and love].(C) 11 You will be enriched in every way so that you may be generous, and this [generosity, administered] through us is producing thanksgiving to God [from those who benefit].
A. 2 Corinthians 9:7 : Prov 22:9
B. 2 Corinthians 9:9 : Ps 112:9
C. 2 Corinthians 9:10 : Is 55:10; Hos 10:12
Let that sink in, and note how giving and God's blessing on the giver are revealed in those verses. Wow!
Use the following links to give into this ministry to help me expand the outreach and spread the Word:
paypal.me/danalanrodriguez
God loves a cheerful giver; He delights in those whose heart is their gift!
Be mightily blessed as you give generously!
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