It’s Not As You Perceive Episode 001–Introductions

Shabbat Shalom Fellow Saints in Training. My name is Rod Thomas.Welcome to “It’s Not As You Perceive,” an internet ministry of Qumran Family Church.

This is podcast series aimed at examining traditional or fundamental Christianity in light of its many manmade traditions and doctrines and discover the Faith that Jesus Christ (Yeshua) once delivered to the first century saints.

Is the Bible on my bookshelf 100% accurate in its message and in its content? Is grace alone sufficient in order for me to have a true relationship with the Eternal? Is God a Trinity, a Duality, or is there just one God? What about the divinity of Jesus; was he in fact the creator of all there is and if so how can God die? Does the Bible really teach that those who fail to accept Jesus as their personal savior are destined for an eternity in hell? Was the Gospel that Jesus proclaimed about himself or about a literal kingdom? Are the redeemed destined to spend eternity in heaven with Jesus Christ?  Are the 2+ billion self-professing Christians of this world guaranteed eternal life? Why does God allow suffering in this world? Is it possible that Satan is in fact deceiving the whole world as mentioned in the book of Revelation, including most christians? If God the Father never changes, why would a misunderstanding of the Apostle Paul demand that we ignore or in many cases despise the Laws of God…isn’t that messing with fire? Who’s words take precedence?

Thousands of self-professing christians are leaving traditional churches, especially the young people. Why? The reasons are varied, but according to a few studies conducted by the Barna Group (www.barnagroup.com), people are leaving the christian faith because their faith is not being challenged enough and traditional churchianity has no relevance in the lives of today’s believers.

The driving force behind this podcast is Matthew 7:13,14.

The brief story of the Bereans in Acts 17 is highly acclaimed by many christians, but rarely does the fullness of the significance of their story really hit home. We read our Bibles under an established denominational framework that handcuffed us to understand what we are reading. Throw in sola gratia, many just outright decide to forego the challenge because there is no reason to in their minds. And that my dear friends is one of the reasons our faith is in crisis today.

So I ask: what is our salvation worth?