Zach Uram's Blog

  • Towards A Biblical Society: Patriarchy Forever

    For as long as man has existed, society has been structured around patriarchy. Thus patriarchy goes back to Adam and Eve.

    Sadly after nearly 6,000 years of being the way societies were ordered, in the past 60 years, Western societies have drifted away from patriarchy. The mere term has become a profanity to the woke crowd.

    Societies have changed so much, on gender roles, that now if you assert that a father shouldn’t change diapers, cook meals, or clean the house, you are met with fierce opposition from Christian women and men. We have fallen so far from the biblical standard for gender roles, that several generations of Christians were raised in homes where biblical gender roles were not being honored.

    This change can be attributed to the rise in feminism. You can see a direct correlation in the data.

    There is not a single instance in Scripture of a married Jewish or Christian man cooking dinner for his wife and children, changing a soiled diaper, or cleaning their home.

    We know from extrabiblical sources that these things just did not happen in patriarchal societies.

    We must return to strict, biblical gender roles!

    Sadly, many Christians who affirm nonbiblical gender roles, have been influenced into that position by their pastors and elders!

    These men have gone against Scripture and should be deposed.

    If I am ever a father I will have the following guidelines in place:

    • I shall not change a diaper, ever.
    • I shall not check on a crying infant late at night.
    • I shall not do any cooking.
    • I shall not do any cleaning.
    • My wife will dote on me, and pamper me.
    • My wife will obey my commands.
    • My children will be well disciplined.
    • I will give my wife a weekly allowance.
    • My wife will never yell at me.
    • I will discipline my wife if she misbehaves.
    • The children will receive corporal punishment.
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  • When Did Jesus Die?

    If we work the math forward from Daniel’s prophecy in Daniel 9:25-26, the “seven weeks and sixty-two weeks” conclude with the triumphal entry of Jesus on March 30, AD 33, which would have been Monday Nisan 10 in the Passion Week. Four days later would take us to Friday, April 3rd, AD 33.

  • Roman Catholics Conflate Justification With Sanctification

    LET’S CLARIFY MERITIVE AND SALVING
    A response to Catholics who say they are saved by faith and that good works are not salvific and meritorious. Your denomination teaches that the practice of good works is necessary for salvation and that the Christian under the influence of grace deserves for himself and others the graces to sanctify and save himself.
    Stop gaslighting Biblical Christians by lying and changing Rome’s doctrine in your comments on fb groups trying to make it appear less unbiblical than it is. This trick will not work.

    1. Catechism of Pius X
    39 Q. What are the conditions necessary to OBTAIN HEAVEN?
    A. The conditions necessary to obtain Heaven are the grace of God, THE PRACTICE OF GOOD WORKS, and perseverance until death in His holy love.

    2. Catechism Catholic Church
    2010 Since the initiative belongs to God in the order of grace, no one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and justification, at the beginning of conversion. Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, WE CAN THEN MERIT FOR OURSELVES AND FOR OTHERS THE GRACES NEEDED FOR OUR SANCTIFICATION, FOR THE INCREASE OF GRACE AND CHARITY, AND FOR THE ATTAINMENT OF ETERNAL LIFE. Even temporal goods like health and friendship can be merited in accordance with God’s wisdom. These graces and goods are the object of Christian prayer. Prayer attends to the grace we need for MERITORIOUS ACTIONS.

    3. Compendium of the Catechism of Catholic Church
    426. What is merit?
    In general merit refers to the right to recompense for a good deed. With regard to God, we of ourselves are not able to merit anything, having received everything freely from him. However, GOD GIVES US THE POSSIBILITY OF ACQUIRING MERIT through union with the love of Christ, who is the source of OUR MERITS BEFORE GOD. The MERITS FOR GOOD WORKS, therefore must be attributed in the first place to the grace of God and THEN TO THE FREE WILL OF MAN.
    427. What are the goods that we can merit?
    Moved by the Holy Spirit, WE CAN MERIT FOR OURSELVES AND FOR OTHERS THE GRACES NEEDED FOR OUR SANCTIFICATION AND FOR THE ATTAINMENT OF ETERNAL LIFE. Even temporal goods, suitable for us, can be merited in accordance with the plan of God. No one, however, can merit the initial grace which is at the origin of conversion and justification.

    According to Catholic doctrine, man has a true merit before God, which is given to him by the merit of Christ, but ultimately salvation still depends on his collaboration with action. There are things to do that if they are not done, will cause one to lose salvation. It is not a continuous gift from God from beginning to end.

    Let’s instead see the true biblical doctrine on good works:

    Q. 70. What is justification?
    A. Justification is an act of God’s free grace unto sinners, in which he pardoneth all their sins, accepteth and accounteth their persons righteous in his sight; not for any thing wrought in them, or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ, by God imputed to them, and received by faith alone.
    Rom. 3:22, 24-25; Rom. 4:5; 2 Cor. 5:19, 21; Rom. 3:22, 24-25, 27-28; Titus 3:5, 7; Eph. 1:7; Rom. 5:17-19; Rom. 4:6-8; Acts 10:43; Gal. 2:16; Phil. 3:9.

    Q. 71. How is justification an act of God’s free grace?
    A. Although Christ, by his obedience and death, did make a proper, real and full satisfaction to God’s justice in the behalf of them that are justified; yet in as much as God accepteth the satisfaction from a surety, which he might have demanded of them, and did provide this surety, his own only Son, imputing his righteousness to them, and requiring nothing of them for their justification but faith, which also is his gift, their justification is to them of free grace.
    Rom. 5:8-10, 19; 1 Tim. 2:5-6; Heb. 10:10; Matt. 20:28; Dan. 9:24, 26; Isa. 53:4-6; Isa. 53:10-12; Heb. 7:22; Rom. 8:32; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 3:24-25; Eph. 2:8; Eph. 1:7.

    Q. 72. What is justifying faith?
    A. Justifying faith is a saving grace, wrought in the heart of a sinner, by the Spirit and Word of God, whereby he, being convinced of his sin and misery, and of the disability in himself and all other creatures to recover him out of his lost condition, not only assenteth to the truth of the promise of the gospel, but receiveth and resteth upon Christ and his righteousness therein held forth, for pardon of sin, and for the accepting and accounting of his person righteous in the sight of God for salvation.
    Heb. 10:39; 2 Cor. 4:13; Eph. 1:17-19; Rom. 10:14, 17; Acts 2:37; Acts 16:30; John 16:8-9; Rom. 5:6; Eph. 2:1; Acts 4:12; Eph. 1:13; John 1:12; Acts 16:31; Acts 10:43; Phil. 3:9; Acts 15:11.

    Q. 73. How doth faith justify a sinner in the sight of God?
    A. Faith justifies a sinner in the sight of God, not because of those other graces which do always accompany it, or of good works that are the fruits of it, nor as if the grace of faith, or any act thereof, were imputed to him for his justification; but only as it is an instrument by which he receiveth and applieth Christ and his righteousness.
    Gal. 3:11; Rom. 3:28; Rom. 4:5; Rom. 10:10; John 1:12; Phil. 3:9; Gal. 2:16.

    Q. 74. What is adoption?
    A. Adoption is an act of the free grace of God, in and for his only Son Jesus Christ, whereby all those that are justified are received into the number of his children, have his name put upon them, the Spirit of his Son given to them, are under his fatherly care and dispensations, admitted to all the liberties and privileges of the sons of God, made heirs of all the promises, and fellow-heirs with Christ in glory.
    1 John 3:1; Eph. 1:5; Gal. 4:4-5; John 1:12; 2 Cor. 6:18; Rev. 3:12; Gal. 4:6; Ps. 103:13; Prov. 14:26; Matt. 6:32; Heb. 6:12; Rom. 8:17.

    Q. 75. What is sanctification?
    A. Sanctification is a work of God’s grace, whereby they whom God hath before the foundation of the world chosen to be holy, are in time through the powerful operation of his Spirit, applying the death and resurrection of Christ unto them, renewed in their whole man after the image of God; having the seeds of repentance unto life, and all other saving graces, put into their hearts, and those graces so stirred up, increased, and strengthened, as that they more and more die unto sin and rise unto newness of life.
    Eph. 1:4; 1 Cor. 6:11; 2 Thess. 2:13; Rom. 6:4-6; Eph. 4:23-24; Acts 11:18; 1 John 3:9; Jude 1:20; Heb. 6:11-12; Eph. 3:16-19; Col. 1:10-11; Rom. 6:4, 6, 14; Gal. 5:24.

    Q. 76. What is repentance unto life?
    A. Repentance unto life is a saving grace, wrought in the heart of a sinner by the Spirit and word of God, whereby, out of the sight and sense, not only of the danger, but also of the filthiness and odiousness of his sins, and upon the apprehension of God’s mercy in Christ to such as are penitent, he so grieves for and hates his sins, as that he turns from them all to God, purposing and endeavouring constantly to walk with him in all the ways of new obedience.
    2 Tim. 2:25; Zech. 12:10; Acts 11:18, 20-21; Ezek. 18:28, 30, 32; Luke 15:17-18; Hos. 2:6-7; Ezek. 36:31; Isa. 30:22; Joel 2:12-13; Jer. 31:18-19; 2 Cor. 7:11; Acts 26:18; Ezek. 14:6; 1 Kings 8:47-48; Ps. 119:6, 59, 128; Luke 1:6; 2 Kings 23:25.

    Q. 77. Wherein do justification and sanctification differ?
    A. Although sanctification be inseparably joined with justification, yet they differ, in that God in justification imputeth the righteousness of Christ; in sanctification his Spirit infuseth grace, and enableth to the exercise thereof; in the former, sin is pardoned; in the other, it is subdued; the one doth equally free all believers from the revenging wrath of God, and that perfectly in this life, that they never fall into condemnation; the other is neither equal in all, nor in this life perfect in any, but growing up to perfection.
    1 Cor. 6:11; 1 Cor. 1:30; Rom. 4:6, 8; Ezek. 36:27; Rom. 3:24-25; Rom. 6:6, 14; Rom. 8:33-34; 1 John 2:12-14; Heb. 5:12-14; 1 John 1:8, 10; 2 Cor. 7:1; Phil. 3:12-14.

    Q. 78. Whence ariseth the imperfection of sanctification in believers?
    A. The imperfection of sanctification in believers ariseth from the remnants of sin abiding in every part of them, and the perpetual lustings of the flesh against the spirit; whereby they are often foiled with temptations, and fall into many sins, are hindered in all their spiritual services, and their best works are imperfect and defiled in the sight of God.
    Rom. 7:18, 23; Mark 14:66-72; Gal. 2:11-12; Heb. 12:1; Isa. 64:6; Ex. 28:38.

    Q. 79. May not true believers, by reason of their imperfections, and the many temptations and sins they are overtaken with, fall away from the state of grace?
    A. True believers, by reason of the unchangeable love of God, and his decree and covenant to give them perseverance, their inseparable union with Christ, his continual intercession for them, and the Spirit and seed of God abiding in them, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
    Jer. 31:3; 2 Tim. 2:19; Heb. 13:20-21; 2 Sam. 23:5; 1 Cor. 1:8-9; Heb. 7:25; Luke 22:32; 1 John 3:9; 1 John 2:27; Jer. 32:40; John 10:28; 1 Peter 1:5.

    Q. 80. Can true believers be infallibly assured that they are in the estate of grace, and that they shall persevere therein unto salvation?
    A. Such as truly believe in Christ, and endeavor to walk in all good conscience before him, may, without extraordinary revelation, by faith grounded upon the truth of God’s promises, and by the Spirit enabling them to discern in themselves those graces to which the promises of life are made, and bearing witness with their spirits that they are the children of God, be infallibly assured that they are in the estate of grace and shall persevere therein unto salvation.
    1 John 2:3; 1 Cor. 2:12; 1 John 3:14, 18-19, 21, 24; 1 John 4:13, 16; Heb. 6:11-12; Rom. 8:16; 1 John 5:13.

    Q. 81. Are all true believers at all times assured of their present being in the estate of grace, and that they shall be saved?
    A. Assurance of grace and salvation not being of the essence of faith, true believers may wait long before they obtain it; and, after the enjoyment thereof, may have it weakened and intermitted, through manifold distempers, sins, temptations, and desertions; yet are they never left without such a presence and support of the Spirit of God, as keeps them from sinking into utter despair.
    Eph. 1:13; Isa. 1:10; Ps. 88:1-18; Ps. 77:1-12; Song of Songs 5:2-3, 6; Ps. 51:8, 12; Ps. 31:22; Ps. 22:1; 1 John 3:9; Job 13:15; Ps. 73:15, 23; Isa. 54:7-10.

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  • The Lord’s Supper: The Real Presence of Christ

    I used to believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper (communion). I now believe the Lord is present, but not in a physical way, rather it is spiritual. Communion is spiritual food to nourish our souls.

    I held to the Roman Catholic view that during consecration the bread and wine become the true Body and Blood of Christ. Further, in the mass, we participate in the once and for all sacrifice of Christ at Calvary. It is an unbloody sacrifice. Rome teaches that Christ’s presence in the sacrament of communion is to be explained in terms of the doctrine of transubstantiation. The doctrine of transubstantiation asserts that when the priest says the words of consecration, the substance of the bread and wine is transformed into the substance of the body and blood of Christ.

    The accidens (that is, the incidental properties) of the bread and wine remain the same. Rome also teaches that the Eucharist is a propitiatory sacrifice; in fact, the same sacrifice Christ offered on the cross. The Eucharistic sacrifice is offered for the sins of the living and the dead.

    The Reformers were united in their rejection of both aspects of Rome’s doctrine of the Lord’s Supper. They rejected transubstantiation, and they rejected the idea that the Lord’s Supper is a propitiatory sacrifice.

    Lutherans adopted consubstantiation to explain the doctrine of communion. In this view, Christ is present in/with/under the bread and wine.

    I now reject both the Roman Catholic and Lutheran views on the Lord’s Supper. I favor the view of John Calvin. For him the communion gifts are more than a mere symbol (Zwingli’s view), yet transubstantiation and consubstantiation are both false. The Lord’s Supper is spiritual food. Christ is present in a real way in the sacrament, just not in a carnal (physical) manner. The Holy Spirit mediates our participation in the Lord’s Supper. And through the Holy Spirit we have union with Christ.

    JOHN 6:22–59

    “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” (vv. 54–56).

    The context of this passage shows us that to eat and drink Christ’s flesh and blood is not a carnal act but rather a spiritual act of trusting in Jesus. John 6:22–59 parallels the eating that leads to eternal life with belief, making the two things identical. The Lord’s Supper signs and seals this belief, showing that the One in whom we believe is both God and man, having a true human body. We need the humanity of Christ no less than we need His deity, and the physical elements of the supper impress this on our hearts and minds.

    John Calvin comments, “There is no other way in which he can become ours, than by our faith being directed to his flesh.” The bread and wine of the supper are God’s seal that those who believe that the God-man suffered as a man and was raised from the dead will live forever. When we take the supper in faith, we are communing with Christ and marked as those who will inherit eternal life.”

    The following comes from John Calvin’s Short Treatise on the Lord’s Supper. The importance of the real, spiritual presence of Christ in communion:

    12. HOW THE BREAD IS CALLED THE BODY, AND THE WINE THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. We begin now to enter on the question so much debated, both anciently and at the present time — how we are to understand the words in which the bread is called the body of Christ, and the wine His blood. This may be disposed of without much difficulty; if we carefully observe the principle which I lately laid down, namely, that all the benefit which we should seek in the Supper is annihilated if Jesus Christ be not there given to us as the substance and foundation of all. That being fixed, we will confess, without doubt, that to deny that a true communication of Jesus Christ is presented to us in the Supper, is to render this holy sacrament frivolous and useless — an execrable blasphemy unfit to be listened to.

    13. WHAT IS REQUISITE IN ORDER TO LIVE IN JESUS CHRIST. Moreover, if the reason for communicating with Jesus Christ is to have part and portion in all the graces which He purchased for us by His death, the required thing must be not only to be partakers of His Spirit, but also to participate in His humanity, in which He rendered all obedience to God His Father, in order to satisfy our debts, although, properly speaking, the one cannot be without the other; for when He gives Himself to us, it is in order that we may possess Him entirely. Hence, as it is said that His Spirit is our life, so He Himself, with His own lips, declares that His flesh is meat indeed, and His blood drink indeed (John 6:55). If these words are not to go for nothing, it follows that in order to have our life in Christ our souls must feed on His body and blood as their proper food. This, then, is expressly attested in the Supper, when of the bread it is said to us that we are to take it and eat it, and that it is His body, and of the cup that we are to drink it, and that it is His blood. This is expressly spoken of the body and blood, in order that we may learn to seek there the substance of our spiritual life.

    14. HOW THE BREAD AND WINE ARE THE BODY OF JESUS CHRIST. Now, if it be asked whether the bread is the body of Christ and the wine His blood, we answer, that the bread and the wine are visible signs, which represent to us the body and blood, but that this name and title of body and blood is given to them because they are as it were instruments by which the Lord distributes them to us. This form and manner of speaking is very appropriate. For as the communion which we have with the body of Christ is a thing incomprehensible, not only to the eye but to our natural sense, it is there visibly demonstrated to us. Of this we have a striking example in an analogous case. Our Lord, wishing to give a visible appearance to His Spirit at the baptism of Christ, presented Him under the form of a dove. St. John the Baptist, narrating the fact, says, that he saw the Spirit of God descending. If we look more closely, we shall find that he saw nothing but the dove, in respect that the Holy Spirit is in His essence 2 invisible. Still, knowing that this vision was not an empty phantom, but a sure sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit, he doubts not to say that he saw it (John 1:32), because it was represented to him according to his capacity.

    The Real, Spiritual Presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper From John Calvin, Tracts, Vol. II, trans. Henry Beveridge (Edinburgh: Calvin Translation Society, 1849), 170-171, English updated and emphasis added.

    My view on the Lord’s Supper now aligns most closely with Clavin’s! Let us be always reforming and aligning our views with God’s precious Word!

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  • Vietnam

    To the soldiers
    Of Vietnam
    I wish you
    A sincere salaam

    You bravely fought
    The NVA and VC too
    Yet when you came home
    Many people eschewed you

    You battled
    In humid jungles far away
    Why did the war happen
    I cannot say

    Over 50,000 of you
    Died in combat
    These Americans sacrificed their lives
    Yet, not a single diplomat

    These gallant boys
    Were still teens
    Instead of having fun
    They reloaded M-16 magazines

    When they came home
    Many were treated bad
    Oh the humanity
    This makes me truly sad

    We should never forget
    Those who served so far from home
    In Vietnam today
    Their spirits still roam

    by Zachary Uram
    (C) 2024

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  • My Best Friend

    Vi is so dreamily
    She is compassionate and carefree

    Vi helps my itchy bum
    It’s better than rum

    Vi washes my legs and feet
    Her loving kindness can’t be beat

    Vi cooks me up yummy food
    She is never rude

    Vi washes my laundry
    She is never naughty

    by Zachary Uram
    (C) 2024

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  • Ho! Ho! Ho! I am Santa Claus

    I am jolly
    Old Saint Nick
    I come down chimneys
    Made of brick

    When I laugh
    My belly shakes
    Like a bowl full of jelly
    I ate many cakes

    I bring
    Many wonderful toys
    For good
    Girls and boys

    On Christmas Eve I like
    A nice little snack
    Of cookies and milk
    I’ll be sure to be back

    I carry the toys
    In a big sled painted red
    I keep it in good shape
    We have many stops ahead

    It’s pulled by
    Nine flying reindeer
    Thanks to Rudolph’s shining nose
    Inclement weather we need not fear

    I love this time
    Of year
    When hearts are joyful
    And full of good cheer

    We must remember Christ
    He came to us as a baby
    The Son of God with us
    Held in the arms of Mary

    by Zachary Uram
    (C) 2024

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  • Mental Maladies

    Today I feel totally not okay
    Much to my dismay
    I wish I was feeling gay

    My mind is broken
    Never a truer word was spoken
    At least I’m one of the chosen

    A malfunctioning brain
    Has been my bane
    When young I ran in the rain

    Oh cruel earth
    I have suffered greatly since birth
    But in Christ is found my worth

    I take a lot of medication
    They are psychoactive regulation
    Where is my motivation

    I must get through each day
    I need to pray
    It’s a heavy price to pay

    Mental illness can seem like a curse
    Every year it gets worse
    It’s certainly an unwelcomeness

    by Zachary Uram
    (C) 2024

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  • Lucifer: A Defeated Foe

    Because of his rebellion
    Satan was cast down to earth
    It was man, not angels
    Who would receive a second birth

    Pride was behind
    His downfall
    Satan hates man
    Who receives the effectual call

    He tempted Jesus three times
    In the wilderness
    Jesus responded with Scripture
    He was guiltless

    Satan tries to keep man
    Hellbound
    He is a cunning foe
    We’re in a spiritual battleground

    There is only one way
    To be with Christ for eternity
    That is to be born again
    God’s sovereign grace sets you free

    by Zachary Uram
    (C) 2024

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  • That Magical Season

    On a cold December night
    In the town of Bethlehem
    A star above gave great light

    To a humble stable down below
    There was a newborn babe
    With hay for a pillow

    Angels sang with joy
    And instructed shepherds
    For the little baby boy

    He is Christ the Lord
    The King of Kings
    The living Word

    We celebrate His incarnation
    Fully man and fully God
    What a combination

    Behold the Son of Man
    Born to give man second birth
    He would follow the Father’s plan

    At Christmastime, we look to Calvary
    Jesus would die on the cross
    To set us free

    On the third day since His last breath
    Jesus rose triumphantly
    Defeating sin, Satan, and death

    Make merry this yuletide
    Celebrate our Savior’s birth
    In your heart may He abide

    by Zachary Uram
    (C) 2024

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