Randy Green's Blog, page 421
December 16, 2013
Slam the door!
“Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of hosts, “nor will I accept an offering from you.” [Malachi 1:10]
I recall back in the day spending summer vacations and Christmas holidays and spring break—in fine, any free time I had from elementary school—staying with my maternal grandparents out in the country. They had a small farm with chickens and rabbits and corn and assorted other crops. They were surrounded by big old farms with pigs and cows and humongous acres of corn and soy beans.
My granddaddy built their home with his own hands, right after World War I. He was a carpenter by trade. The home was heated with a wood burning stove in the living room, and that was it for all the rooms! As for air conditioning, well, you held this cardboard in your hand and waved it!
Grandmamma cooked the food on her wood burning stove. Some of the tastiest, mouth-watering meals ever originated there. We hunted squirrel and rabbit to eat and fished for food too. Even frog legs were on the menu sometimes. The homemade bread and biscuits sung their siren song, crooning us back for more. It never gets better than that.
Well, both the front door and the back had screen doors attached to them. In the center of the door near the doorknob was attached one end of a strong, heavy-duty spring, with the other end attached to the doorpost. This kept the doors from staying open: the spring action pulled it shut.
When the door was pulled shut by the spring, the door would slam loudly. In fact for being such a light-weight door, it sure startled the dickens out of us when it slammed! And God forbid anyone should be so jejune as to stomp out mad and slam the door on purpose. Yikes! That was even louder.
In the prophet Malachi’s time the Israelites got caught up in apathetically going through religious motions. They completely lost sight of the Lord and ignored His Word. Consequently the Lord spent His time by Himself every day because His people failed to spend time with Him. This didn’t sit too well with Him then, and it doesn’t sit too well with Him today (cf., Revelation 2:2-4).
This playing religion on the part of the Israelites became so intolerable to our long-suffering God, that He uttered Malachi’s words quoted above. He said in essence, “Slam the temple doors shut and keep those religios out of My temple! I don’t want their worthless offerings because their hearts aren’t in it. They live to please themselves, when they are supposed to live for Me. I am the King of kings, but they behave toward Me as if I were a dead carcass back in Egypt. Keep them out of My sight!”
Strong words, those...not the pleasantries I normally associate with church. Maybe I shouldn’t take God for granted. Maybe I shouldn’t rise up late on Sunday mornings and hie off to the church building, thinking I am doing God a favor by being there. He doesn’t need me. I need Him! He bestows the favors (i.e., grace). No matter what I do or how much, I am merely an unprofitable servant. At best I have merely done my duty.
So what will I do to get this right with the Lord? I know. I’ll diligently spend time alone with Him daily, with Bible open and hands folded in prayer. He can talk with me and I with Him. That is the definition of a personal relationship with the Lord. It’s during such times I receive His blessing, and then I can share the blessing with others at church and elsewhere. Anyone is welcome to go and do likewise.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. For more info please visit these sites to purchase my books:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
I recall back in the day spending summer vacations and Christmas holidays and spring break—in fine, any free time I had from elementary school—staying with my maternal grandparents out in the country. They had a small farm with chickens and rabbits and corn and assorted other crops. They were surrounded by big old farms with pigs and cows and humongous acres of corn and soy beans.
My granddaddy built their home with his own hands, right after World War I. He was a carpenter by trade. The home was heated with a wood burning stove in the living room, and that was it for all the rooms! As for air conditioning, well, you held this cardboard in your hand and waved it!
Grandmamma cooked the food on her wood burning stove. Some of the tastiest, mouth-watering meals ever originated there. We hunted squirrel and rabbit to eat and fished for food too. Even frog legs were on the menu sometimes. The homemade bread and biscuits sung their siren song, crooning us back for more. It never gets better than that.
Well, both the front door and the back had screen doors attached to them. In the center of the door near the doorknob was attached one end of a strong, heavy-duty spring, with the other end attached to the doorpost. This kept the doors from staying open: the spring action pulled it shut.
When the door was pulled shut by the spring, the door would slam loudly. In fact for being such a light-weight door, it sure startled the dickens out of us when it slammed! And God forbid anyone should be so jejune as to stomp out mad and slam the door on purpose. Yikes! That was even louder.
In the prophet Malachi’s time the Israelites got caught up in apathetically going through religious motions. They completely lost sight of the Lord and ignored His Word. Consequently the Lord spent His time by Himself every day because His people failed to spend time with Him. This didn’t sit too well with Him then, and it doesn’t sit too well with Him today (cf., Revelation 2:2-4).
This playing religion on the part of the Israelites became so intolerable to our long-suffering God, that He uttered Malachi’s words quoted above. He said in essence, “Slam the temple doors shut and keep those religios out of My temple! I don’t want their worthless offerings because their hearts aren’t in it. They live to please themselves, when they are supposed to live for Me. I am the King of kings, but they behave toward Me as if I were a dead carcass back in Egypt. Keep them out of My sight!”
Strong words, those...not the pleasantries I normally associate with church. Maybe I shouldn’t take God for granted. Maybe I shouldn’t rise up late on Sunday mornings and hie off to the church building, thinking I am doing God a favor by being there. He doesn’t need me. I need Him! He bestows the favors (i.e., grace). No matter what I do or how much, I am merely an unprofitable servant. At best I have merely done my duty.
So what will I do to get this right with the Lord? I know. I’ll diligently spend time alone with Him daily, with Bible open and hands folded in prayer. He can talk with me and I with Him. That is the definition of a personal relationship with the Lord. It’s during such times I receive His blessing, and then I can share the blessing with others at church and elsewhere. Anyone is welcome to go and do likewise.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. For more info please visit these sites to purchase my books:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
December 15, 2013
Word Games
On more than one occasion over the years, I have been confronted with doctrinal sophistry. The perpetrators of such blather usually spout arguments about words they heard from some self-styled intellectual genius. The genius knows how to sound convincing, and their followers swallow their chicanery hook, line, and sinker. But those followers don’t understand what's involved at all, and they haven’t given it much thought so they don’t rectify their situation.
One of the more common examples of this is the argument that God doesn’t tempt anyone, period. He does test us, but He never ever tempts us because to tempt is evil while testing is not.
A cursory peek into the dictionary will dispel such illogical tripe, dear friends. To tempt may or may not be evil. Even more to the point, the original Greek for tempt is translated as test in some cases and tempt in other cases.
When the translators do this, they are interpreting instead of translating. They interpret the test/tempt as evil when they translate the word as tempt, while they translate the word as test when it’s a good thing in their eyes. But it’s still the same word. Their shenanigans lead the English reader astray because he/she believes two different words are used in the Greek.
I'll assay one more example and expose the casuistry more thoroughly by means of it. I’ve been challenged about teaching the Scriptural truth of the Rapture. The challenge went something like this:
“There is no such thing as the Rapture! The word doesn’t appear anywhere in the entire Bible. So there!”
I might as well conclude this post right here and now. The challenge is so irrefutable! What’s the point of even answering such clever assertions?
But wait! There is every point to answering the argument. The Bible doesn't mention any toilets in the church buildings. For that matter church buildings aren’t even mentioned in the Bible. Would those who argue against the Rapture be inclined to argue against toilets and church buildings? Methinks not.
But more to the point, dear friends. The crux of the matter is this: the original manuscripts which were inspired by the Holy Spirit were written in Hebrew and Greek, not English. When it comes right down to it, there are NO English words inspired by the Holy Spirit!
So yes, they are correct. The English word Rapture does not appear in the Bible. Nor does the word Trinity and a slew of other words used in doctrinal understanding. But guess what? The Greek word harpazo is in the Bible. It is the word we translate into English as Rapture. It basically means to be caught up and taken to another place.
So the word Rapture doesn’t appear in the Bible, but what is depicted by the word Rapture does indeed occur in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 (cf., 2 Corinthians 12:2). So do we really want to argue about words? I think it is much better to discuss what actually occurs in the Bible. Are you with me?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. For more info please visit these sites to purchase my books: http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
One of the more common examples of this is the argument that God doesn’t tempt anyone, period. He does test us, but He never ever tempts us because to tempt is evil while testing is not.
A cursory peek into the dictionary will dispel such illogical tripe, dear friends. To tempt may or may not be evil. Even more to the point, the original Greek for tempt is translated as test in some cases and tempt in other cases.
When the translators do this, they are interpreting instead of translating. They interpret the test/tempt as evil when they translate the word as tempt, while they translate the word as test when it’s a good thing in their eyes. But it’s still the same word. Their shenanigans lead the English reader astray because he/she believes two different words are used in the Greek.
I'll assay one more example and expose the casuistry more thoroughly by means of it. I’ve been challenged about teaching the Scriptural truth of the Rapture. The challenge went something like this:
“There is no such thing as the Rapture! The word doesn’t appear anywhere in the entire Bible. So there!”
I might as well conclude this post right here and now. The challenge is so irrefutable! What’s the point of even answering such clever assertions?
But wait! There is every point to answering the argument. The Bible doesn't mention any toilets in the church buildings. For that matter church buildings aren’t even mentioned in the Bible. Would those who argue against the Rapture be inclined to argue against toilets and church buildings? Methinks not.
But more to the point, dear friends. The crux of the matter is this: the original manuscripts which were inspired by the Holy Spirit were written in Hebrew and Greek, not English. When it comes right down to it, there are NO English words inspired by the Holy Spirit!
So yes, they are correct. The English word Rapture does not appear in the Bible. Nor does the word Trinity and a slew of other words used in doctrinal understanding. But guess what? The Greek word harpazo is in the Bible. It is the word we translate into English as Rapture. It basically means to be caught up and taken to another place.
So the word Rapture doesn’t appear in the Bible, but what is depicted by the word Rapture does indeed occur in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 (cf., 2 Corinthians 12:2). So do we really want to argue about words? I think it is much better to discuss what actually occurs in the Bible. Are you with me?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. For more info please visit these sites to purchase my books: http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
December 14, 2013
Stargazers
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven [1 Thessalonians 4:16].
But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near [Luke 21:28].
Man's only option for redemption is the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is a Person, not a set of beliefs or fervent church attendance. Accordingly Luke 21:28 refers to God's people looking up ("lift up your heads") because the Lord Jesus is returning ("your redemption is drawing near").
In each case the Lord is descending from heaven. So the two passages refer to the same event. Right? Not so fast! Such a conclusion is a non sequitur. It assumes that the Lord Jesus can only descend from heaven one time. In fact He already did so at His first coming, when He took upon human flesh. We celebrate that time as His birthday, the holiday Christmas.
Fact of the matter is, the Lord Jesus will descend from heaven twice more. The first time He comes, He will come down to the clouds and call the Christians to meet Him up there in the clouds. He will not come to the earth at that time. This is known in theology textbooks as the Rapture. If you read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, you will obtain a fuller account of this marvelous event. I cannot wait for it to transpire! Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus.
Then there is the time after that when the Lord will return to the earth with His angels and heavenly people. This is known as the Second Coming. The first coming or advent occurred circa 7 B.C. We celebrate this as Christmas. The Lord's Second Coming will be after the Great Tribulation. At that time He will cast the antichrist and the false religious leader into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 19:20), and lock up the devil for 1000 years (aka the Millennium; cf., Revelation 20:1-3). If you read Luke 21:25-28 you will obtain further information on this event.
To recapitulate, at the Rapture the Lord Jesus descends from heaven to the clouds and calls the Christians to meet Him there. He takes us home to heaven with Him to celebrate the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7-9). At His Second Coming the Lord Jesus descends from heaven with His angels and saints, coming all the way to the earth to destroy evil and set up the Millennial Kingdom on the earth (Revelation 19:11-19). For 1000 years He will rule the earth from His throne in Jerusalem, keeping all sin in check worldwide.
For further Bible teaching be sure to check out my five volume set, Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. For more info please visit these sites to purchase my books:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near [Luke 21:28].
Man's only option for redemption is the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is a Person, not a set of beliefs or fervent church attendance. Accordingly Luke 21:28 refers to God's people looking up ("lift up your heads") because the Lord Jesus is returning ("your redemption is drawing near").
In each case the Lord is descending from heaven. So the two passages refer to the same event. Right? Not so fast! Such a conclusion is a non sequitur. It assumes that the Lord Jesus can only descend from heaven one time. In fact He already did so at His first coming, when He took upon human flesh. We celebrate that time as His birthday, the holiday Christmas.
Fact of the matter is, the Lord Jesus will descend from heaven twice more. The first time He comes, He will come down to the clouds and call the Christians to meet Him up there in the clouds. He will not come to the earth at that time. This is known in theology textbooks as the Rapture. If you read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, you will obtain a fuller account of this marvelous event. I cannot wait for it to transpire! Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus.
Then there is the time after that when the Lord will return to the earth with His angels and heavenly people. This is known as the Second Coming. The first coming or advent occurred circa 7 B.C. We celebrate this as Christmas. The Lord's Second Coming will be after the Great Tribulation. At that time He will cast the antichrist and the false religious leader into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 19:20), and lock up the devil for 1000 years (aka the Millennium; cf., Revelation 20:1-3). If you read Luke 21:25-28 you will obtain further information on this event.
To recapitulate, at the Rapture the Lord Jesus descends from heaven to the clouds and calls the Christians to meet Him there. He takes us home to heaven with Him to celebrate the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7-9). At His Second Coming the Lord Jesus descends from heaven with His angels and saints, coming all the way to the earth to destroy evil and set up the Millennial Kingdom on the earth (Revelation 19:11-19). For 1000 years He will rule the earth from His throne in Jerusalem, keeping all sin in check worldwide.
For further Bible teaching be sure to check out my five volume set, Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. For more info please visit these sites to purchase my books:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
December 13, 2013
Eight Days A Week – Part 2
I didn't know it at the time, but this woman unconsciously brought to light a deep spiritual truth. In the Law of Moses the Lord repeatedly used visible physical realities to teach the Israelites invisible spiritual truths—sort of like using picture cards to teach very young children. The visible physical realities of everyday life were employed to open the eyes of God's people to what lay behind the scenes in eternity.
A week DOES consist of only seven days, not eight. Once the seventh day is over a new week begins, itself consisting of seven days. So we have Days 1-7, followed by Days 1-7, then once again Days 1-7—for as long as time exists. There is no such thing as a Day 8…unless you're a Beatle in love!
This understanding of the number “7” began in Genesis 1-2 with the creation of space, time, and matter. God created the heavens and the earth in six days, and He rested on the seventh day. From this the Law of Moses—as also the New Testament at times—employs the number “7” to typify “completeness” or “perfection”. Creation was made “complete” in seven days, six of those days being work days and the seventh being a day of rest. That is the typology involved in the Bible's usage of the number “7”.
But not so fast! In some cases the Bible makes it a point to include a Day 8 in its typology. If all time is broken down into weeks consisting of Days 1-7, what are we to make of a Day 8? Hmm. Now that's a toughie...at least it was until the Spirit revealed the typology or symbolism to me.
Do you know what Day 8 typifies? Look at it like this: if all of time consists of Days 1-7, what is left? Answer: eternity! Yes, in the holidays of Israel when a feast consisted of a Day 8, the Lord was teaching that the holiday continued into eternity. It lasted through all of time and didn't stop there.
This is food for thought, dear friends. We have so much spiritual nutriment to feed on from the entire Word of God. Are you hungry for it?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. For more info please visit these sites to purchase my books:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
A week DOES consist of only seven days, not eight. Once the seventh day is over a new week begins, itself consisting of seven days. So we have Days 1-7, followed by Days 1-7, then once again Days 1-7—for as long as time exists. There is no such thing as a Day 8…unless you're a Beatle in love!
This understanding of the number “7” began in Genesis 1-2 with the creation of space, time, and matter. God created the heavens and the earth in six days, and He rested on the seventh day. From this the Law of Moses—as also the New Testament at times—employs the number “7” to typify “completeness” or “perfection”. Creation was made “complete” in seven days, six of those days being work days and the seventh being a day of rest. That is the typology involved in the Bible's usage of the number “7”.
But not so fast! In some cases the Bible makes it a point to include a Day 8 in its typology. If all time is broken down into weeks consisting of Days 1-7, what are we to make of a Day 8? Hmm. Now that's a toughie...at least it was until the Spirit revealed the typology or symbolism to me.
Do you know what Day 8 typifies? Look at it like this: if all of time consists of Days 1-7, what is left? Answer: eternity! Yes, in the holidays of Israel when a feast consisted of a Day 8, the Lord was teaching that the holiday continued into eternity. It lasted through all of time and didn't stop there.
This is food for thought, dear friends. We have so much spiritual nutriment to feed on from the entire Word of God. Are you hungry for it?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. For more info please visit these sites to purchase my books:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
December 12, 2013
Eight Days A Week – Part 1
Back in the day when I was in high school, the Beatles came out with still another hit song titled Eight Days A Week. I recall being in a local diner with my school buddies one day after school. We were chowing on some burgers with grilled onions and sipping on cherry coke made at the fountain. Those burgers and cherry cokes back then sure were tastier than what is available nowadays!
Anyway, back to the point. Our waitress was a middle-aged woman, a wife who made extra family money at this diner. She was really good in the personality department. She didn't flinch around teenagers, no matter how ridiculous we so often behaved!
Well, I stuck a nickel in the jukebox selector on the wall by our booth and chose Eight Days A Week. As we listened our waitress came with our order. She smiled and slyly dropped the comment, "Eight days a week? There's only seven days in a week!"
She wasn't being an old fogey, dear friends. She knew full well it was simply a song, and the lack of sense was a matter of poetic license. The Beatles were singing their love for someone, proclaiming they loved her so much that it required an extra day each week to express their love.
After all, isn't "love" in reality incoherent and quixotic like that? Our waitress was simply relating to teenagers in a jovial manner, and we appreciated her for it. In fact she did such a splendid job of it that, though I cannot remember her name anymore, I can still see her face in my mind's eye.
Oh, dear! We're out of time today. We'll get back to this tale tomorrow. See you then!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. For more info please visit these sites to purchase my books:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Anyway, back to the point. Our waitress was a middle-aged woman, a wife who made extra family money at this diner. She was really good in the personality department. She didn't flinch around teenagers, no matter how ridiculous we so often behaved!
Well, I stuck a nickel in the jukebox selector on the wall by our booth and chose Eight Days A Week. As we listened our waitress came with our order. She smiled and slyly dropped the comment, "Eight days a week? There's only seven days in a week!"
She wasn't being an old fogey, dear friends. She knew full well it was simply a song, and the lack of sense was a matter of poetic license. The Beatles were singing their love for someone, proclaiming they loved her so much that it required an extra day each week to express their love.
After all, isn't "love" in reality incoherent and quixotic like that? Our waitress was simply relating to teenagers in a jovial manner, and we appreciated her for it. In fact she did such a splendid job of it that, though I cannot remember her name anymore, I can still see her face in my mind's eye.
Oh, dear! We're out of time today. We'll get back to this tale tomorrow. See you then!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. For more info please visit these sites to purchase my books:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
December 11, 2013
Time To Cut the Grass
A voice says, “Call out.” Then he answered, “What shall I call out?” All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever [Isaiah 40:6-8].
What to do when I encounter a deluge of difficulties? Hmm. Now let me think... I guess I could throw a pity party and invite all the naysayers I know. That might be fun. Naw. I think I'll take a rain check on that one.
I got it! I'll go to bed, pull the covers over my head, and hope I never have to wake up. Ah, the old ostrich policy at its finest. That always works. Not! Toss that one on the rubbish heap too.
Dear me. What shall I do? I could stand on the street corner and strum my guitar, giving my best impersonation of Bob Dylan with some poetry set to music. I could sing all about how no one likes me and life isn't fair, and soar off into the nether world as I reminisce about the good old times back in the day. Yeah, but that's a dead horse I don't want to beat.
Okay. So what will I do in response to the doldrums of my existence? Well, thus far all my approaches were to gaze far and wide in all directions horizontally. What I failed to do was to take a gander vertically. The horizontal gaze fixes the eyes on man—or as Isaiah worded it, on "all flesh", both myself and other people.
And therein lies the crux of the matter, my dear friends. "All flesh" is like grass and its loveliness is no more than the flowers in the field. Have you noticed how long grass and flowers last? Let me tell you: not long!
The contrast to "all flesh" is to be found in the phrase "the word of our God ". So how long does the Word of God last? That would be "forever", and methinks "forever" is a wee bit longer than how long grass and flowers last.
That settles it. Isaiah's logic is irrefutable and irresistible. I'm going to handle my deluge of difficulties by hieing off to the prayer closet with my Bible, and spending time alone with the Lord Jesus. Why don't we all go and do likewise?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. For more info please visit these sites to purchase my books:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
What to do when I encounter a deluge of difficulties? Hmm. Now let me think... I guess I could throw a pity party and invite all the naysayers I know. That might be fun. Naw. I think I'll take a rain check on that one.
I got it! I'll go to bed, pull the covers over my head, and hope I never have to wake up. Ah, the old ostrich policy at its finest. That always works. Not! Toss that one on the rubbish heap too.
Dear me. What shall I do? I could stand on the street corner and strum my guitar, giving my best impersonation of Bob Dylan with some poetry set to music. I could sing all about how no one likes me and life isn't fair, and soar off into the nether world as I reminisce about the good old times back in the day. Yeah, but that's a dead horse I don't want to beat.
Okay. So what will I do in response to the doldrums of my existence? Well, thus far all my approaches were to gaze far and wide in all directions horizontally. What I failed to do was to take a gander vertically. The horizontal gaze fixes the eyes on man—or as Isaiah worded it, on "all flesh", both myself and other people.
And therein lies the crux of the matter, my dear friends. "All flesh" is like grass and its loveliness is no more than the flowers in the field. Have you noticed how long grass and flowers last? Let me tell you: not long!
The contrast to "all flesh" is to be found in the phrase "the word of our God ". So how long does the Word of God last? That would be "forever", and methinks "forever" is a wee bit longer than how long grass and flowers last.
That settles it. Isaiah's logic is irrefutable and irresistible. I'm going to handle my deluge of difficulties by hieing off to the prayer closet with my Bible, and spending time alone with the Lord Jesus. Why don't we all go and do likewise?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. For more info please visit these sites to purchase my books:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
December 10, 2013
Nowhere Else To Go
Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life [John 6:67-78].
It is the norm nowadays to view church and religion as being equivalent to salvation, as being the same as eternal life. If I go to church I must be saved. If I am religious in any way I must have eternal life.
Truth be told, church is often predominantly activities and programs. Christians are so busy with these functions they have little to no time left for personal time with the Lord. Bible reading and meditation is replaced with shortcuts like puny daily devotionals and quick booklets about the Bible. But, dear people, where is Jesus in all that?
The Gospel is a Person, not programs and activities. Programs and activities never died for anyone! This doesn't mean we should have no programs and activities. It means that programs and activities are not a substitute for the Person of Jesus Christ. We can have programs and activities without Jesus and look mighty fine and religious. But we cannot live the Gospel that way. Either we have a personal relationship with Jesus, or else we haven't the Gospel.
Peter didn't say, "Lord, what other programs and activities can we employ?" He said, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. Notice the personal pronouns "whom" and "You". Peter knew that eternal life was a Person, viz., Jesus Christ. First the disciples related to Jesus the Person. Only then did they perform ministry functions because they were related to Him.
Think I need to retire to the prayer closet for a space and allow the Lord to search my heart and mind as only He can do. Am I daily spending time alone with this Person Who is eternal life? Or am I too busy socializing and running hither and yon in a hustle and bustle of activities? Hmm. I wonder...
To further research this issue, I direct you to my two books Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. For more info please visit these sites to purchase my books:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
It is the norm nowadays to view church and religion as being equivalent to salvation, as being the same as eternal life. If I go to church I must be saved. If I am religious in any way I must have eternal life.
Truth be told, church is often predominantly activities and programs. Christians are so busy with these functions they have little to no time left for personal time with the Lord. Bible reading and meditation is replaced with shortcuts like puny daily devotionals and quick booklets about the Bible. But, dear people, where is Jesus in all that?
The Gospel is a Person, not programs and activities. Programs and activities never died for anyone! This doesn't mean we should have no programs and activities. It means that programs and activities are not a substitute for the Person of Jesus Christ. We can have programs and activities without Jesus and look mighty fine and religious. But we cannot live the Gospel that way. Either we have a personal relationship with Jesus, or else we haven't the Gospel.
Peter didn't say, "Lord, what other programs and activities can we employ?" He said, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. Notice the personal pronouns "whom" and "You". Peter knew that eternal life was a Person, viz., Jesus Christ. First the disciples related to Jesus the Person. Only then did they perform ministry functions because they were related to Him.
Think I need to retire to the prayer closet for a space and allow the Lord to search my heart and mind as only He can do. Am I daily spending time alone with this Person Who is eternal life? Or am I too busy socializing and running hither and yon in a hustle and bustle of activities? Hmm. I wonder...
To further research this issue, I direct you to my two books Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. For more info please visit these sites to purchase my books:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
December 9, 2013
Let's Try That Again
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" [John 3:5-6].
I remember a kindly old soul in a church I once pastored. She told me she didn't need to be born again. I showed her Jesus' words. Her reply, "Oh, that's just for the wicked people, like skid row winos. I've been a good person all my life, so I don't need to be born again."
Here's the thing. Jesus spoke those words to Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin in Jesus' day, the ruling council in Israel. He was also a very upstanding member of the community. He wasn't a hypocrite nor a self-righteous religio. And he never joined sides with those who rejected Jesus.
In fine, Nicodemus was one of the most God-fearing and righteous people of his day. He sincerely wanted to belong to the Lord and do right by Him. He walked as best he knew how, according to the available light from the Scriptures at that time. And he sought out Jesus because he wanted more light. Yes, Nicodemus was a pillar in the "church" back in the day, not a skid row wino by any stretch.
Notwithstanding all this, Nicodemus still was required to be born again, if he was to enter the Kingdom of God. The reason why is that the flesh begets the flesh. It cannot give birth to the Spirit. Permit me to make a pitch for my book Volume 1: Genesis at this time, available from Amazon and Amazon Kindle.
We discuss this issue in Genesis 1. God made all things to reproduce after their own kind. Ergo, the flesh perforce must beget the flesh. We cannot fetch drinking water from salty water, nor grapes from thistles. It just doesn't happen that way because God ordained that each thing reproduces after its own kind.
The contrast Jesus made was between the natural order of things ("born") and the spiritual order ("born again"). All of physical creation fell under the tyranny of sin when Adam sinned. Every person born is now conceived in sin and born with a sin nature, i.e., a predilection for disobeying the Word of God. All of us want to eat from the kogae tree instead of from the life tree, if for no other reason than that the Lord said not to! Sin...
Consequently we are not fit to live with the Lord in heaven. If we would be fit, we must be rid of our sin nature. The problem is that man cannot accomplish this on his own. The reason why is a subject for another day. Suffice it to say that the Lord Jesus did accomplish this by His death on the cross to pay the penalty for all mankind's sins. His resurrection out of death was the sign that His payment was accepted by our heavenly Father.
When a person accepts Jesus' finished work on his/her behalf, he/she is born again. We accept Him by grace through faith. God freely offers His new life to us (i.e., grace). We take Him at His Word and act accordingly by requesting that He bestow His new life on us (i.e., faith).
Any takers? Go ahead. Take Him up on His offer and cheer the heart of the Lord.
There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance [Luke 15:7].
I remember a kindly old soul in a church I once pastored. She told me she didn't need to be born again. I showed her Jesus' words. Her reply, "Oh, that's just for the wicked people, like skid row winos. I've been a good person all my life, so I don't need to be born again."
Here's the thing. Jesus spoke those words to Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin in Jesus' day, the ruling council in Israel. He was also a very upstanding member of the community. He wasn't a hypocrite nor a self-righteous religio. And he never joined sides with those who rejected Jesus.
In fine, Nicodemus was one of the most God-fearing and righteous people of his day. He sincerely wanted to belong to the Lord and do right by Him. He walked as best he knew how, according to the available light from the Scriptures at that time. And he sought out Jesus because he wanted more light. Yes, Nicodemus was a pillar in the "church" back in the day, not a skid row wino by any stretch.
Notwithstanding all this, Nicodemus still was required to be born again, if he was to enter the Kingdom of God. The reason why is that the flesh begets the flesh. It cannot give birth to the Spirit. Permit me to make a pitch for my book Volume 1: Genesis at this time, available from Amazon and Amazon Kindle.
We discuss this issue in Genesis 1. God made all things to reproduce after their own kind. Ergo, the flesh perforce must beget the flesh. We cannot fetch drinking water from salty water, nor grapes from thistles. It just doesn't happen that way because God ordained that each thing reproduces after its own kind.
The contrast Jesus made was between the natural order of things ("born") and the spiritual order ("born again"). All of physical creation fell under the tyranny of sin when Adam sinned. Every person born is now conceived in sin and born with a sin nature, i.e., a predilection for disobeying the Word of God. All of us want to eat from the kogae tree instead of from the life tree, if for no other reason than that the Lord said not to! Sin...
Consequently we are not fit to live with the Lord in heaven. If we would be fit, we must be rid of our sin nature. The problem is that man cannot accomplish this on his own. The reason why is a subject for another day. Suffice it to say that the Lord Jesus did accomplish this by His death on the cross to pay the penalty for all mankind's sins. His resurrection out of death was the sign that His payment was accepted by our heavenly Father.
When a person accepts Jesus' finished work on his/her behalf, he/she is born again. We accept Him by grace through faith. God freely offers His new life to us (i.e., grace). We take Him at His Word and act accordingly by requesting that He bestow His new life on us (i.e., faith).
Any takers? Go ahead. Take Him up on His offer and cheer the heart of the Lord.
There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance [Luke 15:7].
December 8, 2013
Betwixt and Between, Part 2
What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works [Romans 9:30-32].
Those words take us back to yesterday’s post. Let’s continue now with what we began then. Man thinks he is good enough to obey the Law. So God gave the Law to His chosen people back in the day to allow them all the chances they wanted at keeping it. Guess what? Nary a soul succeeded. The purpose of the Law was achieved: it showed man that he could not possibly live with God on the basis of his own merits.
This taught man that, if he was to live with God, he needed a Savior—One Who could pay the penalty for his sins and also replace the sinner living inside him with a new life of righteousness. On the one hand the penalty for sins needed to be paid, and that penalty is death. On the other hand a new life was needed, one which did not want to disobey the Word of God and also had the power to obey it.
So it is, you see, that it is a good thing we Christians are not under law but under grace (cf., Romans 6:14). The Law did NOT merely consist of a set of do's and don'ts to be followed. The Law consisted of an indivisible set of regulations forming one single LAW, and every last regulation must perforce be obeyed perfectly at all times 24/7, or else the offender was not perfect and so was unable to live with God.
Also, the Law was NOT merely a question of morality. As we learned by the opening quotation of this post, the Law was a means for attaining righteousness. In other words to put ourselves under the Law is to attempt to be perfect, in order to earn our own way to heaven. To be under the Law is not merely to obey the Ten Commandments to the best of our ability. It is to attempt to get ourselves to heaven by our own obedience—in which case either we obey it perfectly always or else we pack the swim suits because the destination will be very hot!
Dear friends, don't listen to well-meaning folks who quote the Law and insist we are responsible to obey it. We are NOT under law: we ARE under grace. The Apostle Paul's words with which we began this post are meant to teach us this very point. Those Israelites who rejected Jesus as Israel's Messiah did so because they wanted the Law, not grace. Ergo, God had the Gospel go to the Gentiles to give them the opportunity to receive Jesus as their Savior.
Which of us in our right minds wants to reject the Gospel and return to the Law? Not me! I will arise and go to Jesus. He will embrace me in His arms. Care to join me?
Those words take us back to yesterday’s post. Let’s continue now with what we began then. Man thinks he is good enough to obey the Law. So God gave the Law to His chosen people back in the day to allow them all the chances they wanted at keeping it. Guess what? Nary a soul succeeded. The purpose of the Law was achieved: it showed man that he could not possibly live with God on the basis of his own merits.
This taught man that, if he was to live with God, he needed a Savior—One Who could pay the penalty for his sins and also replace the sinner living inside him with a new life of righteousness. On the one hand the penalty for sins needed to be paid, and that penalty is death. On the other hand a new life was needed, one which did not want to disobey the Word of God and also had the power to obey it.
So it is, you see, that it is a good thing we Christians are not under law but under grace (cf., Romans 6:14). The Law did NOT merely consist of a set of do's and don'ts to be followed. The Law consisted of an indivisible set of regulations forming one single LAW, and every last regulation must perforce be obeyed perfectly at all times 24/7, or else the offender was not perfect and so was unable to live with God.
Also, the Law was NOT merely a question of morality. As we learned by the opening quotation of this post, the Law was a means for attaining righteousness. In other words to put ourselves under the Law is to attempt to be perfect, in order to earn our own way to heaven. To be under the Law is not merely to obey the Ten Commandments to the best of our ability. It is to attempt to get ourselves to heaven by our own obedience—in which case either we obey it perfectly always or else we pack the swim suits because the destination will be very hot!
Dear friends, don't listen to well-meaning folks who quote the Law and insist we are responsible to obey it. We are NOT under law: we ARE under grace. The Apostle Paul's words with which we began this post are meant to teach us this very point. Those Israelites who rejected Jesus as Israel's Messiah did so because they wanted the Law, not grace. Ergo, God had the Gospel go to the Gentiles to give them the opportunity to receive Jesus as their Savior.
Which of us in our right minds wants to reject the Gospel and return to the Law? Not me! I will arise and go to Jesus. He will embrace me in His arms. Care to join me?
December 7, 2013
Betwixt and Between, Part 1
What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works [Romans 9:30-32].
In those verses a clear dichotomy exists, and this contrast is the point to the entire quotation. On the one hand there is the righteousness which is by faith, on the other a law of righteousness. In each case righteousness is the result. The cause is what varies between the two.
The phrase a law of righteousness is better understood when the order of the words corresponds to the phrase the righteousness which is by faith. After all, Paul is teaching the difference between the two "righteousnesses", if you will permit me to coin a word.
So let's change the order of the words for the phrase a law of righteousness, so that it does correspond to what it is being contrasted with. Voilà! we come up with the righteousness which is by law. For each phrase righteousness is the result, while it is achieved by means of either "law" or "faith".
I wanted to note this contrast because by doing so we can see the purpose of the Law of Moses, dear friends. The Law was given by the Lord to the Israelites to teach them that they could not be perfect. But being perfect is the condition necessary for entrance into heaven. God is perfect and He cannot tolerate anything less. If He did then heaven would become hell pronto!
The problem wasn't with the Law. The problem was with man because man is a sinner and sinners are the opposite of perfect. Trouble is, because man is a sinner his thinking and judgment is all out of whack. Ergo, instead of looking in the mirror and seeing a sinner, he looks in the mirror and sees a saint.
This predicament leaves man betwixt and between. He is torn between Law and grace, and the sinner cannot swallow his pride enough to accept the pure Gospel without adulterating it by adding in the Law. By that means a sinner can feel that he is not perfect and needs the Gospel, but he is not really so bad after all and can do good on his own.
We will continue our flow of thought in our next post tomorrow. For tonight let’s hie off to our prayer closet and ruminate a bit on what we have just studied.
In those verses a clear dichotomy exists, and this contrast is the point to the entire quotation. On the one hand there is the righteousness which is by faith, on the other a law of righteousness. In each case righteousness is the result. The cause is what varies between the two.
The phrase a law of righteousness is better understood when the order of the words corresponds to the phrase the righteousness which is by faith. After all, Paul is teaching the difference between the two "righteousnesses", if you will permit me to coin a word.
So let's change the order of the words for the phrase a law of righteousness, so that it does correspond to what it is being contrasted with. Voilà! we come up with the righteousness which is by law. For each phrase righteousness is the result, while it is achieved by means of either "law" or "faith".
I wanted to note this contrast because by doing so we can see the purpose of the Law of Moses, dear friends. The Law was given by the Lord to the Israelites to teach them that they could not be perfect. But being perfect is the condition necessary for entrance into heaven. God is perfect and He cannot tolerate anything less. If He did then heaven would become hell pronto!
The problem wasn't with the Law. The problem was with man because man is a sinner and sinners are the opposite of perfect. Trouble is, because man is a sinner his thinking and judgment is all out of whack. Ergo, instead of looking in the mirror and seeing a sinner, he looks in the mirror and sees a saint.
This predicament leaves man betwixt and between. He is torn between Law and grace, and the sinner cannot swallow his pride enough to accept the pure Gospel without adulterating it by adding in the Law. By that means a sinner can feel that he is not perfect and needs the Gospel, but he is not really so bad after all and can do good on his own.
We will continue our flow of thought in our next post tomorrow. For tonight let’s hie off to our prayer closet and ruminate a bit on what we have just studied.
