Randy Green's Blog, page 479
May 14, 2012
Two for the Price of One – Part 3
If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins [1 Corinthians 15:17].
The message of the verse we quoted to kick off this study teaches about life as well as death. “How so?” you wonder, as you read the words of the verse with befuddlement. Permit me to explain it.
If Christ did not rise out of death, then we are still in our sins because the penalty for sins wasn’t accepted. Accordingly, we must die twice because we are only born once. But…but…BUT Christ did die on the cross as payment for the penalty of our sins, and He did rise out of death to demonstrate God’s acceptance of His perfect payment for sins. And by faith we accepted His payment on our behalf.
Having done so we are born again, born twice, and we have His new resurrection life in exchange for our old life of sin. The subject of the entire fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians is not the cross and death. It is the empty tomb and life, eternal life and the new resurrection body.
There could be no empty tomb apart from Christ’s death on the cross, so the cross and death cannot be omitted from the discussion in 1 Corinthians 15. By the same token the cross by itself cannot accomplish God’s goal of redemption for sinners apart from the empty tomb.
The two cannot be separated, not even for a jinute, and that’s quicker than a minute! The cross flows into the empty tomb. The empty tomb is filled with the cross. At the cross the penalty for sins was paid. Sinners died on the cross “in Christ”, and they were buried in the empty tomb “in Christ”—sinners, that is, who accept Jesus’ payment for their sins.
The sinner remains dead and buried in the tomb, but the new creation rises out of death and departs the tomb, leaving it empty to him. The old sinner remains in the tomb. The new creation in Christ Jesus does not. He lives with Christ evermore, and their residence is certainly not in a tomb! Hallelujah!
So the teaching of our quoted text is that Christ had to rise out of death, or His death for the penalty of our sins was not paid. God did not accept His payment on our behalf. In which case we are born only once and must die twice.
Praise God! Christ did rise out of death! His resurrection is indubitably true. We not only die “in Christ” on the cross of Christ, but we also rise out of death “in Christ” and leave the tomb. At the cross we are emptied of sin. At the empty tomb we are filled with new life, sinless life, life without sin.
Jesus Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. The cross must never be devalued, but let us never forget to fuse the empty tomb with it. Both together accomplish God’s plan of redemption for mankind.
Oh, that reminds me. Sorry I didn’t ask earlier, but have you been to the cross and exited the tomb?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Categories: Church Age
The message of the verse we quoted to kick off this study teaches about life as well as death. “How so?” you wonder, as you read the words of the verse with befuddlement. Permit me to explain it.
If Christ did not rise out of death, then we are still in our sins because the penalty for sins wasn’t accepted. Accordingly, we must die twice because we are only born once. But…but…BUT Christ did die on the cross as payment for the penalty of our sins, and He did rise out of death to demonstrate God’s acceptance of His perfect payment for sins. And by faith we accepted His payment on our behalf.
Having done so we are born again, born twice, and we have His new resurrection life in exchange for our old life of sin. The subject of the entire fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians is not the cross and death. It is the empty tomb and life, eternal life and the new resurrection body.
There could be no empty tomb apart from Christ’s death on the cross, so the cross and death cannot be omitted from the discussion in 1 Corinthians 15. By the same token the cross by itself cannot accomplish God’s goal of redemption for sinners apart from the empty tomb.
The two cannot be separated, not even for a jinute, and that’s quicker than a minute! The cross flows into the empty tomb. The empty tomb is filled with the cross. At the cross the penalty for sins was paid. Sinners died on the cross “in Christ”, and they were buried in the empty tomb “in Christ”—sinners, that is, who accept Jesus’ payment for their sins.
The sinner remains dead and buried in the tomb, but the new creation rises out of death and departs the tomb, leaving it empty to him. The old sinner remains in the tomb. The new creation in Christ Jesus does not. He lives with Christ evermore, and their residence is certainly not in a tomb! Hallelujah!
So the teaching of our quoted text is that Christ had to rise out of death, or His death for the penalty of our sins was not paid. God did not accept His payment on our behalf. In which case we are born only once and must die twice.
Praise God! Christ did rise out of death! His resurrection is indubitably true. We not only die “in Christ” on the cross of Christ, but we also rise out of death “in Christ” and leave the tomb. At the cross we are emptied of sin. At the empty tomb we are filled with new life, sinless life, life without sin.
Jesus Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. The cross must never be devalued, but let us never forget to fuse the empty tomb with it. Both together accomplish God’s plan of redemption for mankind.
Oh, that reminds me. Sorry I didn’t ask earlier, but have you been to the cross and exited the tomb?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Categories: Church Age
May 13, 2012
Two for the Price of One – Part 2
If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins [1 Corinthians 15:17].
Those human beings who approach the Lord Jesus, confess their sins to Him, and ask for His forgiveness—these folks are born twice. Based upon Jesus completed work on the cross, their sins are removed because Jesus paid the penalty for them and they accepted His payment. Thenceforth they are “in Christ”. As He is without sin, so too are they “in Christ”.
Those human beings who don’t approach the Lord Jesus to confess their sins and ask for His forgiveness, who choose to go another way of their own making or choosing—these folks are born once. They are not “in Christ” because they reject His payment on the cross for the penalty of their sins. Consequently the bill still demands payment, and the wages of sin is death. Ergo, they must die for their sins.
Each of us eventually goes the way of all flesh. We die once. We die and pass into eternity. If we went to the cross and accepted the payment for the penalty of our sins, the bill is paid and we don’t die again. Indeed, from the moment we accepted Jesus’ payment for our sins, we were born again, born the second time, born twice…never to die again. By going to the cross of Christ and accepting His payment for the penalty of our sins, we are born the second time and only die once.
Alas, but those who are only born once face a different fate in eternity. They stand before the great white throne tribunal of Jesus Christ and are judged according to their deeds. No, they are not judged based upon their estimation of their deeds. They are judged according to the Lord’s estimation of their deeds.
Dear people, it won’t be pretty at the great white throne tribunal. As the Bible clearly reveals, all men have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There is no one righteous, not even one. All have gone their own way. No one seeks God in spirit and truth. All our righteousnesses are but filthy rags.
This will be exposed in all its hideousness at the great white throne. Every man’s works will be shown to be contaminated through and through with sin. Not one of man’s works will appear righteous, all good intentions not withstanding. Consequently, Judge Jesus will hammer his gavel on the Judge’s bench and thunder, “Guilty and sentenced to the lake of fire for all eternity!” That is the second death. This group of humans is born only once, so they die twice.
We’ve descanted today on both death and life, mostly on death because we spent our time around the cross of Christ. However, the Lord provides a bargain deal: two for the price of one. He not only offers us death to sin on the cross, but He gives a second heaping helping of life to righteousness at the empty tomb.
That is the message of the verse we quoted to kick off this study. But we haven’t time to delve into the issue now. Our time is up. Let’s enjoy time with the Lord before bed, shall we?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Those human beings who approach the Lord Jesus, confess their sins to Him, and ask for His forgiveness—these folks are born twice. Based upon Jesus completed work on the cross, their sins are removed because Jesus paid the penalty for them and they accepted His payment. Thenceforth they are “in Christ”. As He is without sin, so too are they “in Christ”.
Those human beings who don’t approach the Lord Jesus to confess their sins and ask for His forgiveness, who choose to go another way of their own making or choosing—these folks are born once. They are not “in Christ” because they reject His payment on the cross for the penalty of their sins. Consequently the bill still demands payment, and the wages of sin is death. Ergo, they must die for their sins.
Each of us eventually goes the way of all flesh. We die once. We die and pass into eternity. If we went to the cross and accepted the payment for the penalty of our sins, the bill is paid and we don’t die again. Indeed, from the moment we accepted Jesus’ payment for our sins, we were born again, born the second time, born twice…never to die again. By going to the cross of Christ and accepting His payment for the penalty of our sins, we are born the second time and only die once.
Alas, but those who are only born once face a different fate in eternity. They stand before the great white throne tribunal of Jesus Christ and are judged according to their deeds. No, they are not judged based upon their estimation of their deeds. They are judged according to the Lord’s estimation of their deeds.
Dear people, it won’t be pretty at the great white throne tribunal. As the Bible clearly reveals, all men have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There is no one righteous, not even one. All have gone their own way. No one seeks God in spirit and truth. All our righteousnesses are but filthy rags.
This will be exposed in all its hideousness at the great white throne. Every man’s works will be shown to be contaminated through and through with sin. Not one of man’s works will appear righteous, all good intentions not withstanding. Consequently, Judge Jesus will hammer his gavel on the Judge’s bench and thunder, “Guilty and sentenced to the lake of fire for all eternity!” That is the second death. This group of humans is born only once, so they die twice.
We’ve descanted today on both death and life, mostly on death because we spent our time around the cross of Christ. However, the Lord provides a bargain deal: two for the price of one. He not only offers us death to sin on the cross, but He gives a second heaping helping of life to righteousness at the empty tomb.
That is the message of the verse we quoted to kick off this study. But we haven’t time to delve into the issue now. Our time is up. Let’s enjoy time with the Lord before bed, shall we?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
May 12, 2012
Two for the Price of One – Part 1
If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins [1 Corinthians 15:17].
The cross of Christ is the axis around which all history revolves. Jesus’ death on the cross as payment for the penalty of all mankind’s sins is central for humanity.
God created mankind to be His family. Like unruly kids man chose to go his own way and be his own god. God responded by providing man-the-prodigal-son a way back into His good graces. The way is through the cross of Christ. There is no other way (John 14:6).
We sing songs about the cross, Calvary, Golgotha, the crucifixion. We write songs about the cross, Calvary, Golgotha, the crucifixion. In sermons, Sunday School classes, and revival meetings we hear about the cross, Calvary, Golgotha, the crucifixion. On television, the radio, and the theater we learn about the cross, Calvary, Golgotha, the crucifixion.
How could it be otherwise? The cross is where the blood of Jesus was shed, where the wages of sin was paid, where a holy life was ended so that the lives of all sinners might cease. Death came via the cross, death to sin, death to sinners, death to a world engulfed in darkness.
Whoever will may live because of the cross of Christ. Whoever will…that is the key. Will I? Will you? Who will? Yet even as we sing and read and hear about the cross of Christ, we cannot but speak of life, of living, of being born again to newness of life.
Don’t you find it a little strange? I mean, how do we get from the place of death with its grotesque and lurid images of a mangled body, tortured beyond endurance, mutilated beyond recognition, barely resembling a human being any more—how do we get from there to life, and not just life but true life, perfect life, eternal life? On the one hand the subject revolves around death, on the other life becomes the subject. How can this be?
Scripture teaches that two groups of people comprise humanity. There are those who are born once and die twice, and then there are those who are born twice and die once. Sound confusing? It doesn’t have to.
Every human being is born once. How else can he exist as a human being? He must first be born in order to exist. Every human being is born a sinner because his parents are sinners and like begets like. When Father Adam sinned, he became a sinner. Consequently, since all human beings descend from Father Adam, all human beings are born as sinners.
The wages of sin is death. Since every human being is a sinner, he sins. Ergo, every human being has to die. Conclusion: every human being is born at least once and dies at least once. The difference between the two groups of human beings is between dying once and dying twice, between being born once and being born twice.
We will continue this theme in our next study. Be sure to thank the Lord for dying on your behalf. He does like to hear us thank Him.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The cross of Christ is the axis around which all history revolves. Jesus’ death on the cross as payment for the penalty of all mankind’s sins is central for humanity.
God created mankind to be His family. Like unruly kids man chose to go his own way and be his own god. God responded by providing man-the-prodigal-son a way back into His good graces. The way is through the cross of Christ. There is no other way (John 14:6).
We sing songs about the cross, Calvary, Golgotha, the crucifixion. We write songs about the cross, Calvary, Golgotha, the crucifixion. In sermons, Sunday School classes, and revival meetings we hear about the cross, Calvary, Golgotha, the crucifixion. On television, the radio, and the theater we learn about the cross, Calvary, Golgotha, the crucifixion.
How could it be otherwise? The cross is where the blood of Jesus was shed, where the wages of sin was paid, where a holy life was ended so that the lives of all sinners might cease. Death came via the cross, death to sin, death to sinners, death to a world engulfed in darkness.
Whoever will may live because of the cross of Christ. Whoever will…that is the key. Will I? Will you? Who will? Yet even as we sing and read and hear about the cross of Christ, we cannot but speak of life, of living, of being born again to newness of life.
Don’t you find it a little strange? I mean, how do we get from the place of death with its grotesque and lurid images of a mangled body, tortured beyond endurance, mutilated beyond recognition, barely resembling a human being any more—how do we get from there to life, and not just life but true life, perfect life, eternal life? On the one hand the subject revolves around death, on the other life becomes the subject. How can this be?
Scripture teaches that two groups of people comprise humanity. There are those who are born once and die twice, and then there are those who are born twice and die once. Sound confusing? It doesn’t have to.
Every human being is born once. How else can he exist as a human being? He must first be born in order to exist. Every human being is born a sinner because his parents are sinners and like begets like. When Father Adam sinned, he became a sinner. Consequently, since all human beings descend from Father Adam, all human beings are born as sinners.
The wages of sin is death. Since every human being is a sinner, he sins. Ergo, every human being has to die. Conclusion: every human being is born at least once and dies at least once. The difference between the two groups of human beings is between dying once and dying twice, between being born once and being born twice.
We will continue this theme in our next study. Be sure to thank the Lord for dying on your behalf. He does like to hear us thank Him.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
May 11, 2012
Foolish Sages and Wimpy Brutes – Part 3
For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God [1 Corinthians 1:22-24].
Jesus’ death and resurrection provide us with the means to be a Christian. Too often a Christian is deemed to be anyone who says the name Jesus, or anyone who goes to church, or anyone whose parents go to church. As we just explained the Biblical definition of a Christian, the everyday identification of a Christian is faulty to the core.
Because of this some Christians sometimes distinguish themselves from religious folks by adopting the moniker “born again Christian”. I see two things wrong with this approach though. For one, the moniker is a tautology. Any real “Christian” is “born again”.
For another thing there is only one type of Christian. No one can truly be a Christian apart from being born again. Being born again is the way a Christian comes into existence. Accordingly those folks who skip the born again part and go straight to the head of the class by attending church and claiming to be Christians—the Bible defines them as non-Christians.
It matters not whether they have good intentions, or whether they are evil impostors who slither into the church to corrupt it, or anything in between. They are not really Christians because they are not born again.
They are born only once (cf., Revelation 20:11-15), and that in the way all men are born, viz., through the instrumentation of sinful parents. This makes them sinners also because God created each species to reproduce after itself. Sinners cannot give birth to saints. They can only give birth to other sinners.
In summation, Jews demand to see miracles as proof of God. Gentiles insist on reasoning out all the facts about God. Logic is king to them, not God. In contrast to those two, Christians preach Christ crucified.
The crucifixion of Christ displays both the wisdom of God and the power of God. The two phrases are crucial because one is God’s answer to the Jews, the other His answer to the Gentiles. The Jews elevate God’s visible works (i.e., miracles) to the throne of God. They identify God by His actions, while relegating His Person to the back burner.
God’s response to this is to show Himself visibly in the Person of Jesus Christ. The Jews pushed God’s works to the front. In response God pushed His Person to the front. Jesus is “the power of God”.
The Gentiles elevate man’s intelligence to the throne of God. They eat at the kogae tree and draw conclusions based on what seems right in their own eyes. Their conclusions are formed from their reasoning and their experiences.
God’s response to this is to explain deity and eternity through the Person of Jesus Christ. Jesus went about preaching the Kingdom of God and teaching man the wisdom of God. The culmination of God’s wisdom came at the cross of Christ and the empty tomb. The Gentiles pushed man’s intelligence to the front. God countered by pushing His intelligence to the front. Jesus is “the wisdom of God”.
Let me be quite frank and pointed, dear friends. If you were born of Jewish parents, then you are a Jew. If you were born of non-Jewish parents, then you are a Gentile. But none of this is relevant to God because we aren’t responsible for who our parents are!
We are responsible, however, for how we respond to God. He holds out His hand and offers us a pardon, paid for by the blood of Jesus on the cross. If we receive it, then we are born again. If we reject it, then we are only born once. We indeed are responsible for that decision!
So step up to the cross and receive your pardon. Don’t just be born. Be born again. Give glory to God and confess your sins to Jesus.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Jesus’ death and resurrection provide us with the means to be a Christian. Too often a Christian is deemed to be anyone who says the name Jesus, or anyone who goes to church, or anyone whose parents go to church. As we just explained the Biblical definition of a Christian, the everyday identification of a Christian is faulty to the core.
Because of this some Christians sometimes distinguish themselves from religious folks by adopting the moniker “born again Christian”. I see two things wrong with this approach though. For one, the moniker is a tautology. Any real “Christian” is “born again”.
For another thing there is only one type of Christian. No one can truly be a Christian apart from being born again. Being born again is the way a Christian comes into existence. Accordingly those folks who skip the born again part and go straight to the head of the class by attending church and claiming to be Christians—the Bible defines them as non-Christians.
It matters not whether they have good intentions, or whether they are evil impostors who slither into the church to corrupt it, or anything in between. They are not really Christians because they are not born again.
They are born only once (cf., Revelation 20:11-15), and that in the way all men are born, viz., through the instrumentation of sinful parents. This makes them sinners also because God created each species to reproduce after itself. Sinners cannot give birth to saints. They can only give birth to other sinners.
In summation, Jews demand to see miracles as proof of God. Gentiles insist on reasoning out all the facts about God. Logic is king to them, not God. In contrast to those two, Christians preach Christ crucified.
The crucifixion of Christ displays both the wisdom of God and the power of God. The two phrases are crucial because one is God’s answer to the Jews, the other His answer to the Gentiles. The Jews elevate God’s visible works (i.e., miracles) to the throne of God. They identify God by His actions, while relegating His Person to the back burner.
God’s response to this is to show Himself visibly in the Person of Jesus Christ. The Jews pushed God’s works to the front. In response God pushed His Person to the front. Jesus is “the power of God”.
The Gentiles elevate man’s intelligence to the throne of God. They eat at the kogae tree and draw conclusions based on what seems right in their own eyes. Their conclusions are formed from their reasoning and their experiences.
God’s response to this is to explain deity and eternity through the Person of Jesus Christ. Jesus went about preaching the Kingdom of God and teaching man the wisdom of God. The culmination of God’s wisdom came at the cross of Christ and the empty tomb. The Gentiles pushed man’s intelligence to the front. God countered by pushing His intelligence to the front. Jesus is “the wisdom of God”.
Let me be quite frank and pointed, dear friends. If you were born of Jewish parents, then you are a Jew. If you were born of non-Jewish parents, then you are a Gentile. But none of this is relevant to God because we aren’t responsible for who our parents are!
We are responsible, however, for how we respond to God. He holds out His hand and offers us a pardon, paid for by the blood of Jesus on the cross. If we receive it, then we are born again. If we reject it, then we are only born once. We indeed are responsible for that decision!
So step up to the cross and receive your pardon. Don’t just be born. Be born again. Give glory to God and confess your sins to Jesus.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
May 10, 2012
Foolish Sages and Wimpy Brutes – Part 2
For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God [1 Corinthians 1:22-24].
We defined Jews and Gentiles and noted their peculiarities as God sees it. There is one final detail to hammer out with regard to the Gentiles. Permit me to explain it.
In the quoted text both the Greeks and the Gentiles are referenced. Whereas the Greeks are part of the other peoples of the world apart from the Jews, this makes the Greeks to be a people group of the Gentiles. So why did God single out the Greeks in these verses?
The answer isn’t difficult to cull from the text. Consider the distinguishing characteristic of the Gentiles which Paul referenced in 1 Corinthians: they “search for wisdom”. Anyone who has an inkling of the ancient world, or even of philosophy in general, knows the Greeks invented philosophy.
The word “philosophy” comes from two Greek words, “philos” (love) and “sophos” (wisdom). The word “philosophy” means “the love of wisdom”. In the ancient world the Greeks symbolized the love of wisdom, and they still do today. They were noted for loving wisdom because they incessantly “searched for wisdom”.
This was why Paul singled out the Greeks as representative of the Gentiles. He contrasted the non-Christian peoples with the Christians. The non-Christians are comprised of both Jews and Gentiles. What was the difference between non-Christian Jews and non-Christian Gentiles? This difference was the distinguishing detail Paul noted in the quoted verses.
The Jews demanded to see signs, to see miracles, whenever someone claimed to be sent by God. The Greeks attempted to know the truth about God through the medium of man’s own understanding (aka wisdom). Though the Greeks were the most outstanding example of this, all the world’s peoples imagined God to be the way they thought He should be. Ergo, the Greeks the quintessential Gentiles.
After distinguishing the two classes of non-Christians in the world, Paul then gave the definition of a Christian to distinguish them from the non-Christians. A Christian “preaches Christ crucified”. Isn’t that interesting? Yes, it is. But what does it mean?
Jesus expressed it best—considering the context of the quote from 1 Corinthians—when He said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me.” The Jews as a people still attempt to approach God through the Law of Moses. The Gentiles still attempt to approach God by following their own reasonings (aka wisdom or philosophy). Only the Christians approach God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus died on the cross (i.e., was crucified), in order to pay the penalty for the sins of mankind. Each person individually—whether Jew or Gentile it matters not—but each individual must come to Jesus by recognizing his sin. Sin separates man from God, so the sinner cannot approach God. To approach God sin must first be removed.
Jesus’ death on the cross gave man a way to have his sin removed. By going to Jesus and confessing my sins, I receive Jesus’ payment for the penalty of my sins. Once I do that I am justified by faith in Christ Jesus.
The word “justified” means the eternal Judge in heaven hammers the gavel on his Judge’s bench and roars His verdict, “Not guilty!” Thenceforth God no longer sees me the sinner. He now sees me “in Christ”. Christ is without sin, so I am too. By His crucifixion Christ made it possible for my sins to be removed. By His resurrection He made it possible for His life, the new resurrection life, to live in me.
This is what it means to be a Christian. In our next study we will descant on this issue more thoroughly.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
We defined Jews and Gentiles and noted their peculiarities as God sees it. There is one final detail to hammer out with regard to the Gentiles. Permit me to explain it.
In the quoted text both the Greeks and the Gentiles are referenced. Whereas the Greeks are part of the other peoples of the world apart from the Jews, this makes the Greeks to be a people group of the Gentiles. So why did God single out the Greeks in these verses?
The answer isn’t difficult to cull from the text. Consider the distinguishing characteristic of the Gentiles which Paul referenced in 1 Corinthians: they “search for wisdom”. Anyone who has an inkling of the ancient world, or even of philosophy in general, knows the Greeks invented philosophy.
The word “philosophy” comes from two Greek words, “philos” (love) and “sophos” (wisdom). The word “philosophy” means “the love of wisdom”. In the ancient world the Greeks symbolized the love of wisdom, and they still do today. They were noted for loving wisdom because they incessantly “searched for wisdom”.
This was why Paul singled out the Greeks as representative of the Gentiles. He contrasted the non-Christian peoples with the Christians. The non-Christians are comprised of both Jews and Gentiles. What was the difference between non-Christian Jews and non-Christian Gentiles? This difference was the distinguishing detail Paul noted in the quoted verses.
The Jews demanded to see signs, to see miracles, whenever someone claimed to be sent by God. The Greeks attempted to know the truth about God through the medium of man’s own understanding (aka wisdom). Though the Greeks were the most outstanding example of this, all the world’s peoples imagined God to be the way they thought He should be. Ergo, the Greeks the quintessential Gentiles.
After distinguishing the two classes of non-Christians in the world, Paul then gave the definition of a Christian to distinguish them from the non-Christians. A Christian “preaches Christ crucified”. Isn’t that interesting? Yes, it is. But what does it mean?
Jesus expressed it best—considering the context of the quote from 1 Corinthians—when He said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me.” The Jews as a people still attempt to approach God through the Law of Moses. The Gentiles still attempt to approach God by following their own reasonings (aka wisdom or philosophy). Only the Christians approach God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus died on the cross (i.e., was crucified), in order to pay the penalty for the sins of mankind. Each person individually—whether Jew or Gentile it matters not—but each individual must come to Jesus by recognizing his sin. Sin separates man from God, so the sinner cannot approach God. To approach God sin must first be removed.
Jesus’ death on the cross gave man a way to have his sin removed. By going to Jesus and confessing my sins, I receive Jesus’ payment for the penalty of my sins. Once I do that I am justified by faith in Christ Jesus.
The word “justified” means the eternal Judge in heaven hammers the gavel on his Judge’s bench and roars His verdict, “Not guilty!” Thenceforth God no longer sees me the sinner. He now sees me “in Christ”. Christ is without sin, so I am too. By His crucifixion Christ made it possible for my sins to be removed. By His resurrection He made it possible for His life, the new resurrection life, to live in me.
This is what it means to be a Christian. In our next study we will descant on this issue more thoroughly.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
May 9, 2012
Foolish Sages and Wimpy Brutes – Part 1
For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God [1 Corinthians 1:22-24].
I recall this phrase that has made the rounds for generations now. It goes something like this:
There are all kinds of people in the world.
In some sense this may well be true. According to the three verses quoted above, God only recognizes three kinds of people. Let’s itemize them for ready reference:
1. Jews
2. Gentiles (Greeks)
3. the called of God
Each of these three types of people is identified by a distinguishing characteristic. We will also itemize the three characteristics, listing each one accoriding to the order of the three types of people above:
1. ask for signs
2. search for wisdom
3. preach Christ crucified
There is one more detail given in the quoted text we mustn’t leave out. The called of God preach Christ crucified. The additional detail we mentioned is this: the preaching of Christ crucified receives three different responses, depending on which of the three types of people we belong to. Let’s itemize these three responses. We will do so according to the order of the three types of people given above:
1. a stumbling block
2. foolishness
3. the power and wisdom of God
That about does it. I believe we’ve exhausted the details of the three verses quoted at the start of this study. Now let’s get to work assaying the details.
The Jews were one type or classification of people in the world. A Jew (aka a Hebrew or Semite) is any person whose lineage traces back to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I list all three Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for a reason. Abraham had many sons besides Isaac, but only Isaac carried on the Abrahamic Covenant. God made that determination.
Isaac had two sons, Jacob and Esau. God classified Esau as a profane and godless man who despised the Abrahamic Covenant. Esau loved the world and the things of the world. He had neither time nor love for the things of God. By God’s sovereign choice only Jacob carried on the Abrahamic Covenant. God renamed Jacob to Israel.
Jacob/Israel had twelve sons. Each of these twelve sons grew into a tribe of Israel and became the Israelites. God sovereignly chose to continue the Abrahamic Covenant through the Israelites. God also sovereignly determined to bring the Messiah into the world through the lineage of the Israelites, specifically through the lineage of the tribe of Judah and the family of David.
The Lord gave the Israelites the Promised Land and the Law of Moses (aka Torah). The Law of Moses served as the legal code of the Israelites while they lived in the Promised Land. This distinguished the Israelites (aka Jews) from the Gentiles (i.e., everyone not a Jew).
The Israelites had a covenantal relationship with the Lord: all the other peoples of the world had no relationship with the Lord. This was God’s sovereign decision. The Israelites had the Lord as their King: all the other peoples of the world had an earthly king of their own making. The Israelites had the Law of Moses, God’s Word in the world back in the day: all the other peoples of the world had their own imaginations and inventions to govern them.
The last several paragraphs distinguished the Jews from the Gentiles (i.e., all the other peoples of the world aside from the Jews). So we’ve also defined the Gentiles and noted their peculiarities as God sees it. There is one final detail to hammer out with regard to the Gentiles. I will explain it in the next study.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
I recall this phrase that has made the rounds for generations now. It goes something like this:
There are all kinds of people in the world.
In some sense this may well be true. According to the three verses quoted above, God only recognizes three kinds of people. Let’s itemize them for ready reference:
1. Jews
2. Gentiles (Greeks)
3. the called of God
Each of these three types of people is identified by a distinguishing characteristic. We will also itemize the three characteristics, listing each one accoriding to the order of the three types of people above:
1. ask for signs
2. search for wisdom
3. preach Christ crucified
There is one more detail given in the quoted text we mustn’t leave out. The called of God preach Christ crucified. The additional detail we mentioned is this: the preaching of Christ crucified receives three different responses, depending on which of the three types of people we belong to. Let’s itemize these three responses. We will do so according to the order of the three types of people given above:
1. a stumbling block
2. foolishness
3. the power and wisdom of God
That about does it. I believe we’ve exhausted the details of the three verses quoted at the start of this study. Now let’s get to work assaying the details.
The Jews were one type or classification of people in the world. A Jew (aka a Hebrew or Semite) is any person whose lineage traces back to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I list all three Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for a reason. Abraham had many sons besides Isaac, but only Isaac carried on the Abrahamic Covenant. God made that determination.
Isaac had two sons, Jacob and Esau. God classified Esau as a profane and godless man who despised the Abrahamic Covenant. Esau loved the world and the things of the world. He had neither time nor love for the things of God. By God’s sovereign choice only Jacob carried on the Abrahamic Covenant. God renamed Jacob to Israel.
Jacob/Israel had twelve sons. Each of these twelve sons grew into a tribe of Israel and became the Israelites. God sovereignly chose to continue the Abrahamic Covenant through the Israelites. God also sovereignly determined to bring the Messiah into the world through the lineage of the Israelites, specifically through the lineage of the tribe of Judah and the family of David.
The Lord gave the Israelites the Promised Land and the Law of Moses (aka Torah). The Law of Moses served as the legal code of the Israelites while they lived in the Promised Land. This distinguished the Israelites (aka Jews) from the Gentiles (i.e., everyone not a Jew).
The Israelites had a covenantal relationship with the Lord: all the other peoples of the world had no relationship with the Lord. This was God’s sovereign decision. The Israelites had the Lord as their King: all the other peoples of the world had an earthly king of their own making. The Israelites had the Law of Moses, God’s Word in the world back in the day: all the other peoples of the world had their own imaginations and inventions to govern them.
The last several paragraphs distinguished the Jews from the Gentiles (i.e., all the other peoples of the world aside from the Jews). So we’ve also defined the Gentiles and noted their peculiarities as God sees it. There is one final detail to hammer out with regard to the Gentiles. I will explain it in the next study.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
May 8, 2012
A Human Jar – Part 2
Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” [John 2:6-7]
Jesus used the miracle of changing water to wine to teach invisible spiritual truth. This was common with the Lord. In fact in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, God made it a point to employ visible physical realities to teach invisible spiritual truth. Let’s interpret what invisible spiritual truth Jesus taught by His miracle of changing water to wine.
We would serve ourselves well if we first enumerate the several items involved in the miracle. Each one holds significance in our interpretation of the miracle. Here they are:
• six stone jars
• water
• wine
The “stone” jars were earthenware. They were baked clay. Clay comes from the earth. It is soil, dirt, dust. The clay is molded into the shape of a jar, then baked in an oven to transform it into “stone” of sorts. In the Bible man’s body is represented as an earthenware jar. We have this treasure in earthen vessels [2 Corinthians 4:7]. Jesus employed the six earthenware jars as a type of the human body.
This understanding is corroborated by the number of jars which were filled with water. There were six earthenware jars, not seven or twenty-three or two. The number “6” in Scripture is the number of the natural man. Man was created on Day 6 of God’s creation of nature. The number of the natural man and the composition of the natural man’s body combine to identify what the six earthenware jars represented.
The servants filled the jars with water. Since the jars represented the natural man, the man of the earth, the water inside the earthenware jars symbolized the life of the natural man. This should be self-evident and need no more elaboration.
What did Jesus do with the life of the natural man? Answer: He transformed it to wine. In the sacrifices and offerings of the Old Testament, drink offerings consisted of wine. The wine typified blood. Wine has the appearance of blood. Wine is known as the blood of the grape. The wine typified blood.
In the same way the life of the animal was offered up to the Lord, so too was the offerer’s life symbolically offered to the Lord by the act of wine poured out on the altar in the form of a drink offering. The Word of God teaches that the life of man and animal is in the blood. By pouring out the blood, the life is offered to the Lord. Blood cannot be poured out apart from life being taken, i.e., without death occurring.
At the Last Supper Jesus employed wine as the same symbol. He identified the wine as His blood, which He would soon shed as payment for the penalty of man’s sins. He would not again drink the wine with His disciples until they did so in His Kingdom. In His Kingdom the wine would serve as a type of His blood (i.e., His life) in the resurrection. This means the wine also signifies the new life, the resurrection life.
In the context of the miracle of John 2, did the wine symbolize the natural life or the new resurrection life? Answer: it symbolized the new life. How so? Well, the contrast was between the water and the wine. Remember how the servants would not fare so well, should they serve the wedding guests water? Water was an unacceptable liquid to drink at the wedding celebration!
Spiritually speaking, what is unacceptable to God is the life of sin, man’s natural life. This is what the water typified. Hence the wine, the transformed water, symbolized a changed life. The wine was a type of the new life we receive through faith in Christ Jesus. It is eternal life, the resurrection life which Jesus imparts to His kids.
Mama Mary wanted to use her natural relationship as mother, in order to influence Jesus to perform a miracle. When Jesus entered His ministry, however, the rules of the natural life were no longer in force. His parents directed Jesus how to conduct His ministry. The Word of God and the Holy Spirit did.
The miracle of changing the water to wine was a picture story to teach this invisible spiritual truth. We cannot see this truth with the natural eye. It requires the eye of faith to envision it. Let’s spend time alone with the Lord Jesus now. Maybe He has some more goodies to teach us.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Jesus used the miracle of changing water to wine to teach invisible spiritual truth. This was common with the Lord. In fact in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, God made it a point to employ visible physical realities to teach invisible spiritual truth. Let’s interpret what invisible spiritual truth Jesus taught by His miracle of changing water to wine.
We would serve ourselves well if we first enumerate the several items involved in the miracle. Each one holds significance in our interpretation of the miracle. Here they are:
• six stone jars
• water
• wine
The “stone” jars were earthenware. They were baked clay. Clay comes from the earth. It is soil, dirt, dust. The clay is molded into the shape of a jar, then baked in an oven to transform it into “stone” of sorts. In the Bible man’s body is represented as an earthenware jar. We have this treasure in earthen vessels [2 Corinthians 4:7]. Jesus employed the six earthenware jars as a type of the human body.
This understanding is corroborated by the number of jars which were filled with water. There were six earthenware jars, not seven or twenty-three or two. The number “6” in Scripture is the number of the natural man. Man was created on Day 6 of God’s creation of nature. The number of the natural man and the composition of the natural man’s body combine to identify what the six earthenware jars represented.
The servants filled the jars with water. Since the jars represented the natural man, the man of the earth, the water inside the earthenware jars symbolized the life of the natural man. This should be self-evident and need no more elaboration.
What did Jesus do with the life of the natural man? Answer: He transformed it to wine. In the sacrifices and offerings of the Old Testament, drink offerings consisted of wine. The wine typified blood. Wine has the appearance of blood. Wine is known as the blood of the grape. The wine typified blood.
In the same way the life of the animal was offered up to the Lord, so too was the offerer’s life symbolically offered to the Lord by the act of wine poured out on the altar in the form of a drink offering. The Word of God teaches that the life of man and animal is in the blood. By pouring out the blood, the life is offered to the Lord. Blood cannot be poured out apart from life being taken, i.e., without death occurring.
At the Last Supper Jesus employed wine as the same symbol. He identified the wine as His blood, which He would soon shed as payment for the penalty of man’s sins. He would not again drink the wine with His disciples until they did so in His Kingdom. In His Kingdom the wine would serve as a type of His blood (i.e., His life) in the resurrection. This means the wine also signifies the new life, the resurrection life.
In the context of the miracle of John 2, did the wine symbolize the natural life or the new resurrection life? Answer: it symbolized the new life. How so? Well, the contrast was between the water and the wine. Remember how the servants would not fare so well, should they serve the wedding guests water? Water was an unacceptable liquid to drink at the wedding celebration!
Spiritually speaking, what is unacceptable to God is the life of sin, man’s natural life. This is what the water typified. Hence the wine, the transformed water, symbolized a changed life. The wine was a type of the new life we receive through faith in Christ Jesus. It is eternal life, the resurrection life which Jesus imparts to His kids.
Mama Mary wanted to use her natural relationship as mother, in order to influence Jesus to perform a miracle. When Jesus entered His ministry, however, the rules of the natural life were no longer in force. His parents directed Jesus how to conduct His ministry. The Word of God and the Holy Spirit did.
The miracle of changing the water to wine was a picture story to teach this invisible spiritual truth. We cannot see this truth with the natural eye. It requires the eye of faith to envision it. Let’s spend time alone with the Lord Jesus now. Maybe He has some more goodies to teach us.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
May 7, 2012
A Human Jar – Part 1
Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” [John 2:6-7]
In John 2:1-11 Jesus was at a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Mary His mother had an official role of some sort. During the celebration the wine ran out. This was most embarrassing for the newlyweds. They didn’t adequately provide for their guests.
Mary approached Jesus and informed Him of the need. From the story it is obvious she knew He had miraculous powers, though He hadn’t been about His ministry very long and had yet to perform miracles (cf., v.11).
Jesus politely declined His mother’s request, informing her that the new life of ministry to God established new relationships. The natural birth relationships such as parents no longer ruled. The Word of God and the Holy Spirit did.
After setting the bounds of leadership in ministry, Jesus then acted out a picture story to teach the spiritual truth of this very point. There were six stone water jars at the celebration. This was typical for the Israelites of that day. The jars held water—from 20 to 30 gallons each, we are told. The water was used by the Jews for ritual washing of various kinds, religious ceremonies if you would.
Jesus instructed the servants to fill the jars to the brim with water. They obeyed His word, which is always a good thing to do when Jesus speaks! Next Jesus instructed them to draw the water from the jars and serve it to the guests.
This was awkward for the servants. If they knew which side their bread was buttered on, they wouldn’t be so keen to obey this part of Jesus’ words. Imagine the wedding guests. They drank all the available wine and wanted more. Here come the servants with a fresh brew. The guests hold out their goblets and the servants fill ‘er up.
The guests take a deep gulp of the wine. Oops! It isn’t wine. It’s water! The guests demand in voices of outrage, “Tie those wretched servants to the whipping post, ya’ hear! We’re gonna exact our pound of flesh for their inappropriate prank. Fie fie on them! Serve us water when we want wine? Hmpf. The nerve of some folks!”
So we can see why the servants would not be excited by Jesus’ instructions to them. Notwithstanding, they obeyed. Praise the Lord! Would that all of us were so readily agreeable to the Word of God. In fear and trepidation the servants served the guests the water…and waited to be flayed alive for their mischief.
Not to worry. The guests began with one voice to sing the praises of the groom. “This is the best wine ever! Congrats to you, Mr. Groom. You sure are strange though. Everyone else serves the best wine first. After we’re all somewhat sated with wine, then the cheaper stuff makes the rounds. But you saved the best for last. Good things come to those who wait. My mama told me that, and she was right!”
And so it was that Jesus began his ministry of miracles. The water-to-wine in Cana was His first, but it was by no means His last, praise God! Being His first miracle, Jesus put it to work doing double duty. For one thing it revealed His powers. For another it taught spiritual truth.
This was common with the Lord. We will explain how so in our next study. See you then, and don’t forget to talk with Jesus a while.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
In John 2:1-11 Jesus was at a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Mary His mother had an official role of some sort. During the celebration the wine ran out. This was most embarrassing for the newlyweds. They didn’t adequately provide for their guests.
Mary approached Jesus and informed Him of the need. From the story it is obvious she knew He had miraculous powers, though He hadn’t been about His ministry very long and had yet to perform miracles (cf., v.11).
Jesus politely declined His mother’s request, informing her that the new life of ministry to God established new relationships. The natural birth relationships such as parents no longer ruled. The Word of God and the Holy Spirit did.
After setting the bounds of leadership in ministry, Jesus then acted out a picture story to teach the spiritual truth of this very point. There were six stone water jars at the celebration. This was typical for the Israelites of that day. The jars held water—from 20 to 30 gallons each, we are told. The water was used by the Jews for ritual washing of various kinds, religious ceremonies if you would.
Jesus instructed the servants to fill the jars to the brim with water. They obeyed His word, which is always a good thing to do when Jesus speaks! Next Jesus instructed them to draw the water from the jars and serve it to the guests.
This was awkward for the servants. If they knew which side their bread was buttered on, they wouldn’t be so keen to obey this part of Jesus’ words. Imagine the wedding guests. They drank all the available wine and wanted more. Here come the servants with a fresh brew. The guests hold out their goblets and the servants fill ‘er up.
The guests take a deep gulp of the wine. Oops! It isn’t wine. It’s water! The guests demand in voices of outrage, “Tie those wretched servants to the whipping post, ya’ hear! We’re gonna exact our pound of flesh for their inappropriate prank. Fie fie on them! Serve us water when we want wine? Hmpf. The nerve of some folks!”
So we can see why the servants would not be excited by Jesus’ instructions to them. Notwithstanding, they obeyed. Praise the Lord! Would that all of us were so readily agreeable to the Word of God. In fear and trepidation the servants served the guests the water…and waited to be flayed alive for their mischief.
Not to worry. The guests began with one voice to sing the praises of the groom. “This is the best wine ever! Congrats to you, Mr. Groom. You sure are strange though. Everyone else serves the best wine first. After we’re all somewhat sated with wine, then the cheaper stuff makes the rounds. But you saved the best for last. Good things come to those who wait. My mama told me that, and she was right!”
And so it was that Jesus began his ministry of miracles. The water-to-wine in Cana was His first, but it was by no means His last, praise God! Being His first miracle, Jesus put it to work doing double duty. For one thing it revealed His powers. For another it taught spiritual truth.
This was common with the Lord. We will explain how so in our next study. See you then, and don’t forget to talk with Jesus a while.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
May 6, 2012
I Forgive You – Part 3
Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, “I repent,” forgive him [Luke 17:3-4].
We concluded yesterday’s study with the questionk, “But why did I deserve the death which Jesus died for me?” Answer: because I am a sinner, and the wages of sin is death. Do you see it? I came to Jesus as the Savior, confessed my sins to Him, and asked His forgiveness based on His finished work for me on the cross.
Don’t miss the part about recognizing my sins and the part about asking His forgiveness, dear friends. Until I am sorry for my sins and want to be forgiven, God Himself doesn’t—even more, He cannot—forgive me. Otherwise He would be complicit in my sins. He would receive me into heaven in my sins, making heaven to be unclean. By living in an unclean heaven God would be unclean.
What blasphemy this entire line of reasoning is! God cannot tolerate sin, period. He will not allow it in His presence, period. Sin must be removed and its penalty paid, before a sinner can relate to God. If God cannot forgive the unrepentant sinner, how dare any of His people believe themselves to have the power to do so.
No, dear friends, we mustn’t brew and stew over sins committed against us. Nor must we hold a grudge and feud with the sinner. We must always have the heart to forgive any sin done against us, and even long to do so while we pray for the sinner to repent. Even more, we must rebuke the sinner, thus bringing his sin to his attention so he knows he needs to repent.
Notwithstanding all this, we haven’t the power to forgive sins when the sinner isn’t repentant. God doesn’t do so and neither can we. If we are brash enough to think we can, our words make us complicit in the sin and we sinned against the sinner by confirming him in his sin.
Modern affluent middle-class morality teaches us to forgive everyone regardless. It gives sinful man the impression that he is a good person because, look! he forgives everyone! The focus here is on the forgiver, when it should be on the one to be forgiven.
Middle-class affluent morality is not Bible, dear friends. It is egocentric all the way down to its roots. The world is steeped in it, but that’s to be expected. What isn’t to be expected, in fact what is to be decried, is middle-class affluence permeating the Church. Such a scenario exposes Christians as being conformed to the world.
The Word of God warns of this and exhorts us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This comes from daily feeding on the Bible, from feeding on solid meat in the Bible rather than just sipping on baby milk.
If Christians are to be transformed by the renewing of their minds, then their leaders who are supposed to teach them the Word of God must first be transformed in the same manner. We need a return to the Bible on the part of the pastors and teachers in the churches. There is far too much involvement in church activities on their part, such that they aren’t able to devote considerable time daily in feeding on the Bible alone with Jesus.
If they don’t receive a fresh word from Jesus regularly, what are they feeding their flock? Answer: the stale words of men! They rush to a commentary and plagiarize a sermon. It sounds good to the unsuspecting flock and gets them by, so why not? And it does take scant time to do it that way, certainly much less time than waiting on the Lord Jesus daily.
Nay nay, dear friends! Rather, let us heed the words of Isaiah 8:20, “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.”
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
We concluded yesterday’s study with the questionk, “But why did I deserve the death which Jesus died for me?” Answer: because I am a sinner, and the wages of sin is death. Do you see it? I came to Jesus as the Savior, confessed my sins to Him, and asked His forgiveness based on His finished work for me on the cross.
Don’t miss the part about recognizing my sins and the part about asking His forgiveness, dear friends. Until I am sorry for my sins and want to be forgiven, God Himself doesn’t—even more, He cannot—forgive me. Otherwise He would be complicit in my sins. He would receive me into heaven in my sins, making heaven to be unclean. By living in an unclean heaven God would be unclean.
What blasphemy this entire line of reasoning is! God cannot tolerate sin, period. He will not allow it in His presence, period. Sin must be removed and its penalty paid, before a sinner can relate to God. If God cannot forgive the unrepentant sinner, how dare any of His people believe themselves to have the power to do so.
No, dear friends, we mustn’t brew and stew over sins committed against us. Nor must we hold a grudge and feud with the sinner. We must always have the heart to forgive any sin done against us, and even long to do so while we pray for the sinner to repent. Even more, we must rebuke the sinner, thus bringing his sin to his attention so he knows he needs to repent.
Notwithstanding all this, we haven’t the power to forgive sins when the sinner isn’t repentant. God doesn’t do so and neither can we. If we are brash enough to think we can, our words make us complicit in the sin and we sinned against the sinner by confirming him in his sin.
Modern affluent middle-class morality teaches us to forgive everyone regardless. It gives sinful man the impression that he is a good person because, look! he forgives everyone! The focus here is on the forgiver, when it should be on the one to be forgiven.
Middle-class affluent morality is not Bible, dear friends. It is egocentric all the way down to its roots. The world is steeped in it, but that’s to be expected. What isn’t to be expected, in fact what is to be decried, is middle-class affluence permeating the Church. Such a scenario exposes Christians as being conformed to the world.
The Word of God warns of this and exhorts us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This comes from daily feeding on the Bible, from feeding on solid meat in the Bible rather than just sipping on baby milk.
If Christians are to be transformed by the renewing of their minds, then their leaders who are supposed to teach them the Word of God must first be transformed in the same manner. We need a return to the Bible on the part of the pastors and teachers in the churches. There is far too much involvement in church activities on their part, such that they aren’t able to devote considerable time daily in feeding on the Bible alone with Jesus.
If they don’t receive a fresh word from Jesus regularly, what are they feeding their flock? Answer: the stale words of men! They rush to a commentary and plagiarize a sermon. It sounds good to the unsuspecting flock and gets them by, so why not? And it does take scant time to do it that way, certainly much less time than waiting on the Lord Jesus daily.
Nay nay, dear friends! Rather, let us heed the words of Isaiah 8:20, “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.”
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
May 5, 2012
I Forgive You – Part 2
Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, “I repent,” forgive him [Luke 17:3-4].
We paused our last study by noting how the argument from silence is pulled out of mothballs and freshened up, to be used to misinterpret Matthew 18. Peter asked Jesus about the obligation of a person who was wronged, not about the obligation of the wrongdoer.
The argument from silence seizes upon this silence about the wrongdoer’s obligation to repent, claiming it isn’t necessary since in Matthew 18 Jesus didn’t say it was. Neither did Jesus demand that the priest come along, but what does that have to do with anything?
In Luke 17 the same subject is taught, but this time the requirement on the part of both parties is addressed. The wrongdoer recognizes his wrong and apologizes to the person he wronged, asking him for forgiveness. In this case it is obligatory on the part of the Christian who has been wronged to forgive him, and that from the heart, in spirit and in truth.
Implied in this teaching is that the person wronged needs to want forgiveness. You see, in Luke 17 there is no argument from silence. The subject of the wrongdoer’s responsibility is literally brought up by Jesus. When a person does a wrong and asks for forgiveness, the child of God must forgive the one who wronged him.
The implications are, for one thing, that we cannot hold grudges and conduct feuds. We cannot harbor ill will at others because our feelings are hurt.
But there is a more solemn implication to be garnered from Luke 17. If someone wrongs us and does not want forgiveness, we can’t forgive him. This doesn’t mean we can hold a grudge in such a case, or harbor ill will and pray for his damnation! It means we cannot pretend to him that all is well with the world.
Suppose I go up to someone who sinned against me and say, “Ken or Barbie, you did such and so to me and it is sin. But not to worry. I forgive you.” What just occurred?
I’ll tell you what just occurred. Someone sinned, but they had no remorse for their sin and didn’t see any need for forgiveness. My words helped harden them in their sin by allowing them to experience forgiveness without repentance, should their conscience ever experience any uneasiness over their sin.
This implicates me in their sin! I caused my brother to stumble. He has no need to repent of his sin. He’s forgiven already. Wow! This makes me more powerful than God Himself!
How so? Consider how a sinner is saved. Is it because Jesus died on the cross for his sins? Answer: no, it is not. Huh? You say you thought the answer was yes? Well, sorry. You’re mistaken. Yes, Jesus died for the sins of all mankind, past, present, and future. But no, everyone past, present, and future, is not saved because of it.
Oh, then what else is needed in order to be saved? Answer: believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved. Okay, so what does it mean to believe on the Lord Jesus? Answer: to recognize His death on the cross as being for my specific sins. Jesus died my death in my stead, so that I can live His life with Him.
But why did I deserve the death which Jesus died for me? We will answer the question in our next study. For now ruminate a while on what Jesus taught us in this study. I’ll see you tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
We paused our last study by noting how the argument from silence is pulled out of mothballs and freshened up, to be used to misinterpret Matthew 18. Peter asked Jesus about the obligation of a person who was wronged, not about the obligation of the wrongdoer.
The argument from silence seizes upon this silence about the wrongdoer’s obligation to repent, claiming it isn’t necessary since in Matthew 18 Jesus didn’t say it was. Neither did Jesus demand that the priest come along, but what does that have to do with anything?
In Luke 17 the same subject is taught, but this time the requirement on the part of both parties is addressed. The wrongdoer recognizes his wrong and apologizes to the person he wronged, asking him for forgiveness. In this case it is obligatory on the part of the Christian who has been wronged to forgive him, and that from the heart, in spirit and in truth.
Implied in this teaching is that the person wronged needs to want forgiveness. You see, in Luke 17 there is no argument from silence. The subject of the wrongdoer’s responsibility is literally brought up by Jesus. When a person does a wrong and asks for forgiveness, the child of God must forgive the one who wronged him.
The implications are, for one thing, that we cannot hold grudges and conduct feuds. We cannot harbor ill will at others because our feelings are hurt.
But there is a more solemn implication to be garnered from Luke 17. If someone wrongs us and does not want forgiveness, we can’t forgive him. This doesn’t mean we can hold a grudge in such a case, or harbor ill will and pray for his damnation! It means we cannot pretend to him that all is well with the world.
Suppose I go up to someone who sinned against me and say, “Ken or Barbie, you did such and so to me and it is sin. But not to worry. I forgive you.” What just occurred?
I’ll tell you what just occurred. Someone sinned, but they had no remorse for their sin and didn’t see any need for forgiveness. My words helped harden them in their sin by allowing them to experience forgiveness without repentance, should their conscience ever experience any uneasiness over their sin.
This implicates me in their sin! I caused my brother to stumble. He has no need to repent of his sin. He’s forgiven already. Wow! This makes me more powerful than God Himself!
How so? Consider how a sinner is saved. Is it because Jesus died on the cross for his sins? Answer: no, it is not. Huh? You say you thought the answer was yes? Well, sorry. You’re mistaken. Yes, Jesus died for the sins of all mankind, past, present, and future. But no, everyone past, present, and future, is not saved because of it.
Oh, then what else is needed in order to be saved? Answer: believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved. Okay, so what does it mean to believe on the Lord Jesus? Answer: to recognize His death on the cross as being for my specific sins. Jesus died my death in my stead, so that I can live His life with Him.
But why did I deserve the death which Jesus died for me? We will answer the question in our next study. For now ruminate a while on what Jesus taught us in this study. I’ll see you tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
