Randy Green's Blog, page 490
January 27, 2012
When Perfect Is Not A Good Thing – Part 2
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God [John 3:16-18].
Let me explain the difference between the aorist tense and the perfect tense of Greek verbs. I believe you will agree with me that sometimes being perfect is not a good thing. You needn’t remember the names of the verb tenses, dear friends, only the difference between them. The Holy Spirit purposely chose the verb tenses to teach us a lot of deep spiritual truth.
The aorist tense means that something happened in the past one time only, and that is the extent of the action. The perfect tense means that something occurred in the past one time only, but the emphasis is on its continuing effect. Whatever occurred continues to remain true up to the present day. “Once upon a time something happened” = aorist tense. “Once upon a time something happened, and now look at the mess we’re in!” = perfect tense.
Here is a for instance to help understand what I just stated. Aorist Tense: “He killed a man two years ago.” Perfect Tense: “He has contracted AIDS and now is incurable.” See! In the first example the person isn’t continuously killing a man. Nor does the sentence refer to anything going on today. Once upon a time two years ago this person killed a man. Period. That’s all the past tense verb states.
In the second example the person isn’t continuously contracting AIDS. Nor does the sentence simply note that at one point in the past he contracted AIDS. The verb being perfect tense, the emphasis is upon the man’s AIDS having the continuing effect of rendering him incurable to the present day. I hope this helps you to understand the distinction because vital spiritual understanding grows out of this field. Let’s harvest it now, shall we?
In John 3:18 anyone who believes the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not judged. The verb is present tense. We explained five paragraphs prior what this means. In contrast, though, anyone who does not believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been judge already. The verb is perfect tense. This means that sometime in the past the person was already judged guilty, and the effect of this judgment is that he continues to remain guilty. The emphasis is upon his present condition, which was caused sometime in the past.
A weighty Biblical mystery is revealed by this usage of verb tenses. God created each species to produce after its own kind. It matters not whether it be vegetable, animal, or human. Apple seeds do not grow pears, not thistles produce corn. Monkeys do not evolve into humans either! Apple seeds grow apple trees which produce more apples. Monkeys give birth to monkeys. Humans give birth to humans. It matters not how many surreal ages of evolution we add to the mix of our hypothesis, no one has ever seen anything in real life which shows one species changing into another.
The Bible has a penchant for employing visible physical realities to teach us invisible spiritual truths. The fact that each species ALWAYS reproduces after its own kind is one example of this. How so? Just this, that sinners cannot produce saints. Sinners produce sinners. When Father Adam sinned, he became a sinner. Whereas every human being has a genealogy which traces back to Father Adam, every human being is a sinner. Why? Because Father Adam was a sinner, and sinners can only reproduce sinners.
This is the reason why any person who does not believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been judged already, and I might add that he has been found wanting and condemned already. Don’t miss the implications of this. The perfect tense verb usage in John 3:18 proclaims the doctrine of the total depravity of man. We are born sinners. We are born with a sin nature. We are born with a predilection to disobey the Word of God, to reject Him and do our own thing.
• the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23)
• all have sinned (Romans 3:23)
• ergo, all must die.
We have already been judged and condemned, you see, because we are sinners. UNTIL we believe the Gospel and accept Jesus Christ as the payment for our sins, we remain in that condition (perfect tense). Anytime a person does accept Jesus’ death as the payment for his sins, he is not judged because he is no longer a sinner. The penalty for his sins has already been paid by the Lord Jesus on the cross, and IT IS FINISHED!
Hallelujah! Such a profound and wonderful mystery to be revealed by the simple usage of verb tenses. Each person is born dead in his sins and separated from God. Each person remains this way until he hears the Gospel of Jesus Christ and accepts Jesus as His Savior. Fine revelation, that.
So this is your chance. If you have yet to believe the Gospel, what are you waiting for? Behold, now is the acceptable time! Now is the day of salvation!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 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...
Let me explain the difference between the aorist tense and the perfect tense of Greek verbs. I believe you will agree with me that sometimes being perfect is not a good thing. You needn’t remember the names of the verb tenses, dear friends, only the difference between them. The Holy Spirit purposely chose the verb tenses to teach us a lot of deep spiritual truth.
The aorist tense means that something happened in the past one time only, and that is the extent of the action. The perfect tense means that something occurred in the past one time only, but the emphasis is on its continuing effect. Whatever occurred continues to remain true up to the present day. “Once upon a time something happened” = aorist tense. “Once upon a time something happened, and now look at the mess we’re in!” = perfect tense.
Here is a for instance to help understand what I just stated. Aorist Tense: “He killed a man two years ago.” Perfect Tense: “He has contracted AIDS and now is incurable.” See! In the first example the person isn’t continuously killing a man. Nor does the sentence refer to anything going on today. Once upon a time two years ago this person killed a man. Period. That’s all the past tense verb states.
In the second example the person isn’t continuously contracting AIDS. Nor does the sentence simply note that at one point in the past he contracted AIDS. The verb being perfect tense, the emphasis is upon the man’s AIDS having the continuing effect of rendering him incurable to the present day. I hope this helps you to understand the distinction because vital spiritual understanding grows out of this field. Let’s harvest it now, shall we?
In John 3:18 anyone who believes the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not judged. The verb is present tense. We explained five paragraphs prior what this means. In contrast, though, anyone who does not believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been judge already. The verb is perfect tense. This means that sometime in the past the person was already judged guilty, and the effect of this judgment is that he continues to remain guilty. The emphasis is upon his present condition, which was caused sometime in the past.
A weighty Biblical mystery is revealed by this usage of verb tenses. God created each species to produce after its own kind. It matters not whether it be vegetable, animal, or human. Apple seeds do not grow pears, not thistles produce corn. Monkeys do not evolve into humans either! Apple seeds grow apple trees which produce more apples. Monkeys give birth to monkeys. Humans give birth to humans. It matters not how many surreal ages of evolution we add to the mix of our hypothesis, no one has ever seen anything in real life which shows one species changing into another.
The Bible has a penchant for employing visible physical realities to teach us invisible spiritual truths. The fact that each species ALWAYS reproduces after its own kind is one example of this. How so? Just this, that sinners cannot produce saints. Sinners produce sinners. When Father Adam sinned, he became a sinner. Whereas every human being has a genealogy which traces back to Father Adam, every human being is a sinner. Why? Because Father Adam was a sinner, and sinners can only reproduce sinners.
This is the reason why any person who does not believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been judged already, and I might add that he has been found wanting and condemned already. Don’t miss the implications of this. The perfect tense verb usage in John 3:18 proclaims the doctrine of the total depravity of man. We are born sinners. We are born with a sin nature. We are born with a predilection to disobey the Word of God, to reject Him and do our own thing.
• the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23)
• all have sinned (Romans 3:23)
• ergo, all must die.
We have already been judged and condemned, you see, because we are sinners. UNTIL we believe the Gospel and accept Jesus Christ as the payment for our sins, we remain in that condition (perfect tense). Anytime a person does accept Jesus’ death as the payment for his sins, he is not judged because he is no longer a sinner. The penalty for his sins has already been paid by the Lord Jesus on the cross, and IT IS FINISHED!
Hallelujah! Such a profound and wonderful mystery to be revealed by the simple usage of verb tenses. Each person is born dead in his sins and separated from God. Each person remains this way until he hears the Gospel of Jesus Christ and accepts Jesus as His Savior. Fine revelation, that.
So this is your chance. If you have yet to believe the Gospel, what are you waiting for? Behold, now is the acceptable time! Now is the day of salvation!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 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...
January 25, 2012
When Perfect Is Not A Good Thing – Part 1
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God [John 3:16-18].
John 3:16 is one of the most recognized Bible verses ever. It can be seen displayed on signs and placards at fooball games and other sports. Even the simple chapter/verse identification is well known, being akin to a slogan. The phrase “John 3:16” by itself is equivalent to the words of the verse.
But those words are not our topic of discussion for today. They are included because it is awkward to separate v.16 from verses 17-18. We need the context of vv.16-17 to understand where v.18 is coming from, you see. Verse 18 is our topic for discussion.
Let’s read v.18 together, shall we?
He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Notice in those words two classifications of people. On one side is the only begotten Son of God, on the other is mankind. Notice the two categories of humans. Some of us believe in Him, while others do not believe.
The Son of God, Jesus Christ, brings separation to the ranks of mankind. He causes division within families, within churches, within marriages, between friends and neighbors. Jesus Christ first separates the wheat from the chaff, the dross from the molten metal, before He brings peace with God to man. This perforce must occur on an individual basis. Each person is required to make his own choice of his own free will.
How does this transpire? Well, first Jesus proclaims the Gospel, which includes the truth that all men and women have sinned and are separated from God. It also includes the truth that Jesus is the only way for man to return to God. Jesus makes this possible in Himself because He died on the cross to pay the penalty for the sins of all mankind.
Any person who accepts this Word of God (i.e., has faith or belief), and receives Jesus’ death as the substitute offering for his own sins, has the penalty for his sins paid. Ergo, he no longer stands guilty before God’s tribunal. He is not judged.
Any person who does not receive Jesus’ death as the substitute offering for his own sins—i.e., has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God—does not have the penalty for his sins paid. He does stand guilty before God’s tribunal. But here is the detail we must understand: such a one has been judged already. He won’t stand before God’s tribunal to be judged because God already declared him guilty. He will stand before God’s tribunal for sentencing.
Contrast the two categories of mankind created by the Gospel of Jesus Christ:
• believes in Him
• does not believe
Add to this the contrast in the result of believing or not believing:
• is not judged
• has been judged already
I of necessity must talk a tad about Greek tenses here. But not to worry. I will keep it short and simple. The first result leads to a present tense verb. This means it is a continuous occurrence, a continuous present existence. In other words the believer is currently and continuously NOT JUDGED. He doesn’t have to wait until he stands before God’s tribunal to hear His verdict. The verdict is already given as an established fact, with the result being that the person who believes in the Lord Jesus as His substitute sin offering is not ever called before God’s tribunal to stand trial. He is NOT JUDGED! Rather, he is already justified (i.e., declared “not guilty!”).
The second result is not such a pleasant thing to discuss, but it is utterly real and needs our full attention. The second result stems from the past, not the present or the future. Still, it is not a past tense verb, which in the Greek is known as the aorist tense. No! It is a perfect tense verb.
But time to take a breather and sip on some spiritual Gatorade. I will explain the distinction in the next study. You won’t want to miss it because it is deeply revealing.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 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...
John 3:16 is one of the most recognized Bible verses ever. It can be seen displayed on signs and placards at fooball games and other sports. Even the simple chapter/verse identification is well known, being akin to a slogan. The phrase “John 3:16” by itself is equivalent to the words of the verse.
But those words are not our topic of discussion for today. They are included because it is awkward to separate v.16 from verses 17-18. We need the context of vv.16-17 to understand where v.18 is coming from, you see. Verse 18 is our topic for discussion.
Let’s read v.18 together, shall we?
He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Notice in those words two classifications of people. On one side is the only begotten Son of God, on the other is mankind. Notice the two categories of humans. Some of us believe in Him, while others do not believe.
The Son of God, Jesus Christ, brings separation to the ranks of mankind. He causes division within families, within churches, within marriages, between friends and neighbors. Jesus Christ first separates the wheat from the chaff, the dross from the molten metal, before He brings peace with God to man. This perforce must occur on an individual basis. Each person is required to make his own choice of his own free will.
How does this transpire? Well, first Jesus proclaims the Gospel, which includes the truth that all men and women have sinned and are separated from God. It also includes the truth that Jesus is the only way for man to return to God. Jesus makes this possible in Himself because He died on the cross to pay the penalty for the sins of all mankind.
Any person who accepts this Word of God (i.e., has faith or belief), and receives Jesus’ death as the substitute offering for his own sins, has the penalty for his sins paid. Ergo, he no longer stands guilty before God’s tribunal. He is not judged.
Any person who does not receive Jesus’ death as the substitute offering for his own sins—i.e., has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God—does not have the penalty for his sins paid. He does stand guilty before God’s tribunal. But here is the detail we must understand: such a one has been judged already. He won’t stand before God’s tribunal to be judged because God already declared him guilty. He will stand before God’s tribunal for sentencing.
Contrast the two categories of mankind created by the Gospel of Jesus Christ:
• believes in Him
• does not believe
Add to this the contrast in the result of believing or not believing:
• is not judged
• has been judged already
I of necessity must talk a tad about Greek tenses here. But not to worry. I will keep it short and simple. The first result leads to a present tense verb. This means it is a continuous occurrence, a continuous present existence. In other words the believer is currently and continuously NOT JUDGED. He doesn’t have to wait until he stands before God’s tribunal to hear His verdict. The verdict is already given as an established fact, with the result being that the person who believes in the Lord Jesus as His substitute sin offering is not ever called before God’s tribunal to stand trial. He is NOT JUDGED! Rather, he is already justified (i.e., declared “not guilty!”).
The second result is not such a pleasant thing to discuss, but it is utterly real and needs our full attention. The second result stems from the past, not the present or the future. Still, it is not a past tense verb, which in the Greek is known as the aorist tense. No! It is a perfect tense verb.
But time to take a breather and sip on some spiritual Gatorade. I will explain the distinction in the next study. You won’t want to miss it because it is deeply revealing.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 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...
January 24, 2012
Female, Food, or Other? – Part 2
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all [2 Corinthians 13:14].
In terms of God, the word Trinity means there are three Persons who exist as God, but there is only one God. In our Bible verse Paul identifies these three Persons as,
• God
• the Lord Jesus Christ
• the Holy Spirit
In many places the New Testament demonstrates the simultaneous existence of all three Persons of the Godhead. They eternally exist together as one God, though they are three distinct Persons.
There are those who react to this by huffing and puffing incredulously about how they cannot understand such a concept. We respond to them, “Join the club, friends! God is far above our pay grade. Of course we cannot understand Him! We understand only a small part of time, space, and matter. How do you expect to understand the most intricate and unfathomable teachings of eternity? Preposterous to think we can, sir and madam. God understands us. We do NOT understand Him, nor can we. We can only know Him to the extent He explains Himself to us.”
I point to the evidence of the Trinity in 2 Corinthians 13:14 only because it is there. We need to recognize that God’s Word reveals this teaching to us, so we may understand Him more fully. But the study today is about grace, if you recall. So let’s touch upon the three items which accompany the three Persons of the Trinity.
The love of God. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Herein is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins. That spells g-r-a-c-e, GRACE! Jesus offers us eternal life because He died on the cross as payment for the penalty of our sins. The grace of God comes to us via the Person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus is grace.
The fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Jesus returned to heaven forty days after His resurrection. He sent the Holy Spirit ten days later to indwell those who believed in Him. The Holy Spirit came in power and gave birth to the Church, which is the Body of Christ on earth during this Church Age.
The Holy Spirit’s presence means that man has fellowship with God now. We are no longer at war with God. Instead we have peace WITH God, which makes it possible for us to live in the peace OF God in this world. Jesus didn’t leave us as orphans when He ascended to heaven. He sent the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter and our peace and our fellowship with the Lord.
So what say ye? Is it yea or nay to the call of God on your life? Will you receive the love of God via the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and enjoy the fellowship of the Holy Spirit? In America we can play the race card, which the politicians certainly profit from. Or we can embrace 2 Corinthians 13:14 and embrace The Grace Card instead. The Spirit calls. What is your response?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 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 terms of God, the word Trinity means there are three Persons who exist as God, but there is only one God. In our Bible verse Paul identifies these three Persons as,
• God
• the Lord Jesus Christ
• the Holy Spirit
In many places the New Testament demonstrates the simultaneous existence of all three Persons of the Godhead. They eternally exist together as one God, though they are three distinct Persons.
There are those who react to this by huffing and puffing incredulously about how they cannot understand such a concept. We respond to them, “Join the club, friends! God is far above our pay grade. Of course we cannot understand Him! We understand only a small part of time, space, and matter. How do you expect to understand the most intricate and unfathomable teachings of eternity? Preposterous to think we can, sir and madam. God understands us. We do NOT understand Him, nor can we. We can only know Him to the extent He explains Himself to us.”
I point to the evidence of the Trinity in 2 Corinthians 13:14 only because it is there. We need to recognize that God’s Word reveals this teaching to us, so we may understand Him more fully. But the study today is about grace, if you recall. So let’s touch upon the three items which accompany the three Persons of the Trinity.
The love of God. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Herein is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins. That spells g-r-a-c-e, GRACE! Jesus offers us eternal life because He died on the cross as payment for the penalty of our sins. The grace of God comes to us via the Person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus is grace.
The fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Jesus returned to heaven forty days after His resurrection. He sent the Holy Spirit ten days later to indwell those who believed in Him. The Holy Spirit came in power and gave birth to the Church, which is the Body of Christ on earth during this Church Age.
The Holy Spirit’s presence means that man has fellowship with God now. We are no longer at war with God. Instead we have peace WITH God, which makes it possible for us to live in the peace OF God in this world. Jesus didn’t leave us as orphans when He ascended to heaven. He sent the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter and our peace and our fellowship with the Lord.
So what say ye? Is it yea or nay to the call of God on your life? Will you receive the love of God via the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and enjoy the fellowship of the Holy Spirit? In America we can play the race card, which the politicians certainly profit from. Or we can embrace 2 Corinthians 13:14 and embrace The Grace Card instead. The Spirit calls. What is your response?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 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...
January 23, 2012
Female, Food, or Other? – Part 1
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all [2 Corinthians 13:14].
G-R-A-C-E, grace. That’s a pretty word, don’t you think? I mean, consider what it conjures in the mind. I see this pretty lady. Her name is Grace. Oh, and I envision a table full of scrumptious edibles, but I cannot have any until I “say grace”. But what does the word grace really mean?
That question makes for a profitable conversation. Let’s have a multiple choice question on this test. Does the word grace refer to a female, or to food, or to something other? What say we roll up our sleeves and get to work on answering it. The fruits of our labor will be sweet, so sweet.
Allow me to direct you to a simple understanding of the word grace, one not buried in deep and heavy theological jargon. I just finished watching a movie. It is possible, though not a frequent occurrence, that we can learn a good deal from a movie. What makes it even more enjoyable is that we don’t have to study hard and exercise the old noggin in doing so. This is a method of learning which all of us can appreciate. Am I not right?
Anyway, this movie is a Christian film about—you guessed it—grace, God’s grace, the real McCoy. Even more, it stays true to its task, viz., to teach the meaning of grace. To achieve its goal, the movie presents a story reminiscent of real life and demonstrates grace in action, grace with marching boots on.
The story flows around the life of two families, both with police husbands and fathers, but only one man has the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ working in his life. Catastrophe strikes the family of the police officer who hasn’t the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ working in him. What’s more, one family is black, the other white.
You don’t have to concern yourself with religious cliches and Hollywood hype, I promise. The show has none of that. What it has is real life and real death and real Christ. How those three intertwine and the results which follows—that is the storyline. The punchline to the conclusion of the story is, “Don’t play the race card. Play the grace card.”
And that is the name of the movie, viz., The Grace Card. You have to see it. You will love it—that is, if the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ holds any interest in your heart and mind. I won’t tell you anything more about the movie than that. I don’t want to spoil it for you. It is deeply moving and practical, life in action with no flighty Hollywood glimmer attached.
Which brings us to the Bible verse with which we began this study today. There are three concepts in the verse:
• the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
• the love of God
• the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
In those three concepts the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, proclaimed the truth of the Trinity. The word Trinity is a compound word derived from “tri” and “unity”. The prefix “tri” occurs in the word triangle, which is defined as a shape having three sides and three angles. The prefix “tri” refers to “three” of something. The word unity emphasizes “one” of something, an indivisible union of two or more somethings.
Hence the word Trinity speaks of three somethings which are indivisible and exist as one. In terms of God, the word Trinity means there are three Persons who exist as God, but there is only one God. The word Trinity means “three in one”, a Tri-unity (aka Trinity).
Let’s pause and reflect on these concepts now. Betake ourselves to the prayer closet and sit a spell at the feet of Jesus. There is only one thing needful, and Mary chose it. Let’s do so as well.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 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...
G-R-A-C-E, grace. That’s a pretty word, don’t you think? I mean, consider what it conjures in the mind. I see this pretty lady. Her name is Grace. Oh, and I envision a table full of scrumptious edibles, but I cannot have any until I “say grace”. But what does the word grace really mean?
That question makes for a profitable conversation. Let’s have a multiple choice question on this test. Does the word grace refer to a female, or to food, or to something other? What say we roll up our sleeves and get to work on answering it. The fruits of our labor will be sweet, so sweet.
Allow me to direct you to a simple understanding of the word grace, one not buried in deep and heavy theological jargon. I just finished watching a movie. It is possible, though not a frequent occurrence, that we can learn a good deal from a movie. What makes it even more enjoyable is that we don’t have to study hard and exercise the old noggin in doing so. This is a method of learning which all of us can appreciate. Am I not right?
Anyway, this movie is a Christian film about—you guessed it—grace, God’s grace, the real McCoy. Even more, it stays true to its task, viz., to teach the meaning of grace. To achieve its goal, the movie presents a story reminiscent of real life and demonstrates grace in action, grace with marching boots on.
The story flows around the life of two families, both with police husbands and fathers, but only one man has the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ working in his life. Catastrophe strikes the family of the police officer who hasn’t the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ working in him. What’s more, one family is black, the other white.
You don’t have to concern yourself with religious cliches and Hollywood hype, I promise. The show has none of that. What it has is real life and real death and real Christ. How those three intertwine and the results which follows—that is the storyline. The punchline to the conclusion of the story is, “Don’t play the race card. Play the grace card.”
And that is the name of the movie, viz., The Grace Card. You have to see it. You will love it—that is, if the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ holds any interest in your heart and mind. I won’t tell you anything more about the movie than that. I don’t want to spoil it for you. It is deeply moving and practical, life in action with no flighty Hollywood glimmer attached.
Which brings us to the Bible verse with which we began this study today. There are three concepts in the verse:
• the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
• the love of God
• the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
In those three concepts the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, proclaimed the truth of the Trinity. The word Trinity is a compound word derived from “tri” and “unity”. The prefix “tri” occurs in the word triangle, which is defined as a shape having three sides and three angles. The prefix “tri” refers to “three” of something. The word unity emphasizes “one” of something, an indivisible union of two or more somethings.
Hence the word Trinity speaks of three somethings which are indivisible and exist as one. In terms of God, the word Trinity means there are three Persons who exist as God, but there is only one God. The word Trinity means “three in one”, a Tri-unity (aka Trinity).
Let’s pause and reflect on these concepts now. Betake ourselves to the prayer closet and sit a spell at the feet of Jesus. There is only one thing needful, and Mary chose it. Let’s do so as well.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 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...
January 22, 2012
Naysayer Nancy
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things [Philippians 4:8].
I recollect this girlfriend of mine from many moons ago (I mean MANY moons ago). She was the definition of pessimism par excellence. Whenever her mouth opened, if she wasn’t eating she was complaining. Something was wrong with everyone, at least with everyone but herself. Don’t get me wrong. I liked her. She was my girlfriend. But truth be told she was a naysayer. For purposes of our study today, let’s name her Naysayer Nancy.
Anyway, it spoke volumes about me that I did like her. I found her negativity to be funny and real. Sadly, that last part—you know, the “real” part—was the pits. Her bad attitude rubbed off on me. It became my reality. Naysayer Nancy converted me into Pessimist Peter. Both of us fed off each other’s doldrums, until we both became card-carrying members of the Murphy’s Law Club.
The only way I was ever able to escape from the doldrums was by a miracle from the Lord Jesus. He came along and snatched me out of the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock, the rock being Jesus Himself. Yes, dear friends, it is easy for sinners to sin. It is hard for sinners to live righteously. I am the poster child for such a scenario.
The Apostle Paul alluded to this in writing to the Christians in the city of Philippi in Macedonia (i.e., northern Greece). They were a right fine bunch, those Christians of Philippi. They weren’t like the Corinthian Christians, who competed with each other to prove who was the top dog in the junkyard, er, I mean in the church. They were a friendly group who loved the Lord, and they supported Paul in his outreach to convey the Gospel of Jesus Christ to new areas of the world.
But they were sinners saved by grace nonetheless. And sinners find it easy to sin and hard to live righteously. There were a couple of saints in the church who rubbed each other the wrong way. This only magnified the differences, leading to an increase of unfriendly competition. We don’t know the specifics involved, only that Paul exhorted them to stop bickering with each other and start appreciating each other.
Now that is a difficult thing to put into practice, if you catch my drift. The concept is easy enough to express idealistically, hard to implement practically. How to behave in a way so contrary to the sin nature which lives inside each and every son or daughter of Adam the First? That is the question.
The Holy Spirit through Paul gave a resounding answer in Philippians 4:2-9. We are not to be Naysayer Nancy or Pessimist Peter. We are to behave in the exact opposite manner, which begins with the things in which we invest our thoughts. According to Philippians 4:8 we are to think positively by focusing on things which are,
• true
• honorable
• right
• pure
• lovely
• of good repute
• excellent
• worthy of praise
Roll those eight items over your tongue a while and savor the flavor. I bet you didn’t taste even a soupçon of bitterness or insipidity in the whole kit and caboodle, did you? The old adage “what you eat is what you are” has a concomitant aphorism, “how you think is who you are”.
So do we want to be Naysayer Nancy and Pessimist Peter? If not, then let’s memorize Philippians 4:8 and meditate on it daily. Cultivate the habit of focusing on the good and shunning the bad. Make sure we see life as revolving around the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, not around the world and the hatred of man. To God be the glory, great things He has done!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 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 recollect this girlfriend of mine from many moons ago (I mean MANY moons ago). She was the definition of pessimism par excellence. Whenever her mouth opened, if she wasn’t eating she was complaining. Something was wrong with everyone, at least with everyone but herself. Don’t get me wrong. I liked her. She was my girlfriend. But truth be told she was a naysayer. For purposes of our study today, let’s name her Naysayer Nancy.
Anyway, it spoke volumes about me that I did like her. I found her negativity to be funny and real. Sadly, that last part—you know, the “real” part—was the pits. Her bad attitude rubbed off on me. It became my reality. Naysayer Nancy converted me into Pessimist Peter. Both of us fed off each other’s doldrums, until we both became card-carrying members of the Murphy’s Law Club.
The only way I was ever able to escape from the doldrums was by a miracle from the Lord Jesus. He came along and snatched me out of the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock, the rock being Jesus Himself. Yes, dear friends, it is easy for sinners to sin. It is hard for sinners to live righteously. I am the poster child for such a scenario.
The Apostle Paul alluded to this in writing to the Christians in the city of Philippi in Macedonia (i.e., northern Greece). They were a right fine bunch, those Christians of Philippi. They weren’t like the Corinthian Christians, who competed with each other to prove who was the top dog in the junkyard, er, I mean in the church. They were a friendly group who loved the Lord, and they supported Paul in his outreach to convey the Gospel of Jesus Christ to new areas of the world.
But they were sinners saved by grace nonetheless. And sinners find it easy to sin and hard to live righteously. There were a couple of saints in the church who rubbed each other the wrong way. This only magnified the differences, leading to an increase of unfriendly competition. We don’t know the specifics involved, only that Paul exhorted them to stop bickering with each other and start appreciating each other.
Now that is a difficult thing to put into practice, if you catch my drift. The concept is easy enough to express idealistically, hard to implement practically. How to behave in a way so contrary to the sin nature which lives inside each and every son or daughter of Adam the First? That is the question.
The Holy Spirit through Paul gave a resounding answer in Philippians 4:2-9. We are not to be Naysayer Nancy or Pessimist Peter. We are to behave in the exact opposite manner, which begins with the things in which we invest our thoughts. According to Philippians 4:8 we are to think positively by focusing on things which are,
• true
• honorable
• right
• pure
• lovely
• of good repute
• excellent
• worthy of praise
Roll those eight items over your tongue a while and savor the flavor. I bet you didn’t taste even a soupçon of bitterness or insipidity in the whole kit and caboodle, did you? The old adage “what you eat is what you are” has a concomitant aphorism, “how you think is who you are”.
So do we want to be Naysayer Nancy and Pessimist Peter? If not, then let’s memorize Philippians 4:8 and meditate on it daily. Cultivate the habit of focusing on the good and shunning the bad. Make sure we see life as revolving around the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, not around the world and the hatred of man. To God be the glory, great things He has done!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 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...
January 21, 2012
From Moabite to Israelite – Part 2
But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me” [Ruth 1:16-17].
Here’s the thing about the words God and the Lord. When the Lord is identified as God (as in Genesis 1), it refers to the One Who created everything, He Who is high and mighty and towers above the earth and over all creation. The word God points to the impersonal aspect of the Divine One. When God is identified by His name YHWH (aka the Lord), this is personal. Compare it to the identifiers the President and Barak Obama. On the one hand, the President is an impersonal reference, while Barak Obama is quite personal.
Now reread Ruth 1:16-17. The context was that Naomi the Israelite went with her husband and two sons to live in Moab for a spell because there was a famine in Israel. While in Moab her husband died and her two sons married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. Then her two sons died as well. When the famine in Israel was finally over, Naomi decided to return to Israel. Her two daughters-in-law started to go with her, but Naomi discouraged them.
Orpah turned around and went back to Moab, but Ruth pronounced some of the most deeply emotional words of fidelity ever to be recorded, the words in Ruth 1:16-17. She began by saying she was willingly leaving behind her people and embracing Naomi’s people. This meant that thenceforth she saw herself as an Israelite, not as a Moabite.
She then added that she also was willingly renouncing her gods and embracing Naomi’s God. That perforce had to be the case, in order to become an Israelite proselyte. Don’t overlook which word was used to identify the Divine One. Ruth said she was embracing GOD. Because Ruth was a Moabite, she had no personal relationship with the Lord. Her relationship was that between Creator (aka God) and creature (aka created being). It was impersonal.
After renouncing her Moabite identity and the concomitant gods of Moab, Ruth forthwith became a true Israelite. This is why her very next words did NOT refer to God but to the Lord. She said, “If I ever leave you, Naomi, may the Lord, may YHWH, cook my goose!”
See! One moment Ruth was a Moabite cocoon, the next an Israelite butterfly. These sorts of details in Scripture reveal remarkable spiritual truth, dear friends. Don’t miss out on them. Hie off to my Amazon link below and purchase your very own copies of my books. I bring out innumerable suchlike details in my books. You will only be the better for it. Thank you.
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...
Here’s the thing about the words God and the Lord. When the Lord is identified as God (as in Genesis 1), it refers to the One Who created everything, He Who is high and mighty and towers above the earth and over all creation. The word God points to the impersonal aspect of the Divine One. When God is identified by His name YHWH (aka the Lord), this is personal. Compare it to the identifiers the President and Barak Obama. On the one hand, the President is an impersonal reference, while Barak Obama is quite personal.
Now reread Ruth 1:16-17. The context was that Naomi the Israelite went with her husband and two sons to live in Moab for a spell because there was a famine in Israel. While in Moab her husband died and her two sons married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. Then her two sons died as well. When the famine in Israel was finally over, Naomi decided to return to Israel. Her two daughters-in-law started to go with her, but Naomi discouraged them.
Orpah turned around and went back to Moab, but Ruth pronounced some of the most deeply emotional words of fidelity ever to be recorded, the words in Ruth 1:16-17. She began by saying she was willingly leaving behind her people and embracing Naomi’s people. This meant that thenceforth she saw herself as an Israelite, not as a Moabite.
She then added that she also was willingly renouncing her gods and embracing Naomi’s God. That perforce had to be the case, in order to become an Israelite proselyte. Don’t overlook which word was used to identify the Divine One. Ruth said she was embracing GOD. Because Ruth was a Moabite, she had no personal relationship with the Lord. Her relationship was that between Creator (aka God) and creature (aka created being). It was impersonal.
After renouncing her Moabite identity and the concomitant gods of Moab, Ruth forthwith became a true Israelite. This is why her very next words did NOT refer to God but to the Lord. She said, “If I ever leave you, Naomi, may the Lord, may YHWH, cook my goose!”
See! One moment Ruth was a Moabite cocoon, the next an Israelite butterfly. These sorts of details in Scripture reveal remarkable spiritual truth, dear friends. Don’t miss out on them. Hie off to my Amazon link below and purchase your very own copies of my books. I bring out innumerable suchlike details in my books. You will only be the better for it. Thank you.
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...
January 20, 2012
From Moabite to Israelite – Part 1
But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me” [Ruth 1:16-17].
Do you recall the first person you fell for? Remember how puppy love felt? I do! I walked on the moon without touching the ground. Butterflies hovered around my head and in my stomach. I didn’t know what day it was or even if it was day. Goosebumps covered my skin and goose eggs made up my common sense quotient. Ah, amore.
As we all know, puppy love doesn’t last. The temporary blindness which accompanies it, along with the temporary insanity, dissipate sooner or later—usually sooner—and we realize our lovely “beauty” is really an unsightly “beast”…sort of like Mrs. Shrek. Yes, puppy love is more a Hollywood thing than it is reality.
And then there is the real thing, the real McCoy, true love, the kind which we can read about in 1 Corinthians 13 but rarely witness in real life. Let’s identify real love, God’s love, shall we?
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life [John 3:16].
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins [1 John 4:10].
See! True love, God’s love, doesn’t TAKE. It GIVES. Real love looks out for the one loved, rather than see how it can profit from the one loved. Does this not explain why the divorce rate is sky high in today’s antichrist society? Everyone looks out for his/her own interests. All of us have a penchant for putting Numero Uno first. In the Bible this is recognized as “hate”, in contrast to “love”…and the Bible is quite correct.
It is hard for us to grasp what we read in Ruth 1, as quoted at the start of this study. We have the words of true love there. In fact Ruth’s true love came from Israel’s King YHWH and metamorphosed her from a Moabite to an Israelite. The proof is right there in the two verses I quoted. Ruth’s metamorphosis takes place in those verses.
“How so?” you are no doubt wondering. It has to do with the usage of the words God and the Lord. We’ve posted studies on this issue already, and my Heavenly Citizens series delves into the matter exhaustively on many occasions. Let’s have a brief review.
The word God isn’t a name or even a title. It is hard to define because it applies only to the one true God. This makes it unique. Suffice it to say that the word human depicts a species. In the same way the word God does likewise, except the species consists of only one, making Him not a species. The word God denotes deity. On the other hand, the words the Lord—in reality only one Hebrew word, viz., YHWH or Yahweh or Jehovah—is the actual NAME of God.
Oh, but this is a right fine location to pitch our tents for the night. We will return to this issue in our next study. See you then.
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...
Do you recall the first person you fell for? Remember how puppy love felt? I do! I walked on the moon without touching the ground. Butterflies hovered around my head and in my stomach. I didn’t know what day it was or even if it was day. Goosebumps covered my skin and goose eggs made up my common sense quotient. Ah, amore.
As we all know, puppy love doesn’t last. The temporary blindness which accompanies it, along with the temporary insanity, dissipate sooner or later—usually sooner—and we realize our lovely “beauty” is really an unsightly “beast”…sort of like Mrs. Shrek. Yes, puppy love is more a Hollywood thing than it is reality.
And then there is the real thing, the real McCoy, true love, the kind which we can read about in 1 Corinthians 13 but rarely witness in real life. Let’s identify real love, God’s love, shall we?
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life [John 3:16].
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins [1 John 4:10].
See! True love, God’s love, doesn’t TAKE. It GIVES. Real love looks out for the one loved, rather than see how it can profit from the one loved. Does this not explain why the divorce rate is sky high in today’s antichrist society? Everyone looks out for his/her own interests. All of us have a penchant for putting Numero Uno first. In the Bible this is recognized as “hate”, in contrast to “love”…and the Bible is quite correct.
It is hard for us to grasp what we read in Ruth 1, as quoted at the start of this study. We have the words of true love there. In fact Ruth’s true love came from Israel’s King YHWH and metamorphosed her from a Moabite to an Israelite. The proof is right there in the two verses I quoted. Ruth’s metamorphosis takes place in those verses.
“How so?” you are no doubt wondering. It has to do with the usage of the words God and the Lord. We’ve posted studies on this issue already, and my Heavenly Citizens series delves into the matter exhaustively on many occasions. Let’s have a brief review.
The word God isn’t a name or even a title. It is hard to define because it applies only to the one true God. This makes it unique. Suffice it to say that the word human depicts a species. In the same way the word God does likewise, except the species consists of only one, making Him not a species. The word God denotes deity. On the other hand, the words the Lord—in reality only one Hebrew word, viz., YHWH or Yahweh or Jehovah—is the actual NAME of God.
Oh, but this is a right fine location to pitch our tents for the night. We will return to this issue in our next study. See you then.
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...
January 19, 2012
Hereditary Heaven – Part 2
Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, and had known all the deeds of the Lord which He had done for Israel [Joshua 24:31].
We paused in our last study with this dear woman who didn’t much care to hear any teaching about the blood of Jesus. I, on the other hand, cannot get away from the blood of Jesus. And I politely told her so. Oh, but that got her dander up! She blurted out a revealing retort in an angry growl, “I don’t have to be born again. I was a good person all my life!”
I disagreed, “Oh, but Jesus said in John 3 that we MUST be born again, or else we cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
She retaliated, “That’s just for the wicked people, like the skid row bums and other suchlike low-lifes.”
I explained that Jesus spoke those words to Nicodemus, one of the most godly persons of his day, a sincere seeker of God and His righteousness.
To bring this story to a timely conclusion, allow me to state that this dear woman huffed and puffed and attempted to blow my door down. She vowed I’d not be the pastor of HER church, and bid me a not so fond ado.
Here is the point to the story, dear friends. There is no such critter to be found in the Bible as Hereditary Heaven. Every person born of Father Adam is born a sinner because Father Adam was a sinner. Like begets like. Sinners cannot give birth to saints. Only a sinless person can give birth to another sinless person. That is precisely why every person MUST be born again, if he or she will be a part of the family of God.
In the time of Joshua bin Nun, the Israelites followed the Word of God—of course with some failings on occasion. So long as Joshua and the elders of his day were alive, the Israelites continued to follow the Word of God and server King YHWH. This is what was recorded in Joshua 24:31, which we quoted to start this study.
If we are at Joshua 24 in our Bibles and turn the page to the Book of Judges, beginning with chapter 2 we learn just what transpired the moment Joshua and the elders of his day were no longer alive on earth. Their progeny began to imitate the heathen folks who lived with the Israelites in Canaan. You see, they were not born as the people of God. Each Israelite had to personally, individually, make his/her own choice to obey the Word of God and serve King YHWH only.
There is no such thing as Hereditary Heaven, my dear friends. Are you depending on your natural pedigree to be right with God? Do you look in the mirror and see a good old boy or girl? Is it your position that the Lord should be glad to have you? Do you live in Hereditary Heaven? Ah, oh. I am sorry to tell you, but there is no such critter. You must be born again.
So why not be so now? Let’s go to the Lord and spend some quiet time alone with Him. He has all we need for life, both on earth and in eternity.
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 in our last study with this dear woman who didn’t much care to hear any teaching about the blood of Jesus. I, on the other hand, cannot get away from the blood of Jesus. And I politely told her so. Oh, but that got her dander up! She blurted out a revealing retort in an angry growl, “I don’t have to be born again. I was a good person all my life!”
I disagreed, “Oh, but Jesus said in John 3 that we MUST be born again, or else we cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
She retaliated, “That’s just for the wicked people, like the skid row bums and other suchlike low-lifes.”
I explained that Jesus spoke those words to Nicodemus, one of the most godly persons of his day, a sincere seeker of God and His righteousness.
To bring this story to a timely conclusion, allow me to state that this dear woman huffed and puffed and attempted to blow my door down. She vowed I’d not be the pastor of HER church, and bid me a not so fond ado.
Here is the point to the story, dear friends. There is no such critter to be found in the Bible as Hereditary Heaven. Every person born of Father Adam is born a sinner because Father Adam was a sinner. Like begets like. Sinners cannot give birth to saints. Only a sinless person can give birth to another sinless person. That is precisely why every person MUST be born again, if he or she will be a part of the family of God.
In the time of Joshua bin Nun, the Israelites followed the Word of God—of course with some failings on occasion. So long as Joshua and the elders of his day were alive, the Israelites continued to follow the Word of God and server King YHWH. This is what was recorded in Joshua 24:31, which we quoted to start this study.
If we are at Joshua 24 in our Bibles and turn the page to the Book of Judges, beginning with chapter 2 we learn just what transpired the moment Joshua and the elders of his day were no longer alive on earth. Their progeny began to imitate the heathen folks who lived with the Israelites in Canaan. You see, they were not born as the people of God. Each Israelite had to personally, individually, make his/her own choice to obey the Word of God and serve King YHWH only.
There is no such thing as Hereditary Heaven, my dear friends. Are you depending on your natural pedigree to be right with God? Do you look in the mirror and see a good old boy or girl? Is it your position that the Lord should be glad to have you? Do you live in Hereditary Heaven? Ah, oh. I am sorry to tell you, but there is no such critter. You must be born again.
So why not be so now? Let’s go to the Lord and spend some quiet time alone with Him. He has all we need for life, both on earth and in eternity.
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...
January 18, 2012
Hereditary Heaven – Part 1
Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, and had known all the deeds of the Lord which He had done for Israel [Joshua 24:31].
I recall a church I pastored over twenty years ago. On my first visit to become acquainted with the good folks of the church, and they in return to become acquainted with me, I enjoyed a meal with an elderly couple. This couple had been a part of that congregation for so long, they for all intents and purposes owned it! Or so it seemed in their eyes.
Actually the husband was a rather reserved fellow, sitting back and allowing his wife to bask in all the glory to be had. He was content to be left alone and to leave everyone else alone. ‘Twould’ve been a grand accomplishment for her to have done the same. Alas, but it wasn’t to be so, not by a long shot.
Anyway, as we sat at the dinner table enjoying the food, this dear woman flapped her jaws more in the pursuit of self-flattery and egocentrism than she did for the purpose of eating. I preferred to use mine to eat, and so I chewed and took it all in…regrettably. She gave me the lowdown on the entire congregation, one-by-one, and threw in the last several pastors to boot. Ah, but there was one redeeming quality in that church…her!
Well, before she was through, she gave me an example of how one of those pastors was impossible to stomach. According to her, he had the unadorned chutzpah to talk about the blood of Jesus on Christmas! Do you believe it? On Christmas! She wanted him run out of town on a rail, but not before spending a week in the pillory and then dressed in tar and feathers.
She was setting me up, you see. Before she agreed to vote for me as the next pastor, she wanted to know whether I would do her bidding or insist on feeding the good church folk with the pure, unadulterated Bible. So her next step was to look me straight in the eye—much as the Queen of Hearts did to those who soon lost their heads—and queried, “You wouldn’t do that, would you? You wouldn’t talk about the blood of Jesus too much, even on Christmas? And then she leaned back in her chair and took a nibble of food, while she waited to hear me timorously say, “No, I won’t do that.”
I took my time and permitted her to gloat over her perceived victory of painting the candidate into a corner and committing him to do her bidding. When I finished chewing my food and swallowing, I then allowed the suspense to build up further by taking a long drink of tea. At last I looked at her with a smile and calmly responded to her bait, “No, ma’am, I wouldn’t talk too much about the blood of Jesus…because you can never talk too much about the blood of Jesus!” And then I added, “The blood of Jesus is the axis around which all of Scripture revolves. We must die to self and be born again in Jesus.”
We will take a respite at this time and continue the story in our next study. You won’t want to miss it. The ending feeds us on a lot of spiritual nutriment which is good for the soul.
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...
I recall a church I pastored over twenty years ago. On my first visit to become acquainted with the good folks of the church, and they in return to become acquainted with me, I enjoyed a meal with an elderly couple. This couple had been a part of that congregation for so long, they for all intents and purposes owned it! Or so it seemed in their eyes.
Actually the husband was a rather reserved fellow, sitting back and allowing his wife to bask in all the glory to be had. He was content to be left alone and to leave everyone else alone. ‘Twould’ve been a grand accomplishment for her to have done the same. Alas, but it wasn’t to be so, not by a long shot.
Anyway, as we sat at the dinner table enjoying the food, this dear woman flapped her jaws more in the pursuit of self-flattery and egocentrism than she did for the purpose of eating. I preferred to use mine to eat, and so I chewed and took it all in…regrettably. She gave me the lowdown on the entire congregation, one-by-one, and threw in the last several pastors to boot. Ah, but there was one redeeming quality in that church…her!
Well, before she was through, she gave me an example of how one of those pastors was impossible to stomach. According to her, he had the unadorned chutzpah to talk about the blood of Jesus on Christmas! Do you believe it? On Christmas! She wanted him run out of town on a rail, but not before spending a week in the pillory and then dressed in tar and feathers.
She was setting me up, you see. Before she agreed to vote for me as the next pastor, she wanted to know whether I would do her bidding or insist on feeding the good church folk with the pure, unadulterated Bible. So her next step was to look me straight in the eye—much as the Queen of Hearts did to those who soon lost their heads—and queried, “You wouldn’t do that, would you? You wouldn’t talk about the blood of Jesus too much, even on Christmas? And then she leaned back in her chair and took a nibble of food, while she waited to hear me timorously say, “No, I won’t do that.”
I took my time and permitted her to gloat over her perceived victory of painting the candidate into a corner and committing him to do her bidding. When I finished chewing my food and swallowing, I then allowed the suspense to build up further by taking a long drink of tea. At last I looked at her with a smile and calmly responded to her bait, “No, ma’am, I wouldn’t talk too much about the blood of Jesus…because you can never talk too much about the blood of Jesus!” And then I added, “The blood of Jesus is the axis around which all of Scripture revolves. We must die to self and be born again in Jesus.”
We will take a respite at this time and continue the story in our next study. You won’t want to miss it. The ending feeds us on a lot of spiritual nutriment which is good for the soul.
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...
January 17, 2012
Jacob’s Ladder and a Carpenter
Jesus answered and said to (Nathanael), “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” [John 1:50-51]
Jacob was the son of Isaac. He had an older twin brother named Esau—older, that is, by a matter of jinutes, and that’s quicker than a minute. Esau was a jovial sort of gregarious guy, like a modern-day jock whom everybody likes. Trouble was, Esau couldn’t care less about the things of God. He despised God’s covenant, demonstrating himself to be a godless man.
Esau was the natural firstborn, which entitled him to the birthright (i.e., headship of the family after Isaac died) and the blessing (i.e., the double portion, or twice amount of family wealth the other son(s) received as their inheritance. Here’s the thing: the Lord made a covenant with Abraham, which was handed down to Isaac by the Lord’s sovereign choice. Then the Lord decided to continue the Abrahamic Covenant through Jacob and his lineage, rather than through Esau.
So the Lord considered Jacob to hold the position of firstborn. This family, you see, was not the normal everyday run-of-the-mill family. In the natural world the son born first was entitled to the rights of the firstborn. In the world of covenant the Lord doesn’t follow the natural order. He changes things around to show that no one belongs to Him by natural birth. We must be born again.
Anyway, Esau decided to kill Jacob because he didn’t like Jacob receiving the rights of the firstborn. So Isaac dispatched Jacob far away to Uncle Laban’s house to stay awhile. On the first night of his trip to Uncle Laban’s, Jacob stopped at Bethel to sleep along the road. Here’s what happened when he went to sleep:
He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it [Genesis 28:12].
There we have the description of Jacob’s Ladder. Let’s fast forward now to circa 27 A.D. and pick up the story about Jacob’s Ladder in the hands of a Carpenter from Nazareth. Oh, by the way, the Carpenter’s name was Jesus. We began this study with a quote from Carpenter Jesus about Jacob’s Ladder. But there was one significant difference between the Genesis account and Jesus’ telling of the story. Did you catch it?
Jacob’s Ladder was an actual ladder which connected heaven and earth. On Jacob’s Ladder the angels went back and forth between heaven and earth. But that’s not what Jesus told us, is it? No, it’s not. According to Jesus the angels did not go back and forth between heaven and earth on a ladder. They did so on the Son of Man. Carpenter Jesus is the Son of Man. He is Jacob’s Ladder.
The eternal Son of God took upon human flesh, sinless to be sure but nonetheless real humanity. He did so approximately 3 B.C. as the God-man Jesus Christ. The purpose for Him doing so was to reunite sinful man with a thrice holy God. God created man without sin and in fellowship with Him, but man sinned and lost his relationship with the Lord. In order to bring man back to God, the penalty for man’s sins first had to be paid, and then man needed to have a new nature which wanted to be in relationship with the Lord, a nature which no longer wanted to sin.
The eternal Son of God became man in order to pay the penalty for man’s sins by dying on the cross. He rose again out of death the third day in order to provide man with a new resurrection nature, God’s own nature within man. This provision is available to any person who will take the Word of God at face value and ask Him for it (Biblical faith).
Yes, the God-man Jesus Christ, Carpenter Jesus, is the antitype of Jacob’s Ladder (the type). He reunites God and man in Himself. Isn’t that glorious? The Lord be praised! Let’s go to Him now and receive the blessings of His presence, shall we? We’ll have a grand old time.
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...
Jacob was the son of Isaac. He had an older twin brother named Esau—older, that is, by a matter of jinutes, and that’s quicker than a minute. Esau was a jovial sort of gregarious guy, like a modern-day jock whom everybody likes. Trouble was, Esau couldn’t care less about the things of God. He despised God’s covenant, demonstrating himself to be a godless man.
Esau was the natural firstborn, which entitled him to the birthright (i.e., headship of the family after Isaac died) and the blessing (i.e., the double portion, or twice amount of family wealth the other son(s) received as their inheritance. Here’s the thing: the Lord made a covenant with Abraham, which was handed down to Isaac by the Lord’s sovereign choice. Then the Lord decided to continue the Abrahamic Covenant through Jacob and his lineage, rather than through Esau.
So the Lord considered Jacob to hold the position of firstborn. This family, you see, was not the normal everyday run-of-the-mill family. In the natural world the son born first was entitled to the rights of the firstborn. In the world of covenant the Lord doesn’t follow the natural order. He changes things around to show that no one belongs to Him by natural birth. We must be born again.
Anyway, Esau decided to kill Jacob because he didn’t like Jacob receiving the rights of the firstborn. So Isaac dispatched Jacob far away to Uncle Laban’s house to stay awhile. On the first night of his trip to Uncle Laban’s, Jacob stopped at Bethel to sleep along the road. Here’s what happened when he went to sleep:
He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it [Genesis 28:12].
There we have the description of Jacob’s Ladder. Let’s fast forward now to circa 27 A.D. and pick up the story about Jacob’s Ladder in the hands of a Carpenter from Nazareth. Oh, by the way, the Carpenter’s name was Jesus. We began this study with a quote from Carpenter Jesus about Jacob’s Ladder. But there was one significant difference between the Genesis account and Jesus’ telling of the story. Did you catch it?
Jacob’s Ladder was an actual ladder which connected heaven and earth. On Jacob’s Ladder the angels went back and forth between heaven and earth. But that’s not what Jesus told us, is it? No, it’s not. According to Jesus the angels did not go back and forth between heaven and earth on a ladder. They did so on the Son of Man. Carpenter Jesus is the Son of Man. He is Jacob’s Ladder.
The eternal Son of God took upon human flesh, sinless to be sure but nonetheless real humanity. He did so approximately 3 B.C. as the God-man Jesus Christ. The purpose for Him doing so was to reunite sinful man with a thrice holy God. God created man without sin and in fellowship with Him, but man sinned and lost his relationship with the Lord. In order to bring man back to God, the penalty for man’s sins first had to be paid, and then man needed to have a new nature which wanted to be in relationship with the Lord, a nature which no longer wanted to sin.
The eternal Son of God became man in order to pay the penalty for man’s sins by dying on the cross. He rose again out of death the third day in order to provide man with a new resurrection nature, God’s own nature within man. This provision is available to any person who will take the Word of God at face value and ask Him for it (Biblical faith).
Yes, the God-man Jesus Christ, Carpenter Jesus, is the antitype of Jacob’s Ladder (the type). He reunites God and man in Himself. Isn’t that glorious? The Lord be praised! Let’s go to Him now and receive the blessings of His presence, shall we? We’ll have a grand old time.
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...
