Something just occurred to me as I hummed/sang Christmas carols and hymns. If you do not believe the Bible account of creation, the fall, and redemption, many of the hymns and carols are pretty much meaningless verbiage. Let’s look at some examples.
Of course, any reference to the coming Messiah and Savior would hinge on the foundation of the fall and redemption, but let’s just stick to creation and that aspect. We may look at other aspects later.
“Joy to the World,” verse 3. “No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground...far as the curse is found.” No Adam, no Eve, no Genesis 3:15, no curse, no Joy.
“The First Noel,” verse 6. (One other thought. When singing many hymns and carols and skipping verses misses a significant part of the message.) “The let us all with one accord, sing praises to our heavenly Lord, that hath made heaven and earth of naught, and with His blood mankind hath bought.” (And you can sing it with one Camry or one Impala.) Sorry, could not resist.
Another thought: If evolution is true, there would be no angels. All of the carols that mention angels would also be nonsense. You can figure out your own angel list to discard. :>) Not me.
And our friend Travis’masterpiece, “O Holy Night.” “...Long lay the world, in sin and error pining....” To eliminate that song would elicit a cry from my Mom. “Oh Horrors!” Probably with two exclamation points.
“I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” v.4. “...God is not dead, nor doth He sleep.” Sounds like a good movie.
“Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee,” V. 2 “All Thy works with joy surround Thee, earth and heaven reflect Thy rays, Stars and angels sing around Thee, center of unbroken praise. Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea, chanting bird and flowing fountain, Call us to rejoice in Thee.” That about covers it all.
“The Spacious Firmament,” by Joseph Addison based on Psalm 19 (music by Hayden) is three verses devoted to praising God for Creation. (Page 62 in the Baptist Hymnal) Link to lyrics. https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/spacious-firmament-high
This is a new hymn to me, and I wish I had know about it earlier. What a message. Gets a glory. Look up some other arrangements and performances. It is worth your while.
“All Things Bright and Beautiful,”
All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, The Lord God made them all. Each little flower that opens, Each little bird that sings, He made their glowing colours, He made their tiny wings. The purple-headed mountain, The river running by, The sunset and the morning, That brightens up the sky. The cold wind in the winter, The pleasant summer sun, The ripe fruits in the garden, He made them every one. The tall trees in the greenwood, The meadows for our play, The rushes by the water, To gather every day. He gave us eyes to see them, And lips that we might tell How great is God Almighty, Who has made all things well.
This is another lesser known hymn. We are wasting a veritable treasure of theology and inspiration by ignoring our hymn books. (Editorial comment.)
Not Christmas, but still gets the message.
“Great is Thy Faithfulness.” v. 2 “Summer and winter, spring time and harvest, sun, moon, and stars in their courses above, Join with all nature in manifold witness....”Join right in there with me.
“Fairest Lord Jesus,” V. 1 “Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all nature.” Pretty self explanatory.
“He’s Everything To Me,” “In the stars His handiwork I see, on the wind He speaks with majesty, Tho He ruleth over land and sea....” This is one of the “new” songs that came out in the 60's. And there is a lot of theology mixed with this catchy tune.
“How Great Thou Art,” V. 1 “O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds “Thy hands have made, I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, thy power throughout the universe displayed.” That calls for a “How great Thou Art!” Glory.
Dr. Dunn, our Pastor in Peoria loved this song. I do too.
“I Sing the Mighty Power of God,” whole song. Isaac Watts did himself proud with this. Sing it.
I sing the mighty pow’r of God, that made the mountains rise, That spread the flowing seas abroad, and built the lofty skies. I sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule the day; The moon shines full at His command, and all the stars obey. I sing the goodness of the Lord, who filled the earth with food, Who formed the creatures through the Word, and then pronounced them good. Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed, where’er I turn my eye, If I survey the ground I tread, or gaze upon the sky. There’s not a plant or flow’r below, but makes Thy glories known, And clouds arise, and tempests blow, by order from Thy throne; While all that borrows life from Thee is ever in Thy care; And everywhere that we can be, Thou, God, art present there. Source: The Cyber Hymnal (http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/i/s/i/isingthe.htm)
You gotta hear and sing with this one.
Just log onto this link and let the songs proceed one after another. Bet you can’t keep your hands down! ww.bing.com/videos/search?q=i+sing+the+mighty+power+of+god+lyrics&&view=detail&mid=981B99A427E60E51AE09981B99A427E60E51AE09&rvsmid=38ADEAC33A3766EB670C38ADEAC33A3766EB670C&FORM=VDQVAP
Psalm 136 (Baptist Hymnal 63) Abridged. Read the whole Psalm.
Give thanks to the Lord, Give thanks to the God of gods, Give thanks to the Lord of lords, To Him who made the heavens with skill, To Him who spread out the earth above the waters, To Him who made the great lights, The sun to rule [c]by day, The moon and stars to rule by night.
This is another one that is new to me. But when it comes out of the Scripture, how can it be bad? It cannot.
“This Is My Father’s World,” v. 1 “...of rocks and trees and skies and seas, His hand the wonders wrought.” No need for additional comment.
“Thou Art Worthy,” (Baptist Hymnal 73) “For Thou has created, hast all things created; thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are created, For Thou are worthy, O Lord.” Revelation 4:11
Accompaniment with lyrics. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=thou+art+worthy+lyrics&view=detail&mid=9FE525344E9F72D613A49FE525344E9F72D613A4&FORM=VIRE
Choir and words. Glory.
What a great way to finish our devotion. He is worthy. And just for a final send off, go to the Messiah and get the arrangement there for this verse. You can wear new shoes for a week after hearing that, and take them back as new, as they will not have touched pavement. Glory.
Well, that is just an introduction to the importance of Creation in our faith and in our celebrations of God’s works. Just in case you wondered, the creation, either explicitly or implicitly stated occurs over 100 times in the Bible. Not only would Christmas be diminished without the creation, so would the Bible. God seems to have built His story on the foundation of creation. If you have more examples of creation in songs, please, by all means, contribute them to the conversation in the comments. I will append them to the blog.
Thank you and worship Him.
Epilogue: We will not look at this right now, but as you sing songs, watch for the Trinity. If that is outside one’s understanding or belief, an overwhelming amount of music is “off limits.” Just a thought.
Friday, November 30, 2018
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Why the Jews?
In Sunday School class this week we stumbled onto a question that often occurs when considering the Old Testament covenants and the New Testament. “Why did God choose the Jews and reject the Gentiles?” That is a good question. Let’s take a look at it.
Before we start, a definition is in order. By “rejecting” the Gentiles, God did not abandon nor condemn them. He merely did not choose them. When you choose a certain brand of car or computer or any other item, you are not condemning or even demeaning the competitors. You are merely choosing one and not picking the other.
We are considering the fact that the Jews were “God’s chosen people.” That should not evoke envy or pride on the part of anyone. This is not an envious position, as we will discover as we go forward nor is it a source of pride, for some of the same reasons. Follow this.
Deuteronomy 7 is Moses repeating the law to his charges, the Children of Israel, after the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Listen to his recapitulation. V. 6
For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
That is their role in history. We will find out more about that later. But just to keep them humble, Moses continued. V. 7
7 “The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but because the Lord loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the Lord brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
They had “nothing” going for them to elicit the choice, except the fact that they were a small, almost helpless people. It was not like choosing a TV with a better picture or features. In fact, this might have been the worst one on the shelf and damaged to boot. Some recommendation on a resume, huh? So there is no pride producing rationale for God’s choice. He just chose them. We will discuss why in a minute, but, just for the record, let’s follow the “remuneration” that the Lord promised through Moses. V. 9 ff
Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His loving-kindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments; 10 but repays those who hate Him to their faces, to destroy them; He will not delay with him who hates Him, He will repay him to his face. 11 Therefore, you shall keep the commandment and the statutes and the judgments which I am commanding you today, to do them.
This is a two edged sword. It is a warning to the Israelites to obey and keep the “commandment and the statutes and the judgments.” But it is also a warning to anyone who would harm or threaten this people that He has chosen. For those who “love and keep commandments,” lovingkindness is extended for a thousand generations. (Aside. I am not sure that one thousand generations have passed since then, so His favor is still “in effect” for His faithful followers.)
But to those who “hate” Him, and by extension, His people, He will destroy. One of our pastors often comments that he wants to stand close to those whom God is blessing, and stay away from those who are resisting Him. Me too.
So God chose them. Why? To quote one of my sisters, as she was learning to talk, “What’s the i-big-dea?” (Don’t fret, I won’t tell on you, Pam.) God’s original intention was for Israel to be witnesses to two things: First, that He is a loving God and offered forgiveness and redemption. Second, they were to highlight God’s absolute holiness. (This is discussed in more detail at: https://www.gotquestions.org/why-God-choose-Israel.html) We will begin with the second purpose.
Are they still in God’s plan, today? In-duub-it-ub-bly! Do you remember the TV show, “Little Rascals?” Some iterations of the program were called “Our Gang,” but our one TV channel out in southwestern Nebraska ran Little Rascals at about 3:00 every weekday afternoon. We went to Aunt Ila’s house as often as we were able to watch. (She was the only one of our family with a TV set. We watched with Gary and Dennis, our cousins.) That has little to do with our story but it sets up the point.
One of the characters on the program, when asked a question requiring an affirmative answer, responded with a hearty, “In-duub-it-ub-bly!” stretching out the syllables for effect. The Jews are definitely in God’s plan. Recall the 1000 generation thing. That has not yet expired, and probably has been incremented by later faithful generations.
So why the Jews? The message of forgiveness and redemption is meaningless without a justification as to why we would need forgiveness and redemption. Israel had the dubious distinction of illustrating God’s holiness in all aspects of life. God is infinitely, absolutely, and eternally holy. Nothing that is unholy can approach Him and is the object of His judgment. So we need to know whether we are “holy enough” to please God.
Read through the book of Leviticus and you will be struck with the extreme detail that was taken with every aspect of life. The key phrase of differentiation was “clean and unclean.” Nothing unclean was to be associated with the people.
The concept of clean was extended to foods; clothes; housing; cooking utensils; relationships with family, neighbors, and even enemies; and of course, their worship. It was as if God knew some cults or offshoots would isolate on one thing, like food, or certain days, or even names, and claim that by avoiding all defilement regarding that aspect of life they would please God. They don’t.
God was so meticulous in defining the clean and unclean that it took the entire book. Reading it as a description of God’s holiness makes it much less tedious. Just for comparison, would you invite an honored guest into your life or home that was defiled with the “unclean” items or attitudes described here? That makes the strictures about mold and mildew, of all things, more understandable. We are inviting the Holy God of the Universe into our lives. They had better be without “mold;” clean.
And the nation of Israel was chosen to be the picture book of cleanliness. The Ten Commandments began with relationships. The relationship with God: No other God, No Images, No Taking His Name in Vain, and Honor the Sabbath, was first. Family relationships come next. They could include the Sabbath rest for the family and of course Honor Father and Mother. Next are the interpersonal relationships of Do Not Murder, Do Not Commit Adultery (both family and others are affected here), Do Not Steal, Do Not Lie, and Do Not Covet. How do you measure up?
Then Exodus and Leviticus continue with a detailed proscription of things that displease God, mixed with aspects of life that will honor Him. This extends to the construction of the Tabernacle and later the Temple for worship. And, measuring progress, how did the Jews do? How do we do?
The answer to the question is, “No, neither they, nor we are holy or good enough to please God.” So we need forgiveness and redemption. We need a Redeemer, the Messiah. And that is the second role of the Jewish nation. Check Romans 3:1, 2
Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? 2 Great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.
The “oracles” include the rules and regulations, but they also include the promise of the Messiah. He was the Sacrifice, promised in Genesis 3:15 and defined in the Law as what was required to please God. Did any of the sacrifices offered throughout the history of the Tabernacle or the Temple satisfy or propitiate God? No. Hebrews 10:4
For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
So why did they go through all of that rigamarole? The sacrifices were a picture of the Sinless One Who would be the perfect, efficacious sacrifice that would take away sin. The Old Testament believers had faith in the promise of the Sacrifice to come. And we, the New Testament believers, have faith in the Sacrifice that we see when we look back. Both groups look to the Cross and see the Lamb of God, slain for the sins of the world. John 1:29 (John the Baptist speaking)
The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
The Apostle John further expands and explains Him in Revelation 13:8 as...
... the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Both Johns got it! And so do we. The picture God gave to and through the Jews of His absolute holiness was satisfied IN US, when we accept the sacrifice of His Son. (Don’t that make you wanna shout? It does me.)
So the Jews’ failure to show God’s perfection was not a justification for rejecting or ejecting them. It is an opportunity for us to participate, with them, in the reception of the Perfect Lamb that was also mirrored in their Law. We are condemned by the Law and the One projected in the Law redeems and forgives us.
The Jews were, if you please, the giant video screen on which the failures of all men were projected, leading to the revelation of the Savior Who can both forgive and cleanse this fallen race. They are honored by God’s choice and they are debased by their failure to perfectly portray Him. The secret we all must bear, is that we, like them, would have been failures also. Their humiliation is the path to their, and our exaltation with Jesus when He comes.
Even so, come Lord Jesus. Aren’t you glad He chose the Jews?
Before we start, a definition is in order. By “rejecting” the Gentiles, God did not abandon nor condemn them. He merely did not choose them. When you choose a certain brand of car or computer or any other item, you are not condemning or even demeaning the competitors. You are merely choosing one and not picking the other.
We are considering the fact that the Jews were “God’s chosen people.” That should not evoke envy or pride on the part of anyone. This is not an envious position, as we will discover as we go forward nor is it a source of pride, for some of the same reasons. Follow this.
Deuteronomy 7 is Moses repeating the law to his charges, the Children of Israel, after the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Listen to his recapitulation. V. 6
For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
That is their role in history. We will find out more about that later. But just to keep them humble, Moses continued. V. 7
7 “The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but because the Lord loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the Lord brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
They had “nothing” going for them to elicit the choice, except the fact that they were a small, almost helpless people. It was not like choosing a TV with a better picture or features. In fact, this might have been the worst one on the shelf and damaged to boot. Some recommendation on a resume, huh? So there is no pride producing rationale for God’s choice. He just chose them. We will discuss why in a minute, but, just for the record, let’s follow the “remuneration” that the Lord promised through Moses. V. 9 ff
Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His loving-kindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments; 10 but repays those who hate Him to their faces, to destroy them; He will not delay with him who hates Him, He will repay him to his face. 11 Therefore, you shall keep the commandment and the statutes and the judgments which I am commanding you today, to do them.
This is a two edged sword. It is a warning to the Israelites to obey and keep the “commandment and the statutes and the judgments.” But it is also a warning to anyone who would harm or threaten this people that He has chosen. For those who “love and keep commandments,” lovingkindness is extended for a thousand generations. (Aside. I am not sure that one thousand generations have passed since then, so His favor is still “in effect” for His faithful followers.)
But to those who “hate” Him, and by extension, His people, He will destroy. One of our pastors often comments that he wants to stand close to those whom God is blessing, and stay away from those who are resisting Him. Me too.
So God chose them. Why? To quote one of my sisters, as she was learning to talk, “What’s the i-big-dea?” (Don’t fret, I won’t tell on you, Pam.) God’s original intention was for Israel to be witnesses to two things: First, that He is a loving God and offered forgiveness and redemption. Second, they were to highlight God’s absolute holiness. (This is discussed in more detail at: https://www.gotquestions.org/why-God-choose-Israel.html) We will begin with the second purpose.
Are they still in God’s plan, today? In-duub-it-ub-bly! Do you remember the TV show, “Little Rascals?” Some iterations of the program were called “Our Gang,” but our one TV channel out in southwestern Nebraska ran Little Rascals at about 3:00 every weekday afternoon. We went to Aunt Ila’s house as often as we were able to watch. (She was the only one of our family with a TV set. We watched with Gary and Dennis, our cousins.) That has little to do with our story but it sets up the point.
One of the characters on the program, when asked a question requiring an affirmative answer, responded with a hearty, “In-duub-it-ub-bly!” stretching out the syllables for effect. The Jews are definitely in God’s plan. Recall the 1000 generation thing. That has not yet expired, and probably has been incremented by later faithful generations.
So why the Jews? The message of forgiveness and redemption is meaningless without a justification as to why we would need forgiveness and redemption. Israel had the dubious distinction of illustrating God’s holiness in all aspects of life. God is infinitely, absolutely, and eternally holy. Nothing that is unholy can approach Him and is the object of His judgment. So we need to know whether we are “holy enough” to please God.
Read through the book of Leviticus and you will be struck with the extreme detail that was taken with every aspect of life. The key phrase of differentiation was “clean and unclean.” Nothing unclean was to be associated with the people.
The concept of clean was extended to foods; clothes; housing; cooking utensils; relationships with family, neighbors, and even enemies; and of course, their worship. It was as if God knew some cults or offshoots would isolate on one thing, like food, or certain days, or even names, and claim that by avoiding all defilement regarding that aspect of life they would please God. They don’t.
God was so meticulous in defining the clean and unclean that it took the entire book. Reading it as a description of God’s holiness makes it much less tedious. Just for comparison, would you invite an honored guest into your life or home that was defiled with the “unclean” items or attitudes described here? That makes the strictures about mold and mildew, of all things, more understandable. We are inviting the Holy God of the Universe into our lives. They had better be without “mold;” clean.
And the nation of Israel was chosen to be the picture book of cleanliness. The Ten Commandments began with relationships. The relationship with God: No other God, No Images, No Taking His Name in Vain, and Honor the Sabbath, was first. Family relationships come next. They could include the Sabbath rest for the family and of course Honor Father and Mother. Next are the interpersonal relationships of Do Not Murder, Do Not Commit Adultery (both family and others are affected here), Do Not Steal, Do Not Lie, and Do Not Covet. How do you measure up?
Then Exodus and Leviticus continue with a detailed proscription of things that displease God, mixed with aspects of life that will honor Him. This extends to the construction of the Tabernacle and later the Temple for worship. And, measuring progress, how did the Jews do? How do we do?
The answer to the question is, “No, neither they, nor we are holy or good enough to please God.” So we need forgiveness and redemption. We need a Redeemer, the Messiah. And that is the second role of the Jewish nation. Check Romans 3:1, 2
Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? 2 Great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.
The “oracles” include the rules and regulations, but they also include the promise of the Messiah. He was the Sacrifice, promised in Genesis 3:15 and defined in the Law as what was required to please God. Did any of the sacrifices offered throughout the history of the Tabernacle or the Temple satisfy or propitiate God? No. Hebrews 10:4
For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
So why did they go through all of that rigamarole? The sacrifices were a picture of the Sinless One Who would be the perfect, efficacious sacrifice that would take away sin. The Old Testament believers had faith in the promise of the Sacrifice to come. And we, the New Testament believers, have faith in the Sacrifice that we see when we look back. Both groups look to the Cross and see the Lamb of God, slain for the sins of the world. John 1:29 (John the Baptist speaking)
The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
The Apostle John further expands and explains Him in Revelation 13:8 as...
... the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Both Johns got it! And so do we. The picture God gave to and through the Jews of His absolute holiness was satisfied IN US, when we accept the sacrifice of His Son. (Don’t that make you wanna shout? It does me.)
So the Jews’ failure to show God’s perfection was not a justification for rejecting or ejecting them. It is an opportunity for us to participate, with them, in the reception of the Perfect Lamb that was also mirrored in their Law. We are condemned by the Law and the One projected in the Law redeems and forgives us.
The Jews were, if you please, the giant video screen on which the failures of all men were projected, leading to the revelation of the Savior Who can both forgive and cleanse this fallen race. They are honored by God’s choice and they are debased by their failure to perfectly portray Him. The secret we all must bear, is that we, like them, would have been failures also. Their humiliation is the path to their, and our exaltation with Jesus when He comes.
Even so, come Lord Jesus. Aren’t you glad He chose the Jews?
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Who Needs to be Saved?
This is a derivative study. It did not come from a single source and is a compilation of several ideas presented by other people. The Lord has been presenting several instances of people who needed to be saved as I have been in church, in discussions, and in Bible study. Our Pastor this week put the cherry on the sundae, so to speak, with his sermon.
His sermon this week pointed out that there are no “religious types,” meaning that regardless of a person’s background, temperament, and behavior, they need Jesus. And, conversely, no one is excluded. It was centered in Acts 16. Some people are spiritually interested, like Lydia. (Acts 16:13-15) A group of women had left the city of Philippi and were gathered for some type of devotional at the river bank. Paul preached the Gospel to them.
Next, (Acts 16:16-18) Paul encountered a demon possessed girl, who was spiritually captive. She was unable to recognize her need, but Paul delivered her from the demon possession and gave her a better alternative, the Holy Spirit.
And true to the old axiom, “no good deed goes unpunished,” Paul and Silas were “ushered” into prison, where they met a spiritually indifferent jailer. (Acts 16:19-34) In fact, he may have been actively antagonistic. He was probably involved in the beating administered to them, “just because they were there.” Paul and Silas countered the oppression and wrongful imprisonment, not by a lawsuit, but by prayer and singing. God responded by a miracle, consisting of an earthquake, releasing every chain and shackle, and bringing a now-interested jailer to hear the Gospel. He, like the first two “types,” responded in belief, along with his family.
And that brings us to the question that has been highlighted in my thinking and study over the past couple of months: Who needs to be saved?
There are three distinct classes of people that are often the object of the inquiry: Do they need to be saved? The groups are devout Jews, devout believers in God, and those who could care less. We might find a hybrid of the first two, those non-Jews who are sincerely seeking to know God, who follow Judaism.
Let’s start with the disinterested. As mentioned in the Pastor’s sermon, there are people who do not care at all about spiritual things. Some are captive to an outside force, while others are actively hostile. This category would include the slave girl and the jailer. Neither of them was seeking God or even thinking about Him. Yet, the Lord intervened in their lives to free them from captivity, captivity to sin.
We can cite numerous skeptics who actively attempted to discredit the Bible, and in their search became believers. Lee Strobel is a prominent one who we can list and to whom we can refer any questioners. The trail of converted antagonists throughout history is testimony to the power of the Gospel to change lives. It changes lives that are desperate to know the truth.
On the other end of the spectrum, what about devout Jews? They are actively seeking to please God. Saul of Tarsus is perhaps the quintessential example of this group coupled with those actively opposing the Gospel. He was seeking to follow God, as he understood that concept, and attempting to exterminate those who would lead people away from that belief. He, and they were and are now following the Mosaic instructions and directions, to the best extent that they are able.
Won’t that count with God on Judgment Day? Surely He will recognize and credit them for their faithfulness, devotion, and obedience to the Law. Thankfully, we do not have to puzzle out this question for ourselves. We could cite John 14:6 as a “catch-all” answer,
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
But the Lord, through His Word, gave us specific illustrations and directions of this. Recall that Paul, on his missionary journeys, and in his general practice, preached first to the Jews, where ever he went. (Acts 13:5, 14, 43; 14:1; 17:1, 10, 17; 18:4, 19; 19:8) That, by the sheer weight of numbers illustrates the fact that Paul believed that the Jews needed to hear and respond to the message of the Gospel. Jesus died for our sins, according to the Scripture. He was buried. And He rose again, the third day, according to the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3, 4)
Clearly, Paul did not conceive or believe that devout Jews were exempt from the need to hear and respond to the Gospel. He tirelessly, relentlessly, took the message to Jews, where ever he went. He articulated that in Romans 1:16. The Gospel applies to the Jew first, and then to the Gentiles. He repeated that again in Romans 2:9 and 10. But that means that the Jews must accept Jesus. The message went to them FIRST, but it went to them.
What about a devout seeker for God? Won’t He give them some leeway, particularly if they have no access to the Bible? Look again to the Source. Recall Lydia in Acts 16. She was part of a “seeking” group who left the city to find a place to pray and seek God. And, God sent His man to deliver the message for which they sought. In fact, in Acts 16:9 we are told of a vision given to Paul to guide him to Greece (Macedonia) and the first person he encountered was Lydia.
God had supernaturally directed Paul to this encounter with the three specific classes we saw in chapter 16. Before that, in Acts 10, Peter is supernaturally led to Cornelius, a Roman centurion. Look at verse 2 of chapter 10 specifically: Cornilius was...
2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually.
Those sound like pretty good credentials for getting into heaven. He was devout, feared God, led his household to follow, gave charity to the Jews, and prayed continually. (He sounds better than a lot of church members: a lot of us, me.) And what about Cornelius?
The Lord sent a vision to Peter, just to convince him to accept the assignment to preach to this Gentile. And Cornelius was a hated, Roman soldier, a representative of the oppressors of the Jews. Remember Herod was a Roman surrogate who killed, some count thousands of Jewish baby boys when Jesus was born. His namesake was persecuting the church, even to the extent of executing James, the leader of the church, and attempting repeat that act with Peter. Needless to say, Peter would have had several valid reasons to defer when “offered” the opportunity to witness to Cornelius.
But God sent him. And Peter went. In insurance, we have a term for a really easy sale. The client is willing and even anxious to buy whatever product you are offering. We call that a “lay down.” Peter had the ultimate lay down. He did not even get to his “invitation.” In v. 43 Peter had finished recounting the story of Jesus and said, “...that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”
And before he could even get to the “invitation to buy,” well, read it for yourself.
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.
His audience was sitting (or standing) there asking themselves, “How do we get this? How do we get this?” And as soon as Peter said, “everyone who believes on Him,” the crowd, as one, thought to themselves, “I believe!” (Does that bring a tear to your eyes? What happened next will.)
The Holy Spirit baptized them: the new believers in Jesus. When they, and anyone else who believes in Jesus accepts Him, they are immediately baptized by the Holy Spirit. That is how we know that they were saved. The outward manifestation is not so evident every time, (flames of fire on head and speaking unlearned languages), but the inner work is identical. They had just as much need for salvation as the slave girl, or the jailer, or Saul of Tarsus. And Jesus was just as willing and ready to save them when they asked.
Finally, what about a seeker, following the Jewish laws? Acts again gives us the answer in chapter 8. V. 26. A little background here. Philip had left Jerusalem during Saul’s persecution of the church and was in Samaria, the area between Judah and Galilee, north of Jerusalem. His preaching had produced a wave of belief, and when supported by Peter and John, a full scale revival broke out. What a place to plant a church, right? Well, in the middle of his astounding success...
...an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.)
“South” is probably a two to three day trip down past Jerusalem, to below the Dead Sea, almost to the border of Egypt. And who should appear, but...
an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure.
And what are his “qualifications” to participate in this study?
...he had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.
This is another devout seeker. He had come farther than Philip had. Ethiopia was past Egypt, several hundred miles to the south. A Google look at the map lists 1500 miles. And surely this guy, who was a seeker and had spent so much time and treasure to get to Jerusalem must have some merit with God. He did. He merited a personal visit from God’s man.
29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.”
And God’s man explained the Gospel–from Isaiah. (Any of us Bible “scholars” want to take on that task? Can you lead someone to Jesus from the Old Testament only. Better study a little, Jim.) And the eunuch believed.
To conclude, we have examined every type of “seeker,” even those who did not know that they were seeking. And what have we discovered? Everyone needed to hear the message preached to them. And invariably God sent someone.
Whew! That takes a load off my mind. God will take care of reaching the lost. Peter, Philip, Paul and others carried the message across town, across the land of Israel, across the known world. Some, like our three examples will be aided by supernatural intervention, but significantly, God will send someone. Peter saw a vision. Paul saw a vision, two actually. Philip saw a vision. Peter and Phillip were already believers and needed direction. Saul saw two visions: one to come to belief and then one to go to Macedonia. Ananias, in Acts 9, brought the message to Saul, after seeing a vision himself. The proclamation of the message was always through a person.
That is how it is today. Someone is always sent by the Lord. Maybe your name, like mine, does not start with a “P,” but that someone is you and me. We could say our name is “Preacher.”
They need to hear. We need to go and tell. What are you waiting for?
His sermon this week pointed out that there are no “religious types,” meaning that regardless of a person’s background, temperament, and behavior, they need Jesus. And, conversely, no one is excluded. It was centered in Acts 16. Some people are spiritually interested, like Lydia. (Acts 16:13-15) A group of women had left the city of Philippi and were gathered for some type of devotional at the river bank. Paul preached the Gospel to them.
Next, (Acts 16:16-18) Paul encountered a demon possessed girl, who was spiritually captive. She was unable to recognize her need, but Paul delivered her from the demon possession and gave her a better alternative, the Holy Spirit.
And true to the old axiom, “no good deed goes unpunished,” Paul and Silas were “ushered” into prison, where they met a spiritually indifferent jailer. (Acts 16:19-34) In fact, he may have been actively antagonistic. He was probably involved in the beating administered to them, “just because they were there.” Paul and Silas countered the oppression and wrongful imprisonment, not by a lawsuit, but by prayer and singing. God responded by a miracle, consisting of an earthquake, releasing every chain and shackle, and bringing a now-interested jailer to hear the Gospel. He, like the first two “types,” responded in belief, along with his family.
And that brings us to the question that has been highlighted in my thinking and study over the past couple of months: Who needs to be saved?
There are three distinct classes of people that are often the object of the inquiry: Do they need to be saved? The groups are devout Jews, devout believers in God, and those who could care less. We might find a hybrid of the first two, those non-Jews who are sincerely seeking to know God, who follow Judaism.
Let’s start with the disinterested. As mentioned in the Pastor’s sermon, there are people who do not care at all about spiritual things. Some are captive to an outside force, while others are actively hostile. This category would include the slave girl and the jailer. Neither of them was seeking God or even thinking about Him. Yet, the Lord intervened in their lives to free them from captivity, captivity to sin.
We can cite numerous skeptics who actively attempted to discredit the Bible, and in their search became believers. Lee Strobel is a prominent one who we can list and to whom we can refer any questioners. The trail of converted antagonists throughout history is testimony to the power of the Gospel to change lives. It changes lives that are desperate to know the truth.
On the other end of the spectrum, what about devout Jews? They are actively seeking to please God. Saul of Tarsus is perhaps the quintessential example of this group coupled with those actively opposing the Gospel. He was seeking to follow God, as he understood that concept, and attempting to exterminate those who would lead people away from that belief. He, and they were and are now following the Mosaic instructions and directions, to the best extent that they are able.
Won’t that count with God on Judgment Day? Surely He will recognize and credit them for their faithfulness, devotion, and obedience to the Law. Thankfully, we do not have to puzzle out this question for ourselves. We could cite John 14:6 as a “catch-all” answer,
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
But the Lord, through His Word, gave us specific illustrations and directions of this. Recall that Paul, on his missionary journeys, and in his general practice, preached first to the Jews, where ever he went. (Acts 13:5, 14, 43; 14:1; 17:1, 10, 17; 18:4, 19; 19:8) That, by the sheer weight of numbers illustrates the fact that Paul believed that the Jews needed to hear and respond to the message of the Gospel. Jesus died for our sins, according to the Scripture. He was buried. And He rose again, the third day, according to the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3, 4)
Clearly, Paul did not conceive or believe that devout Jews were exempt from the need to hear and respond to the Gospel. He tirelessly, relentlessly, took the message to Jews, where ever he went. He articulated that in Romans 1:16. The Gospel applies to the Jew first, and then to the Gentiles. He repeated that again in Romans 2:9 and 10. But that means that the Jews must accept Jesus. The message went to them FIRST, but it went to them.
What about a devout seeker for God? Won’t He give them some leeway, particularly if they have no access to the Bible? Look again to the Source. Recall Lydia in Acts 16. She was part of a “seeking” group who left the city to find a place to pray and seek God. And, God sent His man to deliver the message for which they sought. In fact, in Acts 16:9 we are told of a vision given to Paul to guide him to Greece (Macedonia) and the first person he encountered was Lydia.
God had supernaturally directed Paul to this encounter with the three specific classes we saw in chapter 16. Before that, in Acts 10, Peter is supernaturally led to Cornelius, a Roman centurion. Look at verse 2 of chapter 10 specifically: Cornilius was...
2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually.
Those sound like pretty good credentials for getting into heaven. He was devout, feared God, led his household to follow, gave charity to the Jews, and prayed continually. (He sounds better than a lot of church members: a lot of us, me.) And what about Cornelius?
The Lord sent a vision to Peter, just to convince him to accept the assignment to preach to this Gentile. And Cornelius was a hated, Roman soldier, a representative of the oppressors of the Jews. Remember Herod was a Roman surrogate who killed, some count thousands of Jewish baby boys when Jesus was born. His namesake was persecuting the church, even to the extent of executing James, the leader of the church, and attempting repeat that act with Peter. Needless to say, Peter would have had several valid reasons to defer when “offered” the opportunity to witness to Cornelius.
But God sent him. And Peter went. In insurance, we have a term for a really easy sale. The client is willing and even anxious to buy whatever product you are offering. We call that a “lay down.” Peter had the ultimate lay down. He did not even get to his “invitation.” In v. 43 Peter had finished recounting the story of Jesus and said, “...that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”
And before he could even get to the “invitation to buy,” well, read it for yourself.
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.
His audience was sitting (or standing) there asking themselves, “How do we get this? How do we get this?” And as soon as Peter said, “everyone who believes on Him,” the crowd, as one, thought to themselves, “I believe!” (Does that bring a tear to your eyes? What happened next will.)
The Holy Spirit baptized them: the new believers in Jesus. When they, and anyone else who believes in Jesus accepts Him, they are immediately baptized by the Holy Spirit. That is how we know that they were saved. The outward manifestation is not so evident every time, (flames of fire on head and speaking unlearned languages), but the inner work is identical. They had just as much need for salvation as the slave girl, or the jailer, or Saul of Tarsus. And Jesus was just as willing and ready to save them when they asked.
Finally, what about a seeker, following the Jewish laws? Acts again gives us the answer in chapter 8. V. 26. A little background here. Philip had left Jerusalem during Saul’s persecution of the church and was in Samaria, the area between Judah and Galilee, north of Jerusalem. His preaching had produced a wave of belief, and when supported by Peter and John, a full scale revival broke out. What a place to plant a church, right? Well, in the middle of his astounding success...
...an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.)
“South” is probably a two to three day trip down past Jerusalem, to below the Dead Sea, almost to the border of Egypt. And who should appear, but...
an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure.
And what are his “qualifications” to participate in this study?
...he had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.
This is another devout seeker. He had come farther than Philip had. Ethiopia was past Egypt, several hundred miles to the south. A Google look at the map lists 1500 miles. And surely this guy, who was a seeker and had spent so much time and treasure to get to Jerusalem must have some merit with God. He did. He merited a personal visit from God’s man.
29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.”
And God’s man explained the Gospel–from Isaiah. (Any of us Bible “scholars” want to take on that task? Can you lead someone to Jesus from the Old Testament only. Better study a little, Jim.) And the eunuch believed.
To conclude, we have examined every type of “seeker,” even those who did not know that they were seeking. And what have we discovered? Everyone needed to hear the message preached to them. And invariably God sent someone.
Whew! That takes a load off my mind. God will take care of reaching the lost. Peter, Philip, Paul and others carried the message across town, across the land of Israel, across the known world. Some, like our three examples will be aided by supernatural intervention, but significantly, God will send someone. Peter saw a vision. Paul saw a vision, two actually. Philip saw a vision. Peter and Phillip were already believers and needed direction. Saul saw two visions: one to come to belief and then one to go to Macedonia. Ananias, in Acts 9, brought the message to Saul, after seeing a vision himself. The proclamation of the message was always through a person.
That is how it is today. Someone is always sent by the Lord. Maybe your name, like mine, does not start with a “P,” but that someone is you and me. We could say our name is “Preacher.”
They need to hear. We need to go and tell. What are you waiting for?
Saturday, November 3, 2018
What is Truth?
Poor old Pilate has been vilified for nearly 2000 years for his waffling on the question of Jesus’ guilt and treatment. This is not written to address that conflict in any way. In fact, Pilate’s query, “What is truth?” has been almost as widely debated as his ethics and behavior. This will not address that either. Let’s just ask the question that Pilate did” What is truth?
Before we get to that, let’s do a little background. There are 192 references with the actual word, “truth,” in the Scripture, with 93 in the OT. That means that there are 99 in the NT. (New American Standard Translation.) So this is not an obscure concept. But what is truth? Huh. That sounds like a familiar question, doesn’t it? But what does the Bible say Truth means?
A definition is given to us in John 17:17.
Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.
Before you claim that this is a circular definition, using a word to define itself, look closely. God’s Word is truth. He is true, and we will finish our discussion with that. To explain, any Word that God speaks is truth defined. It has no error in it. (I wrote an article on my blog about the Word and how it interprets itself. Since there are no errors, it will give us a reliable explanation of what anything means. We just have to ferret out the details.
Since God’s Word is true, any question that we bring and measure against it, will either line up with truth, or be shown to be false. What is “true,” therefore, is shown to be what it is. Let’s go to Jesus’ explanation. John 16:12-14
“I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.
The Spirit of Truth comes from God, so we go back to the origin of truth and He emanates from there. And now we have a Guide to point us to what is and what is not true. Turn your attention to our friend, Pilate. John 18:37-39
Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” 38 Pilate *said to Him, “What is truth?”
Jesus came, like the Holy Spirit, to guide us to truth, to “testify” to what is true. He will identify and explain truth. And if we listen to Him, we will find truth. And here Pilate utters his question for the ages. So how can we know that God is revealed through Jesus?
First, Jesus stated that He was “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” (John 14:6) We can wonder if He might have usurped this role and authority. Recall John’s baptism of Jesus and the Lord God spoke from heaven that Jesus was His beloved Son and was pleasing to Him. (Matthew 3 and Mark 1) God would not be “pleased” with a liar. Later, at the transfiguration in Mark 9, Luke 9, and Matthew 17 God, the Father goes one step farther. (V. 17:5)
...a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”
If God the Father directs us to listen to Jesus, we can assume that Jesus is truthful, as testified by God.
Now how can we know that God is true? This is not a trivial question nor a flippant one. Let’s look at what the Scripture says. Numbers 23:19
“God is not a man, that He should lie.”
What other statements verification this? 2 Timothy 2:13 says that God cannot deny Himself. Titus 1:2 tells us that God cannot lie. This is reinforced by Hebrews 6:18. It is impossible for God to lie. And finally Romans 3:4 we read that God is true. In fact, if God were to lie, He would immediately stop being God. A “true” God cannot continue to be that, if He is not that. Make sense?
Pilate, to his everlasting ignominy and regret, was looking Truth in the face, and did not recognize it. And if anyone in our society asks the same question, the should learn from Pilate. Look at Jesus. He is visible in the Bible. And to deny that there is anything such as truth is as blind and ignorant as Pilate.
Here is the test. If someone wishes to refute the concept of Truth, he must first show where and how Jesus failed to be coincident in relation to reality. Truth, as defined for us by Ravi Zacharias, is something that lines up in a one to one correspondence with reality. Show where Jesus was not “real.”
Failing that, the concept of Truth must be accepted and affirmed in a logical framework as incontestable and reliable. So what is truth? It is everything that is displayed or spoken by Jesus. Since He speaks for God, anything and everything they say, is truth. Pilate missed truth. How many people today are making the same error? Too many.
Listen and know. It’s the truth.
Before we get to that, let’s do a little background. There are 192 references with the actual word, “truth,” in the Scripture, with 93 in the OT. That means that there are 99 in the NT. (New American Standard Translation.) So this is not an obscure concept. But what is truth? Huh. That sounds like a familiar question, doesn’t it? But what does the Bible say Truth means?
A definition is given to us in John 17:17.
Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.
Before you claim that this is a circular definition, using a word to define itself, look closely. God’s Word is truth. He is true, and we will finish our discussion with that. To explain, any Word that God speaks is truth defined. It has no error in it. (I wrote an article on my blog about the Word and how it interprets itself. Since there are no errors, it will give us a reliable explanation of what anything means. We just have to ferret out the details.
Since God’s Word is true, any question that we bring and measure against it, will either line up with truth, or be shown to be false. What is “true,” therefore, is shown to be what it is. Let’s go to Jesus’ explanation. John 16:12-14
“I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.
The Spirit of Truth comes from God, so we go back to the origin of truth and He emanates from there. And now we have a Guide to point us to what is and what is not true. Turn your attention to our friend, Pilate. John 18:37-39
Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” 38 Pilate *said to Him, “What is truth?”
Jesus came, like the Holy Spirit, to guide us to truth, to “testify” to what is true. He will identify and explain truth. And if we listen to Him, we will find truth. And here Pilate utters his question for the ages. So how can we know that God is revealed through Jesus?
First, Jesus stated that He was “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” (John 14:6) We can wonder if He might have usurped this role and authority. Recall John’s baptism of Jesus and the Lord God spoke from heaven that Jesus was His beloved Son and was pleasing to Him. (Matthew 3 and Mark 1) God would not be “pleased” with a liar. Later, at the transfiguration in Mark 9, Luke 9, and Matthew 17 God, the Father goes one step farther. (V. 17:5)
...a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”
If God the Father directs us to listen to Jesus, we can assume that Jesus is truthful, as testified by God.
Now how can we know that God is true? This is not a trivial question nor a flippant one. Let’s look at what the Scripture says. Numbers 23:19
“God is not a man, that He should lie.”
What other statements verification this? 2 Timothy 2:13 says that God cannot deny Himself. Titus 1:2 tells us that God cannot lie. This is reinforced by Hebrews 6:18. It is impossible for God to lie. And finally Romans 3:4 we read that God is true. In fact, if God were to lie, He would immediately stop being God. A “true” God cannot continue to be that, if He is not that. Make sense?
Pilate, to his everlasting ignominy and regret, was looking Truth in the face, and did not recognize it. And if anyone in our society asks the same question, the should learn from Pilate. Look at Jesus. He is visible in the Bible. And to deny that there is anything such as truth is as blind and ignorant as Pilate.
Here is the test. If someone wishes to refute the concept of Truth, he must first show where and how Jesus failed to be coincident in relation to reality. Truth, as defined for us by Ravi Zacharias, is something that lines up in a one to one correspondence with reality. Show where Jesus was not “real.”
Failing that, the concept of Truth must be accepted and affirmed in a logical framework as incontestable and reliable. So what is truth? It is everything that is displayed or spoken by Jesus. Since He speaks for God, anything and everything they say, is truth. Pilate missed truth. How many people today are making the same error? Too many.
Listen and know. It’s the truth.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)