For those of you who have been following the study on angels, I thought it might be easier to have the entire study edited and in one file.
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“Basics About The Blessed Book”
Just as every structure has a foundation so does God’s Word. Even though we cannot see this foundation with our eyes, it exists nevertheless. We must never forget that the Bible has stood the test of time because of its unique foundation. Those who ridicule the Bible are in reality ridiculing its foundation. In Matt.24:35 Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away”. Although in the previous sentence Jesus was specifically teaching about the longevity and complete fulfillment of His words, we may, rest assured that He was also reflecting upon the Word’s foundation. All right already, what is this foundation? The Bible’s inspiration is its foundation. We will briefly look at the majesty, the mysteriousness, the mode, the method, the mastery, and the message of this most important doctrine.
Left click to read or right click (“save target as”) to download the entire file in PDF format:
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Why Did He Do It?
A dear pastor friend of mine in Mount Vernon, Washington, recently posted the following on Facebook: I am taking a theology class, and one of my assignments this week is to ask the following question in the “public square”: What was the purpose of the life and death of Jesus Christ?
The moment I read this, the gears started upstairs and I began wondering what we would say if someone simply proposed, the same question to any Christian at random. Have you considered that such a scenario is not only highly possible but, as we grow nearer our Lord’s return I am strongly convicted it will become highly probable. Folks, right now there is a growing population (many of whom who profess to be believers) all around us who are desperately searching for help and answers and eventually one of them will cross paths with one of us. The Bible says, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and [be] ready always to [give] an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: 16. Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. 17. For [it is] better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.” (1Pe. 3:15-17)
The following was my response to John. According to the Scriptures, Jesus supplied that which God requires in order for us to be pleasing to Him in this life and throughout eternity – perfection. All of humanity’s blood was and still is, tainted with sin since, consequently, the time when Adam and Eve became earth’s first two sinners. Thus, since all lineages reach back through one of Noah’s sons and eventually back to Adam and Eve through the lineage of Seth, each earthly human being is in a fix – i.e. we are all sinners and no earth-born citizen can change their condition nor do the same for another. The Scripture states in Romans 3:19-26, “ Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law [is] the knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22 Even the righteousness of God [which is] by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth [to be] a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 To declare, [I say], at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” God never intended the Old Testament law to provide the where-with-all to redeem anyone. At best, the law could only provide a temporal covering of sins, if obeyed. (Heb.10:1-10) “ For the law having a shadow of good things to come, [and] not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. 2. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. 3. But in those [sacrifices there is] a remembrance again [made] of sins every year. 4. For [it is] not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. 5. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: 6. In burnt offerings and [sacrifices] for sin thou hast had no pleasure. 7. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. 8. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and [offering] for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure [therein]; which are offered by the law; 9. Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. 10. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once [for all]. The law was and forever will remain God’s continual reminder that all are sinners in desperate need of miraculous intervention from Him.
In conclusion, by personally repenting of our sins and accepting The Lord Jesus Christ as our Savor, God instantaneously cleanses us from all sins, equips us with His type of life (eternal), and then adopts us into His heavenly family! That is the reason Jesus went to the cross, shed His blood, suffered and died, and then arose early on Sunday morning. The Word of God says it best – (Jn. 3:16) “ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
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“Just For Pilgrims And Others”(part#2)
“TakeTime To Stare”
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us,…” (1Jn 3:1)
Imagine yourself in a theater with all the lights out. Suddenly, a spot light comes on and all eyes immediately go to the focal point of the light. Although we will never find the word spotlight in the New Testament, translators found one in the little word “behold.”
In addition, let us briefly peek at a few more things. I learned that this is the only place in John’s writings where he places emphasis upon a statement that speaks of one of God’s perfect characteristics then puts it into question form. By itself, the phrase “what manner” (ποταπός, pronounced – pot-ap-os’ – is an interrogative i.e. a question stating – of what possible sort) Secondly, prior to the earthly ministry of Christ, the word for “love” (“agape” ) was unknown to man. Thirdly, God has permanently extended this gracious benevolent act toward each person but only His true children possess the ability to appreciate, follow, and share it. Today a man could easily say, “Look, can you believe what God has forever sent our way?”
As I sit at my desk between two bright lights, I, too, must ask myself – how strongly have I stared at God’s perfect and unique love for me this morning? God deeply desires for us to focus upon His love until it becomes the brightest thing in our lives.
Remember: While we are staring upon the brightest thing all other things grow not only dimmer but also some completely fade away!
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“Just For Pilgrims And Others”(Part#1)
“Absolutes”
In an uncertain world, God’s pilgrims still have heavenly absolutes. Today let us begin by taking a peak at one – “And hereby we do know that we know him…” (1Jn. 2:3) The use of the little word “know” reminds us that it is not only possible to “know” through experience but, in addition, we have perfect assurance from God that we can “know” in an absolute sense and that also includes the present tense. The personal reality of this precious word grows only when we pilgrims invest in our fellowship with the Redeemer. Adrian Rogers tells a little that may assist in planting this Divine truth a little deeper with our hearts. “There’s a familiar story about the little fellow who lost a little red sailboat he had made. It sailed away from him across the pond. Later, he saw it in the second-hand store, and the proprietor made him buy it back. He bought it back, and as he carried the little sailboat out of that second-hand store, he hugged it to his chest and said, “Little sailboat, you’re mine. You’re twice mine. You’re mine because I made you, and you’re mine because I bought you back.” The Apostle wrote, “…Ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1Cor.6:19-20)
As heaven bound pilgrims, it is not optional for us to move closer to God – God expects us to jump at the privilege!
Perhaps you have never received God’s amazing gift of eternal life. Some believe that God’s free-gift is for wimps or perhaps a back door for the weak of heart. Things are just the opposite! Accepting Christ not only gives you eternal security but a sense of fulfillment, direction, and real meaning in life! In other words the moment you receive Christ as personal Savior, you will begin to understand where you came from, why you were born, what do I do while I am here, and what will happen to me when life is over. Psychologists tell us that every human deeply desires to have some or all of the above questions answered. In today’s rapid life of technological achievements, rapidly watching things daily degenerating on the TV and around our own home, busyness, discouragement, and stress of the unknowns seem to be the common plague of our times. Christianity is not a philosophy, nor is it theologically categorized as a religion (man’s futile attempts to reach or impress God), but rather, it is a life style guided by the creator through us. I fully realize that there are a few weird ducks swimming in our pond but keep your eyes on God’s Word – not them! In Matt.24:35, Mk.13:31, and in Lu.21:33, the Bible says the same thing – “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.” As I approach the end, please permit me to encourage the skeptics to write down the following verse and carry it with you for a few days, mediating upon it as much as possible. (Rom.10:13) “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
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Is it true Jesus never addressed same-sex marriage?
My dear friend, Danny Akin, recently wrote the following article that you might find very interesting and useful.
WAKE FOREST, N.C. (BP) — Today it is popular among those promoting same-sex marriage to say that Jesus never addressed the issue, that He was silent on the subject.Those who affirm the historical and traditional understanding of marriage between a man and woman often are admonished to go and read the Bible more carefully. If we do so, we are told, we will see that Jesus never addressed the issue. So, the question that I want to raise is, “Is this assertion correct?” Is it indeed the fact that Jesus never addresses the issue of same-sex marriage?
When one goes to the Gospels to see exactly what Jesus did say, one will discover that He addressed very clearly both the issues of sex and marriage. He addresses both their use and misuse. And, as He speaks to both subjects, He makes it plain that issues of the heart are of critical importance.
First, what did Jesus say about sex? Jesus believed that sex is a good gift from a great God. He also believed that sex was a good gift to be enjoyed within a monogamous, heterosexual covenant of marriage. On this He is crystal clear. In Mark 7 Jesus addresses the fact that all sin is ultimately an issue of the heart. Jesus was never after behavioral modification. Jesus was always after heart transformation. Change the heart and you truly change the person.
Thus, when He lists a catalog of sins in Mark 7:21-22, He makes it clear that all of these sins are ultimately matters of the heart. It is the idols of the heart that Jesus is out to eradicate. Among those sins of the heart that often give way to sinful actions He would include both sexual immorality and adultery (Mark 7:21). The phrase “sexual immorality,” in a biblical context, would speak of any sexual behavior outside the covenant of marriage between a man and woman. Therefore, Jesus viewed pre-marital sex, adultery and homosexual behavior as sinful. And, He knew that the cure for each is a transformation of the heart made possible by the good news of the Gospel. The Gospel changes us so that now we are enabled to do not what we want, but what God wants. Here we find real freedom and joy.
Second, what about the issue of marriage? Is it truly the case that Jesus never spoke to the issue in terms of gender? The answer is a simple no. He gives His perspective on this when He addresses the issue in Matthew 19:4-6. There, speaking to the institution of marriage, Jesus is clear when He says, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” That Jesus was committed to heterosexual marriage could not be more evident. A man is to leave his parents and be joined to a woman who becomes his wife. This is heterosexual marriage. That He also was committed to the permanence and fidelity of marriage is clear as well.
So, how might we sum up the issue? First, Jesus came to deliver all people from all sin. Such sin, He was convinced, originated in and was ultimately a matter of the heart. Second, Jesus made it clear that sex is a good gift from a great God, and this good gift is to be enjoyed within heterosexual covenantal marriage. It is simply undeniable that Jesus assumed heterosexual marriage as God’s design and plan. Third, Jesus sees all sexual activity outside this covenant as sinful. Fourth, it is a very dangerous and illegitimate interpretive strategy to bracket the words of Jesus and read into them the meaning you would like to find. We must not isolate Jesus from His affirmation of the Old Testament as the Word of God nor divorce Him from His first century Jewish context. Fifth, and this is really good news, Jesus loves both the heterosexual sinner and the homosexual sinner and promises free forgiveness and complete deliverance to each and everyone who comes to Him.
John 8 tells the story of a woman caught in adultery. The religious legalists want to stone her, but Jesus intervenes and prevents her murder. He then looks upon the woman and, with grace and tenderness, tells her that He does not condemn her. Then He says to her, “go and sin no more.” In Matthew 11:28 Jesus speaks to every one of us weighed down under the terrible weight and burden of sin. Listen to these tender words of the Savior, “Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” This is the hope that is found in Jesus. This is the hope found in the Gospel. Whether one is guilty of heterosexual or homosexual sin, one will find grace, forgiveness and freedom at the foot of the cross where the ground is always level.
When I came to fully trust Jesus as my Lord and Savior at the age of 20, I determined that I wanted to think like Jesus and live like Jesus for the rest of my life. When it comes to sex I want to think like Jesus. When it comes to marriage I want to think like Jesus. That means I will affirm covenantal heterosexual marriage. It also means loving each and every person regardless of their lifestyle choices. It means, as His representative, proclaiming His Gospel and extending the transforming grace of the Gospel to others that takes us where we are, but wonderfully and amazingly, does not leave us there. That is a hope and a promise that followers of Jesus gladly extend to everyone, because we have been recipients of that same amazing grace.
Daniel Akin is president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C.
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Can Others Read It Through Us?
Worry is nobody’s Friend!
It does no one good;
It pays no bills,
It buys no food,
It heals not the sick,
And produces an ill mood.Worrying about what we can not control
Is to no one’s gain,
For it produces only anxiety,
self-pity and mental pain.
When we seek solutions on our own,
Worry is just time spent in vain.We must fix what is within our power,
And to God give the rest,
Let Him handle the big ones;
For Him our worries are no test;
We can always rest assured,
That He will do what is best.Why weaken our health,
In fruitless despair,
When we know full well
That God is always there;
He slumbers not, nor does He sleep;
We are ever safe in His care.So why worry? It does no good-
We must trust in God and pray;
Seek His answers to it all,
Have faith in Him for a better day,
For He knows our needs before we ask,
And He is able to show us a way.Richard Ellis
The Bible says, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Pro 3:5-6)”
Such a profound truth is so easy to read and yet very often difficult to apply! Once we Christians begin trusting our Lord with the small things the bigger things are a piece of cake. We just read God’s promise about worry but the question is – can others read it through us?
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The Book Of Life As It Effects Babies, The Mentally Challenged, And the Rest Of Us
There is only one authoritative source for this small but profound doctrine. It is God’s Word.
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The Biblical Influence Upon Our National And State Constituations
Check out your state.
In an era when civilizations and civil government appears to be experiencing mayhem, perhaps it would do us all good to reflect back on the beginnings of our nation and individual states. I discovered the following two articles while researching something completely different.
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“A Spiritual Explosion Is Still Possible”
“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.” Luke 16:10
Have you ever thought that the vast ocean is really made up of single drops of water, built from tiny molecules, which are made of microscopic atoms? Even in our lives, it is the small things that really do make the difference. All big things are made of little things. Big things are made of little choices, little acts, little words, and little thoughts. This is so important for us to realize, because every day we impact others by the little things we say or do. But if we are faithful in the little things, it follows that we will be faithful in that which is much. In other words, if we get the little things right, the big issues will take care of themselves.
“Little drops of water, little grains of sand…” goes the children’s rhyme. Be on guard for those little things that may slip in unnoticed but undermine God’s greater purpose in your life. (commentary by Adrian Rogers)We pilgrims have a tendency to pray for big things in our churches and lives, and there may be times when we need to do such but, truthfully, could we handle them if they occurred? What would happen if all of God’s children, let us say in your local congregation, began to pray for, and then habitually practiced the small things God ever so desires for us in order to develop our faithful and truthful character as individual church members? I firmly believe that not only would we know how to deal with anything the devil throws at us but, our lives and our churches would explode with the true power of God for the glory of God! Henry Blackaby once said, “Find out what God is up to and then get in on it!” Remember, big things are still composed of little things and, I might add, faithful things. Oh by the way, the result of all this is still called a revival! — Roger
