Month: August 2012

Categories
Gospel Isaiah 53

Why Christianity is True

People are diverse: hair color, hair texture, eye color, shapes of the mouth, one ear is slightly higher than the other, one foot is bigger than the other, not to mention personalities, social scenes we involve ourselves, among a myriad of many other things which make us all different.

But much of the time, our diversity exists at the expense of unity

People long for unity. People long for acceptance. People long to love and be loved, real love.

We see a glimpse of this longing in the Olympics. One good friend connects the 2012 Summer Olympic opening with Revelation 7:

Pondering the desire in every single one of us to see “people of every kindred, tongue, and nation” come together as one.

This is what Revelation 7:9 says,

I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes,

The imagery is stunning. Breathtaking. Real.

Notice there is a crowd of people in which the number of those people cannot be counted! Did you get that? There are so many people present, you cannot count them all. But more importantly,

the people are clothed in white robes

It is possible the people will wear real white robes; I think, though, there is a more important role of these robes. White robes of righteousness because of the Lamb Who is Jesus.

The Prophet Isaiah speaks to this Lamb:

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. ~Isaiah 53:7

And Matthew 8:17 alludes to it: This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: ‘He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.’ ~Matthew 8:17; See also Mark 15:28; Luke 22:37; John 12:38; Romans 10:16; Acts 8:32-33; 1 Peter 2:22, 24

The unity of this great, diverse innumerable people is Jesus

The great thing about Christianity is how diverse people are, yet they gather as one in unity around Jesus.

Continued…

Categories
Gospel

Who Is Jesus? 4

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ~John 14:6

How do we know what is True?

Paul tells the church at Corinth, “Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.”

In other words, if a charge against someone is to be true and have weight, two or three witnesses must be present. But where is Paul getting this idea?

Deuteronomy 17:6; Deuteronomy 19:15-21; Proverbs 18:17; Matthew 18:15-20

There are three uses of the law:

  1. Restrain sin
  2. Shows people their sin and points to mercy/grace outside themselves
  3. For those in Christ it is normative

    4. Christ is central as the one who has saved his people from the law’s demands and the one who has earned for them the gift of Spirit-wrought obedience1

    I bring the three uses of the law up to simply point out, the law is the expression of God’s character. It is because of Who God is in Himself that the law is true and right.

    Hold on to this thought for a moment.

    What does it mean that Jesus is Truth?

    Who is Jesus? Jesus is the Second Person of the Trinity. Who is the Trinity? The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

    Jesus is Truth because both the Father and Holy Spirit are witnesses to this fact. Likewise, the Son and the Holy Spirit are witnesses to the Father, and the Father and the Son are witnesses to the Holy Spirit (see John 5:37; John 8:18; John 15:26).

    The Trinitarian God bears witness of Himself because of Who He is in Himself

    I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. ~John 5:30-38

    Jesus is Truth because God testifies to it.

    References
    1The Three Uses of the Law

Categories
Eschatology Hermeneutics

What about Acts 2?

Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,

“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.”’
Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. ~Acts 2:29-36

According to Peter in Acts 2, Jesus is sitting on David’s throne.

Here is the main point Peter makes,

Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ

I do not know how to read this statement any other way than how it is plainly written. Peter is proclaiming that Jesus is, in fact, sitting on David’s throne by (and because of) His resurrection.

How do you understand this passage?

Categories
Gospel

Thoughts on Creation and Evolution

The debate continues to rage; You know, Evolution vs Creation.

I want to direct your attention to five passages of Scripture:

Genesis 1; Genesis 2; Colossians 1:16; John 1:3; Hebrews 11:3

Many people see Genesis 1 & 2 as contradictory. I’m not so sure about that.

My points are simple.

Genesis 1 is poetic, for sure, but I think there is still a literalness to it

For one, all of the passages mentioning or referencing the creation account strongly imply a literalness.

There is a distinct difference between the first chapter of Genesis and Genesis 2, yes. But what seems to be present in chapter 2 is the language of agriculture.

When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground ~Genesis 2:5-6

Agriculture: Various plants will not grow without tilling or human interaction / intervening. And so, it sets the stage for what comes next:

then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. ~Genesis 2:7-9

Once the point of the need for someone to care for the field is made, God makes man.

Jesus created all things

This point is very important, even though many would not think it’s needed to be said. Colossians 1 has an air of personal involvement. John 1:3, likewise, expresses this point. Evolution presents a non-personal outlook.

Hebrews 11:3 continues this thought and adds something very convincing, in my mind:

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

The one thing that strikes at the heart of Evolution is this:

What is seen was not made out of things that are visible

There could not be a “mass” (ala, “the Universe was once in an extremely hot and dense state which expanded rapidly”) or anything that existed which made a “big bang” from which all things came to being.

There was a big bang, for sure, but that big bang was the voice of God, the Word of God as Hebrews shares, and His name is Jesus.

Categories
Gospel

The Bane of Society – Pornography

Do you watch pornography? What once was primarily a private sin has become a public plague. The research is in. It’s bad and bad for you.

60 Second Summary: He’s Watching That, in Public? Pornography Takes Next Seat.

Take a look at it from a secular (non-religious) approach:

What I Wish I’d Known Before Watching Porn

AND this objectifying of people (both women AND men) is affecting our daughters:

Why 6-Year-Old Girls Want To Be Sexy (STUDY)

It’s time to stop. Jesus is the answer to your deepest need. Only the Gospel saves us from our sin and guilt. See Romans 1:16-17. There is forgiveness.

More Reading

1Exposure to Sexual Content in Movies Predicts Sexual Behavior in Adolescence
2Hotel Pornography and the Market of Morality
34 Reasons Men Like Porn
4What is Better?

Categories
Gospel

Jesus Demands Our Demise

Unchristian teachers would have us believe Jesus wants us healthy and wealthy or spiritual in a quest for excellence and comfort.

But does Jesus teach such nonsense?

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” ~Luke 10:25-37

Modern unchristian teachers would have us think life is about us.

  • God wants us to get that perfect parking spot
  • God wants us healthy
  • God wants us to have the nicest home on the block
  • God wants us to have great teeth

Jesus points to us to three people. The Priest and Levite were in it for themselves. They were me-centered. Because no one lived up to their standards, quite like they did, they were spiritual and worthy of admiration from others.

But the Samaritan was moved with compassion when he saw the man beaten on the side of the road. Jesus is telling us in this parable what it means to love God and love others as ourselves; preferring others above ourselves and our ambitions and goals.

Jesus shares whose excellence we must pursue, the excellence of God and others. In true religion fashion, Jesus demands our demise and the building up and pursuit of justice for others.