To Tell You The Truth

A new study says “nones” are on the rise: One-in-Five Adults Have No Religious Affiliation.

Alan Jacobs expresses an interesting thought in light of this new research,

The question I would ask is this: Has there been an actual increase in religiously unaffiliated people, or do people who are in fact unaffiliated simply feel more free than they once did to acknowledge that fact?

USA Today explains, “Protestant” is no longer America’s top religious umbrella brand. It’s been rained out by the soaring number of ‘Nones’ — people who claim no faith affiliation.”

The USA Today article alludes to Jacobs’ point:

Rev. Martin Marty, a historian of religion and professor emeritus of the University of Chicago, says he wrote a book half a century ago on varieties of unbelief and has long thought that religious cohesion “has long been overstated.”

Says Marty: “The difference is now we have names for groups like Nones.”

J. R. R. Tolkien explains our fantastical writing (i.e. the writing of fantasy literature) flows from and because of Whose image we bear,

We make in our measure and in our derivative mode, because we are made: and not only made, but made in the image and likeness of a Maker.”

C. S. Lewis furthers the point and relaying it specifically to Christ:

Now as myth transcends thought, Incarnation transcends myth. The heart of Christianity is a myth which is also a fact. The old myth of the Dying God, without ceasing to be myth comes down from the heaven of legend and imagination to the earth of history. It happens-at a particular date, in a particular place, followed by definable historical consequences. We pass from a Balder or an Osiris, dying nobody knows when or where, to a historical Person crucified (it is all in order) under Pontius Pilate. By becoming fact it does not cease to be myth: that is the miracle. – C.S. Lewis, God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics, “Myth Became Fact”

The peculiar quality of the ‘joy’ in successful Fantasy can thus be explained as a sudden glimpse of the underlying reality or truth. It is not only a ‘consolation’ for the sorrow of this world, but a satisfaction, and an answer to that question, ‘Is it true?’ . . . In the ‘eucatastrophe’ we see in brief vision that the answer may be greater–it may be a far-off gleam or echo of evangelium in the real world . . . The Gospels contain a fairy-story, or a story of a larger kind which embraces all the essence of fairy-stories. They contain many marvels–peculiarly artistic, beautiful, and moving: ‘mythical’ in their perfect, self-contained significance; and among the marvels is the greatest and most complete conceivable eucatastrophe. But this story [i.e. the Christian Story] has entered History and the primary world; the desire and aspiration of sub-creation [those who write and enjoy fanatasy literature] has been raised to the fulfillment of Creation. The Birth of Christ is the eucatastrophe of Man’s history. The Resurrection is the eucatastrophe of the story of the Incarnation. This story begins and ends in joy. It has pre-eminently the ‘inner consistency of reality’. There is no tale ever told that men would rather find was true. ~J.R.R. Tolkien

In Letter 89 by Tolkien to Christopher Tolkien (pp. 99-100):

…I coined the word ‘eucatastrophe’: the sudden happy turn in a story which pierces you with a joy that brings tears (which I argued it is the highest function of fairy stories to produce). And I was there led to the view that it produces its peculiar effect because it is a sudden glimpse of truth…. It percieves– if the story has literary ‘truth’…–that this is indeed how things really do work in the Great World for which our nature is made. And I concluded by saying that the Resurrection was the greatest ‘eucatastrophe’ possible in the greatest fairy story– and produces that essential emotion: Christian joy which produces tears because it is qualitatively so like sorrow, because it comes from those places where Joy and Sorrow are at one, reconciled, as selfishness and altruism are lost in Love…

So it may be said that the chief purpose of life, for any one of us, is to increase according to our capacity our knowledge of God by all the means we have, and to be moved by it to praise and thanks. ~J.R.R. Tolkien in a letter to Camilla Unwin – May 20, 1969

The Gospel unifies, and at the same time, it enhances diversity without enforcing uniformity (see Romans 14; 1 Corinthians 8; Revelation 5:9; which reflect that there are different kinds of people, and because of these differences, Scripture explains how we should handle those differences in the Gospel). The fruit of the Gospel is a reflection of Who God is in Himself.

God in Himself is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each is fully God (unity), yet they are distinctly different in role (diversity).

Some folks see the terms “Kingdom of Heaven” and “Kingdom of God” as two different kingdoms.

I am not so sure. Here are parallel passages using the two different phrases for the same accounts. If they are different “kingdoms” then we should never see the phrases as interchangeable, yet when different Gospel authors use the different phrases for the same accounts, we can recognize they are interchangeable.

This is significant in many ways of which we get into at a later time.

Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.	Mark 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven..	Luke 6:20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God
Matthew 8:11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.	Luke 13:28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you [yourselves] thrust out.
Matthew 11:11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.	Luke 7:28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.
Matthew 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.	Luke 16:16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
Matthew 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.	Mark 4:11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all [these] things are done in parables:
Matthew 13:31 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:	Mark 4:30-31 And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? [It is] like a grain of mustard seed…
Matthew 13:33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened	Luke 13:20-21 And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
Matthew 19:14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.	Mark 10:14 But when Jesus saw [it], he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
Matthew 19:23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.	Mark 10:23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

Ian McConnell has graduated into my favorite preachers list.

Man oh man. So good.

Take a listen – Reading Genesis Like Jesus Taught (Luke 24:13-47)

Some highlights

Jesus teaches how to read Genesis. He teaches us how to look at Genesis through the eyes He wants us to see. Genesis needs to be read with the full Gospel in view.
When Genesis was written, God’s intention was to point readers forward to the coming day of the Messiah; now that Jesus has come, we read the book through the eyes of fulfillment.

On the basis of Jesus instructions, I submit it is wrong for a Christian to ignore the Good news of Christ in the act of interpreting the Old Testament. We must not ignore the Gospel of Jesus Christ while reading Genesis.

After you watch a movie once, you know you can’t watch it a second time without knowing what’s been revealed the first time you watched it. You can’t go back and watch it again without knowing the things you watched the first time.

Now that we know what Genesis is pointing to, we should read it with “that’s what it’s talking about!” “That’s where it’s leading!” We must study it with the whole storyline of the Bible in view.

“Once Christ had fulfilled the Old Testament, a Christian cannot and should not resist seeing how he fulfilled it. The Christ event enriches our understanding of the message of the Old Testament.”

Jesus enables us to understand what we naturally are unable to understand. We do not naturally get it.

Theme of Genesis – God relentlessly pursues relationships with broken people. Relationship = Covenant – not because they deserve but because God is gracious.

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. The saying is trustworthy, for:
     If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
     if we endure, we will also reign with him;
     if we deny him, he also will deny us;
     if we are faithless, he remains faithful—
for he cannot deny himself. ~2 Timothy 2:8-13

Because you are in Christ and the Holy Spirit dwells within you, even though you are faithless many times, God is yet faithful to you. Because you are enjoined by the Holy Spirit in Christ, God remains faithful.

God cannot deny Himself

Because the Holy Spirit is the Seal of our Salvation (2 Corinthians 1:22), God will never leave us nor forsake us.

Because the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Life Who is enjoined with us (Romans 8:2), God will not leave us as orphans.

God cannot deny Himself

Superheroes are cultural icons. Every kid wants to become a superhero. Growing up, I wanted to be Superman or Batman.

There are superheroes of all kinds: the invincible Man of Steel, the Dark Knight, and Warrior Princess, also known as, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. They have captivated audiences for decades.

The problem with every superhero is, they all have a weakness

Not by their choice, mind you. Superheroes would rather give up their inherent weakness.

In the television series, Wonder Woman’s magic belt allowed her to retain her powers when she was not on Paradise Island; removing it weakened her. Batman is human, which means he has no inherent superhuman powers. He must rely on “his own scientific knowledge, detective skills, and athletic prowess.”

The Man of Steel is the perfect superhero: He can move faster than a speeding bullet, leap tall buildings in a single bound, and his hair never falls out of place while flying. However, “the only thing capable of harming Superman is Kryptonite, a piece of his old home world¹.”

The weakness of humans is mortality–The inevitability of death is the ultimate weakness

[Jesus], though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ~Philippians 2:6-11

Jesus, who had no weakness, put on weakness–in human form–became obedient in weakness even to the point of death, even death on a cross. Jesus put on weakness by choice.

Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For we know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him (Romans 8:34; Romans 10:9; Romans 6:9).

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith (in Christ).

Jesus said these things to you, “in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. ~Hebrews 4:14-16

And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. For if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

I’d rather have a Savior than a Superhero

References
¹ Pevey, Timothy Aaron “”From Superman to Superbland: The Man of Steel’s Popular Decline Among Postmodern Youth” PDF (3.14 Mb). April 10, 2007 URN: etd-04172007-133407

Dispensationalists emphasize that we need to take Scripture at face value. As I pointed out previously, this is impossible to do consistently.

With this in mind, though, let’s look at a face-value look at the land promise God made to Abraham.

The land promise was made to Abraham while still in Ur of Chaldees (see: Acts 7:2-3; Genesis 12:1-3). The land promise was repeated several times to Abraham (see: Genesis 12:7; 13:12-17; 17:1-9; 21:12; 22:16-18). And the land promise was confirmed to Isaac, and later to Jacob (see: Genesis 26:3; 28:13).

The land borders were to extend from the river of Egypt (the Brook of Egypt, or Wadi el Arish) (see: Numbers 34:5; Joshua 15:4) to the Euphrates River (see: Genesis 15:18).

This promise refers to the land of Canaan, later known as Palestine

Most premillennialists believe the promise is yet to be fulfilled, and some say that it was never fulfilled, but others say it was fulfilled, but that the land was to be Israel’s:

• “forever” – Genesis 13:15
• “as an everlasting possession” – Genesis 17:8

Thus their belief that Israel needs to be restored to the land today.

When and how shall the land promises be fulfilled?

“For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9; Habakkuk 2:14).

I contend the land promise was fulfilled

As stated by Joshua:

• God gave the land – Joshua 1:2-4; 21:43-45; 23:14-16
• Israel possessed the land – Joshua 21:43-45; Nehemiah 9:7-8, 24-25; 1 Kings 4:20-21; 8:56
• Israel lived in the land – Joshua 21:43-44; 1 Kings 4:20-21
• “not a word failed…all came to pass” – Joshua 21:45; cf. 23:14

As implied by the cities of refuge:

• Six cities were promised, 3 on each side of the Jordan – Numbers 35:9-15
• Three were given in the trans-Jordan, three more promised if God kept His promise to give Israel all the land promised to their fathers – Deuteronomy 19:7-10
• Six cities were given; so God must have kept His promise! – Joshua 20:7-9

As experienced during the reign of Solomon:

• The extent of the land promised described to Abram – Genesis 15:8
• The extent of the land ruled over by Solomon – 1 Kings 4:20-21, 8:56; 2 Chronicles 9:26
• God’s promise regarding the land had been fulfilled!

As praised by the Levites upon their return from Babylonian captivity:

• God made a covenant with Abraham concerning the land – Nehemiah 9:7
• God performed His words – Nehemiah 9:8,23-25

As praised by the Psalmist:

• God remembered His promise to Abraham – Psalms 105:42
• He gave His descendants the land – Psalms 105:43-45

Was the Land Promise Unconditional…?

• The promise to receive the land was unconditional – cf. Deuteronomy 9:5; Joshua 23:3-5
• But the promise to retain the land was conditional – cf. Joshua 23:11-16 (cf. Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 8, 15, 21, 58-64; 30:15-18)
• Captivity and return to the land was foretold – Deuteronomy 4:25-27; 28:15-68; 30:1-1

The Old Testament describes the history of Israel’s captivity and restoration

NOTE: Then the word of the LORD came to me: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. ~Jeremiah 18:5-10

This reveals the built-in, conditionality, in God’s covenantal dealings with man

Genesis 12 starts out with a condition. “Go… and I will make of you a great nation….” (Genesis 12:1-2). This sets the stage that God’s relationship with Abraham, while sovereignly initiated and full of grace, nevertheless demands obedience from Abraham. We see this again when God adds a sign to his covenant with Abraham in chapter 17. Abraham must circumcise his sons (Genesis 17:9-14), and he must also “walk before [God], and be blameless” (Genesis 17:1b). Later, God points out that Abraham’s continued obedience is the reason God will surely keep his promise and establish his covenant with Abraham. In chapter 22 we read, “…because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you…. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”

All this conditionality should not make us think Abraham is working for his salvation. God goes out of his way to indicate Abraham’s faith, is the cause of his being counted righteous (Genesis 15:6). And God further illustrates how He will enable Abraham to obey so that God can give Abraham the promised blessings: “For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” (Genesis 18:19)

Was the Land Promise to be Forever and Everlasting…?
It was indeed promised “forever”, “as an everlasting possession” – Genesis 13:15; 17:8. However, the Hebrew word translated ‘forever’ and ‘everlasting’ is olam:

• Meaning “a very long time”
• may cover a person’s lifetime (Exodus 21:6; 1 Samuel 1:22)
• a period of many generations (Joshua 24:2)
• the time of the present created order (Psalms 73:12)

“The term ‘forever,’ for a perpetual possession, means as long as the order of things to which it belongs lasts.” – Barnes

“…to the end of the present dispensation” – Clarke

If ‘everlasting’ always meant lasting forever, then we should still be observing:

• Circumcision – Genesis 17:10-13
• The Passover – Exodus 12:14
• The Feast of Unleavened Bread – Exodus 12:17
• The priesthood of Aaron – Exodus 29:9
• The Sabbath – Exodus 31:16-17
• The sacrifices, with their portions for the priests – Leviticus 6:18; 7:34-36; 10:15
• Fasting and animal sacrifices on the Day of Atonement – Leviticus 16:29-34
• The Feast of Tabernacles – Leviticus 23:39-42

…and many other elements of the Law described as ‘everlasting ordinances’

Deuteronomy 15:17 “then you shall take an awl and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also to your female servant you shall do likewise.” (NKJV)

Better Translated:

then take an awl and push it through his ear lobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life. Do the same for your maidservant. (NIV)

Jeremiah 25:8-11 – Israel would be a “perpetual desolation.” – “perpetual” from Hebrew word olam – Jeremiah 29:10 and Daniel 9:2 demonstrate that this “perpetual desolation” was going to last 70 years. The promises to Abraham (Genesis 17:7-8, 13), were “forever” in the sense of “age-lasting” or “until the end of a given age.”

Yet the New Testament teaches such ordinances were not permanent

• They were fleshly ordinances, imposed until a time of reformation – Hebrews 9:6-10
• Circumcision is clearly no longer binding – Galatians 5:1-6
• Even Sabbath days are no longer bound – Colossians 2:14-17

Thus the promise of the land was to last only as long as it fulfilled God’s purpose

Those who understand the permanence of the promise to mandate a renewed future possession of these boundaries by the nation of Israel have the same fundamental problem that they criticize in the interpretation which considers the physical aspect of the promise to be done away with upon its fulfillment under Solomon: namely, that this geographical possession will one day end; the one interpretation is no more consistent with an eternal fulfillment than the other. The old earth will one day melt with a fervent heat to make way for the new (II Pet. 3:10); and as soon as this dissolution of the old earth takes place, (including the geographical regions promised to Abraham), a literal fulfillment of the land promise becomes impossible. The nature of the promise made to Abraham is such that, any fulfillment which is not eternal does not do it justice.

God’s promise to Abraham must extend to him and his seed for all eternity, including that portion of eternity in which the land of Palestine no longer exists. There must be a time, therefore, when the physical land promise is done away with, and only that aspect of the promise which was eternal remains. Whether this transition is placed immediately subsequent to the height of Israel’s glory or immediately prior to the dissolution of the earth has no bearing on the reality that what was promised to be for Abraham’s seed forever is actually not forever. The Abrahamic promise, then, could never be eternal unless something other than the physical land of Palestine is fundamentally intended by the promise. And if something other than the physical land is intended by the promise, then it would be vastly beneficial for us to ascertain the nature of this original intention, together with the ramifications that it has for our understanding of God’s unfolding plan of redemption. ~ Nathan Pitchford (see Land, Seed, and Blessing in the Abrahamic Covenant

Summing up so far
God fulfilled His promise for Israel to receive the land just as Joshua, the Psalmist, and the Levites say. At the very least Solomon ruled over the entire land described to Abraham, but Israel’s retention of the land was always conditional.

Moses and Joshua warned Israel that it was conditional – If retention of the land was unconditional, why “warn” of its possible loss?

The Assyrian and Babylonian captivity illustrates how Israel lost the land

The Restoration described in Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai and Zechariah illustrates how Israel regained the land

We must remember Jesus was both the Lord and Servant of his covenants. As God over us he covenants (because He is the covenant-keeping God) and as man for us he fulfills the covenants. In other words, Jesus fulfills the land promise. Scripture painstakingly demonstrates Jesus is the True Israelite who fulfills everything Israel could not or would not fulfill. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, and we who believe in Jesus inherit the earth – both ethnic Israelite and Gentile. This is not replacement theology. This is expansion theology. It includes BOTH Jew and Gentile. Always has, always will.

Universal rejection of Christianity exists, or so it seems, because the god of this age has blinded men from the truth (2 Corinthians 4:4).

And in the case of Christianity, I am reminded of the saying, “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”

People are shocked in disbelief that Christians claim Jesus is the only way unto salvation. But therein lies the reason for Christianity’s uniqueness.

Most religions revere Jesus as either a Prophet, Priest, or King, but Christianity sees Jesus as the True Prophet, the True High Priest, and our True King.

But most religions do not see Jesus as God Himself (God of very God), and many do not see Jesus as God’s uniquely beloved Son and the Second Person of the Trinity and the Face of God.

Further, the God of Christianity is unique, in that, God is love; it is because God is Triune (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) that God is love, and no other god can be love because no other God is Triune.

Other religions see god as either one person (Islam) or many gods (Hinduism), but no other religion sees God as one being (mono-theistic) yet three persons.

It is this Christian God who has come to save all those who believe in Him, that is, Jesus.