1 Peter 2:13-25
13Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. 16Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
18Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. 19For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. 20But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
22"He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." 23When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 25For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Monday, December 18, 2006
Chaotic Dreams and Secular Humanism
I've had a wierd combination of places I have been over the weekend, discussions with people, doing ministry to a kid, and a goofy dream that have come together in a sort of coherent way.
The dream was that I was driving down the interstate, and I looked ahead of me and saw people walking cows across the road - that seemed strange, so I slowed down and was stopping when I noticed that the people and cows were on the other side of a big river that went under the interstate, except that there was no bridge. The bridge was completely out - in fact, it seemed like the bridge was just gone - like it had never been there. I pulled over to the left - there were cars on the other side still coming this way - I guess they had a bridge.
To my right a big truck slowed down to avoid falling into the river. It went off the edge of the highway, but it turned around somehow and avoided the plunge. Then the dream did one of those fast-forward kinds of things that dreams do. Then I was standing on the side of the road, watching all the cars stopping and trying to figure out how they would go on. About 100 cars or so at one time were trying to push the cement median wall out of the way so they could go onto the other side to keep going. All the cars were pushing in a continuous motion, kind of like a bunch of guys using their shoulders to move somethingtogether. The cars all busted down the wall and they started driving this way and that, scrambling to get out of the stopped up jam of traffic.
Some people had got out of their cars to wait for the traffic to clear, and when the cars started their frenzied motion, cars started wrecking into each other. I watched helplessly as cars smashed over people - adults and kids. Whole families were mowed over as one car crashed into another and pushed into another. A little child holding a teddy bear was smashed between the bumper of one car into the next.
It was total chaos and mayhem - the kind that made my stomach turn.
This dream came alive in application as I talked to a friend about college ministry. So many churches are doing nothing to try to re-evangelize (Have I done a post on "re-evangelism? - I'll check, but if not, I'll put that on the to-do list) college students. They are growing up in a world that is crazy and stupid - like all the cars trying to bust their way out, just so they could move. One of the greatest griefs I have is for all the students that I have worked so much with - kids who grew up in church and in supposedly Christian families, who have gone spiritually south when they graduated from High School. I can see them crashing into each other, ruining their lives, scarring themselves with destructive stuff, and I'm watching on the sidelines.
It seems like too many churches are sitting there also, watching it all, saying, "What do we do?"
I also ministered to a kid that was having some family issues - I won't go into it on this public blog, but it was another one of those things like watching the cars crash into the kids.
I guess the real issue is that I don't want people to raise their kids like humanists, but call themselves Christians. If being lukewarm would cause God to spew us out of his mouth, then surely we need to throw up at the thought of chasing after the world. I want to throw up at the thought of watching people hurl themselves at the world, while they crash their lifestyles and their ambitions into the hearts and lives of kids. I want to throw up at all the years of my life I wasted, calling myself a Christian but thinking like a secular humanist.
I think one of the blessings and the curses of doing camp ministry is that kids can be removed from the world and its garbage - they can focus on God and hear his voice here. It's awesome that God can speak to them here, but why does it have to just be here? Shouldn't God be speaking to them in their Christian homes? When they leave here, they just go back into the cultural muck. I am on the side of the road watching it happen. I wish Godly families would exalt the ways of God and not the world. Alas.
Yes, I am meloncholy today, but that is ok, and right, and good, because we need to mourn over the things that break the heart of God.
jc
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
James 4:7-10 ESV
The dream was that I was driving down the interstate, and I looked ahead of me and saw people walking cows across the road - that seemed strange, so I slowed down and was stopping when I noticed that the people and cows were on the other side of a big river that went under the interstate, except that there was no bridge. The bridge was completely out - in fact, it seemed like the bridge was just gone - like it had never been there. I pulled over to the left - there were cars on the other side still coming this way - I guess they had a bridge.
To my right a big truck slowed down to avoid falling into the river. It went off the edge of the highway, but it turned around somehow and avoided the plunge. Then the dream did one of those fast-forward kinds of things that dreams do. Then I was standing on the side of the road, watching all the cars stopping and trying to figure out how they would go on. About 100 cars or so at one time were trying to push the cement median wall out of the way so they could go onto the other side to keep going. All the cars were pushing in a continuous motion, kind of like a bunch of guys using their shoulders to move somethingtogether. The cars all busted down the wall and they started driving this way and that, scrambling to get out of the stopped up jam of traffic.
Some people had got out of their cars to wait for the traffic to clear, and when the cars started their frenzied motion, cars started wrecking into each other. I watched helplessly as cars smashed over people - adults and kids. Whole families were mowed over as one car crashed into another and pushed into another. A little child holding a teddy bear was smashed between the bumper of one car into the next.
It was total chaos and mayhem - the kind that made my stomach turn.
This dream came alive in application as I talked to a friend about college ministry. So many churches are doing nothing to try to re-evangelize (Have I done a post on "re-evangelism? - I'll check, but if not, I'll put that on the to-do list) college students. They are growing up in a world that is crazy and stupid - like all the cars trying to bust their way out, just so they could move. One of the greatest griefs I have is for all the students that I have worked so much with - kids who grew up in church and in supposedly Christian families, who have gone spiritually south when they graduated from High School. I can see them crashing into each other, ruining their lives, scarring themselves with destructive stuff, and I'm watching on the sidelines.
It seems like too many churches are sitting there also, watching it all, saying, "What do we do?"
I also ministered to a kid that was having some family issues - I won't go into it on this public blog, but it was another one of those things like watching the cars crash into the kids.
I guess the real issue is that I don't want people to raise their kids like humanists, but call themselves Christians. If being lukewarm would cause God to spew us out of his mouth, then surely we need to throw up at the thought of chasing after the world. I want to throw up at the thought of watching people hurl themselves at the world, while they crash their lifestyles and their ambitions into the hearts and lives of kids. I want to throw up at all the years of my life I wasted, calling myself a Christian but thinking like a secular humanist.
I think one of the blessings and the curses of doing camp ministry is that kids can be removed from the world and its garbage - they can focus on God and hear his voice here. It's awesome that God can speak to them here, but why does it have to just be here? Shouldn't God be speaking to them in their Christian homes? When they leave here, they just go back into the cultural muck. I am on the side of the road watching it happen. I wish Godly families would exalt the ways of God and not the world. Alas.
Yes, I am meloncholy today, but that is ok, and right, and good, because we need to mourn over the things that break the heart of God.
jc
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
James 4:7-10 ESV
Memorized Today 1 Peter 2:4-12
4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— 5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For in Scripture it says:
9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
"See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone,They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame." 7Now to you who
believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
"The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone,"
8and, "A stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall."
9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Managing the Chaos
It seems like the time around Christmas is one of the most busy times of the year for many people. I heard a friend tell me the other day that he had something happening every single night up until Christmas. Now, I hope that I don't make life busier for people by the things I do. We just finished up the kids Christmas program at Church, which is an effort that few people understand, but it basically took about six months.
Six months, and within those six months, we have changed jobs, moved, cleaned out an old house, cleaned out a camp (still working on that, actually) and have tried to adjust to a new schedule, pace, and lifestyle. I enjoy the Christmas program work so much, and I had thought that maybe I would take a break from that next year (Since I would be a church volunteer!), but last night I learned something interesting.
I was talking to the kids last night about the whole celebration of Christmas. I asked them what was important to them, and they said, "going to Grandma's" and the Christmas program. Those two things are what they think of when they think of the celebration of Christmas. It hit me at that moment that the reason I haven't been real excited about decorations and trees and lights and all that jazz was that the Christmas program was over, and I was ready to move on. And the kids kind of think the same way.
I knew they enjoyed working on the program, but I didn't realize how important it was to them.
BA did a sermon Sunday about the question, "Are you ready for Christmas?" His point was that it is much more important to be ready for the Day of the Lord. I have spent so much time obsessing about "being ready for Christmas" that I missed the importance of prayer and Bible study - listening to the voice of God.
I have been studying and memorizing 1 Peter - I've got chapter 1 and 3 verses of chapter two as of this morning. 1 Peter is our text for camp this summer. 1 Peter 1:3 says, "In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope that can never perish, spoil, or fade - kept in heaven for you..."
Life with Jesus Christ is a living hope - not a dead hope. Putting all your stock in the business and glories of Christmas is a dead hope. The Christmas tree, with all it's beauty, after it is cut and stuck in a stand in your house, is a dead tree. It will be thrown out and it will decay. Now, I am certainly not against decorating or having Christmas trees, but I wonder how many people misplace their Christmas "hope" into something that is a dead hope, and not a living hope.
God loves beautiful things - even decorated, pretty, wonderful things. Surely heaven is not built out of ugly concrete blocks. The Tabernacle was one of the most wonderfully beautiful things that God's people put together, all under God's careful instruction. The temple that Solomon built was glorious and beautiful beyond description. But when God's people started worshipping idols and turning away from God, God allowed that beautiful building to be destroyed. Even the temple during the time of Jesus was beautiful, but horrible and disgusting things were done there, and God again allowed it to be destroyed.
If anyone ever asks me again, "Are you ready for Christmas?" I will ignore the fact that it is a dumb question and ask myself, "am I ready to face God?" So, I will hopefully answer YES!
Six months, and within those six months, we have changed jobs, moved, cleaned out an old house, cleaned out a camp (still working on that, actually) and have tried to adjust to a new schedule, pace, and lifestyle. I enjoy the Christmas program work so much, and I had thought that maybe I would take a break from that next year (Since I would be a church volunteer!), but last night I learned something interesting.
I was talking to the kids last night about the whole celebration of Christmas. I asked them what was important to them, and they said, "going to Grandma's" and the Christmas program. Those two things are what they think of when they think of the celebration of Christmas. It hit me at that moment that the reason I haven't been real excited about decorations and trees and lights and all that jazz was that the Christmas program was over, and I was ready to move on. And the kids kind of think the same way.
I knew they enjoyed working on the program, but I didn't realize how important it was to them.
BA did a sermon Sunday about the question, "Are you ready for Christmas?" His point was that it is much more important to be ready for the Day of the Lord. I have spent so much time obsessing about "being ready for Christmas" that I missed the importance of prayer and Bible study - listening to the voice of God.
I have been studying and memorizing 1 Peter - I've got chapter 1 and 3 verses of chapter two as of this morning. 1 Peter is our text for camp this summer. 1 Peter 1:3 says, "In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope that can never perish, spoil, or fade - kept in heaven for you..."
Life with Jesus Christ is a living hope - not a dead hope. Putting all your stock in the business and glories of Christmas is a dead hope. The Christmas tree, with all it's beauty, after it is cut and stuck in a stand in your house, is a dead tree. It will be thrown out and it will decay. Now, I am certainly not against decorating or having Christmas trees, but I wonder how many people misplace their Christmas "hope" into something that is a dead hope, and not a living hope.
God loves beautiful things - even decorated, pretty, wonderful things. Surely heaven is not built out of ugly concrete blocks. The Tabernacle was one of the most wonderfully beautiful things that God's people put together, all under God's careful instruction. The temple that Solomon built was glorious and beautiful beyond description. But when God's people started worshipping idols and turning away from God, God allowed that beautiful building to be destroyed. Even the temple during the time of Jesus was beautiful, but horrible and disgusting things were done there, and God again allowed it to be destroyed.
If anyone ever asks me again, "Are you ready for Christmas?" I will ignore the fact that it is a dumb question and ask myself, "am I ready to face God?" So, I will hopefully answer YES!
Monday, December 11, 2006
Turkeys in the Yard
These turkeys were literally right outside our back door. This is one of the reasons why Maranatha Bible Camp is so awesome. We saw a bald eagle fly over the other day. God is so good!
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Matt. 6:26-27
Back on the Blunderblog
Just the first of many more blog postings to come - oh how things have changed since my last posting.
Back in the Blunderblog again!
jc
Back in the Blunderblog again!
jc
Friday, September 22, 2006
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Friday, August 04, 2006
Monday, July 31, 2006
Has the Bible Been Changed? - CWN
Has the Bible Been Changed? - CWN
This should be required reading for all Christians - hey, don't make me boss of the world.
jc
This should be required reading for all Christians - hey, don't make me boss of the world.
jc
Monday, July 17, 2006
I don't believe that anyone can believe in a non-belief system
I don't believe that anyone can believe in a non-belief system
This is a great article from a clever and funny Christian website. It shows how a "non-belief" system falls apart on itself.
jc
This is a great article from a clever and funny Christian website. It shows how a "non-belief" system falls apart on itself.
jc
Friday, July 14, 2006
The whirlwind
Well, the last two weeks have been a blur. I was at the Maranatha Bible Camp last week, leading worship, doing lots of video and photography, and generally having a great time with the 5th- 6th grade campers from our Church. Jenette and I have led worship many times with many kids, but these kids really were excited about worshipping God. We were both overwhelmed at just the sheer volume of the kids as we sang "I Belong to a Mighty God." I told Jenette that this camp had some of the most "singin'est" kids we had been around in a long time.
It was truly a blessing and a privilege to be involved with the camp. This week, I finished recording the music and my voice on a practice CD for our VBS program. I have also finished two DVD projects that I needed to finish, and have done many other things that I have already forgotten.
Being at the camp for two weeks in a row reminded me that perhaps one of the greatest enemies of pursuing a relationship with God is the busyness of our culture. At camp, with few distractions and the time to really think about the Lord and His Word, kids really are impacted by how wonderful God is and how powerful His Word is.
Since I have come back from camp and have been busy again doing everything I am supposed to be doing, it has left me with at least a small sense of grief. In my mind, I can see the faces of the kids at camp: worshipping, memorizing the Bible, and carefully listening to Bible teaching. I can also see the same kids coming home and watching incredibly stupid TV shows for hours on end on the Disney Channel. Someone once said that stuff like that was "chewing gum for the eyes." Alas.
I spent some time today talking to one of my dear Christian brothers about grieving over the things that grieve God. Sometimes, it takes time away from the cultural whirlwind to recognize that some mourning might be in order. I think many urban Christians don't want to slow down long enough to grieve.
Someone also said that when it comes to kids, "he who spends the most time wins." Whether its the TV or the friends or the parents, time is the key to teaching kids, training kids, loving kids, and raising them to be a Godly generation. Check out my last post to read an article about why generational Christianity is dying in our world.
Thinking about all this led me to play spades with the boys tonight, even though it was late. We had a great time. Tomorrow we will spend some more time together.
Along all the other stuff going on this week, I have started to remake my website from homeschoolbiblestudies.com to studentbiblestudies.com. Both addresses will still work, but I am trying to appeal to a church youth ministry crowd as well. Plus, I'm not sure that most home schoolers are looking for the type of booklets I am offering. I think that perhaps Churches or parents that are doing some kind of small groups for their teens will find my books most helpful. We'll see.
I did get an order for 8 booklets from Maryland! How exciting that God could use my feeble attempts to write Bible studies for teens to glorify Himself through His Word to kids in Maryland! I've never been to Maryland! This kind of stuff excites me and makes me want to keep this little business going.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV)
jc
It was truly a blessing and a privilege to be involved with the camp. This week, I finished recording the music and my voice on a practice CD for our VBS program. I have also finished two DVD projects that I needed to finish, and have done many other things that I have already forgotten.
Being at the camp for two weeks in a row reminded me that perhaps one of the greatest enemies of pursuing a relationship with God is the busyness of our culture. At camp, with few distractions and the time to really think about the Lord and His Word, kids really are impacted by how wonderful God is and how powerful His Word is.
Since I have come back from camp and have been busy again doing everything I am supposed to be doing, it has left me with at least a small sense of grief. In my mind, I can see the faces of the kids at camp: worshipping, memorizing the Bible, and carefully listening to Bible teaching. I can also see the same kids coming home and watching incredibly stupid TV shows for hours on end on the Disney Channel. Someone once said that stuff like that was "chewing gum for the eyes." Alas.
I spent some time today talking to one of my dear Christian brothers about grieving over the things that grieve God. Sometimes, it takes time away from the cultural whirlwind to recognize that some mourning might be in order. I think many urban Christians don't want to slow down long enough to grieve.
Someone also said that when it comes to kids, "he who spends the most time wins." Whether its the TV or the friends or the parents, time is the key to teaching kids, training kids, loving kids, and raising them to be a Godly generation. Check out my last post to read an article about why generational Christianity is dying in our world.
Thinking about all this led me to play spades with the boys tonight, even though it was late. We had a great time. Tomorrow we will spend some more time together.
Along all the other stuff going on this week, I have started to remake my website from homeschoolbiblestudies.com to studentbiblestudies.com. Both addresses will still work, but I am trying to appeal to a church youth ministry crowd as well. Plus, I'm not sure that most home schoolers are looking for the type of booklets I am offering. I think that perhaps Churches or parents that are doing some kind of small groups for their teens will find my books most helpful. We'll see.
I did get an order for 8 booklets from Maryland! How exciting that God could use my feeble attempts to write Bible studies for teens to glorify Himself through His Word to kids in Maryland! I've never been to Maryland! This kind of stuff excites me and makes me want to keep this little business going.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV)
jc
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Can “Old Europe” Be Reclaimed for Christianity?
The Chalcedon Foundation - Faith for All of Life
Interesting article - it shows how the lack of Christian families raising Christian children to be Christian adults results in nations that turn away from God.
A question in the article asks "can this happen in American?"
It already has.
jc
Interesting article - it shows how the lack of Christian families raising Christian children to be Christian adults results in nations that turn away from God.
A question in the article asks "can this happen in American?"
It already has.
jc
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Defilement, the death of Chucky, and Fireworks
(Proverbs 27:17 - "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." ESV)
Well, the title seems sort of random, and it is, but that's kind of where I'm at tonight. Poor little Chucky the (un)lucky Ducky died last night. He didn't get pecked or anything, so I don't really know what happened. One of the kids gave him a cherry last night - maybe that killed him. Of course, my tender hearted 7 year old daughter cried when she heard of Chucky's demise. I have to say, it made me sad as well, partly because we tried so hard to keep him alive.
Camp for the kids was a great success this last week - it was truly a privilege to minister to over 200 kids and the adults that came with them. I did a lesson about Daniel 1 - particularly Daniel 1:8:
It is amazing that Daniel and his friends resolved not to defile themselves with the king's food and wine. It is amazing to me because in this day, we seem to go out of our way to blend in with the culture instead of going against it. Most Christians today are "thermometers" - they measure the culture and they adjust themselves to it. Daniel and his friends were "thermostats." They let the standard of God's Word establish their baseline and they challenged the culture to rise up to that standard.
I wanted to explain to these kids (3rd & 4th graders) what it meant to "defile" yourself. I really struggled with this because I knew that this was very important, yet needed to be handled in a way the kids could deal with it. So I talked about how, when I was that age, I wanted to be "cool" and fit in with my friends. I "defiled" myself by talking the way they did, and I knew it was wrong. As I starting telling the kids how I "dirtied" myself with "dirty" words, I smeared chocolate pudding all over myself. I put it all over my shirt, my face, and even dumped the rest of the bowl on my head.
I went on to tell them how we all need the cleansing grace of God through Christ to clean up our dirtiness. I used a red towel to wipe off my face to symbolize the blood of Christ.
I don't think those kids will ever eat pudding again without thinking about their lesson at camp. Hopefully they will apply God's truth and follow the example of Daniel.
The kids and I shot off some fireworks tonight - what a great time with some great kids. I truly pray that they will be Daniel-like "thermostats" in this wicked and decadent culture.
jc
Well, the title seems sort of random, and it is, but that's kind of where I'm at tonight. Poor little Chucky the (un)lucky Ducky died last night. He didn't get pecked or anything, so I don't really know what happened. One of the kids gave him a cherry last night - maybe that killed him. Of course, my tender hearted 7 year old daughter cried when she heard of Chucky's demise. I have to say, it made me sad as well, partly because we tried so hard to keep him alive.
Camp for the kids was a great success this last week - it was truly a privilege to minister to over 200 kids and the adults that came with them. I did a lesson about Daniel 1 - particularly Daniel 1:8:
But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. (Daniel 1:8 ESV)
It is amazing that Daniel and his friends resolved not to defile themselves with the king's food and wine. It is amazing to me because in this day, we seem to go out of our way to blend in with the culture instead of going against it. Most Christians today are "thermometers" - they measure the culture and they adjust themselves to it. Daniel and his friends were "thermostats." They let the standard of God's Word establish their baseline and they challenged the culture to rise up to that standard.
I wanted to explain to these kids (3rd & 4th graders) what it meant to "defile" yourself. I really struggled with this because I knew that this was very important, yet needed to be handled in a way the kids could deal with it. So I talked about how, when I was that age, I wanted to be "cool" and fit in with my friends. I "defiled" myself by talking the way they did, and I knew it was wrong. As I starting telling the kids how I "dirtied" myself with "dirty" words, I smeared chocolate pudding all over myself. I put it all over my shirt, my face, and even dumped the rest of the bowl on my head.
I went on to tell them how we all need the cleansing grace of God through Christ to clean up our dirtiness. I used a red towel to wipe off my face to symbolize the blood of Christ.
I don't think those kids will ever eat pudding again without thinking about their lesson at camp. Hopefully they will apply God's truth and follow the example of Daniel.
The kids and I shot off some fireworks tonight - what a great time with some great kids. I truly pray that they will be Daniel-like "thermostats" in this wicked and decadent culture.
jc
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Defending the Trinity.
I just did a lesson at Church a few weeks ago about the Trinity. I thought this posting was interesting and well written. I guess many Christians just don't see what all the fuss is about the Trinity. I think that is because many Christians don't really believe in taking God's Word for what it says. I'll post my lesson when I get back from camp.
I am in charge of our Church Camp for first grade through fourth grade this week. Great fun, but tiring. I am going to do a lesson for them about Daniel 1 - that Daniel and his friends resolved to not defile themselves with the king's food and wine.
Such a simple, yet profound example. They simply chose to honor God and keep themselves pure for His sake and His glory. If Christians today did that - if they applied that example, then surely the name of Christ would be more honored in this culture. I'll write more about the lesson after camp.
jc
I am in charge of our Church Camp for first grade through fourth grade this week. Great fun, but tiring. I am going to do a lesson for them about Daniel 1 - that Daniel and his friends resolved to not defile themselves with the king's food and wine.
Such a simple, yet profound example. They simply chose to honor God and keep themselves pure for His sake and His glory. If Christians today did that - if they applied that example, then surely the name of Christ would be more honored in this culture. I'll write more about the lesson after camp.
jc
Monday, June 26, 2006
Fun with Photoshop Elements
Had some fun goofing with new photo editing software. The boys quite enjoyed the result!
jc
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Deliverance before Obedience?
(Proverbs 27:17 - "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." ESV)
This morning was a rare morning at Church where I actually was able to hear the sermon. Most Sundays I am teaching children's church during both services. Occasionally I schedule others to take over so we can sit in the service.
This morning BA was preaching about the 10 Commandments - kind of an introduction. He really stuck to the first two verses of Exodus 20.
His basic point was that God's grace precedes God's Law. God delivered the Israelites, then demanded obedience from them. I thought this was an interesting idea, since many people think that the Old Testament shows the "God of Law" and the New Testament shows the "God of Love."
He also made the point that demanding obedience before offering deliverance is never God's way and only leads to failure. God provided every possible want or need in the garden before Adam and Eve chose to rebel. Romans 5 says while we were still God's enemies, Christ died for the ungodly.
This really made me think of so many Christians who want to force Christianity on a culture that really doesn't want to go that direction. We can't begin with moralizing. We have to begin with our own sinfulness and God's love for us through Christ. In fact, Jesus' most harsh and condemning words were reserved for the religious leaders of the day who practiced "God's Law" but did not want to be bothered with God's Love and Grace.
I have been around some homeschoolers who wear their homeschooling like a Pharisaical mantle, demonstrating their great superiority over all the secular schmucks who send their kids to public school. Oh, I wish they would go away!
As for me and my house, I want to obey and love God not to earn God's favor, but because He first loved me. I think that there are many people who say they are "Christians" but have never acknowledged that they are sinners - the place to start in order to receive His grace.
BA also said that the 10 Commandments teach us how to love God and love others. I really like that part. The more we teach and preach the practical application of God's Truth, the better off we are! I hope everyone was listening and thinking about ways to apply this great sermon.
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Titus 2:11-14 ESV
This morning was a rare morning at Church where I actually was able to hear the sermon. Most Sundays I am teaching children's church during both services. Occasionally I schedule others to take over so we can sit in the service.
This morning BA was preaching about the 10 Commandments - kind of an introduction. He really stuck to the first two verses of Exodus 20.
And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who
brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Exodus 20:1-2
ESV
His basic point was that God's grace precedes God's Law. God delivered the Israelites, then demanded obedience from them. I thought this was an interesting idea, since many people think that the Old Testament shows the "God of Law" and the New Testament shows the "God of Love."
He also made the point that demanding obedience before offering deliverance is never God's way and only leads to failure. God provided every possible want or need in the garden before Adam and Eve chose to rebel. Romans 5 says while we were still God's enemies, Christ died for the ungodly.
This really made me think of so many Christians who want to force Christianity on a culture that really doesn't want to go that direction. We can't begin with moralizing. We have to begin with our own sinfulness and God's love for us through Christ. In fact, Jesus' most harsh and condemning words were reserved for the religious leaders of the day who practiced "God's Law" but did not want to be bothered with God's Love and Grace.
I have been around some homeschoolers who wear their homeschooling like a Pharisaical mantle, demonstrating their great superiority over all the secular schmucks who send their kids to public school. Oh, I wish they would go away!
As for me and my house, I want to obey and love God not to earn God's favor, but because He first loved me. I think that there are many people who say they are "Christians" but have never acknowledged that they are sinners - the place to start in order to receive His grace.
BA also said that the 10 Commandments teach us how to love God and love others. I really like that part. The more we teach and preach the practical application of God's Truth, the better off we are! I hope everyone was listening and thinking about ways to apply this great sermon.
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Titus 2:11-14 ESV
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Chucky the Lucky Ducky
(Proverbs 27:17 - "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." ESV)
Read the story in my last posting, or check out http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/jun/06061410.html. Now this is profoundly disturbing, although not that surprising. I truly admire the pluck of Mr. Parker, who has taken a stand for righteous values (I don't know if he is a Christian or not, but there is something that is motivating him.)
It is sad and disturbing that the vengeance was taken out on a 7 year old boy by other kids. My stomach churned when I first heard about this. I hope for his sake that the Parker family would consider homeschooling. When I heard about this, I couldn't help but think about our little backyard barnyard and Chucky the Lucky Ducky.
Chucky was given to us by a good friend, a Godly public school science teacher who attempted to hatch some duck eggs in his classroom incubator. During the time of the incubation, one of the ornery kids purposefully cranked up the heat on the machine, and all the eggs were "cooked" except for little Chucky's.
A little background here: we already had two hens and one duck - the only survivors at our attempts to raise around thirty or so birds in the last two years. Now the hens don't like anybody. They have pecked some of the other chicks and ducks mercilessly when they are shut up at night in their little shed.
When we got Chucky, the girls were so happy because our other duck (the kids named her "Pipsqueak" for the funny noises she makes) was lonely and had no duck "friends." In fact, the night after all of Pipsqueak's "friends" got eaten by some critter or other, the girls cried not for the lost of the many, but for the loneliness of the one. (It was sweet, but pathetic!)
Well, Chucky started following Pipsqueak around like a baby duck follows her mama. But when we would put them in the shed at night, poor Chucky kept on getting pecked. I don't understand chicken sociology too much, but they are very much into a strict social order. Meaning, the only ones in the club are the ones in the club; everyone else is subject to a pecking. And so the barnyard "pecking order" is firmly established.
About two weeks ago, I went out one morning to find poor little Chucky on the floor of the shed, covered with blood and gasping for life. I didn't pick him up, because I thought it wouldn't do any good. He had violated the order and he paid for it with a pecking. One way or the other, he wouldn't ever do it again.
Well, Chucky is still alive, but he is scarred and ugly. One eye is gone, and his whole head is just one ugly scar. He is definitely not as cute as he used to be.
I think the analogies between Chucky and that little boy are profound. The only solution I had was to separate the poor little duck completely from his evil tormentors. Think about it.
jc
Read the story in my last posting, or check out http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/jun/06061410.html. Now this is profoundly disturbing, although not that surprising. I truly admire the pluck of Mr. Parker, who has taken a stand for righteous values (I don't know if he is a Christian or not, but there is something that is motivating him.)
It is sad and disturbing that the vengeance was taken out on a 7 year old boy by other kids. My stomach churned when I first heard about this. I hope for his sake that the Parker family would consider homeschooling. When I heard about this, I couldn't help but think about our little backyard barnyard and Chucky the Lucky Ducky.
Chucky was given to us by a good friend, a Godly public school science teacher who attempted to hatch some duck eggs in his classroom incubator. During the time of the incubation, one of the ornery kids purposefully cranked up the heat on the machine, and all the eggs were "cooked" except for little Chucky's.
A little background here: we already had two hens and one duck - the only survivors at our attempts to raise around thirty or so birds in the last two years. Now the hens don't like anybody. They have pecked some of the other chicks and ducks mercilessly when they are shut up at night in their little shed.
When we got Chucky, the girls were so happy because our other duck (the kids named her "Pipsqueak" for the funny noises she makes) was lonely and had no duck "friends." In fact, the night after all of Pipsqueak's "friends" got eaten by some critter or other, the girls cried not for the lost of the many, but for the loneliness of the one. (It was sweet, but pathetic!)
Well, Chucky started following Pipsqueak around like a baby duck follows her mama. But when we would put them in the shed at night, poor Chucky kept on getting pecked. I don't understand chicken sociology too much, but they are very much into a strict social order. Meaning, the only ones in the club are the ones in the club; everyone else is subject to a pecking. And so the barnyard "pecking order" is firmly established.
About two weeks ago, I went out one morning to find poor little Chucky on the floor of the shed, covered with blood and gasping for life. I didn't pick him up, because I thought it wouldn't do any good. He had violated the order and he paid for it with a pecking. One way or the other, he wouldn't ever do it again.
Well, Chucky is still alive, but he is scarred and ugly. One eye is gone, and his whole head is just one ugly scar. He is definitely not as cute as he used to be.
I think the analogies between Chucky and that little boy are profound. The only solution I had was to separate the poor little duck completely from his evil tormentors. Think about it.
jc
Seven-Year-Old Beaten at School For Father's Stand Against Homosexual Activism
Seven-Year-Old Beaten at School For Father's Stand Against Homosexual Activism
(Proverbs 27:17 - "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." ESV)
By John-Henry Westen and John Jalsevac
LEXINGTON, Massachusetts, June 14, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - On May 17—the two-year anniversary of same-sex "marriage" in Massachusetts—the first-grade son of a prominent pro-family advocate was dragged and beaten behind the Estabrook Elementary School in Lexington during recess, receiving multiple blows to the chest, stomach, and genital area.
Jacob Parker, the 7-year-old who was attacked, is the son of David Parker. LifeSiteNews.com readers will recall that David Parker objected to homosexual curriculum in his son's kindergarten class. At a meeting with the principal of the school last year Parker requested that the school inform him of when homosexual discussions would take place, so he could exclude his son from the activity. The principal refused and Parker said he would not leave until his request was granted. School administration called the police and had Parker charged with trespassing. (see coverage: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/apr/05042910.html)
Brian Camenker the President of MassResistance, a pro-family group, that has worked with Parker to have the rights of parents in Massachusetts respected told LifeSitenews.com that the school system has since continued to refuse to notify parents of such material being presented in class. On April 27, 2006, Parker, his wife, and another family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the school system.
LifeSiteNews.com spoke with Mr. Parker about the incident.
According to Mr. Parker, school authorities determined from an investigation into the assault that the beating was indeed planned and premeditated.
Mr. Parker described the incident at the school saying: "During the recess period, a group of 8-10 kids suddenly surrounded Jacob and grabbed him. He was taken around the corner of the school building out of sight of the patrolling aides, with the taunting and encouragement of other kids. Jacob was then positioned against the wall for what appeared to be a well planned and coordinated assault.”
Parker told LifeSiteNews.com, his son related that one student in particular performed the actual physical assault while, “many children stood, watched silently, and did nothing as the beating commenced.”
Parker added: "The group of kids surrounded Jacob and he was beaten and punched. Then, as he fell to the ground, another child was heard saying to the group of children, 'Now you all can finish him off,' and as he was down on his hands and knees, the beating continued on his back. Then, fortunately, one little girl ran to contact the oblivious playground aides to stop it.
"Four of the attackers were from Jacob's first-grade class; the others were from other classes at Estabrook.
"The teachers' aide apparently determined that since she could not see external bleeding, and since Jacob apparently was not hit in the face, she did not send him to she school nurse."
The family was immediately notified of the incident.Speaking to LifeSiteNews.com, Parker speculated that the cause of the attack was most likely what he called “displaced aggression.” “If children hear venomous things from their parents, the children do internalize this,” he said.
“I certainly don’t want to vilify the children in this,” he said. “We understand that skirmishes happen on the playground. It’s taking the child around out of view of the aides, and the number of children that stood around watching that concerns us.”
Parker noted that his conflict with the school over homosexuality is well known among the students. "We are aware that the school administration sent notices home with all the young children concerning the Parker arrest, the 'King and King' incident and the federal lawsuit," he said. “They must know that the children read them.”
He pointed out that the date of the attack--the two year aniversary of same-sex "marriage" in Massachusetts--cannot be a coincidence.
The topic of Parker's beliefs has become so widespread among the students that Jacob says he overheard his fellow classmates ruminating that perhaps their current principle—who has resigned her position to take up a job elsewhere—was leaving the job because of Jacob’s father. Members of the community itself have organized public demonstrations specifically against Parker, in which their children have taken part. One of these demonstrations is pictured on the right and below. (photos courtesy of MassResistance.com) While prominently displayed in the student library are the back issues of the Lexington Minuteman that specifically deal with Parker’s case, for the children to read.
“We’re trying to be patient and tolerant," said Parker when asked if he was considering pulling his son out of the school. "We’re trying to hang on to the notion that the schools are for every child and for everyone. I don’t feel that we should have to leave for an injustice.”
But he added that “There are limits to how much patience we can have. I certainly understand why more and more parents are pulling their children out of public schools.”
Ironically, the school prides itself on its long-time involvement in various "Safe School" programs, which are geared to creating school environments "safe" for students who are homosexual.
Parker asked, "Isn't the school supposed to be addressing safety and preventing bullying and violence? Or are such programs only focused on children with homosexual parents? You can be certain that if this happened to a child with homosexual parents more would be made of this and that 'lessons' teaching tolerance and diversity of homosexual behavior normalization would be forced upon the young children."
The school and larger community are deeply divided over the Parker's stand against pro-homosexual indoctrination. A group has been formed in Lexington to counter Parker's efforts. The 'Lexington Cares' group maintains an anti-Parker website and has conducted anti-Parker letter writing campaigns and demonstrations.
Calls to Estabrook school were not returned by press time.
To express your concern to Estabrook school contact:
Estabrook School117 Grove StreetLexington, MA 02420 USA
Email Principal Joni Jay: jjay@sch.ci.lexington.ma.us
Phone: (781)861-2520 Fax: (781)862-5610
Story URL: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/jun/06061410.html
(Proverbs 27:17 - "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." ESV)
By John-Henry Westen and John Jalsevac
LEXINGTON, Massachusetts, June 14, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - On May 17—the two-year anniversary of same-sex "marriage" in Massachusetts—the first-grade son of a prominent pro-family advocate was dragged and beaten behind the Estabrook Elementary School in Lexington during recess, receiving multiple blows to the chest, stomach, and genital area.
Jacob Parker, the 7-year-old who was attacked, is the son of David Parker. LifeSiteNews.com readers will recall that David Parker objected to homosexual curriculum in his son's kindergarten class. At a meeting with the principal of the school last year Parker requested that the school inform him of when homosexual discussions would take place, so he could exclude his son from the activity. The principal refused and Parker said he would not leave until his request was granted. School administration called the police and had Parker charged with trespassing. (see coverage: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/apr/05042910.html)
Brian Camenker the President of MassResistance, a pro-family group, that has worked with Parker to have the rights of parents in Massachusetts respected told LifeSitenews.com that the school system has since continued to refuse to notify parents of such material being presented in class. On April 27, 2006, Parker, his wife, and another family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the school system.
LifeSiteNews.com spoke with Mr. Parker about the incident.
According to Mr. Parker, school authorities determined from an investigation into the assault that the beating was indeed planned and premeditated.
Mr. Parker described the incident at the school saying: "During the recess period, a group of 8-10 kids suddenly surrounded Jacob and grabbed him. He was taken around the corner of the school building out of sight of the patrolling aides, with the taunting and encouragement of other kids. Jacob was then positioned against the wall for what appeared to be a well planned and coordinated assault.”
Parker told LifeSiteNews.com, his son related that one student in particular performed the actual physical assault while, “many children stood, watched silently, and did nothing as the beating commenced.”
Parker added: "The group of kids surrounded Jacob and he was beaten and punched. Then, as he fell to the ground, another child was heard saying to the group of children, 'Now you all can finish him off,' and as he was down on his hands and knees, the beating continued on his back. Then, fortunately, one little girl ran to contact the oblivious playground aides to stop it.
"Four of the attackers were from Jacob's first-grade class; the others were from other classes at Estabrook.
"The teachers' aide apparently determined that since she could not see external bleeding, and since Jacob apparently was not hit in the face, she did not send him to she school nurse."
The family was immediately notified of the incident.Speaking to LifeSiteNews.com, Parker speculated that the cause of the attack was most likely what he called “displaced aggression.” “If children hear venomous things from their parents, the children do internalize this,” he said.
“I certainly don’t want to vilify the children in this,” he said. “We understand that skirmishes happen on the playground. It’s taking the child around out of view of the aides, and the number of children that stood around watching that concerns us.”
Parker noted that his conflict with the school over homosexuality is well known among the students. "We are aware that the school administration sent notices home with all the young children concerning the Parker arrest, the 'King and King' incident and the federal lawsuit," he said. “They must know that the children read them.”
He pointed out that the date of the attack--the two year aniversary of same-sex "marriage" in Massachusetts--cannot be a coincidence.
The topic of Parker's beliefs has become so widespread among the students that Jacob says he overheard his fellow classmates ruminating that perhaps their current principle—who has resigned her position to take up a job elsewhere—was leaving the job because of Jacob’s father. Members of the community itself have organized public demonstrations specifically against Parker, in which their children have taken part. One of these demonstrations is pictured on the right and below. (photos courtesy of MassResistance.com) While prominently displayed in the student library are the back issues of the Lexington Minuteman that specifically deal with Parker’s case, for the children to read.
“We’re trying to be patient and tolerant," said Parker when asked if he was considering pulling his son out of the school. "We’re trying to hang on to the notion that the schools are for every child and for everyone. I don’t feel that we should have to leave for an injustice.”
But he added that “There are limits to how much patience we can have. I certainly understand why more and more parents are pulling their children out of public schools.”
Ironically, the school prides itself on its long-time involvement in various "Safe School" programs, which are geared to creating school environments "safe" for students who are homosexual.
Parker asked, "Isn't the school supposed to be addressing safety and preventing bullying and violence? Or are such programs only focused on children with homosexual parents? You can be certain that if this happened to a child with homosexual parents more would be made of this and that 'lessons' teaching tolerance and diversity of homosexual behavior normalization would be forced upon the young children."
The school and larger community are deeply divided over the Parker's stand against pro-homosexual indoctrination. A group has been formed in Lexington to counter Parker's efforts. The 'Lexington Cares' group maintains an anti-Parker website and has conducted anti-Parker letter writing campaigns and demonstrations.
Calls to Estabrook school were not returned by press time.
To express your concern to Estabrook school contact:
Estabrook School117 Grove StreetLexington, MA 02420 USA
Email Principal Joni Jay: jjay@sch.ci.lexington.ma.us
Phone: (781)861-2520 Fax: (781)862-5610
Story URL: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/jun/06061410.html
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Monday, April 17, 2006
Friday, April 14, 2006
Christian Research Institute ~ Home of the Bible Answer Man, Hank Hanegraaff
Christian Research Institute ~ Home of the Bible Answer Man, Hank Hanegraaff
Great audio file on the Gospel of Judas.
jc
Great audio file on the Gospel of Judas.
jc
Thursday, April 13, 2006
The Judas Gospel @ National Geographic magazine
http://www9.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/gospel/
The story by National Geographic that was mentioned in the last post.
jc
The story by National Geographic that was mentioned in the last post.
jc
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Monday, April 10, 2006
Friday, April 07, 2006
WorldNetDaily: Teen girls' Bible talks of oral sex, lesbianism
WorldNetDaily: Teen girls' Bible talks of oral sex, lesbianism
All I can say is, I'm stunned. This may be the nail in the coffin for me and my family using the NIV. (Just because Zondervan seems to get more "out there" every year.) There will be some blog postings in the near future about the ESV Bible.
As the church tries to rush headlong into relevance, it is crippling Christians with the normalization of cultural messages.
jc
All I can say is, I'm stunned. This may be the nail in the coffin for me and my family using the NIV. (Just because Zondervan seems to get more "out there" every year.) There will be some blog postings in the near future about the ESV Bible.
As the church tries to rush headlong into relevance, it is crippling Christians with the normalization of cultural messages.
jc
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Christian Logic 10 - Lesson for Sunday, April 2
A preacher noticed a group of boys standing around a small stray dog. "What are you doing, boys?"
"Telling lies," said one of the boys. "The one who tells the biggest lie gets the dog."
"Why, when I was your age," the shocked minister said, "I never ever thought of telling a lie."
The boys looked at one another, a little crestfallen. Finally one of them shrugged and said, "I guess he wins the dog."
What is the difference between the truth and a lie?
I would like us to go to a deeper level of “thinking like a Christian.” Maybe you have never thought too much about this, but I would like to suggest to you that Christians need to resurrect the study of basic logic. I would guess that most of you have never been in a class at church that focused on logic. I want to change that today, because I think some basic knowledge of logic is crucial in order to “think like a Christian.
Well, what is logic? Very simply, logic is the study of how to think and reason in the RIGHT way. We are talking about “thinking like a Christian,” so let me tell you several reasons why logic is so important in helping us to “think like a Christian.”
Logic is from God – he CREATED it.
Last week we talked about Proverbs 2:6 - God is the source of wisdom – the very starting point. Truth starts with him and comes from Him. Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding come from Him and are spoken to us in human language through His Word. God reveals His truth and wisdom to us as we read and study the Bible.
If there were no logic –then human language could mean whatever you want it to mean.
There was a university professor from Canada who tried to get out of a ticket for running a stop sign. His excuse was that the stop sign was too “vague.” There was a guy who was appealing to his postmodern view of truth and reason to get out of his charge. Logic is God’s FOUNDATION of human thought and speech. So, in studying logic, we are studying the way that God reveals himself to people through words.
Now there are many people who think that logic is a pagan, worldly thing, and that Christians shouldn’t waste their time talking about it – that we shouldn’t use a logical defense when people speak against Christ or his Word. But the Scripture says otherwise.
1 Peter 3:15 …Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…
The word “answer” is the Greek word “Apologia” from which we get the word “apologetics,” which means a DEFENSE of the faith. It means answering or defending a challenge in a logical and reasonable way. We are not to beat people in the head with it – we are to do this gently and respectfully (even though those on the other side are not gentle or respectful.) So, we can’t not use logic to obey the Scripture and make a defense of the faith. Logic is a concept that that cannot be escaped!
Like I said, though, some folks think you shouldn’t use “logic” in apologetics, and here are some of their reasons, and a response:
Arguments against using “Logic” in apologetics:
1. God does not FIT within the realm of human logic.
Can’t an omnipotent God do anything He wants? Because God created human language and the ways humans think and talk to each other, wouldn’t it be ridiculous to think that God would break his own rules for thinking and communication? Can God make a rock bigger than He can lift? A square circle? If God could make a square circle, then NOTHING that God does would make sense!
2. Don’t MIRACLES (breaking natural laws) defy logic?
If God doesn’t break his own logical rules, then doesn’t he do so when he causes a miracle to happen? No, because a miracle is more correctly defined as an interruption of natural law than breaking it. God doesn’t bend or break the rules in a miracle – he overcomes them. We may say that miracles “defy logic,” but that really means that miracles are beyond our explanation. We wouldn’t understand Biblical miracles at all if the Bible did not use a LOGICAL explanation – the miracle came from God.
3. Aren’t we supposed to not PREPARE what we’re going to say? (Luke 21:14-15)
This text is not saying, "Do not study your Bible, do not search out the truth, do not think through matters. Just go in with a blank mind and expect the Lord to fill it with momentary wisdom." Rather, the emphasis is on not WORRYING about it. Always be prepared to defend your faith so that you do not have to anxiously prepare a reply at the last moment. We should be prepared to go in and address the situation out of the treasury of matters which we have already studied through and stored in our mind. We do not need any special preparation. We are always prepared. When the time comes, the Lord will help us with the final details of delivery.
(From http://www.christianlogic.com/articles/logical_defense.htm or see previous post)
4. Aren’t we supposed to take everything on FAITH?
How do we know what to put our faith in? Faith is our confidence in God’s truth. Faith in God and His Word is not a “blind faith,” but a faith based in logical EVIDENCE.
5. Wasn’t logic invented by the PAGAN philosopher Aristotle?
St. Augustine, a Christian in the fourth century, answered this question. Augustine explained that logic is not an invention of pagan philosophers, as some men objected, but a science which man has LEARNED from God. "...[T]he validity of logical sequences is not a thing devised by men, but is observed and noted by them.... ...[I]t exists eternally in the reason of things, and has its origin with God. Logic is not a dubious non-Christian method of reasoning. All of the fundamental laws of logic can be found in the Bible.
1 Corinthians 10:5 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 6And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.
1 Corinthians 13:11-12 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
Isaiah 1:18-20 18“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. 19If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; 20but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Logic helps define and communicate TRUTH. (No logic – no truth!)
The reason why our culture does not like logic or even attempt to use logic is because our worldly system hates truth, and logical thinking forces truth into the LIGHT.
The result is, as apologist Ravi Zacharias puts it, a GENERATION that "hears with its eyes and thinks with its feelings." The fuzzy grammar of media is what allows people to believe things like "that may be true for you, but not for me." Our image-saturated culture is one in which almost everything is subject to interpretation -- and no interpretation takes precedence over any other. It is a world in which all truth is presumed to be subjective.
And since all truth is presumed to be subjective, it is diminished to the level of opinion. But truth has a hard bite to it. Truth is always true. If it is from God it is always true. If it is man’s opinion and not backed up by God’s truth, it is not true. There are three very basic laws of logic that help us define and communicate truth:
The law of noncontradiction (A is not non-A)
Examples:
Ø Jumbo Shrimp?
Ø Military Intelligence?
Ø Unbiased opinion (opposite meanings)
Ø Country music is not music
Ø Sense is not nonsense
Ø Half truths are OK (contradiction because truth cannot be divided)
Ø Balance is not unbalanced
Ø A burning flame is not extinguished
Ø Black is not white
Ø Perfect Christian
Ø My lie will help someone so it is right. (Contradiction – lie and “right” are opposite)
Ø Cats are not dogs
Ø Men are women if they want to be (contradiction because it goes against natural order)
Ø Homosexuality is OK (contradiction because it goes against God’s known, logical, moral law.
On a beautiful fall day, four teen girls decided to go for a drive instead of showing up to class on time. When they did arrive, the girls explained to the teacher they had had a flat tire. The teacher accepted the excuse, much to the girls' relief.
"Since you missed this morning's quiz, you must take it now," she said. "Please sit in the four corner seats in this room without talking." When they were seated, the teacher said, "On your paper write the answer to one question: 'Which tire was flat?'"
The law of identity (A is A)
Examples:
Ø I am a person, man, husband, father, son, brother, etc, but I am not a sister, airplane, penguin, ax murderer, etc. Logic requires that words mean what they mean.
Ø The guy who thought he was dead. They showed him medical textbooks and convinced him that dead men cannot bleed. Then they pricked him with a pin and said, "Look, see, you are bleeding." He said, "What do you know, dead men do bleed!" By altering his view of dead men bleeding, this man logically resolved the contradiction within his belief system between his belief that he was dead, and his belief that dead men cannot bleed.
The law of excluded middle (either A or non-A)
Nothing can hide in the cracks between the two opposites. There is no “fence to sit on”
Revelation 3:15-16 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
3. Logic CONFRONTS the inconsistencies and lies of worldly thinking.
False reasoning is SELF-DEFEATING; our job is simply to expose it. A relativist is one who believes there are no absolutes. The relativist reasons this way:
Absolutes and Universal laws do not exist.
Laws of Logic are absolutes and universal laws.
Therefore, Laws of Logic do not exist.
Does anyone detect a problem with this kind of reasoning? It requires that we presuppose the laws of logic in order to DISPROVE the existence of those very laws. The unbeliever always borrows from the truth in order to build his system. It is like the man who denied the existence of air — all the way up to his last dying breath! Sometimes a simple QUESTION can expose the inherent contradiction within belief statements:
Language is not meaningful. (What do you mean by that?)
There are no absolutes. (Are you absolutely sure about that?)
All Logic is false. There is no such thing as truth. (How can that be true?)
When we are going to do some work, it is always a good idea to bring along our toolbox. One of the things we want in our Apologetic toolbox is a good assortment of questions. When used correctly, questions can be effective tools. The right kind of question can act as a gauge to see whether someone is in the mood to talk. A good question can act as a pry bar to open up a closed conversation. If someone happens to react negatively to our questions, then we can always stop asking questions.
A continuous barrage of direct demanding questions can be very taxing on an individual and may border on the rude. So instead of repeating a question which demands much thought and a detailed answer, we may offer a multiple choice.
"What happens when you die?
1) Do you just cease to exist.
2) Are you reincarnated as some other living being.
3) Or do you pass on to a final judgement before your Creator."
And do not forget to follow up with, "how do you know?" Because we are trying to open up our opponent, we need plenty of "How do you know" pry bars in our toolbox. Here are a few:
"How can you be sure that is true?"
"Have you ever wondered what would happen if you were wrong?"
"Are you sure you want to build your life around the certainty of that?"
"How would you prove that that is the case?"
"Have you ever doubted that?"
"Has anyone ever questioned you on that?"
"How did you arrive at that conclusion?"
These are a few good "How do you know" type questions for our toolbox. When someone redirects the "how do you know" question back on us, then we need a good redirector in our toolbox, like, "What would you accept as evidence?" followed up with, "Why?" Ultimately, you want to drive them to see that everything which they believe is unreliable and self-contradictory, and that there is only one reliable and non-contradictory belief system, and that is the one revealed by God in the Bible.
Do not be afraid to ask "What do you mean?" Entire conversations turn on definitions of terms and ideas. "Would you explain what you mean by that?" Often, the person you are speaking with actually does not know what he means. You need to make sure he does know what you mean. Be sure to press the practical ramifications of his faith. "What do you see as the consequences of what you believe?" "What difference does it make?" "So what?" And here is a very good one which I mentioned earlier — but you do not want to use it too often because it can be very annoying: "Why?" This question combines logic with authority.
Think of the good challenges people have popped on you, and how would you answer them now. Here is a common one: "Your religion is archaic and close minded and not open to change." Here is a response: "Does truth ever change?"
(From http://www.christianlogic.com/articles/logical_defense.htm - see previous post)
The Logical Defense of the Faith
The Logical Defense of the Faith
Great Stuff - relates to my lesson for this Sunday. More accurately, I should say, I heavily borrowed from this article for my lesson for Sunday!
jc
Great Stuff - relates to my lesson for this Sunday. More accurately, I should say, I heavily borrowed from this article for my lesson for Sunday!
jc
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Autistic Teen's Hoop Dreams Come True - CBS News
Autistic Teen's Hoop Dreams Come True - CBS News
This is truly an awe inspiring video and news story.
This is truly an awe inspiring video and news story.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Friday, March 24, 2006
Lesson for Sunday 3-26-05
3-26-06 The sufficiency of Scripture – Proverb 2:6
We talk a lot about the truth of Scripture. We talk about the importance of Scripture. We talk about the power and the inspiration of Scripture, but do we really, at the core, believe in the sufficiency of Scripture? Do we really, at the core, practice the sufficiency of Scripture? Do we really rely on the full sufficiency of Scripture in everyday life?
I believe this may be the most important question we should ask, and answer appropriately, for Christians living in today’s culture. Do you go first to God’s Word for answers, or do you go elsewhere? I started listing this week all the issues where people elevate Man’s truth over God’s Wisdom, and guess what? The list includes everything. As we talked about a few weeks ago in this class, Christians should take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ – every issue in life needs to be processed Biblically. But tragically, many Christians do not “think like a Christian.” Instead, many of them think like the world.
There are at least three top “worldly thinking” sources of information:
People trust their FEELINGS for answers. If it feels right, then it must be right. If I feel like I can fly like superman, I must be able to. If I feel like I can overcome the forces of gravity, then I must be able to. Feelings are a very treacherous source of answers.
People trust other peoples’ OPINIONS. If Dr. “So and So” said it then it must be right. He’s an expert on the matter. But whose opinion do you value the most? Did you know that there are over 250 different viewpoints on human psychology? Which one is right? Can they all possibly be right?
We also put our trust in SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE. If science has proven a certain thing to be true, then we must trust it, right?. Now science is very helpful and certainly has it’s place, but unfortunately, much of what is called science is not based on observation and repeated experiments; much of it is really someone’s opinion and it’s falsely called science.
I’d like to suggest that we trust in God’s Revelation for our answers. My purpose this morning is to present two reasons why we should fully rely on the sufficiency of Scripture in every day life. These two reasons are found in Proverbs 2:6: For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Here’s the first reason:
The Lord GIVES wisdom.
The Bible repeatedly states that God Himself is the source, the origin, and the creator of everything that is true and right and wise. Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding do not originate with humans, but with God. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:19-20
19For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
20Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? …. 25For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.
Even the greatest foolishness of God (if there could even be such a thing) is much greater and much wiser than the greatest, wisest thing man could ever come up with. We think that in this day and age that our technology is going to solve every problem. We foolishly believe that we are smarter than God. The passage in 1 Corinthians goes on to say that the ultimate expression of the wisdom and power of God is Christ himself, and the PREACHING of the gospel message – is the ultimate in foolishness to the world. Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding are from the Lord, not from us.
Have you ever paused to consider the result of what God creates verses the result of what people create? Sometimes during the fall our family will go out and pick up walnuts. In just a few hours under two or three trees, we can fill up a whole trailer.
We also pick up trash beside the road at times. When we do this, my boys work diligently and with good attitudes, but there isn’t much joy in it. It doesn’t take long to collect a whole trailer load of stinky, disgusting trash in just a small area! As we work, sometimes we talk about littering, laziness, and how gross trash is. We talk about beer and whiskey and driving drunk - we always find more beer cans and bottles than anything else on the road right by our house.
We were doing the same action: picking up a great abundance of stuff off the ground, but there was a key difference between the two: God made the walnuts, and provided a blessing. Humans made the trash, and provided a mess to clean up. That’s the difference between God’s wisdom, and man’s wisdom. James 3:13-15 says:
13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.
Where do you find the answers to your questions? Really! Where do you go? Do you go to the Lord – the source of wisdom and walnuts – or to man – the source of treachery and trash?
I want to warn you to stop listening to human wisdom. Human wisdom says we’re all OK – Human wisdom says God’s a great guy – he’s not going to send people to hell. Human wisdom says don’t admonish people for their sin, but just build up their self-esteem. Human wisdom, at its core, is wisdom that is WISE in its own EYES. God’s wisdom is objective and absolute – it is outside of us – God sees us as we really are – desperate sinners in need of grace.
Proverbs 3:7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.
Proverbs 26:12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Proverbs 28:11 A rich man may be wise in his own eyes, but a poor man who has discernment sees through him.
Now you might be wondering, “Jim, are you saying we shouldn’t ever get advice from anyone? If people are so messed up, how do we know who to LISTEN to?” Here’s the deal: you had better know the worldview of the person you are seeking counsel from. What is your potential counselor’s STARTING point – the source of truth? Does that person get their answers from God’s Word, or from somewhere else?
Does that person have a growing maturing RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ? Isaiah calls Jesus the wonderful counselor. Does that person have the FRUIT of the Holy Spirit in his life? John 14 says the Holy Spirit is our counselor who lives in us and will guide us into all truth.
One of the reasons that God gives His wisdom to people is so that we can SHARE it with others. But we had better make sure we are giving and listening to Godly wisdom instead of worldly wisdom. Psalm 1:1 says;
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked…
Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding come from a holy and perfect God, but here is the great part: He chose to give it to us. The Lord gives wisdom. God could have made us to be dumb animals, but He made us in His own image, so that we could learn who he is and have a relationship with Him. God didn’t have to give us anything; He chose to give it to us.
So how exactly does God give His wisdom? This brings us to the second reason from Proverbs 2:6 that we should rely on the sufficiency of Scripture in everyday life, and that is that:
Wisdom, Knowledge, and understanding come from His MOUTH.
God is infinitely smarter that we are, yet He chose to give us His infinite wisdom through a specific delivery method: speaking in a language we could understand. Now God does not literally have a “mouth” with physical lips and teeth and a tongue like we do, but the point is that God’s truth was spoken so that we could hear it, understand it, and apply it. Hebrews 1:1-2 says
1In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, …
We are living in the last days – and in these last days God has spoken to us through His Son Jesus. How do we know what God has spoken through Jesus? We need to know all the red words in the book – and all the others as well, because Jesus confirmed the truth and sufficiency of the Old Testament in the Gospels. Peter and Paul and the other New Testament writers confirmed the truth and sufficiency of the entire Bible when they wrote, and they testified that God himself breathed into or inspired the writings of the Bible. (See 2 Timothy 3:16 – All Scripture is God-breathed, and is useful for…)
So God’s specific method of delivering His Wisdom to sinful man was human LANGUAGE, compiled by the Apostles and the prophets into a collection of books we now call the Bible. Frail humans like Moses and David and Matthew and Mark took their pens and wrote the words –each adding their own style and experiences, but all of it guided and inspired in its truth, accuracy, completeness, power, and sufficiency by the mouth of God.
Please meditate on this Proverb: God has given it to us, and he has given it to us by the way that we can most easily ACCESS it: he has spoken it in understandable human language. God could have kept his wisdom to himself! Or He could have delivered it in some unintelligible code, but He didn’t. And how powerful is that today, two thousand years after Jesus walked this earth, that we have God’s wisdom, knowledge, and understanding presented to us in the most effective communication device ever – a book in a language we can understand.
Books are great because, once they are printed, books don’t change. Books don’t walk away (unless someone takes them for a walk!). Books might get a little faded and torn up, but you can replace your copy. Books are handy to take anywhere. Books don’t need sleep, and they don’t have expensive parts to replace. Books don’t have to be fed, they don’t need batteries, and praise God they don’t need anything from Microsoft.
But there is a problem with books, especially the Bible. It’s really a problem with us, not the Bible itself. The problem is MISINTERPRETATION.
I am convinced that the single most important issue that the Church needs to address today is how to interpret the Bible correctly. One church says that the Bible means this – the other church says the Bible means that. Nearly every disagreement between churches and denominations is in some way related to the interpretation of the Bible.
The Bible is the most widely read, most misunderstood, book that there is. And I think there is really one main reason for that:
The main reason God’s Word is so misunderstood is that we want to put our words in God’s mouth, instead of letting His mouth speak His wisdom, His knowledge and His understanding to us. The key is that it is given to us by the Lord from His mouth. Don’t you hate it when someone puts words in your mouth? When they make it sound like you said something that you would never say? Unfortunately, we spend an awful lot of time and energy putting words into the Lord’s mouth. We need to let the Lord say what He wants to say instead of forcing a preconceived opinion onto the Bible.
The difference is basically reading an idea “into” the Bible, verses reading an idea “out” of the Bible. Putting words into the Lord’s mouth is called “EISEGESIS” – reading into the Bible what we already think beforehand. Allowing God to speak what He wants from His Word is called “EXEGESIS” – reading out of the Bible what it says. We want to preach and teach exegetically – our church is committed to interpreting the Bible this way.
Ken Ham on his Answers In Genesis.org website has an excellent article about the difference between “eisegesis” – reading into the Scripture man’s fallible ideas, verses “exegesis” – reading out of the Scripture what God wants to say.
Look at these illustrations from his article. Eisegesis – putting words in the mouth of God - looks at Genesis one (and the rest of the Bible) with a marker, ready to mark out what you don’t like. The Hebrew word for “day,” “Yom,” cannot mean “day,” because everyone knows that the earth is millions and millions of years old. That is “reading into” the Scripture a human bias. That is putting words in the mouth of God that He never intended to say.
Exegesis – “reading out of” looks at Genesis one with a magnifying glass. It is an honest, humble approach. We look at the Hebrew word “Yom,” and we find out it means, guess what, “Day.” But we look at the grammar and the style of literature and by honestly studying God’s Word, we “find that whenever yôm (day) is qualified by a number or the phrase evening and morning, it always means an ordinary day. Thus, critically looking at the text and then reading out of Scripture, one cannot come to any other conclusion except that these days were ordinary (24-hour) days.” –Ken Ham
Ken Ham says in his article that…”Understanding the difference between ‘eisegesis’ and ‘exegesis’ is really the KEY to the effectiveness of the church in today’s culture. “ I totally agree with that statement. All over this country and the world, Christians are being taught to interpret their Bibles by throwing out the highlighter and grabbing the black marker – saying “this can’t be true” because we are foolish enough to attempt to put words in the mouth of God. How effective are churches going to be working off of human wisdom?
But when we train Christians to properly listen to the mouth of God speak what He wants to say, we as a whole body have the discernment to judge the theories and ideas of fallible, sinful, treacherous humans like ourselves in light of what the Scripture clearly says. Like Mark Twain said, “it’s not the parts of the Bible that I don’t understand that bother me, it’s the parts of the Bible that I DO understand that bother me.”
We don’t change the meaning of Scripture based on cultural whims – the meaning of Scripture should be changing cultural whims as Christians fulfill their calling to be salt and light in a wicked world. We don’t adjust the truth of God’s Word – it adjusts us. In fact, you could even go so far to say, that we don’t even interpret the Scripture, but the Scripture INTERPRETS us.
We need to understand that there is only one “meaning” of Scripture – that is what the author intended to say. (It is from the Lord’s mouth, not mine, or anyone else’s!) Any other meaning than the author’s meaning is wrong. The ultimate author is the Lord, and His meaning is the right one. We need to constantly analyze our study of Scripture to make sure our thinking and our methodology is correct. Maybe you have heard this question: “What does this Scripture mean to you?” That question should be banned in our study of Scripture because it leads us to put words in God’s mouth that He did not intend.
Instead we should ask, “What is the author trying to say here? And a good follow up question would be, “How does this Scripture apply to your life?” A great thing to remember in studying Scripture is, “Am I getting the AIM – the AUTHOR’S INTENDED MEANING? Or am I putting words into God’s mouth?”
Now someone might say, “well, Jim, you are standing up there spouting off your ideas about what the Bible means…are we not supposed to listen to preaching and teaching of the Bible?” Well, God’s Word tells us that we need to listen to the preaching and teaching of God’s Word – in fact, we as a church need to seriously grow in our commitment to studying the Bible.
Growing in our knowledge and understanding of the Bible is not an option for the maturing Christian. And no I am not spouting off my own ideas – I am using the authority of God’s Word to preach. God’s Word gives us the wisdom to give to other people.
I am nothing by myself, just like everyone else. I am a wretched sinner, saved by God’s grace alone, through my active, living faith. The authority to preach or teach lies in the Word of God itself spoken from the mouth of God. My job as a teacher is to accurately present to you the whole counsel of God. Your job as church members and listeners is not to sit there and be sleeping sheep, but to be active participants – to realize that the wolf is always about looking for some sleeping sheep to munch on.
As a church body, we need to seriously commit ourselves to be like the Bereans in Acts 17. In Acts 17, Paul preaches the gospel in Thessalonica, and then gets run out of town by a very irate mob. He then goes to preach in Berea, and listen to what the Scripture says about the Bereans in Acts 17:11:
11Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Now please chew on this for a second. If the Bereans were commended and encouraged for daily searching the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was true, how much more so should we be daily searching the Scriptures if some schmoe like me is preaching? How much more should we daily search the Scriptures to see if what the TV and radio preachers are saying is true? How much more should we daily search the Scriptures to make sure we are not putting our words in His mouth?
Paul was an Apostle with a capital A. Paul wrote most of the New Testament. Paul took the gospel to the entire world of His day. Paul is undoubtedly the greatest pastor, missionary, preacher, scholar, writer, and teacher in Christian history other than Jesus himself- and the Bereans are COMMENDED for digging in their Bibles and checking Him out. They weren’t prideful and arrogant about it – they had a noble character – they received it with great eagerness.
That word translated “examined” in Acts 17:11 means much more than mere reading. They carefully investigated the Scriptures – it is the same word used when a judge is INVESTIGATING a case before Him. What I wouldn’t give to hear the conversations they must have had. Can you imagine them? Staying up all night long talking and arguing about these things – and then coming back the next day to Paul. Can you imagine Paul having to preach to these guys? Talk about a smart crowd! They were not going to be deceived – they had a Godly discernment and they knew their Bibles.
Guess what they found out? They found out that Paul was right! They found out that Paul was right because Paul was proclaiming God’s Wisdom spoken from God’s mouth and not Paul’s own opinions. They did not wait to be spoon fed – they were active participants in the learning process.
Where do you go for your answers? Life is a difficult, messy business. God’s Word is fully sufficient to deal with the tough issues in every day life. Let Him speak His wisdom from His mouth to your life today.
We talk a lot about the truth of Scripture. We talk about the importance of Scripture. We talk about the power and the inspiration of Scripture, but do we really, at the core, believe in the sufficiency of Scripture? Do we really, at the core, practice the sufficiency of Scripture? Do we really rely on the full sufficiency of Scripture in everyday life?
I believe this may be the most important question we should ask, and answer appropriately, for Christians living in today’s culture. Do you go first to God’s Word for answers, or do you go elsewhere? I started listing this week all the issues where people elevate Man’s truth over God’s Wisdom, and guess what? The list includes everything. As we talked about a few weeks ago in this class, Christians should take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ – every issue in life needs to be processed Biblically. But tragically, many Christians do not “think like a Christian.” Instead, many of them think like the world.
There are at least three top “worldly thinking” sources of information:
People trust their FEELINGS for answers. If it feels right, then it must be right. If I feel like I can fly like superman, I must be able to. If I feel like I can overcome the forces of gravity, then I must be able to. Feelings are a very treacherous source of answers.
People trust other peoples’ OPINIONS. If Dr. “So and So” said it then it must be right. He’s an expert on the matter. But whose opinion do you value the most? Did you know that there are over 250 different viewpoints on human psychology? Which one is right? Can they all possibly be right?
We also put our trust in SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE. If science has proven a certain thing to be true, then we must trust it, right?. Now science is very helpful and certainly has it’s place, but unfortunately, much of what is called science is not based on observation and repeated experiments; much of it is really someone’s opinion and it’s falsely called science.
I’d like to suggest that we trust in God’s Revelation for our answers. My purpose this morning is to present two reasons why we should fully rely on the sufficiency of Scripture in every day life. These two reasons are found in Proverbs 2:6: For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Here’s the first reason:
The Lord GIVES wisdom.
The Bible repeatedly states that God Himself is the source, the origin, and the creator of everything that is true and right and wise. Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding do not originate with humans, but with God. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:19-20
19For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
20Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? …. 25For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.
Even the greatest foolishness of God (if there could even be such a thing) is much greater and much wiser than the greatest, wisest thing man could ever come up with. We think that in this day and age that our technology is going to solve every problem. We foolishly believe that we are smarter than God. The passage in 1 Corinthians goes on to say that the ultimate expression of the wisdom and power of God is Christ himself, and the PREACHING of the gospel message – is the ultimate in foolishness to the world. Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding are from the Lord, not from us.
Have you ever paused to consider the result of what God creates verses the result of what people create? Sometimes during the fall our family will go out and pick up walnuts. In just a few hours under two or three trees, we can fill up a whole trailer.
We also pick up trash beside the road at times. When we do this, my boys work diligently and with good attitudes, but there isn’t much joy in it. It doesn’t take long to collect a whole trailer load of stinky, disgusting trash in just a small area! As we work, sometimes we talk about littering, laziness, and how gross trash is. We talk about beer and whiskey and driving drunk - we always find more beer cans and bottles than anything else on the road right by our house.
We were doing the same action: picking up a great abundance of stuff off the ground, but there was a key difference between the two: God made the walnuts, and provided a blessing. Humans made the trash, and provided a mess to clean up. That’s the difference between God’s wisdom, and man’s wisdom. James 3:13-15 says:
13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.
Where do you find the answers to your questions? Really! Where do you go? Do you go to the Lord – the source of wisdom and walnuts – or to man – the source of treachery and trash?
I want to warn you to stop listening to human wisdom. Human wisdom says we’re all OK – Human wisdom says God’s a great guy – he’s not going to send people to hell. Human wisdom says don’t admonish people for their sin, but just build up their self-esteem. Human wisdom, at its core, is wisdom that is WISE in its own EYES. God’s wisdom is objective and absolute – it is outside of us – God sees us as we really are – desperate sinners in need of grace.
Proverbs 3:7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.
Proverbs 26:12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Proverbs 28:11 A rich man may be wise in his own eyes, but a poor man who has discernment sees through him.
Now you might be wondering, “Jim, are you saying we shouldn’t ever get advice from anyone? If people are so messed up, how do we know who to LISTEN to?” Here’s the deal: you had better know the worldview of the person you are seeking counsel from. What is your potential counselor’s STARTING point – the source of truth? Does that person get their answers from God’s Word, or from somewhere else?
Does that person have a growing maturing RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ? Isaiah calls Jesus the wonderful counselor. Does that person have the FRUIT of the Holy Spirit in his life? John 14 says the Holy Spirit is our counselor who lives in us and will guide us into all truth.
One of the reasons that God gives His wisdom to people is so that we can SHARE it with others. But we had better make sure we are giving and listening to Godly wisdom instead of worldly wisdom. Psalm 1:1 says;
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked…
Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding come from a holy and perfect God, but here is the great part: He chose to give it to us. The Lord gives wisdom. God could have made us to be dumb animals, but He made us in His own image, so that we could learn who he is and have a relationship with Him. God didn’t have to give us anything; He chose to give it to us.
So how exactly does God give His wisdom? This brings us to the second reason from Proverbs 2:6 that we should rely on the sufficiency of Scripture in everyday life, and that is that:
Wisdom, Knowledge, and understanding come from His MOUTH.
God is infinitely smarter that we are, yet He chose to give us His infinite wisdom through a specific delivery method: speaking in a language we could understand. Now God does not literally have a “mouth” with physical lips and teeth and a tongue like we do, but the point is that God’s truth was spoken so that we could hear it, understand it, and apply it. Hebrews 1:1-2 says
1In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, …
We are living in the last days – and in these last days God has spoken to us through His Son Jesus. How do we know what God has spoken through Jesus? We need to know all the red words in the book – and all the others as well, because Jesus confirmed the truth and sufficiency of the Old Testament in the Gospels. Peter and Paul and the other New Testament writers confirmed the truth and sufficiency of the entire Bible when they wrote, and they testified that God himself breathed into or inspired the writings of the Bible. (See 2 Timothy 3:16 – All Scripture is God-breathed, and is useful for…)
So God’s specific method of delivering His Wisdom to sinful man was human LANGUAGE, compiled by the Apostles and the prophets into a collection of books we now call the Bible. Frail humans like Moses and David and Matthew and Mark took their pens and wrote the words –each adding their own style and experiences, but all of it guided and inspired in its truth, accuracy, completeness, power, and sufficiency by the mouth of God.
Please meditate on this Proverb: God has given it to us, and he has given it to us by the way that we can most easily ACCESS it: he has spoken it in understandable human language. God could have kept his wisdom to himself! Or He could have delivered it in some unintelligible code, but He didn’t. And how powerful is that today, two thousand years after Jesus walked this earth, that we have God’s wisdom, knowledge, and understanding presented to us in the most effective communication device ever – a book in a language we can understand.
Books are great because, once they are printed, books don’t change. Books don’t walk away (unless someone takes them for a walk!). Books might get a little faded and torn up, but you can replace your copy. Books are handy to take anywhere. Books don’t need sleep, and they don’t have expensive parts to replace. Books don’t have to be fed, they don’t need batteries, and praise God they don’t need anything from Microsoft.
But there is a problem with books, especially the Bible. It’s really a problem with us, not the Bible itself. The problem is MISINTERPRETATION.
I am convinced that the single most important issue that the Church needs to address today is how to interpret the Bible correctly. One church says that the Bible means this – the other church says the Bible means that. Nearly every disagreement between churches and denominations is in some way related to the interpretation of the Bible.
The Bible is the most widely read, most misunderstood, book that there is. And I think there is really one main reason for that:
The main reason God’s Word is so misunderstood is that we want to put our words in God’s mouth, instead of letting His mouth speak His wisdom, His knowledge and His understanding to us. The key is that it is given to us by the Lord from His mouth. Don’t you hate it when someone puts words in your mouth? When they make it sound like you said something that you would never say? Unfortunately, we spend an awful lot of time and energy putting words into the Lord’s mouth. We need to let the Lord say what He wants to say instead of forcing a preconceived opinion onto the Bible.
The difference is basically reading an idea “into” the Bible, verses reading an idea “out” of the Bible. Putting words into the Lord’s mouth is called “EISEGESIS” – reading into the Bible what we already think beforehand. Allowing God to speak what He wants from His Word is called “EXEGESIS” – reading out of the Bible what it says. We want to preach and teach exegetically – our church is committed to interpreting the Bible this way.
Ken Ham on his Answers In Genesis.org website has an excellent article about the difference between “eisegesis” – reading into the Scripture man’s fallible ideas, verses “exegesis” – reading out of the Scripture what God wants to say.
Look at these illustrations from his article. Eisegesis – putting words in the mouth of God - looks at Genesis one (and the rest of the Bible) with a marker, ready to mark out what you don’t like. The Hebrew word for “day,” “Yom,” cannot mean “day,” because everyone knows that the earth is millions and millions of years old. That is “reading into” the Scripture a human bias. That is putting words in the mouth of God that He never intended to say.
Exegesis – “reading out of” looks at Genesis one with a magnifying glass. It is an honest, humble approach. We look at the Hebrew word “Yom,” and we find out it means, guess what, “Day.” But we look at the grammar and the style of literature and by honestly studying God’s Word, we “find that whenever yôm (day) is qualified by a number or the phrase evening and morning, it always means an ordinary day. Thus, critically looking at the text and then reading out of Scripture, one cannot come to any other conclusion except that these days were ordinary (24-hour) days.” –Ken Ham
Ken Ham says in his article that…”Understanding the difference between ‘eisegesis’ and ‘exegesis’ is really the KEY to the effectiveness of the church in today’s culture. “ I totally agree with that statement. All over this country and the world, Christians are being taught to interpret their Bibles by throwing out the highlighter and grabbing the black marker – saying “this can’t be true” because we are foolish enough to attempt to put words in the mouth of God. How effective are churches going to be working off of human wisdom?
But when we train Christians to properly listen to the mouth of God speak what He wants to say, we as a whole body have the discernment to judge the theories and ideas of fallible, sinful, treacherous humans like ourselves in light of what the Scripture clearly says. Like Mark Twain said, “it’s not the parts of the Bible that I don’t understand that bother me, it’s the parts of the Bible that I DO understand that bother me.”
We don’t change the meaning of Scripture based on cultural whims – the meaning of Scripture should be changing cultural whims as Christians fulfill their calling to be salt and light in a wicked world. We don’t adjust the truth of God’s Word – it adjusts us. In fact, you could even go so far to say, that we don’t even interpret the Scripture, but the Scripture INTERPRETS us.
We need to understand that there is only one “meaning” of Scripture – that is what the author intended to say. (It is from the Lord’s mouth, not mine, or anyone else’s!) Any other meaning than the author’s meaning is wrong. The ultimate author is the Lord, and His meaning is the right one. We need to constantly analyze our study of Scripture to make sure our thinking and our methodology is correct. Maybe you have heard this question: “What does this Scripture mean to you?” That question should be banned in our study of Scripture because it leads us to put words in God’s mouth that He did not intend.
Instead we should ask, “What is the author trying to say here? And a good follow up question would be, “How does this Scripture apply to your life?” A great thing to remember in studying Scripture is, “Am I getting the AIM – the AUTHOR’S INTENDED MEANING? Or am I putting words into God’s mouth?”
Now someone might say, “well, Jim, you are standing up there spouting off your ideas about what the Bible means…are we not supposed to listen to preaching and teaching of the Bible?” Well, God’s Word tells us that we need to listen to the preaching and teaching of God’s Word – in fact, we as a church need to seriously grow in our commitment to studying the Bible.
Growing in our knowledge and understanding of the Bible is not an option for the maturing Christian. And no I am not spouting off my own ideas – I am using the authority of God’s Word to preach. God’s Word gives us the wisdom to give to other people.
I am nothing by myself, just like everyone else. I am a wretched sinner, saved by God’s grace alone, through my active, living faith. The authority to preach or teach lies in the Word of God itself spoken from the mouth of God. My job as a teacher is to accurately present to you the whole counsel of God. Your job as church members and listeners is not to sit there and be sleeping sheep, but to be active participants – to realize that the wolf is always about looking for some sleeping sheep to munch on.
As a church body, we need to seriously commit ourselves to be like the Bereans in Acts 17. In Acts 17, Paul preaches the gospel in Thessalonica, and then gets run out of town by a very irate mob. He then goes to preach in Berea, and listen to what the Scripture says about the Bereans in Acts 17:11:
11Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Now please chew on this for a second. If the Bereans were commended and encouraged for daily searching the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was true, how much more so should we be daily searching the Scriptures if some schmoe like me is preaching? How much more should we daily search the Scriptures to see if what the TV and radio preachers are saying is true? How much more should we daily search the Scriptures to make sure we are not putting our words in His mouth?
Paul was an Apostle with a capital A. Paul wrote most of the New Testament. Paul took the gospel to the entire world of His day. Paul is undoubtedly the greatest pastor, missionary, preacher, scholar, writer, and teacher in Christian history other than Jesus himself- and the Bereans are COMMENDED for digging in their Bibles and checking Him out. They weren’t prideful and arrogant about it – they had a noble character – they received it with great eagerness.
That word translated “examined” in Acts 17:11 means much more than mere reading. They carefully investigated the Scriptures – it is the same word used when a judge is INVESTIGATING a case before Him. What I wouldn’t give to hear the conversations they must have had. Can you imagine them? Staying up all night long talking and arguing about these things – and then coming back the next day to Paul. Can you imagine Paul having to preach to these guys? Talk about a smart crowd! They were not going to be deceived – they had a Godly discernment and they knew their Bibles.
Guess what they found out? They found out that Paul was right! They found out that Paul was right because Paul was proclaiming God’s Wisdom spoken from God’s mouth and not Paul’s own opinions. They did not wait to be spoon fed – they were active participants in the learning process.
Where do you go for your answers? Life is a difficult, messy business. God’s Word is fully sufficient to deal with the tough issues in every day life. Let Him speak His wisdom from His mouth to your life today.
Monday, March 20, 2006
Why the "rapture" is not Biblical Part 2
Here is the first reason why we should not accept the idea of the "rapture."
1. The primary Biblical defense of the rapture is the “two second comings” theory .
Here is a link for an article by Dr. David Reagan about the rapture: http://www.lamblion.com/articles/prophecy/sc/sc-04.php Dr. Reagan is one of the more respectable authors on the premillenial viewpoint, with none of the virulent harshness that is associated with so many others. (He’s also associated with independent Christians Churches!) Check out the article for a good defense of the rapture
Below is a lengthy quote from a separate article by David Reagan. The link to the article is below - Note his Scriptural evidence for the rapture:
Could it be that this is the exact same event, described in a slightly different way for the author’s purpose? The Bible is filled with examples of this – with the most obvious being the four Gospels. Different Bible writers, all inspired by the Holy Spirit, would talk about the same event or teaching using different details and a different focus to meet the specific purpose of his writing to his readers. Consider Dr. Reagan’s chart point by point:
1 Thessalonians 4 - Jesus appears in the heavens. Revelation 19 - Jesus returns to earth.
To say that “Jesus appears in the heavens” in 1 Thessalonians 4 is really missing the point. In fact, in both Scriptures, Jesus is returning to earth. The two different passages focus on different details to be sure. 1 Thessalonians 4 specifically says three loud obvious sounds would accompany His return. Why can Revelation 19 be interpreted literally while 1 Thessalonians is not interpreted literally?
The sequence starts in verse 1 Thessalonians 4:16: 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God… So when Jesus comes, he will come out of the sky, descending, just as he visibly “ascended” into heaven in Acts 1. This is a physical, literal, visible event.
This great event is accompanied by three “sound effects” – just in case someone might think that this be a quiet, secret, in the dark thing, three times we are told that there will be loud noises – a loud command, or as in the KJV, a “shout.” This word meant a spoken order or command that was loud and clear – it is a loud, authoritative shout. In case you missed the shout, there is also the voice of the archangel.
This is the chief messenger angel of God, proclaiming out loud that Jesus was coming, just as the angels proclaimed Jesus birth to the shepherds, so Jesus second coming will be heralded by the voice of the archangel.
And just in case you missed the shout and the angel’s voice, there is also the trumpet call of God. God used the trumpet in the Old Testament as His instrument of choice in calling His people together. There was a trumpet blast at Mt. Sinai in Exodus 19, along with the clouds and smoke and thunder and lightning – God gave His people an overwhelming audio/video demonstration that they needed to pay attention and listen to Him.
In every discussion of 1 Thessalonians 4 by a subscriber to the “poof-rapture” idea, not one I have read yet (I would love to see one) has addressed the idea of the shout, the voice of the archangel, and most importantly, the trumpet, because the trumpet is always associated with Christ’s return. Can we simply dismiss those important words? The message is clear – Jesus’ return will be obvious to all.
Again, here is Dr. Reagan’s chart:
1 Thessalonians 4 - He appears for His Church. Revelation 19 - He returns with His Church.
It is unfortunate that in each of the chart points, Jesus is said to “appear” in Thessalonians and not to “return” as in Revelation 19. Why is that? I just am dumbfounded as to the nature of this distinction. I am also greatly puzzled why this second chart point says that in Rev. 19 that Christ returns with His Church. Nowhere in Revelation 19 does the text even remotely say that Jesus is returning “with” His Church. Revelation 19:14 does say that the armies of heaven would be following Him, but that would be a huge stretch to say that meant that the entire Church was returning to earth with Jesus Christ. Christ’s “armies” would more likely be His warrior angels – sent out to gather the saved (Matthew 24:31) and to bring destruction on the wicked.
In fact, it would be easier to make an argument that Christ is returning with His Church from 1 Thessalonians 4:14, if you were trying to “squeeze” that idea out of one of the two passages:
14We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
I’ll address other Scriptures that are “squeezed” to find a “poof-rapture” later on.
Beside that, the whole Second Coming passage in 1 Thessalonians extends into chapter 5, where we see that that the “Day of the Lord” is not just Christ’s coming for the church, but also to bring judgment upon the wicked.
1 Thessalonians 4 - He appears as a Bridegroom. Revelation 19 - He returns as a Warrior.
1 Thessalonians 4 - He appears to claim the righteous. Revelation 19 - He returns to condemn the unrighteous.
1 Thessalonians 4 - He appears as a Deliverer. Revelation 19 - He returns as King of kings.
I am going ahead and placing the final three points of the chart here because they can all be addressed at once. As was just mentioned, there is more than mere “appearing” in Thessalonians, and how can the contextual implication of 1 Thessalonians 5 be avoided?
1Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
So, as in every description of Christ’s second coming, Christ’s literal, visible return is to bring reward and eternal life to those who walk faith & obedience to Jesus Christ, and judgment to those who don’t. In both passages, Christ returns as the Bridegroom of the Church and as the Warrior against the ungodly. In both passages, Christ returns to claim the righteous (Rev. 19:9) and to condemn the unrighteous. In both passages, Christ returns as the Deliverer of the Church and as the King of Kings over all the kingdoms of the earth.
Consider other Second coming passages – they tie the salvation of the righteous and the judgment of the wicked together:
Matthew 24:30-31 (make sure and read this entire passage in context!)
30“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
Bottom line - the idea that there are two second comings is not Biblical.
1
John Hagee, Should Christians Support Israel? (San Antonio, TX: Dominion Publishers, 1987), [P. 1]. (As quoted in CRI article http://www.equip.org/free/DH005.htm)
2
Dr. David Reagan “The ‘Left Behind’ Series: Fact or Fiction? A Review and Analysis” http://www.lamblion.com/articles/prophecy/viewpoints/Views-05.php
1. The primary Biblical defense of the rapture is the “two second comings” theory .
Here is a link for an article by Dr. David Reagan about the rapture: http://www.lamblion.com/articles/prophecy/sc/sc-04.php Dr. Reagan is one of the more respectable authors on the premillenial viewpoint, with none of the virulent harshness that is associated with so many others. (He’s also associated with independent Christians Churches!) Check out the article for a good defense of the rapture
Below is a lengthy quote from a separate article by David Reagan. The link to the article is below - Note his Scriptural evidence for the rapture:
The New Testament contains only two detailed descriptions of the Lord’s return. One is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; the other, in Revelation 19:11-16. When the two are compared, it becomes very evident that the only thing they have in common is that they both focus on Jesus. Otherwise, they are as different as night and day. Consider the differences:
1 Thessalonians 4 - Jesus appears in the heavens. Revelation 19 - Jesus returns to earth.
1 Thessalonians 4 - He appears for His Church. Revelation 19 - He returns with His Church.
1 Thessalonians 4 - He appears as a Bridegroom. Revelation 19 - He returns as a Warrior.
1 Thessalonians 4 - He appears to claim the righteous. Revelation 19 - He returns to condemn the unrighteous.
1 Thessalonians 4 - He appears as a Deliverer. Revelation 19 - He returns as King of kings.
This is a well written and classic defense of the pre-trib “poof-rapture.” Immediately the problematic issues are seen. The first is the problem of the “two second comings.” If the description of Jesus coming in 1 Thessalonians seems to be different than the description of Jesus second coming in Revelation 19, then there obviously must be two second comings, right? Or maybe, there is an interpretation issue that must be dealt with before we come up with a “first second coming” and a “second second coming.”These two passages are obviously talking about two different events. The passage in 1 Thessalonians 4 describes what has come to be known as the Rapture — the snatching of the Church out of the world. Revelation 19 describes an event that will take place later — the return of the Lord to the earth.
This method of reconciling these two passages solves a serious problem that emerges when you think of only one future coming of the Lord. That problem relates to the emphasis that the Scriptures give to imminence. What I am referring to is the constant warning of the Scriptures that the Lord may appear any moment and, therefore, we are always to be ready for His return. (See Matthew 24:36, 42, 44 and 25:13.)
If there is only one future coming of the Lord, then these warnings are a waste of time, and there is no imminence because there are many prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled before the Lord can return. I have in mind such things as a peace treaty that will bring true peace to Israel and enable the Jews to rebuild their Temple (Daniel 9:27). There must also be a seven year period of Tribulation during which the Antichrist will terrorize the world (Revelation 6-18).
These are just a few of the events that are clearly prophesied in Scripture as occurring before Jesus returns to earth. If there is only one future coming of the Lord, and it must take place after these events, then the Lord’s return is not imminent. We should not be living looking for Jesus Christ, as the Scriptures instruct us to do (Titus 2:13). Rather, we should be looking for the Antichrist.
The only way there can be imminence is for there to be two future comings of the Lord, one of which — the Rapture — can occur any moment. And the Rapture truly is imminent because there is not one prophecy that must be fulfilled for it to occur. It is an event that could happen any moment.2
Could it be that this is the exact same event, described in a slightly different way for the author’s purpose? The Bible is filled with examples of this – with the most obvious being the four Gospels. Different Bible writers, all inspired by the Holy Spirit, would talk about the same event or teaching using different details and a different focus to meet the specific purpose of his writing to his readers. Consider Dr. Reagan’s chart point by point:
1 Thessalonians 4 - Jesus appears in the heavens. Revelation 19 - Jesus returns to earth.
To say that “Jesus appears in the heavens” in 1 Thessalonians 4 is really missing the point. In fact, in both Scriptures, Jesus is returning to earth. The two different passages focus on different details to be sure. 1 Thessalonians 4 specifically says three loud obvious sounds would accompany His return. Why can Revelation 19 be interpreted literally while 1 Thessalonians is not interpreted literally?
The sequence starts in verse 1 Thessalonians 4:16: 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God… So when Jesus comes, he will come out of the sky, descending, just as he visibly “ascended” into heaven in Acts 1. This is a physical, literal, visible event.
This great event is accompanied by three “sound effects” – just in case someone might think that this be a quiet, secret, in the dark thing, three times we are told that there will be loud noises – a loud command, or as in the KJV, a “shout.” This word meant a spoken order or command that was loud and clear – it is a loud, authoritative shout. In case you missed the shout, there is also the voice of the archangel.
This is the chief messenger angel of God, proclaiming out loud that Jesus was coming, just as the angels proclaimed Jesus birth to the shepherds, so Jesus second coming will be heralded by the voice of the archangel.
And just in case you missed the shout and the angel’s voice, there is also the trumpet call of God. God used the trumpet in the Old Testament as His instrument of choice in calling His people together. There was a trumpet blast at Mt. Sinai in Exodus 19, along with the clouds and smoke and thunder and lightning – God gave His people an overwhelming audio/video demonstration that they needed to pay attention and listen to Him.
In every discussion of 1 Thessalonians 4 by a subscriber to the “poof-rapture” idea, not one I have read yet (I would love to see one) has addressed the idea of the shout, the voice of the archangel, and most importantly, the trumpet, because the trumpet is always associated with Christ’s return. Can we simply dismiss those important words? The message is clear – Jesus’ return will be obvious to all.
Again, here is Dr. Reagan’s chart:
1 Thessalonians 4 - He appears for His Church. Revelation 19 - He returns with His Church.
It is unfortunate that in each of the chart points, Jesus is said to “appear” in Thessalonians and not to “return” as in Revelation 19. Why is that? I just am dumbfounded as to the nature of this distinction. I am also greatly puzzled why this second chart point says that in Rev. 19 that Christ returns with His Church. Nowhere in Revelation 19 does the text even remotely say that Jesus is returning “with” His Church. Revelation 19:14 does say that the armies of heaven would be following Him, but that would be a huge stretch to say that meant that the entire Church was returning to earth with Jesus Christ. Christ’s “armies” would more likely be His warrior angels – sent out to gather the saved (Matthew 24:31) and to bring destruction on the wicked.
In fact, it would be easier to make an argument that Christ is returning with His Church from 1 Thessalonians 4:14, if you were trying to “squeeze” that idea out of one of the two passages:
14We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
I’ll address other Scriptures that are “squeezed” to find a “poof-rapture” later on.
Beside that, the whole Second Coming passage in 1 Thessalonians extends into chapter 5, where we see that that the “Day of the Lord” is not just Christ’s coming for the church, but also to bring judgment upon the wicked.
1 Thessalonians 4 - He appears as a Bridegroom. Revelation 19 - He returns as a Warrior.
1 Thessalonians 4 - He appears to claim the righteous. Revelation 19 - He returns to condemn the unrighteous.
1 Thessalonians 4 - He appears as a Deliverer. Revelation 19 - He returns as King of kings.
I am going ahead and placing the final three points of the chart here because they can all be addressed at once. As was just mentioned, there is more than mere “appearing” in Thessalonians, and how can the contextual implication of 1 Thessalonians 5 be avoided?
1Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
So, as in every description of Christ’s second coming, Christ’s literal, visible return is to bring reward and eternal life to those who walk faith & obedience to Jesus Christ, and judgment to those who don’t. In both passages, Christ returns as the Bridegroom of the Church and as the Warrior against the ungodly. In both passages, Christ returns to claim the righteous (Rev. 19:9) and to condemn the unrighteous. In both passages, Christ returns as the Deliverer of the Church and as the King of Kings over all the kingdoms of the earth.
Consider other Second coming passages – they tie the salvation of the righteous and the judgment of the wicked together:
Matthew 24:30-31 (make sure and read this entire passage in context!)
30“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
Bottom line - the idea that there are two second comings is not Biblical.
1
John Hagee, Should Christians Support Israel? (San Antonio, TX: Dominion Publishers, 1987), [P. 1]. (As quoted in CRI article http://www.equip.org/free/DH005.htm)
2
Dr. David Reagan “The ‘Left Behind’ Series: Fact or Fiction? A Review and Analysis” http://www.lamblion.com/articles/prophecy/viewpoints/Views-05.php
Why the "rapture" is not Biblical Part 1
The concept of the “secret rapture” has gained so much momentum in Christian circles these days, that it indeed has threatened to silence any opposing views as “anti-God” and “anti-Christian.”
Indeed, such popular preachers and authors such as John Hagee have condemned anyone with an opposing view to hell. (For more on John Hagee’s beliefs, see http://www.equip.org/free/DH005.htm) According to Hagee, the widely held view for centuries that Christ’s coming and the day of judgment are all one tied together event (called “amillienialism” by some) is an “ancient Godless heresy that is again raging through the Church masquerading as truth.”1
It is that fierce dogmatism against a traditionally orthodox Christian view that concerns me and threatens to divide Christian unity. While I would never say that premillenial dispensationalism is a “modern godless heresy,” it certainly is a view that has its problems. But for this article, I’m going to stick with the rapture idea.
I call the idea of the secret rapture the “poof-rapture.” This is intentional, because many people hear the word “rapture” and they instantly think it means Jesus’ second coming. Even those who do believe in the “poof-rapture” know that it does not mean Jesus’ second coming. The word “rapture” is a word that I think should not be used at all, not only because it is not a Biblical word, but more importantly, because it is a word that has changed meaning over the years.
Most people who use the word “rapture” are talking about the “poof-rapture” idea, but many people don’t understand this. In a recent sermon I preached on 1 Thessalonians 4:13 – 5:11, I felt it was important to take the time to address this popular notion of the “poof-rapture,” because everybody hears about it, but few people understand it, and even fewer understand the Biblical support that those who believe it use.
I was talking to a Christian brother once about some of these issues, and I said, “there is no evidence in the Bible for the rapture.” This otherwise kind and very friendly brother gruffly said, “well that’s the stupidest thing I have ever heard,” and turned and walked away. Of course he did not stop to ask a question or to defend his position in any way, he just dismissed my view as “stupid” and ended the conversation.
I wondered later if he had confused the word “rapture” with Jesus second coming, and he thought I was saying that there was no Biblical evidence for the second coming. I am not sure, but that is why I am careful to make a distinction between Jesus’ promised second coming, and the secret “poof-Christians-are-gone” idea. I use the word “poof-rapture” to be absolutely clear to people what I am talking about.
That conversation also showed me how personally and deeply held certain beliefs are. I think it is most important to build our thinking and beliefs completely on the truth of God’s Word, instead of what any preacher or teacher alone has to say.
Just as the Bereans were commended for searching the Scriptures daily to see if what they were being taught was true in Acts 17, so should we. And even more so as the tools of worldwide communication media present even more viewpoints from even more voices. With that being said, I openly submit my attempts to study and teach God’s Word to the authority of the Word of God.
If any person who is examining the Scriptures daily to see if what I am saying is true or not, finds that I am in the wrong, I wish they would tell me. I openly invite any person to challenge my thinking, because I know that will help me. I am not a debater, and that is not my goal – to debate people; but if any reader can show me from the Scriptures where anything I write or say or do or think or whatever is wrong, then I will welcome the rebuke. I truly want to live by the wisdom of these Scriptures:
Proverbs 15:31-33 He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home among the wise. He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding. The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
Proverbs 27:6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.
Indeed, such popular preachers and authors such as John Hagee have condemned anyone with an opposing view to hell. (For more on John Hagee’s beliefs, see http://www.equip.org/free/DH005.htm) According to Hagee, the widely held view for centuries that Christ’s coming and the day of judgment are all one tied together event (called “amillienialism” by some) is an “ancient Godless heresy that is again raging through the Church masquerading as truth.”1
It is that fierce dogmatism against a traditionally orthodox Christian view that concerns me and threatens to divide Christian unity. While I would never say that premillenial dispensationalism is a “modern godless heresy,” it certainly is a view that has its problems. But for this article, I’m going to stick with the rapture idea.
I call the idea of the secret rapture the “poof-rapture.” This is intentional, because many people hear the word “rapture” and they instantly think it means Jesus’ second coming. Even those who do believe in the “poof-rapture” know that it does not mean Jesus’ second coming. The word “rapture” is a word that I think should not be used at all, not only because it is not a Biblical word, but more importantly, because it is a word that has changed meaning over the years.
Most people who use the word “rapture” are talking about the “poof-rapture” idea, but many people don’t understand this. In a recent sermon I preached on 1 Thessalonians 4:13 – 5:11, I felt it was important to take the time to address this popular notion of the “poof-rapture,” because everybody hears about it, but few people understand it, and even fewer understand the Biblical support that those who believe it use.
I was talking to a Christian brother once about some of these issues, and I said, “there is no evidence in the Bible for the rapture.” This otherwise kind and very friendly brother gruffly said, “well that’s the stupidest thing I have ever heard,” and turned and walked away. Of course he did not stop to ask a question or to defend his position in any way, he just dismissed my view as “stupid” and ended the conversation.
I wondered later if he had confused the word “rapture” with Jesus second coming, and he thought I was saying that there was no Biblical evidence for the second coming. I am not sure, but that is why I am careful to make a distinction between Jesus’ promised second coming, and the secret “poof-Christians-are-gone” idea. I use the word “poof-rapture” to be absolutely clear to people what I am talking about.
That conversation also showed me how personally and deeply held certain beliefs are. I think it is most important to build our thinking and beliefs completely on the truth of God’s Word, instead of what any preacher or teacher alone has to say.
Just as the Bereans were commended for searching the Scriptures daily to see if what they were being taught was true in Acts 17, so should we. And even more so as the tools of worldwide communication media present even more viewpoints from even more voices. With that being said, I openly submit my attempts to study and teach God’s Word to the authority of the Word of God.
If any person who is examining the Scriptures daily to see if what I am saying is true or not, finds that I am in the wrong, I wish they would tell me. I openly invite any person to challenge my thinking, because I know that will help me. I am not a debater, and that is not my goal – to debate people; but if any reader can show me from the Scriptures where anything I write or say or do or think or whatever is wrong, then I will welcome the rebuke. I truly want to live by the wisdom of these Scriptures:
Proverbs 15:31-33 He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home among the wise. He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding. The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
Proverbs 27:6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Follow up from last week
Last week was a blur for me. I preached for the adult services this morning, so preparing for that was an overwhelming process. Usually I prepare for about a month for one sermon, but I really didn't start working on this one until Thursday. Beside that, everything else that I normally do on Sunday morning continued of course. I couldn't have done it without Jenette's help and her great patience.
I enjoy the whole studying/preparing process greatly. The delivery part - not so much. I think it is important to try to connect the truth of Scripture with the everyday grind of people's lives.
I tried to present the Scripture very simply, and encourage the listeners to not force other ideas into the Scripture, but to accept it as is, allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to us in the language we understand in the words He wanted to use.
I think I am going to work on a series of posts about why the idea of the secret rapture (which I call the "poof-rapture" - check out the sermon below) is unbiblical and dangerous at worst and plain silly in the least. I know nobody reads this stuff, but I can use this in the future in many ways.
jc
I enjoy the whole studying/preparing process greatly. The delivery part - not so much. I think it is important to try to connect the truth of Scripture with the everyday grind of people's lives.
I tried to present the Scripture very simply, and encourage the listeners to not force other ideas into the Scripture, but to accept it as is, allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to us in the language we understand in the words He wanted to use.
I think I am going to work on a series of posts about why the idea of the secret rapture (which I call the "poof-rapture" - check out the sermon below) is unbiblical and dangerous at worst and plain silly in the least. I know nobody reads this stuff, but I can use this in the future in many ways.
jc
Sermon From Sunday
This morning I would like to remind you of one of the most important promises that Jesus made – Jesus promised us that He would come again.
Today we are going to be looking at 1 Thessalonians chapters 4 & 5. This whole second coming idea is one that is filled with confusion and distractions, so I want to ask you to open your heart to what God’s Word has to say. Let’s set aside all the confusion on the issue, and let God’s Word simply speak to us today. Starting in 1 Thessalonians 4:13, I’d like to tell you three reasons why the promise of Jesus’ coming is so important and so significant in our lives. First of all,
The promise of Jesus’ coming brings expectant hope for the Christian, whether that Christian is dead or alive.
This entire passage is intended to encourage Christians who had been confused about various aspects of Jesus’ second coming. In each of three sections from 4:13 through 5:11, he begins with the word “Brothers.” And each time he says, “brothers,” he is offering a teaching or an encouragement to his readers.
So first of all, he says in 4:13, Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.
So he starts with two encouragements here: he says, “I want to make sure you understand the truth about what happens to Christians who die” (that’s what he means by “those who fall asleep”), and, “though you will grieve over lost loved ones, your grief is to be different than people in the world who have no hope.”
Now this one verse is a great nugget. It is only in our understanding of God’s promise that we have any hope. As believers in Christ, it is ok and expected for us to grieve, and mourn, but that grief has a much different flavor than those who have no hope. Can there be anything more sad – more depressing; than a funeral of a person who was not a Christian? There is no celebration, no victory, and no hope. The ancient world knew this hopeless despair just as much as our world knows it.
A famous ancient Greek tombstone had these “encouraging” words: “I was not; I became. I am not: I care not.” Life without God’s promise means no hope. But life with God’s promise changes everything. Look at verse 14:
14We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
It is because of Jesus death and resurrection that hope is even possible. That is the hope and the victory –Jesus proved at the resurrection that death was defeated.
But the Thessalonian Christians were confused and worried about the fact that some of them had died before the Lord’s return. Now this may be hard for us to appreciate almost 20 centuries later, but they were truly anticipating the Lord’s return. We see that even more in 2 Thessalonians. In their expectant hope, they became disheartened as some of their loved ones died.
So Paul is trying to set the record straight, and remind them of the hope that Christians, whether alive or dead, have in the promised second coming of Jesus Christ. Here is the really awesome part of this: those Christians who have died will be just as much a part of the second coming as those who are alive: Look at the next verse:
15According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
What follows in verse 16 is a simple description of the sequence of events when Jesus returns. This passage is without a doubt the clearest, most concise explanation of what is going to happen when Jesus comes again. Many times people have said to me, “I just can’t even begin to understand this whole second coming thing. I’ve read Revelation and it just scares and confuses me.” I always say to those folks, “start in 1 Thessalonians 4 & 5.”
An important principle of Bible interpretation is to let the plain, simple, clear passage explain what the difficult and confusing passage means. The Bible has one coherent message. God did not write a bunch of conflicting stuff in His Word – it is all tied together in perfect harmony. So we use the more clear passages to help us understand the less clear passages.
This passage in 1 Thessalonians was intended to clarify confusion. It was one of the earliest written New Testament books, written before the great Roman persecutions of the church. It is not like the book of Revelation, which contains word pictures, subtle Old Testament references, and coded language to protect Christians. Thessalonians contains a simple description of the most important aspects of Jesus’ second coming. If you read it simply and don’t try to force other ideas into it, it is not hard to understand.
With that said, let’s look at this sequence of events, written clearly and concisely with the express purpose of giving the believer hope. The sequence starts in verse 16: 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God… So when Jesus comes, he will come out of the sky, descending, just as he visibly “ascended” into heaven in Acts 1. This is a physical, literal, visible event.
This great event is accompanied by three “sound effects” – just in case someone might think that this be a quiet, secret, in the dark thing, three times we are told that there will be loud noises – a loud command, or as in the KJV, a “shout.” This word meant a spoken order or command that was loud and clear – it is a loud, authoritative shout. In case you missed the shout, there is also the voice of the archangel.
This is the chief messenger angel of God, proclaiming out loud that Jesus was coming, just as the angels proclaimed Jesus birth to the shepherds, so Jesus second coming will be heralded by the voice of the archangel.
And just in case you missed the shout and the angel’s voice, there is also the trumpet call of God. God used the trumpet in the Old Testament as His instrument of choice in calling His people together. There was a trumpet blast at Mt. Sinai in Exodus 19, along with the clouds and smoke and thunder and lightning – God gave His people an overwhelming audio/video demonstration that they needed to pay attention and listen to Him.
I think God likes using the trumpet to get people’s attention for the same reason that I loved to play my trumpet when I was a kid in school. It forced everyone out of the house and made the dog howl. There was no escaping it, even for the poor neighbors. The trumpet call of God is surely going to get everyone’s attention and there will be no way to avoid it.
So after the Lord’s descent, accompanied by all the loud sounds, the next part of the sequence is at the end of verse 16: and the dead in Christ will rise first. So in sequence, we have Jesus coming from heaven with loud obvious sounds, and then Christians who have died are resurrected. The same thing happened when Jesus died. Matthew 27:52-53 says the bodies of many holy people were raised to life, came out of the tombs, and appeared to many people after Jesus’ resurrection.
The difference between those people being resurrected, and the resurrection that we are talking about when Christ comes again, is that those poor people who rose from the dead in 30 AD had to die again. (Talk about a bummer – dying once is no fun, but they had to die twice!)
The next time it happens, when Jesus comes, the resurrection is forever - into new, resurrected bodies that will never die. The text doesn’t say specifically how this happens, but Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 that this resurrection will change the fleshly, mortal, perishable part of Christians into something that is imperishable and immortal.
51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
So, in sequence then, we have Jesus coming down from heaven with the loud sounds, then the dead in Christ are resurrected. Verse 17 has the next part, starting with “After that,” so we can recognize that this is a sequence of events:
17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
Those Christians who are alive at the time of Christ’s coming will be caught up together with the resurrected dead Christians and together we will meet the Lord in the air – that is above and away from the existing earth, because, as we will see in chapter 5, destruction is going to come on the earth and those who are not with the Lord. The end of verse 17 carries on the sequence: And so we will be with the Lord forever.
Jesus said nearly the same thing about His return in Matthew 24:
30“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
Now some of you might be scratching your heads a bit and thinking “well, what about the rapture? Where’s the rapture part of this?” Many of you have heard a lot about this “rapture” idea because of popular books like the Left Behind series and popular TV preachers and authors like John Hagee and others who suggest that Christians (the church) will be secretly and quietly taken away in “the rapture.” You’ve probably seen the bumper stickers that say “in case of rapture, this car will be unmanned.”
When most Christians use the word “rapture,” they are referring to this idea of “poof – all the Christians are suddenly gone” and all the pagans that did not get “poofed” are left to figure out what happened. I call this unbiblical idea, the “poof-rapture.” This is the premise behind the wildly popular “Left Behind” series of books, and a couple of movies.
The word “rapture” is not in the Greek New Testament, but was in the Latin translation – a Latin word attempting to translate this word “caught up” in 1 Thess. 4:17. The real problem is that the concept of the secret “poof-rapture” is not in 1 Thessalonians or anywhere else. This is a simple passage that describes the second coming in clear terms – no “poof-rapture” is anywhere to be found.
Remember this sequence of events, Jesus comes down from heaven – a visible second coming - accompanied by loud obvious attention making sounds, then the dead in Christ rise with a physical resurrected body, then those Christians who are alive will join with them, meeting the Lord in the air. As we will see in chapter five, the judgment of the wicked begins on that same day. So this text in 1 Thessalonians says nothing of a secret “poof-rapture” but speaks of an open, noisy, widely seen event where the Church is brought together with Jesus forever in one moment.
Some people say that this text in 1 Thessalonians refers to Jesus’ “first second-coming” that is invisible, to “poof-rapture” the church away. That is pure nonsense. That’s like telling your kid that you will pick them up from school, only to say that your coming to pick them up will be invisible and that by picking them up you actually mean that they will be “poofed” away.
Let us allow this wonderful Bible text to tell us simply and clearly what will happen when Jesus comes again, allowing the Holy Spirit, who is much smarter than we are, to say what he wanted to say in clear language. It promises us that the entire Church, whether dead or alive, will be together with the Lord on the day of His physical and literal return. What a great hope we have in Christ!
That togetherness with the Lord and with those believers who have died before us is the great hope of the church. Chapter 5, verse 1 begins the next segment of the passage where Paul instructs his readers as “brothers,” and introduces the second reason why the promise of Jesus’ coming is so significant, and that is:
The promise of Jesus’ coming brings unexpected judgment for the unbeliever
Look at 5:1; 1Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
Here Paul temporarily branches out from encouraging Christians (he’ll return to that) and begins reminding and instructing his readers that unbelievers will be judged when Jesus comes again. In verses 1 & 2 the brothers are reminded that it is worthless to even talk about the times and possible dates of Christ’s return. The important things to remember are that Christ’s return is imminent and Christ’s return will be unexpected to those who are not watching for it. It will be sudden and will catch the unbeliever completely off guard.
Now I think that God was very wise in making sure that no one would have any clue when his return would be. There were people in the first century that were watching and ready for His return and there are people today that are watching and ready for His return. How do you think people would respond if God had said that Jesus’ return would be at Midnight on April 15th, 2006?
I think that most of the procrastinators who waited to file their taxes on that same evening in previous years would wait until 11:30 PM or so to try to get in line down at the local church to be baptized. Can you imagine how long the lines would be? God does not show us his calendar because, in general, he wants us to live in readiness, not just make a last minute attempt at religion.
It’s kind of like the story of poor Calvin who was sitting at his desk at work, staring out the window and daydreaming about this, that, and the other thing. The boss came by, gave Calvin a puzzled look, and said, “Calvin, why aren’t you working?”
Calvin was shaken back into reality, and stuttering for something to say, said, “uh, because I didn’t see you coming?” This idea of the thief in the night is talking about the timing of Christ’s return and our readiness. Check out what Jesus said in Matthew 24:
42“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
Once our house was robbed in the middle of the night – we were doing remodeling at the time and we weren’t there, but I was so frustrated by the police officer who came over, because he just kept saying, “well, you should have known that a house being remodeled would be a target for thieves.” I understood his point, but I couldn’t help but think of Jesus’ words – well, if I had known when the thief was coming, I could have left out some milk and cookies for him as well.
Don’t ever listen to any person who says they know when Christ is coming – they are going to be wrong. All the famous “date-setters” in history only succeeded in destroying the faith of those who foolishly believed them. The truth is; it will happen suddenly and unexpectedly. Looking at verse 3, we see that the unbeliever who does not expect it will be swallowed up in destruction.
Going back to our sequence of events in chapter 4, we see that in context, this “day of the Lord” that comes like a “thief in the night” will bring destruction on the ungodly. This is the same day as the Lord’s coming and the resurrection of the dead believers. Many want to try to separate these events into different events, but again, reading this passage simply and letting it say what it says, these events are tied together. Like labor pains come so suddenly on a pregnant woman, so the destruction of that day will come suddenly and surely. While people are secure and cozy and comfortable, the day of the Lord will catch them off guard.
This passage, where people are saying “peace & safety” as the destruction comes on them reminds me of a scene from the movie Independence Day. Many of you have seen this movie, I know.
It is the part of the movie where all the big space ships move into position over the cities of the earth and everyone is trying to figure out what they are doing. One group of people decides that the spaceships are bringing nice, happy aliens who want to make friends, so they all get on top of a tall building and they have a big “welcome to earth” party. And they are dancing, and drinking, and having a great time while this huge space ship is overhead.
While the party continues, the ships fire up their death rays and begin frying all the earthlings. While they were saying “peace and safety,” destruction came on them suddenly. No second chances, no escape. How important is it for us to communicate this message?
Now I hope that you are beginning to see the significance of Christ’s promised return, but what does that really mean to me in my every-day-go-to-work-go-home-eat-watch-tv-life? This sounds a lot like deep theology – does it affect me? Paul goes back into his “encouragement” mode in 5:4, and here we see the next segment and the next reason why this promise of Jesus’ coming is so important:
The promise of Jesus’ coming demands a daily response of God-centered living
Check out verses 4-8:
4But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. 7For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.
Following Jesus Christ and having the hope of his promised return means that we are to live our lives differently than the world lives. We do not know the day and hour of Christ’s return but we do know that his return is imminent. I personally believe that Christ’s coming could come at any second, and that there does not have to be any big “prophetic” event happen before Christ returns. It I think it is definitely possible that some things will happen first, but I really think it could happen right now.
I know many Christians don’t agree with that view of Scripture and prophecy, but I can also tell you that it is much better to live like His return is happening today instead of waiting until tomorrow. Paul’s analogy of light and “the day” for the Christian is the truth of the reality of Christ’s return - the “day” demands alertness, being self-controlled, not following the ways of the world. He may come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night, but those who are “sons of the day” know that it will happen, and live accordingly.
I know this sounds funny, but this passage makes me think of chickens. During the day, when they are out and about, they are constantly looking around for danger, strutting around, and ready to run if danger approaches.
I have seen them run from hawks trying to catch them. I gave up one day after trying for several hours with my bow to get one for our cooking pot. They quickly move the other direction when my boys come their way, and I have seen them run franticly from Tim Crain who was trying to herd them with a garden hose (that’s another story).
They are very alert to danger during the day, but at night, it is a completely different story. I am convinced they find some kind of alcohol to drink all day, because they act truly drunk at night. Once they fall asleep they are impossible to rouse and are very easy prey for predators.
In Paul’s analogy here of the “day” and the “night,” represents action based on belief. If you are a “son of the day” you are active, responding to God’s truth, and living out God’s truth. If you belong to the night, according to Paul, you are sleepy, not alert, and not following God’s truth.
The point is that if you know that Christ is coming and you really believe it, you need to live your life accordingly. Believe demands action. James says that faith without action is a dead faith. Here are some questions to consider:
Today we are going to be looking at 1 Thessalonians chapters 4 & 5. This whole second coming idea is one that is filled with confusion and distractions, so I want to ask you to open your heart to what God’s Word has to say. Let’s set aside all the confusion on the issue, and let God’s Word simply speak to us today. Starting in 1 Thessalonians 4:13, I’d like to tell you three reasons why the promise of Jesus’ coming is so important and so significant in our lives. First of all,
The promise of Jesus’ coming brings expectant hope for the Christian, whether that Christian is dead or alive.
This entire passage is intended to encourage Christians who had been confused about various aspects of Jesus’ second coming. In each of three sections from 4:13 through 5:11, he begins with the word “Brothers.” And each time he says, “brothers,” he is offering a teaching or an encouragement to his readers.
So first of all, he says in 4:13, Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.
So he starts with two encouragements here: he says, “I want to make sure you understand the truth about what happens to Christians who die” (that’s what he means by “those who fall asleep”), and, “though you will grieve over lost loved ones, your grief is to be different than people in the world who have no hope.”
Now this one verse is a great nugget. It is only in our understanding of God’s promise that we have any hope. As believers in Christ, it is ok and expected for us to grieve, and mourn, but that grief has a much different flavor than those who have no hope. Can there be anything more sad – more depressing; than a funeral of a person who was not a Christian? There is no celebration, no victory, and no hope. The ancient world knew this hopeless despair just as much as our world knows it.
A famous ancient Greek tombstone had these “encouraging” words: “I was not; I became. I am not: I care not.” Life without God’s promise means no hope. But life with God’s promise changes everything. Look at verse 14:
14We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
It is because of Jesus death and resurrection that hope is even possible. That is the hope and the victory –Jesus proved at the resurrection that death was defeated.
But the Thessalonian Christians were confused and worried about the fact that some of them had died before the Lord’s return. Now this may be hard for us to appreciate almost 20 centuries later, but they were truly anticipating the Lord’s return. We see that even more in 2 Thessalonians. In their expectant hope, they became disheartened as some of their loved ones died.
So Paul is trying to set the record straight, and remind them of the hope that Christians, whether alive or dead, have in the promised second coming of Jesus Christ. Here is the really awesome part of this: those Christians who have died will be just as much a part of the second coming as those who are alive: Look at the next verse:
15According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
What follows in verse 16 is a simple description of the sequence of events when Jesus returns. This passage is without a doubt the clearest, most concise explanation of what is going to happen when Jesus comes again. Many times people have said to me, “I just can’t even begin to understand this whole second coming thing. I’ve read Revelation and it just scares and confuses me.” I always say to those folks, “start in 1 Thessalonians 4 & 5.”
An important principle of Bible interpretation is to let the plain, simple, clear passage explain what the difficult and confusing passage means. The Bible has one coherent message. God did not write a bunch of conflicting stuff in His Word – it is all tied together in perfect harmony. So we use the more clear passages to help us understand the less clear passages.
This passage in 1 Thessalonians was intended to clarify confusion. It was one of the earliest written New Testament books, written before the great Roman persecutions of the church. It is not like the book of Revelation, which contains word pictures, subtle Old Testament references, and coded language to protect Christians. Thessalonians contains a simple description of the most important aspects of Jesus’ second coming. If you read it simply and don’t try to force other ideas into it, it is not hard to understand.
With that said, let’s look at this sequence of events, written clearly and concisely with the express purpose of giving the believer hope. The sequence starts in verse 16: 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God… So when Jesus comes, he will come out of the sky, descending, just as he visibly “ascended” into heaven in Acts 1. This is a physical, literal, visible event.
This great event is accompanied by three “sound effects” – just in case someone might think that this be a quiet, secret, in the dark thing, three times we are told that there will be loud noises – a loud command, or as in the KJV, a “shout.” This word meant a spoken order or command that was loud and clear – it is a loud, authoritative shout. In case you missed the shout, there is also the voice of the archangel.
This is the chief messenger angel of God, proclaiming out loud that Jesus was coming, just as the angels proclaimed Jesus birth to the shepherds, so Jesus second coming will be heralded by the voice of the archangel.
And just in case you missed the shout and the angel’s voice, there is also the trumpet call of God. God used the trumpet in the Old Testament as His instrument of choice in calling His people together. There was a trumpet blast at Mt. Sinai in Exodus 19, along with the clouds and smoke and thunder and lightning – God gave His people an overwhelming audio/video demonstration that they needed to pay attention and listen to Him.
I think God likes using the trumpet to get people’s attention for the same reason that I loved to play my trumpet when I was a kid in school. It forced everyone out of the house and made the dog howl. There was no escaping it, even for the poor neighbors. The trumpet call of God is surely going to get everyone’s attention and there will be no way to avoid it.
So after the Lord’s descent, accompanied by all the loud sounds, the next part of the sequence is at the end of verse 16: and the dead in Christ will rise first. So in sequence, we have Jesus coming from heaven with loud obvious sounds, and then Christians who have died are resurrected. The same thing happened when Jesus died. Matthew 27:52-53 says the bodies of many holy people were raised to life, came out of the tombs, and appeared to many people after Jesus’ resurrection.
The difference between those people being resurrected, and the resurrection that we are talking about when Christ comes again, is that those poor people who rose from the dead in 30 AD had to die again. (Talk about a bummer – dying once is no fun, but they had to die twice!)
The next time it happens, when Jesus comes, the resurrection is forever - into new, resurrected bodies that will never die. The text doesn’t say specifically how this happens, but Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 that this resurrection will change the fleshly, mortal, perishable part of Christians into something that is imperishable and immortal.
51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
So, in sequence then, we have Jesus coming down from heaven with the loud sounds, then the dead in Christ are resurrected. Verse 17 has the next part, starting with “After that,” so we can recognize that this is a sequence of events:
17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
Those Christians who are alive at the time of Christ’s coming will be caught up together with the resurrected dead Christians and together we will meet the Lord in the air – that is above and away from the existing earth, because, as we will see in chapter 5, destruction is going to come on the earth and those who are not with the Lord. The end of verse 17 carries on the sequence: And so we will be with the Lord forever.
Jesus said nearly the same thing about His return in Matthew 24:
30“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
Now some of you might be scratching your heads a bit and thinking “well, what about the rapture? Where’s the rapture part of this?” Many of you have heard a lot about this “rapture” idea because of popular books like the Left Behind series and popular TV preachers and authors like John Hagee and others who suggest that Christians (the church) will be secretly and quietly taken away in “the rapture.” You’ve probably seen the bumper stickers that say “in case of rapture, this car will be unmanned.”
When most Christians use the word “rapture,” they are referring to this idea of “poof – all the Christians are suddenly gone” and all the pagans that did not get “poofed” are left to figure out what happened. I call this unbiblical idea, the “poof-rapture.” This is the premise behind the wildly popular “Left Behind” series of books, and a couple of movies.
The word “rapture” is not in the Greek New Testament, but was in the Latin translation – a Latin word attempting to translate this word “caught up” in 1 Thess. 4:17. The real problem is that the concept of the secret “poof-rapture” is not in 1 Thessalonians or anywhere else. This is a simple passage that describes the second coming in clear terms – no “poof-rapture” is anywhere to be found.
Remember this sequence of events, Jesus comes down from heaven – a visible second coming - accompanied by loud obvious attention making sounds, then the dead in Christ rise with a physical resurrected body, then those Christians who are alive will join with them, meeting the Lord in the air. As we will see in chapter five, the judgment of the wicked begins on that same day. So this text in 1 Thessalonians says nothing of a secret “poof-rapture” but speaks of an open, noisy, widely seen event where the Church is brought together with Jesus forever in one moment.
Some people say that this text in 1 Thessalonians refers to Jesus’ “first second-coming” that is invisible, to “poof-rapture” the church away. That is pure nonsense. That’s like telling your kid that you will pick them up from school, only to say that your coming to pick them up will be invisible and that by picking them up you actually mean that they will be “poofed” away.
Let us allow this wonderful Bible text to tell us simply and clearly what will happen when Jesus comes again, allowing the Holy Spirit, who is much smarter than we are, to say what he wanted to say in clear language. It promises us that the entire Church, whether dead or alive, will be together with the Lord on the day of His physical and literal return. What a great hope we have in Christ!
That togetherness with the Lord and with those believers who have died before us is the great hope of the church. Chapter 5, verse 1 begins the next segment of the passage where Paul instructs his readers as “brothers,” and introduces the second reason why the promise of Jesus’ coming is so significant, and that is:
The promise of Jesus’ coming brings unexpected judgment for the unbeliever
Look at 5:1; 1Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
Here Paul temporarily branches out from encouraging Christians (he’ll return to that) and begins reminding and instructing his readers that unbelievers will be judged when Jesus comes again. In verses 1 & 2 the brothers are reminded that it is worthless to even talk about the times and possible dates of Christ’s return. The important things to remember are that Christ’s return is imminent and Christ’s return will be unexpected to those who are not watching for it. It will be sudden and will catch the unbeliever completely off guard.
Now I think that God was very wise in making sure that no one would have any clue when his return would be. There were people in the first century that were watching and ready for His return and there are people today that are watching and ready for His return. How do you think people would respond if God had said that Jesus’ return would be at Midnight on April 15th, 2006?
I think that most of the procrastinators who waited to file their taxes on that same evening in previous years would wait until 11:30 PM or so to try to get in line down at the local church to be baptized. Can you imagine how long the lines would be? God does not show us his calendar because, in general, he wants us to live in readiness, not just make a last minute attempt at religion.
It’s kind of like the story of poor Calvin who was sitting at his desk at work, staring out the window and daydreaming about this, that, and the other thing. The boss came by, gave Calvin a puzzled look, and said, “Calvin, why aren’t you working?”
Calvin was shaken back into reality, and stuttering for something to say, said, “uh, because I didn’t see you coming?” This idea of the thief in the night is talking about the timing of Christ’s return and our readiness. Check out what Jesus said in Matthew 24:
42“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
Once our house was robbed in the middle of the night – we were doing remodeling at the time and we weren’t there, but I was so frustrated by the police officer who came over, because he just kept saying, “well, you should have known that a house being remodeled would be a target for thieves.” I understood his point, but I couldn’t help but think of Jesus’ words – well, if I had known when the thief was coming, I could have left out some milk and cookies for him as well.
Don’t ever listen to any person who says they know when Christ is coming – they are going to be wrong. All the famous “date-setters” in history only succeeded in destroying the faith of those who foolishly believed them. The truth is; it will happen suddenly and unexpectedly. Looking at verse 3, we see that the unbeliever who does not expect it will be swallowed up in destruction.
Going back to our sequence of events in chapter 4, we see that in context, this “day of the Lord” that comes like a “thief in the night” will bring destruction on the ungodly. This is the same day as the Lord’s coming and the resurrection of the dead believers. Many want to try to separate these events into different events, but again, reading this passage simply and letting it say what it says, these events are tied together. Like labor pains come so suddenly on a pregnant woman, so the destruction of that day will come suddenly and surely. While people are secure and cozy and comfortable, the day of the Lord will catch them off guard.
This passage, where people are saying “peace & safety” as the destruction comes on them reminds me of a scene from the movie Independence Day. Many of you have seen this movie, I know.
It is the part of the movie where all the big space ships move into position over the cities of the earth and everyone is trying to figure out what they are doing. One group of people decides that the spaceships are bringing nice, happy aliens who want to make friends, so they all get on top of a tall building and they have a big “welcome to earth” party. And they are dancing, and drinking, and having a great time while this huge space ship is overhead.
While the party continues, the ships fire up their death rays and begin frying all the earthlings. While they were saying “peace and safety,” destruction came on them suddenly. No second chances, no escape. How important is it for us to communicate this message?
Now I hope that you are beginning to see the significance of Christ’s promised return, but what does that really mean to me in my every-day-go-to-work-go-home-eat-watch-tv-life? This sounds a lot like deep theology – does it affect me? Paul goes back into his “encouragement” mode in 5:4, and here we see the next segment and the next reason why this promise of Jesus’ coming is so important:
The promise of Jesus’ coming demands a daily response of God-centered living
Check out verses 4-8:
4But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. 7For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.
Following Jesus Christ and having the hope of his promised return means that we are to live our lives differently than the world lives. We do not know the day and hour of Christ’s return but we do know that his return is imminent. I personally believe that Christ’s coming could come at any second, and that there does not have to be any big “prophetic” event happen before Christ returns. It I think it is definitely possible that some things will happen first, but I really think it could happen right now.
I know many Christians don’t agree with that view of Scripture and prophecy, but I can also tell you that it is much better to live like His return is happening today instead of waiting until tomorrow. Paul’s analogy of light and “the day” for the Christian is the truth of the reality of Christ’s return - the “day” demands alertness, being self-controlled, not following the ways of the world. He may come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night, but those who are “sons of the day” know that it will happen, and live accordingly.
I know this sounds funny, but this passage makes me think of chickens. During the day, when they are out and about, they are constantly looking around for danger, strutting around, and ready to run if danger approaches.
I have seen them run from hawks trying to catch them. I gave up one day after trying for several hours with my bow to get one for our cooking pot. They quickly move the other direction when my boys come their way, and I have seen them run franticly from Tim Crain who was trying to herd them with a garden hose (that’s another story).
They are very alert to danger during the day, but at night, it is a completely different story. I am convinced they find some kind of alcohol to drink all day, because they act truly drunk at night. Once they fall asleep they are impossible to rouse and are very easy prey for predators.
In Paul’s analogy here of the “day” and the “night,” represents action based on belief. If you are a “son of the day” you are active, responding to God’s truth, and living out God’s truth. If you belong to the night, according to Paul, you are sleepy, not alert, and not following God’s truth.
The point is that if you know that Christ is coming and you really believe it, you need to live your life accordingly. Believe demands action. James says that faith without action is a dead faith. Here are some questions to consider:
Am I putting my hope in eternal things (Christ, His Word, his promise) or in earthly things (money, jobs, property, people)?
By my example and by my priorities, am I showing my friends, family, kids, neighbors, etc that knowing Jesus Christ and obeying Him is more important than worldly pursuits?
If Jesus were to come yesterday, would I have been ready? How do I need to be different today?
Am I saying I believe in Christ and His return, but living like I don’t believe?
I’d bet that most of you were paying attention when the tornado warnings sounded last Sunday night. And I would bet that many of you, like we were, were right in the path of danger. Why did you act? Why did you get in the basement or run to the neighbors’ house or drive away from the storm like we did? Because you knew it was coming.
When we knew it was coming we started waking up kids and throwing them in the car – one of the little ones was stark naked when I threw her in because she had wet the bed, but that didn’t matter. Action had to be taken. I believed that tornado was coming just like you did.
Maybe, just maybe, it’s time for us to live like we believe that Jesus is coming again. I wonder how the world would respond if Christians really lived that way.
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