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.
Friday, March 24, 2006
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.
Great Picture
This is from Jenette's Dad's Blog. What an awesome picture! Don't know who the kid is, but he looks a lot like Joel did at that age!
jc
jc
Monday, March 13, 2006
Absolute Truth - Lesson from Sunday
John 18:36-38 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”37“You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”“What is truth?” Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.
How would you answer this important question? Do you think you should? Does it matter?
Which one is truth more like? Is it like a RUBBER BAND? Does truth stretch and bend with the times? Or is truth more like a ROCK? Is it absolute and unbreakable?
Do you know?
I believe the question “What is truth” is not one of those “there are no right or wrong answers” things. I want you to believe in the doctrine of absolute truth, and I would like to give you three compelling reasons to believe in absolute truth.
Absolute truth is defined in the CHARACTER of God
Now any discussion of truth has to begin with definitions. How many times have you talked with someone and said or heard, “it depends on how you define it.”
The reason why there are so many “definitions” of words these days is because of the influence of the secular humanist worldview. According to humanism, we don’t need a book we call a dictionary (by the way, my dictionary has 6 different meanings for the word truth) because all of us are walking dictionaries, able to define words as we like for our own purposes.
Truth is one of those crucial words that has been completely redefined, so in this defense of a doctrine of absolute truth, I had better define what absolute truth is, right?
But if I did that, someone would say, “but that’s your definition of absolute truth, not mine, so I’m not going to accept your definition!” OK, let’s play it his way. Let’s come up with a definition of absolute truth that satisfies even the harshest of skeptics.
If we are going to define it like that, obviously it has to be totally objective – since he doesn’t like my definition and I don’t like his, absolute truth has to be outside of our personal feelings or opinions on the matter. In fact if any person defines absolute truth, then it fails to be completely objective. Every person has some kind of “bias.” This is why the people who claim to be completely “objective” and “unbiased” (like the news media, politicians, university professors, and people who are trying to sell you something) in fact are not. Absolute truth is OBJECTIVE.
Not only does it have to be objective, but also it has to apply to every human there ever was or ever will be. It has to apply to every person in every situation whether you are hiking with pygmies in Africa or sitting in an office building in downtown St. Louis. Absolute truth would demand a universal standard. How many times have I heard some kid say, usually in a whisper, “Oooh, you shouldn’t lie in church.” Absolute truth means that you shouldn’t lie in church or on the golf course or anywhere. Absolute truth is UNIVERSAL.
So this is a fairly high standard already, but let’s step it up another level – not only does absolute truth have to be totally objective, and 100% universal, but it also has to be completely constant. It has to be unchanging, not wavering or cowering in the moment, but as true and right today as it was 10,000 years ago. It has to be as true and right today as it will be 10,000 years from now. It can never, whether in past or future, be different. Absolute truth is CONSTANT.
Does anything fit the bill?
Now a skeptic may agree to this definition of what absolute truth is, but he would probably say, “according to that definition, absolute truth cannot exist because nothing can be totally objective, universal, and constant.” Is that really the case? Well, in fact, there is nothing in our human (or natural) experience that fits the bill. That leaves us with only one possibility, and that is the “super” natural. Only a SUPERNATURAL being could be totally objective, universal, and constant. Absolute truth is defined in the character of God.
Now we are going to examine what the Bible says about this in a minute, but outside of the Bible, is there any EVIDENCE that there is an objective, universal, and constant God? Does anything that we know to be real correspond with that idea? I can think of several things.
The evidence of the EXISTENCE OF LIFE: People have been arguing about how life, the universe, and everything have come into being for thousands of years, yet only one answer satisfies every question. Even though people may not choose to accept it or believe it, only an objective, universal, and constant Person could have caused all the intricate detail of the universe. Every other theory is faulty.
What is the number one competing theory with intelligent design? There are several theories, but the top competitor would probably be random chance. How many statistics do we need to show us that random chance is a sorry solution? Here’s an experiment you can do with the kids at home. Take a thousand monkeys and set them up in a room with typewriters. Leave them there until every one of them bangs on the typewriters enough to come up with the works of Shakespeare. Random chance doesn’t cut it.
The evidence of the HUMAN CONSCIENCE? Humanist scientists say that morality evolved from our communal existence as primates (all that time trying to type up some Shakespeare). Every culture of history has had some sense of right and wrong. Why? Only one answer logically satisfies the question. Even though people may not choose to accept it or believe it, only an objective, universal, and constant Person could have designed the human brain to have an innate sense of love and morality. Every other theory is faulty.
The Bible says in Romans that creation and conscience show people the nature and character of God.
Romans 1:18-20 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
Absolute truth is bound tightly with the nature and character of God, and if you deny absolute truth, you are denying whom God truly is. But how do we know who God truly is?
Absolute truth is revealed in the WORD of God
Did you see the movie “A Few Good Men?” It was about the trial of some Marines who had unwittingly killed a fellow Marine during training. Do you remember the end where the prosecutor is making accusations against the general and finally demands, “I want the truth!?“ What did the general say in response? “You can’t handle the truth!”
Do you think that Pilate really wanted an answer when he asked his famous question? Do you think he really wanted to know? In fact it says that he didn’t wait around for an answer. Do you think he could handle the truth?
Can anyone handle the fact that God is objective, universal, and constant? Can we handle the fact that God’s character demands that we are accountable to Him? Apparently God thought we could handle absolute truth, because he revealed it to us in His Word.
We have been given “GENERAL Revelation,” which is creation and conscience. But He didn’t stop there. He gave us “SPECIAL Revelation” in two ways. God gave us the written Word, which is the Bible, and he has given us the Living Word, who is Jesus. Absolute truth is revealed in the Word of God
God did not just say it in His written Word, He did it in the real historical person of Jesus. Does the Bible claim absolute truth about God, or about the Bible itself? Did Jesus claim to be the Word of God? Did He claim to speak absolute truth?
Well, I can confidently say, “absolutely.” Here are some of the Scriptures that make these claims:
GOD:
Ø 1 Timothy 1:17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Ø Titus 1:2 2a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time,
Ø 1 Samuel 15:29 He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind.”
Ø James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
THE BIBLE ITSELF:
Ø John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
Ø 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
Ø 1 Peter 1:23-25 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24For, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,25but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.
Ø 2 Peter 1:20-21 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. 21For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
JESUS:
Ø “I tell you the truth” or “AMEN” – 31 times in Matthew, 26 times in John
Ø Revelation 3:14 These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.
Ø John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me
Ø John 1:1-14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
When the Living Word – the “Logos” became flesh (John 1:14) and proclaimed this absolute truth in his teaching, Jesus made an absolutely stunning, mind-boggling claim. He said that he was the way, the truth, and the life. He didn’t say He was one of several ways to God, He said he was the ONLY way to God.
Now here’s the rub. If Jesus claimed to be the ONLY way, then one of two things is possible. Either Jesus was a liar (and so is God and the Bible) or He was speaking absolute truth. Which is it? It can’t be both. You can’t say both are true.
Let that sink in for a minute. If Jesus was a liar, then there is no absolute truth. If Jesus was a liar then people can legitimately say, “Truth is not objective, so I can decide what’s true. Truth is not universal, so it is different in different situations. Truth is not constant, so it changes with the times.” When you deny absolute truth, you deny the truth of the Word of God. You can’t have something be both hot and cold at the same time in the same place. Truth and lies cannot coexist!
Now let’s get personal. This isn’t just about some kind of deep philosophical debate that bleary eyed university eggheads enjoy. What do you believe? Do you believe Jesus lied about absolute truth? Do you have any evidence to support that? Or do you believe that Jesus spoke and lived absolute truth? I would suggest to you that there is more than enough evidence to support the truth of God’s Word.
A long time ago, a young farm boy traveled to the city for the first time. As the boy walked with his father down the unpaved main street, he heard a loud clang ... clang ... clang.
"What's that?" he asked his father.
His father said, "Come, I'll show you," and took the boy to the door of the blacksmith's shop. There the boy saw a huge man lifting a big, heavy hammer high in the air, as if to chop down a tree, and then crashing it down on a glowing piece of metal on top of the anvil. The man hit the anvil so hard that it made the boy wince. The boy's father explained to him that the blacksmith made all kinds of metal pieces for wagons, carriages, plows, and tools.
But the little boy was fixed on two things: the heavy hammer and the great metal anvil. They met each other with such a loud sound and with such force that the boy thought surely the anvil could not last long. The big, strong blacksmith paused for a moment to catch his breath, and saw the boy standing in the doorway.
"Aren't you going to break that thing?" the boy asked, pointing at the anvil.
The blacksmith smiled and said, "This anvil is a hundred years old and has worn out many hammers."
Likewise, God’s Word is an anvil that has worn out a thousand hammers. In every generation, new heavy "hammers" are forged against the truth of the Bible. Strong men and women use these hammers to pound on the Scriptures. People with no historical perspective--like little boys who've never been to town--see it and say, "Surely the Bible will be destroyed." But others who know their history a little better say, "This Bible was forged in the furnace of absolute divine truth and has worn out many hammers."
Well, the question that needs to be asked here is “why should we care?” Does the fact that absolute truth is defined in the character of God mean anything to me? Does the fact that Absolute truth is revealed in the Word of God have any application to my life?
Again, I say confidently, “absolutely.”
Absolute truth is applied in the children of God
How do you know the difference between truth and a counterfeit? You know the truth so well that the counterfeits are obvious. When you don’t know or don’t care about truth, you open yourself to the next available counterfeit.
When Dorothy Livingston, opened an account at the First National Bank in Newport, Penn., the teller wasn't at all suspicious, even though the opening deposit was $1 million. Even though the deposit was made in cash. Even though it was made with a single $1 million bill. Even though there is no such thing as a $1 million bill -- the largest U.S.-dollar bill in common circulation is the $100 bill. After the account was open, Livingston allegedly withdrew some of the balance and transferred some to other accounts.
My question about this is not how did this lady print up such great funny money, but why didn’t the bank teller know that there is no such thing as a million dollar bill? And who trained this bank teller? I have no doubt that the powers of this dark world are going to come up with lies, phonies, counterfeits, and half-truths. The Bible says that Satan masquerades as an angel of light – tricking and deceiving people. The real question is why do Christians believe these things? I think it is because they have not believed the first thing, and that is absolute truth. Absolute truth is applied in the children of God.
There is a big difference between interpretation and application. Let’s say you walk into a Bible study and you read a passage of Scripture. The Bible study leader then opens the discussion with a question, “what does that Scripture mean to you,” Is that a good question? Many people would say that it is. When the Word of God says something, how many meanings, or interpretations should it have? It only has one meaning. It only has the AUTHOR’S INTENDED MEANING (the AIM).
It really doesn’t matter what you or I think the Scripture means. It only matters what the Author meant to say. Who is the Author? The One who is Absolute Truth: eternal, immortal, who does not lie, who is the ONLY way, truth and life.
What if the Bible study leader said, “how does this Scripture text apply to your life?” Is that a good question? Of course it is, because it does not seek to change the meaning of the Word of God, but seeks a response in the individual. “Jesus is the way, the truth, and the Life” only has one meaning - Jesus is the only way to have a relationship with God. It could have many applications – in your marriage, how you talk to your co –workers, how you manage your money, etc.
Absolute truth is applied in the children of God because God didn’t give us his Word so we could have a useless museum RELIC to sit on our dusty shelves. He wants us to LIVE it.
There was a university professor from Canada who tried to get out of a ticket for running a stop sign. What was his excuse? He said the stop sign was too “vague.” If four drivers ask, “what does “stop” mean to me?” when they all arrive at a four way stop, the result could be a disaster. It will also be a disaster if the drivers understand the correct meaning of the stop sign, but refuse to apply it.
If the sign says “No Parking” it means no parking, because the results could be a disaster. You probably ought to apply the Author’s Intended Meaning of “No Parking.” If the Word of God says that something is wrong and we shouldn’t do it, then that’s what it means. It doesn’t matter if we don’t like it. Whether we like it or not won’t change the meaning and the absolute truth behind the meaning. God’s Word is a Rock, not a rubber band.
Perhaps one of the greatest lies around today is that if it feels good and makes you comfortable, it is true. “If you believe or feel that it’s true, then it is.” Truth has nothing to do with how we feel about it.
I know this doesn’t work, because I like to go fishing. Now people like me who like to fish are hopeless optimists. When I go fishing I “believe” that I’m going to catch a fish, and not just any fish, but the biggest fish in the pond. My belief in my ability to catch fish, as intense and misguided as it may be, certainly doesn’t make a trout swallow the hook.
Let me put it another way. Imagine a battleship on the ocean on a dark, foggy night. The ship’s captain sees a light ahead, and at the same time he gets a call on the radio. The voice on the other end says, “change your course.” The ship’s captain doesn’t want to change his course so he barks back in reply, “no, you change your course.” This goes back and forth for a few minutes till finally the captain is so fed up that he yells in the radio “change your course! I am a battleship!” Listen to the reply. The radio squawked to life and the captain heard these words: “I am not going to change my course, I am a lighthouse.”
Absolute truth does not adjust, does not change, and does not bend with the times or the winds of cultural whims. Truth does not adjust to us. We adjust to truth. What happens if we don’t adjust our lives to God’s truth? What would happen to the battleship if it did not change its course? If you deny absolute truth, you deny the necessity of obedience, and that is a very dangerous, disastrous place to be.
CONCLUSION:
My biggest fear for Christianity in these postmodern days is not attacks from the outside. Jesus told us to expect those – indeed many hammers have been broken on the anvil of God’s Word. My fear is that Christians will crumble on the inside, and that we will replace moral absolutes with moral relativism.
Guess what? It has already happened. According to researcher George Barna, only one out of THREE Christian adults believe in moral absolutes. And here is the really frightening part: only one out of TEN Christian teenagers believe in moral absolutes.
If you deny absolute truth, you deny the character of God, the Word of God (Jesus and the Bible), and the need for obedience to God, and that is eternally deadly. When push comes to shove, at the end of the day, when a crush of culture says that divorce is OK and God says it’s wrong – I’m going with God. When the American Association of Pediatrics, and Rosie O’Donnell say that homosexuality is OK and God’s Word says it’s wrong – I’m going to stick with God’s absolute truth.
If ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, TNN, TBN, the CIA, the FCC, the FFA, & the IRS all say it’s right; if Antarticans, Americans, Africans, & republicans all say it’s right; if technocrats, democrats, & bureaucrats all say it’s right; if, rock stars, talk stars, & jock stars all say it’s right; if, computer geeks, oil sheiks, & Oprah freaks all say it’s right; if presidents, principalities, powers, princes, paupers, papers, and people for the ethical treatment of penquins all say it’s right; and God’s Word says it’s wrong, I’m going with God every time.
Why? I believe in God's absolute truth. Romans 3:4 says Let God be true, and every man a liar.
How would you answer this important question? Do you think you should? Does it matter?
Which one is truth more like? Is it like a RUBBER BAND? Does truth stretch and bend with the times? Or is truth more like a ROCK? Is it absolute and unbreakable?
Do you know?
I believe the question “What is truth” is not one of those “there are no right or wrong answers” things. I want you to believe in the doctrine of absolute truth, and I would like to give you three compelling reasons to believe in absolute truth.
Absolute truth is defined in the CHARACTER of God
Now any discussion of truth has to begin with definitions. How many times have you talked with someone and said or heard, “it depends on how you define it.”
The reason why there are so many “definitions” of words these days is because of the influence of the secular humanist worldview. According to humanism, we don’t need a book we call a dictionary (by the way, my dictionary has 6 different meanings for the word truth) because all of us are walking dictionaries, able to define words as we like for our own purposes.
Truth is one of those crucial words that has been completely redefined, so in this defense of a doctrine of absolute truth, I had better define what absolute truth is, right?
But if I did that, someone would say, “but that’s your definition of absolute truth, not mine, so I’m not going to accept your definition!” OK, let’s play it his way. Let’s come up with a definition of absolute truth that satisfies even the harshest of skeptics.
If we are going to define it like that, obviously it has to be totally objective – since he doesn’t like my definition and I don’t like his, absolute truth has to be outside of our personal feelings or opinions on the matter. In fact if any person defines absolute truth, then it fails to be completely objective. Every person has some kind of “bias.” This is why the people who claim to be completely “objective” and “unbiased” (like the news media, politicians, university professors, and people who are trying to sell you something) in fact are not. Absolute truth is OBJECTIVE.
Not only does it have to be objective, but also it has to apply to every human there ever was or ever will be. It has to apply to every person in every situation whether you are hiking with pygmies in Africa or sitting in an office building in downtown St. Louis. Absolute truth would demand a universal standard. How many times have I heard some kid say, usually in a whisper, “Oooh, you shouldn’t lie in church.” Absolute truth means that you shouldn’t lie in church or on the golf course or anywhere. Absolute truth is UNIVERSAL.
So this is a fairly high standard already, but let’s step it up another level – not only does absolute truth have to be totally objective, and 100% universal, but it also has to be completely constant. It has to be unchanging, not wavering or cowering in the moment, but as true and right today as it was 10,000 years ago. It has to be as true and right today as it will be 10,000 years from now. It can never, whether in past or future, be different. Absolute truth is CONSTANT.
Does anything fit the bill?
Now a skeptic may agree to this definition of what absolute truth is, but he would probably say, “according to that definition, absolute truth cannot exist because nothing can be totally objective, universal, and constant.” Is that really the case? Well, in fact, there is nothing in our human (or natural) experience that fits the bill. That leaves us with only one possibility, and that is the “super” natural. Only a SUPERNATURAL being could be totally objective, universal, and constant. Absolute truth is defined in the character of God.
Now we are going to examine what the Bible says about this in a minute, but outside of the Bible, is there any EVIDENCE that there is an objective, universal, and constant God? Does anything that we know to be real correspond with that idea? I can think of several things.
The evidence of the EXISTENCE OF LIFE: People have been arguing about how life, the universe, and everything have come into being for thousands of years, yet only one answer satisfies every question. Even though people may not choose to accept it or believe it, only an objective, universal, and constant Person could have caused all the intricate detail of the universe. Every other theory is faulty.
What is the number one competing theory with intelligent design? There are several theories, but the top competitor would probably be random chance. How many statistics do we need to show us that random chance is a sorry solution? Here’s an experiment you can do with the kids at home. Take a thousand monkeys and set them up in a room with typewriters. Leave them there until every one of them bangs on the typewriters enough to come up with the works of Shakespeare. Random chance doesn’t cut it.
The evidence of the HUMAN CONSCIENCE? Humanist scientists say that morality evolved from our communal existence as primates (all that time trying to type up some Shakespeare). Every culture of history has had some sense of right and wrong. Why? Only one answer logically satisfies the question. Even though people may not choose to accept it or believe it, only an objective, universal, and constant Person could have designed the human brain to have an innate sense of love and morality. Every other theory is faulty.
The Bible says in Romans that creation and conscience show people the nature and character of God.
Romans 1:18-20 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
Absolute truth is bound tightly with the nature and character of God, and if you deny absolute truth, you are denying whom God truly is. But how do we know who God truly is?
Absolute truth is revealed in the WORD of God
Did you see the movie “A Few Good Men?” It was about the trial of some Marines who had unwittingly killed a fellow Marine during training. Do you remember the end where the prosecutor is making accusations against the general and finally demands, “I want the truth!?“ What did the general say in response? “You can’t handle the truth!”
Do you think that Pilate really wanted an answer when he asked his famous question? Do you think he really wanted to know? In fact it says that he didn’t wait around for an answer. Do you think he could handle the truth?
Can anyone handle the fact that God is objective, universal, and constant? Can we handle the fact that God’s character demands that we are accountable to Him? Apparently God thought we could handle absolute truth, because he revealed it to us in His Word.
We have been given “GENERAL Revelation,” which is creation and conscience. But He didn’t stop there. He gave us “SPECIAL Revelation” in two ways. God gave us the written Word, which is the Bible, and he has given us the Living Word, who is Jesus. Absolute truth is revealed in the Word of God
God did not just say it in His written Word, He did it in the real historical person of Jesus. Does the Bible claim absolute truth about God, or about the Bible itself? Did Jesus claim to be the Word of God? Did He claim to speak absolute truth?
Well, I can confidently say, “absolutely.” Here are some of the Scriptures that make these claims:
GOD:
Ø 1 Timothy 1:17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Ø Titus 1:2 2a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time,
Ø 1 Samuel 15:29 He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind.”
Ø James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
THE BIBLE ITSELF:
Ø John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
Ø 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
Ø 1 Peter 1:23-25 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24For, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,25but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.
Ø 2 Peter 1:20-21 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. 21For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
JESUS:
Ø “I tell you the truth” or “AMEN” – 31 times in Matthew, 26 times in John
Ø Revelation 3:14 These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.
Ø John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me
Ø John 1:1-14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
When the Living Word – the “Logos” became flesh (John 1:14) and proclaimed this absolute truth in his teaching, Jesus made an absolutely stunning, mind-boggling claim. He said that he was the way, the truth, and the life. He didn’t say He was one of several ways to God, He said he was the ONLY way to God.
Now here’s the rub. If Jesus claimed to be the ONLY way, then one of two things is possible. Either Jesus was a liar (and so is God and the Bible) or He was speaking absolute truth. Which is it? It can’t be both. You can’t say both are true.
Let that sink in for a minute. If Jesus was a liar, then there is no absolute truth. If Jesus was a liar then people can legitimately say, “Truth is not objective, so I can decide what’s true. Truth is not universal, so it is different in different situations. Truth is not constant, so it changes with the times.” When you deny absolute truth, you deny the truth of the Word of God. You can’t have something be both hot and cold at the same time in the same place. Truth and lies cannot coexist!
Now let’s get personal. This isn’t just about some kind of deep philosophical debate that bleary eyed university eggheads enjoy. What do you believe? Do you believe Jesus lied about absolute truth? Do you have any evidence to support that? Or do you believe that Jesus spoke and lived absolute truth? I would suggest to you that there is more than enough evidence to support the truth of God’s Word.
A long time ago, a young farm boy traveled to the city for the first time. As the boy walked with his father down the unpaved main street, he heard a loud clang ... clang ... clang.
"What's that?" he asked his father.
His father said, "Come, I'll show you," and took the boy to the door of the blacksmith's shop. There the boy saw a huge man lifting a big, heavy hammer high in the air, as if to chop down a tree, and then crashing it down on a glowing piece of metal on top of the anvil. The man hit the anvil so hard that it made the boy wince. The boy's father explained to him that the blacksmith made all kinds of metal pieces for wagons, carriages, plows, and tools.
But the little boy was fixed on two things: the heavy hammer and the great metal anvil. They met each other with such a loud sound and with such force that the boy thought surely the anvil could not last long. The big, strong blacksmith paused for a moment to catch his breath, and saw the boy standing in the doorway.
"Aren't you going to break that thing?" the boy asked, pointing at the anvil.
The blacksmith smiled and said, "This anvil is a hundred years old and has worn out many hammers."
Likewise, God’s Word is an anvil that has worn out a thousand hammers. In every generation, new heavy "hammers" are forged against the truth of the Bible. Strong men and women use these hammers to pound on the Scriptures. People with no historical perspective--like little boys who've never been to town--see it and say, "Surely the Bible will be destroyed." But others who know their history a little better say, "This Bible was forged in the furnace of absolute divine truth and has worn out many hammers."
Well, the question that needs to be asked here is “why should we care?” Does the fact that absolute truth is defined in the character of God mean anything to me? Does the fact that Absolute truth is revealed in the Word of God have any application to my life?
Again, I say confidently, “absolutely.”
Absolute truth is applied in the children of God
How do you know the difference between truth and a counterfeit? You know the truth so well that the counterfeits are obvious. When you don’t know or don’t care about truth, you open yourself to the next available counterfeit.
When Dorothy Livingston, opened an account at the First National Bank in Newport, Penn., the teller wasn't at all suspicious, even though the opening deposit was $1 million. Even though the deposit was made in cash. Even though it was made with a single $1 million bill. Even though there is no such thing as a $1 million bill -- the largest U.S.-dollar bill in common circulation is the $100 bill. After the account was open, Livingston allegedly withdrew some of the balance and transferred some to other accounts.
My question about this is not how did this lady print up such great funny money, but why didn’t the bank teller know that there is no such thing as a million dollar bill? And who trained this bank teller? I have no doubt that the powers of this dark world are going to come up with lies, phonies, counterfeits, and half-truths. The Bible says that Satan masquerades as an angel of light – tricking and deceiving people. The real question is why do Christians believe these things? I think it is because they have not believed the first thing, and that is absolute truth. Absolute truth is applied in the children of God.
There is a big difference between interpretation and application. Let’s say you walk into a Bible study and you read a passage of Scripture. The Bible study leader then opens the discussion with a question, “what does that Scripture mean to you,” Is that a good question? Many people would say that it is. When the Word of God says something, how many meanings, or interpretations should it have? It only has one meaning. It only has the AUTHOR’S INTENDED MEANING (the AIM).
It really doesn’t matter what you or I think the Scripture means. It only matters what the Author meant to say. Who is the Author? The One who is Absolute Truth: eternal, immortal, who does not lie, who is the ONLY way, truth and life.
What if the Bible study leader said, “how does this Scripture text apply to your life?” Is that a good question? Of course it is, because it does not seek to change the meaning of the Word of God, but seeks a response in the individual. “Jesus is the way, the truth, and the Life” only has one meaning - Jesus is the only way to have a relationship with God. It could have many applications – in your marriage, how you talk to your co –workers, how you manage your money, etc.
Absolute truth is applied in the children of God because God didn’t give us his Word so we could have a useless museum RELIC to sit on our dusty shelves. He wants us to LIVE it.
There was a university professor from Canada who tried to get out of a ticket for running a stop sign. What was his excuse? He said the stop sign was too “vague.” If four drivers ask, “what does “stop” mean to me?” when they all arrive at a four way stop, the result could be a disaster. It will also be a disaster if the drivers understand the correct meaning of the stop sign, but refuse to apply it.
If the sign says “No Parking” it means no parking, because the results could be a disaster. You probably ought to apply the Author’s Intended Meaning of “No Parking.” If the Word of God says that something is wrong and we shouldn’t do it, then that’s what it means. It doesn’t matter if we don’t like it. Whether we like it or not won’t change the meaning and the absolute truth behind the meaning. God’s Word is a Rock, not a rubber band.
Perhaps one of the greatest lies around today is that if it feels good and makes you comfortable, it is true. “If you believe or feel that it’s true, then it is.” Truth has nothing to do with how we feel about it.
I know this doesn’t work, because I like to go fishing. Now people like me who like to fish are hopeless optimists. When I go fishing I “believe” that I’m going to catch a fish, and not just any fish, but the biggest fish in the pond. My belief in my ability to catch fish, as intense and misguided as it may be, certainly doesn’t make a trout swallow the hook.
Let me put it another way. Imagine a battleship on the ocean on a dark, foggy night. The ship’s captain sees a light ahead, and at the same time he gets a call on the radio. The voice on the other end says, “change your course.” The ship’s captain doesn’t want to change his course so he barks back in reply, “no, you change your course.” This goes back and forth for a few minutes till finally the captain is so fed up that he yells in the radio “change your course! I am a battleship!” Listen to the reply. The radio squawked to life and the captain heard these words: “I am not going to change my course, I am a lighthouse.”
Absolute truth does not adjust, does not change, and does not bend with the times or the winds of cultural whims. Truth does not adjust to us. We adjust to truth. What happens if we don’t adjust our lives to God’s truth? What would happen to the battleship if it did not change its course? If you deny absolute truth, you deny the necessity of obedience, and that is a very dangerous, disastrous place to be.
CONCLUSION:
My biggest fear for Christianity in these postmodern days is not attacks from the outside. Jesus told us to expect those – indeed many hammers have been broken on the anvil of God’s Word. My fear is that Christians will crumble on the inside, and that we will replace moral absolutes with moral relativism.
Guess what? It has already happened. According to researcher George Barna, only one out of THREE Christian adults believe in moral absolutes. And here is the really frightening part: only one out of TEN Christian teenagers believe in moral absolutes.
If you deny absolute truth, you deny the character of God, the Word of God (Jesus and the Bible), and the need for obedience to God, and that is eternally deadly. When push comes to shove, at the end of the day, when a crush of culture says that divorce is OK and God says it’s wrong – I’m going with God. When the American Association of Pediatrics, and Rosie O’Donnell say that homosexuality is OK and God’s Word says it’s wrong – I’m going to stick with God’s absolute truth.
If ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, TNN, TBN, the CIA, the FCC, the FFA, & the IRS all say it’s right; if Antarticans, Americans, Africans, & republicans all say it’s right; if technocrats, democrats, & bureaucrats all say it’s right; if, rock stars, talk stars, & jock stars all say it’s right; if, computer geeks, oil sheiks, & Oprah freaks all say it’s right; if presidents, principalities, powers, princes, paupers, papers, and people for the ethical treatment of penquins all say it’s right; and God’s Word says it’s wrong, I’m going with God every time.
Why? I believe in God's absolute truth. Romans 3:4 says Let God be true, and every man a liar.
Of Tornadoes and Culture
Well, last night was interesting.
As I began to realize that a very intense, tornadic storm was heading directly toward us, (about 10:00 PM), I was trying to decide what we should do. We could have hid in the closet or even our skanky little cellar, but I didn't really like either idea.
The TV reports were coming in about 3 inch hail, and it made me cringe to think of our van being trashed by hail. The path of the tornado was heading just north of us, but close enough to make me know that it was time to jump in the closet or get out of dodge.
So I hastily decided that by driving just a few miles south, we would be out of the path of the storm and away from the hail. I told the boys (who were still awake and already scared since they had heard the sirens) we were leaving. They leaped from their beds with great joy and scattered to the van like rabbits.
I gave Jason the keys and told him to go unlock the van, while I started trying to wake the girls. Jenette had already taken Jenna out to the van, so I started by waking up Jordan. She gradually woke up (at this point I realized I should have done all this ten minutes sooner!), and after leisurely using the bathroom, dawdled out to the van.
Then I started trying to pick up Jewel, but I realized that she had wet the bed and she was completely soaked. She was totally asleep, so I just tried to strip her down as fast as I could.
We were going so fast that I picked her up, grabbed a clean blanket, and rushed her out to the van. Jenette was very surprised to see the poor cold little naked thing! Then I ran back in, grabbed Joy, and ran out to the van carrying her under my arm like a football, (she squealed every time I took a stride) and threw her in.
As we were rushing away from the storm's onslaught, it occurred to me that people in the area most likely had little else on their minds. We didn't have any problems or any damage at all, but it made me realize that when imminent danger is upon you, all other considerations are small. We left the lights on, the doors unlocked, and the poor dog still in her cage.
In doing my ministry to families, I wish more families would see the imminent danger of the godless popular culture. Instead of rushing out of danger, even so called "Christian" families are more like the scene in Independence Day where all the partiers are on top of the building looking up at the spaceships, saying, "cool" and "awesome" until the destruction rays started blasting them into oblivion.
The tornado of culture creates a wide swath of destruction to children and families, but instead of getting out of dodge, so many people I know are driving their families right into the hook echo. Sigh.
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. Ephesians 4:14-15
As I began to realize that a very intense, tornadic storm was heading directly toward us, (about 10:00 PM), I was trying to decide what we should do. We could have hid in the closet or even our skanky little cellar, but I didn't really like either idea.
The TV reports were coming in about 3 inch hail, and it made me cringe to think of our van being trashed by hail. The path of the tornado was heading just north of us, but close enough to make me know that it was time to jump in the closet or get out of dodge.
So I hastily decided that by driving just a few miles south, we would be out of the path of the storm and away from the hail. I told the boys (who were still awake and already scared since they had heard the sirens) we were leaving. They leaped from their beds with great joy and scattered to the van like rabbits.
I gave Jason the keys and told him to go unlock the van, while I started trying to wake the girls. Jenette had already taken Jenna out to the van, so I started by waking up Jordan. She gradually woke up (at this point I realized I should have done all this ten minutes sooner!), and after leisurely using the bathroom, dawdled out to the van.
Then I started trying to pick up Jewel, but I realized that she had wet the bed and she was completely soaked. She was totally asleep, so I just tried to strip her down as fast as I could.
We were going so fast that I picked her up, grabbed a clean blanket, and rushed her out to the van. Jenette was very surprised to see the poor cold little naked thing! Then I ran back in, grabbed Joy, and ran out to the van carrying her under my arm like a football, (she squealed every time I took a stride) and threw her in.
As we were rushing away from the storm's onslaught, it occurred to me that people in the area most likely had little else on their minds. We didn't have any problems or any damage at all, but it made me realize that when imminent danger is upon you, all other considerations are small. We left the lights on, the doors unlocked, and the poor dog still in her cage.
In doing my ministry to families, I wish more families would see the imminent danger of the godless popular culture. Instead of rushing out of danger, even so called "Christian" families are more like the scene in Independence Day where all the partiers are on top of the building looking up at the spaceships, saying, "cool" and "awesome" until the destruction rays started blasting them into oblivion.
The tornado of culture creates a wide swath of destruction to children and families, but instead of getting out of dodge, so many people I know are driving their families right into the hook echo. Sigh.
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. Ephesians 4:14-15
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Joel Osteen's Your Self-Image Life Now? Should Christians Love Themselves or Base Their Value on Self? Part III - CWN
Joel Osteen's Your Self-Image Life Now? Should Christians Love Themselves or Base Their Value on Self? Part III - CWN
Third article in the series by Brannon Howse about Joel Olsteen. This article critiques the "Self-image" idea that is so prevalent in Christian circles. Good stuff!
jc
Third article in the series by Brannon Howse about Joel Olsteen. This article critiques the "Self-image" idea that is so prevalent in Christian circles. Good stuff!
jc
Sunday, March 05, 2006
The Infamous Exploding Whale - Video
The Infamous Exploding Whale - Video
As promised, the link to the exploding whale video. The quality of the video is not that great, but you'll get the idea!
jc
As promised, the link to the exploding whale video. The quality of the video is not that great, but you'll get the idea!
jc
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Take Captive every Thought
Lesson for Sunday, March 3.
Should there be a difference between the way a Godly person thinks and the way a worldly person thinks? If there should be a difference, what is that difference? Let me first start with a short answer to this question, then I will spend several weeks on different facets of the answer.
So the short answer is YES, there should be a difference between the way a Godly person thinks and the way a worldly person thinks, and the difference is founded in the way thinking patterns, assumptions and habits are established. So there is the short answer.
Before I get on with the long answer over the next few weeks, I need to tell you that the problem with even talking about this is that most Christians do not even know that they don’t THINK like a Christian. Maybe you have heard the phrase, “If you want to know what water is like, don’t ask a FISH.” We are so swamped by the world’s system and messages and standards that we don’t even recognize what it is. So today I want to start by talking about patterns of thinking within the Christian. What does the Bible tell us about how to think? When we learn to think Biblically and “Christianly,” we realize that the standards of this world are not Godly at all.
If you want to completely avoid the influence of the world, I would suggest you go climb into a nice deep Ozark cave and never come out. You cannot go anywhere, do anything, or listen to anyone talk without getting a truckload of human wisdom. It is on the TV, the radio, the computer, the newspapers, the celebrated people and events of our culture, the schools, the government, the family, and yes, even the church.
The main text I want to look at is 2 Cor. 10:1-6. This paragraph introduces Paul’s harshest words for the Corinthian church. A church that has forgotten it’s standard. Let’s read these verses:
1By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” when away! 2I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. 3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 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.
Another slightly different version (my paraphrase, actually!)
3Although we are wandering around in weak physical frames, we don’t fight battles as soldiers do in a weak, physical sense: 4For the tools we use to fight in our service as soldiers are not weak and human but God powered. They bring complete destruction of fortified strongholds, like 5human patterns of thinking. These weapons completely destroy all high and lofty barriers that rise up in opposition to what we know about God. They also capture every human scheme or motivation and bring them to the submission of Christ; and these tools are ready to avenge all disobedience when your submission is complete.
All this talk about weapons and strongholds and demolishing things is a bit overwhelming. We don’t really like the idea of a fight – oh it might be nice to read about or watch a movie about, but we don’t really like the notion that we might have to be in the battle. But when it comes to the influence of the foolish standards of the world, please remember this: If you don’t fight, you lose.
I believe you can fight off the influence of worldly standards by committing yourself to follow some examples that Paul gives us here. I looked at what Paul says “we” do in verses 3 – 6. When Paul says “we” he is referring to himself and those who agree that what Paul preached about Jesus was accurate. The examples he set for the Corinthians and for us to follow were grounded in his ability to “think like a Christian.”. Let’s look at these examples and see how they can apply to our lives to help us overcome the influence of the world’s standards.
Paul’s first example is “we LIVE” (vs. 3)
Verse 3 says “though we live in the world we do not wage war as the world does.” Maybe it seems to be a no brainer that “we live,” but there is more to it than those two words. The idea is, although we cannot LEAVE the world’s influences, we should not LOVE them.
1 John 2:15-17 says
15Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
The best way I can illustrate this is telling you about a sermon I saw at Maranatha Bible Camp a few years ago. The speaker, my friend Mark Landis was demonstrating this very point, and he had a young volunteer named David Repuyan come forward and sit inside a little kid’s plastic swimming pool. He was a “cheerio” in a huge cereal bowl Mark said, as he poured boxes of cheerios and gallons of ice cold milk all over him.
The point was that David was “in” the milk, but not “of” the milk. Then he squeezed several bottles of chocolate syrup all over David and stirred up the syrup and milk in this giant cereal bowl. He explained that though David was “in” the milk but not “of” the milk, the chocolate was all mixed up with the milk and had become inseparable from it. The chocolate was “in” the milk and it was “of” the milk.
David was a good sport about the cereal bowl illustration, but he sure was messy and sticky (and cold) while in that giant cereal bowl. That is how the influences are in this world; they are all around us, coating us with temptations and fleshly influences. Paul’s example to them is to not be “of’ the world. Jesus did the same thing – he loved sinners like tax collectors and prostitutes, but he didn’t love their sin – he didn’t follow their patterns of thinking and behavior.
Sometimes I feel like we’re lost in this huge sticky, awful mess we call culture, and there is no way out. But there is a way - check this out:
Paul’s next example is – We FIGHT! (Vs 3-4)
In the next verses Paul says:
3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
Art Chen was a fighter pilot for the Chinese in the 1930s when Japan was determined to conquer China. During one battle Chen “took on three Japanese fighters and shot down one before running out of ammunition. He deliberately rammed the second Japanese plane, then bailed out. He landed close to the wreckage of his plane and salvaged one of the machine guns, which he carried eight miles back to the airfield. Presenting the heavy gun to his commanding officer, Chen allegedly asked, ‘Sir, can I have another airplane for my machine gun?’ “
How would our world be different if Christians (that’s who Paul was talking to in this passage) had the same dedication to Christ as that soldier had for his country’s cause? He saw the value of his weapon in the war and went to find another airplane so he could use it. Paul’s example here isn’t just to go out and hack away at evil with any old thing he could find. In fact Paul tells us that God has provided spiritual weapons, which literally means tools of war, that have divine power – the same power that rose Jesus from the dead to gain ultimate victory.
Having the upper hand in any kind of fight is generally attributed to having superior weapons. The example of WW II. God doesn’t need human weapons to win a fight. Think about how Jesus was victorious over sin and death. He “nuked” the devil with sacrifice and love and obedience. Those are not the world’s weapons.
Think about the weapons that we read about in the Bible. The spirit of the Lord came upon Samson in power and the jawbone of a donkey became a weapon that killed a thousand. God empowered David and a smooth stone fired from a sling killed a giant.
Paul doesn’t tell us what these weapons are specifically, but we know at least a few! Ephesians 6 tells that the God’s Word is the “sword of the spirit.” Earlier in this letter in chapter six Paul talks about having “weapons of righteousness in the right hand and left.” What are the most powerful weapons God has ever used? How about three old nails and a wooden cross? We don’t fight human influences with human weapons!
The idea is that whatever or whoever God empowers with His spirit will be a tool to accomplish his purpose – a spiritual weapon fighting spiritual battles. We fight worldliness by practicing God’s standard of righteousness, and by using God’s wisdom to destroy human standards in our own lives. They are Satan’s strongholds.
Paul’s next example is that we demolish strongholds.
The second part of verse 4 reads:
On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God,
Have you seen the video of highway engineers in Washington a while back who decided to remove a dead, beached whale by blowing it up? They wired it with dynamite, pushed the button, and boom, people ¼ mile away were covered with whale blubber, and even a car was crushed by a massive flying whale filet. But they failed in removing it. It was mostly still one giant carcass rotting on the beach.
The word Paul uses here that is translated “demolish” means literally to completely obliterate using force – so that it is totally, 100% gone and extinct. If the highway engineers had “demolished” the whale as Paul is using the word, no whale chunks would have been laying on the beach. He tells us that our spiritual weapons have divine power – they are plugged in and powered by God to completely destroy strongholds – places where the enemy is very well fortified. What are these strongholds? In verse 5 see two – arguments and every pretension.
“Arguments” carries the idea of human reason or human PHILOSOPHY. “Philosophy” is a word that means the love or pursuit of wisdom. At its source – it says that people create truth. It says that people generate wisdom by themselves by thinking about it long enough.
The second stronghold, which the NIV translates “every pretension” is man’s barrier of PRIDE. The King James version calls it every “high thing.” Those words could be translated “every high and lofty barrier” that rises up against God. It is man’s thinking that we don’t NEED God. This is the fuel for the idea of “molecules to man” evolution.
But humanistic philosophies did not spring up in our modern world with Charley Darwin. The Greek culture was steeped in the humanistic ideas of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, among others. These Christians in Corinth were allowing the worldly system of thinking – these humanistic thinking patterns - to take the place of the simple truth of the gospel.
In 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 Paul told them
2:4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
Prideful, God-denying humanistic thinking patterns are truly fortified strongholds of God’s enemy, Satan. These strongholds must be demolished because God doesn’t have any use for any kind of humanistic thinking patterns in our lives. James 3 says that human “wisdom” is “earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.” That is not to say that we are not supposed to use our minds and think – some people think that to be a Christian, you have to stop thinking, but that is wrong.
To be a Christian we need to stop thinking like the WORLD and start thinking like CHRIST wants us to. (Romans 12:2 Do not conform…) We are to use our minds but our minds are to be submitted to Christ.
Paul gives us another example – perhaps the most challenging one - we take CAPTIVE every THOUGHT
10:5b and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Have you ever tried to capture something over and over and just couldn’t? I used to have a dog that would endlessly try to catch flies but never did. We could tell when he was doing it just by listening to his teeth chomping together. It seems sometimes that our thoughts are like that – buzzing around our heads and impossible to capture and sort out. The word that Paul uses here for “thought” suggests the intentions of our heart – our motivations.
How long do you think this communion table is? Tell someone next to you how long you think it is. Right now I could ask who thinks they have the correct answer, and many hands would raise. How many different answers would we have? As many people as we have here in the room, unless some of you happened to guess the same number. How could we come to a consensus and get an accurate measurement? By having a standard that is objective and accurate.
That is the essence of taking every thought captive and making it obedient to Christ. This is the BASEBALL CATCHER analogy.
This is a three part process:
1. CATCH it
2. SUBMIT it for judgment
3. ACT on it accordingly.
Christ is the standard that he keeps calling them back to! Paul’s example was to compare his motivations, his thoughts, the deepest part of him to Christ, and obey. Imagine Jesus, knowing what was coming, in the garden of Gethsemane praying – taking captive his thoughts and motivations and saying to the Father, “not as I will, but as you will.
Should there be a difference between the way a Godly person thinks and the way a worldly person thinks? If there should be a difference, what is that difference? Let me first start with a short answer to this question, then I will spend several weeks on different facets of the answer.
So the short answer is YES, there should be a difference between the way a Godly person thinks and the way a worldly person thinks, and the difference is founded in the way thinking patterns, assumptions and habits are established. So there is the short answer.
Before I get on with the long answer over the next few weeks, I need to tell you that the problem with even talking about this is that most Christians do not even know that they don’t THINK like a Christian. Maybe you have heard the phrase, “If you want to know what water is like, don’t ask a FISH.” We are so swamped by the world’s system and messages and standards that we don’t even recognize what it is. So today I want to start by talking about patterns of thinking within the Christian. What does the Bible tell us about how to think? When we learn to think Biblically and “Christianly,” we realize that the standards of this world are not Godly at all.
If you want to completely avoid the influence of the world, I would suggest you go climb into a nice deep Ozark cave and never come out. You cannot go anywhere, do anything, or listen to anyone talk without getting a truckload of human wisdom. It is on the TV, the radio, the computer, the newspapers, the celebrated people and events of our culture, the schools, the government, the family, and yes, even the church.
The main text I want to look at is 2 Cor. 10:1-6. This paragraph introduces Paul’s harshest words for the Corinthian church. A church that has forgotten it’s standard. Let’s read these verses:
1By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” when away! 2I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. 3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 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.
Another slightly different version (my paraphrase, actually!)
3Although we are wandering around in weak physical frames, we don’t fight battles as soldiers do in a weak, physical sense: 4For the tools we use to fight in our service as soldiers are not weak and human but God powered. They bring complete destruction of fortified strongholds, like 5human patterns of thinking. These weapons completely destroy all high and lofty barriers that rise up in opposition to what we know about God. They also capture every human scheme or motivation and bring them to the submission of Christ; and these tools are ready to avenge all disobedience when your submission is complete.
All this talk about weapons and strongholds and demolishing things is a bit overwhelming. We don’t really like the idea of a fight – oh it might be nice to read about or watch a movie about, but we don’t really like the notion that we might have to be in the battle. But when it comes to the influence of the foolish standards of the world, please remember this: If you don’t fight, you lose.
I believe you can fight off the influence of worldly standards by committing yourself to follow some examples that Paul gives us here. I looked at what Paul says “we” do in verses 3 – 6. When Paul says “we” he is referring to himself and those who agree that what Paul preached about Jesus was accurate. The examples he set for the Corinthians and for us to follow were grounded in his ability to “think like a Christian.”. Let’s look at these examples and see how they can apply to our lives to help us overcome the influence of the world’s standards.
Paul’s first example is “we LIVE” (vs. 3)
Verse 3 says “though we live in the world we do not wage war as the world does.” Maybe it seems to be a no brainer that “we live,” but there is more to it than those two words. The idea is, although we cannot LEAVE the world’s influences, we should not LOVE them.
1 John 2:15-17 says
15Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
The best way I can illustrate this is telling you about a sermon I saw at Maranatha Bible Camp a few years ago. The speaker, my friend Mark Landis was demonstrating this very point, and he had a young volunteer named David Repuyan come forward and sit inside a little kid’s plastic swimming pool. He was a “cheerio” in a huge cereal bowl Mark said, as he poured boxes of cheerios and gallons of ice cold milk all over him.
The point was that David was “in” the milk, but not “of” the milk. Then he squeezed several bottles of chocolate syrup all over David and stirred up the syrup and milk in this giant cereal bowl. He explained that though David was “in” the milk but not “of” the milk, the chocolate was all mixed up with the milk and had become inseparable from it. The chocolate was “in” the milk and it was “of” the milk.
David was a good sport about the cereal bowl illustration, but he sure was messy and sticky (and cold) while in that giant cereal bowl. That is how the influences are in this world; they are all around us, coating us with temptations and fleshly influences. Paul’s example to them is to not be “of’ the world. Jesus did the same thing – he loved sinners like tax collectors and prostitutes, but he didn’t love their sin – he didn’t follow their patterns of thinking and behavior.
Sometimes I feel like we’re lost in this huge sticky, awful mess we call culture, and there is no way out. But there is a way - check this out:
Paul’s next example is – We FIGHT! (Vs 3-4)
In the next verses Paul says:
3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
Art Chen was a fighter pilot for the Chinese in the 1930s when Japan was determined to conquer China. During one battle Chen “took on three Japanese fighters and shot down one before running out of ammunition. He deliberately rammed the second Japanese plane, then bailed out. He landed close to the wreckage of his plane and salvaged one of the machine guns, which he carried eight miles back to the airfield. Presenting the heavy gun to his commanding officer, Chen allegedly asked, ‘Sir, can I have another airplane for my machine gun?’ “
How would our world be different if Christians (that’s who Paul was talking to in this passage) had the same dedication to Christ as that soldier had for his country’s cause? He saw the value of his weapon in the war and went to find another airplane so he could use it. Paul’s example here isn’t just to go out and hack away at evil with any old thing he could find. In fact Paul tells us that God has provided spiritual weapons, which literally means tools of war, that have divine power – the same power that rose Jesus from the dead to gain ultimate victory.
Having the upper hand in any kind of fight is generally attributed to having superior weapons. The example of WW II. God doesn’t need human weapons to win a fight. Think about how Jesus was victorious over sin and death. He “nuked” the devil with sacrifice and love and obedience. Those are not the world’s weapons.
Think about the weapons that we read about in the Bible. The spirit of the Lord came upon Samson in power and the jawbone of a donkey became a weapon that killed a thousand. God empowered David and a smooth stone fired from a sling killed a giant.
Paul doesn’t tell us what these weapons are specifically, but we know at least a few! Ephesians 6 tells that the God’s Word is the “sword of the spirit.” Earlier in this letter in chapter six Paul talks about having “weapons of righteousness in the right hand and left.” What are the most powerful weapons God has ever used? How about three old nails and a wooden cross? We don’t fight human influences with human weapons!
The idea is that whatever or whoever God empowers with His spirit will be a tool to accomplish his purpose – a spiritual weapon fighting spiritual battles. We fight worldliness by practicing God’s standard of righteousness, and by using God’s wisdom to destroy human standards in our own lives. They are Satan’s strongholds.
Paul’s next example is that we demolish strongholds.
The second part of verse 4 reads:
On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God,
Have you seen the video of highway engineers in Washington a while back who decided to remove a dead, beached whale by blowing it up? They wired it with dynamite, pushed the button, and boom, people ¼ mile away were covered with whale blubber, and even a car was crushed by a massive flying whale filet. But they failed in removing it. It was mostly still one giant carcass rotting on the beach.
The word Paul uses here that is translated “demolish” means literally to completely obliterate using force – so that it is totally, 100% gone and extinct. If the highway engineers had “demolished” the whale as Paul is using the word, no whale chunks would have been laying on the beach. He tells us that our spiritual weapons have divine power – they are plugged in and powered by God to completely destroy strongholds – places where the enemy is very well fortified. What are these strongholds? In verse 5 see two – arguments and every pretension.
“Arguments” carries the idea of human reason or human PHILOSOPHY. “Philosophy” is a word that means the love or pursuit of wisdom. At its source – it says that people create truth. It says that people generate wisdom by themselves by thinking about it long enough.
The second stronghold, which the NIV translates “every pretension” is man’s barrier of PRIDE. The King James version calls it every “high thing.” Those words could be translated “every high and lofty barrier” that rises up against God. It is man’s thinking that we don’t NEED God. This is the fuel for the idea of “molecules to man” evolution.
But humanistic philosophies did not spring up in our modern world with Charley Darwin. The Greek culture was steeped in the humanistic ideas of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, among others. These Christians in Corinth were allowing the worldly system of thinking – these humanistic thinking patterns - to take the place of the simple truth of the gospel.
In 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 Paul told them
2:4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
Prideful, God-denying humanistic thinking patterns are truly fortified strongholds of God’s enemy, Satan. These strongholds must be demolished because God doesn’t have any use for any kind of humanistic thinking patterns in our lives. James 3 says that human “wisdom” is “earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.” That is not to say that we are not supposed to use our minds and think – some people think that to be a Christian, you have to stop thinking, but that is wrong.
To be a Christian we need to stop thinking like the WORLD and start thinking like CHRIST wants us to. (Romans 12:2 Do not conform…) We are to use our minds but our minds are to be submitted to Christ.
Paul gives us another example – perhaps the most challenging one - we take CAPTIVE every THOUGHT
10:5b and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Have you ever tried to capture something over and over and just couldn’t? I used to have a dog that would endlessly try to catch flies but never did. We could tell when he was doing it just by listening to his teeth chomping together. It seems sometimes that our thoughts are like that – buzzing around our heads and impossible to capture and sort out. The word that Paul uses here for “thought” suggests the intentions of our heart – our motivations.
How long do you think this communion table is? Tell someone next to you how long you think it is. Right now I could ask who thinks they have the correct answer, and many hands would raise. How many different answers would we have? As many people as we have here in the room, unless some of you happened to guess the same number. How could we come to a consensus and get an accurate measurement? By having a standard that is objective and accurate.
That is the essence of taking every thought captive and making it obedient to Christ. This is the BASEBALL CATCHER analogy.
This is a three part process:
1. CATCH it
2. SUBMIT it for judgment
3. ACT on it accordingly.
Christ is the standard that he keeps calling them back to! Paul’s example was to compare his motivations, his thoughts, the deepest part of him to Christ, and obey. Imagine Jesus, knowing what was coming, in the garden of Gethsemane praying – taking captive his thoughts and motivations and saying to the Father, “not as I will, but as you will.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Boy uses $1.5 million painting for gum parker - THE ARTS - MSNBC.com
Boy uses $1.5 million painting for gum parker - THE ARTS - MSNBC.com
This is awesome. This shows that more kids should be taken to more fancy schmancy art museums armed with gum.
It probably is not a very good painting anyway. GO KIDS!
jc
This is awesome. This shows that more kids should be taken to more fancy schmancy art museums armed with gum.
It probably is not a very good painting anyway. GO KIDS!
jc
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
ULTRA - Award-Winning Chroma Key and Virtual Set Software. Works with any Green Screen or Blue Screen
ULTRA - Award-Winning Chroma Key and Virtual Set Software. Works with any Green Screen or Blue Screen
This is software that would really help our Studio456 chroma keying stuff. Way cool!
jc
This is software that would really help our Studio456 chroma keying stuff. Way cool!
jc
My Former New Age Life & the Danger of Contemplative Prayer - CWN
My Former New Age Life & the Danger of Contemplative Prayer - CWN
I've read Running against the Wind and I highly recommend it. This article is a nutshell summary of his book. Contemplative prayer is not as much "crap" as Joel Olsteen's "crap," but it is "crap" none the less.
(Wow, I used the word "crap" three times in one posting - I guess four now.)
jc
I've read Running against the Wind and I highly recommend it. This article is a nutshell summary of his book. Contemplative prayer is not as much "crap" as Joel Olsteen's "crap," but it is "crap" none the less.
(Wow, I used the word "crap" three times in one posting - I guess four now.)
jc
Joel Osteen's New Age Life Now? Part II - CWN
Joel Osteen's New Age Life Now? Part II - CWN
Another great article about Joel Olsteen by Brannon Howse. I think the bottom line problem with Olsteen is that he uses feel-good-pop-self-help-pseudopsychology, says that is what God thinks, and neglects to even try to check the Bible for all that crap.
(I guess this means I'm still on my Joel Olsteen rant)
jc
Another great article about Joel Olsteen by Brannon Howse. I think the bottom line problem with Olsteen is that he uses feel-good-pop-self-help-pseudopsychology, says that is what God thinks, and neglects to even try to check the Bible for all that crap.
(I guess this means I'm still on my Joel Olsteen rant)
jc
Family day
We have begun month two (I guess technically month three) of the bombproof budget. Not going to double debt payments this month because we are buying new tires. But the system is working. Jenette and I spent much of today doing some careful planning for our spending during March. The bombproof budget takes much more work and time in planning than we have done before.
After we spent quite a bit of time doing that, we went to CiCi's, then to Walmart, then we came home. I asked each of the kids to tell me two things they wanted to do today. After making the list, we were able to do at least one thing that each kid (and mom) wanted. (Joy Daisy wanted to go have brunch.)
The boys wanted to make a lego star wars movie, so we set up a little lego movie set and shot probably 100 plus frames of a stop motion video. (Maybe I will post some of those pictures!) Those boys are so creative. We had an awesome time, and we learned some things that will enable us to do even more and better in the future. Once I get the home computer upgraded a bit, we can use Studio 10 here and do the editing at home. For now, we will do the editing on the church office computer.
We also bought a shelf and some baskets for the girls room - they needed some help with storage in their room. It was practically impossible for them to clean their room. I also rearranged their closet a little with stuff I had here already. Their room has been a disaster. Hopefully it will be better now.
Bought some advil today to take for my foot - it does seem to help. We'll see about tomorrow!
jc
After we spent quite a bit of time doing that, we went to CiCi's, then to Walmart, then we came home. I asked each of the kids to tell me two things they wanted to do today. After making the list, we were able to do at least one thing that each kid (and mom) wanted. (Joy Daisy wanted to go have brunch.)
The boys wanted to make a lego star wars movie, so we set up a little lego movie set and shot probably 100 plus frames of a stop motion video. (Maybe I will post some of those pictures!) Those boys are so creative. We had an awesome time, and we learned some things that will enable us to do even more and better in the future. Once I get the home computer upgraded a bit, we can use Studio 10 here and do the editing at home. For now, we will do the editing on the church office computer.
We also bought a shelf and some baskets for the girls room - they needed some help with storage in their room. It was practically impossible for them to clean their room. I also rearranged their closet a little with stuff I had here already. Their room has been a disaster. Hopefully it will be better now.
Bought some advil today to take for my foot - it does seem to help. We'll see about tomorrow!
jc
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