News

Christians often exhibit a low self-esteem when talking about their own faithfulness. They don’t want to brag about holiness, which is fine. But often they are too reluctant to give God the glory and acknowledge what they have done by the power of the Spirit working within them. They have a hard time embracing Philippians 2:12 which says “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that God is at work in you…” They’ll praise the Lord but get really squeamy if you praise them for being faithful and conscientious in the salvation that was given to them.

Psalm 26:1 is a tough one: “Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.” We think, “David is being a little pompous here. Nobody trusts in the Lord without wavering.”

Psalm 7:8 is also tough: “…judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me.” My righteousness? My integrity?

Well, yes. If you are baptized in Christ, then you have been washed of your sins and clothed with Jesus, meaning the Holy Spirit also dwells in you to lead you in the ways and teachings and faithfulness of Jesus (Acts 2:38; 1 Cor. 6:11; Romans 6:3-4). That’s who you stand in, and from that standing you move out in obedience and trust and faithfulness in all you do. It’s that simple. It’s like Christian who was given new clothing when his burden rolled down the hill and also given God’s scroll to read and follow on his path to the Celestial City!

I think we always read passages with horror like “Let them be turned back and disappointed who devise evil against me” only to find out that these are David’s covenant friends: “I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother, as one who laments his mother” (Psalm 35:4, 14).

Or, “Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me. And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest…,” only to find out that it’s not an enemy, but it is “…my companion, my familiar friend. We used to take sweet counsel together, within God’s house we walked in the throng.” Yet David continues, “Let death steal over them; let them go down to Sheol alive; for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart” (Psalm 55:5-6, 13b-15).

What shocks us is that a brother or sister could fall away from the Lord so much that David is asking pretty heavy judgment upon them: death and Sheol because evil has ensnared them through and through.

While it’s hard for us moderns to sit in any judgment seat, David does not shrink back, and neither should we. People fall away, dearest Christians betray Jesus and others: King Saul, Absalom, Judas, Alexander the Coppersmith.

What are you to do? Remember the cloud of witnesses that surround you, lay aside the sin which clings so closely, and run the faithful race with endurance, all the while looking to Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2). And, taking care there be no unbelieving heart in yourself that falls away from the living God, while exhorting and being exhorted yourself, such that you are not hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. You want to strive to be firm in Christ till the end! (Hebrews 3:12-14).

When you are reading your bible to yourself, or to your children, or listening to it, keep your eyes and ears perked to listen to repeated phrases and words.

For example, we all know from Genesis 3:15 that Jesus is going to crush the “head of the serpent.” But then throughout the scriptures, you read about all these evil people, who get crushed heads: Sisera (tent peg to the head), Abimelech (mill stone head-wound), Goliath (rock to the forehead), Absalom (tree fork head crush), and many others. But they are all consummated in Jesus’ death on the cross, where as King, he crushes the serpent on the head, putting death to death. All the while with his feet over the “place of the skull”! His actual death pictured this victory!

Another theme to listen for is “thorns.” That’s part of the curse upon Adam for not faithfully listening to God’s word. He rebelled. Guess what? Throughout the scriptures rebellious people are linked with thorns and the curse. Jotham gave a story to the rebellious who followed Abimelech after killing the sons of Gideon: they would be led by bramble/thorns to their death. Gideon had whipped 77 elders of Succoth after refusing to help him in pursuit of the enemy kings. Throughout the Proverbs the lazy are surrounded by thorns. But in the end? Jesus has a crown of thorns on his head, in his death, signifying he’s taken the curse for us!

Here’s one more: spears. King Saul is always portrayed as carrying a spear. We are told, though, in 1 Samuel 13:22, that most people are without spears. Later on, the first character with a spear is Goliath, a Philistine, who wants to kill David. David, by contrast, never uses a spear. The spear, in this section of the bible, is an oppressive power tool, and it’s linked with the wicked king Saul, acting like the kings of the nations around him, like a Philistine. So how does this “spear” motif point to Jesus? I’ll let you meditate on that!

May Day, or the International Worker’s Day, was celebrated this past week on the 1st. It’s a day in which communists and socialists commemorate the struggle and gains made by workers and the labor movement around the world. That movement holds Karl Marx as its head, and also attributes great gains to Lenin, Stalin, and Mao. Those three men did a lot for workers, putting almost 100 million in the ground, because they did not “work” the way the state wanted them to.

Marx’s ideology/atheology produced the greatest idol of all, the omnipotent state, which made morality relative under the leadership of ambitious men who became gods themselves. With morality relative, the state party could regenerate men and build the paradise to come, with its power absolute and unquestioned. Hence the “workers paradise” of 100 million dead and two billion more sent to hell.

The point of this is to remind us that ideas and false beliefs do have consequences. Either deadly, enslaving ones, or life-giving, freeing ones. Marx is to blame for what came after him, for he saw God’s invisible attributes, eternal power, and divine nature, yet rejected that and became foolish, refusing to honor God or give thanks to him. He exchanged the glory of God for men (Romans 1:19-23).

But thanks be to God that Christ came to set us free, to give us life and to have it abundantly (John 10:10). Through the Father’s great love, Christ’s sacrifice, and the filling of the Holy Spirit, men can love, protect, rule, provide, and give themselves for others, exercising the Dominion Mandate of Genesis 1 to the glory of God and their fellow man. They can work, not to murder and destroy and wither, but to build and worship and love and bring out the glory of nature and man who is made in God’s image. For that end let us rise and worship the Trinity!

He is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed!

There is plenty of joy coming from Easter and the Easter season, and for good reason: our Lord lives, and his word was vindicated, giving great hope, joy, and confidence to all his followers, both then and now.

Not only did his death clear our slate of sins, but by his resurrection, we weren’t left in a “neutral” state as cleansed sinners who have no power to live faithfully. How so? Paul says in Romans 4:25 that Jesus was also “raised for our justification.” Because Jesus is alive, and we are united to him in baptism, we now have and share his resurrected life, and in him, are made right with the Father, even as he is right with the Father: “…just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in the newness of life” (Romans 6:4b).

Is there more to Jesus’ resurrection? Absolutely! One more obvious point is that Jesus was resurrected as a King, as our Lord. Kings and lords not only save their citizens, but they also judge them. In fact, in Israel, the King was the top “elder” in the gate; he helped all the elders judge the people according to God’s law (see Absalom’s rebellious story).

What does that mean for us? It means that we who share his resurrected life must also live faithfully lest we come under his judgment! In our joy and celebration we can’t forget we were raised for a purpose: a faithful life lived under the watchful eye of our Judge. For the Father has fixed a day when he will judge the world by Jesus, and he gave assurance of that by raising Jesus from the dead! (Acts 17:31).

“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen” (Luke 24:5b–6a). We respond: “He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!”

The words above from Luke 24 were the first words spoken by the two angels to the women who had come to prepare Jesus’ body for burial. After telling the disciples, Jesus first appears to Mary Magdalene near the tomb while she is weeping. She supposes him to be the gardener, but after his speaking, recognizes him as the Lord, who then sends her to tell the disciples she has seen the Lord.

Have you ever wondered why Jesus appeared to a woman first? Why is that? The text doesn’t tell us, but we can learn something thinking about it biblically.

We could say that Jesus is the Seed of the woman. He’s crushed the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15), fulfilling his promise to the Woman, and so daughters of Eve are the first to witness it/Him. A great biblical answer, as it honors the Bride.

Another answer is to realize that the first Adam needed a helpmeet, and that the first human person he meets in the garden is Eve. Now we have the Second Adam, Jesus, in a garden, and the first human person he meets is Eve’s daughter, Mary Magdalene, who had ministered to him throughout his ministry in Galilee, (Mark 15:40–41). She had been a “helpmeet” of sorts before his death, and now, after his resurrection, she is presented to him, and she helps! She carries a message to the disciples, as well as being a witness that he is alive! As the first Eve was the glory of Adam in the garden, so Mary is the glory of Jesus as she praises him in a garden, “Rabboni,” and helps by carrying a message. Further testimony, perhaps, that Jesus is the Second Adam, and that he loves and honors his Bride!

“He is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed!”

In the book of Ezra, Ezra the Priest is quite appalled to hear that the exiles had intermarried with Canaanites, one of the very sins that sent them into exile in the first place. They had broken faith by taking wives of the Canaanites, so that they mixed the holy race with the peoples of the lands (Ezra 9:1-2). They vowed then to put away their wives and the children of these unlawful marriages.

The people had jeopardized the seed line of the coming Messiah, for these were the remnants of Judah (and Benjamin) involved.

But is there any present day application for the church? For us as Christian couples and our children? At least two obvious ones.

First, Paul’s admonition in 1 Corinthians 7:39 is a reflection of Ezra: “free to be married…only in the Lord.” As Christians, we can only marry Christians. Couples need to keep this in mind, as death or divorce may break up an existing marriage, and Jesus gives his word on how to rectify that, should the remaining spouse desire to do so. That’s wisdom for us, our children, other believers, and believing relatives. We need to give a sure word to those who find themselves single again.

Secondly, Christians ought not to date non-Christians. That’s strong language, but why date someone you can’t marry? That’s only setting up a very strong temptation to disobey Jesus. Yet Paul’s admonition in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 is strong! Paul directly says, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.” A dating/courtship relationship with an unbeliever is an unequal yoke, and setting oneself, or our children, up for an unequal yoke: marriage to an unbeliever.

Paul is not hard to interpret here. He goes on: “what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? What portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?” He strongly states the principle in verse 17: “be separate from them.” At least in marriage. In short, don’t jeopardize yourself or your faithful line.

One of the recurring themes that the apostle James returns to several times in his epistle is the sinful nature of the human tongue.

In 4:11–12, he specifically deals with brothers who speak evil of one another. This tendency to speak evil of each other has deep roots in mankind’s sinful nature. Adam spoke evil of his wife, Cain spoke evil of his brother, Miriam and Aaron spoke evil against Moses, Korah spoke evil against Moses and Aaron, Sanballat and Tobiah Slandered Nehemiah… you get the idea. James is addressing a deep-rooted sin within the body.

James says that, “He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.” (4:11b). And so in judging the law, they have ceased to be doers.

What is the summary of the law that Jesus gives? Love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor as yourself. But when speaking evil of a brother, a Christian is speaking evil of this law, of Jesus’ words and Jesus’ commands — his is not loving his neighbor, his brother. And so in setting themselves up as judges of the law over and against each other, they have failed to do the law.

James goes on to say: “There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?” (4:12). This should make believers very fearful of sitting in judgement of brothers, of speaking evil against those for whom Jesus has died.

So when you are tempted to speak evil of your brothers, remember instead that Judgement is Jesus’ job, not ours. We would be wise to keep this in mind and not attempt to usurp the role of God.

2 Timothy 3.1-9 is another one of those “last days” passages that our Christian brothers often take as applicable here and now, as if we are in the last days. But as I showed in the last Weekly Perspective, “last days” has a wide pedigree in the Bible, such as in Joel 2, Acts 2, Hebrews 1, and it is clear from Acts 2 and Hebrews 1 that Peter and Paul are talking about events in “their” day.

The same is true here in 2 Timothy 3. Paul says that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. Is he warning us, 2000 years later? Well, no he isn’t; he is warning Timothy about their day and time so that Timothy is a better pastor and won’t be caught off guard. Again, the context alerts us to the faithful reading.

Paul mentions in verse 2 that people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, etc. What does he say about such people in verse 5? Avoid them! Avoid them because they will mislead you, Timothy, and pervert your ministry! Then Paul goes on to judge these men, saying they won’t get very far, for their folly will be plain to all. How so? Because these men oppose the truth, men who are disqualified regarding their faith. Paul is speaking in the present tense about these men, warning Timothy to avoid them. In contrast to the men of verse 1-9, Paul praises Timothy for having followed his teaching, conduct, faith, patience, etc. in verses 10-11. Timothy is contrasted with the living wicked of his day who suffer shipwreck of faith.

How do we apply these passages today? Well, there are still wicked people around and they still can and do attack pastors and spoil their ministries. Present day pastors, and their flocks, should avoid them!

1 Timothy 4:1-5 is another one of those passages that Christians often get snookered by, because they don’t know the context. Paul is talking about the later times, how bad things will be, and other Christians read that and turn to you and say, “We are in the last days; this passage sounds just like what is happening today. Start looking for the rapture or the antichrist! The Spirit says so!”

But is Paul talking about our day, or future days? How do we answer that question? By reading the context! Paul does say that in later times some will depart from the faith by failing to be faithful. So he warns Timothy to mention those things to his flock. Verse 6: “If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.”

Notice what Paul directs Timothy to do: tell and explain to the brothers alive in that day in Timothy’s ministry, about what the Spirit says would happen in the later times. Why? Because Timothy and Paul are living in the later times! Paul is clear that those things are happening in Timothy’s day, and he needs to warn his hearers. The warnings are not really for our day, but for Timothy’s day. Yes, our culture does look like that somewhat, which means we can learn to apply the passage today in our situation. But we aren’t living in the “later times” as they did.

So what are the “later times”? Based on the similar phrase “last days” in Joel 2, Acts 2, Hebrews 1, etc., and Jesus’ discussion of the end of the old covenant temple and worship in Matthew 24, the “later times” are referring to the days of the end of the old covenant around 66-70 AD. Days long gone for us!

Matthew 7:1, “Judge not, that you be not judged” is one of the most misquoted passages in the bible, and used often against Christians by unbelievers when the subject of sin or obedience or faithfulness comes up. “Don’t judge lest you be judged!” They quote it to shut down any judgment at all. “You’re being judgmental; the bible says to ‘judge not.’ You Christians are all hypocrites.”

Then the witnessing moment ends because the believer doesn’t know what to say.

But let’s look at the context; is Jesus really saying, Don’t judge at all? Not at all! In fact, in the following verses He tells you to judge. He tells you to “see” the speck in your brother’s eye, but to first make a judgment and take out the log in your own eye. Yes, Jesus is against hypocrisy. But he is not against judging correctly.

In fact, Jesus goes on to command several more instances of judging (6): don’t give to dogs what is holy, and don’t throw pearls before pigs. You have to make assessments of situations and how to act in them.

In verse 13 Jesus commands you to make a judgment about gate size, so you don’t end up in destruction: enter by the narrow gate. In verses 15ff, Jesus also mentions being aware of false prophets, and that you are to “recognize” them by their fruits. You are to judge their fruits, whether it is good or bad; He doesn’t want you to get eaten up by those ravenous wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing!

So Christians are to follow the Lord in making judgments; but we are to make sure we do so in truth and not hypocritically.

Reading the context around a particular verse makes all the difference in its interpretation, and will keep you from being misled by popular false opinions..

For instance, I Timothy 2.1-7 includes the phrases “who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” and “…Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all…” Most evangelicals think this a great foundation for believing in universal salvation: “God desires all people to be saved! God is loving and caring! What God desires, He gets,” so they say. And, Jesus died for everyone!

But not all are saved, such as Lamech who boasted taking ten-fold revenge over God, King Saul, and Judas. A real dilemma appears: God is not able to save everyone, being weak, and the blood of Jesus is not strong enough to save everyone. But maybe the passage isn’t about universal salvation in the first place!

In fact the passage isn’t speaking about the salvation of all people who have ever lived. We know this by looking at the context. First of all, verse 6 mentions that Jesus was “the testimony given at the proper time.” Secondly, Paul goes on to mention that he was “appointed a preacher and an apostle, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.” Paul was brought on the scene at the appropriate time in biblical history to bring the Gentiles into the kingdom (cf. Ephesians 2). So the passage is not talking about universal salvation, but about God extending the Good News of the gospel to the whole world in Paul’s day, and not just to the Jews! So “all people” means not just Jews, but also Gentiles, which is everyone at that time. God desires people saved of all the nations, both of Jews and Gentiles; it doesn’t mean every soul who ever lived. Hey, that’s in line with the Great Commission!