A Biblical Foundation Part 5: The Bible is Believable

The Bible isn’t something we can try and prove using the “scientific method”. Historical events aren’t observable, measurable and repeatable. Although Isaac Newton may have used the scientific method to prove that gravity exists, we cannot use the scientific method to prove that Isaac Newton discovered gravity itself. So if you actually had a problem with the Bible because you can’t apply the scientific method, you have got a problem with history itself.

If something is written, you must use evidence as the witness to its truth. The only way you can question it is if you don’t have corroboration or there is internal inconsistency. There is no credible claim of any internal inconsistency and we have multiple streams of corroboration. We have three different languages used in scripture; Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic. We have three different continents that scripture was written on; Asia, Africa and Europe. We have over 40 authors who contributed to the writing of scripture, most of whom never met one another because they wrote over a period of some 1600 hundred years.

Based on the evidentiary method, not the scientific method, we conclude, as some have summarized, that the Bible is a reliable collection of historical documents written down by eye witnesses during the lifetime of other eye witnesses. They report to us supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophecy and claim that their writings are divine rather than human in origin.

Jesus and the Old Testament – Jesus said the OT was about Him (Luke 24:27 / John 5:39). He quotes from every section: the Pentateuch, the Wisdom Literature, the Poetry, the Prophets (both major and minor), and the Historical material.

When dealing with the people of His day, whether it was with the disciples or religious rulers, Jesus constantly referred to the OT: (Matthew 12:3, 21:16 (citing Psalm 8:2), and 22:31).

Jesus confirmed many of the historical accounts in the OT, such as the destruction of Sodom and the death of Lot’s wife (Luke 17:29, 32), the murder of Abel by his brother Cain (Luke 11:51), the calling of Moses (Mark 12:26), the manna given in the wilderness (John 6:31-51), the judgment upon Tyre and Sidon (Matthew 11:21), and many others.

Jesus also authenticated some of the passages that are most disputed today. Many modern scholars do not believe that Moses wrote the first five books of the OT, but Jesus did (see Matthew 19:8-9 / Mark 12:29-31 / John 7:19). Some modern scholars also assume the existence of more than one writer of Isaiah, but Jesus believed in only one. In Luke 4:17-21, He cites Isaiah 61:1-2 (the so-called second Isaiah), while in Matthew 15:7-9, He refers to the first part of Isaiah’s work (Isaiah 6:9). The account of Daniel is rejected today by many, but the Lord Jesus believed him to be a prophet (Matthew 24:15). The account of Adam and Eve often is ridiculed today as legend, but Jesus believed the story to be true (Matthew 19:1-6). Likewise, the narrative of Noah and the great flood not only is authenticated by Jesus (Matthew 24:37), it also is used as an example of His second coming. The account of Jonah and the “whale” is used by Jesus as a sign of His resurrection (Matthew 12:39ff).

Jesus used the OT authoritatively – Matthew 4:1-10 – The devil actually uses Scripture to tempt Jesus (Psalm 91:11-12), but Jesus quotes right back to him: (Deuteronomy 8:3, 6:16, 6:13). Jesus believed in the OT.

Jesus and the New Testament – John 16:12-13 – Some talk as if only the words of Jesus are needed and the words of the Apostles are not necessary, as if the words of Jesus are somehow against the words given by the Holy Spirit to the other biblical writers. Jesus himself dismisses with this idea, Christ said that the Spirit would not only bring all the teachings of Jesus to their remembrance, but that He would also bring new truth and revelation to the Apostles upon His death. The epistles do not confuse the teachings of Christ, they magnify them. Paul declared that “we have the mind of Christ” in accordance with Jesus’ own words (1 Corinthians 2:16). If we want to truly be “red letter Christians” then we ought to pay attention to what those red letters of Jesus have to say about the authority of the apostolic writings. Jesus believed in the NT.

Jesus and KJV only – 1 Peter 1:24-25 (Isaiah 40:8) / Psalm 119:160 – God’s Word endures in some form believers will be able to access from generation to generation. It is not that every single word will be preserved in a certain form, but every concept, principle, law, doctrine.

In Matthew 5:18, when Jesus uses the phrase – “iota or dot (jot and tittle)” this does not mean that we will always be able to point to a single copy and say that every period and paragraph is written exactly the same as in the original. A letter perfect form of God’s Word could not be identified with certainty even in Jesus time. Multiple copies already existed, and variations included whole words. Jesus quoted freely from the handmade copies of the Greek version of the OT known as the Septuagint.

Scripture is Trustworthy – we can trust the Bible even if we don’t have the original documents.

The Abundance of Existing Manuscripts – the New Testament is by far the most preserved text of the ancient world, both in terms of the number of existing manuscripts and the time difference between the earliest manuscripts we have and the originals they represent.

The Insignificance of Most Variants – There are many good reasons for a rock solid confidence that 98-99% (not an abstract number) is the same as the original, and even then, it is not that 98-99% percent of the original text exists; it is that more than 100 % exists. We have all the originals say; in that 1-2% that is different, scholars try and find what is likely not original and discard it. It is never mere conjecture. This confidence in the text is shared by people of many theological positions, across conservative/liberal lines, denominational lines, etc.

The Preservation of Primary Doctrines – no major doctrine of the Christian faith is affected in any significant way by any viable textual variant. Those few places where we are not sure never encroach on any issue of major significance, they are doubts on how to spell a few names, word order, differences in style, or confusion concerning synonyms.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Oh No You Don’t! (Radio / Podcast)

But to the wicked God says: "What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips?
(Psalm 50:16 – ESV)

Have you ever watched a program, or seen a conversation where someone who is an unbeliever nevertheless uses Jesus or the bible as an authority for what they say? It is tough when you watch them torture scripture or misrepresent the Christian message. Don’t you just hate it when they seem to get away with it, especially if you had an answer for them?

If unbelievers try and appeal to Jesus or say that you cannot do this or that because Jesus wasn’t like that, well, how would they know? “I’ve read the bible”, they will say. Sure. Anyway, 1 Corinthians 2:14 tells us they cannot truly understand it unless they are submitted to it. You can only exercise authority to the extent you are under that authority. Unless they quote chapter and verse, correctly understanding the context, then their rants are just useless interference and pure speculation. Why are they using Jesus as if they knew Him? You don’t have to argue with them, just correct their misunderstandings with scripture.

If they don’t believe in Christianity, why would they care what Jesus said anyway? For them to use Him as a reference against His own is absurd. What’s more if they think they know how Jesus would react or do something and it isn’t how we would do it, then what is stopping them from becoming a Christian? Why would they not follow Christ if He were so good compared to us? If they like how Jesus does it shouldn’t they call themselves true Christians?

Well we as true Christians know that He is so good compared to us and we don’t always do what Jesus would do or even know what that would be. But we are following Him and learn from Him, unlike those who just want to use Jesus as some sort of opposition to His followers when they have no real clue what Christianity is all about anyway.

Don’t get mad at people like that; just correct their incorrect assertions with the correct scripture, and pray for them. This is just one more reason they will have absolutely no excuse at the judgment. Those that talk so loud now will say “Lord, Lord (and they will say Lord all right), it was your followers fault I didn’t believe in you.” He will say, “Were you following them or me?” “If you thought they were false compared to me then why didn’t you live like me as an example? But no, you followed your own ideas, and you didn’t love me, and you hated those that did love me, and you will now go where you wanted to be from the start, away from me, and away from those that love me, forever….”

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

The Ironic Swallow (Radio / Podcast)

You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
(Matthew 23:24)

Conspiracy theories have always been at the core of a rebel’s heart. Our human nature finds it easy to believe in a story where, lurking behind the scenes, a vast array of twisted subplots lead us to the conclusion that, just as we expected, some cherished notion is just a pipe dream, a fairy tale, or a paper tiger. “I knew it was too good to be true”, we say, and another anchor loses its hold on us. We grow up with this mindset, that everything is not as it seems, and this does have merit. Remember when you found about Santa Claus, or the Easter Bunny? You were never the same, and you were now a hardened skeptic. Yet, also remember, this wasn’t the last time you were fooled, you have been taken for a ride many times since.

How often is it that we make trivial matters our stumbling blocks to success?

Of course, when the conspiracy theory revolves around something as important as your soul, then we might want to investigate further, but how many of us actually do that? We see the tremendous work this or that expert or authority has already done; we should trust them, we reason; how could they reveal all this and be wrong, or why would they lead us astray?

If the premise is wrong, however, then no matter how many items or how much counter evidence is uncovered, it has a faulty foundation, and it cannot stand scrutiny. Why then do we want to take a single thread of counter “evidence”, and let someone take us for a ride, while ignoring the vast volume of reliable evidence we already have? Ironic, isn’t it?

The point we are getting to is that people treat the Bible this way all the time. They see one apparent discrepancy in the Bible and dismiss it all, while they see one tiny shred of coherence in a horoscope or whatever and swallow the whole thing. We call this the “Ironic Swallow”.

Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of His day for doing this type of thing when considering Him.

Atheists and apostates have long been fond of this type of dangerous diet. They strive with everything in their being to somehow prove the Bible as false, and God as non-existent, or at least Christianity as myth. They only need that one item, that one piece of “evidence” to make the whole house come tumbling down, they believe. Of course they already have what they need, an unbelieving heart. If they start, a priori, with intent to disprove, God will most certainly allow them to continue to play the fool.

They know right well that Christianity has withstood the test of time, and has successfully defended itself from every attack, but there is no way that they will yield their stubborn, rebellious hearts to the God of the universe. It is that way for many of the masses; they would rather believe in some generic, fortune cookie type of spirituality than one based on an historical, verifiable reality. In that way, they won’t have to bend the knee. Or so they think. However, God proclaims that every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father (Philippians 2:10).

As far as trying to argue about this verse, it is actually straining the point – Whether it is “straining out a gnat, and swallowing a camel” or “straining at a gnat, and swallowing a camel” doesn’t really matter, because either rendering gives the proper idea. The truth was that they were paying too much attention to lesser things when the greater problems got right past them, which, ironically, is what happens when we debate this verse. We wonder if it is one way or another and miss the point. Again, ironic.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Supernatural Lies

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.
(Galatians 1:8 – ESV)

People think they are special to God because they avoided danger in some fantastic way, or they think that they are on the right path, that everything is going to work out fine, and that they are “going to heaven” or something like that because some supposed supernatural occurrence happened to them, but they take that as above and beyond the bible in authority. They may even say they believe in Jesus or perhaps speak of some vague notion of God, but when discussing their faith what they talk about is in contradiction to the scriptures. They are placing their faith in that experience and not in God’s Word. Paul tells us plainly that no matter what supernatural things have been revealed to you, no matter how fantastic an experience you have had, if it is not in accordance with the gospel and biblical truth, they are not of God, not to be trusted and can be damning if your faith is in them not the true Jesus Christ.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Oh No You Don’t!

But to the wicked God says: "What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips?
(Psalm 50:16 – ESV)

Have you ever watched a program, or seen a conversation where someone who is an unbeliever nevertheless uses Jesus or the bible as an authority for what they say? It is tough when you watch them torture scripture or misrepresent the Christian message. Don’t you just hate it when they seem to get away with it, especially if you had an answer for them?

If unbelievers try and appeal to Jesus or say that you cannot do this or that because Jesus wasn’t like that, well, how would they know? “I’ve read the bible”, they will say. Sure. Anyway, 1 Corinthians 2:14 tells us they cannot truly understand it unless they are submitted to it. You can only exercise authority to the extent you are under that authority. Unless they quote chapter and verse, correctly understanding the context, then their rants are just useless interference and pure speculation. Why are they using Jesus as if they knew Him? You don’t have to argue with them, just correct their misunderstandings with scripture.

If they don’t believe in Christianity, why would they care what Jesus said anyway? For them to use Him as a reference against His own is absurd. What’s more if they think they know how Jesus would react or do something and it isn’t how we would do it, then what is stopping them from becoming a Christian? Why would they not follow Christ if He were so good compared to us? If they like how Jesus does it shouldn’t they call themselves true Christians?

Well we as true Christians know that He is so good compared to us and we don’t always do what Jesus would do or even know what that would be. But we are following Him and learn from Him, unlike those who just want to use Jesus as some sort of opposition to His followers when they have no real clue what Christianity is all about anyway.

Don’t get mad at people like that; just correct their incorrect assertions with the correct scripture, and pray for them. This is just one more reason they will have absolutely no excuse at the judgment. Those that talk so loud now will say “Lord, Lord (and they will say Lord all right), it was your followers fault I didn’t believe in you.” He will say, “Were you following them or me?” “If you thought they were false compared to me then why didn’t you live like me as an example? But no, you followed your own ideas, and you didn’t love me, and you hated those that did love me, and you will now go where you wanted to be from the start, away from me, and away from those that love me, forever….”

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Hold Your Fire!

…Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven…
(Luke 9:54 – HCSB)

James and John, the sons of thunder (Mark 3:17), took it upon themselves to become administers of God’s justice. Because the people were not receptive to Jesus, they felt it their responsibility to teach these folks a lesson for disrespecting God. How often do we presume to be standing up for the honor of God, and yet we do so in a manner not worthy of His grace?

Think about it. How many times have you seen someone in print, or television, or in person blaspheme the name of the Lord, or say derogatory things about God? How many of those times have you wanted to be like the Apostle Paul in Acts 13:10-11, and say to the offender, “I blind thee, wretched scum!” Tell the truth; aren’t you just like the disciples here, by pretense defending the honor of God, all the while defending your own self-esteem?

You must realize that we are no better than they; we are only recipients of God’s mercy and grace. We should not act haughty when we see others who do not believe; we wouldn’t either if it were not for God’s grace. Seeing staunch unbelievers should make us more humble, not more hardened. We are to suffer for His name’s sake; we must leave room for God to defend His own honor, in due time (2 Thessalonians 1:8 / Jude 15).

There is another lesson to learn here. In truth, the people were in the wrong; they didn’t receive Christ because He was seemingly looking past them to His destiny in Jerusalem. How like our own lives today, when Jesus is doing something for someone we know, but not for us, and we complain about it!

Hold your fire, you may be aiming at yourself.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

The Heart of the Matter

…but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience…
(1 Peter 3:15b-16a – ESV)

Proclamation of God's truth from His Word isn't wrong, but it can be done in a wrong way. The danger is swinging the pendulum too far in either direction. Now you want to witness of Christ in a winsome way, and we have no right to be obnoxious. We must remain humble, realizing that it is only by God’s grace that we have seen the light. That being said, we should not be ashamed to defend the gospel, and when we try and round off the sharp corners of the gospel in order to play nice (placate our unbelieving friends), then we are indeed compromising...

In these encounters, we are doing them so as to:

Convey the truth – proclaim the name and truth of Jesus Christ

Convince yourself – sharpen your skills and more fully learn why you believe

Coach others – other believers will witness your witnessing, this helps them to be edified, educated, equipped, and exhorted to grow in their faith

Correct errors – you are doing 2 Corinthians 10:5, this is training others to more fully understand their faith by correcting their ill-informed, misinformed, or uninformed thoughts about the Bible, God, Christ, and the Christian faith.

Contend for the faith – we are called to give an answer, we give them more fully informed and correctly understood representations of what scripture actually says as opposed to mere characterizations, and we proclaim Christ, then let the Spirit do the work

Sometimes you just talk of Jesus, you witness, but sometimes you give a defense, and an answer. You meet them where they are. Yes, as you may expect, most of the time from these hardened ones you will not see any movement. However, we are still to do it, because it adds to their judgment, not that we want to execute them but we are to proclaim, and God holds them accountable. Also, others who may be reading along or see it later could be edified and exhorted and moved. God uses these encounters, and we are to proclaim His glory, His message, His truth.

We cannot be ashamed to proclaim, even if we don’t have all the answers, because we have the right and truthful and necessary ones. We have the eternal perspective. We can be humble but we must still be bold, we cannot cower, especially if we are dealing with people smarter than we are, or people who violently attack our ideas or us. They are God’s ideas, after all, and we worship Him, and must be ready, not only to give an answer (1 Peter 3:15), but also to die, to our self, our dignity, and even with our very lives if necessary. That is the heart of the matter.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

The Ironic Swallow

You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
(Matthew 23:24 – NIV)

Conspiracy theories have always been at the core of a rebel’s heart. Our human nature finds it easy to believe in a story where, lurking behind the scenes, a vast array of twisted subplots lead us to the conclusion that, just as we expected, some cherished notion is just a pipe dream, a fairy tale, or a paper tiger. “I knew it was too good to be true”, we say, and another anchor loses its hold on us. We grow up with this mindset, that everything is not as it seems, and this does have merit. Remember when you found about Santa Claus, or the Easter Bunny? You were never the same, and you were now a hardened skeptic. Yet, also remember, this wasn’t the last time you were fooled, you have been taken for a ride many times since.

How often is it that we make trivial matters our stumbling blocks to success?

Of course, when the conspiracy theory revolves around something as important as your soul, then we might want to investigate further, but how many of us actually do that? We see the tremendous work this or that expert or authority has already done; we should trust them, we reason; how could they reveal all this and be wrong, or why would they lead us astray?

If the premise is wrong, however, then no matter how many items or how much counter evidence is uncovered, it has a faulty foundation, and it cannot stand scrutiny. Why then do we want to take a single thread of counter “evidence”, and let someone take us for a ride, while ignoring the vast volume of reliable evidence we already have? Ironic, isn’t it?

The point we are getting to is that people treat the Bible this way all the time. They see one apparent discrepancy in the Bible and dismiss it all, while they see one tiny shred of coherence in a horoscope or whatever and swallow the whole thing. We call this the “Ironic Swallow”.

Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of His day for doing this type of thing when considering Him.

Atheists and apostates have long been fond of this type of dangerous diet. They strive with everything in their being to somehow prove the Bible as false, and God as non-existent, or at least Christianity as myth. They only need that one item, that one piece of “evidence” to make the whole house come tumbling down, they believe. Of course they already have what they need, an unbelieving heart. If they start, a priori, with intent to disprove, God will most certainly allow them to continue to play the fool.

They know right well that Christianity has withstood the test of time, and has successfully defended itself from every attack, but there is no way that they will yield their stubborn, rebellious hearts to the God of the universe. It is that way for many of the masses; they would rather believe in some generic, fortune cookie type of spirituality than one based on an historical, verifiable reality. In that way, they won’t have to bend the knee. Or so they think. However, God proclaims that every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father (Philippians 2:10). Ironic.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Moral Evolution?

Do you suppose, O man – that you will escape the judgment of God?
(Romans 2:3 – ESV)

There have been recent studies that have “proven” that some children are “born to be bad”. Of course as Christians we know that all men are born bad. Biblically based Christians are not surprised at the depths of the depravity of man.

The rest of society, however, doesn’t get it. When some astronaut or high-ranking person of society goes bad they act surprised because they think we can educate that out of people.

My question to them is this: Do you believe that we will evolve out of our sinful nature, or predilections, as you might want to call them? Not just what I might call sin or evil, but what you would, something like murder, etc.? Or are there any items that aren't up for grabs?

I am genuinely curious. Do you believe we are getting better? Not just on the social, no-slavery, women's rights, etc., etc., kind of thing, but are we getting better with what is in our hearts? How about with greed, lust, anger, etc.? Maybe those aren't "sins" in your book, well then what is? And are we going to evolve out of those things? If not, what then of evolution, simply Nietzsche’s "will to power", you know, “might makes right”?

It is a great irony that after the bloodiest century in history there are people who deny the existence of evil and there are still people who believe that human beings are basically good, and just need education, not salvation. They believe and propagate the false idea that we don’t need a salvation to save us from our inner corruption; we need education to arouse our inner goodness. Even many churches today have this mindset.

However, God’s restraining grace is the only thing preserving anything of the honor and decency in our world. Man left to himself can never climb his way out of his own heart. He will sink into to the depths of his own depravity, unless God in His common grace restrains him, and until God in His saving grace rescues him. We will not morally evolve and we will not educate ourselves out of our depravity.

Is this greatly educated society of America becoming more moral? Now education is not the enemy in itself, no. We think education is good, yes, it is, but education cannot save us, just the same as God is not as interested in your savings account, as He is your soul. Education and upward mobility are not and cannot be the answer. Salvation is the answer. We need the right education (Romans 12:2 / Ephesians 4:23).

The wrath of God, leaving us to ourselves, is a present matter, it is ongoing – it is being revealed and will continue to be revealed in greater measure (Colossians 3:5-6 / Ephesians 5:6). God gives us up to our own lusts, in accordance with our depraved nature (Ephesians 4:17-19).

Now, looking back we see what they did and are doing, but now it is also you. This means you. Paul is restating and further clarifying his thoughts about men and their need, all men and their need, because they are all guilty, they are all without excuse, they are all damned and doomed without God. All have forgotten God, and none come to God unless He will come to them. Praise His name He has done so though Jesus Christ, and that is the point he is trying to make, that we are all under the just wrath of God, but that God will also reveal more than just wrath, but His righteousness, by saving some through the atoning work of Jesus Christ, and thereby revealing God’s own righteousness, over and opposed to man’s unrighteousness.

You may not do these bad things as much as the other guy or as much as you used to but you have done some of them or all of them once or occasionally, and a miss is as good as a mile (James 2:10). Going even further, really, it is not so much that you do the identical actions, but that your conduct is the same, i.e., you sin against light; against the knowledge of God you have turned this into idols.

You are not perfect, you are not righteous, and you are not a qualified judge. The standard is perfection, the righteousness of God. That is how the righteousness of God is revealed in the Gospel; it is against the backdrop of the depravity of man. Yes some men are worse than others in a sense but all are worse than God, and that is the point that Paul is making. Those whom judge others without looking at themselves first have done some of the same things; they are just as in need of a savior as those who never do anything but bad things. It isn’t a matter of degree, it is a matter of having done any of these things at all, and all have, and so all are without excuse.

This all shows us our need for the gospel, which is this; the righteousness He demands from us He freely gives to us. Romans 1:16-17 says that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. This is why Christianity is good news. It is God providing for us in Christ what we can never provide for ourselves, namely, a righteousness good enough to have God's favor. God will give it to us freely if we will stop depending on self and start trusting in Him.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

No Way Noah

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
(Psalm 33:6 – ESV)

It is offered as a refutation of the Bible that all the biological diversity of the earth today could not have happened coming from the relatively few species able to be on Noah’s Ark. That simply isn’t rational, we are told. At first blush it may seem as if this really is a strong argument. I mean, there are all sorts of creatures we are still discovering, and hundreds and thousands of types of animals today, aren’t there? And take the fact that you have to divide the space on the Ark by at least two, because there had to be a male and female taken on the Ark, and some of them were taken in by sevens, so wow, how could all of this come from all of that? Indeed, it seems to be a most perplexing question.

Well, if that is the rationale against the Biblical record, and if that is such a problem, then I have another question. If so much couldn’t come from so few, then how did all the biological diversity of the earth come from the first species, or from some singular primordial goo? How can so much come from almost none? How did one animal give way to hundreds, thousands, etc.? Considering the original argument, if it is so impossible for it to happen with the animals on the Ark, how then of less?

Now, if the God of Creation could create something from nothing, then the Ark event is not so hard to imagine. Yes, we realize that our explanation of this would probably be unsatisfactory to a skeptical person looking to “disprove” the Bible. Of course we cannot prove that the universe was made out of nothing, by the decree of God, but it is reasonable, rational, and it accounts for what we have in the world. And when we start by looking at the human condition, and what the Bible says about it, this provides further evidence that what has been revealed to us in the Scriptures is indeed true.

Science is not a bad thing; we have depended on its advancement for many of our modern ways. But what can science tell us about sin, what advancement can it make over what the Bible reveals as our human condition, and what can it provide as a superior solution to sin than Jesus? So you may not believe in Noah’s Ark, but do you believe in the Cross of Christ?

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Time to Move On

And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."
(Acts 18:6 – ESV)

There comes a time to move on. If you are witnessing, or defending the faith, you have an obligation to proclaim Christ and your allegiance to Him. You want to do so in a winsome way, but God has ordained some to destruction, and so some will not be won. We don’t decide who those are, and so we try and persuade every man, in a sense. However, we are not public relations agents for God, and we do not water down the truth of the gospel to make it more palatable to those whom speak with, some will not come anyway.

We have no right to be obnoxious, but indeed, there comes a time to move on, as the Apostle Paul did. You show them that you believe the Bible; they show why they do not. You try and answer questions, give evidence, and they are unsatisfied and become more disgusted. You proclaim Christ, and it enrages them, and they revile you. You mustn’t leave too soon, but eventually it is time to say, “Okay, you have heard what we consider Truth, and we will not be moved, and you have given us reasons why you don’t believe, and you will not be moved. I have proclaimed Christ and His salvation to you, I pray that one day He might bring you to Himself, but for now I am moving on.”

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

How Could He?

Then they devoted all in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword
(Joshua 6:21 – ESV)

It is often misunderstood as to why God had ordered the Jews to kill all the inhabitants of Jericho and certain other people they were warring against. It happened more than once. Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey'" (1 Samuel 15:3). These slaughters are often used as an objection against Christianity, or at least against the “Old Testament God”. If one is not careful it can seem like a good argument. Many Christians I have known have not known how to answer this accusation. How can God be so good when He ordered His people to slaughter innocent babies? If He is loving and righteous, how could He?

Well, lets look at this from a different perspective, a more complete understanding. First of all, this wasn’t always the case. Also, have you ever considered that God also allowed most of His own people to die in the wilderness, before they entered the Promised Land? God was against rebellion and unrighteousness, and meted out punishment against His own people, before they ever crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land. More than 1 million souls that didn’t believe they could take the land, because of the giants (Numbers 13-14), died in the wilderness, save those under 20 years of age, and Joshua and Caleb, who believed in God’s promise.

Now the people of Canaan, like the Amalekites and others, were guilty of abominable sin and had filled up the cup of God’s wrath already, so it wasn’t like they were innocent. But in the cities of these peoples that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes, but you shall devote them to complete destruction, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the LORD your God has commanded, that they may not teach you to do according to all their abominable practices that they have done for their gods, and so you sin against the LORD your God (Deuteronomy 20:16-18). Perhaps by having children killed, God was sparing them worse punishment than they would have had if they had grown to maturity and committed more injustice and gross rebellion. Even so, before we can ask, “how could He” about the Canaanites, how about His own people? God allowed all those deaths in the wilderness.

Why does God order the annihilation of entire nations in the first place? Some were peoples who possessed the Promised Land, which God gave to Israel. The primary reason stated above is that these peoples are exceedingly wicked. If they are not totally wiped out, they will teach the Jews their sinful ways and thus bring them under divine condemnation. God was against rebellion, and was preserving the birth line of the coming Messiah, both by filtering the Jews, and the killing of the others.

That may seem like a wholly unsatisfactory answer to you. However, consider this: this slice of redemptive history must be looked at within the overall context of God’s plan. And that plan included pouring out His wrath upon His own Son to pay for our sins. So before you can ask about the Canaanites, and the Jews before them, how about the fact that God poured out His wrath upon the sinless Son of God?

Love must be seen in its full context. If you had a child learning to ride a bike, and you were that day going to remove the training wheels, you would realize that they might fall, and skin their knees. They would be hurt, and would be very angry with you. However, you know that in the long run it was good for them. You knew the big picture. They might be mad for a while, perhaps a long while, but when they learned to ride that bike they would be glad you helped them learn how.

God gives us the big picture of redemption, and all we have to do is look at the cross to see that God is vitally concerned about punishing sin. Yet he allowed His own Son to pay for that sin because He is also vitally concerned about demonstrating His love. So instead of looking at only those early moments in redemptive history, be sure to look to the climax of it, Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, dying on a cross to reconcile you to a loving God.

So there is an answer to, “How could He?” It is because He loved us.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Reasoning and Seasoning

Conduct yourselves wisely… Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt…
(Colossians 4:5-6 – ESV)

In verse 4 of Colossians 4, Paul asks for prayer that he might speak as clearly as he ought. Paul speaks of prayer and witnessing, and we are to follow his lead. How he ought to speak is also how we ought to speak, into the acknowledging of everything with Christ as preeminent. We are all to pray for open doors and have open hearts.

We need to be speaking to others about Christ, and to be doing it in a wise and winsome way. Many sacrifice the wise for the winsome, preaching to felt needs instead of to the real need, and others sacrifice the winsome for the wise, and come off as “holier than thou”. That is not how it ought to be. Truth without love is too hard; love without truth is too soft. We need both; we need reasoning and seasoning.

The pull of the tide toward human-centered religion is powerful and it is not uncommon to see otherwise discerning people swept out to sea. Everything but the true religion is pulling them toward the false religions. Making the best use of our time does not mean total separation, as in isolation, but in wise use of our worship, quiet time, and fellowship with believers. We are not to be isolated but insulated, in the world but not of it. In engaging people you know over time, the so called friendship evangelism method, remember, this: if you are becoming more like them then they are you, then it is time to pull back. Be with them but don’t become like them.

Wisdom within, wisdom without – If we let the Word dwell with wisdom among us who are within (Colossians 3:16), then we will walk in wisdom to them that are without. It is about reasoning and seasoning. It stars from within, and it travels to places without.

The opposite of wisdom is foolishness. Foolishness is not ignorance but refusal to learn, and we must learn in community as well as individually. Wisdom doesn’t know all the answers but it recognizes them when they appear. In the midst of community the answers will become clear. Not that we will receive some message while we are in church, but that while we are plugged into the local body of believers, God will providentially bring the events to pass that will make the paths straight. God orchestrates reasoning and seasoning within His church, as the believers pray for one another and for missionaries and all the other things they all come together and we grow, individually, and as a unit. This will equip us all to be better ambassadors in our world.

Paul takes for granted that believers will be in local churches. Today, however, we have the strange situation where there are those who are outside the local church setting yet are actually within the Body of Christ, or at least they claim to be so. So we need to walk in wisdom to those as well, we must show them that they cannot consider themselves within if they remain without. In these cases we also need reasoning and seasoning.

Looking at the whole book of Colossians and drawing to this point, we may put it all together this way: Keep your hope, keep Christ first and foremost, keep being knit together, keep away from things that would distract you from Christ as all in all, keep putting off the old and putting on the new within the context of community, keep yourself with a strong Christian witness no matter what your social situation is, keep praying and being thankful, and then you will be able to keep responding in a Christlike way to those who are without and those God is drawing to Himself. Learn of Christ, and live of Christ. Reasoning and seasoning.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

The Next Book You Should Buy

PUTTING JESUS IN HIS PLACE:

THE CASE FOR THE DEITY OF CHRIST

by Robert Bowman and J. Ed Komoszewski has arrived!

I have a copy right here in front of me. Believe me, this work will get a lot of traction, and it will become the definitive work on the subject in time. As a Christian, you simply MUST have this book. It will be a rich resource for you to become even more convinced, coach others as to these most important truths, and contend for the faith. Take a look at the following two short (5 Minute) videos to get a feel for the material. Don’t waste any time, you really should view these, and get the book, it will make a difference, and perhaps God in His providence will allow you to share some of these truths in the near future, to His glory…

This clip

and this clip

are great tools in themselves…

For more visit http://www.deityofchrist.com/

I am not kidding, you need this book. Period.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Which One?

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
(1 John 5:20 – ESV)

Is the religion with the greatest god the ones who have a god patterned after every human emotion, like Hinduism? Considering the human heart, as we have seen in Romans and we see all around us and in us, how ridiculous and vile.

Is it the ones say that god is in everything, again how awful, or that god is everything, how unholy is that? God to them is just a part of everything good or bad, and their god is just like everything else. How does that exalt God?

Two other monotheistic religions are closer to Christianity: Judaism and Islam. All three speak of God as Creator and Sustainer, but two of them don’t go all the way in valuing God. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all claim to speak for the same God, that is, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. But they say very different things about Him.

How about Islam, whose god isn’t all that holy, and to whom sin isn’t all that bad? In Islam, you don’t need to be perfect, but you need to merit the mercy. Mercy in Islam looks a lot like justice. And their god has a level of holiness that lets you pay for your own sins. If your good outweighs your bad, say 51% to 49%, you get into paradise. So you only have to be 51% holy. Think about that clearly. Islam has the 51% holy god. They may get all angry about that and claim their god is holy, but how can he be if he just lets sin slide, if he isn’t all that offended, and humans can pay for their own sin, doesn’t that bring him down to their level of holiness? That doesn’t seem all that exalted to me.

Judaism seems better but it isn’t developed into the place Christianity is. The Temple sacrifices were a picture of future payment, not the payment itself. Going back to them would be going back on God. Of course, there is no longer even a typological atonement; with no Temple, Judaism replaces it with human prayer, repentance, and affliction of soul. Their notion is that God pardons based on our own repentance, a notion of sincerity, which is in a sense matching the rest of the world while still calling on God.

The bloody mercy seat showed the truth that sins must be paid for because of the holiness of God. His love requires justice to be done, but animal blood cannot pay for human sin, and human blood alone cannot pay for offense against God. Only Jesus was worthy enough to pay. Judaism doesn’t have Jesus.

No, none of these is Biblical Christianity, who exalts God to where He is, and sees sin for what it is, and God's holiness for what it is, or at least in concept, even though we cannot fathom it. Christianity sees our sin as having to be paid for by the ultimate worth of God Himself, and God pouring out His wrath on His Son. How great is His love seen to be then? He meets His own holiness, the bar of His justice and delivers us in His mercy because of it.

All of the world’s religions tell me how to improve myself and offer me salvation at a reduced rate, with a reduced god. Only Christianity maintains a God who is perfectly holy, just and merciful. He requires perfection and He gives it in the person of Christ. Only Christianity exalts God’s holiness and His infinite worth to this level, where it takes a God to pay for even one sin. Only Christianity steps forward with a historic person whose whole purpose in life is to die, whose worth is so great He can pay for all sin. No other god does this, no other god is lifted so high, has descended so low, and brings us up to Him. Which religion has the True God? Hmmm.