Posts
I have been reading D.L. Moody’s classic book, The Overcoming Life during the past couple of months. If you have never read this book, I highly recommend you add it to your Christian library. Moody writes it to encourage believers in the daily struggle of Christian warfare. He dedicates an entire chapter to the subject of humility that I wanted to spend time discussing.
There may be no harder lesson to learn or virtue to possess than humility. Ben Franklin, who spent most of his life exploring the role of civic and personal virtue, had this to say about humility, “In reality, there is, perhaps, no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself; you will see it, perhaps, often in this history; for, even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility.”
As I ponder Franklin’s statement, it is apparent that as much as the world tries to teach and attain humility, it cannot be found in text books or within the walls of our most learned institutions. It can only be found in the schools of Christ. In fact, it may have well been the hardest virtue of all that Christ tried to teach His disciples.
Moody states that it was interesting to him to discover that the reason Christ gave for learning about Him was not because He was the most advanced thinker of the age or because He performed supernatural miracles but because He was “meek and lowly in heart.” For you see humility does not consist of thinking meanly of ourselves as some believe, but in not thinking of ourselves at all. If humility speaks of itself, it is gone.
Many of the other virtues like love, faith, goodness and joy can be counterfeited, but humility cannot be faked. A false humility is detected almost immediately. This fact comes into sharp focus when we look at our own age of boasting. I remember listening to a TV evangelist years ago who said that because he was a man of God, he deserved to have his shoes custom made for his feet because his feet were especially made by God for His service. Can you even fathom Christ, who bent down to wash his disciple’s feet at the Last Supper, making a statement such as this?
When the followers of John the Baptist asked him, "Who are you?" He replied that he was nobody and that there would come “one mightier than me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose” (Mark 1:7). Now notice what Christ says about John, “He is a burning and shining light” (John 5:35) and after he was beheaded, Christ declares that John was “greater than any man born of a woman" (Matthew 11:11). Wow. Christ gave John the honor that belonged to him. If we take a humble position, Christ will see it and exalt us, "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time"(I Peter 5:6).
I really believe, as I look at my own walk with the Lord, that humility is a result not an achievement. The closer I am to the Lord, the more I see myself decrease. But make no mistake, this is a daily, minute by minute battle. We have to be in the Word and on our knees continually seeking the Lord’s face and will. I would suggest that if this is the pattern of our life than as we gaze into the face of the Lord, our face will disappear and we will shine the same way Moses did when he met with the Lord on Mount Sinai. Moses' change, like that of Jesus on the mountaintop, was so dramatic that ordinary people were overwhelmed simply by seeing the reflection of the presence of God on his face. That is humility in all its glory. God’s face shining in place of ours.
“As the lark that soars the highest builds her nest the lowest; as the nightingale that sings so sweetly sings in the shade when all things rest; as the branches that are most laden with fruit bend lowest; as the ship most laden sinks deeper in the water; so the holiest Christians are the humblest.” - James Montgomery
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Enter Thou into the Joy of Thy Lord
The folks at Vitacost, an online vitamin store, sent me a newsletter this week that mentioned a recent study about the value of happiness to one’s health. According to researchers from Columbia University, “people who are enthusiastic and content are less likely to develop heart disease than less happy people.” I am sure your reaction to this statement was the same as mine – do we really need a study to tell us this? But in thinking about this further, while we all agree that happiness makes for a better life, how does one actually attain happiness? And once attained, how do we hold on to it?
The Bible has much to say on the subject of happiness or joy. Joy is actually the stronger and more spiritually dynamic of the two emotions because happiness is a response to circumstance, whereas joy is a confidence built on relationship. It may surprise you to know that the word “joy” is mentioned 244 times in the Bible! I believe it is the Lord’s desire that all his creatures attain and remain in a state of joy.
According to John MacArthur, joy is a gift from God to those who believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is being produced in them by the Holy Spirit because they receive and obey the Word of God while experiencing trials and keeping their hope fixed on the glory which is to come. True joy is an unwavering constant in a Spirit-filled life. It is not produced by a bed of roses experience of tranquility, peace, comfort and safety. It is produced by the presence of God and His Holy Spirit, even if you're sitting in prison waiting for possible news about your execution, as Paul was when he wrote his great letter of joy to the Philippians. Paul had joy as the result of his eternal relationship with the Living God through Jesus Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit within him. And because Paul was so near to God, he was full of joy.
Based on this we can conclude that circumstances are not a factor when it comes to experiencing joy. Isn’t this a wonderful truth!? To know for certain that no matter what is going in your life you can still have joy because it is your nearness to God that determines its level - not your bank account, marriage relationship or health status.
Paul was filled with joy in spite of his situation. I truly get this. I understand how you can be unhappy with your circumstances and not be depressed because your heart is filled with joy in your relationship to God. You know deep within that despite the turmoil going on outside that God's there and that He loves you, and that because of His gift of salvation you have no guilt in your conscience before Him. That is true joy, and I might add a joy that the world in all its pleasures simply cannot offer; and it is also a joy that the world cannot take away.
How's the joy in your heart today? If you do not have the joy described above, you can have it today. Right now. It all begins with the Lord and confessing sin to the One who has the power to save and the power to bestow true joy, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation… More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” (Romans 10:9-10; 5:11).
"I heard the voice of Jesus say,
Come unto me and rest;
Lay down, thou weary one,
Lay down Thy head upon my breast.
I came to Jesus as I was,
Weary, and worn, and sad;
I found in him a resting-place,
And he has made me glad."
-Horatius Bonar
The Bible has much to say on the subject of happiness or joy. Joy is actually the stronger and more spiritually dynamic of the two emotions because happiness is a response to circumstance, whereas joy is a confidence built on relationship. It may surprise you to know that the word “joy” is mentioned 244 times in the Bible! I believe it is the Lord’s desire that all his creatures attain and remain in a state of joy.
According to John MacArthur, joy is a gift from God to those who believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is being produced in them by the Holy Spirit because they receive and obey the Word of God while experiencing trials and keeping their hope fixed on the glory which is to come. True joy is an unwavering constant in a Spirit-filled life. It is not produced by a bed of roses experience of tranquility, peace, comfort and safety. It is produced by the presence of God and His Holy Spirit, even if you're sitting in prison waiting for possible news about your execution, as Paul was when he wrote his great letter of joy to the Philippians. Paul had joy as the result of his eternal relationship with the Living God through Jesus Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit within him. And because Paul was so near to God, he was full of joy.
Based on this we can conclude that circumstances are not a factor when it comes to experiencing joy. Isn’t this a wonderful truth!? To know for certain that no matter what is going in your life you can still have joy because it is your nearness to God that determines its level - not your bank account, marriage relationship or health status.
Paul was filled with joy in spite of his situation. I truly get this. I understand how you can be unhappy with your circumstances and not be depressed because your heart is filled with joy in your relationship to God. You know deep within that despite the turmoil going on outside that God's there and that He loves you, and that because of His gift of salvation you have no guilt in your conscience before Him. That is true joy, and I might add a joy that the world in all its pleasures simply cannot offer; and it is also a joy that the world cannot take away.
How's the joy in your heart today? If you do not have the joy described above, you can have it today. Right now. It all begins with the Lord and confessing sin to the One who has the power to save and the power to bestow true joy, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation… More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” (Romans 10:9-10; 5:11).
"I heard the voice of Jesus say,
Come unto me and rest;
Lay down, thou weary one,
Lay down Thy head upon my breast.
I came to Jesus as I was,
Weary, and worn, and sad;
I found in him a resting-place,
And he has made me glad."
-Horatius Bonar
Friday, April 16, 2010
The One Undeniable Truth
This past week my husband bought me Gary Habermas’ book entitled, The Historical Jesus. This book attempts to prove that Jesus walked the earth using sources outside of the Bible. Although I have only read about 50 pages thus far, it has been a fascinating study. Habermas is a Christian I believe as he notes in his prologue that his intent in writing this book was not to imply that the Scriptures are not a sufficient basis for Christian belief but instead the book is devoted “to developing a new area of apologetics.” Habermas goes on to say that he believes the “best approach to apologetics is one that begins with the evidence for the trustworthiness of Scripture and then proceeds on this basis.”
In thinking about my own walk with the Lord and the different times in my life that I have questioned the validity of the Christian faith and have wondered deep within if what I believe is really true, the Lord has always brought me back to the one undeniable truth – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). I know Jesus is real and his teachings are true because my life changed drastically when he became my Savior 22 years ago. A love and joy filled my heart like nothing else I have ever experienced. An awareness of sin overwhelmed my inner being as I began to seek the narrow road in an effort to know my Savior in more intimate detail. The things of God which I once shunned became the center of my attention as I devoured the Word of God to better understand this person called Jesus who died for my sins to purchase a place in heaven for me and for anyone who puts their faith and trust in Him (John 14:1-6).
In my darkest moments, when the circumstances of life are bearing down upon my shoulders, and I am sure that I cannot possibly go forward, the Lord continues to whisper in my ear, “To whom shall you go? I have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).
In contemplating this wonderful truth, I have realized that by the world’s standards I had achieved much success by the time I was in my early 20's. I had the privilege of majoring in Communications at Boston University, one of the major universities for communications in the world, and as a result, was hired by an esteemed high tech PR firm. By age 25, I was happily married and earning more money than my father ever had in his entire professional life. As I reflect on these events, I am always struck by the emptiness I felt inside even though I had achieved so much both personally and professionally at a young age that the world says should render complete happiness in its wake. I believe this feeling of dissatisfaction had to do with how self-focused my life had become and the fact that I was so enamored with world success that my barometer for judging happiness and contentment became skewed and left me frustrated and wanting. It was only as I retreated back to the Scriptures and the teachings of Christ that true peace and fulfillment became a reality. It was also at this point that my life began to have true purpose.
In Matthew 7:7 the Lord promises to anyone that puts their faith and trust in Him, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” Can you hear the tenderness of the Lord’s words in these verses? He is telling people everywhere that if you seek Him and His righteousness, He will be found and he will give it to you. There is a great saying that perfectly encapsulates this truth, “When the student is ready to learn, the teacher will appear.” So too with Christ. If you want to understand who Jesus is and how to attain eternal life, he will show you – personally, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).
Won’t you take the time today to investigate the promises of Christ for yourself? He is standing there...knocking patiently, lovingly...waiting for you to open the door.
“How many have pulled down their souls to build up their estate.” – Thomas Watson, Puritan
In thinking about my own walk with the Lord and the different times in my life that I have questioned the validity of the Christian faith and have wondered deep within if what I believe is really true, the Lord has always brought me back to the one undeniable truth – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). I know Jesus is real and his teachings are true because my life changed drastically when he became my Savior 22 years ago. A love and joy filled my heart like nothing else I have ever experienced. An awareness of sin overwhelmed my inner being as I began to seek the narrow road in an effort to know my Savior in more intimate detail. The things of God which I once shunned became the center of my attention as I devoured the Word of God to better understand this person called Jesus who died for my sins to purchase a place in heaven for me and for anyone who puts their faith and trust in Him (John 14:1-6).
In my darkest moments, when the circumstances of life are bearing down upon my shoulders, and I am sure that I cannot possibly go forward, the Lord continues to whisper in my ear, “To whom shall you go? I have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).
In contemplating this wonderful truth, I have realized that by the world’s standards I had achieved much success by the time I was in my early 20's. I had the privilege of majoring in Communications at Boston University, one of the major universities for communications in the world, and as a result, was hired by an esteemed high tech PR firm. By age 25, I was happily married and earning more money than my father ever had in his entire professional life. As I reflect on these events, I am always struck by the emptiness I felt inside even though I had achieved so much both personally and professionally at a young age that the world says should render complete happiness in its wake. I believe this feeling of dissatisfaction had to do with how self-focused my life had become and the fact that I was so enamored with world success that my barometer for judging happiness and contentment became skewed and left me frustrated and wanting. It was only as I retreated back to the Scriptures and the teachings of Christ that true peace and fulfillment became a reality. It was also at this point that my life began to have true purpose.
In Matthew 7:7 the Lord promises to anyone that puts their faith and trust in Him, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” Can you hear the tenderness of the Lord’s words in these verses? He is telling people everywhere that if you seek Him and His righteousness, He will be found and he will give it to you. There is a great saying that perfectly encapsulates this truth, “When the student is ready to learn, the teacher will appear.” So too with Christ. If you want to understand who Jesus is and how to attain eternal life, he will show you – personally, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).
Won’t you take the time today to investigate the promises of Christ for yourself? He is standing there...knocking patiently, lovingly...waiting for you to open the door.
“How many have pulled down their souls to build up their estate.” – Thomas Watson, Puritan
Monday, April 12, 2010
A Study of the Holy Spirit
The women’s Bible study that I have been attending for the past four years is embarking on a study of the Holy Spirit. We are using Kay Arthur’s inductive study book entitled, The Holy Spirit Unleashed in You as our guide. I am not sure if I have ever been more excited about a study than this one at this time in my life. Often the person of the Holy Spirit and His working in a believer’s life are neglected or misunderstood because His office seems mysterious to many believers and we tend to miss His functions when they are mentioned in Scripture.
In Christianity, the Holy Spirit is literally the Spirit of God. He is also the third person of the Trinity. As part of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit is equal with God the Father and with God the Son. As such he is personal and also fully God.
The Holy Spirit performs specific divine functions that I will be learning over the coming weeks and plan to detail in this blog. His main charter though, is to point men and women to Jesus Christ. There are many movements today that claim to be "Spirit-focused” that unfortunately elevate the Holy Spirit above Jesus Christ. I would suggest that these movements are not truly Spirit-led as anything the Spirit does always points to Jesus Christ. He always points us to forgiveness, to the cross, to the blood of Chris, to no condemnation. Why? Because Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
I hope you will continue to visit this blog in the weeks and months to come and share with me your thoughts on the person of the Holy Spirit and His working in your life.
In Christianity, the Holy Spirit is literally the Spirit of God. He is also the third person of the Trinity. As part of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit is equal with God the Father and with God the Son. As such he is personal and also fully God.
The Holy Spirit performs specific divine functions that I will be learning over the coming weeks and plan to detail in this blog. His main charter though, is to point men and women to Jesus Christ. There are many movements today that claim to be "Spirit-focused” that unfortunately elevate the Holy Spirit above Jesus Christ. I would suggest that these movements are not truly Spirit-led as anything the Spirit does always points to Jesus Christ. He always points us to forgiveness, to the cross, to the blood of Chris, to no condemnation. Why? Because Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
I hope you will continue to visit this blog in the weeks and months to come and share with me your thoughts on the person of the Holy Spirit and His working in your life.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
The Perfection Standard
After witnessing the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team win its 78th straight game last night and its second championship in a row, I am reminded of how enamored we are as a society with the pursuit of perfection. Just two years ago, the New England Patriots were within minutes of achieving a perfect 19-0 season which had never been accomplished in professional football. For months their pursuit of perfection captivated the New England area and every football fan across the nation, prompting ESPN to include a “patriots” tracking symbol within their update scroll to ensure fans were kept up to date, every minute of the day on team developments.
What is it about perfection that captivates us to such an intense degree? Could it be that it signifies an achievement without blemish, without error, without defect? Or perhaps it exemplifies all that we hope to be in life, not only within athletic competitions, but also within our careers, our marriages, and our churches.
While all of these are certainly plausible reasons for why we are entranced with the pursuit of perfection, I believe at the core we desire it because our God is perfect and we are made in His image and likeness, “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female…Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Genesis 1:27; Matthew 5:48).
You see, it has always been God’s desire that we be perfect. When He created us that was His purpose and hope but as sin captivated our hearts, it alone drew us away from God and we ceased to be perfect and God’s standard became unattainable. It is this dilemma of trying to reconcile sin with perfection that prompted God the Father to send his Son Jesus Christ to earth to become the necessary propitiation or satisfaction for our sins (I John 2:2).
Many believe that when we die our good works will be weighed against our bad works and as long as our good works balance out our bad works than we will be permitted into heaven. But the Bible has something very different to say. Isaiah 64:6 states that all our acts of righteousness are like filthy rags to God. Why is this? Because even our good works are stained with sin before a holy and just God for we are all sinners; we have broken God's commandments. In this sense we are all wicked, and therefore, we do not stand a chance of escape from Divine justice.
That is why, if we had to rely on our obedience to God’s commandments or laws, we could never be justified before Him, "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin" (Romans 3:20). With tears of sorrow, even the holiest Christian admits he/she sins ever day. As long as we remain on earth it is a sad reality that we continue to sin and miss the mark of perfection.
If we were honest with ourselves, we would not ask whether we have obeyed God’s laws enough to be justified - we know we have not. Rather, every one of us should ask: What can free me, a guilty sinner, from my sin?
Thank God for His Son. There is hope in the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
We read this good news in Romans 4:5 when the Apostle Paul declares, “To him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.” You see, it is God Himself that justifies the sinner. Paul insists that it is to him "who does not work" but "believes" that God accounts as righteous. God justifies the ungodly by faith alone because Jesus Christ alone is perfect and we are made perfect in Him!
What a glorious truth to contemplate. All of us, through the blood of Jesus can attain perfection before God! Romans 10:9-10 tells us how to do it, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
While it was wonderful to watch the University of Connecticut women achieve perfection last night, it was something that was only attainable by those 12 women. What Jesus Christ is offering is attainable to anyone, anywhere, right now. If you have not attained the perfection offered by Jesus, won’t you today?
What is it about perfection that captivates us to such an intense degree? Could it be that it signifies an achievement without blemish, without error, without defect? Or perhaps it exemplifies all that we hope to be in life, not only within athletic competitions, but also within our careers, our marriages, and our churches.
While all of these are certainly plausible reasons for why we are entranced with the pursuit of perfection, I believe at the core we desire it because our God is perfect and we are made in His image and likeness, “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female…Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Genesis 1:27; Matthew 5:48).
You see, it has always been God’s desire that we be perfect. When He created us that was His purpose and hope but as sin captivated our hearts, it alone drew us away from God and we ceased to be perfect and God’s standard became unattainable. It is this dilemma of trying to reconcile sin with perfection that prompted God the Father to send his Son Jesus Christ to earth to become the necessary propitiation or satisfaction for our sins (I John 2:2).
Many believe that when we die our good works will be weighed against our bad works and as long as our good works balance out our bad works than we will be permitted into heaven. But the Bible has something very different to say. Isaiah 64:6 states that all our acts of righteousness are like filthy rags to God. Why is this? Because even our good works are stained with sin before a holy and just God for we are all sinners; we have broken God's commandments. In this sense we are all wicked, and therefore, we do not stand a chance of escape from Divine justice.
That is why, if we had to rely on our obedience to God’s commandments or laws, we could never be justified before Him, "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin" (Romans 3:20). With tears of sorrow, even the holiest Christian admits he/she sins ever day. As long as we remain on earth it is a sad reality that we continue to sin and miss the mark of perfection.
If we were honest with ourselves, we would not ask whether we have obeyed God’s laws enough to be justified - we know we have not. Rather, every one of us should ask: What can free me, a guilty sinner, from my sin?
Thank God for His Son. There is hope in the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
We read this good news in Romans 4:5 when the Apostle Paul declares, “To him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.” You see, it is God Himself that justifies the sinner. Paul insists that it is to him "who does not work" but "believes" that God accounts as righteous. God justifies the ungodly by faith alone because Jesus Christ alone is perfect and we are made perfect in Him!
What a glorious truth to contemplate. All of us, through the blood of Jesus can attain perfection before God! Romans 10:9-10 tells us how to do it, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
While it was wonderful to watch the University of Connecticut women achieve perfection last night, it was something that was only attainable by those 12 women. What Jesus Christ is offering is attainable to anyone, anywhere, right now. If you have not attained the perfection offered by Jesus, won’t you today?
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Reflecting on the Resurrection - The Foundation and Pinnacle of the Christian Faith
First, Happy Resurrection Sunday! As we approach this day, I am reminded that as a Christian this is not a day that we only celebrate once a year, but every day as it is the very underpinning of our faith. For you see, without the resurrection of Christ, we have no faith. The birth, work, ministry and death of Jesus Christ is all in vain without the resurrection. It was there, in that tomb, that Jesus defeated the grave and death, and it is this fact that is the very lynchpin of all that we believe and hold to be true in this life and the next.
In I Corinthians, chapter 15, the Apostle Paul gives the best dissertation in the Bible on the importance of the resurrection as he states, “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty….And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable” (verses 13, 14, 17, 19). I do not believe there is another series of verses in the entire Bible that sums up more perfectly the condition of the Christian without the resurrection. Paul goes as far as to say that if Christ did not rise than we should be pitied, and indeed we should be.
In his book Mere Christianity , C.S. Lewis sums up the work and mission of Christ this way, “I am trying to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [Jesus]: ‘I am ready to accept Jesus as a great teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man, who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God [who rose from the dead and claimed to have the power to forgive sins] or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool; you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
I would also add that the New Testament emphasizes throughout its pages that only if the resurrection of Christ is real is the Christian faith not an illusion, and more so, the resurrection alone, single handily substantiates every claim Christ made regarding his identity and life’s purpose.
This truth is something to behold, isn’t it? Only the Christian faith professes to have an incarnate God who came to earth to be a sacrificial Savior to atone for the sins of a people who were powerless to change their sinful condition before a holy and just God. It is the Christian faith at its core that elevates the resurrection of Jesus as the means by which all who have put their faith in Him for the forgiveness of their sins will also rise one day as He did (John 20:31). It is the resurrection that is the gateway to God, the great pearl of all theology to ponder, and the crescendo of the Christian faith.
Let’s all rejoice this Resurrection Sunday with the Apostle Paul as he proclaims, “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your sting? O Hades [Grave], where is your victory?’ The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Corinthians 15:50-56). Amen.
“Despite our efforts to keep him out, God intrudes. The life of Jesus is bracketed by two impossibilities: ‘a virgin's womb and an empty tomb.’ Jesus entered our world through a door marked ‘No Entrance’ and left through a door marked ‘No Exit.’” - Peter Larson
In I Corinthians, chapter 15, the Apostle Paul gives the best dissertation in the Bible on the importance of the resurrection as he states, “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty….And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable” (verses 13, 14, 17, 19). I do not believe there is another series of verses in the entire Bible that sums up more perfectly the condition of the Christian without the resurrection. Paul goes as far as to say that if Christ did not rise than we should be pitied, and indeed we should be.
In his book Mere Christianity , C.S. Lewis sums up the work and mission of Christ this way, “I am trying to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [Jesus]: ‘I am ready to accept Jesus as a great teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man, who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God [who rose from the dead and claimed to have the power to forgive sins] or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool; you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
I would also add that the New Testament emphasizes throughout its pages that only if the resurrection of Christ is real is the Christian faith not an illusion, and more so, the resurrection alone, single handily substantiates every claim Christ made regarding his identity and life’s purpose.
This truth is something to behold, isn’t it? Only the Christian faith professes to have an incarnate God who came to earth to be a sacrificial Savior to atone for the sins of a people who were powerless to change their sinful condition before a holy and just God. It is the Christian faith at its core that elevates the resurrection of Jesus as the means by which all who have put their faith in Him for the forgiveness of their sins will also rise one day as He did (John 20:31). It is the resurrection that is the gateway to God, the great pearl of all theology to ponder, and the crescendo of the Christian faith.
Let’s all rejoice this Resurrection Sunday with the Apostle Paul as he proclaims, “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your sting? O Hades [Grave], where is your victory?’ The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Corinthians 15:50-56). Amen.
“Despite our efforts to keep him out, God intrudes. The life of Jesus is bracketed by two impossibilities: ‘a virgin's womb and an empty tomb.’ Jesus entered our world through a door marked ‘No Entrance’ and left through a door marked ‘No Exit.’” - Peter Larson
Thursday, April 1, 2010
In Defense of the Bible
This past week I was at the library searching files of microfilm for Christian articles that the Pastor of my church had written in the late 1980’s when he was pastoring a church in Newfoundland, Canada. The newspaper I was researching was called the Western Star, which is the daily local newspaper for the Newfoundland area.
As I was scrolling through each issue, I came upon an article in the "Letters to the Editor" section that made a compelling case for why we can trust the Bible and believe it is the infallible Word of God. The letter was written in response to a weekly religion columnist named Michael Newton, who, as far as I can tell, spent most of his time researching scholarly works and rhetoric that denounced the Bible as being inspired of God. As you will see, Mr. Newton’s repeated attacks on the veracity of the Bible incited this reader, Robert M. Pike, to pen the following article. I am included it in its entirety because it is one of the most well-written and well-argued articles that I have read on the subject.
Please comment and let me know your thoughts.
Thank God for the Bible
Sir, I would like to make a few remarks regarding recent articles by Mr. Newton in the Religion Online section. Since Mr. Newton’s articles on the Christian religion differ very little, I see no need to be specific. I am reminded of an old poem that reads as follows:
Last eve I passed by the Blacksmiths door
and heard the anvil ring the vesper chime,
and looking in I saw upon on the floor,
old hammers wrecked by beating years of time.
"How many anvils have you had," said I,
"to wear and batter all those hammers so?"
"Just one" said he, and with a twinkling eye,
"that anvil wears the hammers out you know."
And so I thought the anvil of God’s Word,
through ages skeptic blows have beat upon,
yet though the noise of falling blows is heard,
the anvil is unharmed, the hammers gone.
Writers of Mr. Newton’s persuasion remind me of the Roman Senator Cato who ended all his speeches in the Senate with the words, "Carthago delenda est" (Carthage must be destroyed), only they are supplying the word "God" for Carthage. They follow the line of Karl Marx who once said his sole purpose in life was to destroy God in the hearts of men. Such people who believe that God is obsolete have no personal responsibility to a Creator, and of course, feel no need of the Bible or a Personal Savior. Once, while talking to unbelievers of His day, Jesus gave them advice that could well be taken today. He said, "You search the Scriptures (the Law and the Prophets), for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me" (John 5:39).
Bible critics attack the story of creation and the work of Jesus Christ (John 1). They attack His virgin birth (Matthew 1:18-22); His life and earthly ministry; they attack His work of redemption (John 19:28-30); they deny the declaration of God that He (Jesus) was His son and that He resurrected (Romans 1:4); and they make a mockery of His coming again. In other words, they deny all prophecy whether foretold or forth-told. If they could have disapproved all this they would have succeeded in destroying God. God stakes His claim to being God on His ability to foretell the future saying, "For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done" (Isaiah 46:9-10).
In the New Testament, we have the Apostle Peter saying, "For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty." One would think that would be sufficient proof, but he goes on to say, "And so we have the prophetic word confirmed…knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:16-21).
More than 2,500 years ago, Daniel said that many in the end time would go to and fro and knowledge would be increased (12:4). It seems to me that prophecy has amply been fulfilled since the turn of the century. I need not elaborate.
Before I finish I would like to mention two or three items to show how far ahead of modern science the Bible really is:
1) When most people thought the world was flat, Isaiah said, "It is He who sits above the circle of the earth" (40:22). Job declares, "He hangs the earth on nothing" (26:7). What scientist could give a better description of the earth’s shape and position in orbit?
2) For hundreds of years the basic elements of the world were thought to be earth, air, water and fire. Then came the scientific age and they discovered the atom, electron, proton and photon - an amazing discovery indeed. But what does the Bible say? "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible" (Hebrews 11:3).
3) We know that the world’s food supply is made possible by the hydrologic cycle. In 1841 a scientist using a thermometer invented by Galileo in 1593 and a barometer invented by Torricelli in 1643, showed that the clouds were actually the result of rising vapor. Hundreds of years before the Bible says, "For He draws up drops of water, which distill as rain from the mist, which the clouds drop down and pour abundantly on man" (Job 36:27-28). In Ecclesiastes 1:7, we read, "All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; To the place from which the rivers come, there they return again."
Thank God for the Bible.
- Robert M. Pike
As I was scrolling through each issue, I came upon an article in the "Letters to the Editor" section that made a compelling case for why we can trust the Bible and believe it is the infallible Word of God. The letter was written in response to a weekly religion columnist named Michael Newton, who, as far as I can tell, spent most of his time researching scholarly works and rhetoric that denounced the Bible as being inspired of God. As you will see, Mr. Newton’s repeated attacks on the veracity of the Bible incited this reader, Robert M. Pike, to pen the following article. I am included it in its entirety because it is one of the most well-written and well-argued articles that I have read on the subject.
Please comment and let me know your thoughts.
Thank God for the Bible
Sir, I would like to make a few remarks regarding recent articles by Mr. Newton in the Religion Online section. Since Mr. Newton’s articles on the Christian religion differ very little, I see no need to be specific. I am reminded of an old poem that reads as follows:
Last eve I passed by the Blacksmiths door
and heard the anvil ring the vesper chime,
and looking in I saw upon on the floor,
old hammers wrecked by beating years of time.
"How many anvils have you had," said I,
"to wear and batter all those hammers so?"
"Just one" said he, and with a twinkling eye,
"that anvil wears the hammers out you know."
And so I thought the anvil of God’s Word,
through ages skeptic blows have beat upon,
yet though the noise of falling blows is heard,
the anvil is unharmed, the hammers gone.
Writers of Mr. Newton’s persuasion remind me of the Roman Senator Cato who ended all his speeches in the Senate with the words, "Carthago delenda est" (Carthage must be destroyed), only they are supplying the word "God" for Carthage. They follow the line of Karl Marx who once said his sole purpose in life was to destroy God in the hearts of men. Such people who believe that God is obsolete have no personal responsibility to a Creator, and of course, feel no need of the Bible or a Personal Savior. Once, while talking to unbelievers of His day, Jesus gave them advice that could well be taken today. He said, "You search the Scriptures (the Law and the Prophets), for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me" (John 5:39).
Bible critics attack the story of creation and the work of Jesus Christ (John 1). They attack His virgin birth (Matthew 1:18-22); His life and earthly ministry; they attack His work of redemption (John 19:28-30); they deny the declaration of God that He (Jesus) was His son and that He resurrected (Romans 1:4); and they make a mockery of His coming again. In other words, they deny all prophecy whether foretold or forth-told. If they could have disapproved all this they would have succeeded in destroying God. God stakes His claim to being God on His ability to foretell the future saying, "For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done" (Isaiah 46:9-10).
In the New Testament, we have the Apostle Peter saying, "For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty." One would think that would be sufficient proof, but he goes on to say, "And so we have the prophetic word confirmed…knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:16-21).
More than 2,500 years ago, Daniel said that many in the end time would go to and fro and knowledge would be increased (12:4). It seems to me that prophecy has amply been fulfilled since the turn of the century. I need not elaborate.
Before I finish I would like to mention two or three items to show how far ahead of modern science the Bible really is:
1) When most people thought the world was flat, Isaiah said, "It is He who sits above the circle of the earth" (40:22). Job declares, "He hangs the earth on nothing" (26:7). What scientist could give a better description of the earth’s shape and position in orbit?
2) For hundreds of years the basic elements of the world were thought to be earth, air, water and fire. Then came the scientific age and they discovered the atom, electron, proton and photon - an amazing discovery indeed. But what does the Bible say? "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible" (Hebrews 11:3).
3) We know that the world’s food supply is made possible by the hydrologic cycle. In 1841 a scientist using a thermometer invented by Galileo in 1593 and a barometer invented by Torricelli in 1643, showed that the clouds were actually the result of rising vapor. Hundreds of years before the Bible says, "For He draws up drops of water, which distill as rain from the mist, which the clouds drop down and pour abundantly on man" (Job 36:27-28). In Ecclesiastes 1:7, we read, "All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; To the place from which the rivers come, there they return again."
Thank God for the Bible.
- Robert M. Pike
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