Hello everyone. If you've been able to stay on track, then you have read through the entire New Testament in just over two months as of Friday. Congratulations!!! Over the weekend we finished off Revelation and read through John's epistles. Today we start John's gospel. Since we've gone over this section last time we read through John, I'm going to comment briefly on a passage I didn't cover last time. The topic I will discuss may seem controversial, but it's biblical.
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”
God's love for us is evident in Jesus Christ. Verse 18 transitions us from 16-17 into 19-21. Notice the contrast here in these verses. Saved vs. condemned and light vs. darkness. John uses this illustration frequently. "This is the verdict" in other words: This is the root cause of condemnation. We love darkness when our deeds are evil. That's pretty straight forward. The more complex part is verse 20. Those who do evil will not go into the light because they don't want their evil to be exposed. The Bible teaches that Christians are saved. Here's the question: As Christians, do we ever love evil and hide in the darkness to prevent ourselves from being exposed?
Unfortunately, the answer is yes. Repentance is an on going process. Sure we repent of many things when we're saved. It's a necessary part of salvation, but as Christians we still sin. Because we still sin, though our life is not a life of sin, we need to repent of the sins that we allow in our lives. The problem is, often times we don't want to acknowledge sin when it emerges in our lives. Sometimes we're just ignorant and haven't obtained a level of maturity necessary to understand that what we do is sinful. Sometimes, deep down, we know what we do is wrong and don't do anything about it because we've believed the lie of Satan. "If I am a good person in the majority, then the minority of things I am not good in are not a big deal." Wrong!!!
When we are unwilling to acknowledge our sin, no matter how small it is, we are living in the darkness and not in the light. Even if we live in the light in every area of our lives but one, we still have one area of our lives in the darkness. The Bible calls that evil. When we intentionally allow one speck of evil, evil can drag us body and soul back into the darkness totally. It often happens slowly and softly step by step. Before we know it, we've changed. What's worse is, when that happens, when we reach that point, we no longer care about God or Jesus. The Bible calls that blaspheming the Holy Spirit, the only unforgivable sin.
29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.” - Mark 3:29
4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. - Hebrews 6:4-6
That's why it is so important for us to evaluate ourselves regularly. Contrary to popular opinion...you can lose your salvation. Please don't misunderstand me, everyone is able to be saved, but whoever allows themselves to fall away and deny God, and dies without repenting, will not inherit the kingdom. This sounds harsh and discouraging. Please understand that salvation is a work of God. We are saved by grace. But when we have faith, our faith is put to work. It isn't the work that saves us, but it is the out pouring of our faith and salvation. When we allow our faith to die, we too die spiritually. How can we crucify the Son of God again?
If you are still discouraged, remember that God works in ALL THINGS for our good, those who love Him (Romans 8:28). God is mighty and powerful, but also loving. If we choose to remove Him from our lives, He will not stop us. He does love us so much!!! He does not want this for anyone. So, all Christians, take this lesson seriously. Be ever vigilant in your spiritual walk. Rest in God's love, mercy, joy and peace. And know, faithful believer, no one can take your salvation, but you can give it away.
I wish you all a fine week and much blessing in our Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with you all.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Revelation
Hello everyone. I hope you all had a good Labor Day. I hope it was a wonderful day of rest for you. Today we will be looking into the book of Revelation. There is no other book that is regarded with as much caution as Revelation. Many are afraid to read it. Many don't read because they think that they could never understand it. I will not deny that it is difficult to understand at times. The early church found it to be a book of comfort and encouragement during times of persecution.
Revelation is unlike any other work of Scripture. Some things to keep in mind are first, that it consists of many visions that interweave together. Some are literal and some are metaphorical. These images were familiar to the people of this time and come from the Old Testament as well as other sources that we may or may not have at our disposal today.
Second, the style it used is called apocalyptic, and the people were also familiar with this. Things like beasts, dragons, and even dissolving universes were pictorial representation of deep historical and theological realities (Elwell). Sometimes we may have to stop as we read and try to figure out what these things represent. Some of them are obvious, but not all. Perhaps a good solid biblical commentary would be a good companion for your Bible study.
Third, we have to remember that basic Christian doctrine is woven throughout the book (Elwell). Don't get bogged down in the symbolism. Keep a look out for the deep spiritual truths. Jesus is Lord. He died on the cross and rose again on the third day. He ascended into heaven. He will return to claim His people, the Church.
Revelation was written by the apostle John from the island of Patmos, which is a small island off the coast of Asia Minor in the Aegean Sea. If your Bible has a map section, it can probably be found on one of those maps. Though there is some debate as to the date of it's writing, most agree that the date is between 81-96 A.D. during the reign of Roman Emperor Domitian.
I want to talk a moment about interpretations of Revelation. This book, along with tidbits from other books, depicts the event leading up to Christ's return. There are many views on this topic. The Left Behind series is based on just one of many interpretations. If this is a subject of interest for you, there are four major view points: Premillennial, Amillennial, Dispensational Premillenial, and Postmillennial.
With that said, let me warn you. It is dangerous to be too caught up in eschatological (the end times) theology. Some of the best Bible scholars throughout history have not agreed or were unsure as to which interpretation was best. I think we need to hold to the words of Walter Elwell, "It is tragic when the return of Christ becomes a point of controversy. The important thing is that Jesus is coming back, not when or exactly how He will accomplish it." And to quote Martin Luther, "We ought to live as though Christ was crucified yesterday, risen today, and coming tomorrow." If we live these words, we will be ready for when our Lord does return.
I know I've said a lot. With that said, I'm not going to offer commentary on this book. I want you look deeply into this book and find what is important. I wish you good reading and may you get closer to God because of it. I leave you with these words from the chapter 22.
20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.
Come, Lord Jesus, come!!!
Revelation is unlike any other work of Scripture. Some things to keep in mind are first, that it consists of many visions that interweave together. Some are literal and some are metaphorical. These images were familiar to the people of this time and come from the Old Testament as well as other sources that we may or may not have at our disposal today.
Second, the style it used is called apocalyptic, and the people were also familiar with this. Things like beasts, dragons, and even dissolving universes were pictorial representation of deep historical and theological realities (Elwell). Sometimes we may have to stop as we read and try to figure out what these things represent. Some of them are obvious, but not all. Perhaps a good solid biblical commentary would be a good companion for your Bible study.
Third, we have to remember that basic Christian doctrine is woven throughout the book (Elwell). Don't get bogged down in the symbolism. Keep a look out for the deep spiritual truths. Jesus is Lord. He died on the cross and rose again on the third day. He ascended into heaven. He will return to claim His people, the Church.
Revelation was written by the apostle John from the island of Patmos, which is a small island off the coast of Asia Minor in the Aegean Sea. If your Bible has a map section, it can probably be found on one of those maps. Though there is some debate as to the date of it's writing, most agree that the date is between 81-96 A.D. during the reign of Roman Emperor Domitian.
I want to talk a moment about interpretations of Revelation. This book, along with tidbits from other books, depicts the event leading up to Christ's return. There are many views on this topic. The Left Behind series is based on just one of many interpretations. If this is a subject of interest for you, there are four major view points: Premillennial, Amillennial, Dispensational Premillenial, and Postmillennial.
With that said, let me warn you. It is dangerous to be too caught up in eschatological (the end times) theology. Some of the best Bible scholars throughout history have not agreed or were unsure as to which interpretation was best. I think we need to hold to the words of Walter Elwell, "It is tragic when the return of Christ becomes a point of controversy. The important thing is that Jesus is coming back, not when or exactly how He will accomplish it." And to quote Martin Luther, "We ought to live as though Christ was crucified yesterday, risen today, and coming tomorrow." If we live these words, we will be ready for when our Lord does return.
I know I've said a lot. With that said, I'm not going to offer commentary on this book. I want you look deeply into this book and find what is important. I wish you good reading and may you get closer to God because of it. I leave you with these words from the chapter 22.
20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.
Come, Lord Jesus, come!!!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
1 Peter
Hello everyone. I am excited for I am finally able to once again write to you twice in one week. Today we start the book of 1 Peter. Like Hebrews, 1 Peter is in a group of books known as the General Epistles. These epistles have a vague or unspecific audience and were widely distributed among the churches.
Together with Silas, Peter wrote this epistle from Rome under the persecution of Nero. We are able to speculate that, for a time, Peter and Paul were in Rome simultaneously. Though not in Scripture, Church historians place their deaths within a relative short time from one another. Tradition states that Paul died first by beheading and Peter second by crucifixion.
In his epistle, Peter discusses such themes as: How to deal with persecution (He mentions Christ's sufferings 5 times), faithfulness (even in a helpless/powerless situations), admonition of elders, preparing your mind for action and some 34 commands. Look for these things as you read through Peter's first epistle.
1:13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
This is one of the themes I mentioned above. Prepare your minds for action has a militaristic feel to it. It's like arming yourself for battle. When going into battle, our minds must be prepared for the evils that we will face. It is much the same in our daily lives in this fallen world. We have to prepare our minds to be obedient in our day to day living or else we may fall victim to our enemies' trappings. Satan and his demons desire for us to give in to our evil desires. They seek to ravage our minds and lives in order to pull us further away from the Lord our God.
We no longer live in ignorance, we are without excuse. God has called us to be holy, though that may be impossible for us, it is possible to do so while we rest and trust in Him that is Christ. In order to fully rely on Christ we must put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6) and keep our minds prepared. We must think about such things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable (Philippians 4). If we have our thoughts focused on whatever is excellent or praiseworthy, then our enemies will have a much harder time penetrating our thoughts.
Let me encourage all of you to continue to fight the good fight. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Together with Silas, Peter wrote this epistle from Rome under the persecution of Nero. We are able to speculate that, for a time, Peter and Paul were in Rome simultaneously. Though not in Scripture, Church historians place their deaths within a relative short time from one another. Tradition states that Paul died first by beheading and Peter second by crucifixion.
In his epistle, Peter discusses such themes as: How to deal with persecution (He mentions Christ's sufferings 5 times), faithfulness (even in a helpless/powerless situations), admonition of elders, preparing your mind for action and some 34 commands. Look for these things as you read through Peter's first epistle.
1:13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
This is one of the themes I mentioned above. Prepare your minds for action has a militaristic feel to it. It's like arming yourself for battle. When going into battle, our minds must be prepared for the evils that we will face. It is much the same in our daily lives in this fallen world. We have to prepare our minds to be obedient in our day to day living or else we may fall victim to our enemies' trappings. Satan and his demons desire for us to give in to our evil desires. They seek to ravage our minds and lives in order to pull us further away from the Lord our God.
We no longer live in ignorance, we are without excuse. God has called us to be holy, though that may be impossible for us, it is possible to do so while we rest and trust in Him that is Christ. In order to fully rely on Christ we must put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6) and keep our minds prepared. We must think about such things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable (Philippians 4). If we have our thoughts focused on whatever is excellent or praiseworthy, then our enemies will have a much harder time penetrating our thoughts.
Let me encourage all of you to continue to fight the good fight. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
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