The World Today (4)

This is the fourth and final part of chapter 9 of my book, Biblical Glasses.

Next, from Biblical history we see God’s desire for His chosen nations to do His will. And God is patient! But when His nations in their apostasy become prideful and do not conform to His will, He disciplines them by lowering His hedge of protection around them, making them more vulnerable to outside attacks.

We saw this in Old Testament Israel repeatedly, as many nations were allowed to invade to draw repentance. Read the Book of Judges! We have seen this with America as well. Recall again the 9/11 tragedy; perhaps the attacks relate to what has been happening in America since the 1960s. To paraphrase and quote David Reagan, since America is in rebellion against God—in the process of jettisoning our Christian heritage, converting into a secular society, embracing a hedonistic lifestyle, and morally polluting the entire world—perhaps God permitted the attacks as a judgment on our nation.

Think about it for a moment—God allowed the symbols of American pride to be destroyed, the symbols of both wealth and power: The Trade Towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

We must face up to the unpleasant reality that we are a nation in rebellion against God. … As we began turning our back on God during the 20th century, God started placing judgments upon us to call us to repentance. The Vietnam War was a judgment. Additional judgments included the drug epidemic, the homosexual scourge, the AIDS plague, the glut of pornography, and the rebellion of young people.

The first chapter of Romans teaches that God pours out His wrath on a rebellious nation by stepping back, lowering His hedge of protection, and allowing evil to multiply. It’s as if He were saying, ‘If you really want to live in a fouled nest, then I will let you.’ According to Romans 1, when He first steps back, a sexual revolution occurs (see Romans 1:24-25). That happened in the United States in the 1960s. If the society persists in its rebellion, then God will take another step back and lower His hedge of protection even more. The result will be a plague of homosexuality (see Romans 1:26-27). The United States has been experiencing this judgment since the 1970s. If the society continues its rebellion, God will take a third step back and deliver the nation to a ‘depraved mind’ (see Romans 1:28-31). This is the point at which the Lord moves the nation from judgment to destruction. We are at that point.

We have dug in our heels and set our jaw against God. We have been shaking our fist at Him, saying, ‘Who are You to try to tell us what to do?’ We have thumbed our nose at the very One Who has blessed us beyond anything we have ever deserved.

So, I believe that God allowed the attacks of September 11, 2001 in order to get our attention—to call our nation to repentance before He is forced by His character to deliver us from judgment to destruction.

If this is not the case, if post-modernism, which calls for extreme tolerance and says that no absolute truth exists, is correct, then when Osama bin Laden, truly convicted that his belief was right, that he was on God’s side to terrorize America, directed the attacks on America, he was right! It was true and justifiable, simply because he believed it! The same goes for Hitler during World War II. Extermination of the Jews during the Holocaust can be justified, simply because Hitler believed it to be so. The same goes for anyone who believes anything! What an outrage!

Ultimately, if no repentance comes from the nation, it will fall as God allows. Israel fell, because it failed to repent and turn to God; Judah fell because of its stubborn refusal to remain committed to God with a penitent heart. It is difficult to imagine how mighty America could be felled by another nation, but keep in mind the power of a nuclear or chemical weapon. America could be destroyed in seconds! America as a nation must repent and turn to God!

Finally, we see from Biblical history that God expects His Church—not the physical building, but the body of believers—to serve the people of the world during their time on earth. This is done by four primary means.
First and foremost is evangelism. Believers are called by the Great Commission to preach the Gospel to the entire world. In other words, Christians are called to evangelize the lost.

Second, the Church is called to edify the saved. This includes teaching, encouraging, and building up believers so they grow in Christ and become more useful to God in spreading the Gospel. Believers begin making wise and discerning decisions, often based on the idea of “What Would Jesus Do?”, because they actually learn to know what Jesus would do!

These first two measures are fulfilled through the preaching of the Word of Truth. The Church, in preaching the Gospel, must be neither concerned with political correctness nor overly liberal in its interpretation of Scripture. It must not teach what the Bible forbids, which is unfortunately the case in many liberal churches throughout our increasingly liberal society. Rather, the Church “must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that [it] can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it” (Titus 1:9); it “must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1).

Third, the Church must minister to the needy, with the full support of its members, who, being edified, understand why they should be generous. Although I do not have space for a discussion of the topic of welfare in America, I feel it is important to mention, because the Church should be ministering to the needy, there should be no government welfare programs! The Bible says: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10).

Finally, the Church is called to be a conscience in the community. The Bible says: “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Think about the impact of an entire church living for Christ every day of their lives! Although this may be only a dream, Christians must still maintain a healthy skepticism about modern American society. We should be discerning when it comes to educational, economic, and civic structures; we should support what is good and healthy but continue to stand against sin.

Christians should be in the world, but not of the world. Because we know that this world is temporary—it is not our eternal home—we should show the world the glory of God, rather than separate ourselves from the world.
In the Bible, the great prophet Elijah asked the nation of Israel, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). Israel had a choice to follow God or to follow Baal. They chose Baal and were destroyed. America likewise can choose its worldview.
Each American has a choice regarding the worldview to which he or she subscribes. Choose what the evidence supports: Creation, absolute truth, and a patient, loving, infinitely merciful, infinitely just God. Or choose what the evidence does not support: Evolution, relativism, no eternal consequences, and no God.

If we choose a Biblical worldview, we must remember that Jesus wants more than mere acknowledgement; He wants more than admiration. He wants our adoration; He wants praise and worship through our lives, through an individual, intimate relationship with Him. He wants us to enjoy the gifts He has given to us, especially in America! But we must be careful not to become so infatuated with the gifts that we forget about God. Sinclair Ferguson said, “How foolish to seek the gift, when it is possible to seek the Giver.” In choosing to see the world through “Biblical Glasses,” with a godly worldview, you can “seek the Giver.” What do you have to lose? Seventeenth century French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal described the logic in choosing God; he said, “If you win, you win everything; if you lose, you lose nothing.” The Bible says: “If serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. … As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).

The World Today (3)

This is part 3 of chapter 9 of my book, Biblical Glasses.

Should Biblical and post-Biblical history affect us today?

Biblical history has already explained a great deal about our times; however, I lack ample space to discuss every detail of Biblical history that can be applied to our day. Nevertheless, several important connections are critical to mention.

First of all, the Bible shows that God used a patriarchy to bring about His chosen people. God intended for a patriarchal system of leadership from the beginning, especially spiritually. The family, as the one constant throughout all of time, is one of God’s primary instruments in causing His will to occur!

Israel was founded under a covenant made between its father, Abraham, and God, the Father of all. America, in a sense like Israel, was also established by founding fathers, under theistic principles and godly guidance. The patriarchy served as the means by which both Israel and America progressed. When the family fell apart in Old Testament Israel, the nation struggled. Consider the state of Israel under King David prior to his adultery with Bathsheba. Israel had not seen better times! After David’s adultery, familial struggles developed and ultimately led to Israel’s downfall.

The same has been true for America. The family, with Christ as the Head of Household, was America’s primary stronghold for many of her early years. Just as God cares for us as our Father, which He always will do, so the typical American father cared for his family. When divorce became prevalent, when parents decided that their desires (fueled by the sin nature) were of more value than God’s desires, when single mothers were forced to go it alone due to irresponsible fathers, the family disintegrated.

The teaching of morality, ethics, and spirituality was neglected by parents, who lacked these virtues themselves, and left instead for the public schools; now these values are practically gone, mainly because the father does not teach and discipline his children. But God teaches and disciplines His nation! God wants our priorities to be as follows: God first, spouse second, children third, and all other concerns—including job and hobbies—later. This is the way it was meant to be.

Since we just discussed the family, this is an appropriate place to discuss the role of women. Women’s rights have come a long way in twentieth century America, and rightly so! Women are men’s equal and often their superior in many aspects of everyday life. However, the Bible is clear on the role of women in two particular places within society.

First, within the marriage relationship, women are to submit to their husbands. This is not on account of inability or weakness; rather, it is because of the husband’s ordained responsibility to provide both materially and spiritually for his family. The Bible says: “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22). Husbands are expected to submit also to their wives, loving them as Christ loves the Church. Christ sacrificially gave up His life for His Church, so husbands must be willing to do the same for their wives. The Bible says: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25). It is difficult neither for a woman to submit to and respect her loving and spiritually nurturing husband, nor for that kind of husband to “love his wife as he loves himself” (Ephesians 5:33).

Second, women have defined roles within the Church. Women can contribute a significant amount to the progress of the Church, and again, their contributions are often greater than those of men. But women are not to be preachers within the Church. These Biblical guidelines may not be politically correct in today’s culture, but the Bible must not fall subject to society, as has unfortunately been the case within many liberal churches today.

Next, we see from Biblical history that God expects nations on which He bestows His abundant blessings to follow Him closely. Israel was expected to keep God’s laws and to carry the message about God to all the nations of the world. God would bless all nations through His chosen nation, Israel, which He has done in the Person of Jesus Christ. However, Israel did not live up to its end of the deal (as is most often the case in a covenant with God—only God is faithful); Israel disobeyed God’s laws and stumbled over the message it was supposed to spread. It failed to recognize the joy it was given and instead created its own false pleasures.

America has made strides in the work of the Great Commission to proclaim the message of the Gospel to all nations. Missionaries from American churches have been sent throughout the world, and lives have certainly been changed for the better. At the same time, America as a nation has become increasingly unfaithful to her Creator. Just as Old Testament Israel mocked God by worshipping idols, America mocks God as well, by breaking His laws.

When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but [on January 23, 1996], this is what they heard:

‘Heavenly Father, we come before You today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says: ‘Woe to those who call evil good’ [Isaiah 5:20], but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it Pluralism. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and
called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, O God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent to direct us to the center of Your will and to openly ask these things in the name of Your Son, the living Savior, Jesus
Christ. Amen!’

The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. In six short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Reverend Wright is pastor, logged more than 5000 phone calls with only forty-seven of those calls responding negatively. The church is now
receiving international requests for copies of this prayer from India, Africa, and Korea. Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, The Rest of the Story, and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired. With the Lord’s help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and whole heartedly become our desire so that we again can be called ‘one nation under God.’

Today a prayer like this one makes people uncomfortable. The Gospel today is not politically correct, but we must acknowledge that it never has been. Even in Old Testament Israel, people wanted to stray from God. In fact, since the fall of Adam, man has been a slave to the sin nature, denying the Holy Spirit and the message of the Gospel. The Bible says: “The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes, and broken the everlasting covenant” (Isaiah 24:5).

In her infancy, America called on God before every decision, but not today. As it stands, our nation has lost sight of both God’s character and the seriousness of sin. The wealth of America has led to comfort, complacency, and lukewarm spirituality. Jesus said:

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of My mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked (Revelation 3:15-17).

Third, Biblical history has shown that when nations blessed by God fall away from Him, it is usually on account of pride. Old Testament Israel reveled in its own glory, forgot about God, and relied on itself; on her own, America will do the same. Psalm 10:4 effectively says: “In pride the wicked do not seek God; in all their thoughts there is no room for Him.”

As mentioned earlier, America was undeniably founded on theistic principles. Our nation, from her lowly conception, had plenty of room for God, boasting not in her own accomplishments, but in God’s. America, prior to the mid-to-late twentieth century, had always been a proud, growing nation, wearing the kind of pride that thanks God for abundant blessings and safekeeping. The kind of pride mighty America now wears looks beyond God; it is all about the self. Isaiah 2:17 says: “The arrogance of man will be brought low and the pride of men humbled; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.”

Everywhere you look, post-modern America encourages self, self, self. “Make your life whatever you want it to be!” The liberal media certainly encourages this mentality. Manmade religions certainly encourage this state of mind. But Christianity is all about God. Christianity encourages selflessness. “Make your life whatever God wants it to be!”

But what does God want your life to be? The world says, “Don’t worry, be happy.” The Bible says, “Don’t worry, be holy.” Our fast-paced society does not want to stop and think about the implications of humanism; people just want to follow the idea, “If it feels good, do it.” Since they feel it is okay to follow this idea, they presume, because America is a melting pot of different cultures, values, and ideals, it is okay for others as well. (This is today’s form of tolerance.)

Why is America just easing into post-modernism? Why only remove under God from the Pledge of Allegiance? Why not go ahead and remove God altogether from our nation. It has been done in public schools! Why not remove Him from our currency, our court systems, and our Congress? If the path America is heading down is not the wrong direction, if it is indeed the best way to go, why not go all out? Why not sprint down this path if it leads to greatness? If, on the other hand, it is sin, and America is willing to accept the consequences, why not sin boldly? Mighty America is proud today, because many of her people think her success has been all about her, but God said: “I will put an end to the pride of the mighty” (Ezekiel 7:24). America must repent, which Old Testament Israel did not do. Andree Seu said:

Be not proud, for we only ride the residual morality of our greater fathers, whose godly foundations are nibbled away at daily. Nevertheless, be not ignorant either of the recurring fact of history that wherever a nation has been tempered by the Word of God—be it ancient Israel or modern America—that nation is held to a higher standard. When she falls short of it, she is reviled by all. When she meets it, she is not praised, for it was only expected.

How true it is that America is held to a different standard—not just by God, but by the entire world! America is expected to perform and conform to higher expectations. The United States has eased the suffering of many a nation and many a people, but there is indeed still suffering, even in our own great nation.

When America lost just fewer than 2800 people on September 11, 2001, we thought, “What a horrific tragedy!” And rightly so! However, on that same day 2400 children died in Africa from malaria alone; on that same day 35,000 people died from starvation. In fact, those deaths in those quantities occur every day! 2,400,000 Americans died that year; the world lost nearly 60,000,000 people that year!

I do not mean to belittle the 9/11 tragedy, rather to simply point out that the world is full of death and suffering. We in America are desensitized to most of the harsh realities of every day life around the world. Even in war times, America loses a hundred of its military while fighting for another country’s freedom halfway around the world, and it is a catastrophe; Iraq loses hundreds of thousands of its own civilians due to chemical and biological weapons testing under its reign of terror, and many Americans do not even consider that an atrocity worth fighting against! Consider the following: America lost 500,000 men and women in World War II, and Russia lost nearly 21,000,000! These are gruesome statistics, but as John Piper said:

The Bible confirms the sad reality. It describes a flood that wiped out the earth’s population, and battles where 100,000 and 185,000 men perished (see 1 Kings 20:29; Isaiah 37:36). It also notes an epidemic that killed 70,000 Israelites (see 2 Samuel 24:16) and warns of coming wars and earthquakes and famines (see Matthew 24:7). Crucially, it describes the origin of these
calamities: Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned (see Romans 5:12). This does not mean that there is a direct correlation between specific personal sins and a person’s suffering and death. The best people often die hard, and the worst die easy. It means that sin is more repugnant in the universe than suffering and death.

The World Today (2)

This is part 2 of chapter 9 of my book, Biblical Glasses.

Where is God today? Maybe you are angry at God for various events that have occurred in your life. Perhaps you cannot believe that God cares considering the pain and suffering throughout the world. Maybe you are angry toward God over the events of September 11, 2001.

Think about this: 75,000 people should have died in that tragedy. 75,000 is the number of people normally in or around the World Trade Center Towers and at the Pentagon on any given day. Three of the four hijacked planes were less than a quarter full. The fourth plane was one-third full. With the final victim count at less than 3000 people, over ninety-six percent of the potential victims survived. Hmm … Where was God again? He was there! He was miraculously keeping the towers up so people could escape. Engineers have no answer to explain why the towers stood so long; logically, they should have fallen much sooner! What a miracle!

I am not saying we can fully understand the events of 9/11, but we can definitely know that God is in control. Perhaps He lowered His hedge of protection around America because of its falling away from His guidance (see Romans 1:18-32); perhaps He desires for America, like Old Testament Israel, to follow Him precisely.

So where is God? We have seen He is “not far from each one of us” (Acts 18:27). Jesus said: “Where two or three come together in My name, there I am with them” (Matthew 18:20). The apostle John said, “God lives in us and His love is made complete in us. We know that we live in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit” (1 John 4:12-13). Where is God? He is in me! Is He in you? He wants to be! Jesus said: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).

The World Today (1) - Who is God?

This is part 1 of chapter 9 of my book, Biblical Glasses.

Having briefly discussed the present day worldview in the introduction of this book, I want to expound on some additional concerns in this chapter. I previously mentioned the trouble with post-modernism, secular humanism, and moral relativism. I also pointed out how our fast-paced society prides itself on hyper-tolerance and how technological breakthroughs have made the twentieth century a monumental benchmark in the world’s history.

This chapter is a good place to examine what Biblical history can teach us about America’s progression—or regression, depending on your worldview. But first, since we have not yet discussed in detail the character of God, it may be wise to address the following concerns: Who is God? Where is God today?

Who is God? The following names of God come from a popular worship song: Lord of Lords, King of Kings, Mighty God, Lord of Everything, Immanuel, the Great I AM, Prince of Peace, Risen Lamb, Living God, Saving Grace, the Ancient of Days, the Alpha and Omega, Savior, Messiah, Redeemer, and Friend. The Bible uses hundreds of names for God. Some of them, as listed by Lambert Dolphin in the original Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic languages, include:

ELOHIM: God (a plural noun, meaning more than two, used with singular verbs).
ADONAI: Lord (Capitol letter L, lower case ord); Adonai is plural, the singular is Adon. “Lord” or “Master” is always plural when referring to God; when singular, the reference is to a human lord.
JEHOVAH: LORD (all capitals). Yahweh, the covenant name of God, refers to “The Self-Existent One,” “I AM WHO I AM” or “I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE;” the name of God, too sacred to be uttered, is written YHWH without vowels.
JEHOVAH-ELOHIM: “LORD God.”
JEHOVAH-JIREH: “The LORD Will Provide.”
JEHOVAH-ROPHE: “The LORD Who Heals.”
JEHOVAH-NISSI: “The LORD Our Banner.”
JEHOVAH-M’KADDESH: “The Sanctifying LORD.”
JEHOVAH-SHALOM: “The LORD Our Peace.”
JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU: “LORD Our Righteousness.”
JEHOVAH-ROHI: “The LORD Our Shepherd.”
JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH: “The LORD Is There.”
JEHOVAH-SABAOTH: “The LORD of Hosts” or the commander of the angelic host and the armies of God.
EL SHADDAI: “God All Sufficient” or God Almighty.
EL ELYON: “Most High.”
EL ROI: “God of Seeing” or the God Who opens our eyes.
EL-OLAM: “Everlasting God” or God of everlasting time.
EL-BERITH: “God of the Covenant.”
EL-GIBHOR: “Mighty God.”
ABHIR: “Mighty One.”
KADOSH: “Holy One.”
SHAPHAT: “Judge.”
KANNA: “Jealous” (zealous).
PALET: “Deliverer.”
YESHA: “Savior” (Y’shua).
GAOL: “Redeemer.”
MAGEN: “Shield.”
EYALUTH: “Strength.”
TSADDIQ: “Righteous One.”
ZUR: “God our Rock.”
MELEKH: “King.”
`ATTIQ YOMIN: “Ancient of Days.”
KURIOS: “Lord.”
DESPOTES: “Lord.”
THEOS: “God.”
I AM: Jesus upset His generation when He claimed to be equal with God, saying: “Before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58). He also claimed to be Jehovah in such phrases as: “I am the Bread of Life,” “I am the Light of the World,” “I am the Resurrection and the Life,” and “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life” (John 6:35,48; 8:12, 9:5; 11:25; 14:6).
THEOTES: “Godhead.”
HUPSISTOS: “Highest.”
SOTER: “Savior.”
JESUS: “Y’shua” or “Je-Hoshua” meaning JEHOVAH IS SALVATION.
CHRIST: “Messiah” or “The Anointed One.”
LOGOS: “The Word of God” referring to Christ.
SOPHIA: “The Wisdom of God” referring to Christ.
THE FIRST AND LAST: “The Alpha and Omega.”
ABBA: “Daddy” or “Father.”
SHEPHERD: “The Good Shepherd.”

The Bible gives God many more names, and obviously, the names above tell us a great deal about Who God is; but I think the question, “Who is God?” really begs the deeper question, “What is God like?” Anyone asking this question wants to know about God’s character. We can never expect to learn or presume to know everything there is to know about God, but the Bible, His revealed Word, does tell us everything we need to know about Him.

God is eternal; He always has been, and He forever will be. He is I AM; in other words, He just is! He is the only Being without a cause; all other beings were caused by Him. Nothing has existed apart from Him. He is beyond time, transcending time as its Creator and Sustainer. Our past, present, and future are known in the present to God; He presently knows everything in perfect and total omniscience.

Because humans are finite, we cannot fully comprehend the infinite. We wonder, “How is anything beyond time?” Humans cannot fathom beyond time, because we are governed by time; we are inside time. The Bible says:

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the
Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His
understanding no one can fathom (Isaiah 40:28).

God is omnipresent; no one can hide from Him. He is immortal, promising to grant immortality to all who believe in Him with saving faith in Jesus Christ. He is righteous and holy; He demands us to be righteous and holy too.

He is consistent; His character does not change. He cannot change, because He is absolutely perfect. People change; the weather changes; the world has changed significantly over its short history, but neither God nor His Word have changed. God’s Word remains constant as our primary source of absolute truth. The Bible says:

Your Word, O Lord, is eternal; It stands firm in the heavens. … The grass
withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of our God stands forever. … The Word
of the Lord stands forever. And this is the Word that was preached to you. …
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Psalm 119:89; Isaiah
40:8; 1 Peter 1:25; Hebrews 13:8)!

God is Spirit and, therefore, invisible. He has no physical appearance, except in His Son, Jesus Christ, Who took on the physical nature of humanity according to the will of God the Father. While some claim that God does not exist, because He cannot be seen, we can be certain of His existence on account of both His creation and His Word. “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

God is life; without Him there is death. God is love; the love of God is conditioned upon His moral and spiritual attributes. His love is infinitely “wide and long and high and deep” (Ephesians 3:18); it “surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19)! God is truth; it is impossible for God to lie (see Titus 1:2). It is against His character; He cannot do it. Everything He says and does is true; therefore, we can completely trust His revelation through His Word.

God is omnipotent. He can do all things that His character allows. He cannot do anything contrary to His perfect character. He alone has power over sin and death, and He has demonstrated to us and told us that they have been conquered through Jesus Christ.

God is infinite in the attributes of Himself; He is infinitely powerful, infinitely wise, infinitely holy, infinitely patient, infinitely merciful, infinitely just, and infinitely beyond our understanding. We will never know the totality of God!

God is faithful. Because I do not cheat on my spouse, I often think of myself as being a faithful husband. Jesus said: “Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). Surely there are few men who have not looked lustfully at a woman! As faithful as I think I am, I fall miserably short of God’s faithfulness; I am completely unfaithful in comparison with His standard of perfection. Though it is simple for me to remain faithful to my wife by not cheating on her—I would never consider it!—it takes serious prayer and concentration for me to live up to God’s standard of perfection regarding faithfulness to my wife. My sin nature desires to look lustfully at pretty women, but God’s Spirit within me is working to keep me from doing that. (I explain this battle a bit more in a moment.) God’s unwavering faithfulness is awesome! He cannot be unfaithful! All of God’s attributes are this way. Praise God!

God is sovereign. All things are under His complete control. He is never uncertain or unaware. His purpose is ultimately to glorify Himself. He accomplishes this eternal goal in creation and by saving sinners according to His perfect mercy while punishing sin according to His perfect justice. God is merciful in that He has chosen some of us to be saved for His glory; He is just in that He will punish sin for all eternity. God is so sovereign that:

From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole
earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they
should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for
Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us (Acts 18:26-27).

What a great feeling of security it is to know that the Creator God of the universe placed us in America during this time in all of history! He did not place us in France during the Dark Ages; He did not place us in China during the time of Confucius. He wanted us here and now. Why? Perhaps it is because this country and these times offer the best opportunity for us to seek, reach out for, and find God. The beautiful thing is He is seeking us! We are all unique people, but God knows the number of hairs on our head (see Matthew 10:30; Luke 12:7). He has predestined our lives for His glory. So we should glorify Him!

We have seen that natural man, anyone unenlightened by the Holy Spirit to the truth of the Gospel, will not believe the Bible until the Holy Spirit convicts him or her of its truth. “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Ultimately, the Bible will only be believed by those whom God has chosen. If you have come so far as to have saving faith in Jesus Christ, then be assured God has chosen you; we know we are chosen by our faith in Christ, which comes from God.

Is this unfair? Only for those who are chosen to be saved! “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). It is unfair that any should be saved, but God will have mercy on whom He will have mercy (see Romans 9:15; Exodus 33:19).

Natural man also knows nothing of the ongoing inner struggle between the Spirit and the sin nature within a Christian. As the sin nature is slowly evicted by the Holy Spirit through the process of sanctification, the Christian struggles with decisions between right and wrong, good and evil, etc.; meanwhile, the unbeliever does not understand these struggles, because he or she lives to satisfy the desires of the sin nature. There is no spiritual conflict, as the Spirit has not yet indwelt the unbeliever.

Unbelievers can be transformed into believers, if it is God’s will, by the Holy Spirit through hearing the Gospel, which “is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). The Bible says:

[Unbelievers] stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they
were destined for. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him Who
called you out of darkness into His wonderful light (1 Peter 2:7-9, emphasis
added).

Now some of God’s character traits may seem nice to many people, but when we think about the impact of His perfect justice, we often shutter. His perfect justice requires Him to punish sinners with a most severe and unending wrath. The wrath of God must not be taken lightly!

According to His perfect justice, God’s wrath must fall on every sinner on judgment day, but Jesus Christ has already endured the wrath which would have otherwise fallen on the elect, those who trust in Him.
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

“Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him” (Romans 5:9)! Christ saves us from God’s wrath, which was reserved for us, “but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3:36, emphasis added).

“Because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when His righteous judgment will be revealed” (Romans 2:5). God’s wrath in judgment is righteous! It is just and fair! All sinners deserve the wrath of God, but it is by His mercy that some are saved. This may not paint the picture of the God people want. Some people may be angry that God would take out His wrath on everyone who does not trust in Christ; but the Bible says:

Shall what is formed say to Him Who formed it, ‘Why did You make me like this?’
Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some
pottery for noble purposes and some for common use? What if God, choosing to
show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the objects of
His wrath—prepared for destruction? What if He did this to make the riches of
His glory known to the objects of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for
glory—even us, whom He also called, not only from the Jews but also from the
Gentiles (Roman 9:20-24)?

Now to some, God may seem insincere, just plain boring, or downright offensive. In fact, prior to knowing God and having a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ, all people are slaves to the sin nature and will not find God attractive. “He had … nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him” (Isaiah 53:2). Sinners will not seek God, but “the good news is that while sinners do not seek God, God seeks sinners.” This is the character of God as revealed in the Bible. We may not be able to fully grasp the answer to “Who is God?”, but we can praise Him for His perfect character.

Review of Post-Biblical History (6)

This is part 6 of chapter 8 of my book, Biblical Glasses.

I grew up very much involved in the Catholic Church, and I hate to criticize it too harshly as I have many family members in the Church; however, it simply does not teach the Bible. It is my opinion most Catholics—if they ever really think about it—believe that all people are basically good and will go to heaven, that people earn salvation by believing in God and living a good life or doing the best they can, and that ultimately there is no reason to be concerned about salvation, because God is a God of mercy. We have already seen why this is Biblically incorrect teaching. (God is also a God of justice!)

Less than thirty percent of American Catholics go to church weekly, and many of those who attend regularly do so because of tradition saying they are supposed to go. The Catholic Church has long been corrupted with un-Biblical customs and unrepentant hearts. The corruption, which some consider apostasy (beyond the point of no return), is now at a peak as we see numerous law suits brought against priests for child molestation. Many of the priests are countersuing for slander! A recent survey showed that fifty-three percent of Catholic priests believe there is a homosexual subculture overwhelming their seminaries and dwellings. Homosexuality is strictly forbidden in the Bible (see Genesis 19:4-13; Leviticus 18:22, 20:13; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11), yet it seems to run rampant within the Catholic Church. There have been cover-ups going on for years at the highest levels of the Church government.

To keep this from being a totally one-sided argument, it is absolutely true that Protestant Churches have experienced scandalous moments as well. In many cases, their moments are equally as revolting. I am not in any way saying Protestantism is perfect. I simply want people to know the facts, study the Bible, come to know Jesus Christ personally as their only Savior and Lord, and grow in fellowship with Him through the Holy Spirit. Quite frankly, having been there, I can say that is hard to do in the Catholic Church.

By getting onboard a growing church with sound Biblical preaching of Christ, a discerning group of elders at its helm, and Christ Himself as the captain, we can learn, discern, and grow, not in a religion, but in a relationship with our Creator! We must engage in Christian fellowship and follow the Bible, God’s Word revealed to us, which says: “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2).

Returning to Church history, as previously mentioned, the New Testament was divided into verses by Robert Stephanus around 1551. The Presbyterian Church was founded in 1560. Anabaptists had concerns with infant baptism and separation of church and state issues, so they broke away and formed the Baptist denomination in 1609. The King James Version of the Bible was first published in 1611 and is still today the mostly widely used!

The Protestant Westminster Confession, which confirmed that the sole doctrinal authority is Scripture and gave reformed views of the sacraments, the ministry, and grace, was drafted in 1646. The Society of Friends, known as Quakers, was founded in 1648. In 1678, John Bunyan wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress, which is today the second most circulated book behind only the Bible [Editor's note: Now (May, 2006) Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code has eclipsed the mark set by Bunyan's book]. Jonathan Edwards led the great awakening in 1735; John Wesley founded Methodism in 1738. 1780 saw the first “Sunday School” classes being taught.

The nineteenth century saw fundamentalism develop, as the conservative standard of regarding the Bible as both infallible and inerrant began to dissolve in liberal Protestant churches. The Christian cult of Mormonism, also known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, originated in 1827. The Disciples of Christ denomination officially began in 1832. Charles Spurgeon was England’s finest preacher in the mid-1800s. 1870 saw the First Vatican Council, when Pope Pius IX declared Papal Infallibility. The 1870s also saw the beginning of another Christian cult, the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The twentieth century opened with the beginning of the Pentecostal denomination in 1901.

The Scopes Trial of 1925 opened the door for evolution theory to be taught in schools; a high school teacher was convicted, and later acquitted, of teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution, which was contrary to the law prohibiting any teaching that denied the divine creation of humans. It embarrassingly showed that many Christians are ill-prepared “to give an answer to everyone who asks [them] to give the reason for the hope that [they] have” (1 Peter 3:15).

1949 saw Billy Graham step into the limelight as one of America’s finest preachers. The United Church of Christ was founded in 1957. 1962 began the Second Vatican Council, which ended Latin Masses and actually allowed Bible study by laymen within the Church; Pope John XXIII felt like the Catholic Church needed to better relate to modern culture by recognizing modern man’s abilities and desires within the ever-changing culture. 1966–1976 saw China accept and begin to rapidly grow its Christian population despite persecution under Communism.

Whereas almost all English Bible translations tended to be literal prior to the 1900s, the twentieth century saw the rise of other, less literal forms of translation. There are four primary types of Bible translations from ancient manuscripts:

- Word-for-Word (Literal): Such as the KJV, AV, RV, ASV, RSV, NASB, NKJV, [Editor's addition: ESV] and NRSV.
- Meaning-for-Meaning: Such as the GNB, TEV, and NEB.
- Word-for-Word and Meaning-for-Meaning Blends: Such as the NIV, JB, NJB, and REB.
- Paraphrases: Such as the J.B. Phillips Bible, the Living Bible, and the Message Bible.

Regarding God’s Word, Jesus said in Matthew 5:18: “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the law until everything is accomplished.” The King James Version says it like this: “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”

The ‘Jot’ is the Hebrew word ‘Yodh’ which is the 10th letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It is also the smallest letter. It’s European or English equivalent is the letter ‘Y’ as in the English term Yahweh or in Hebrew YHVH since there were no vowels used in the ancient script. The word ‘jot’ itself is an English transliteration of ‘iota’ which is the 9th letter of the Greek alphabet. ‘Iota,’ in turn, is the nearest Greek equivalent for the Hebrew yodh. The ‘tittle’ is the small decorative spur or point on the upper edge of the yodh. … Imagine a tiny letter with a slightly visible decorative mark. Tittle is used by Greek grammarians of the accents and diacritical points. It means the little lines or projections by which the Hebrew letters differ from each other. One example
would be the difference between the letter L and I. The difference is only one small mark. We use phrases like ‘the dotting of the i, and the crossing of the t,’ and ‘every iota.’ It is interesting that the Jewish scribes who copied the … Hebrew Bible scrolls paid the greatest attention to the minutiae of detail and such marks attached to each consonant throughout the entire text. They even numbered every letter, word, sentence, paragraph, chapter, section, and scroll to insure that the total equaled that of the text being copied before allowing it to enter the holy synagogue. The meaning of the passage is very clear. Not even the smallest letter or even its decorative spur will ever disappear from the ‘God Breathed’ Word until all is fulfilled. In fact when heaven and earth are replaced by a new heaven and earth, the Word of the Lord will have accomplished its purpose and will be fulfilled in every detail even to the very letter.

Post-Biblical history, with all its imperfections, shows us the need to return to Biblical authority. After all, God’s Word will continue to move toward complete fruition in the Rapture of God’s chosen people, the return of Jesus Christ, the punishment of sin, and eternity with no more pain and suffering. In the next chapter, we will answer a couple important questions about God’s presence in our lives today by looking at His character. We will also see where America is standing from a spiritual perspective by looking at our great nation through “Biblical Glasses.”