Biblical Glasses

Swim practice

2012-01-25T18:03:00.001-05:00

Annabel, Charlie, and Johnny after swim practice...

Kiddos in the park

2012-01-20T13:21:00.001-05:00

Warm enough this winter to take a walk in the park.

Trial

2012-01-20T12:14:00.002-05:00

Just trying to link blogger to twitter to facebook to linkedin. Does it work?

2012-01-18T10:48:00.001-05:00

Trial: blogging from my iPhone ...

Bible Commentary Published - A Work in Progress

2012-01-18T10:37:00.003-05:00

I just published my commentary on the Book of Acts. You can view my entire commentary - A Work in Progress - here. I am nearing completion of the New Testament, with only Peter's 2 epistles, Hebrews, James, Revelation, and the synoptic gospels, which I would like to do as a harmony, still to go...

A New Year... A Resolution Worth Keeping

2012-01-10T14:13:00.002-05:00

The King will say to those on His right, "Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited Me in, I needed clothes and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you came to visit Me." Then the righteous will answer Him, "Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and go to visit You?" The King will reply, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you did for Me." Then He will say to those on his left, "Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite Me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after Me." They also will answer, "Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help You?" He will reply, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me." Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life (Matthew 25:34-46).

Just one of the least of these. Have you ever thought about sponsoring a child through an organization like Compassion International? My family - because we have four children - sponsors four children, two from Honduras, one from Ethiopia, and one from India. And I could tell you how exciting it is to exchange letters - and prayers - with these children. But I'd rather tell you about sponsorship. See, Proverbs 31:8-9 says, "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." I haven't been speaking up. In my own sponsorship efforts, I'm playing a part, filling a gap, helping out, or whatever you want to call it. Sometimes I would even say that I fulfill that role in a sacrificial way; after all, at $38 per month per child, it's a commitment of $1824 per year, not counting additional birthday, Christmas, and family gifts throughout the year. But I'm not saying this to boast; if anything, I'm ashamed, because I haven't been speaking up.

And that's my resolution - to speak up for those who can't speak for themselves, to encourage others - maybe you - to show care for just one of the least of these. And I want to explain why you should do that through the ministry of Compassion International.

It's simple. Compassion has a 4-C focus: It is Christ-centered. Compassion doesn't work where the gospel isn't shared. You can be sure that Jesus' name is spoken often where Compassion children are spoken. WIthout coercion, the life-changing gospel is taught to every child in a culturally-relevant way. It is Child-focused. Compassion directly engages children as complete persons. It is Church-based. Compassion partners with locals church, allowing relationships to form and grow naturally, as the local church partners with parents and the local communities. Finally, it is Committed to Integrity. Compasion is not among the highest-rated fiscally responsible ministries out there, but it also focuses on excellence in providing whatever support is to sponsored children through the local church.

Compassion has a wholistic approach to caring for children; in other words, with your sponsorship dollars, your child is given physical care, educational care, social care, and most importantly (but it doesn't work if the others aren't also present), spiritual care.

There are a lot of places you could put your hard-earned money. There are a lot of places you could spend your surely limited time. And with a new year, we often charge ahead, aiming high, thinking big, and gathering resources for the needs we perceive in our own lives. But make a resolution: aim lower - at the least of these; think smaller - children across the world need compassion and the gospel; and give up - test God in this; see if you can outgive Him. Would you sponsor a child through Compassion International? Click the link below to learn more.

Sponsor a child through Compassion International

Church Leadership

2011-09-22T10:27:00.004-04:00

A primary Greek word used in the Bible to talk about church leaders is "episkope." Broken down, epi-scope, has the root, "scope," as in telescope, microscope, stethoscope, etc... You think of an instrument designed for getting a good look at something. And the prefix, "epi," means "on, upon, at, by, near, over, on top of, toward, against, and among." You might think of the word, "epicenter," which describes not only the center of a focal point, or the crux of an issue, but actually being there to gain first person, experiential knowledge of the same.

Combining the prefix and the root, the Greek word "episkope," which is where we get our English word, "Episcopal," and which is often translated as "bishop," "elder," "overseer," or even "visitation," describes an investigator and his task, one who visits closely in order to look deeply into something or someone, which is exactly what a church leader should spend his time doing - looking deeply into the people and circumstances of his flock. In fact, when the word is used of an authority figure, even of God Himself, it means, "that act of looking into and searching out the ways, deeds character, of men, in order to judge them and their lot accordingly, whether joyous or sad."

How are your church leaders doing at this primary task of theirs? Are they loaded with other chores and tasks that prevent them from engaging in their primary role? How do you think they should best perform this task? By preaching the word of God, of course, which is "living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates, even to dividing sould and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12). If you are a church leader, then "watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers" (1 Timothy 4:16).

The Tillman Story

2011-07-14T09:32:00.003-04:00

I watched this documentary / movie last night, because I appreciated Pat Tillman's successful football career and subsequent surprising departure from the NFL in order to enlist with the military following the events of September 11, 2001. I really did not know what to expect out of the film, but what I saw and heard was certainly unexpected. I'm still trying to process the motive for the production.

The movie primarily served to accuse the military and US government of a massive cover-up, attempting to honor Tillman and prevent the public from learning of his death by friendly fire. And I think most people are unsuprised if/when that sort of thing happens. How many films have been made about such activity? I think of Courage Under Fire and The General's Daughter, and the lines, "You can't handle the truth!" without much consideration. It's certainly not "right" to conspire or cover-up the truth, especially when it pertains to representing facts to the family and loved ones of a slain soldier. And it's all the more wrong to engage in such activity in an effort to promote military action in foreign lands when the purpose is questionable to begin with. And so for the efforts to make such activity public, I suppose I appreciate the film.

However, there were plenty of additional motives for this film, more subtly portrayed. First, there was a sort of subjective political message in addition to what is depicted objectively, and I can't quite put my finger on it. But I was skeptical, and saddened by the efforts to state that claim. Second, or of more interest to me, was the religious message implied in the film. Messages of hope from well-wishers were squashed by family members with an undoubtedly atheistic worldview. Tillman's younger brother spoke at his memorial service, cursing and declaring that Pat is not with God, because he was not religious. He is simply dead. The anger that was continually present from his family is understandable given their humanity, but illogical, given their atheism. Pat's mother continually replied to the military's and government's immoral behavior, but she had no basis for her views of morality to begin with.

In one clip, a radio conversation between military personnel is played, and the gist is that the family can't get over it because of their atheistic thinking. I think it was meant to glorify atheism in some sense, to honor their perseverance, as if to say that theists are weak and give up easily at the will of the system, while atheists are strong and never yield to the system. In another series of clips, one of Tillman's group members, a "religious" mormon, was shown to be (1) small and puny and weak (in comparison to Tillman), (2) in the best care under Tillman's "practical" leadership, rather than in the hands of his impractical "god" - Tillman even encouraged him not to pray in the midst of gunfire, and this was shown to be a good move for the soldier - and (3) better off when he let go of his wimpiness, his "faith," and instead toughened up and "acted like a man." I can't believe that this subtlty was included unintentionally. I just wonder why.

In the end, Tillman was shown to be much more intellectual and open-minded than you might have expected him to be as a jock. He was portrayed as a risk-taker who lived life to the full, a faithful husband to his high-school sweetheart, and a family-loving son and brother. He was called a hero, and anyone who voluntarily gives up their game-playing multi-million dollar career to fight for their country's freedom, risking their life in foreign lands for minimal (if any) pay, I suppose ought to be given such a title - at least on earth. But I am afraid Pat Tillman has received his reward, if only honor and joy in this life. For the atheist, as his brother clearly stated, is dead. He understands death to be merely the end of this life. He has no concept, as his dead brother now does, of the second death, eternal separation from God. The Tillman Story protrays that family to be ever-in-pain, hardened by the loss of Pat, and in hostility toward God. Only God can take away that pain, and He has to do it by softening their hearts of stone, and reconciling them to Himself. I pray that He would, for their good, and for His glory.

2011-06-24T10:32:00.000-04:00

Leading a multi-round tournament, but still a few days to go...

THE APOSTLE PAUL (6)

2011-06-10T15:26:00.000-04:00

In the fall of 59 or 60 AD, Luke and Aristarchus accompanied Paul, with 273 other passengers (Acts 27:37), onto a grain-ship bound for Rome. The passenger count included many prisoners escorted by a Roman Centurion named Julius (Acts 27:1-2). Luke’s masterpiece is compared with Homer’s Odyssey, Jonah’s Mediterranean Voyage, and is even called in secular circles “one of the most instructive documents for the knowledge of ancient seamanship.” Bruce says, “Paul’s genius for friendship manifested itself at an early stage in the voyage. He so won the confidence of the centurion that, by the time the ship on which they had embarked at Caesarea put in at Sidon, he was allowed to go ashore on parole and visit his friends.”

After stopping in several cities along the way, the ship came in “early October” (59-60 AD) to Fair Havens, on the Isle of Crete (Acts 27:7). Although Paul warned Julius not to sail the Mediterranean during a dangerous time of the year (September 14 through November 11), the Centurion disregarded his advice and tried to reach a farther port in which to spend the winter (Acts 27:9-12). A brief moment of friendly weather gave way to a fierce storm, which drove them out to sea where they expected to die. For 14 nights they were lost at sea and driven nearly mad, but, as Paul prophesied to the passengers, they would be safe after wrecking their ship off the coast of Malta (Acts 27:14 - 28:1). They wintered for three months on Malta, where Paul was a blessing to everyone. He survived a snakebite and healed many people. The following spring (60-61 AD), everyone made it safely to the Bay of Naples, and to the Italian port city of Puteoli (Acts 28:13; modern day Pozzuoli), where Paul and companions stayed for a week with local Christians. Then they walked the rest of the way to Rome. Christians came from Rome to greet and walk with Paul along the Appian Way (Via Appia) for some 30-40 miles outside the city. And so they came to Rome (Acts 28:14).

Julius delivered Paul to the captain of the guard, or some sort of camp commander, in Rome (Acts 28:16), and he was allowed to live at his own expense, by himself, though constantly guarded by a soldier (house arrest). For two years Paul lived in Rome (60-62, or 61-63 AD), and he was able to receive visitors and continue his preaching of the Gospel (Acts 28:23-31). It appears that some Roman Jews came to speak with Paul, unaware of who he was. They considered Christianity a sect and had heard discrediting remarks about the Way (Acts 28:22). They remained unconvinced after hearing Paul, and so he spoke against them the words of Isaiah 6:10, which had become a widespread rebuke of Jews from Christian interpretation of the passage. Paul said finally to them, “Take knowledge, then, that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen to it” (Acts 28:28).

Many scholars think that Paul wrote Hebrews (addressed to the Jewish Christians in Rome?), Ephesians (maybe?), Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon from Rome around 62 AD. And of course, Paul wrote 1 Timothy and Titus toward the end of his stay in Rome (62-63 AD). Meanwhile, Luke may have also finished up his book of Acts during the Roman house arrest timeframe. It is noteworthy that Paul, in these later letters, speaks favorably of Mark, who is linked to Peter and Rome. Papias, Eusebius, Clement of Alexandria, and Irenaeus all write in the early second century that Mark was Peter’s interpreter. According to Bruce, since the time Paul refused to take him on the second mission trip, Mark “no doubt had matured under the wise and sympathetic guidance of Barnabas and then as aide-de-camp of Peter.” Also, Paul had certainly mellowed in these 12-15 years.

Regarding Philemon, many wonder how and why it made its way into the canon of Scripture. Some speculation is required, but much evidence points to Onesimus himself as a compiler of Pauline writings. In 110 AD, Ignatius, the bishop of Syrian Antioch, wrote to Ephesus, where the bishop’s name was Onesimus. And the letter mimics Paul’s style in Philemon. If Onesimus was 20 years old when he met Paul in Rome, he would have been 70 years old in 110 AD, not a far-fetched age to be a presiding bishop. Some even say that Onesimus had a hand in writing Ephesians. But that’s another story.

Not much has been said about Colossians, primarily because Paul had not been there in person. Colossae was Philemon’s hometown and had been a large and prosperous city in the 400s BC that dwindled to a small town by 50 AD. Today, Colossae is deserted; modern day Honaz is a small town three miles away. Epaphras, a valued colleague of Paul, likely founded the Colossian Church, where some pre-gnostic false teaching erupted as Judaism mixed with non-Jewish philosophy. Some scholars trace this teaching to the Essenes (intellectual exclusiveness, speculative tenets, and asceticism), especially since many specifics mentioned in Colossians are also found in the Qumran texts. Some call it “Jewish non-conformity,” but Paul fights the human traditions by repeatedly and in every way pointing to Christ.

When we come to the letter to the Ephesians, we find his heaviest emphasis on the Holy Spirit. The very presence of the Holy Spirit is evidence of the last days (Joel 2:28). The Spirit confirms that Jesus is the promised Messiah, just as the prophets, including John the Baptist, foretold. The Spirit Himself is the promise, the seal, the deposit, and the guarantee that the resurrection life and glory are by faith in Jesus (Romans 8:9; 2 Corinthians 5:5; Ephesians 1:13-14). But the Spirit is not only an individual’s experience, for He unifies all believers as the Body of Christ. Jesus broke down barriers (Ephesians 2:14) and enabled Gentiles to join with Jews (Ephesians 3:1; Acts 21:27). Paul was charged with bringing a Gentile into the holy place, and there’s no indication that he did. But to Paul, the barrier was gone; there was no reason a Gentile couldn’t go right into the Holy of Holies. Jesus paved the way, and Hebrews and Ephesians are similar in their emphasis of this important truth.

Paul undoubtedly had deep concern for Christian unity, and he brings in language to speak of this unity – light and darkness (Ephesians 5:7-14; 1 Thessalonians 5:6; Colossians 1:12). Of course, this language is replete in John’s writings (John 3:19; 12:35; 1 John 1:7; 2:8) and even in the Essenes’ Qumran texts. It’s a call to – by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit – leave the dark, the old way of sin, and enter the light, the new way of life. “One of the most interesting points of affinity,” says Bruce, “between Ephesians and the Qumran texts lies in the idea of the ‘mysteries’ of God.” Paul speaks often of “mysteries,” things once hidden but now revealed (1 Corinthians 2:6,9; 4:1; Romans 1:2; 15:9-12; 16:25; Colossians 1:26; 2:2; Ephesians 1:9; 2:16; 3:8-11; Isaiah 64:4). For example, when Paul says, “It is written,” in 1 Corinthians 2:9 and proceeds to quote a saying, there is some resemblance to Isaiah 64:4, but early church fathers (Origen, Jerome, etc.) say “the words appear in the Secrets (or Apocalypse) of Elijah… They are frequently quoted in the early centuries AD, especially by Gnostic writers, because they lent themselves readily to Gnostic interpretation.” The words are even ascribed to Jesus in the apocryphal Acts of Peter and Gospel of Thomas. Paul may have quoted the words from a Jewish text, the Coptic Testament of Jacob.

So we come to the end of Paul’s life, which came in Rome by beheading. Some scholars suggest he died on the heels of these two years under Roman house arrest. There is no certainty that his trial ever came before Caesar, though, and many credit court congestion or think the Sanhedrin never showed up to prosecute. Records of the Roman judicial system don’t reveal a specific statute of limitations, but they do show that prosecutors were given 18 months from an assigned court date to appear for the trial or face a stiff fine. If prosecutors still didn’t show up within 2 years, there’s no evidence that Rome would simply release a prisoner. Neither Luke nor Paul tell us specifically what happened, but we can speculate from Paul’s pastoral epistles, namely 2 Timothy, that he was released for a time – perhaps visiting Crete and/or Nicopolis (Titus 1:5; 3:12) and even Spain (Romans 15:28) – and then re-imprisoned in a harsher condition, until he was executed.

A fire broke out in Rome on July 18-19, 64 AD. Nero was away but returned to provide relief. Rumors spread that he had set the fire so he could rebuild the way he wanted, but to avoid this stereotype, according to Tacitus, Nero blamed the Christians. One author said, “Christians were generally disliked for what their neighbors regarded as anti-social attitudes.” Christians, then, under Nero in 64-65 AD, were sportingly executed until public pity kept Nero from continuing this strategy. But what happened to Paul? Was he dead by this time? Had he left Rome only to be brought back in the midst of this persecution? Clement of Rome, writing in vague language to the Corinthians in the mid-to-late 90s AD, some 30 years after his death, said that Paul was exiled, but also that he reached the limit of the west, bore testimony before the rulers, and so departed as “the greatest example of endurance.” In 2 Timothy 1:16-18, Paul was obvious struggling in his prison environment. Onesiphorus, an Ephesian Christian, labored to find him in Rome. Paul’s final words appear in 2 Timothy 4:6-8, “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing.”

Well after his death, Paul’s legacy lives on. The apocryphal Acts of Peter, likely composed around 180 AD, describes Paul’s departure from Italy by sea for Spain. The Roman Presbyter Gaius, quoted by Eusebius, in response to a claim that one could visit the tombs of Philip the evangelist and his daughters in Asia, said, “I can point out the trophies (tombstones) of the apostles (Peter and Paul, who are traditionally recognized as the founders of the Roman Church, though neither actually did): [on] the Vatican Hill (Peter) [and] the Ostian Way (Paul).” There are churches at those sites today. A memorial chapel was built on the Ostian Way at Aquae Salviae (now called Tre Fontane), near the third milestone, where, tradition asserts, Paul was beheaded. They say his head bounced three times, forming the three fountains after which the place is named. Excavations of the site revealed two concrete slabs which had engraved on them, “To Paul, Apostle and Martyr.” Though the writing dates only back to the fourth century, the location is in what was a pagan necropolis, not a place pious people would have chosen to commemorate such a legacy if they were inventing the tale.

In time, Peter’s value to Rome was more and more greatly appreciated, while “Paul’s contribution to early Christianity was in practice increasingly overlooked. To be sure,” Bruce says, “Paul with the sword of the spirit stands in the forecourt of St. Peter’s Basilica, alongside Peter with the keys of the Kingdom, just as Peter faces Paul in front of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls – more congenial associates in death, perhaps, than they were in life. But there may be a symbolical fitness, it has sometimes been said, in the location of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls. Paul might have understood and approved; he was well accustomed to being odd man out.” Paul’s pride and joy was found in his converts. People mattered most to Paul, and that may have been the case because Paul mattered most to Jesus. Jesus humbled Paul, not by removing his pride, but by changing the things he would boast in. Taming his impetuousness, Jesus made Paul meek. And it didn’t happen by rules or regulations, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.

2 Timothy 1:15 shows that people in Asia turned away from Paul; this happened as Paul spent time in prison, and no one was there to adequately take his place. John and Philip made their way into Asia and stabilized things by the mid-to-late 60’s AD. The Jewish revolt against Rome in 66 AD put an end to Jerusalem’s authority, at least until 135 AD, and Paul’s legacy was rightly restored. Early in the second century AD, an unknown Christian (either Onesimus or someone from Alexandria) compiled ten of Paul’s letters into one volume and circulated them throughout the known world, resulting in both orthodox and heterodox authors using Paul’s letters to make their points. Marcion, for a heterodox example, said in 144 AD that Paul’s ten letters and Luke’s gospel made up the New Testament. In response, orthodox church fathers named thirteen letters of Paul, four gospel accounts, Acts, Peter’s letters, James, and John’s letters as authoritative. Even Hebrews was included – as Paul’s – by 180 AD. Around 150 AD, an Asian presbyter recorded, out of love for Paul, a fictional account of his ministry – the Acts of Paul. Some believed it to be true, even the part where Paul was put in the arena to be killed by a lion, but he befriended and baptized the lion instead. Paul’s legend was often embellished, but his message never changed, which proves his abiding greatness. Augustine, Luther and the Reformers, the Wesleys in the Great Awakening, and even American democracy relied heavily on Paul’s teaching that grace changes people; grace without change (antinomianism) and attempts to change without grace (legalism) always fail.

Bruce concludes, “Although he was rabbinically trained, his reappraisal of the whole spirit and content of his earlier training was so radical that many Jewish scholars have had difficulty in recognizing him as the product of a rabbinical education. They have found it easier to appreciate the Prophet of Nazareth (who, indeed, was not rabbinically trained) than the apostle to the Gentiles. Paul presents an enigma with which they cannot readily come to terms… Paul looked forward to the day when the racial, religious, sexual, and social prejudices or discrimination to which on principle he denied any place in the Christian fellowship would be banished from the whole new creation. And he placed a higher valuation on human personality than social or political democracy could ever do when he insisted that the weaker members of the community should received special consideration because each of them, however insignificant in other respects, was ‘the brother (or sister) for whom Christ died’ (1 Corinthians 8:11). Campaigner for spiritual liberty that he was, he gave one thing precedence even over liberty, and that one thing was love. But spiritual liberty is not really diminished by love; both together are imparted by the Spirit, and to serve in love is perfect freedom. In this, as in so many other respects, Paul has remained unsurpassed in his insight into the mind of Christ.”

THE APOSTLE PAUL (5)

2011-06-10T15:25:00.002-04:00

It is worth summarizing Paul’s letter to the Romans here. Romans (57 AD) is often been compared to a systematic theology, because its content can easily be summarized by various doctrinal headings, which are often the same as those followed in the creeds, confessions, catechisms, and systematic theologies throughout church history: God, creation and fall, the work of redemption in Christ, the application of redemption by the Spirit, and the Christian life and relation to the world, etc. But it is important to point out that the Book of Romans was not written as a systematic theology; rather, there is a specific historical context that drives Paul’s arguments (especially concerning the relationship between Jews and Gentiles). Notice especially how Paul raises and answers questions throughout the letter. This tool is used both to prove that what he is teaching is true and to cause his audience to engage these issues with their full intellect. The Epistle contains an unfolding theological argument that attempts to summarize God’s work throughout the Scriptures.

1:1-17 Introduction & Thesis
1:18-3:20 Before Paul can elaborate on the good news of v17, he must explain the bad news. All of humanity faces a problem: the wrath of God, which is entirely justified because all of humanity has violated His law. The Gentiles know God according to general revelation, and the Jews know God according to special revelation, yet both have failed to worship and obey Him.
3:21-4:25 Back to the good news: Since everyone is under sin and God’s wrath, the only way out is the Gospel: the announcement that, in Christ, God has provided a righteousness that satisfies His holy requirements. All of this is received through faith alone, apart from works, just as the Old Testament Scriptures have taught, which the examples of Abraham and David demonstrate. Christ propitiated God’s wrath in His death and justified the wicked by His resurrection.
5:1-11 We have peace with God thanks to the work of Jesus Christ. Our understanding of this truth should result in rejoicing, in spite of and even on account of our sufferings.
5:12-21 At this point, Paul has concluded his summary of justification by grace through faith in Christ. This brief section serves as an interlude revisiting our sinfulness and God’s amazing mercy by comparing and contrasting Jesus with Adam. V20 stirs a question that gets Paul going on what happens after justification – namely, sanctification.
6:1-7:6 God has not only secured our salvation from the condemnation of the law, but also from the dominion of sin and death. Baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection, we are made new creatures, no longer slaves to sin, as shown through an example of marriage.
7:7-8:39 Despite this truth, we continue to struggle throughout our life with indwelling sin, and the only hope we have is to look to Christ, with the indwelling Spirit testifying in our hearts to our adoption and keeping alive within us the hope that all of creation will share with us in the final redemption. The Golden Chain of Salvation reminds us that God is at work (v28-30) in us to sanctify us according to His purpose. In light of this, nothing can separate us from God’s love.
9:1-11:36 How can we trust Paul’s Gospel if God has been unfaithful to His earlier promises to Israel? What about Israel in this grand scheme? God has always maintained a faithful remnant among the physical descendants of Abraham, and even among the Gentiles, by sovereign election. Salvation is solely a matter of God’s mercy alone. Faith, which comes through hearing the Gospel, is how salvation is received, and plenty of messengers have been sent to proclaim the genuine offer of the Gospel. All along, God has been perfectly faithful to His promises, and after He adds the complete number of Gentile branches to the Tree of Israel, He will bring in the fullness of the Jews as well. The plan of God throughout time is amazing.
12:1-15:13 Application of 1-8 and 9-11: In view of God’s mercy, which staggers our imagination, we no longer offer dead animal sacrifices for atonement; rather, our own bodies serve as living sacrifices out of praise and thanksgiving. In that light, we must not judge one other in disputable matters, but instead, by grace, build each other up by loving and serving selflessly.
15:14-16 Note the clear display of the Communion of Saints and powerful conclusion in v26-27: Paul accomplished his mission, writing “so that all nations might believe and obey Him – To the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.”

Martin Luther said about Romans, “You had better follow the order of this epistle. Worry first about Christ and the Gospel, that you may recognize your sin and His grace. Then fight your sin, as the first eight chapters have taught. Then, when you have reached the eighth chapter, and are under the cross and suffering, this will teach you correctly of predestination in chapters 9, 10, and 11, and how comforting it is. In chapter 12 he teaches what true worship is, and makes all Christians priests. They are to offer not money or cattle, as under the law, but their own bodies, with slaying of the lusts. Then he describes the outward conduct of Christians, under the spiritual government, telling how they are to teach, preach, rule, serve, give, suffer, love, live, and act toward friend, foe, and all men. These are the works that a Christian does; after all, faith takes no holidays. This Epistle is really the chief part of the New Testament, and is truly the purest gospel. It is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word for word, by heart, but also that he should occupy himself with it every day, as the daily bread of the soul. We can never read it or ponder over it too much; for the more we deal with it, the more precious it becomes and the better it tastes.”

Finally, John Calvin said of Romans, “It can never be sufficiently appreciated that when anyone gains a knowledge of this Epistle, he has an entrance opened to him to all the most hidden treasures of Scripture. The whole Epistle is so methodical, that even its very beginning is framed according to the rules of art.”

The Roman Church was founded on a Jewish base, before any apostle came and preached there. Though Paul notes Andronicus and Junias as apostles who were in the Lord before he was; perhaps they were in Jerusalem to hear Peter’s Pentecost sermon only to return to Rome and found the Roman Christian Church amongst their Jewish brethren. Jews and Romans had a tenuous relationship from 19 AD, when there was a major and scandalous financial misappropriation that may have led to Paul’s comment in Romans 2:24, that the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of the Jews. Claudius placed a number of travel and business restrictions on the Jews when he became Emperor in 41 AD, based on uprisings in Alexandria and Jerusalem. There were an estimated 40-60,000 Jews in Rome as of 49 AD, when he expelled them from Rome. Secular historians ascribe the eviction to Jewish uproars instigated by the Christians in their midst. Though it is impossible to know how many Roman Jews had become Christians prior to 49 AD, once many of them returned in 55 AD (after Claudius died and Nero succeeded him), the Christian community in Rome was comprised of a minority of Jews and a majority of Gentiles. Paul elaborates on this physical reality by explaining it spiritually in Romans 11. Gentiles had no right to boast; their inclusion would ultimately lead to more Jews turning to Christ. Some suggest Hebrews was written (by Paul) specifically to Roman Jews / Jewish Christians further explaining their situation (Hebrews 13:13).

In Romans 16, Paul greets many people, seemingly in 5 or 6 groups, pointing to the fact that many of Paul’s acquaintances had moved to Rome but lacked a central meeting place (perhaps due to the size of the city, which was separated into suburbs). It is also noteworthy that many of the names appear in records of imperial households. Due to the decentralization, it is not surprising that Ignatius reports that there was no bishop in Rome, even as late as 110 AD. It is suggested that Phoebe, from Cenchreae, the port of Corinth, delivered Romans to each house church. In early or mid April 57 AD, Paul’s delegates to Jerusalem left Cenchreae by ship, but Paul and Luke went a different route due to a plot against Paul’s life (Acts 20:6). They would meet up later in the voyage and hope to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost, which was the last week of May. From the Philippian port of Neapolis, it took Paul and Luke five days to reach Troas, four more than when they had gone earlier in the opposite direction. They celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread at Troas (Acts 20:6), with the body of believers there, and Paul even taught late into the night. Eutychus was in the audience, and Paul’s sermon put him to sleep. He fell out a third story window, but thankfully, he was alive and well. They made their way to Miletus, visiting several cities along the way (Acts 20:15). There they were delayed in harbor, probably due to cargo issues for the ship, so Paul invited the Ephesian elders to come down 30 miles and visit him. He warned them of impending danger, both from within and without (Acts 20:15-38). No mention is made of a Christian congregation in Miletus, but there is plentiful evidence of a Jewish synagogue there at that time, with a number of God-fearers as well.

Before arriving at Caesarea, the party stayed at Tyre for seven days, fellowshipping and praying on the beach with the Christians there, though no specific mention of their congregation is made (Acts 11:19). In Caesarea, Paul and his friends stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist for several days (Acts 21:1-8). Perhaps he visited Cornelius, who lived there, as well. Then Paul and his colleagues made for Jerusalem, guided by Mnason, a Hellenist Christian from Cyprus who would host them while in Jerusalem. Paul had been warned twice (by the Ephesian elders and again by the prophet Agabus) about going to the city (Acts 21:4, 10-15), but everyone proclaimed in the end, “the Lord’s will be done” (Acts 21:14). The delegation met James and the elders – perhaps the Sanhedrin of the true Jewish remnant (believers) – and they glorified God. But they were also quick to point out the Jews who believed the gospel and kept the law; they apparently did not accept Paul’s gift, which signified a break between Paul and Jerusalem that would never be healed.

Peter and the other apostles had likely left Jerusalem to minister in the lands of the Jewish dispersion. But at Pentecost, many Jews had returned to Jerusalem, and the Ephesian (or Asian) Jews recognized Paul and one of his Gentile converts named Trophimus at the Temple. They accused Paul of bringing a Gentile where Gentiles were not allowed, and they dragged him out and beat him. The Roman military rescued Paul, and he was brought to the tribune, Claudius Lysias, who was surprised by his educated Greek words. (He undoubtedly thought Paul was a renegade Egyptian who stirred up trouble and escaped a couple years earlier.) Paul was given the opportunity to speak, and he addressed the crowd in Aramaic (Acts 22:3-21). His speech stirred the crowd again (especially when he mentioned ministry to the Gentiles), and the tribune order Paul to be imprisoned and flogged. Before the flogging, Paul appealed to his Roman citizenship and avoided the painful punishment. But if he had broken Jewish law, he would be subject to the Sanhedrin. When no witnesses came forward, Paul was held by the tribune, pending the Sanhedrin’s ability to prosecute. It is thought that Paul’s delegation returned to their homes at this time, with the exception of Luke and Aristarchus, who stayed to try to provide care for Paul. Paul defended himself before them by bringing up the resurrection, which caused the Pharisees and Sadducees to argue amongst themselves. When the tribune saw the lack of progress and learned from Paul’s nephew of a plot to assassinate Paul, he sent him to Caesarea under the cover of plentiful guards and nightfall. There, the provincial governor, Felix, would facilitate the case and hearing against him.

Paul spent the next 2 years imprisoned in Caesarea, which was a predominantly Gentile city, in which Roman leadership preferred to live to avoid the Jewishness of Jerusalem. Felix was a freedman, once a slave in the house of the daughter of Mark Antony and Octavia, who happened to be the mother of Emperor Claudius. Felix had a brother, Pallas, who was Claudius’ chief accountant of the public treasury. Felix had skill in befriending the political and social elite – three of his wives were of royal birth – which helped him to maintain a lifestyle of power and prestige. He also maintained his power by siding with Rome against any uprising. At this time, many zealous Jews were launching terrorist-style, guerilla warfare tactics against any people they felt were siding with Rome, even against their own people. Once such victim of the sicarii – daggermen – was the high priest Jonathan, and Felix fought these uprisings harshly and successfully. Even when Pallas lost his position at Nero’s accession (late 54 AD), Felix was able to keep Rome’s favor, and therefore his position of authority, for five more years.

Five days after Paul’s arrival in Caesarea, the Sanhedrin came with Tertullus, a hired lawyer / orator, to carry out the case against Paul (Acts 24:2). Paul defended himself (Acts 24:10), and Felix delayed a decision, waiting to hear from the tribune, Claudius Lysias, on the matter. We have no further record of Felix holding another hearing, though many experts suppose he had hopes of holding Paul for ransom, taking a bribe to release him to the highest bidder. No offers were tendered, and so Paul remained. Felix called on him from time to time, and Luke says surprisingly that he had “a rather accurate knowledge of the Way” (Acts 24:22). One of his wives, Drusilla, a Jewess, may have wanted to hear Paul. In the end, continued strife between Romans and Jews got Felix recalled to Rome.
Festus succeeded him in 59 AD and reopened the case against Paul. Paul was in danger now, because Festus was siding with the Jews over Rome in many cases. Having no confidence in his chances of a fair trial in this district, Paul appealed to Caesar (Acts 25:11). Roman citizenship increasingly abused this right until it was abolished in 212 AD. Claudius always heard the cases himself, but until 62 AD, Nero never did. We don’t know who, if anyone, heard Paul’s case, but because of his case, Bruce says, “It would soon be impossible to regard Christianity as a variety of Judaism… A favorable hearing…might win recognition for Christianity…as the true fulfillment of Israel’s ancestral religion.” Festus was likely glad to have the responsibility off his shoulders, but he still had to draft a letter explaining the situation. Festus passed that duty off to 17-year-old Agrippa II, son of Herod Agrippa I, who died in 44 AD (Acts 12:23). Agrippa, hearing “about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive” (Acts 25:19), wanted to meet and talk with Paul. But he laughed at the rationality of becoming a Christian (Acts 26:27-28), and he suggested that Paul could have been released if he hadn’t appealed to Caesar.

THE APOSTLE PAUL (4)

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Leaving Antioch in late 49 AD, Paul and Silas traveled to Tarsus, strengthening the churches along the way in Syria and Cilicia, and then on to Derbe and Lystra. In Lystra, they added Timothy to their team; Timothy appears to have been clearly called to this ministry (1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6), and became Paul’s frequent traveling companion, fellow laborer in spreading the gospel, and protégé (Acts 16:1; 1 Timothy 1:2, 4:14). Though naturally diffident in temperament, Timothy would never misrepresent Paul (Philippians 2:19-22). But surprisingly – given Paul’s conclusions on the circumcision issue in Acts and Galatians – though not inconsistently, “because of the Jews” (Acts 16:3), Paul had Timothy circumcised. Timothy, unlike Titus, who was not circumcised, was not a Gentile Christian; and although to the Gentiles he appeared to be a Jewish Christian, he wasn’t authentically Jewish because of his Greek father, who likely refused to allow him the Jewish rite of circumcision that his mother, Eunice, would have appreciated. This must have been a stigma of sorts to the young man, perhaps contributing to his timid nature. Therefore, Paul’s decision to circumcise Timothy in order to legitimize his standing among Jews for the sake of his future ministerial efforts, and perhaps even for the sake of his own confidence in ministry. Bruce also considers it to have been “an object lesson for the Gentile Christians in those places (Asia Minor) of the difference between circumcision as an act of legal obedience, undertaken by people like themselves who were under no such obligation, and circumcision as a practical and religiously neutral expedient adopted in a most exceptional case.” This move, therefore, was completely in line with Paul’s principles, both in becoming all things to all men in order to win some (1 Corinthians 9:22), and in the truth that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters (Galatians 5:6; 6:15). Freedom in Christ certainly didn’t demand Timothy’s circumcision, but neither did it prohibit it, especially since it was entirely voluntary and for the sake of improving his ability to minister effectively.

Heading through the Phrygian and Galatic region, where Iconium, and Pisidan Antioch lay, the three missionaries, says Acts 16:6-7, were “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia,” and “the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them” to enter the province of Bithynia (1 Peter 1:1). Perhaps an inward sense of inhibition motivated them to head for the Asia Minor port city of Troas. Troas was an important free city in the Roman Empire, and Acts 20:5-12 reveals that there was a church there – Eutychus fell out of the window during Paul’s late night lesson here – though no detail on its formation or founding is given. Luke joined the group in Troas, and in response to a vision Paul had of a man in Macedonia calling him over (Acts 16:8-9), they immediately traversed the somewhat tenuous sea voyage to Neapolis (Acts 16:10-11) in only one day. (Acts 20:6 notes that the reverse trip took 5 days.) Neapolis was the port of Philippi, which was 10 miles inland along the Roman Via Egnatia, the Roman military road that connected the Aegean Sea and Bosporus Strait with the Adriatic Sea (eastern and western Greece).

Macedonia had been divided into four districts in 167 BC, and Philippi, a Roman colony, was in – but not the capital of – the first district. There was no synagogue in this small town, as there apparently weren’t at least ten Jewish males to constitute one (Qumran’s Essenes engaged in this practice). But outside the city, on the banks of the Gangites River, there was an unofficial place of worship where God-fearing Gentiles gathered to recite Jewish prayers. The four missionaries preached the gospel here, and the Lord opened the heart of a woman named Lydia, who heard Paul’s preaching and responded in faith. She was promptly baptized along with her entire household (Acts 16:12-15), and became the hostess not only of the missionaries during the remainder of their stay but also of the church that formed in Philippi (Acts 16:40). Lydia was a wealthy woman from Thyatira (Revelation 1:11; 2:18-24), where there was a Jewish settlement and where she likely became a God-fearer.

Also while in Philippi, Paul exorcised a spirit of divination from a slave girl (Acts 16:16-18), which made her owners angry that they lost the ability to make more money from the slave’s divination and incited them against the Jewish Christian evangelists. They accused them of proselytizing, which was strongly discouraged in Roman colonies though not technically illegal. Paul and Silas were arrested, stripped, beaten with rods, flogged, and imprisoned (Acts 16:19-24). Luke and Timothy were apparently exempted since they weren’t Jewish, an interesting detail which we will examine shortly. That night, Paul and Silas prayed and sung hymns of praise, and an earthquake shook the prison. When the shackles miraculously fell off and the prison doors miraculously opened, Paul and Silas saved the jailer from killing himself out of fear of the consequences (Acts 16:25-40). They preached the gospel to him and his household, baptized them, and received care from him. The next morning, they were released from prison, but they appealed for an apology, since they were Roman citizens, and, after encouraging Lydia and the young church gathered in her home, they were escorted peaceably from the city. It appears that Luke stayed in Philippi (Acts 16:17; 20:5-6; Philippians 4:3), perhaps to guard the young church until Paul returned, as the other three missionaries passed through the cities of Amphipolis and Apollonia enroute to Thessalonica (Acts 17:1).

Named after Alexander the Great’s half-sister (and daughter of Philip II), Thessalonica was 90 miles down the Via Egnatia from Philippi. Thessalonica was the largest Macedonian city, and a free city, which served as the capital of the second district. Paul visited a Jewish synagogue there for three consecutive Sabbaths to explain why Jesus is the Old Testament prophesied Savior of mankind (Acts 17:2-4). Jason (Jewish Joshua), who may have been one of Paul’s relatives (Romans 16:21), converted to Christianity and became their host; Aristarchus and Secundus joined them in the faith as well. There were also several pagan (1 Thessalonians 1:9) and God-fearing converts, including many wives of city leaders (Acts 17:4).

It must have troubled the city leaders that their wives had become followers of Jesus. It was quite fashionable among the ladies of socially elite families to attend synagogue, but not to get serious with what must have been seen as a cult or scam-artist’s ploy (1 Thessalonians 2:3-12). Certain Jews, envious of the Gospel’s success, took advantage of this citywide unease and incited a riotous mob (Acts 17:4-5), which dragged Jason and some other believers before the local civil magistrates when it couldn’t find Paul, Silas, and Timothy. They were charged with wrongdoing (Acts 17:5-8), but released after posting bond. Now this charge of causing trouble seems to us like no big deal, but the severity is revealed when understood in the context of the widespread unrest in Jewish/Roman relations throughout the Empire. Jewish freedom fighters (terrorists / zealots) were striving to usher in an era for a militant messiah, and Roman leaders wouldn’t easily distinguish this serious threat to peace from Christianity’s Messiah. Emperor Claudius (41-54 AD) expelled the Jews from Rome in 49 AD and refused to allow Jews to enter Alexandria out of fear. Christians, still seen as a sect of Judaism by many, were often included in this persecution. Thus, the Thessalonians’ charge against Paul and company was skillfully worded, effectively an accusation of sedition, akin to the words between Pilate and the Jews found in John 19:13-15. Paul would later refer to this episode as Satan hindering him (1 Thessalonians 2:18). Paul had preached quite prophetically in Thessalonica, referring to eschatological events in predictive fashion. This led to even greater suspicion among the civic leadership, as Augustus and Tiberius had forbid political prophecy (in 11 and 16 AD, respectably – yet the Herods of Judea seemed to appreciate it!) with a penalty of death. Of course, Paul wasn’t talking politics, but the wording he used of Jesus, as King and Savior, was more than enough to be seen as threatening to the Empire.

Paul was essentially forced out of Thessalonica, and he went reluctantly, as the young church needed further guidance. He knew they would face persecution, and so, since he couldn’t make a return visit imminently, he wrote the Thessalonians a couple of letters. Scholars note that “apart from one near-apocalyptic paragraph (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12), 2 Thessalonians [seems] a pale echo of 1 Thessalonians.” Many suggest that our second letter actually preceded our first, and that the depth of 1 Thessalonians was required when 2 Thessalonians didn’t go deep enough. A hint of this truth is that 2 Thessalonians 1:4 speaks of present persecution, while 1 Thessalonians 1:6 and 2:14 speaks of persecution in the past tense. Paul may have written 2 Thessalonians from Athens, which Timothy likely delivered, and 1 Thessalonians from Corinth shortly after Timothy returned with a report on their experiences. Paul would have rejoiced at this report, for the Thessalonians were evangelizing in their persecution, and everyone knew it (1 Thessalonians 1:7-8).

Paul issued further instruction on sexual purity, something the Greeks struggled to learn and apply (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8). Likewise, Paul had to urge them to work, as their brief discussions while he was with them on the topic of eschatology had disinclined them to daily labor. If 2 Thessalonians indeed preceded 1 Thessalonians, then the mention that “‘the day of the Lord’ (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12) would not come until certain events had taken place might have stimulated [their] concern about…those…died before it came. On the other hand, if 1 Thessalonians was written first, it might have unintentionally provided ammunition for those who argued that, with the coming day so imminent, there was no point in planning or working in the short interval before it came” (cf. Luke 17:22-27; Mark 13:5-37).

As a brief contextual aside, in 40 AD, it appeared that Caesar Gaius may have been the antichrist, or the man of lawlessness, in the minds of the young Christians, but especially “the abomination of desolation” (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11; Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14) to the Jews. Taking his divinity very seriously, he planned to set up his statue in the Jewish Temple. Should everyone “flee to the mountains,” as Jesus commanded, or “resist the outrageous decree to the death” (Bruce quoting Philo and Josephus)? Though Gaius did not follow through with his threat directed at the Jews, the crisis had lasting impact and readied both Jews and Jewish Christians for the end times.

Still today many wonder if Nero, or Titus at Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 AD, fulfilled this apocalyptic imagery, or whether it still remains to be fulfilled. Thus Paul’s writing seems enigmatic to us, though it probably didn’t seem so to the Thessalonians. Nevertheless, Bruce concludes, “The near-apocalyptic imagery of this (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12) and other passages in Paul’s Thessalonian correspondence is not characteristic of the main body of his writing. In his later letters he deals from time to time with the same topics…but…in other terms (1 Corinthians 15; Romans 8). Since the Thessalonian letters are among the earliest…this may suggest that he came increasingly to feel that apocalyptic imagery was not the most adequate vehicle for expressing the Christian hope.”

Paul, Silas, and Timothy left Thessalonica during the night for safety. Paul might have, if freely chosen, stayed on the Via Egnatia heading west with hopes of visiting Rome (Romans 1:13; 15:22), but they were escorted south to Berea, which Cicero described as “an out-of-the-way town.” Paul preached in the synagogue, where the Bereans, unlike those in Thessalonica, verified what was preached by studying the Old Testament Scriptures (Acts 17:11-12), and many converted to Christianity, including Sopater, or Sosipater (Acts 20:4; called Paul’s relative, perhaps indicating that he was Jewish, in Romans 16:21). Even Greek men and a large number of prominent Greek women were converted (Acts 17:12). Unfortunately, Jews from Thessalonica arrived in the city seeking to cause more trouble for Paul (Acts 17:13). It was plain that he would have to leave Macedonia, and the Bereans escorted him, not to neighboring Thessaly, which would still be unsafe for Paul, but all the way to Achaia, to the great historical city of Athens. When the escorts returned to Berea, they instructed Silas and Timothy, who had stayed in Berea (Acts 17:14-15), on where to find Paul, who remained alone in Athens for a time (1 Thessalonians 3:1).

No city in the Roman Empire could match Athens for the qualities Greek-speaking people most admired. When Rome took possession of Athens in 146 BC, the city was allowed to remain self-governing, a free city in the Roman Empire. Waiting for the arrival of his companions, Paul must have toured the city, knowing its great history. Troubled by how pervasive the worship of false gods were among the Athenians (Acts 17:16), Paul began to preach the gospel, and his preaching earned an invitation to speak before the areopagus, “the most venerable of Athenian institutions,” which at one time functioned as a senate, though in Paul’s day merely held prestige as an authority on moral and religious matters. This would have taken place at the agora (Mars Hill), at the foot of the acropolis, where men would gather to discuss and debate the moral, philosophical, and political issues of the day.

Paul’s speech before the areopagus (Acts 17:22-31) has been scrutinized perhaps more than any other of his monologues. Motifs of this speech are found elsewhere, but this is a full and well-adapted effort, given the intellectual climate of the audience. Bruce explains, Paul “begins with God the creator of all, continues with God the sustainer of all, and concludes with God the judge of all,” much as the orientation of Scripture itself. Paul found a point of contact with the altar to the unknown god, traditionally set up by Epimenedes, a Cretan scholar, whom Paul quotes in his speech. Interpreting this altar as a confession of ignorance, Paul had come to dispel that ignorance.

After commencing, as noted, with creation, Paul points out what higher paganism knew to be true, that divinity cannot be contained or housed by mankind (Euripedes). Likewise, as Plato noted and as Paul pronounced, divinity has no need of humanity (Psalm 50:9-12; Acts 17:25). Paul’s biblical insight continues with something to say about mankind. All men come from God through Adam, the common ancestor of all men, a fact which most pagans – especially in Athens – would have denied, seeing a scale of evolution-like descent, from elite intellectuals to typical Greeks to barbarians. Furthermore, says Paul, God is sovereign over each man’s life and even his placement, not arbitrarily, but so that each man would seek God. Rather than say, “God created man in His image,” Paul chose a quote by Epimenedes and another by Aratus. His concern was not to liken the Biblical God to Zeus for the Athenians’ transition, but, as Bruce notes, “to impress on his hearers the responsibility of all men, as God’s creatures into whom He has breathed the breathe of life, to give Him the honor which is His due.”

Finally, Paul issues a call to repentance, focusing on God’s merciful forbearance and Christ’s resurrection, before announcing the impending judgment. While some have criticized Paul for not being more direct with his word choice, such as in Romans 1:18-32 where he was speaking to believers, but he knew his audience; Bruce says, “The thought of being ‘in Christ’ by grace would have been meaningless to pagans.” Nevertheless, Paul “does not cease to be fundamentally biblical in his approach to the Greeks, even when his biblical emphasis might seem to diminish his chances of success.” Bruce goes on, “If Paul had spoken of the immortality of the soul, he would have commanded the assent of most of his hearers except the Epicureans, but the idea of resurrection was absurd… Outright ridicule and polite dismissal were the main responses to Paul’s exposition of the knowledge of God. [Only] one member of the court of the Areopagus is said to have believed his message – Dionysius.” There were a number of other hearers who followed Paul, perhaps in the infancy of belief and in hopes of learning more, and there was also a woman named Damaris, about whom nothing else is known. Bruce concludes, “We hear of no church in Athens in the apostolic age, and when Paul speaks of the ‘firstfruits of Achaia,’ it is to a family in Corinth that he refers (1 Corinthians 16:15).”

In late summer 50 AD, perhaps dejected by his Athenian experience – violence is easier to take than polite amusement – and anxious about the condition of the Macedonians, Paul came to Corinth “in weakness and in much fear and trembling” (Acts 17:33; 18:1; 1 Corinthians 2:3). There was little reason to expect success in Corinth, given its reputation, which we’ll consider in a moment, but Paul spent 18 months there and founded a vigorous, though volatile, Christian church. Acts 18:9-10 records an important vision Paul had shortly after arriving in Corinth, in which the Lord said to him, “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” Paul’s time in Corinth was not his plan, but it was the Lord’s plan, and it served, as Bruce notes, “to deepen his human sympathy and to promote his pastoral maturity.”

Corinth was a pre-Greek city known for its commercialism, luxury, and sexual laxity. A fifth century BC Greek verb translated “to play the Corinthian,” literally meant to practice well the art of fornication. Idolatry was also practiced in abundance (1 Corinthians 8:5), with shrines to Aphrodite, Ares, Melicertes (the primary deity of Tyre), Poseidon, and Apollo. The Corinth of old had been completely destroyed in 146 BC and rebuilt in 44 BC as a Roman colony, the capital of Achaia. Its citizens were Romans (Italians), but there were plenty of Greek and Jewish inhabitants as well. Upon arrival, it appears that Paul found employment with Aquila and Priscilla, wealthy tent makers and Jewish Christians from Rome. They probably were forced from Rome under Claudius’ edict to expel Jews (and Jewish Christians) in 49 AD. (There is no doubt that the Jewish clamor, which earned their harsh treatment, was in part due to the Christian movement.) Paul was certainly grateful to them for their friendship, and perhaps even their employment and financial / ministerial support. But he was more appreciative for their service to the Gentile churches (Romans 16:4). And interestingly, where others probably referred to the wife casually, as Priscilla, Paul nearly always spoke of her formally, as Prisca, perhaps honoring her as the more impressive personality of the couple.

In several weeks of synagogue preaching in Corinth, Paul won many converts, including the synagogue leader, Crispus, and a God-fearing synagogue neighbor, Gaius Titius Justus (Acts 18:7-8; 1 Corinthians 1:15; Romans 16:23), who became Paul’s host, once the Jews expelled him from the synagogue, and even the host of the Corinthian congregation. Stephanus and his family are also mentioned as Paul’s first converts, whom he himself baptized. Once Silas and Timothy arrived in Corinth, likely with a gift of financial support for Paul from the Macedonian Christians, Paul was able to stop the tent-making and engage in full time ministry work. Since the Corinthians cherished “wisdom,” he counter-culturally resolved to know nothing except Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Ironically, that resolution drew pagan attention, and many of them became followers of Christ, including Erastus (Acts 19:22; Romans 16:23; 2 Timothy 4:20), who served as the city treasurer for a time. Speculation allows us to consider that he may have eventually become the curator of public works, for archaeologists have discovered an inscription, dating to 75 AD, bearing his name and declaring that he used his own money to pave a portion of the streets of Corinth.

The Jews eventually raised another tumult against Paul, bringing him before Gallio, the newly appointed (in July 51 AD) Roman proconsul of Achaia (Acts 18:12-16). Gallio’s refusal to hear the matter, thinking Paul’s Christianity to be merely an internal conflict over the doctrines of Judaism, a matter which was outside his jurisdiction, set a precedent that enabled Christianity to spread under the protection of Judaism, which was a lawful religion under Roman law, for another decade or so. (If it had been determined that Christianity did not fall under Judaism, Paul could have been convicted as a propagator of an illegal religion, punishable by death.) Sosthenes, the synagogue leader who presumably took the place of Crispus and brought the charge against Paul to Gallio, bore a beating in Paul’s place, and Gallio literally “pretended not to notice.” Perhaps this beating brought him to turn to Christ and follow Paul, as he, if indeed this is the same man as tradition suggests, is mentioned even as co-author of the first Corinthian correspondence in 1 Corinthians 1:1.

Remaining in Corinth a short while longer after the incitement (Acts 18:18), Paul eventually traveled with Priscilla and Aquila to Ephesus (Acts 18:18-19; approximately 52 AD). Paul preached in a synagogue briefly, gaining significant interest from the Jews and God-fearers there, but then left Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus while he went to Caesarea and on to Jerusalem (Acts 18:19-22) in order to celebrate one of the three primary Jewish feasts – Passover (Unleavened Bread), the Feast of Tabernacles (Succoth), or Pentecost (the Feast of Weeks). It has been suggested that this trip to Jerusalem was for Paul a fulfillment of some sort of Nazarite vow he took in response to the vision he had ensuring his protection and blessing in Corinth (Acts 18:21). He made his way to Antioch, officially ending his second mission trip (Acts 18:22).

Meanwhile, a Jewish Christian named Apollos showed up in Ephesus eloquently preaching the gospel in the synagogues. Priscilla and Aquila heard him gladly, but took him aside and explained the way of God more accurately (Acts 18:26). “Learned” and “well versed in the Scriptures,” Apollos had come from Alexandria, where he had likely studied under the Jewish scholar and philosopher, Philo, who died in 50 AD. The fact that Apollos was already a Christian when he came to Ephesus, yet unfamiliar with Jesus’ baptism of the Holy Spirit, suggests that Christianity had made its way to Alexandria from a non-Apostolic source. Bruce says, “Alexandrian Christianity…was for some generations regarded as defective by the standards of Jerusalem (in the apostolic age) and Rome (in post-apostolic times).” (But Alexandria did go on to produce a number of prominent church fathers, such as Clement, Origen, Athanasius, and Cyril.)

When Apollos left Ephesus for Corinth, he had a letter of commendation from Aquila and Priscila, which was addressed not to the synagogue but to the disciples, or the church. Nevertheless, it appears he went to the synagogue, where he “was a great help to those who by grace had believed. For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ” (Acts 18:27-28). The Corinthians cherished Apollos and his eloquence, and this would later cause division within the congregation, as some preferred him to Paul while others remained loyal to Paul. Though Paul may have been rightly concerned over who built on his foundations, he had no anxiety about the work of Apollos and considered him valuable in every way (1 Corinthians 3:3-6,22; 4:6; 16:12; Titus 3:13). Apollos remained in Corinth for quite some time, even as Paul was making his way from Antioch to Ephesus as the beginning of what we call his third missionary trip.

In fact it was when Paul was in Ephesus that he heard of Apollos’ ministry. Representatives from Chloe’s Corinthian household, which presumably hosted a church congregation there, came to Ephesus with news for Paul from Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:11). In addition to mentioning Apollos, they also mentioned that some of the Corinthians preferred Peter’s ministry to Paul’s. This, of course, implies that Peter had also been in Corinth working with the church there. Once scholar tracks Peter as venturing from Jerusalem to Rome after Emperor Claudius died (and the ban on Jews in Rome was lifted) on October 13, 54 AD, stopping in Corinth for a time, or simply preaching the gospel while en route. Another scholar maintains that Peter’s ministry expanded to the Gentile regions after Paul rebuked him in Antioch years (or months) earlier.

Though Paul wasn’t threatened by Apollos in Corinth, the same probably cannot be said about his feelings regarding Peter, based on the possibility that Peter’s authority – unlike that of Apollos – could be deemed by any audience as being higher than his own. Some suggest that Peter never came to Rome, only that other Jewish Christians – perhaps even those labeled Judaizers – came in Peter’s name, urging audiences to observe certain food laws or participate in various traditional rites and/or festivals. Still there were others in Corinth, according to Chloe’s representatives send to Paul in Ephesus, that separated into a faction claiming only to follow Christ, not Peter, Paul, or Apollos. This kind of division drove Paul crazy, as he can’t imagine (because it isn’t possible for) a divided Christ! “I follow Christ” should not have been a slogan for a particular denomination, but it seemed to Paul that this is exactly what it had become. These factions, along with the discovery of subtle differences between Gentile and Jewish application of the language of the gospel, forced Paul to labor with the Corinthians for years, engaging in multiple correspondences explaining gospel application more clearly.

Paul battled legalism on the one hand and antinomianism on the other throughout his ministry. But in no place did he do it more clearly, all the while fighting to keep his audience’s loyalty, threatened both from within and without the church body, than with the Corinthians. For Paul, the message of Christianity was very much about liberty, and he was often accused of antinomianism because of his emphasis on grace. But self-imposed restrictions on liberty for the sake of gratitude and charity are the essential application of Paul’s gospel, and these must be made voluntarily, lest freedom and grace be threatened or even negated by legalism. Bruce says, “Paul goes as far as he can with his converts in either the ascetic (legalistic) or the libertarian (antinomian) direction, until he reaches a point where he calls a halt, and profoundly qualifies his foregoing concession… It was not Paul’s way to impose a rule but to help his converts to judge such issues for themselves in the light of basic Christian principles. One of the most important of these principles was to consider the consciences of weaker brethren so as to assist them gently to a better and more enlightened appreciation of what their faith involved. Otherwise a Christian’s freedom was not to be impaired by external restrictions.”

After Timothy delivered 1 Corinthians from Ephesus, which included Paul’s travel plan of a lengthy winter visit to Corinth after Pentecost in Ephesus and briefly seeing the Macedonians, Paul changed his plans. He had decided to briefly visit Corinth twice, en route to and returning from Macedonia. Then he would go to Jerusalem with a gift of financial support, accompanied by an entourage of Gentile ministry supporters. But the trouble in Corinth, relayed to him by Timothy, forced another change of plans – this one painful. Paul quickly visited Corinth from Ephesus, and he returned saddened by his experience. He wrote a severe letter, which Titus delivered and which we lack (though some say 2 Corinthians 10-13 is part of that severe letter). He regretted writing it, out of fear that it would make things worse. He waited in depression and in some sort of extreme danger in Ephesus, and then he went to Troas hoping to find Titus. When certain that Titus wouldn’t sail to Troas, because of the winter weather, Paul headed for Macedonia (2 Corinthians 7:5), hoping to find him there. When he found Titus and learned of the Corinthians’ repentant and reconciled condition, Paul wrote 2 Corinthians and had Titus deliver it, saying that he would soon come and rejoice with them – hopefully, assuming they continued in Christ under Paul’s tutelage and not by failing prey to other so-called authorities. Bruce concludes, “There never came a time during Paul’s life, so far as can be known, when he could feel that the cause of gospel liberty had finally triumphed at Corinth. ‘Paul, who learned at Corinth what it is to be weak in Christ, shows there perhaps more clearly than elsewhere his full stature of Christian intelligence, firmness, and magnanimity’ (Barrett).”

The purpose, then, of Paul’s Corinthian correspondence was to convey these truths, most of which he undertook while in Ephesus, where we now turn our attention. Paul’s third trip, which lasted from 53-58 AD and was more of a lifestyle than a mere voyage, began with him setting out from Antioch, taking the land route through the Asia Minor regions of Galatia and Phrygia in order to strengthen all the disciples (Acts 18:23), just as he had done on his second trip. He eventually arrived in Ephesus and remained there for nearly three years (Acts 19:1-20). Javan in Genesis 10:4 represents the early Greeks, who settled western Asia Minor, which was controlled by Cyrus of Persia in 546 BC. These people groups regained independence while Xerxes was king (480-479 BC), but became vassals again by 387 BC. Alexander liberated them from Persian dependence in 334 BC, and they enjoyed civic autonomy under the Roman Empire.

Though Pergamum was the capital of the region, Ephesus was the largest, most prosperous, and most illustrious settlement, seated at the mouth of a river and claiming home to the goddess Artemis, who was worshipped even before the reign and influence of Greece. Legend says the many-breasted image of Artemis fell from the sky (Acts 19:35), proving its divine origin. Her temple, four times larger than the Parthenon, was one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and worship of Artemis had spread from Ephesus throughout Asia and to the entire world (Acts 19:27). The Temple no longer exists, but its foundations were excavated in 1869 in a swamp some 3 miles outside the city, which was a seaport in Biblical times. Today, it lays seven miles inland.

During his nearly three years in Ephesus, Paul directed the evangelization of Asia. He and his colleagues, such as Epaphras, were so effective that “all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks” (Acts 19:10). The region’s Christian heritage was maintained until 1923, when the Greeks and Turks swapped populations. While Luke does not seem to have been with Paul in Ephesus, and while Paul doesn’t record details of his ministry there in his letters, others, such as Aristarchus, must have given details to Luke, as several colorful episodes are recorded in Acts 19. It appears that the Christians in Ephesus, prior to Paul’s arrival, knew nothing of the Holy Spirit, and, like Apollos, knew only the baptism of John. Therefore, we see the only clear re-baptism in the Bible in Ephesus. (Even the re-baptism of Apollos in inferred, though not necessarily implied, and the disciples of Jesus do not appear to have undergone an additional water baptism; but the Ephesians do.)

Paul was welcomed in the synagogue for three months before being forced out, and it doesn’t seem that the synagogue leaders evicted Paul. Rather, unspecified “stubborn” unbelievers seem to have sent Paul away, “speaking evil of the Way before the congregation” (Acts 19:8). It appears that Paul left with other believers and began meeting in the hall of Tyrannus, about whom nothing is known. Paul had access to the hall from 11 AM – 4 PM daily, and he taught and held public debates during this time, proving both the stamina of Paul and his audience in the heat of the day. Paul may have made tents in the mornings and evenings of these early days in Ephesus (Acts 20:34). Interestingly, Ephesus was known as a city of magical arts. Shakespeare even alludes to this in his Comedy of Errors. Therefore, it is no surprise that Paul was seen as a magician of sorts because of his miracles of healing done in the name of Jesus. Others also attempted to use “in the name of Jesus” as a magical formula. It didn’t work for the seven sons of Sceva (Acts 19:13), as the power was not the formula but the faith; it was not magic, but miracle. Many magicians in Ephesus, by the preaching of Paul, saw the evil of their ways, turned to faith in Christ, and burned their valuable magic scrolls. The Ephesian ministry was so successful that the idol makers for Artemis became concerned that their selling business was in jeopardy. So Demetrius, one of the sellers (and perhaps cult leaders), started a riot that captured Gaius and Aristarchus, but failed to locate Paul. The Jews were uneasy about the proceedings, as they didn’t approve of Paul’s message, but neither did they worship Artemis. Alexander, an Ephesian Jew, tried unsuccessfully to calm the riot, but the city secretary quited the crowd and told them to prosecute Paul if there was a violation. Rioting would not help matters, but taking the matter to court might solve it.

Paul faced many dangers in Ephesus, such as fighting wild beasts (1 Corinthians 15:32) and a near certain-death experience (2 Corinthians 1:8-10). Despite “many adversaries” (1 Corinthians 16:9), there were many opportunities. His enemies were Jews (Acts 20:19; 21:27) and pagan Gentiles (2 Timothy 4:14). But Priscila and Aquila risked their lives for him (Romans 16:4), perhaps as he faced imprisonment in Ephesus with Andronicas and Junias (Romans 16:7; 2 Corinthians 11:23-27). Nevertheless, the fruitful time had a major impact on Paul’s inner life. Some scholars call this portion of Paul’s ministry (and especially his near-death experience) “a sort of second conversion.” Though others say “it is probably impossible to draw a sharp line between Paul’s attitude to life before the crisis and his attitude after it.”

If any noteworthy shift can be found, it may be in “his thinking about the life to come.” There were wide-ranging opinions in Jewish thought on the subject from 200 BC – 100 AD. For example, this was a primary point of disagreement between the Pharisees and Sadducees (Acts 23:6; 24:15). Whatever Paul may have thought as a Jew (Daniel 12:2; Proverbs 10:7), his opinion undoubtedly changed as a Christian. He began to consider Christ’s second coming (parousia; Isaiah 27:13; Daniel 7:13). Immortality of the soul was a given, but it seems Paul thought at first that he and most of his contemporaries would see the return of Christ (as depicted in Thessalonians, one of Paul’s earliest works). Later, Paul may have realized that he would not live to see it. Nonetheless, he could not consider immortality apart from a body. For the Greeks, man was an embodied soul, but for the Jews, man was an animated body. To be living without a body, for Paul, was nonsense (2 Corinthians 5:1-10). There would be no time, at least from the perspective of self, between death and eternity. Even death cannot separate us from God (Romans 8:32-39)!

As Paul’s Ephesian ministry came to an end, he longed to see Rome. But Rome, for Paul, was a stepping stone, not his ultimate goal. He longed for Spain (Romans 15:23), and he even said that he “no longer has any room for work in these regions.” Paul mentions having taken the gospel as far as Illyricum, which was the province north of Greece on the Adriatic Sea. Though he mentions it several places (Romans 15, Titus 3:12, 2 Timothy 4:10), we know nothing of any trip he might have made there. Acts 20:1-3 provides time for Paul to have gone from Ephesus to Macedonia and beyond before coming back down to Achaia for three months. But we’re just not sure when he went there, or when he went with Titus to Crete for that matter. But why Spain? Paul yearned to go where the gospel was not. It is likely that the Mediterranean coast had been reached with the gospel by this time, except for Spain, the western border of the Roman Empire. Spain would have truly been a new frontier, as it was Latin-speaking.
So leaving Ephesus, with the dual goal of evangelism and collecting a financial gift for Jerusalem, Paul visited Macedonia and Achaia for three months (Acts 20:1-3), and maybe Illyricum and/or Crete, before heading for Jerusalem. Jerusalem was important to Paul; unfortunately, Paul was not as important to Jerusalem. Perhaps he hoped the gift he would bring would change their opinion of his ministry. And as noted earlier, Paul saw this gift as a voluntary expression of gratitude, but the recipients may have deemed it a necessary tribute to them from Gentiles. But Paul wasn’t planning to show up in Jerusalem with a bag of money; he was bringing a delegation! Gentiles from many of the churches Paul had founded were accompanying him to Jerusalem, for this was his offering more so than money. Paul was undoubtedly pondering the relation between his Gentile ministry and God’s plan for Israel, which led him to include a lengthy section on this topic in his letter to the Romans, written before making his way to Jerusalem.

THE APOSTLE PAUL (3)

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It is unlikely that Jerusalem or Antioch leadership realized that this problem would arise, especially so quickly. Paul was conscious of his calling to evangelize Gentiles, but he saw the God-fearing Gentiles in the Jewish synagogues as those providentially prepared to be a bridge to wider Gentile audiences. Though it was virtually impossible to evangelize Gentiles without offending Jews, in this setting, Paul saw his ministry as indirectly serving to expedite Jewish salvation as well (Romans 9-11; Deuteronomy 32:21; Hosea 1:9). Bruce says, “It was as natural for God-fearing Gentiles to embrace the blessings of the gospel on these terms [salvation by grace through faith apart from the law] as it was for Jews to decline them on these terms.”

Forced out of Iconium by Jewish dissenters, Paul and Barnabas came to Lystra, a Roman colony like Pisidian Antioch. Timothy was likely converted from Judaism to Christianity here, along with his mother and grandmother (Acts 16:1), but Luke’s emphasis is on the conflict with pagans that Paul and Barnabas experienced. They healed a crippled man, the pagans were so amazed that they began to worship Paul as Hermes (the talker) and Barnabas as Zeus (the sovereign). Paul’s speech to them (unintelligent pagans, opposed to the later intellectual pagans in Athens) in Acts 14:15-17 was ineffective (Acts 17; Jonah 1:9); but the pagans were then incited against Paul and Barnabas by the Jews who had come following them from Pisidian Antioch and Iconium. Paul was stoned almost to death (2 Corinthians 11:25), but he persevered and the next day left Lystra for Derbe. After making converts in Derbe, 60 miles southeast from Lystra, Paul and Barnabas retraced their steps, encouraging the young congregations and appointing elders (Acts 14:23).

Paul and Barnabas left Antioch in the spring of 44 AD. They were gone for about two-and-a-half years. Acts 14:26-28 says that Paul and Barnabas, upon their return, stayed in Antioch “a long time with the disciples,” which probably means from the fall of 46 until the summer of 49 AD, another two-and-a-half years. Syrian Antioch had become a mother church, and the Jerusalem church had mixed feelings about that. Gentiles, unlike Jews, were not generally moral people, so conforming them to Jesus’ teachings would be difficult. Barnabas and Paul continued their evangelical efforts, but Jerusalem leaders could not continue with theirs, as persecution against them was kicking into high gear under Herod Agrippa’s short reign. James, the brother of John, was executed and Peter would have been had he not miraculously escaped prison (Acts 12). Even after Agrippa’s death in 44 AD, Jewish Zealots began persecuting – often by means of terrorism – anyone who was suspected of siding with Romans (and that included Gentile proselytizing, the very bridge-building that was deemed acceptable by the Jewish Christian church leadership).

The simple solution for the Jerusalem church to maintain authority as the true mother church was to demand circumcision from Gentile converts. Theologically, this enforcement would have made the converts more significantly conform to Jewish, and now Christian, moral standards; it would have likely kept any half-hearted converts from making that extensive leap to prove their faith; and perhaps equally important, from a political perspective, it would have appeased the Zealots and saved themselves from their persecution. But what of the already-converted Gentiles in Antioch and Galatia? It came to a head when, around that time, some Jerusalem Jews came to Antioch teaching that Gentiles must be circumcised in order to be salvation (Acts 15:1,5). Paul and Barnabas disputed this teaching, and they and other church members went to Jerusalem to discuss the issue with the church leaders (Acts 15; possibly Galatians 2:1-14).

We have mentioned the uncertainty over the timeline of Acts with Galatians. Here Acts 15 seems to fit with Galatians 2, but it is hard to put it together with all the likely coming and going of the leadership between Jerusalem and Antioch. It appears that, after the group came to Antioch preaching circumcision – Paul and Barnabas, along with other believers including Titus, met privately with James, Peter, and John in Jerusalem about incorporating Gentile believers into the Christian faith, specifically addressing, albeit without much concern, circumcision (Galatians 2:4-10). Then the issue was brought before the entire Jerusalem church (Acts 15:6, 12, 22), which determined, even though many Pharisee believers, probably the group that originally came to Antioch, wanted circumcision to be required, that Gentiles did not need to be circumcised (Acts 15:19). Paul, Barnabas, Silas, and others then returned to Antioch with the news (Acts 15:22-31).

Perhaps after that, Peter showed up in Antioch and waffled on the issue of fellowship when the pro-circumcision believers came again continuing to press the circumcision demand. Paul dealt with Peter on this, but notice how Peter’s position is not enviable. He likely agreed with what Paul would later write in Romans 14:13-21, that we should not use our freedom in such a way that causes our brother to stumble. He was in a tight spot, for he would have offended the one he perceived to be his brother no matter what he chose to do. Whatever Peter’s motives in withdrawing from fellowship with the Gentile believers, Paul saw them as negligible in comparison to the progress of the Gentile mission and the well being of the Gentile Christians. Peter’s actions caused Jewish Christians – even Barnabas – to follow suit! The Gentile Christians must have concluded either (1) that they would remain uncircumcised and second-class citizens in the eyes of some Jewish believers or (2) that they would accept circumcision to gain first class status. Either way, the good achieved at the Jerusalem Conference would be undone; the gospel would be compromised. We know Peter stood corrected by Paul, but we don’t know what happened next for his ministry.

Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch for an unknown time period (Acts 15:35-36), during which Paul may have written his letter to the Galatians (49 AD). The importance of this letter for the early church makes it a challenge to see that there is little agreement on its date, either before or after the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15. Clearly there were fellowship and authority issues at stake between Jewish (especially Judaizers) and Gentile Christians before and after the council, so it may not matter. At the council, the Jerusalem leaders made the right decision for the gospel and, therefore, for Paul’s ministry.

Nevertheless, this period must have been challenging for Paul, an intelligent man who found it difficult to understand how others couldn’t see a logical argument as clearly as he saw it, especially when the premises were agreed upon. Acts 15:28 gave essentially two requirements for Gentile Christians, and these primarily for the sake of unity and fellowship (more so than doctrinal authority, as the circumcision mandate would have been): abstaining from sexual sin (fornication), and abstaining from certain foods related to idolatry (bloody, strangled, or sacrificed to idols). Paul’s teaching was inline with the apostolic authority on sexual sin. No argument made by the Gentile converts would sway him to compromise his – and the Lord’s – strict convictions there. But Paul was more open-minded on the food issue; his desire was mutual edification, whatever that required. For Paul, any obedience had to be voluntary, not compulsory, based on charity and not anxiety, disgruntlement, or fear. Paul referred to this attitude for voluntary, mutual edification as following “the law of Christ” or “love.” According to Bruce, love “cannot be imposed or enforced by external authority. Rather, it is the spontaneous principle of thought and action in a life controlled by the Spirit of Christ… Love is generated spontaneity and cannot be enforced by penal sanctions.”

Though the essence of Paul’s gospel, received by direct revelation from Jesus Christ on the Damascus Road, was unaffected by the conflict over Jew and Gentile Christian relations (circumcision and fellowship questions), his comprehension of the gospel, in terms of practicality, was enriched. Bruce says, “Justification by faith…was implicit in his conversion, but now it became in his hands a fighting doctrine – not only a principle for which to contend but a weapon with which to contend.” Many Christians may have seen faith in Christ and works of obedience as complimentary, but Paul, knowing that concept to be an impossible contradiction, said, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness for everyone who believes,” or “that everyone who has faith may be justified” (Romans 10:4). “End” could mean “goal” or “finishing point,” and Paul may mean both. As mentioned earlier, some scholars suggest that, in his early Christian learning, Paul must have recalled a Jewish chronological scheme, recorded in the Mishnah shortly before Paul’s education (and traditionally belonging to Elijah or Moses), claiming a 2000-year period of chaos (roughly creation to Moses), a 2000-year period of law (roughly Moses to Messiah), and a 2000-year period of the Messianic age (Messiah to end), all culminating in an eternity of Sabbath rest. Did Paul know of that scheme, and that easily put the epoch of the law to rest? We don’t know, but Paul, according to Bruce, “raised no objection…if Jewish Christians continued to observe (as he himself occasionally did) various customs prescribed by the law as part of their inherited way of life” (such as Passover; 1 Corinthians 9:20; Acts 16:3; 21:20-26).

In the end, the law may be deemed to have a threefold purpose – as a means of preservation (restraining sin), as a summons to repentance (showing us the sinfulness of sin and driving us to Christ), as guidance for the church (revealing God’s holy character) – but for Paul, the law of love, guided by the indwelling Holy Spirit, is all that mattered. The great question for Paul, which he explored in Romans 6-7, was, according to Bruce, this: “How can one who exists temporally ‘in the present evil age’ nevertheless enjoy deliverance from it and live here and now the life of the age to come? [The answer:] By the aid of the indwelling Spirit.” The Spirit generates love in us, and preaching the law of love borders on antinomianism, rather than legalism. Paul was, as Bruce declared, “the supreme libertarian, the great herald of Christian freedom, insisting that man in Christ…must no longer be confined to the leading-strings of infancy (the law) but enjoy the birthright of the freeborn sons of God (love by the Spirit). Here…Luther entered into the mind of Paul: ‘A Christian man is a most free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian man is a most dutiful servant, subject to all.’ ‘Subject to none’ in respect of his liberty; ‘subject to all’ in respect of his charity. This for Paul, is the law of Christ because this was the way of Christ. And in this way, for Paul, the divine purpose underlying Moses’ law is vindicated and accomplished.” Bruce concludes, “The purpose of the law, that men should be holy as God is holy (Leviticus 11:44) is thus (according to Paul) realized in the gospel.”

Even with this law of love working by the Spirit in the apostle Paul and throughout the young Christian churches, conflict was inescapable. While serving in Antioch, an argument arose between Barnabas and Paul over the issue of including or excluding John Mark from the planned trip to revisit the young churches founded during their first mission trip. Of course, John Mark “abandoned” them on the first trip (Acts 13:13), and so Paul wanted to exclude him. But Barnabas, being an encourager, and also being John Mark’s cousin or uncle (the word in Colossians 4:10 translated “cousin” could be “nephew” as well), wanted to take him on the journey. There is reason to believe that things weren’t the same between Paul and Barnabas even before this argument, after the confrontation with Peter over his refusal to eat with Gentile Christians while the Judaizers were in town. Paul says in Galatians 2:13 that even Barnabas was led astray in the hypocrisy, and a deep wound likely formed in their friendship from then on. Paul no doubt still held Barnabas in high esteem, but the rift made it impossible to work together. Their disagreement caused a split, which God worked for good; the church of Antioch was now sending two missionary teams to share the gospel instead of one.
There is no doubt that both parties (Barnabas with Mark, and Paul with Silas) benefited from this arrangement. Mark, who would later pen the gospel by his name and work with the apostle Peter (Acts 12:12; 1 Peter 5:13), grew in spiritual maturity under the encouragement of his relative, and Paul would later attest to his value in ministry (Colossians 4:10; Philemon 1:24; 2 Timothy 4:11). Silas was a great fit as Paul’s partner; he was like Paul in many ways: a Jewish Christian from Jerusalem who could vouch for the results of the Jerusalem Council should an inquiry arise; he, like Paul, had two names (Silas as his Jewish name, and Silvanus in Greek); he was a prophet and leader in the church, and even a Roman citizen with civic privileges, like Paul (as implied in Acts 16:36-37). He came to Antioch as one of two messengers bearing the letter declaring the results of Council at Jerusalem and remained there (Acts 15:34) until going with Paul on his second missionary journey. So Barnabas and John Mark went to Cyprus (Acts 15:36-41), and Paul journeyed with Silas through Asia Minor and eventually on to Greece. We know nothing of the trip to Cyprus, and Luke never again mentions Barnabas. Tradition holds that Barnabas remained a faithful evangelist and church builder, preaching in Alexandria and even Rome but cherishing his home island country, until his martyrdom at the hands of angry Jews in Cyprus in 61 AD. However, the journey of Paul and Silas is well documented.

THE APOSTLE PAUL (2)

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Around 32 AD, just a year or two after the death and resurrection of Jesus, Paul the Pharisee witnessed and approved of the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:55-60; 8:1-3; 22:20), for which the authority was granted from Rome to the Sanhedrin, since it was a crime of religious and not civic nature. Then Paul began to destroy the church by pursuing and imprisoning as many Christians as he could find in and around Jerusalem. He asked for and received permission from the High Priest, Caiaphas, to continue his search for Jerusalem Christians who had sought refuge in Damascus, in order to put them on trial back in Jerusalem. On the way to find followers of the Way, Paul met the Way, Jesus Christ.

Before we look at Paul’s conversion, let’s look at what Paul might have been thinking about Christianity, and then we’ll consider what role the city of Damascus might have played in being the first outreach for Paul’s persecution efforts. Several Scripture passages, both from Luke’s biographical information and Paul’s autobiographical mention, give us insight as to his mentality at this stage. In Acts 9:1, Luke records that “Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples” before he asked to track down refuges in Damascus. In the time between Stephen’s stoning and his conversion, perhaps a year to 18 months, Paul went from being a mere witness of persecution against Christians to leading the way in the seek and destroy mission that the Pharisees must have gone on. And from what I’ve learned of Pharasaism, this reaction is a little surprising. The Pharisees, vying for the straight and narrow middle of the road between the Sadducees and Essenes, had bared the brunt of minority persecution, all the while siding with the common folk, throughout their history. At this point in history, perhaps seeing that they finally garnered an equal power share with their archrival Sadducees, maybe they felt – like the time they sought foreign assistance against Jannaeus – this was the only way to keep power. Acts 6:14 reveals that the Pharisees thought Jesus was trying to change the customs Moses handed down to the Jews, which must have served as the primary motive for Paul, though many of the Pharisees may have been more concerned about their political power. Generally speaking, it appears that Jewish people still respected Christian Jews (Acts 22:12), so the Pharisee reaction was undoubtedly extreme.

1 Corinthians 15:9 and Galatians 1:13 make it clear that Paul saw himself as a persecutor of the church who tried to destroy it. Considering his efforts “zeal” (Philippians 3:6), Paul said in Acts 26:11, “Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.” Theologically speaking, Jesus’ status, career, and teaching didn’t conform to what Paul or the other Pharisees expected (though they should have – Acts 26:22-23) from the Messiah, but the absolute primary thing that offended them all, the conclusive argument against Jesus as Messiah, was the crucifixion, which ironically, they brought about themselves. A “crucified Messiah” was a contradiction of terms, in their opinion. Isaiah 11:2 says, “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him.” The Messiah could not be crucified. Of course, since we have 2000 years of assistance understanding how the Messiah not only could be crucified, but had to be crucified, we don’t easily sympathize with Jewish scholars who miss the truth. Deuteronomy 21:23b says, “Anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse.” But the first part of the verse is crucial, and may have been crucial in Paul’s learning as a new believer, “You must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day.” Paul would learn this and come to explain it well, later saying, “We preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles” (1 Corinthians 1:23). And again in Galatians 3:13, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’”

So Paul, zealous for God’s law and bringing Judean Christians to justice, headed for Damascus. Damascus is said to be the oldest continually inhabited city in the world. Jewish tradition even says that Abraham ruled there for a time (Genesis 14:15; 15:2). It was first an Amorite town then ruled by Arameans throughout Israel’s monarchy (1200-750 BC). It changed hands during the Empirical reigns of Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and Greece. As the Greek Empire fell and the Roman Empire rose, the Ptolemies claimed the city, but the Seleucids controlled and Hellenized it. Rome took it in 66 BC, and it became one of the ten cities of the Decapolis. Damascus probably maintained a sizeable Jewish population from the time of the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles onward; Josephus reports 10-18,000 Jews were massacred in Damascus in 66 AD. Interestingly, the city had and still has some eschatological significance for both Jews and Muslims, but not so for Christians. And recent archaeological discoveries reveal that the Essenes of Qumran may have started off, or sought refuge at some point, in Damascus (They cited Amos 5:27 as reason to go there, and even beyond to Qumran). With all of this said, and though speculation surrounds their origin, Damascus undoubtedly had a group of Christian Jews by this time, for the Jerusalem Christian Jews headed there for refuge from Paul.

One scholar suggested that Jesus’ family went there after his resurrection and founded a church, expecting Him to return there in glory. Many others deny this option and instead point to the likelihood that the Damascus Christians were Galilean Jews rather than Judean Jews, for both the proximity of the Decapolis to Galilee and the fact that Jesus had more Galilean followers during His ministry. One other speculation peaks interest: that the Essenes and/or their descendants founded the Damascus Church. There is record of the Essenes in Damascus (either at their beginning or in seeking refuge sometime later), and they were certainly looking for the Son of David to be Messiah. The Dead Sea Scrolls make it clear that they wrote often of both the inherent righteousness of God and the righteousness He gives to His people (Paul would later say, “He is both just and the One who justifies”). Additionally, they wrote, just as Paul often did, about the flesh and spirit being in strict opposition. Could the Essenes have had right theology all along? I’m not saying they were right to run off to isolation at Qumran, but they obviously maintained some contact with the world at large. There were even Essenes, at times, represented in the Sanhedrin, for example. An interesting question arises: How much, if any, did the Essenes influence Paul and/or the disciples of Jesus in Damascus, who then later may have influenced the newly converted Paul? Galatians 1:12 reveals that Paul learned directly from Christ. Does any link, then, to the Essenes make them right?

Believe it or not, there are self-proclaimed Essene Christians out there today. And they can get pretty crazy with some of the links they make. Some modern-day Essene Christians claim that their descendants and theology go back to Enoch, who walked with God and then was not, because God took him. They claim Moses was an Essene, in his theology, though the group wasn’t official named until around 175 BC at the earliest and 140 BC at the latest. There are experts out there that claim Mary and Joseph and John the Baptist were Essenes, and that Jesus’ baptism by John confirmed Jesus as a fellow Essene (all of which explains why both of them were so harsh with the Pharisees, that sect trying to waffle between their viewpoints and those of the far leftist Sadducees). Hints of their theology are heard from Jesus’ mouth, especially when He speaks of His body as the Temple and demands a righteousness that exceeds that of the Pharisees. All those who knew the baptism of John were, by their repentant lifestyles, preparing the way for the Lord, something the Essenes were eager to do from the beginning of their movement. The Essenes claimed, and still claim today, phrases like John “the Baptist,” followers of “the Way,” and even Jesus as “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” The Acts 4 lifestyle among the growing group of Christians was very much according to the Essene manual of discipline (healing, hospitality, sharing, and service). They were radical in this regard, and Jesus’ teaching and healing activity was certainly radical to the audience of the day, and many, though still a minority, think there has to be a connection. Even Paul was seen by some to have adopted the Essene mentality, seeing his ministry as “priestly duty” (Romans 15:16).

But I do not want you to think that I, having studied this stuff for a while, am going to leave Southeast and track down the nearest Essene Christian community; nor do I want you to think that I’m trying to get you to do that either. There are some bizarre doctrines out there among Essene so-called Christians that are extremely eastern and new age in slant. They tie Enoch’s rapture to reincarnation and the concept of Hindu or Buddhist nirvana. Some of them suggest that Jesus had a secret Essene society and left John “the evangelist” in charge of keeping it going. They go so far as to say – and this is where we tie it all back into Paul – that Paul corrupted the ideal Essene teachings of John the Baptist and Jesus, which therefore makes all of the New Testament, with the exception of John’s writings – because he was secretly an Essene Christian – unreliable. One author concludes on this: “The similarity between the Essenes and Jesus and His community are immediately evident, the close community life, the sharing of a common purse, baptism, the healing ministry with power through the hands, the importance given to common meals, and the urgent expectation of the kingdom of God.” But the differences are scary, and maybe that’s why God gave us Paul.

Acts 9 gives the account of Paul’s journey toward Damascus, where he experienced a dramatic conversion. Literally blinded on the way, he had a brief interaction (hearing and seeing) with the resurrected Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 9:1; 15:8; Acts 9:3-4,17; 22:6-7,14; 26:4-29). Addressing him as Saul (fellow Jew), Jesus asked why he was persecuting Him, and Paul asked in reply, “Who are You, Lord?” And Jesus answered with His name and authorized him to get up and go into Damascus. Paul was escorted into Damascus where he remained blind for three days. He neither ate nor drank during this time, and the Lord only knows what was going through his mind. One thing is for sure; Paul had experienced the prime example in all of Scripture of “monergistic regeneration;” faith is a Divine revelation. We all experience it, but sometimes it’s hard to tell; there’s no doubt with Paul. The risen Christ stopped him in his tracks, instantaneously displacing the law and making Himself the center of Paul’s life, thought, and passion. Paul was not taught the gospel; he received it by revelation from Christ (Galatians 1:12). He had been imprisoned anew (Philippians 3:12; Ephesians 4:1), and he, as in the conversion of C.S. Lewis with his fingernails scraping the concrete as he was dragged to the Lord, would no longer “kick against the goads” (Acts 26:14). As with the Old Testament prophets (Isaiah 6:1-9; Ezekiel 1:4-3:11; Jeremiah 1:5), his calling and commission were simultaneous to his conversion.

Ananias, a follower of Jesus, despite some initial reluctance to the vision from God, approached Paul with a welcoming and healing hand. It’s a picture of grace. Acts 9:18-19 records the scene: “Something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.” He stayed with the awestruck and welcoming disciples, and he preached in the Damascus synagogues that Jesus is Son of God. People were astonished, and Paul grew in power as he proved to the Jews from the Scriptures (he instantly knew to be true what was impossible before his conversion; Luke 24:45) that Jesus is the Christ. Paul’s conversion gave him an instant new perspective on his past learning and training, especially on matters of law and grace. This new perspective took time to develop, perhaps in Arabia and over his lifetime (Philippians 3:8), but he began at once to expound on it (Acts 9:20). This, of course, serves as a good lesson for us!

Some scholars suggest that, in his early Christian learning, Paul must have recalled a Jewish chronological scheme, recorded in the Mishnah shortly before Paul’s education, claiming a 2000-year period of chaos (roughly creation to Moses), a 2000-year period of law (roughly Moses to Messiah), and a 2000-year period of the Messianic age (Messiah to end), all culminating in an eternity of Sabbath rest. Did Paul know of that scheme? Did he come to believe it? Why don’t other Jews believe it? All of this is impossible to answer definitively. Paul never describes his conversion vision, other than repeatedly hinting at the “Radiant Light” metaphor (Acts 9:3; 22:11; 2 Corinthians 3:7-16; 4:4-6). There is reason to believe that he saw the exalted Christ in His spiritual body, as he emphasizes the spiritual body throughout his writing (1 Corinthians 6:17; 15:44-49; Philippians 3:21). Whatever the case may be, commentators agree that, other than the Christ-event explained in the gospels, there is no bigger event in Christian history than the conversion of Saul of Tarsus to Paul, missionary to the Gentiles.

Now there is often general curiosity regarding Paul’s trip to Arabia, mentioned only in Galatians 1:17 and not at all in Luke’s account. Did he go there before or after preaching in Damascus? Maybe he preached a little, went to Arabia, and came back and preached a little more (combining an understanding of Acts 9 and Galatians 1). And why did he go? The common answer is that he went after being lowered in the basket to escape death threats in Damascus, and that his purpose was to retreat, reflect, study, and learn from the risen Jesus at Mount Sinai / Mount Horeb, where both Moses and Elijah went to meet with God. Some scholars, however, suggest that Paul went to Arabia before preaching in Damascus (Galatians 1:17) for the purpose of starting on his calling to preach the gospel to Gentiles. This minority opinion infers from 2 Corinthians 11:32 that King Aretas was the one responsible for conspiring with the Jews to have Paul killed in Damascus at some point over the three years following his conversion (Galatians 1:18). King Aretas ruled the neighboring Gentile kingdom of Nabataea, and there’s no reason he would have worked for that unless Paul had stirred up trouble while in Arabia.

Whenever the trip to Arabia, or however long it lasted, or whatever the purpose for it was, we know that Paul returned to Damascus after the trip (Galatians 1:17). Three years after leaving Jerusalem on the warpath to Damascus to snuff out any Christian flames he could find, Saul of Tarsus, the Jewish Pharisee from the tribe of Benjamin who had learned from Gamaliel and been so zealous for the law of God, made his way back to Jerusalem as an Apostle of Jesus Christ, who cared not about his pedigree or education any longer, but longed only to know Christ and Him crucified and to proclaim Him to the Gentiles of all people! Oh the grace of God through the power of His Holy Spirit!

As we know, many Jews were angry about Paul’s conversion, and many Jewish Christians were skeptical about it and therefore fearful of him. Jerusalem must have known about Paul’s conversion before he returned, for three years had passed. And Damascus Christians may have welcomed Paul, but he wasn’t out to get them. Maybe, the Jerusalem Christians could have thought, he was trying to infiltrate their membership to destroy them from within. Barnabas (or Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus (Acts 4:36)), whose apostle-given name meant “son of encouragement,” served as mediator between Paul and the Jerusalem Christian leaders (Peter and James); and Paul only visited Jerusalem for a short time. Perhaps there were some critics of Paul and his ministry who made him out to be a liar of the specifics of his Jerusalem visit, which caused him to swear that his story was true in Galatians 1:20. He stayed with Peter for 15 days and, of the Lord’s apostles, saw only James besides him (Acts 9:26-30; Galatians 1:17-19). What was accomplished during these two weeks?

Speculation here is required, but it makes sense to piece together what Paul may have done. Peter and James, both of whom had seen the risen Lord Jesus in one-on-one encounters and were listed as being the only ones besides Paul to have had such a meeting (1 Corinthians 15:5-7), were the leaders of the Jerusalem Christians. Peter was distinguished as an original disciple of the risen Lord, and James was Jesus’ brother. Peter was to be Paul’s primary informant on the historical Jesus and His earthly ministry, about which Paul likely knew very little. Peter led the Church at Mary’s (the mother of John Mark) house, one of at least two groups of Jerusalem Christians mentioned in Acts 12:12. James was Paul’s secondary informant on the historical person of Jesus of Nazareth, and is said to have led the other group of Jerusalem Christians (Acts 12:17), which may have consisted of Jesus’ family. Paul went, no doubt, to learn firsthand what he could not have learned elsewhere, as well as to built a bond of fellowship with the Jerusalem Church.

F.F. Bruce, my primary source for much of this material, claims that Paul learned from Peter and James what was called “the tradition.” It certainly consisted of the gospel message (1 Corinthians 15:1-11, especially v3,11) and may have also included early songs and creeds that the first Christians repeated together from 30-36 AD, from which Paul seems to often quote in many of his epistles (Philippians 2 for example). Paul would have wanted to be in complete agreement on the matters of important doctrine as he strived to fulfill his calling in excellence. If we break down 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, we catch a glimpse of the core truths of Christianity, the things of first importance: that Jesus is the Messiah, the prophesied Christ, that He really died, that His death constituted a blood atonement for our sins, that He was buried (actually entombed; the lack of mention of an empty tomb shows that an empty tomb alone is not evidence for resurrection), that He was raised from the dead (being seen alive was the evidence of resurrection), and that all of this happened in accordance with the Old Testament Scriptures. These truths are found throughout the New Testament, in every writer’s words, and Paul treated this information as foundational.

So in one sense, Paul received the gospel by revelation from Christ alone (Galatians 1:12), and in another sense, Paul likely received the gospel from Peter and James during his visit to Jerusalem. The first sense refers to the quickening power of the Holy Spirit, monergistic regeneration, which no personal testimony would have given to Paul, especially not that of Peter or James. And the second sense refers to the testimony of believers, which is invaluable, especially to baby Christians, for the sake of unifying the Body of Christ as a whole and for edifying and encouraging each individual member thereof.

Before Paul leaves Jerusalem, there’s one more thing we need to notice. In addition to meeting with Peter and James, Paul “moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him” (Acts 9:28-29). Most commentators say that the events of Acts 22:17-21 occurred during this brief visit to Jerusalem. There we read Paul’s own testimony of the timeline: “When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance and saw the Lord speaking. ‘Quick!’ He said to me. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’ ‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these men know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in You. And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’ Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’” So Paul must have wanted to witness to his former companions, and rightly so, but Jesus reminded him of his calling to go to the Gentiles. Jesus knew they wouldn’t listen to Paul but would try to kill him. Can you imagine how Paul, the new believer, excited about his relationship with Jesus, free from the law and praising God for His amazing grace, would have felt at this hostile rejection? He was escorted from Jerusalem to Caesarea and, from there, home to Tarsus (Galatians 1:21; Acts 9:30), where he remained for 4 years, from the summer of 36 AD to the summer of 40 AD. And Acts 9:31 says, “Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.” Maybe Peter and James were glad to see Paul go!

Paul headed home, well acquainted by revelation to the exalted Christ and somewhat better acquainted by the testimony of Peter and James of the historical Jesus. It is at this point that many biographers of the Apostle Paul venture into a detailed look at Paul’s theology, compared to that of Jesus. I don’t want to go too far into that comparison, but I do want to make a couple of summary points. Paul does in fact significant details, if only in passing, about the historical Jesus and His ministry in his writings, which are, with that of James, the earliest written of the New Testament. He notes that James was Jesus’ brother (Galatians 1:19), that James, Peter, and John were the leaders of the church in Jerusalem (“pillars,” Galatians 2:9, which confirms the gospel accounts that those three men comprised the inner circle of Jesus’ ministry). He records the fact that Jesus was crucified (Galatians 3:1). Paul describes Jesus as the promised seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:16). Paul notes that Peter was married (1 Corinthians 9:5; Mark 1:30). Paul importantly records the institution of the Lord’s Supper, including quotes of Jesus that line up with the later gospel accounts (1 Corinthians 11:23-25). In addition to all the important gospel details of Christ’s work (the things of first importance that we’ve mentioned from 1 Corinthians 15:3-8), Paul notes that Jesus was a descendant of David, in fulfillment of a crucial Messianic prophecy (Romans 1:3).

Though Paul never records anything about the parables of Jesus, making some wonder if he was even familiar with them, his doctrine of justification by faith alone is thought by many to come straight from the parables of Christ, especially the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) and the Laborers (Matthew 20:1-16). The parables of Jesus point to salvation by grace through faith, which was the primary message Paul wanted to convey during his ministry. When he says in Romans 10:4 that Christ is “the end of the law,” Paul reveals the radical change in his perspective of the historical Jesus. As a Pharisee, he would have seen Jesus and His teaching as a threat to the law, primarily because He rejected the oral tradition of the Pharisees, but also because He exhibited sovereignty over the Sabbath and the various food laws, which so greatly concerned the Pharisees. Though He was virtually silent on the issue of circumcision, Jesus’ clear teachings on other matters of law gave reason for Paul and the early church leaders to conclude that it was unnecessary for converting Gentiles. The huge decision, which we’ll mention later as it comes up at the Jerusalem council of 49 AD, proves that Paul sided with Jesus in seeing the law as an internal means to an end (the glorifying worship of God), rather than an external end in itself, as the Pharisees and many Jews would have believed.

Scholars have long argued over how much Paul may have known of the historical Jesus and His teachings. Those doubting a significant link acknowledge as few as four notable parallels between their words. Others desiring to show a convincing parallel between Jesus and Paul find as many as 925 allusions. This wide range makes the uncertainty on the issue all the more clear. Here are a handful of the links if you want to consider the matter more exhaustively: 1 Corinthians 13:2 speaks of a faith moving mountains and aligns to Mark 11:23 (Matthew 17:20); Romans 12:14 speaks of blessing those who persecute you, parallel to Matthew 5:44; in Romans 13:9, Paul quotes Jesus, as well as Leviticus 19:18, saying to love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31); Romans 16:19 says to be wise regarding good and innocent regarding evil (Matthew 10:16); 1 Corinthians 7:10, speaking of divorce and remarriage, alludes to Mark 10:2,11; Paul says, “the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:14), referring to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 10:10. There are some interesting things to add about this reference. Paul quotes Luke 10:7 in 1 Timothy 5:18, but it may actually be that Luke quotes Paul! The timeline leaves us uncertain, and Luke may have even been Paul amanuensis. Also of interest, Paul did not obey this “command” with the Corinthians; experts say that he saw the regulation as pending permission, and this philosophy was in agreement with the Rabbinical teaching of Hillel (and Jesus as well, in Matthew 10:8).

Let’s consider a few more parallels: though the contexts, relating to Jew and Gentile, are completely different, the exact wording, “eat whatever is set (put) before you,” is used in 1 Corinthians 10:27 and Luke 10:8; Paul and Jesus share views on paying taxes in Romans 13:7 and Mark 12:17, and this is especially critical given the political scene after Judas the Galilean led insurgence (Zealots) starting with Roman taxation of Judea in 6 AD; Paul and Jesus both speak of blessing those who curse you (1 Corinthians 4:12; Luke 6:28); Overcoming evil with good (Romans 12:17,21) is a theme both Paul and Jesus taught (Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27); Love fulfills the law (Romans 13:10; Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:28-34); and finally, in eschatological agreement, Jesus and Paul both used a thief as an illustration (1 Thessalonians 5:2-5; Luke 12:39). In the end, F.F. Bruce says, “Paul may not have known the written gospels as such, but his tradition ascribed the same ethical qualities of [the historical] Jesus as are found in the gospels; and Paul commands those, either one by one or comprehensively, for the sake of following Jesus.”

Generally speaking, and not surprisingly, Paul more commonly discusses the roles and attributes of the exalted and risen Lord Jesus. Paul often speaks of Jesus as seated at the right hand of the Father, revealing His authority; Paul calls Jesus “Lord,” referring to Psalm 110. In this Old Testament passage, the key phrase is “The Lord said to my Lord…” The Greek reads “kyrios” as Lord; the Aramaic is “mar,” as in maranatha; but the Hebrew is “Yahweh” and then “Adonai.” Paul sees the name of Jesus as equivalent to the very name of the Creator God, and worships Him as such. Paul calls Jesus the Son of God and speaks of His role as intercessor and mediator. Paul even calls Jesus the Lord, who is the Spirit (Romans 8:2; 1 Corinthians 15:45; 2 Corinthians 3:8,16-18). He compares Jesus to Adam, noting them both as the image of God (Ezekiel 1:26,28; John 1:1-14; Hebrews 1:3). Where Adam failed to obey, Jesus obeyed perfectly. Paul also considers Jesus, as in Proverbs 8, as the wisdom of God personified. For Paul, the risen Lord Jesus is the one and only eternal God.

Paul has been called a “visionary” (2 Corinthians 12:2-10) and a “mystic.” His visions, not his success, confirmed his calling (Galatians 1:15; Jeremiah 26:15; Isaiah 49:1-6; Acts 13:4-7), fueled his labor, and perhaps even founded his theology; but visions like his were not unparalleled in the literature of the day (1 Enoch 12; 71 – a text found at the remains of the Essene community of Qumran). Many believe that his famous “thorn in the flesh” was a result of the ecstatic visions, to keep him from becoming conceited about them. That Paul may have been a “mystic” is worth considering further. One Jewish author claims that mysticism is the use of “contemplative techniques to attain the vision of the chariot throne of God” from Ezekiel 1,10. Another secular author says mysticism is “the art of establishing…conscious relation with the Absolute.” Another, perhaps with a keen understanding of the ancient Essenes, says, “Mysticism, in its normal aspect [is] a type of religion, which is characterized by an immediate consciousness of personal relationship with a Divine Being.” Still another expert, with a view to regeneration and being born again, says mysticism is “applicable to every religious tendency that discovers the way to God through inner experience without the mediation of reasoning.” Another defines it as “the name of that organic process which involves the perfect consummation of the Love of God: the achievement here and now of the immortal heritage of men.” Albert Schweitzer notes Paul’s unique mysticism, due to his stress on union with Christ in order to get to God the Father.

Paul often says, “In Christ,” or “In the Lord.” For Paul, dying and rising with Christ is not mere theology or doctrine, but it is his personal experience – one that every Christian must have to be united with Christ and thereby on the path to eternal life with God. This is the same for his understanding and experience and teaching on suffering (Acts 9:16; Romans 5:3; Philippians 3:11; Colossians 1:24; 2 Corinthians 1:6; 4:12). Paul even saw his suffering as a means that would leave less total suffering for the rest of God’s people to endure. Paul’s mysticism also includes life “in the Spirit” – a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy (Ezekiel 11:16-20; 36:24-27; Joel 2:28). The Essenes undoubtedly saw this coming and prepared themselves by heading to Qumran with a “spirit of holiness,” picturing themselves – as a community – as a living temple, where the offering of themselves in praise and obedience to God replaced animal sacrifices (Hosea 14:2; Hebrews 13:14; Romans 12:1). Again the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is no mere doctrine for Paul, but a personal experience of God (mystic). When he writes Galatians 5:22, listing the fruit of the Spirit, he sees the perfect living out of that life in Jesus and no only desires to mimic that lifestyle, but to see it lived out in others who follow Christ as well.

Typically, the “mystic” as we’ve seen one defined tends to be self-sufficient and recluse in his religious life, and in some sense Paul could be seen that way (Philippians 4:11-13). But in another sense, Paul demanded fellowship for edification of the body (1 Thessalonians 2:19; 2 Corinthians 7:3). Mystics commonly spoke in tongues, uttering mysteries “in the Spirit,” but Paul demanded interpretation for the practice to be deemed useful. His recorded mysteries were not private experiences for his own spiritual enrichment but rather revelations of the divine purpose and its fulfillment for the edification of the body.

R.C. Tannehill concludes by defining mysticism as “The doctrine that the individual can come into immediate contact with God through subjective experiences which differ essentially from the experiences of daily life.” He continues with a glance at Paul, “By this definition, Paul may be spoken of as, among other things, a mystic, but he does not have a mystical theology.” His theology isn’t based on his truly mystical experiences, but on Jesus. Prophecy, rabbinical exegesis, and primitive Christian tradition contribute to Paul, but his lifelong activity cannot be described as that of a mystic. Paul had mystic experiences, but he didn’t live the life or talk the talk of a mystic.

Back to our timeline, the church grew in peace for a time, while Paul was home, during – and even beyond – the reign of Caesar Tiberius. We don’t know how long Paul had resided in Jerusalem, but it was likely most of his life to that point. So the return to Tarsus for Paul was not only his leaving behind much of his Jewish upbringing but also his irrevocable commitment to the Gentile (Hellenized or Romanized) world. Paul was entering his homeland, but it probably wasn’t familiar territory, though he likely learned plenty of Greco-Roman culture from his studies under Gamaliel. Just as today’s seminary education includes a basic summary of worldviews and philosophies, so Paul’s would have as well.

We don’t know with certainty how the next 4-5 years of Paul’s life – from 36-41 AD – played out, but we can say that it certainly included Gentile evangelism (Galatians 1:22-23; 1 Corinthians 11:22-27) in the context of synagogue worship (such as Cornelius the God-fearer). Jewish proselytizing was common from 20 BC-60 AD; Hillel expected it from his students, and Paul probably engaged in it even before his conversion (Isaiah 43:10-12,21; Galatians 5:11; Acts 2:10; 6:5; 8:27-39). Paul was not the only Christian missionary in Syria and Cilicia at the time; and there was good reason for that! Christian Jews often found that pagan and semi-pagan regions, such as Alexandria, Cyrene, and Phoenicia, afforded them greater freedom to serve God and be His witnesses (as was the case for Philip in Samaria, with the Ethiopian eunuch, and later in Caesarea Maritima (Acts 8:5-40), and even back in the Old Testament with Daniel in Babylon). So we leave Paul for a moment to his ministry in Syria and Cilicia, with unrecorded results, and turn to what Luke reveals as the next big thing in the Christian movement, the growth of the church in Antioch.

Syrian Antioch, as opposed to Pisidian Antioch, was founded in 300 BC by the Seleucids. It was the third largest city in the Roman Empire in New Testament times, behind only Rome and Alexandria. There was a significant Jewish population there from its inception, and both Josephus and the Bible hint that the Jews there were proselytizing and winning converts when they mention “Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism” (Acts 6:5), who became one of the first deacons in the church at Jerusalem after converting to Christianity. There were a number of competing cults in the large city; but Christianity may have stood out due to the amazing message of the Creator God who humiliatingly became man to solve the problem of sin, dying out of His great love for His people, only to be exalted as Lord (Philippians 2:5-11). This simple proclamation was understandable and attractive to God-fearers in Antioch, and so the followers of Jesus were first called Christians there. Jews wouldn’t have given them the name, for it implies that Jesus was the Christ, or Messiah. On the other hand, Gentiles saw Christ as another name for Jesus, so it fit perfectly. Interestingly, in Latin, the word for “Christian” was only a vowel away from a common word used for “slave.” Many probably mistook the one for the other!

Anyway, the Jerusalem church held authority over the Antioch church at this time, and so Jerusalem leaders sent Barnabas to ensure proper doctrine and governance (Acts 11:23). As the church in Antioch grew, there quickly became more Gentile Christians, and that’s when critical decisions had to be made about defining what it means to be a Christian. One author says, “Due to the rapid spread of the Gospel among Antioch (in Syria) Greeks, the Jerusalem church sent Barnabas to minister to the new believers (Acts 11:20-22). God used Barnabas, after his arrival in Antioch, to add even more converts to the church (Acts 11:23-24). Barnabas soon traveled to Tarsus, where Paul lived, to solicit his help with the newly converted Antioch brethren.” Barnabas must have known about Paul’s ministry, and perhaps his specialty in dealing with Gentiles. So Paul now re-enters Luke’s Acts storyline.

Paul and Barnabas ministered in Antioch for a year, around 42 AD (Acts 11:25-26), and there were likely many comings and goings between Antioch and Jerusalem around this time by the church leaders. We have noted Jerusalem’s leadership; Antioch’s leaders, including Paul and Barnabas, are listed in Acts 13:1. First, we have Simeon called Niger, who is thought to be Simon of Cyrene, the very man who carried the cross of Christ. He is thought to be a black man, for along with the moniker “Niger,” his hometown of Cyrene was a prominent city in the North African country of Libya, which had many Jewish synagogues. It is thought that Paul may have lodged with his family while in Antioch (Mark 15:21; Romans 16:13). Next, we are told of Lucius of Cyrene (Romans 16:21), also a North African who had come to Antioch. Third and finally, we read of Manaen, who was brought up with Herod the Tetrarch (Antipas). Josephus speculated that he may have been the grandson of an Essene named Menahem, who was honored after predicting Herod’s rise to power. Perhaps this honor included bringing the family into Herod’s palace on a regular basis, which would explain the tag line in Acts 13:1.

Acts 11:27-30 offers a nice glimpse of what happened next: “During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius [which was 41-54 AD].) The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.” So Paul and Barnabas made their way to Jerusalem around 43 AD. When they had finished their mission in Jerusalem, they returned to Antioch with John Mark (Acts 12:25).

There is general uncertainty as to the placement of this episode with Paul’s timeline given in Galatians. Some suggest that the famine of Acts 11 coincides with Paul’s explanations in Galatians 2:1-10. Others say that Paul’s explanation in Galatians fits better with Acts 15 and the conference in Jerusalem. F.F. Bruce prefers the former, based primarily on the fact that circumcision doesn’t appear to be a big deal in Galatians 2:1-10. Therefore, says Bruce, the circumcision issue arose later. And we’ll discuss that in a little while. But the point of this visit to Jerusalem was to alleviate the needs of the Jerusalem church on account of the famine. James had the primacy as leader of Jerusalem, over Peter and John, and their key message was to remember the poor in their ministry to the Gentiles. There are several suggestions as to the identity of the poor here. It could refer to the poor Jerusalem Christians, the entire Jerusalem church in the midst of persecution and famine, the Essenes, who specifically referred to themselves as the oppressed and afflicted of the flock (Zechariah 11:7,11), or even the Jewish dispersion, referred to as Ebionites (1 Peter 1:1; James 1:1). Most experts suggest that, though Paul was eager to remember the poor as a voluntary gesture of Christian love, the Jerusalem leadership may have seen this responsibility as a tribute or debt owed from the daughter churches to the mother church.

One author sums up what happened next: “From Antioch in Syria Paul, Barnabas and John (surnamed Mark) began their first journey (Acts 13:4-52, 14:1-25). They traveled to Cyprus and Perga. John Mark left Paul and Barnabas at Perga and returned to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13). After Perga, Paul and Barnabas journey to Antioch in Pisidia, then to the cities of Iconium, Lystra and Derbe. When they finished preaching the gospel in Derbe, they retraced their steps through Lystra, Iconium, Pisidian Antioch and Perga to strengthen and teach the brethren (Acts 14:21-25). From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch (Acts 14:25-26).” There’s a lot there, and it’s worth talking about in a little more detail.

Barnabas desired to visit his native Cyprus, which was Roman controlled as a province of Cilicia, and Paul likely desired to return to Asia Minor where he had been working. The Holy Spirit moved among the Antioch leaders and brought them to send Paul and Barnabas – with John Mark (Acts 12:12) – to both places. The missionaries made their way through Cyprus preaching in the synagogues of previously established Jewish communities. Because traveling agitators were stirring up many Jewish communities throughout the Roman Empire at this time (Acts 13:6-12; 17:6), Rome often required the agitators to appear before the proconsul for approval or banishment. Sergius Paullus, “an intelligent man,” was the proconsul on Cyprus, and he not only approved of Paul and Barnabas, despite the efforts of Satan through Elymas to stop them, but also “believed, for he was amazed at the teaching of the Lord” (Acts 13:12).

From Cyprus the group sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, and the only news of that part of the trip that Luke reported, in addition to preaching the gospel (Acts 14:25), was the departure of John Mark. Then they headed 100 miles north into southern Galatia, through a region called Pisidia, which lay between Pamphylia and Phrygia, to a plateau-town called Antioch, Pisidian Antioch. Sir William Ramsay speculated that Paul headed there because of the altitude, to recover from Malaria he picked up in Perga (Galatians 4:13). Others speculate that he headed there, because the Roman proconsul of Cyprus, Sergius Paullus had a relative in Pisidian Antioch that he wanted to hear the gospel. Whatever the reason, Paul and Barnabas, without John Mark, arrived in Pisidian Antioch, which was a Roman colony, infused with Roman citizens to help Romanize the region. Roads were built stretching out from the town to aid in this endeavor.
Paul’s speech in Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:16-41) is similar to Peter’s in Acts 2:14-40. Their audiences were both primarily Jewish, but God-fearing Gentiles were also present. Both mentioned the forgiveness of sins (in v38 respectively), but Paul adds mention of justification (v39). Paul’s message was attractive, and he was invited back the following Sabbath. Practically the whole town gathered – mostly Gentiles, no doubt – and the Jews were jealous and tried to divide the audience against Paul and Barnabas. The immediate result was that Paul and Barnabas left Pisidian Antioch due to persecution and headed for Iconium, where the same thing occurred. However, the more lasting consequence of this action was that Gentiles and Jews who had worshipped together in the synagogues would have to be separated into Christians and Jews. Thus, Galatian churches were born in Pisidian Antioch and Iconium.

THE APOSTLE PAUL (1)

2011-06-10T15:22:00.000-04:00

I recently completed a commentary on each of Paul’s epistles, and I thought it fitting to conclude that lengthy effort with a review of the man himself. The Apostle Paul is a fascinating person, worth learning from (since his epistles are the very word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit) and better understanding. He explains Christianity for us, in a way to make it especially applicable. We’ll note the timeline of his life as we rely on his personal letters to various congregations, the earliest written evidence for the truth of Jesus Christ, and on the book of Acts, a complement to the epistles of Paul and a historical account of his travels, written by a trustworthy physician / historian, Luke.

One author notes a couple of interesting facts that point to Paul’s influence on the spread of Christianity. First, Christianity is considered a European religion because of Paul’s work, though in fact it began as a Middle Eastern / Palestinian religion. Second, Christianity is considered a Gentile religion because of Paul’s work, though in fact it began as a Jewish religion. In just ten years (47-57 AD), the Apostle Paul worked most effectively to evangelize and plant churches in much of the Roman Empire. His message was simple: Free Grace. He emphasized God’s sovereignty in free grace, the availability of grace to all who repent from sin and turn to follow Jesus in faith, and the fact that this grace is the source of freedom in living for God without the shame and guilt that come from sin. Paul sought perfection not out of fear of God but out of love for Him. Thomas Erskine summed it up nicely, saying, “In the New Testament, religion is grace and ethics is gratitude.” The Greek word “charis” means both grace and gratitude, and Paul was no stranger to its usage.

Another author, in his short summary of Paul’s life, points to 10 considerable elements. They include his unique conversion experience (Acts 9:1-31), his proclamation of God’s promises (Acts 13:13-52), his understanding of being poor yet rich (1 Corinthians 4:8-13; 2 Corinthians 6: 3-10), his resourcefulness, using the power of praise (Acts 16:16-40), his growth to become a spiritual mentor (Acts 20:13-38), his fearlessness to declare the truth even while on trial (Acts 26:1-32), his strength in weakness (2 Corinthians 11:16-12:10), his feeling safe in a storm (Acts 27:13-44), his finding hope in God’s Kingdom (Acts 28:11-31), and in joy in sufferings (Philippians 1).

There is an important part of Paul’s life omitted in the above summary: his pre-conversion experience. And the point of looking at the person of Paul might be to see a great theological truth – that God doesn’t just take us at conversion and make us into the person He wants us to be; rather, God takes us from before we were born and uses even our pre-conversion life to make us into the person He wants us to be. For example, Paul didn’t just become zealous after such a spectacular conversion. He was zealous prior to that. God just worked it for good. God didn’t transform Paul into an excellent expositor of Scripture post-conversion; Paul was that, and God turned it for good. Perhaps you can think of a talent or skill or trait that you have had since your youth, and only post-conversion did you discover how to use it for God’s glory. That’s what I want us to see from Paul’s pre-conversion life – that God built His Apostle to the Gentiles from scratch, and at “just the right time” in his sinful life, He turned him the right direction. But it was still the same person. When God transforms His people, He doesn’t change who they are so much as He changes for what they exist – To glorify and enjoy Him forever.

There is some speculation in an early timeline of Paul’s life, as we are not given every detail in Scripture. But if we piece together what we are told, we can probably get close to the truth about his life. First, he was born in the city of Tarsus (maybe around 2 AD, during the Pax Romana, while Caesar Augustus was Roman Emperor until 14 AD) to an Israelite family from the tribe of Benjamin (Philippians 3:5). He was circumcised on the eighth day as the Law of God required (Philippians 3:5), and he was given the name Saul (from the book of Acts), after the first king of Israel, who was also a fellow Benjamite.

Contrary to what some people think, Paul was never not named Paul; he wasn’t given that name by God post-conversion or anything special like that. As a Roman citizen by birth, Paul would have had three names, as with Gaius Julius Octavius, whom you might know as Caesar Augustus. Unfortunately, we don’t know Paul’s middle or last name in this arrangement, a circumstance undoubtedly by God’s design, perhaps for a similar reason that the burial place of Moses was concealed, to keep people from worshipping him. His Jewish name was Saul, and of course, his Greek name, was Paul. This reveals that he was brought up as a dual citizen, one whose heritage was strictly Jewish but who lived perhaps in a family accustomed to prominence in Greek social circles. Tarsus was a privileged “free city” of the Roman Empire and the capital city of the Asia Minor province of Cilicia (Acts 6:9; 21:39; 22:3; 23:34). The city, which was famous for its pursuit of cultural elitism, was also famous for its woven linen from flax, called cilicium. Perhaps Paul’s family made tents from this highly desirable fabric. That Paul was deemed a full-fledged Roman citizen by birth (Acts 22:23-29) is surprising, and it’s worth considering how this came to pass.

Roman citizenship was a big deal, and it wasn’t made available for everyone. In fact, you really couldn’t even purchase it, though corrupt governors made a little extra cash by selling their ability to add names to the list. While there is speculation regarding how Paul came to be on the list, the majority opinion claims that Paul’s grandfather must have done something special for a Roman governor or general during the first century BC. Perhaps his grandfather made tents for the army of General Pompey, whose base of operations was Tarsus, and was “paid” for his labor with Roman citizenship for his family, rather than with money. The point is, however it came about, it was a great benefit, especially for the right to a fair trial, which God used later in Paul’s life not only for the personal protection of His Apostle to the Gentiles but also for the advancement of His kingdom.

We know little of Paul’s family; the Benjamite clan survived the exile and dispersion and, though undoubtedly many lost touch with their clan, we are also told that many remained together. Paul’s family likely descended from the group mentioned in Nehemiah 11:7-9,31-35. He had at least one sister (Acts 23:16). We know that Paul was sent to rabbinical school in Jerusalem to learn from one of the greatest teachers of Judaism, Gamaliel (Acts 5:34; 22:3). He would have entered this school around age 12 or 13, but the fact that Paul considered himself to be “a Hebrew of Hebrews” is reason to believe that he may have spent many earlier years living in Jerusalem as well (Acts 22:3). Referring to himself as a “Hebrew of Hebrews,” Paul probably spoke Aramaic in the home and participated in a Hebrew / Aramaic synagogue. Though being from such a place as Tarsus, we might have expected him to be a Hellenist Jew, one who spoke Greek in the home and participated in a Greek-speaking synagogue. So being born in Tarsus, where Greek culture thrived, and growing up in Jerusalem as a Jew with Roman citizenship was an amazing blessing to young Paul, whose life was constantly in the hands of almighty God.

Let’s stop there with Paul for a minute and explore the historical path taken by both the Romans and Jews from the time of the end of the Old Testament (400 BC) to the ministry of Jesus (30 AD). Rome was founded as a city by Romulus in 753 BC, and it remained relatively insignificant until it crossed the Tiber River and conquered the Etruscans in 396 BC. Rome was sacked by the Gauls in 387 BC, but then won revenge against them in 295 BC. Rome began to spread its control by narrowly winning the First (264-241 BC against Carthage) and Second (218-202 BC against Hannibal) Punic Wars, all while Greek control dwindled post-Alexander the Great. The Greeks had yielded control of their territories to local and regional puppet kings, such as the Macedonians (Greece, or west), Parthians (east), Seleucids (upper Middle East) and Ptolomies (lower Middle East), and Rome eventually conquered those groups as it enveloped the region, including the entire Mediterranean Sea, formerly governed by the Greeks (by 133 BC). Rome suffered through nearly 60 years of internal wars over slave, servant, gladiator, and citizenship issues, but all of this was pressed aside by the time Cicero entered the Roman Senate in 74 BC. Then the internal wars were over power issues for the next 40 years. Pompey, Crassus, and Julius Caesar formed the First Triumvirate in 60 BC, Crassus was killed in battle in 53 BC, and Caesar crossed the Rubicon and defeated Pompey, whose base of operations was Tarsus, in 49 BC, declaring himself to be the Emperor, the sole dictator of Rome.

In 47 BC, Caesar invaded Egypt and named Cleopatra queen. She later met Mark Antony in Tarsus in 41 BC. Julius Caesar was killed by his friend (Brutus) in 44 BC, and Octavius joined Marcus Lepidus and Mark Antony in the Second Triumvirate in 43 BC. Cicero, who summered in Tarsus, was a victim of that second political union. Marcus Lepidus was exiled in 36 BC for rebellion and Octavius defeated Mark Antony in 31 BC. When Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide in 30 BC, ceding Egypt to Rome (Egyptian history considers Octavius the next pharaoh as successor of Cleopatra), the civil wars were over and Octavius ushered in the Pax Romana as Caesar Augustus, truly the first Roman Emperor. By the time Caesar Augustus died in 14 AD, the Roman Empire was flourishing in peace.

Well that’s about as concise as I can make a history of Rome, and now let me try to do the same thing with Jewish history. Of course, from Scripture we know about Israel’s exile at the hands of the Assyrians and Judah’s subsequent exile at the hands of the Babylonians. And we know about Persia’s defeat of Babylon and Cyrus’ decree that the Jews could return to Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple. And we know that Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah led groups of Jewish exiles back to Jerusalem. But we know that most Jews never returned, including Esther and Mordecai. In fact, from the end of the exile (530 BC or so) Jewish colonies flourished throughout the Persian and Greco-Roman Empires, were they were oftentimes subject externally to whatever secular rules applied, but remained subject to their own internal religious guidelines, officiated by a priest and ultimately the High Priest. Communication among the scattered Jews of the Dispersion must have remained somewhat constant, as even though they lived scattered from one another and subject to local or regional secular authorities, the colonies still considered themselves part of the Jewish nation and subjected themselves, religiously speaking, to the High Priest, who was required to be a descendant of Zadok (Ezekiel 40:46; 48:11). (By the time of Jesus’ birth, there were 11 synagogues in Rome itself, and an estimate 40-60,000 Jews living there – just as many as in Jerusalem!)

Focusing for a moment on the Judean Jews during the Intertestamental period, they were governed by a Zadokite priest internally and by the Seleucid Dynasty externally. Between 175-164 BC, Seleucid King Antiochus IV attempted to de-Judaize the Jews, and Hellenize them instead, by outlawing Sabbath observance, denying them the right to circumcision, ransacking the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, imposing taxes for the construction of a fortress and monument to Zeus in the city, and forcing them to sacrifice to idols. Some of the Jews wanted Hellenization, for economic and social reasons (the Tobiad family), but others fought back. Judas Maccabee, which means “hammer,” the son of a rural priest named Mattathias the Hasmonean, led the Jews in earning autonomy through guerilla warfare. The Hasmonean Dynasty was founded and controlled Judea from 164-63 BC. And Hanukah celebrates this victory and rededication of the Temple. Jerusalem would be considered “holy” by the entire Roman Empire until 66-70 AD.

But all was not well, inside or out. The Seleucids didn’t go away, and there was uncertainty regarding whether to continue fighting to expand their territory or make peace with neighboring dynasties and empires. The Jewish people divided over what to think about this situation, and new-formed factions within Judaism expanded (Hasideans, which became Pharisees, meaning “godly people” and “separated ones” from Leviticus 19:2, Sadducees, and Essenes). According to Joseph Schultz, modern scholarship “considers the Maccabean revolt less as an uprising against foreign oppression than as a civil war between the orthodox and reformist parties in the Jewish camp.”

Jonathan Maccabee was made High Priest, and when his older brother Judas died, Jonathan became ruler and priest. Jonathan Maccabee was assassinated in 142 BC, and when the youngest brother, Simon, became leader, he made treaties with the Seleucids and earned exemption from tribute, which lasted until 6 AD, pacifying some Jews and enraging others. Simon Maccabee was assassinated by his son-in-law, and his grandson, John Hyrcanus, succeeded him as priest, military leader, and “president;” he wouldn’t use the word “king,” because he knew he wasn’t a son of David and didn’t deserve the title. Hyrcanus reigned from 134-104 BC, and, because he led Judea to complete independence as the Seleucids collapsed and forced conversions to Judaism from neighboring peoples, many thought he could be the Messiah (Sadducees). But others (Pharisees and Essenes) realized that he was neither a Zadokite priest, nor a son of David; they thought he should be removed from that role.

The Essenes, who were convinced of God’s sovereignty, ran for the hills and isolated themselves at Qumran, where they most certainly penned the Dead Sea Scrolls, waiting for the Son of David to come. The Pharisees, who walked the middle of the road between God’s sovereignty and man’s freedom, and the Sadducees, who were all about man’s freedom even at the expense of God’s sovereignty, remained involved in the struggle for proper self-governance, and though the Pharisees were considered better at exposition of Scripture, they remained the minority political party. They spoke out against Hellenization and certainly did not favor wars of expansion or forced conversions, but the Sadducees won out most frequently in this battle for power among the laity.

Hyrcanus, a Pharisee who switched sides and became a Sadducee due to political pressure, seeing the political turmoil, arranged for a separation of the roles of priest and king, but his son and successor as priest, Aristobulus, also a Sadducee, wanted the throne as well. He imprisoned his mother, who was intended to be the queen, and let her starve; then he proclaimed himself “king” despite not being a son of David. He died from internal bleeding, and his wife released one of his brothers, Alexander Jannaeus, from prison, married him, and proclaimed him “king.” Jannaeus ruled from 103-76 BC and, in suppressing the Pharisee party, was ardently supported by the Sadducees. He was a military style ruler and a poor High Priest, which served as plenty of reason for the Pharisees to despise him. His failure to act properly as High Priest ultimately culminated in a bloody civil war, in which the Pharisaical opposition to his throne unbelievably asked for assistance from foreign powers. Jannaeus and the Sadducees won the war, which lasted 6 years and saw 50,000 Jews killed. Afterward to show his power, Jannaeus, who earned the nickname “Lion of Wrath,” continued killing rebel Jews, crucifying as many as 800 while he ate with his concubines (Both Josephus and the Dead Sea Scrolls record such activity).

When Jannaeus died, his widow, Salome Alexandra succeeded him (76-67 BC). Her brother was a leading Pharisee, and the Pharisees made huge inroads during her reign in the Sanhedrin (which became important around this time, and ultimately remained important until its dissolution in 358 AD). Jannaeus had two sons, who fought to be next in line for the throne by siding with different political parties. The older son, Hyrcanus II, sided with the Pharisees, and the younger son, Aristobulus II, sided with the Sadducees. They engaged in another civil war after their mother’s death, and Aristobulus led the Jews until the civil war ended when the Roman General Pompey captured Jerusalem in 63 BC. Under Roman authority but still semi-autonomous, Hyrcanus was re-established as sort of a puppet king until 40BC, when he was exiled to Babylon to live peaceably with recognition from them until 36 BC. His nephew, Antigonus, captured the throne, but there was a tumultuous time of transition from 40-37 BC, during which Rome itself was struggling with its leadership.

Enter Herod. According to Josephus, Herod was of Maccabean decent. But according to secular sources, Herod was the son of Antipater of Idumea, a high-ranking official under Hyrcanus II. Herod would have been converted to Judaism forcibly, including being circumcised. Herod was appointed by his father to be governor of Galilee at age 25, and when his father was poisoned, he garnered Roman support to execute all those involved in his father’s murder. Despite accusations of brutality from the Sanhedrin, and the hatred of devout Jews for his extreme impiety, his allegiance to the Roman Empire – especially to Mark Antony until Octavius defeated Antony in battle (31 BC) – made him an ideal candidate for King of the region to get things settled. The newly appointed Judean King Herod (37 BC-4 BC) made mild attempts to gain Jewish favor. First, he appointed Aristobulus III as High Priest, only to drown him months later. Second, he invited Hyrcanus II to return from exile, where he had him executed in 30 BC for plotting against him with the King of Arabia. Third, he married one of Aristobulus’ granddaughters, but that was in addition to having several other wives. One of Herod’s wives was the daughter of the High Priest! Fourth, he fathered sons with her in order to maintain some sort of Hasmonian bloodline, which was rightly meaningless to all pious Jews. He eventually killed them as well.

Known in secular circles as Herod the Great, King Herod was known to the Jews as little more than a builder, a brute, and a blasphemer. The only good thing he did for them was to build a better Temple (19 BC). This was the Temple that Jesus and His disciples visited regularly, the very one about which the disciples remarked how magnificent it was and the very one about which Jesus prophesied that not one stone would remain atop another. Otherwise, Herod was a brute. He murdered, in fulfillment of prophecy (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2) dozens if not hundreds of infants upon hearing that the Messiah was born from the traveling wise men. He also killed several members of his own family, even his wife and sons. And he was considered to be a madman, suffering from paranoia and severe depression. He died in 4 BC from a severe and excruciating internal illness, nicknamed “Herod’s evil,” perhaps Fournier gangrene and/or kidney disease. His grandson, Agrippa I, would later suffer a similar fate (44 AD). After Herod’s death, many of his remaining sons by different marriages, were appointed rulers and governors over various regions, but no one again achieved the title of “king” of the Jews until Jesus did at His crucifixion. (Later Agrippa I would be entitled “king of the Jews” by Emperor Claudius, but after death in 44 AD, Judean authority was held exclusively by Rome.)

After King Herod’s death, Judea was ruled in a combined manner by both a Roman Procurator or Prefect (as Pontius Pilate) and a Governor (as Herod Antipas and Agrippa I and II). But the Sanhedrin was also given a role in governing religious life among the inhabitants of Judea. These three establishments were responsible to cooperate in peace keeping in the region; if they failed, the Roman army would possibly wipe everyone out. Judea was made an official Roman province in 6 AD, which brought back the taxation that the Maccabees family had succeeded in exempting. This caused no small uprising, as a Jewish political group known as Zealots (zealous for the restored reign of God) fought against Rome. The Zealots were thought by many to be a fourth political party in the Jewish make-up, in addition to the Essenes, Sadducees, and Pharisees. The group formed during the transition from the Hasmonian to Herodian Dynasties, and waxed and waned for about 100 years, as issues arose and were made public, until Titus and Rome destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD. They may have been the first political group associated with terrorism.

So we’ve now come back to Paul and the timeframe in which he would have been coming to Jerusalem to study. It doesn’t sound like a good time to me, but it was perfect in God’s plan. Little is known about the specific doctrines of Gamaliel’s rabbinical school, though it is thought to have been an offshoot of Hillel’s school, which in turn was one of two prominent schools taking opposing positions on the doctrines of Judaism. Let’s take a look:

Hillel (110-10 BC) is considered one of the most important figures of Jewish history, even comparable to Moses and Ezra in many ways. He was involved in the formation of the Mishnah and Talmud (written understandings of the Jewish oral tradition), and he is attributed with coining the negative golden rule, “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow.” Even modern-day Jewish Rabbis would claim to have an understanding based on that of Hillel. His position was considered liberal (patient and humble), while his primary opponent, Shammai (50 BC- 30 AD), held a conservative position (passionate).

Shammai worked alongside Hillel in establishing the Mishnah, but they disagreed on doctrine and theology. Hillel was president of the Sanhedrin while Shammai was the vice-president. (Annas, a Sadducee, was appointed as the High Priest at this time (6-15AD) by Quirinius (Luke 2:2), and his five sons and son-in-law (Caiaphas), also Sadducees, occupied the High Priesthood until 66 AD, when Rome abolished the office). When Hillel died, Shammai became president, and no vice-president was named; Caiaphas was High Priest during this time. Shammai took that opportunity to pass several ordinances that Hillel would not have allowed, mostly designed to make the distinction between Jew and Gentile all the more obvious and necessary. Upon that move, the Talmud notes that it was as grievous to Israel as the day the golden calf was made. When Shammai died, Hillel’s grandson, Gamaliel, became the president of the Sanhedrin (also while Caiaphas was High Priest), but Shammai’s Temple policies, which Jesus may have criticized (Luke 11:46), remained intact until 70 AD.

So Gamaliel followed the school of Hillel, but we still don’t much in terms of specifics. The only taste of Gamaliel’s teaching that we get in Scripture comes from Acts 5:34-40, where he shows mercy and a reliance on God’s sovereignty, saying that the disciples of Jesus would fall off the map if they weren’t doing the will of God, but that they would be unstoppable if they were in fact doing the will of God. This position sounds like what we might expect of the merciful and patient Hillel, and was persuading to the Sanhedrin, which consisted of a mix of Pharisees and Sadducees. But what is interesting about this is that Paul didn’t agree with it! Though he was a student of Gamaliel, he was much more aggressive (zealous) on the issue of squashing Christians! There is a record of one of Gamaliel’s students being a pain in his neck, and of course, speculation gives us the opportunity to wonder if that student was Paul, but we have no way to know. Finally, there are differing accounts of what became of Gamaliel. Some suggest he became a Christian and was baptized by John and Peter alongside his own son and Nicodemus. Other accounts say it was a secret conversion to allow him to continue in the Sanhedrin and work favorably for Christians. Still others say he remained Jewish to his death.

Paul eventually became a Pharisee (Acts 23:6-8; 26:4-5; Philippians 3:5), likely in the footsteps of his mentor. Pharisees were rarely if ever in the majority, and we’ve talked about some of their positions and goals so far. We’ve mentioned that they were considered the best expositors of the Scriptures, which explains why most of the scribes were also Pharisees. They despised the Hellenistic tendencies of the Sadducees and Jewish laity, and they maintained that the purpose of the oral tradition (Mark 7:8) was to keep the written law from becoming obsolete and impractical due to the inevitable cultural changes. Generally speaking, Pharisees thought the lay people incapable of true piety, which certainly makes sense given the criticism they faced at the hand of Jesus (John 7:48). Known for their rigid adherence to the letter of the law (Acts 26:5, Matthew 23:3, Luke 11:39, etc.), Jesus frequently rebuked the Pharisees for their self-righteous, unmerciful, hypocritical way of life (Matthew 9:11, 23:14; John 8:7, Luke 18:11).”

There were other options besides the Pharisees, as far as religious or political aspirations and affiliation went at the time, and we’ve mentioned them along the way. Paul could have become a Herodian, a Jewish supporter of Herod’s family of rulers in the region, especially during the time of Herod Antipas, since they generally ruled favorably for the Jews. He could have become a Zealot, one who was “zealous for God’s law” and therefore despised the Roman occupation of a mostly Jewish region. He could have become a follower of John the Baptist, who urged the Jews to repentance and maintained followers after Jesus came on the scene and still had followers even after his death. He could have become an elder, one of 70 members (plus the High Priest) of the ruling council, the Sanhedrin. Elders could be Pharisees, Sadducees, or Essenes, priests, scribes, or teachers of the law. He could have joined with the Essenes, a smaller sect of Zadokite priests that lived a communal monastic lifestyle at Qumran (near the Dead Sea) from the second century BC through the first century AD. Essenes recruited devout Jews who joined them in ascetic living and legalistic rituals, all while denying the validity of Sadducees, Jerusalem priests, and Temple worship. Many people associated John the Baptist with the Essenes, though the word is not even found in the Bible. Paul could have joined the Hellenist Sadducees, though most of them were priests, claiming to have descended from Zadok. The Essenes challenged the authenticity of the rule of the Sadducees, blaming the downfall of ancient Israel and the siege of Jerusalem on their impiety. The Dead Sea Scrolls brand the Sadduceean elite as those who broke the covenant with God in their rule of the Judean state, and thus became targets of divine revenge. The Sadducees denied oral tradition and believed only in the written word as being authoritative; they accused the Pharisees of being Persianizers, considering them to be dangerous innovators with their oral tradition. Sadducees denied the resurrection of the dead and disbelieved in angels, spirits, and the afterlife. Though they claimed to hold dear to the written law, they had reinterpreted it over and over again to fit their chosen lifestyle and cultural modifications. One author says, “When synthesized, one can discern that the Pharisees represented mainstream Judaism in the Hellenistic world, while the Sadducees represented a more aristocratic elite.” Finally, Paul could have trained to become a scribe, a writer and recorder of Holy writings. As a scribe, Paul could have also joined another of the groups mentioned above.

To summarize, it seems to me that the Essenes were too extreme; for their right efforts to be not of the world, they failed to remain in the world. The Sadducees, so it seems, were like today’s mainline denominations that are compromising the word of God to suit their lifestyles. And the Pharisees seem to be like me, people who are greatly concerned with right living according to the word of God, striving to make sure the interpretations of that word are true to it. They are concerned with holiness and trying to walk the line between God’s sovereignty and man’s freedom, but they face criticism from all sides (Essenes and Sadducees).

ESL OUTLINE - UKRAINE 2011 (A)

2011-06-09T09:33:00.001-04:00

Me: Can I ask you a couple questions?
You: Sure!
Me: Are you sure you will be with God in heaven when you die?
You: I hope so.
Me: Why should God let you into heaven?
You: Because I try to be good.
Me: Thanks for your answers. My I share with you how I know for sure that I will be with God in heaven when I die?
You: I guess so.
Me: Thanks. The Bible says, "These things are written...so that you may know (for sure) that you have eternal life." And we also read that "the gift of God is eternal life." This gift is not something we can earn or deserve. The Bible says, "It is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." I cannot stand before God and say how good I am. And when I receive a gift from a friend, I don't try to pay for it. My place in heaven has to be a gift because of sin. I am a sinner; you are a sinner. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God... There is no one righteous, not even one." What is sin?
You: I guess anything that is disobedient to God.
Me: That's right. We sin in our actions, our words, and even our thoughts. Psychologists say the average person has 10,000 thoughts per day. What percentage of those throughts would you say are sinful?
You: I don't know, maybe half.
Me: Let's say you're alot better than that. Maybe you're nearly perfect and none of your words or actions are sinful, and only 1% of your thoughts are sinful. Even then, you would sin 100 ties per day, 36,500 times per year, and 1 million times in less than 27-1/2 years! And Jesus says, "Be perfect, as My heavenly Father is perfect." We aren't perfect, and that's why we can't earn eternal life, we can't deserve a place in heaven by our goodness. Even our good deeds are like filthy rags, and being guilty of just one sin is too much. For example, if I put a drop of poison in a jar of honey, would you still eat the honey?
You: No way!

ESL OUTLINE - UKRAINE 2011 (B)

2011-06-09T09:29:00.007-04:00

Me: The Bible says, "There is a way that seems right to man, but in the end it leads to death." It seems like we should have to earn or deserve our place in heaven, but that's not how it works. Do you understand?
You: Yes.
Me: In spite our sin, God wants to bless us and is merciful to us. God is love. But He is also just and holy; He cannot dwell with sin. The Bible says, "God will not spare the guilty... The soul that sins must die." It's like a robber who gets caught and makes an excuse before a just judge. The just judge must punish the robber! And so we have a problem. On the one hand, God wants to bless us, but on the other hand, He must punish sin. So God solved this problem for us! He sent His Son Jesus. Who is Jesus?
You: He's God, or the Son of God.
Me: Yes, and He is also the perfect man. The disciple Thomas knew Jesus as a man, but didn't believe He was God. Thomas didn't believe the other disciples who told him that Jesus had risen. But when Jesus appeared to Thomas, Thomas confessed Jesus as "my Lord and my God." Jesus came and lived a perfect life where all else have failed, and He died on the cross to pay the punishment for our sin. God punished Him for our sin. But Jesus rose from the dead to purchase our place in heaven, and He offers eternal life as a gift to be received by faith. I can show you with an illustration. The Bible says, "In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.... The word became flesh and dwelled among us." And "while all of us like sheep had gone astray, each following his own way, the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all." The last words of Jesus on the cross were, "It is finished." The Greek word is Tetelestai, and it means "Paid in Full." Jesus paid our sin debt. And we can receive Him or reject Him. You may think it strange that anyone would reject Jesus and the gift of eternal life, but many do. They reject Him by trying to help Him pay our debt. He is offended when we try to contribute to His sacrifice. He is enough! Another way people reject Him is to simply know about Him. The devil knows who Jesus is, but he will not be saved. Demons believe, and tremble. Even the demon-possessed man declared who Jesus was, but knowing isn't enough. Still another way people reject Jesus is by what might be called temporal faith. Trusting God when you're sick or in danger, but forgetting Him when things are good. Asking Him for a job, but cursing Him if you don't get it. This is not saving faith. Receiving Jesus and the gift of eternal life comes by saving faith, trusting Him alone for your place in heaven, not relying on any other thing, like your good deeds. The Bible says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." It's like riding an airplane. You buy your ticket, show up on time at the right gate, but what must you do to get to your destination?
You: Get on the plane?!
Me: Right! You don't tell the pilot how to get there. You don't push the plane down the runway, or carry it through the air. You simply ride and trust. But I'm not saying that good deeds are unimportant. We still need to strive to do good. But our motivation for doing good changes when we trust Jesus. Instead of trying to be good in order to earn or deserve a place in heaven, we strive to do good out of gratitude for the gift God has given us. Good works aren't the cause of our salvation, but the evidence of it. To refuse Jesus would be like a beggar on the side of the road, asking for money. When a wealthy man comes along and offers him a million dollars, desires to help him up, get him going in a new direction for his life, the beggar refuses. He just wants $5 for a drink. This is ridiculous, but many people reject Jesus in the same way. Would you like to receive Jesus and the gift of eternal life?
You: Yes.

ESL OUTLINE - UKRAINE 2011 (C)

2011-06-08T15:48:00.011-04:00

Me: Great! So you transfer your trust from your good deeds to His good deeds, to Him alone. You receive Him as Savior and Lord. The Bible says, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Jesus said, "Behold, I stand at the door (of your heart) and knock. He who hears My voice and invites Me in, I will come in." Jesus wants to sit on the throne of your heart, put your life in the proper order, and help you to turn from sin and live a new life out of gratitude to Him. Will you receive Him in these ways?
You: Yes.
Me: Our Father in heaven, I thank You that "Jim Bob" understands that heaven is a gift, not something we earn or deserve, that it has to be a gift because of our sin. And we thank You for sending Jesus to pay the punishment for our sins and offer us a place in heaven that we receive by faith. Now "Jim Bob" repeat after me. "Lord Jesus."
You: "Lord Jesus."
Me: "I confess that I am a sinner."
You: "I confess that I am a sinner."
Me: "And I receive Your forgiveness."
You: "And I receive Your forgiveness."
Me: "I invite You into my heart as Savior and Lord."
You: "I invite You into my heart as Savior and Lord."
Me: "I am not my Savior."
You: "I am not my Savior."
Me: "You are my Savior."
You: "You are my Savior."
Me: "And I ask You to help me turn from sin and live for You."
You: "And I ask You to help me turn from sin and live for You."
Me: Amen.
You: Amen.
Me: Now, Lord, I pray that you would help "Jim Bob" to know for sure that when he dies he will be with You in heaven, because Jesus died for him. Amen. Now "Jim Bob," why should God let you into heaven?
You: Because Jesus died for me.
Me: Yes, and Jesus says, "Truly I say to you who believe in Me, you have eternal life." So if you believe in Jesus, what do you have?
You: Eternal life.
Me: Are you sure?
You: Yes.
Me: Great! Now God wants you to remember this, but Satan wants you to forget. So remember that Jesus is your connection to God. Read the Bible. Pray to God. Spend time with people who believe the same truth. Worship God in a Bible-believing church. And tell others about this good news that you have learned today. Lastly, be obedient to God, because that is how He blesses us.
Lord bless you, and I'd be glad to see you at church on Sunday.
You: Thanks. Goodbye.
Me: Goodbye.

Self Control in Worship

2011-02-22T08:35:00.003-05:00

Self control is a commendable trait, a characteristic we ought to pursue (2 Peter 1:5-7) but which ultimately is a fruit of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), and therefore comes to us by grace. Self control is mentioned only 13 times in the NIV, with more than half of those coming in Paul's pastoral epistles to Timothy and Titus, for the instructions of appointing deacons and elders. These men are to exhibit self control. It is mentioned 18 times in the ESV, and one of the places we find a difference in translation between the NIV and ESV is 1 Corinthians 9:25. See v24-27 for the context:

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified."

Paul says, as an athlete in training, we are to exhibit self control in all things. What does self-control look like? Paul shows us in this passage. He first says what it is not: aimless, beating the air. Then he says it looks like discipline and keeping the body under control.

I realize that all of life is worship, but how does this imagery of self control apply to corporate worship, namely in the singing portion of a typical church service?

2 SAMUEL 6:16 says, "As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart."

We see that David was leaping and dancing before the Lord. Was he exhibiting self control? Some would say absolutely yes; others would say absolutely no. Still others would say that he was being led by the Spirit. Perhaps there is no way to know. But Michal, his wife - though only called "daughter of Saul" in this passage - obviously didn't care for his apparent lack of propriety. She "despised him in her heart."

David was worshipping God. He wasn't leaping and dancing for his own benefit, nor was he leaping and dancing for the benefit of the servants and general population around him. He was leaping adn dancing for the Lord. And whether or not he exhibited self control, his actions weren't sinful. How is your attitude toward those who worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth? I'm not one to clap or raise my hands in corporate worship, but I don't want to stifle those who exhibit such behavior. I certainly don't want to have the attitude of Michal. Look what happens next:

2 SAMUEL 6:20-23 says, "When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, 'How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!' David said to Michal, 'It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone else from hs house when He appointed me ruler over the Lord's people Israel - I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.' And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death."

David says, "My actions weren't for anyone else, but only for the Lord." Could we apply Paul's teaching on the use of tongues here? If so, wouldn't it have been better for David to avoid offending those around him by engaging in this type of rumpus worship in private?

I regularly dance around to worship songs in the privacy of my home, oftentimes with my children. And if my behavior was for you, then you ought to join me on a long car ride, because I really pour out my heart when singing praises on a drive. But I don't dance when others are around, and I don't shout while driving with others in the car. Am I exhibiting self control? Or am I being a hypocrit? Am I seeking to avoid offending others? Or am I hiding my light under a bushel?

To paraphrase David's final response to Michal, he says, "I don't care what you think of my leaping and dancing before the Lord, and I don't even care what I think, because He is worthy of praise. If the Spirit takes over my body and humiliates me before the world, so be it. It is for God. And by the way, when others realize this truth, they'll honor me in that."

And the barenness of Michal is her shame; we might conclude that David never spoke to her again. So again, the application for us might be to guard our attitude about the worship of others; allow the Spirit to work in others as you allow Him to work in you. Self control just might better be rendered, at least in our understanding of it, as Spirit control.

Calling All Men - and Better Pastors Too.

2011-02-10T08:55:00.003-05:00

The Mortification of Sin

2011-02-10T08:42:00.006-05:00

Check out the title-linked book! I just finished it, and while it forces the reader to despair, it also reveals the only hope for overcoming that despair. John Owen was a 17th century Puritan, and this abridged version of his classic work by Richard Rushing makes him for more understandable to today's layman. I'd call this a MUST READ for anyone struggling to "put off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles" (Hebrews 12:1-4). It just might help you resist that sin to the point of shedding your blood, which might just be what God is looking for in you - utter devotion to Him alone.

Southeast Outlook Devotions

2011-02-04T15:15:00.002-05:00

I'll be co-authoring the devotions for The Southeast Outlook this year. You can read my first week by clicking the title of this post. Future installments will work through the Gospel of Luke.

Calvin on 1 Corinthians 14:26-33

2010-12-20T13:56:00.000-05:00

From this passage of Paul’s writings, we may conjecture how very illustrious that Church was, in respect of an extraordinary abundance and variety of spiritual gifts. There were colleges of Prophets, so that pains had to be taken, that they might have their respective turns. There was so great a diversity of gifts, that there was a superabundance. We now see our leanness, nay, our poverty; but in this we have a just punishment, sent to requite our ingratitude. For neither are the riches of God exhausted, nor is his benignity lessened; but we are neither deserving of his bounty, nor capable of receiving his liberality. Still we have an ample sufficiency of light and doctrine, provided there were no deficiency in respect of the cultivation of piety, and the fruits that spring from it.

James Madison on Laws

2010-12-16T09:18:00.003-05:00

"It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood; if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated, or undergo such incessant changes that no man, who knows what the law is today, can guess what it will be tomorrow. Law is defined to be a rule of action; but how can that be a rule, which is little known, and less fixed?"

Operation World - Prayer for Ukraine

2010-11-17T22:44:00.003-05:00

WGT Round of 60 at St Andrews

2010-11-15T08:10:00.001-05:00

Christine O'Donnell and the First Amendment

2010-10-20T10:03:00.002-04:00

In the title-linked article, Ken Paulson, the President of the First Amendment Center, says, "Here's a quick take on what the First Amendment says -- and doesn't say:

Keeping government out of religion and religion out of government is a core principle of the First Amendment. The first 16 words say, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." That means government can't limit our personal faith or favor one religion over others. It also means that creationism cannot be taught in America's public schools."

Now when I read those first 16 words, I have to interpret them. And people disagree in their interpretations. That's why the Supreme Court isn't unanimous all the time; their interpretations of the Constitution differ. I tend to agree with Paulson's first interpretation, that "government can't limit our personal faith or favor one religion over others." But even that becomes quite impossible, for religion is not merely a part of one's life; oftentimes, and rightly so, it is one's life. When we talk about Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and even atheism, etc., since they make up the majority of religions in our country, we assume that the things those religions have in common are acceptable for government to "favor." For example, all of those religions - even atheism - have in common a teaching prohibiting murder. I realize that a proper definition of murder ought to be given in a debate format, but here, just let it be "unjust killing of another human." When our government makes a law prohibiting murder, it is favoring these religions over, say, some obscure form of a minority cannibalistic religion, which may uphold murder for the sake of one's appetite.

Now I realize that there aren't many cannibals in the U.S., but the point is clear. The foudning documents of our nation speak to issues of morality, which are nothing if not religious, and that's why I strongly disagree with Paulson's second interpretation above. He says, "It also means that creationism cannot be taught in America's public schools." Spelling and Mathematics may not be matters of morality. They are simply practical facts and proven formulas. And the facts of history are not matters of morality, but the interpretation of history can be a moral indoctrination. So when public school teachers fail to explain different interpretations of the facts, especially of history, the government is in fact in that moment favoring one religion over another. If the government teaches by way of implication that there is no God (or at least that the God of the Bible is a liar), then the government is exalting atheism over Christianity. It's the same as when the prohibition of murder exalts the majority religions over the minority ones.

Later in the article, Paulson says, "The separation of church and state means that teachers in public schools can't teach their faith to their students. Public schools are government bodies and teachers are their employees, so the restrictions of the First Amendment apply. But teachers can teach about religion. Faith and history are deeply intertwined, and students should understand the diversity of beliefs in the world today."

I applaud Paulson here, as he acknowledges the point I just made. "Faith and history are deeply intertwined, and students should understand the diversity of beliefs in the world today." In other words, Mr. Government, don't indoctrinate against any one religion; don't indoctrinate towards any one religion. Outside of spelling and math, I'm not sure it's possible. Teach creation and evolution; let the students decide. They'll side with the truth.

Abandon public schools and find the private school that teaches what you believe. And demand that the government help you do that with vouchers or by reducing your property taxes, the majority of which go to public education.

If you love Me...

2010-10-14T08:30:00.002-04:00

In John 14, Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will obey what I command."

I used to think this was to be understood like this:

"In order to show that you love Me, you must obey My commands."

And that is true. But I'm not so sure that's what Jesus was getting at. I think He might prefer that we understand it like this:

"You are no longer bound by the law. My commands are not to be burdensome to you, because I have taken care of that. However, I know you're concerned about obedience, and I appreciate that concern. But what I'm more interested in is your love for Me. The obedience will flow from the love. If you love Me, everything else will take care of itself."

There's a big difference in these two interpretations. Do you see it? I'd like to know your thoughts.

David Platt's Radical

2010-09-14T10:37:00.002-04:00

I'm just a couple chapters in and loving - or hating - it. Quite a challenging read, especially if the Spirit is working on you. Check out the video below and comments here.

The Gospel Demands Radical Giving - David Platt from Together for Adoption on Vimeo.

Lead Me

2010-07-12T08:03:00.001-04:00

Grace!

Bob Russell's "Marriage by the Book"

2010-06-29T08:43:00.003-04:00

I just finished a small and out-of-print book by Southeast Christian's retired pastor Bob Russell entitled "Marriage by the Book: Biblical Models for Marriage Today." You can find plenty of copies - new and used - by clicking on the link in the title.

Though some of the statistics and references are outdated (the book was written in the early 1990s), it contains refreshing and practical, Biblical principles for a great marriage. Bob walks through 7 Biblical couples (Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah, Amram and Jochebed, David and Bathsheba, and Boaz and Ruth) to apply their successes and failures to modern day marriage experiences. Adam and Eve had the bliss of perfection tarnished by sin; Abraham and Sarah were frustrated and made poor decisions yet overcame them; Isaac "found" Rebekah, quite a model for the "perfect" wife; Jacob got into trouble with Rachel and Leah, and Leah found herself looking for her value in her children; Amram and Jochebed worked together to notice and nurture their three children while they had the opportunity; and Boaz and Ruth reveal that it's never too late to start over.

I've been reading another book on marriage, one written much more recently, concurrently, and I've been much more impressed with Bob's older book. I highly recommend it...

New Theory on Life: Pyrophosphite!

2010-06-14T08:59:00.002-04:00

From the title-linked article, scientists are still trying to solve the life-without-God dilemma. Here's a bit on the newest theory:

"An obscure compound known as pyrophosphite could have been a source of energy that allowed the first life on Earth to form, scientists now say.

"From the tiniest bacteria to the complex human body, all living beings require an energy-transporting molecule called ATP to survive. Often likened to a "rechargeable battery," ATP stores chemical energy in a form that can be used by organic matter.

"You need enzymes to make ATP, and you need ATP to make enzymes," said researcher Terence Kee of the University of Leeds in England. "The question is: Where did energy come from before either of these two things existed? We think that the answer may lie in simple molecules, such as pyrophosphate [sp], which is chemically very similar to ATP, but has the potential to transfer energy without enzymes."

This seems to be inline with the "panspermia" concept, especially since the article goes on to suggest this molecule came to earth riding on a meteorite. I'm sure Dawkins and his ilk would consent... How sad.

Discerning Desires

2010-06-11T09:28:00.002-04:00

How do you discern whether your desires are motivated by the sinful nature or by the Spirit-filled nature? Obviously, if your desire is sinful, then the former is obvious; if your desire is holy, then the latter is clear. For example, if you desire to steal some jewelry, then you can pretty reasonably conclude that the sin nature motivates that sinful desire. On the other hand, if you desire to generously give some money or donate your time to a "worthy" cause (such as serving at a soup kitchen or supporting adoption), then you can reasonably conclude (at least for yourself as a Christian) that the desire to do such noble and virtuous deeds stems from the Spirit-filled nature.

But the clarity disintegrates when your desire is for something like sex. Sex is good; God made it for a husband and wife to enjoy within the bounds of marriage. And God created humans (especially men) to want sex. But how has the sin nature perverted that desire? And how has our over-sexed culture shaped your desire for sex? In Titus 1:15-16, Paul says, "To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good."

My wife says - in regards to this topic anyway - that I think too much. I ought to just glorify God and enjoy Him (and the blessings He provides, especially in the marriage covenant relationship) forever.

Predestination / Free Will (10)

2010-05-28T12:35:00.004-04:00

First, why do we pray for the salvation of others?

Both Calvinists and Arminians pray because:
• God commands us to pray
• We believe prayer has real effective power

Both Calvinists and Arminians pray despite believing that God has absolute foreknowledge – that the future is fixed, because God knows it with certainty. (If you don’t believe God has absolute foreknowledge, then you might be an open theist, not an Arminian.)

(1) The Arminian argues that Calvinists need not pray for the salvation of others since:
• Only the elect are made willing and able to believe.
• All of the elect are certain to come to Christ.
• Therefore, Calvinist prayer cannot be effective.
The Calvinist replies: Prayer is like a carrier pigeon, sent by God to us and back to God. He ordains the ends and the means to those ends. Prayer is a PRIMARY means ordained by God to bring Him Glory. Every prayer is ordained by God to bring about His desired outcome. Believers should want to be used by God! Prayer is a PRIMARY way that we can be used by God.

Example 1: God elected Joe before creation; Christ died for Joe; God ordains that Sally will pray for Joe’s salvation; when that occurs, at the time of God’s choosing and by Sally’s free choice, the Holy Spirit will regenerate Joe and make him willing to receive Christ. Joe then becomes a Christian, in a sense, thanks to the prayer of Sally.

Example 2: Johnny can’t decide whether or not to study for a test, because he believes that the grade he will get is already determined or certainly known by God. Johnny doesn’t realize that God not only determines the grade (ends), but also the means to achieve that grade – that Johnny will study hard and earn an A, or decline to study and earn a D.

“Prayer is powerful not because it changes God or the future, but because it changes us.”

(2) The Calvinist argues that Arminians are inconsistent with their theology when they pray for the salvation of others, because:
• God is already wooing each person to the maximum of His willingness.
• He will not violate the free will of any person
• Arminians end up asking God for something they do not believe He will do.

An excerpt from John Piper:
Until we embrace the sovereignty of God, we cannot pray consistently that God would actually save lost sinners. We can’t do what Paul does so passionately in Romans 10:1, “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they might be saved.” Paul's heart’s desire is for the salvation of his fellow Jews. When our hearts ache for something, we pray for it. And so he says that his prayer to God is that they be saved. He wants something accomplished in his mission the salvation of Jews as he preaches in the synagogues. So he prays to God that this would happen. He asks God to save them. “O God, that they might be saved! Do it God! Do what you need to do!”
Now my point is this: that kind of praying is inconsistent if you do not believe in the sovereignty of God. And what I mean by the sovereignty of God here is that he has the right and the power to save unbelieving, unrepentant, hardened sinners. Now there are a lot of people who do not believe God has that right. They do not believe that God has the right to intrude upon a person’s rebellion, and overcome it, and draw that person effectually to faith and salvation. They don’t believe that God dare exert himself so powerfully in grace as to overcome all the resistance of a hardened sinner. Instead they believe that man himself has the sole right of final determination in the choices and affections of his heart toward God.
Every person, they say, has the final self-determination in whether they will overcome the hardness of their hearts and come to Christ. And so it is finally in the hands of man, not God, who will be saved and how many will inhabit the Kingdom. The effects on prayer for such people are devastating if they try to pray in a manner consistent with this rejection of the sovereignty of God. They can’t ask God to actually save anybody. They cannot pray, “God, take out their heart of stone and give them a new heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 11:19). They can’t pray, “Lord, circumcise their heart so that they love you” (Deuteronomy 30:6). They can’t pray, “Father, put
your Spirit within them and cause them to walk in your statutes” (Ezekiel 36:27). They can’t pray, “Lord, grant them repentance and a knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 2:25-26). They can’t pray, “Open their eyes so that they believe to the Gospel” (Acts 16:14). The reason they can’t is that all these prayers give God a right that they have reserved for man—namely the ultimate, decisive determination of his destiny. If they ask God to do any of these things, He would be the one who actually saves.
How then do you pray, if you really believe that man and not God must make the ultimate decisions about salvation in the universe? I take an example from a well-known book on prayer that does reject God’s sovereignty in the salvation of sinners. This writer says that the way to pray is to “Ask God to cause a specific person to begin questioning whom they can really trust in life.” But my question then is: Why is right for God to cause a person to think a question and wrong for God to cause that person to think an answer? Why is it legitimate for God to take control of a person to the degree that He cause the person to ask a question he would not have otherwise asked, but it is not legitimate for God to exert that same influence to cause the person to give an answer that he would not otherwise have given—namely that Jesus should be trusted? Here is another example of how this writer thinks we should pray for unbelievers: “Pray that God will plant in the hearts of these people ... an inner unrest, together with a longing to know the ‘Truth.’” Now my question is, “If it is legitimate for God to ‘plant a longing’ in a person’s heart, how strong can the longing be that God chooses to plant?”
There are two kinds of longings God could plant in an unbeliever’s heart. One is so strong that it leads the person to pursue and embrace Christ. The other is not strong enough to lead a person to embrace Christ. Which do you pray for? If you pray for the strong longing, then you are praying that the Lord work effectually and get that person saved. If you pray for the weak longing, then you are praying for an ineffectual longing that leaves the person in sin (but preserves his self-determination). Do you see where this leads? People who really believe that man must have the ultimate power of self-determination can’t consistently pray that God would convert unbelieving sinners. Why? Because if they pray for divine influence in a sinner’s life, they are either praying for a successful influence (which takes away the sinner’s ultimate self-determination), or they are praying for an unsuccessful influence, (which is not praying for
conversion). So either you give up praying for conversion or you give up ultimate human self-determination.
Paul leaves no doubt where he stands on that issue in Romans 9:16, “It depends not upon man’s will or exertion, but upon God’s mercy.” So he prays that God would convert Israel! He prays for her salvation! He does not pray for ineffectual influences, but for effectual influences. And that is how we should pray too. In other words, when you believe in the sovereignty of God—in the right and power of God to bring hardened sinners to faith and salvation—then you will be able be able to pray with no inconsistency and with great Biblical promises for the conversion of the lost.

Second, why do we evangelize the lost?

Both Calvinists and Arminians evangelize the lost because:
• God commands us to spread the Gospel (The Great Commission)
• We believe evangelism has real effective power
Both Calvinists and Arminians evangelize despite believing that God has absolute foreknowledge—that God knows who will spend eternity in heaven and who will not.

(1) The Arminian argues that Calvinists need not evangelize, because:
• Only the elect are made willing and able to believe.
• All of the elect are certain to come to Christ.
• Therefore, Calvinist evangelism cannot be effective.
• Furthermore, Calvinists cannot say, “Christ died for you.” They don’t know if He did or not.
The Calvinist replies: God ordains the ends and the means to those ends. Evangelism is a PRIMARY means ordained by God to bring Him Glory. Every Gospel-sharing encounter is ordained by God to accomplish His desired ends. Believers should want to be used by God! Evangelism is a PRIMARY way that we can be used by God. Calvinists say, “Christ died for sinners.”

Example 1: God elected Joe before creation; Christ died for Joe; God ordains that Sally will share the Gospel with Joe; when that occurs, at the time of God’s choosing and Sally’s free choice, the Holy Spirit will regenerate Joe and make him willing to receive Christ. Joe then becomes a Christian, in a sense, thanks to the evangelism of Sally.

(2) The Calvinist argues that Arminians are inconsistent with their theology when they evangelize, because:
• God already knows who will accept Christ and who will reject Christ.
• No one can be persuaded to do otherwise by the evangelistic efforts of men.
When we understand that our responsibility is simply sharing the message of the Gospel, our burden for bringing people to faith is lifted. We are working with Christ, not merely for Christ. We can get caught up in our presentation of the Gospel, trying to make it as inoffensive as possible. If a loved one denies Christ, we continue to pray and evangelize. Then it’s not our fault if they don’t receive Christ. The Holy Spirit will bring all the elect to faith at the time of His choosing. “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.” See 1 Corinthians 1:17-31; 2:1-16.

Third, why is there good in the world?

The Arminian says: The fact that good exists in the world proves that man is not totally corrupt, as Calvinism claims. People do good things, even unbelievers. People do bad things too, and it’s those bad things that require either punishment or forgiveness, depending on the person’s choice.

The Calvinist says: God sustains all of creation all the time. There is good in the world only because God prevents evil from taking its desired course, which would destroy all of creation. Much of the good we perceive is not good, according to God. When a pagan does a kind act, it is certainly done with an evil motive (from God’s perspective). God’s standards are so immeasurably beyond our perceptions of good that we will never comprehend true goodness this side of eternity. “Everything that does not come from faith is sin.” “Without faith it is impossible to please God.”

Fourth, what about the problem of evil?

Arminians accuse Calvinists of saying that God is the author of sin. Arminians suggest that God made man with the ability to sin or to not sin so that man could choose to truly love God. Here we come back to the libertarian free will / compatibilistic free will issue. It was a shame that Adam chose to sin against God, but before creation, by foresight, God knew that would happen and provided a way out in Jesus Christ. But God also foresaw that not everyone would believe in Christ, leaving open the answer to this question: Why did God create those He foresaw spending eternity in hell, though He desired for them to have faith in Christ?

Calvinism again says that God ordains the means and the ends for His glory. Believers should want God to be glorified to the maximum! And evil is a primary way to God glorifies Himself—by overcoming it! God is more glorified by overcoming evil with Christ’s sacrifice and saving grace than He would be if there was no evil. See Luke 15:3-7. Since evil exists, we get to see the mercy and justice of God. Without evil, we would not witness these aspects of God’s glorious, perfect character. God did indeed create Adam with the ability to sin or to not sin, but God was not hoping that man would choose to not sin. God determined that man should sin so that Christ would be revealed to the world for the glory of God. This does not make God the author of sin. God’s will is based on His greatest desire, which is to glorify Himself. Furthermore, countering the Arminian position that true love requires the ability to not love, Calvinists say that God could have certainly created Adam in a way that would still allow him to willing love and obey God without the capability to sin. In fact, that’s how it will be in eternity for the believer! Believers will willingly love God without the possibility of sinning! Wow! How awesome!

Conclusion: An Analogy of Calvinism & Arminianism

Is Christ a life preserver tossed to us who are drowning in the ocean of sin with hopes that we will grab on for life? Or is Christ a lifeguard who jumps in the ocean of sin to pull our dead bodies to shore and resuscitate us to new life? Is my SALVATION by my will? Or is my SALVATION by God’s will?

The Calvinist Answer: Jonah 2:9 – “Salvation comes from the LORD.” It is God’s will from eternity past to save the elect! Be thankful that He chose to save anybody, as He was not obligated to do so! It is also my will, but only after my nature has been made new and willing, regenerated by the Holy Spirit to receive the salvation of God the Father, provided by the work of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

The Arminian Answer: Titus 2:11 – “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.” It is my will, cooperating with God’s wooing, persuasive grace, which appeared to all men and to which I responded in faith to be reborn and gain salvation. It is God’s will to offer all men saving grace. Be thankful for God’s offer, because He was not obligated to offer salvation!

Predestination / Free Will (9)

2010-05-27T15:13:00.003-04:00

First: Summarize the Five Points of Calvinism

GOD ALONE SAVES SINNERS

T – Total Depravity - Man will not and cannot choose Christ unless God regenerates man. God regenerates only the elect. Salvation is offered to all; only the regenerate respond.

U – Unconditional Election - God’s choice to regenerate some and leave others in their sin was based on nothing good in man, and especially not foreseen faith, because none would have been
foreseen to believe. God elected some to maximize His pleasure and glory.

L – Limited Atonement - Christ died only for God’s elect, including all those who truly believe that Jesus Christ died as their Savior from sin. Christ did not die for unbelievers.

I – Irresistible Grace - God’s saving grace is guaranteed to be effective in its purpose to bring to
faith all of the elect.

P – Perseverance of the Saints - All of the elect are guaranteed to be saved, because God’s purpose cannot be thwarted. All who have saving faith will be preserved in that faith.

Second: Summarize the Five Articles of Arminian Remonstrance

SINNERS COOPERATE WITH GOD’S GRACE

According to Arminians: W – Will of Man is Free
According to Calvinists: D – Dead in Sin; Alive to Choose?
Man will not and cannot choose Christ unless God persuades or woos men with His grace. All men are persuaded or wooed equally, so all men have the opportunity to respond in faith.

According to Arminians: E – Election is Conditional
According to Calvinists: A – Abolition of True Grace
God’s choice is conditioned on man’s choice, as He foresees who will respond in faith to His persuasive, wooing offer of grace.

According to Arminians: E – Every Man is Redeemed
According to Calvinists: I – Impotent Savior
Christ died for all men, but only those who place their faith in His sacrifice will eternally benefit.

According to Arminians: D – Denial Confounds Grace
According to Calvinists: S – Sovereignty of the Sinner
God’s offer of saving grace can be rejected by man. God will not violate man’s free will.

According to Calvinists: S – Some Will Lose Salvation
According to Calvinists: Y – Yielding Eternal Uncertainty
Since man chooses to place his faith in Christ, he can also permanently withdraw his faith.

CONCLUSION: Where do you stand? Why? Any Questions?

Predestination / Free Will (8b)

2010-05-27T15:10:00.002-04:00

Second: Fall from Grace

• God cannot (or will not) preserve in salvation those who of their own free will refuse to be preserved; once-believers who do not remain faithful to the end will lose their salvation, fall from grace, and spend eternity in hell.
• Consider Saul, Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Judas, etc.
• Consider Charles Templeton (1950’s contemporary of Billy Graham / Oral Roberts)

• Scripture:
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.” (Matthew 5:13)
“But he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:13)
“From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.” (John 6:66)
“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.’” (John 8:31)
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” (John 15:1-7)
“Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.” (Romans 11:22)
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.” (Galatians 1:6-7)
“You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.” (Galatians 5:4)
“...which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith.” (1 Timothy 6:21)
“If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us. … Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some.” (2 Tim 2:12,17-18)
“It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 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)
“How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:29)
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.” (2 Peter 1:5-12)
“If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: ‘A dog returns to its vomit,’ and, ‘A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.’” (2 Peter 2:20-22)
“Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.” (2 Peter 3:17)
“See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.” (1 John 2:24)
“Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” (Revelation 2:5)
“He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.” (Revelation 3:5)

• Additional Scripture (Matthew 26:31; Romans 1:21-22; 1 Corinthians 9:27;15:1-2)

• Is there TRUE SAVING FAITH or MERE INTELLECTUAL ASSENT (satan)? We cannot know about others with certainty—even people like Charles Templeton. Consider the parable of the sower (4 soils).

Predestination / Free Will (8a)

2010-05-27T15:06:00.002-04:00

First: Perseverance of the Saints

• God preserves all true believers in Christ; none of the elect will fall away permanently. He enables final perseverance; none will be lost.
• “Once Saved, Always Saved” may be the wrong terminology, because it is misleading. Perseverance is synergistic, where man cooperates with God’s preserving grace.
• The assurance of salvation and actual salvation are different. It is possible to lack assurance of salvation and still be saved. It is also possible to have false assurance of salvation and lack salvation!
• Sproul, in Grace Unknown, pg. 198, says, “Our salvation began in eternity, is realized in time, and looks forward to heaven.”

• Scripture:
“So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)
“For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible.” (Matthew 24:24)
“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. … No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. … I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.’” (John 6:37-39,44,47)
“The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice. Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them. … I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. … but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. (John 10:3-6,14-16,26-29)
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:28-39)
“He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.” (1 Corinthians 1:8-9)
“Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-2)
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14)
“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)
“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)
“Therefore he is able to save completely [or forever] those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” (Hebrews 7:25)
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3-5)
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.” (2 Peter 1:5-12)
“They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.” (1 John 2:19)
“Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, to those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ: … To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” (Jude 1:1,24-25)

• Additional Scripture: Jeremiah 32:39-42; Matthew 24:13; Mark 13:22; John 5:24;8:31;17:12; Romans 11:2-7,29; Ephesians 2:6-7; Colossians 3:3-4; 2 Thessalonians 3:4; 2 Timothy 1:12;2:11-13;4:18

Predestination / Free Will (7b)

2010-05-25T08:27:00.004-04:00

Second: Unlimited Atonement

• Jesus Christ died for all people, paying the price of redemption for them all. But this does not guarantee their forgiveness; many of His redeemed will eventually be damned because of unbelief.
• Christ’s atonement was sufficient and efficient for all, but it only takes effect when faith is present.
• Christ’s sacrifice was merely a potential substitutionary atonement; it becomes an actual atonement when a person contributes faith to the equation, and even then, only if they persevere in faith to death.

• Scripture:
“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” (John 1:29)
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. … For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.” (Romans 5:6-8,17-18)
“For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22)
“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)
“[Praying for all men] is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men.” (1 Timothy 2:3-6)
“(and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.” (1 Timothy 4:10)
“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. … For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:9,17)
“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.” (2 Peter 2:1)
“He is the atoning sacrifice [literally, the propitiation] for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2)
• Additional Scripture (Luke 19:10; John 4:42;10:11;12:32; Hebrews 10:10; 1 Peter 3:18)

BOTH VIEWS LIMIT THE ATONEMENT!

• Limited in extent or scope by the Calvinists (narrow bridge all the way across the chasm of sin)
• Limited in value or effectiveness by the Arminians (wide bridge goes only half way across the chasm of sin)
• The Issue: Did Christ die in the same way for all men?
o What was Christ’s death designed to accomplish from all eternity?
o What was accomplished by Christ’s death?
o Did it accomplish the desired outcome?
o Did Christ sufficiently satisfy the demands of God’s justice on the cross? If not, then faith atones too…

Sproul, in Grace Unknown, pg 164 quotes J.I. Packer, “[Arminians believe] Christ’s death did not ensure the salvation of anyone, for it did not secure the gift of faith to anyone (there is no such gift); what it did was rather to create a possibility of salvation for everyone if they believe.”

• Did Christ pay for:
o All the sins of all men? Yes, then why is anyone sent to hell?
o Some of the sins of all men? Yes, then works must be involved to atone for the rest of our sins.
o Some of the sins of some men? Yes, then works must be involved…
o All of the sins of some men? Yes, then nothing else is necessary. Christ did it all!
• Does God punish sin once in perfect justice or twice?
• Did Christ fail in His attempt to save all men? Did He succeed in saving all those He intended to save?
• Many Passages say Jesus dies for “all” or the “world” (often explained in light of Jews / Gentiles). Consider the following Scripture passages: John 1:9,29; 3:16-17; 4:42; Romans 5:18; 2 Corinthians 5:14-15,19; 1 Timothy 2:4-6; Hebrews 2:9; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 John 2:1-2; 4:14

Ligon Duncan, in "The First Epistle of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, MS," Volume 37, Number 36, September 16, 2004, said: “Everywhere in the New Testament that we find the emphasis on God as savior of ‘all men’ or Christ as savior ‘of the world’ the inspired biblical writers are pressing home and reveling in three grand realities simultaneously: (1) that there is only one Savior God and one way of salvation for all mankind—our savior God is the only saving hope for the whole of humanity; (2) that our Savior God is not only the savior of the Jews but also of the Gentiles; and (3) that our savior God is not merely the savior of some tiny remnant of Israel or the savior of some exclusive Judaizing or Gnostic few, but rather that He is the savior of a multitude that none can number.”

Predestination / Free Will (7a)

2010-05-25T08:22:00.001-04:00

First: Limited Atonement (Particular Redemption or Definite Atonement)

• Jesus Christ died as the substitute of God’s elect, forever redeeming them. He did not atone for the sins of any who will die as unbelievers.
• Christ’s atonement was sufficient for all, but efficient only for the elect.
• Christ’s sacrifice was actually propitiatory; it permanently appeased God’s wrath and satisfied His justice.

• Scripture:
“But now, this is what the LORD says—he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. … I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,’ declares the LORD , ‘that I am God.’” (Isaiah 43:1-3,12)
“So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people.” (Luke 1:68)
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” (John 3:36)
“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.’” (John 6:35-39)
“The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice. … I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. … I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. … but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.” (John 10:3-5,11,14-16,26-29)
“It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. … ‘I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen.’” (John 13:1,18)
“After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: ‘Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message … Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.’” (John 17:1-20,24-26)
“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28)
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit … And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Romans 8:1-4,28-30)
“[Christ] gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” (Titus 2:14)
“Therefore he is able to save completely [or forever] those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” (Hebrews 7:25)
“He … obtained eternal redemption. … For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance--now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. … So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:12,15,28)
“And they sang a new song: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.’” (Revelation 5:9)
• Additional Scripture (Psalm 34:22; Isaiah 53:11; Matthew 1:21;15:13;20:28;26:28; Mark 10:45;14:24; Luke 19:10; John 11:50-52; Ephesians 5:25-27; Colossians 1:21-22,26-27; Hebrews 10:14; 1 Peter 2:24)

Predestination / Free Will (6b)

2010-05-24T08:11:00.003-04:00

Third: Conditional Election

• God chose to save those sinners whom He foresaw having faith (anyone who placed themselves in the group of believers)
• Election to salvation involves both the sinner choosing God and God choosing the sinner. God’s choice was conditioned upon man’s choice, as God chose before creation those whom He foresaw in time believing in Jesus Christ for salvation.
• Conditional Election refers to:
o Individuals, not a particular nation.
o Salvation, not service. (Election to service is unconditional.)
o Based on faith, not unto faith.
• Both sides agree with election and predestination!

• Scripture:
“From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth–he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.” (Psalm 33:13-15)
“After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: ‘Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.’” (Acts 15:7-9)
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Romans 8:28-30)
“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout … Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.” (1 Peter 1:1-2)

• Faith is a condition for election.
The Prescient View: God elects based on foreseeing those who will believe.

• Conclusion: God elects those whom He foresees having faith. The Calvinist suggests that the Arminian view of Election depicts election to salvation as both merited by faith and meaningless, just an acknowledgement of the obvious. What is God’s purpose in election to salvation? Study Romans 9:10-24:

“Not only that, but Rebekah’s children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls—she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ Just as it is written: ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’ What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: ‘I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’ Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. One of you will say to me: ‘Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?’ But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? ‘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?”

Fifth: God’s foreknowledge
Foreknowledge in Greek is “PROEGNO” (pro-gnosis / prognosis). The word appears only 7 times in the New Testament.
“PROEGNO” applies to man in: Acts 26:5: “they have known me for a long time,” and 2 Peter 3:17: “since you already know this.”
“PROEGNO” applies as a verb to God in: Romans 8:29: “those God foreknew He also predestined,” Romans 11:2: “God did not reject His people, whom He foreknew,” and 1 Peter 1:20: “He was chosen before creation, but was revealed in these last times.”
“PROEGNO” applies as a noun to God in: Acts 2:23: “This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge.” and 1 Peter 1:2: “chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.”

All of these verses suggest an intimate “knowing” and not a foreseen “know about.” See Romans 8:29-30 – The Golden Chain of Salvation. Does God foreknow the person or about the person? How many of those He foreknew were predestined? How many of those He predestined are called? How many of those He called are justified? How many of those He justified are glorified? ALL OF THEM!

Predestination / Free Will (6a)

2010-05-24T07:57:00.003-04:00

First: Predestination

Refers to God’s determining before there was time where people would spend eternity! This either applies absolutely (certainly) to individuals as Calvinists claim or conditionally to groups of people known as believers and unbelievers as Arminians claim. In other words, one group claims that God predestines individuals unto salvation or damnation, while the other group claims that God predestines groups of people (believers and unbelievers) unto salvation or damnation, and then it's up to the individuals to determine what group they'll fall into. Predestination falls under the category of God’s Sovereignty. Election and Reprobation fall under the category of Predestination.

Second: Unconditional Election

• God chose to save some people based on nothing to do with them.
• God the Father graciously chose and predestined some sinners to salvation. His choice was in no way conditioned upon foreseen good or merit or belief or faith of the chosen ones.
• Unconditional Election refers to:
o Individuals, not a particular nation.
o Salvation and service. (We are saved to serve God.)
o Unto faith, not based on faith.

• Scripture:
“For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.” (Deuteronomy 7:6-9)
“The word of the LORD came to me, saying, Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:4-5)
“At that time Jesus said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’” (Matthew 11:25-27)
“He replied, ‘The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.’” (Matthew 13:11)
“Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?” (Matthew 20:15)
“For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.” (John 5:21)
“When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.” (Acts 13:48)
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Romans 8:28-30)
“Not only that, but Rebekah’s children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls—she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ Just as it is written: ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’” (Romans 9:10-13)
“God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: ‘Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me’? And what was God’s answer to him? ‘I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.’ So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened.” (Romans 11:2-7)
“But when God, who set me apart from birth [or my mother’s womb] and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man…” (Galatians 1:15-16)
“For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:9)
“But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14)
“So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher.” (2 Timothy 1:8-11)
“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:3-7)
“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout … Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.” (1 Peter 1:1-2)
“Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,’ and, ‘A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.’ They 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)
“All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world [or written from the creation of the world in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain].” (Revelation 13:8)

• Additional Scripture: Psalm 33:11-12;65:4; Isaiah 65:1; Amos 3:2; Haggai 2:23; Matthew 22:14;24:22-24; Mark 13:20-22; Luke 10:21-22;18:7; 1 Corinthians 1:26-30; 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5; 2 Timothy 2:10,19-21; 2 Peter 1:3; Revelation 17:8
• The Calvinist considers election in light of two critical theological elements:
o Total Depravity – None will choose God, so God couldn’t have foreseen any choosing Him.
o The Covenant of Redemption made before time between the Father, Son, and Spirit.
• The Calvinist notes that ELECTION SAVES NOBODY. Rather, election by God the Father marks a people to be saved by the work of the Son and Holy Spirit. Election is a merciful act of God; God is not obligated to save anyone.
• Election is a condition for faith.

The Reformed View: God elects based on nothing in man

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:4-12)

• Conclusion: God chose some people to save as vessels of mercy and left others in their sinful state as vessels of wrath. He was not obligated to save anyone.

Predestination / Free Will (5b)

2010-05-22T14:23:00.001-04:00

Second, Resistible Grace

• Saving grace is not always effectual or efficacious; it is co-operative
• The Sovereignty of God does not apply to salvation; man’s will can permanently thwart God’s purpose. God is trying to save every sinner, but He is helpless, by His own choice, to save any sinner who will not let Him.
• The Word is adequate to bring a person new life. The Gospel is the persuasive grace that is resistible.
• The objection: If grace doesn’t work alone, what makes it effective? Does God woo all men equally? Why do some respond favorably?
• If God wants to save me, and I do not let Him, am I then more powerful than God? Does God have control of my salvation?

• Scripture:
“But since you rejected me when I called and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand, since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you.” (Proverbs 1:24-26)
“But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.” (Luke 7:30)
“For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.” (John 3:34)
“But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” (John 12:32)
“You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!” (Acts 7:51)
“The Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.” (Acts 14:2)
“For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.” (Romans 1:21-22)
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.” (Titus 2:11)
“How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:29)
• Additional Scripture (Psalm 78:41; Matthew 10:14;21:32)

• Conclusion: God’s saving grace is offered to all men and forced upon no man. The Calvinist agrees completely! The Calvinist notes, however, that no one is willing or able to accept the offer of saving grace. Likewise, saving grace is not forced upon man; rather man is man willing. Regenerated man wants grace!

Predestination / Free Will (5a)

2010-05-22T14:19:00.002-04:00

First: Irresistible Grace

• Saving grace is always effectual, efficacious, or operative
• God will not be thwarted in His purpose of saving the elect. Every one of His chosen people was redeemed by Christ and will certainly be efficaciously called to faith by the Holy Spirit.
• Distinguishes the external call of the Gospel from the internal call of the Holy Spirit.
• The Calvinist doctrine of Irresistible Grace specifically deals with the regenerating grace of salvation; it does not mean that we cannot resist the grace of God in our daily lives. We certainly can and do!
• The objection: No regeneration is required prior to faith, because God’s Word alone can be effective in drawing. The answer: God’s Word works with the Holy Spirit to accomplish regeneration (efficacious calling).
• Does a person decide to be physically born? Does a person decide to be spiritually born?
• Consider John 6:44,65: “No one can come unless the Father draws him.” The word “DRAWS” is the Greek word “ELKO.” It means literally “to compel.” Consider “drawing” (ELKO) water from a well. Can you woo it out?

• Scripture:
“So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)
“I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning: ‘You disciplined me like an unruly calf, and I have been disciplined. Restore me, and I will return, because you are the LORD my God.’” (Jeremiah 31:18)
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27)
“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. …It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.’” (John 6:35-39,45)
“The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. …I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. …My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” (John 10:3-4,14-16,27-29)
“When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.” (Acts 13:48)
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Romans 8:28-30)
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:10)

• Conclusion: God’s saving grace always accomplishes its purposes. It will not fail; it cannot fail.

Predestination / Free Will (4b)

2010-05-21T08:26:00.003-04:00

Second, Human Ability (Man is Willing)
• Faith before regeneration
• Spiritual Life is Offered
• We must accept Christ
• Mankind is under the dominion of sin, but all men have free will (it’s up to them whether to be willing or not) and the ability to co-operate with the wooing, prevenient grace that God offers to all mankind. Since God desires for all men to be saved, it must be possible for all men to be saved. Anyone can choose to come to Christ for salvation.
• The beggar analogy: A gift must be accepted or received.
o The Arminian beggar must reach out his hand to accept the offered alms. He reaches in order to be reborn.
o The Calvinist beggar reaches out, because he has already been reborn. The objection: Why do some accept/receive Christ while others do not? What makes the difference? If it is not grace, then it is something in man (ie, intelligence) which in a sense “merits” or conditions salvation.
• Scripture:
“See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.” (Deuteronomy 30:15-19)
“But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15)
“‘Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?’ declares the Sovereign LORD. ‘Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?’” (Ezekiel 18:23)
“Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?’” (Ezekiel 33:11)
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
“He said to them, ‘Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.’” (Luke 13:24)
“But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14)
“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” (John 5:24)
“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. ...All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. ...For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. ...No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. ...I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.’” (John 6:35,37,40,44-45,47)
“If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.” (John 7:17)
“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.” (John 10:9)
“But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” (John 12:32)
“Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” (Acts 2:38)
“But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.” (Acts 14:2)
“They replied, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.’” (Acts 16:31)
“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. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ ...In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.” (Acts 17:26-28,30)
“But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” (Romans 3:21-22)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ...How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” (Romans 10:9,14-15)
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.” (Ephesians 1:13)
“[Praying for all men] is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men.” (1 Timothy 2:3-6)
“(and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.” (1 Timothy 4:10)
“He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.” (James 1:18 (cf 1 Peter 1:23))
“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” (1 Peter 1:22-23 (cf James 1:18))
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)
“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” (Revelation 22:17)
• Additional Scripture (Numbers 14:11; Isaiah 65:1; Matthew 18:12-14;23:37; Luke 15:11-32;
John 1:9,12;3:16-17,34;11:45; Romans 2:4; 1 Corinthians 9:19; 2 Corinthians 5:20; Hebrews 6:17-18;7:25;11:6)
• Conclusion: Arminianism presumes human ability and desire to obey, repent, and believe, since these things are commands of God. All it takes, according to Arminianism, to free us from the bondage of our sin nature is the message of the Gospel and the Holy Spirit’s wooing.

Predestination / Free Will (4a)

2010-05-21T08:20:00.002-04:00

First: Total Depravity (Radical Corruption)
• Regeneration before faith
• Spiritual Life is Bestowed
• Christ is received
• Mankind is spiritually dead and under the dominion of sin. No one can of his own will come to Christ for salvation. No one has faith unless God graciously bestows the willingness and ability to believe.
• Total Depravity is not utter depravity. We could be more evil! Rather, it implies radical corruption; every part of us is corrupt, including our will. Nothing within us is left untouched by sin. Sin affects every part of mankind.
• How much light does it take to make a blind man see? A blind man must first be made to see in order for the question to matter.
• The objection: What about “seekers”?
The answer: There is no such person as an unbelieving seeker. So-called “seekers” are not looking for the True God. Sproul, Grace Unknown, pg 125, says: “The search for God does not end in conversion; it begins at conversion.”
• Cross Reference Romans 10:9 (“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord...”) with 1 Corinthians 12:3 (“No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit...”)
• Scripture:
“The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” (Genesis 6:5) Same idea after the flood in Genesis 8:21.
“The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.” (Deuteronomy 30:6)
“Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No one!” (Job 14:4)
“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5)
“Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies.” (Psalm 58:3)
“Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.” (Jeremiah 13:23)
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27)
“By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from
thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.” (Matthew 7:16-18)
“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’” (Matthew 19:26)
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” (Matthew 23:37)
“Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:45)
“For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.” (John 5:21)
“‘All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.… No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. …The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.’ For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, ‘This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.’” (John 6:37,44,63-65)
“Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ... Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. ... He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.’” (John 8:34,43,47)
“You did not choose me, but I chose you…” (John 15:16)
“When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.” (Acts 13:48)
“One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.” (Acts 16:14)
“When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.” (Acts 18:27)
“When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness.” (Romans 6:20)
“Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.” (Romans 8:5-11)
“It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.” (Romans 9:16)
“Everything that does not come from faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23)
“The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14)
“For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” (1 Corinthians 4:7)
“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God…. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:4-6)
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:1-10)
“For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him...” (Philippians 1:29)
“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature [or flesh], God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins” (Colossians 2:13)
“To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted.” (Titus 1:15)
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2)
• Additional Scripture (Genesis 8:21; Job 15:14-16; Ecclesiastes 7:20;9:3; Isaiah 53:6;64:6-7; Matthew 15:13; Mark 7:21-23; John 1:12-13;3:3-8,16,19-21,27;5:39-40;12:37-40;14:17; Romans 3:9-18;5:12-19;7:15-19;9:10-24; 1 Corinthians 3:6-7; 2 Corinthians 5:17-19; Philippians 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5; 2 Timothy 2:25-26; Titus 3:3-7; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:3,20-21,23)
• Conclusion: God must make us willing and able to come to Him by regeneration, since we, in our sin natures, have neither the willingness nor the ability to come. God must change our natures and give us new hearts in order to make us willing and able.

Predestination / Free Will (3b)

2010-05-20T08:38:00.002-04:00

The issue between Calvinists and Arminians:

Monergism / Synergism regarding rebirth

• Does regeneration precede faith (Calvinist) or does faith precede regeneration (Arminian)?
• Is saving grace effective (Calvinist) or is it merely persuasive (Arminian)?

On Monergism, Sproul, in Essential Truths, pg 172, says: "Regeneration occurs by God’s divine initiative and is an act that is sovereign, immediate, and instantaneous. An awareness of our conversion may be gradual. Yet rebirth is instantaneous. Regeneration is not the fruit or the result of faith. Rather, regeneration precedes faith as the necessary condition for faith. We also do not in any way dispose ourselves toward regeneration or cooperate as coworkers with the Holy Spirit to bring it to pass. We do not decide or choose to be regenerated. God chooses to regenerate us before we will ever choose to embrace Him. To be sure, after we have been regenerated by the sovereign grace of God, we do choose, act, cooperate, and believe in Christ. God does not have faith for us. It is our own faith by which we are justified. What God does is quicken us to spiritual life, rescuing us from darkness, bondage, and spiritual death. God makes faith possible and actual for us. He quickens faith within us." Synergism says man must first have faith, cooperating with the grace of God in obtaining re-birth.

Both sides agree: You must be born again. There is no such person as a non-born again Christian. Consider the chart found here. Each system is coherent! It is inconsistent to hold only some of each side’s views. Though there are some Arminians who believe in “eternal security” and some Calvinists who believe in “unlimited atonement” (Amyraldianism).

This debate has to do with the ORDO SALUTIS (Order of Salvation)

Calvinism: Election, Predestination, Calling (inward/outward), Regeneration, Conversion (faith/repentance), Justification, Adoption, Sanctification, Glorification

Arminianism: Calling (outward), Conversion (faith/repentance), Regeneration, Election, Justification, Perseverance, Sanctification, More Perseverance, Glorification.

Spurgeon said: “All of us are by nature born as Arminians.”

Sproul, in Grace Unknown, pg 180, quoted Roger Nicole as saying, “We are all born Pelagians [and reborn Arminians].”

Predestination / Free Will (3a)

2010-05-19T09:29:00.003-04:00

Last week, we concluded that: Man’s will is a “Will Not” in regards to spiritual things. We have the inability to come to Christ without grace acting FIRST. Today, we’ll look at some history regarding this debate.

First, the FIVE SOLAS of the Reformation: These five doctrines were Protestant “musts” when it comes to salvation during Reformation times.

1. Sola Scriptura
• Scripture alone is our authority, our only source of divine revelation when it comes to salvation (creation is general revelation / scripture is specific).
2. Sola Gratia * This is one issue at hand in the Calvinism / Arminianism debate!
• The Basis of our salvation is GRACE ALONE.
• We are rescued from God’s wrath by His grace alone.
3. Sola Fide
• The Means of our salvation is FAITH ALONE.
• Justification is through faith alone (imputed righteousness through the channel of faith).
4. Solus Christus
• The Merit of our salvation is CHRIST ALONE.
• Christ alone, by His mediatorial work, accomplishes our salvation.
5. Soli Deo Gloria * This is one issue at hand in the Calvinism / Arminianism debate!
• Salvation is of God alone and accomplished by God alone; it is for His glory alone!

Second, the History of Calvinism & Arminianism
The Study of Salvation (Soteriology)

• Augustine / Pelagius
- Sproul, Grace Unknown, pg 121: Augustine prayed to God: “Grant what thou commandest, and command what thou desirest.” Pelagius did not think the first part of this prayer was necessary. He assumed humanity could obey what God commanded without God’s special grace.
- Augustine (obedience requires grace / moral inability) vs. Pelagius (obedience does not require grace / moral ability)
- Conclusion: We still have freedom of the will, but we have lost moral liberty. Webster’s Dictionary defines liberty and freedom identically: “the quality or state of being free (from coercion).” What do we make of this?
- Original sin did not destroy our natural ability to make choices, only our moral ability to choose the things of God (spiritual things), and Scripture depicts this in 1 Corinthians 2:14 and Romans 8:7-8 and elsewhere.

“The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).
“The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God” (Romans 8:7-8).

• Luther / Erasmus (For more information, read Willing to Believe by R.C. Sproul)

• Calvin / Arminius
- John Calvin (1509-1564 - Born in France / Lived in Geneva, Switzerland): We are in voluntary bondage to sin prior to regeneration by effective grace.
- James Arminius (1560-1609 - Lived in Holland): We are in voluntary bondage to sin, but we do not need regeneration to change our minds; we just need wooing, persuasive grace.
- 1610 - The Five Articles of Arminian Remonstrance were proposed in Holland against the Belgic Confession of Faith and the Heidelberg Catechism.
- 1619 - The Synod of Dordt rejected the Arminian proposal and responded with the affirmed Five Points of Calvinism.
- Calvinism maintained its single point: GOD SAVES SINNERS. MAN DOES NOT COOPERATE WITH GOD IN SALVATION.
• God the Father elects a people
• God the Son redeems the elect
• God the Holy Spirit regenerates the elect and calls them efficaciously or effectively or certainly to faith in Christ
• These actions actually save the elect; they do not just make salvation possible.

• Whitefield / Wesley

• Edwards / Finney (The Great Awakening)
- Jonathan Edwards said that humanity is inclined to sin; free will is self-determined by human nature.
- Charles Finney said that there is no sin nature. He also suggested that Christ’s atonement was not substitutionary. Though extremely Pelagian, he led 500,000 people to Christ!

• Modern Day ... There is general misunderstanding, even misrepresentation, on both sides. One popular view of theology today is Dispensationalism (Darby, Moody, Scofield, Chafer, Geisler, Ryrie)
- Orthodox Christian view (considered a middle-view, but inconsistent in regards to Soteriology; so-called Calvinists and Arminians in this camp)
- Three or seven dispensations of God’s dealing with man. (Innocence, Conscience, Human Government, Promise, Law, Grace, and Kingdom)
- Camouflaged, hidden Arminianism (very few people like being called Arminians, because it was rejected by the Reformers)

Predestination / Free Will (2b)

2010-05-14T08:28:00.003-04:00

WHAT IS THE HUMAN WILL?

Jonathan Edwards defines the will as: “The mind choosing” or “that by which the mind chooses” (Quoted by Sproul, Essential Truths, pg 179).

What causes the mind to choose?

Edwards says, “The mind will always choose that which it most desires,” so our greatest desire in any given circumstance compels us to choose, forces our choice, of that which we most desire (consider the famous wallet-at-gunpoint analogy).

Sproul, Willing To Believe, pg 155 says: “A man never in any instance wills anything contrary to his greatest desires or desires anything contrary to his will.” Consider this statement in light of Romans 7:15: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Paul is a believer. He struggles with the conflict between the sin nature and the Spirit-filled nature. So Paul has conflicting desires. But he still does that which he desires most, and sometimes the sin nature beats out the Spirit-filled nature. In those cases, he sins though he doesn’t desire it. In reality, at the given moment, he does desire it more than pleasing God. And this is what frustrates him so much, leading him to say, “What a wretched man am I!”

There is a reason for EVERY choice we make! Nothing is arbitrary. We are ALWAYS free to choose whatever we desire; we are never free to choose what we do not desire. We cannot go against our greatest desire in any situation. Whatever we choose will be based on our greatest desire. Our motive for any given choice is always that which we MOST desire.

The spiritual implications of this doctrine of the will – that we will always choose that which we most desire and that we cannot choose that which we do not desire – are critical!

What affects man’s greatest desires?

The sinful nature of man! Just as God desires only those things which are in accord with His nature, man desires only those things which are in accord with his nature. This is a difficult concept to grasp, but we need to understand it in order to move on. Does the unbeliever desire to believe? Why or why not? The unbeliever does not desire most to believe, or else he would believe. Something has to happen to the unbeliever to make him willing and able to believe. What is it that makes someone who lacks the greatest desire to believe have the greatest desire to believe?

Determinism – Are human choices pre-determined by anything or anyone?

• Hard-Determinism says that our thoughts, words, and deeds are determined by something external to ourselves, like God or Satan or your boss or mother-inlaw. Therefore, there is NO FREE WILL WHATSOEVER. Most Christians deny this option, because we acknowledge our freedom to choose; we are not robots.

• Self-Determinism says that our thoughts, words, and deeds are determined by something internal to ourselves, namely either our wills or our natures. Two varieties:

o Indeterminism (Libertarian Free Will) says that our wills are self-determining uncaused causes. The nature has influence but not control over our wills. To truly be free, we must have the ability to choose against our natures. We must be autonomous. THIS IS THE ARMINIAN POSITION.

- Objections to Indeterminism or Libertarian Free Will:
• Since God must love Himself and cannot do otherwise, He is not truly free.
• God’s Holiness is unpraiseworthy in this model, because He cannot be anything but Holy; God Himself cannot be unholy, thus He is not free.
• Christ does not deserve our praise, because He could not have done otherwise than obey the Father’s Will. Christ is not free according to this model.
• Every choice for every person would either be coerced by motive / nature or arbitrary. In order to be free, they must be neither coerced nor arbitrary.

Sproul, Willing To Believe, pg. 27, “Autonomy represents a degree of freedom that is unlimited by any higher authority or power.” Man’s autonomy and God’s sovereignty are mutually exclusive. We are not autonomous. Only God is autonomous. We are heteronomous in that
we live under the law of someone or something other than us, and we are theonomous in that the “someone” is God.

o Soft-Determinism (Compatibilistic Free Will) says that our wills are determined by our own natures. We do not have autonomous free will, but we have free moral agency. We are responsible. THIS IS THE CALVINIST POSITION.

- Objections to Compatibilistic Free Will:
• This is not real freedom, as we are not then free to choose or to choose otherwise, though it seems that we are, in any given situation or circumstance. Are we, like God, limited by our natures?
Consider Willingness (will / will not) and Ability (can / cannot):
• PHYSICALLY: I would if I could, but I can’t so I won’t. (Run a mile in a minute?)
• SPIRITUALLY: I could if I would, but I won’t so I can’t. (Come to Christ?)

Defining Free Will ... The orthodox view:

Regardless of whether we hold to Libertarian Free Will (Arminian) or Compatibilistic Free Will (Calvinist), we acknowledge that man is free to choose that which he most desires. Both sides agree that fallen man is unwilling, indeed morally unable, to come to Christ without God’s grace acting first towards us. The will is voluntarily in bondage to sin until it is positively affected by the grace of God.

CONCLUSION

This definition of FREE WILL limits our further study to the “orthodox” positions of Calvinism and Arminianism concerning salvation. The debate between Calvinism and Arminianism is regarding how the grace of God positively affects humanity. Why did we begin with these “will and nature” issues? Sproul, Willing To Believe, pg. 29, says, “Any view of the human will that destroys the Biblical view of human responsibility is seriously defective. Any view of the human will that destroys the Biblical view of God’s character is even worse. The debate [between Calvinism and Arminianism] will affect our understanding of God’s righteousness, sovereignty, and grace. All of these are vital to Christian Theology. If we ignore these issues or regard them as trivial, we greatly demean the full character of God as revealed in Scripture.”

Predestination / Free Will (2a)

2010-05-07T08:13:00.002-04:00

We have seen God’s consistency between His nature and will. Now, we will look at that relationship within man, and how sin affects that relationship.

Augustine tackled the issue of the human nature in battle with Pelagius (early fifth century):
• Pre-Fall – agreement that Adam had both the ability to sin and the ability to not sin
• Post-Fall – disagreement
o Pelagius said there was no change in Adam’s offspring. They likewise have both
the ability to sin and the ability to not sin.
o Augustine said humanity was forever changed by the sin of Adam. Adam’s
offspring have the inability to not sin.

THE RESULT: The Doctrine of Original Sin – We sin because we are sinners; we are not sinners because we sin.

“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5)
“Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies.” (Psalm 58:3)

Church Councils rejected Pelagius’ view and upheld Augustine’s view to conclude:
HUMAN NATURE IS SINFUL!

SIN in relation to the Human Will:

We have seen the correlation of God’s nature and God’s will, so we must ask: What affect does original sin (the sin nature) have on the human will? Several views of philosophy and theological soteriology will help us understand the orthodox position.

1) Fatalism
a. philosophy logically tied to atheistic evolution (chemicals and random chance)
b. no God or at best an impersonal deity
c. neither sin nor choices matter for the individual, though these matter for the species

2) Hyper-Calvinism
a. unorthodox Christian view
b. God is personal
c. sin corrupts all of man; choices do not matter (ie, evangelism, prayer, etc.)

3) Calvinism (John MacArthur, R.C. Sproul, Al Mohler) – GRACE ALONE
a. orthodox Christian view (usually associated with Reformed or Covenant Theology)
b. God is personal
c. sin corrupts all of man; choices matter (ie, evangelism, prayer, etc.)
d. grace is required to regenerate fallen man, to quicken the spiritually dead

4) Arminianism (Billy Graham, John Wesley, Bob Russell) – GRACE + MAN
a. orthodox Christian view
b. God is personal
c. sin corrupts all of man; choices matter
d. Prevenient grace is required to persuade fallen man to believe, to woo the sick to health

5) Semi-Pelagianism (Cassian) – MAN + GRACE
a. borders on unorthodox / orthodox Christian view
b. God is personal
c. Sin partially corrupts man, choices matter
d. grace is required to aid man spiritually after man first believes or desires to believe

6) Pelagianism (Pelagius) – MAN ALONE
a. unorthodox Christian view
b. God is personal
c. Sin does not corrupt man, choices matter
d. grace is NOT necessary to believe or even obey God. Grace makes it easier to obey

7) Open / Process Theism
a. growing in popularity, but considered by many to be an unorthodox Christian view
b. God is personal, to the point of learning and growing along with the world He made.
c. Sin affects man, but does not corrupt him, choices not only matter, but force God to react in ways which He may not have expected, because He does not know the future.
d. Two views:
i. Clark Pinnock, God’s foreknowledge is incomplete, because the future is uncertain.
ii. Greg Boyd, God’s foreknowledge is complete. He knows all of the future that is
certain. But parts of it do not exist; even God cannot know what does not exist.

Predestination / Free Will (1b)

2010-05-06T08:19:00.001-04:00

Second, the Will of God

Does God have free-will? YES. But let’s qualify that. He is free to do anything according to His nature. God is not free to do that which is against His nature. Notice that His will:

• is perfect because His nature is perfect
• is unchanging, because His nature is unchanging (immutable)
• is restricted or limited by His nature (This is a good thing! Not a negative thing.)

God’s “free” will is ONE WILL with different aspects:

1) Will of Command (Revealed Will, Preceptive Will, Permissive Will)
- Based on His Word
- We are held accountable

2) Will of Disposition
- Attitude God displays in interaction with humanity (Consider anthropomorphisms:
God described in human terms, though He has no physical human attributes)
- What He likes and dislikes (the Lord was angry or pleased)

3) Will of Decree (Decretive Will, Secret Will, Hidden Will)
- Whatsoever comes to Pass (see: The Westminster Confession of Faith)
- We are NOT held accountable

“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29)

“A man’s steps are directed by the LORD. How can anyone understand his own way?” (Proverbs 20:24)

“I know, O LORD, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23)

“Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?” (Lamentations 3:37-38)

“I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity [literally good] and create disaster [literally evil]; I, the LORD, do all these things.” (Isaiah 45:7)

“When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble? When disaster comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?” (Amos 3:6)

Active vs. Passive Decree, consider the intentions in the following:

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50:20)

“Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of My anger, in whose hand is the club of My wrath! I send him against a godless nation, I dispatch him against a people who anger Me, to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets. But this is not what he intends, this is not what he has in mind; his purpose is to destroy, to put an end to many nations.” (Isaiah 10:5-7)

“Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a Man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know. This Man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross.” (Acts 2:22-24)

“Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against Your Holy servant Jesus, Whom You anointed. They did what Your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.” (Acts 4:27-28)

One act (active man / passive God) with two intentions (evil / good) = CONCURRENCE: the will of God (primary) and the will of man (secondary) working together.

R.C. Sproul, Essential Truths, pg. 67: “Even when God passively permits things to happen, He chooses to permit them in that He always has the power and right to intervene and prevent the actions and events of this world. Insofar as He lets things happen, He has willed them in this certain sense.”

Additional Scripture to understand God’s Will of Decree: Genesis 45:8; Exodus 4:21; Deuteronomy 28:63; Joshua 11:20; Judges 9:23; 1 Samuel 16:14; 1 Kings 22:20-23; Ezra 1:1; Job 1:21; Job 2:10; Job 42:1-2; Psalm 33:11,15; Psalm 115:3; Psalm 135:6; Proverbs 16:1,4,9; 19:21; 21:1; Isaiah 10:12-15; Isaiah 14:24-27; Isaiah 41:21-23; Isaiah 46:9-10; Isaiah 55:11; Ezekiel 14:9; 36:26-27; Daniel 4:34-35; Matthew 19:25-26; Luke 10:21-22; 22:22; John 9:1-3; John 12:37-40; Acts 17:24-31; Romans 9:10-24; 11:33-36; Ephesians 1:4-12; 2:10; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 6:17-18

CONCLUSION:

God’s will is in accord with His nature. His will cannot violate His nature. If He could will something contrary to His nature, then we could not trust Him to fulfill His promises. Be thankful that God is consistent. His will is consistent with His nature.

Predestination / Free Will (1a)

2010-05-03T14:38:00.003-04:00

This summer, I'll be leading a study of the Predestination / Free Will Debate. I'll post the outline here over the next few weeks. Here's how we begin:

In Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, and Luke 10:27, Jesus said to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. We will focus on loving God with all our minds by gaining a better understanding of God and His plan of salvation. God’s Sovereignty, Human Responsibility, Free Will, Human Sin Nature, Calvinism, Arminianism, Monergism, Synergism, Predestination, Election, and Foreknowledge are just a few of the topics we will discuss. We’ll cover many challenging issues in this series, but we need to remember one thing:

Our foundation for discussing these issues MUST BE God’s Word. The Bible is our authority in these matters, and we will learn to understand and be able to explain these topics by leaning on “the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). We cannot let presuppositions get in the way of our interpretation of Scripture, but we do need to understand them as best we can.

Now the Calvinism / Arminianism (Soteriology) debate is critical because it is inter-related with one’s view of God, Sin, and Salvation! So let’s first try to understand our view of God.

First, the Nature (Characteristics and Attributes) of God:

• Holy (“Other” and Pure)
• Perfect
• Loving
• Just
• Merciful (non-justice; not injustice)
• Gracious
• Self-Existent (the uncaused cause)
• Eternal
• Autonomous
• Personal
• Sovereign
• Immutable
• Incomprehensible (Infinite)
• Omnipotent
• Omniscient
• Others…

Let’s elaborate on God’s Omnipotence.

Omnipotence does NOT mean that God can do all things. There are things that God cannot do! Can God make a rock so big that He can’t move it? This is a false dilemma. The question assumes that God can do anything; but we need to understand that He cannot violate His nature (those attributes we listed above). If He were to make a rock too big for Him to move, He would cease to be Sovereign over that rock. (The rock would be too big for God.) By definition, God is Sovereign. (Nothing is too big for God!) Therefore, the answer to the question “Can God make a rock so big that He can’t move it?” is NO! What can God not do? God cannot...

• Act against His nature
• Be not-God (Change)
• Be both eternal & created
• Sin (Lie)
• Die (Cease to exist)
• Learn

God’s inability to learn leads us to consider His Omniscience.

“Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit” (Psalm 147:5). God knows all things, including the future, with certainty. It is impossible for God to know the future without the future being fixed (from our logical perspective). The future is necessarily fixed, but not coerced. Nothing is contingent for God. God “acts” in eternity. He does not “re-act” in time. His actions are revealed in time for His eternal purpose. Everything has a purpose – to bring glory to God. Nothing is arbitrary or random. God has only a “PLAN A.” There is no such thing as luck or chance or fate; it’s all Providence, which is God’s sustaining and guiding the course of the universe, and everything therein, along the specific path to His desired end or destiny. God’s Sovereign Omniscience should comfort us, but instead it often baffles us or makes us angry!

DC 403 - Week 10

2010-05-03T14:30:00.002-04:00

This is our final week together, and we'll be talking about discipleship, leadership, and how the Biblical leaders mentored others to take their place for the advancement of God's Kingdom. Here's how the workload might break down:

Monday - Read Deuteronomy 16-30, and 34, and comment
Tuesday - Read Psalms 145-150, as well as the article / interview with Dallas Willard by Jan Johnson, "Apprentice to the Master," and comment
Wednesday - Memorize 2 Timothy 2:2 - And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men, who will also be qualified to teach others - and review previous memory verses, including 2 Timothy 2:15, Ephesians 2:10, and Hebrews 12:1
Thursday - Answer questions 1a-d, 2a-e, and 3a-b (11 questions) and review memory verses
Friday - Answer questions 4a-d and 5a-f (10 questions) and review memory verses

DC 403 - Week 9

2010-04-26T08:12:00.003-04:00

Just 2 weeks left in the Discipleship Curriculum. This week we'll take an in-depth look at The Sermon on the Mount. This week's lesson has been largely built on Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy. Here's how the workload might break down:

Monday - Read Deuteronomy 1-15 and comment
Tuesday - Read Psalms 139-141, 143-144, and Paul Thigpen's article, "Blessed Are the Pure in Heart, for They Will See God"
Wednesday - Memorize Matthew 6:19-21 - Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also - and review previous memory verses, such as James 1:2-4, Ephesians 4:1-3, and 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Thursday - Answer questions 1, 2a-d, and 3a-c (8 questions), and review memory verses
Friday - Answer questions 4a-b, 5a-b, 6a-f, and 7 (11 questions), and review memory verses

DC 403 - Week 8

2010-04-19T08:03:00.003-04:00

This week, our focus turns to suffering. The workload might look like this:

Monday - Read Job 38-42, Habakkuk, and Psalm 73, and comment
Tuesday - Read "This Is Only a Test," by Mark Littleton, and "When Life Isn't Fair," by Joni Eareckson Tada, and comment
Wednesday - Memorize James 1:2-4 - Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything - and review previous memory verses, such as 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Revelation 21:4, and 1 Corinthians 10:13
Thursday - Answer questions 1a-c, 2a-b, 3a-e, and 4a-b (12 questions) and review memory verses
Friday - Answer questions 4c-d, 5a-c, 6a-d, 7a-b, and 8 (12 questions) and review memory verses

DC 403 - Week 7

2010-04-12T15:36:00.003-04:00

We're in the closing stretch of this 21 month discipleship curriculum - only 4 weeks to go. This week, we focus our attention on the will of God. Here's how the workload might break down:

Monday - Read Job 15-37 and comment
Tuesday - Read Lamentations, Psalms 136-138, and the article by Kenneth Durham, "Five Myths about God's Will," and comment
Wednesday - Memorize 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 - Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus - and review previous memory verses, including Proverbs 16:9, Ephesians 4:29, and 1 Peter 4:10
Thursday - Answer questions 1a-c, 2, and 3a-b (6 questions) and review memory verses
Friday - Answer questions 3c-f and 4 (5 questions) and review memory verses

DC 403 - Week 6

2010-04-05T10:21:00.002-04:00

This week we focus on the doctrines of free will and predestination. The workload might look something like this:

Monday - Read Job 1-14 and Psalm 135 and comment
Tuesday - Read chapters 2,3, and 9 of Boyd and Eddy's Across the Spectrum and answer question 6 in the workbook
Wednesday - Memorize Proverbs 16:9 - In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps - and review previous memory verses, such as Revelation 21:4, Galatians 1:8, and Galatians 5:16
Thursday - Answer questions 1a-b, 2a-b, and 3a-c (7 questions) and review memory verses
Friday - Answer questions 3d, 4a-b, and 5a-b (5 questions) and review memory verses

This week, you may also want to read some additional resources, such as this lengthy one or this shorter one.

DC 403 - Week 5

2010-03-29T08:27:00.003-04:00

This is our final week on eschatology, and we'll be looking at heaven. Here's how the workload might break down:

Monday - Read Amos and Micah and comment
Tuesday - Read Psalms 124-134, as well as the articles by Joni Erickson Tada, "What's So Great about Pearly Gates?" and Christopher Hall, "Christ's Kingdom and Paradise," and comment
Wednesday - Memorize Revelation 21:4 - He will wipe every tear from their eyes; there will be no more death or mourning, or crying or pain. For the old order of things has passed away - and review previous memory verses, such as Philippians 1:20-25, Matthew 10:28, and Hebrews 11:1-2,6
Thursday - Answer questions 1a-b, 2, 3, and 4a-b (6 questions) and review memory verses
Friday - Answer questions 5a-c and 6a-c (6 questions) and review memory verses

In addition to this workload, we need to start thinking about next week's lesson as well. The topic is free will / predestination, and since there's a lot to discuss on that issue, we want to go ahead this week and make an effort to define the will and what it means to have free will. We'll close our study of heaven by looking at those questions.

DC 403 - Week 4

2010-03-22T09:13:00.002-04:00

Having looked at the millennium, we now turn our eschatalogical attention to hell. Next week, we'll wrap-up this 3 week series by covering heaven, but this week's workload might look something like this:

Monday - Read Zephaniah and Zechariah and comment
Tuesday - Read Psalms 120-123 and Norman Geisler's article, "Everything You Wanted to Know about Hell, but Were Afraid to Ask," and comment
Wednesday - Memorize Matthew 10:28 - "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell" - and review previous memory verses, such as Genesis 3:6, 1 John 5:13, and Acts 1:8
Thursday - Answer questions 1a-b, 2a-c, and 3a-b (7 questions) and review memory verses
Friday - Answer questions 4, 5a-c, 6, and 7 (6 questions), including reading chapter 18 from Boyd and Eddy's Across the Spectrum, and review memory verses

DC 403 - Week 3

2010-03-15T08:51:00.002-04:00

Having wrapped up our 2 weeks on denominations, we now turn to a 3 week look at eschatology. The first of these sessions focuses on the millennium. Here's how the workload might break down:

Monday - Read Daniel 7-12, Malachi, and Psalms 116-117, and comment
Tuesday - Read "Living in the Light of Jesus' Return," the article by Sherri Langton, and answer questions 1a-c (3 questions)
Wednesday - Memorize Philippians 1:20-24 - "I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed but will have sufficient courage, so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet, what shall I choose? I do not know. I am torn between the two! I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far, but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body." Review previous memory verses, such as Philippians 2:1-3, Hebrews 12:1-2, and 2 Peter 3:18. If you're enjoying the Scripture memorization, try to add v25-26 to the Philippians 1 passage: "Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me."
Thursday - Answer questions 2, 3a-d, and 4a-b (7 questions), and review memory verses
Friday - Answer questions 5a-d, 6, 7a-b, and 8 (8 questions), which includes reading chapter 17 and appendices 10-12 of Boyd and Eddy's Across the Spectrum, and review memory verses

DC 403 - Week 2

2010-03-08T10:54:00.002-05:00

This is the second week on denominations, and again, the workload is light apart from your report and presentation. Here is how it might break down:

Monday - Read 2 Chronicles 20-36 and Psalms 109-115 and comment.
Tuesday - Memorize Philippians 2:1-2 - If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Holy Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
Wednesday - Review memory verses, such as Ephesians 4:3, Philippians 2:3, and 1 Timothy 4:16. Consider putting the memory verses together, such as Philippians 2:1-3 and Ephesians 4:1-3.
Thursday - Read appendix 10 of Boyd and Eddy's Across the Spectrum and comment
Friday - Work on denomination report and presentation, and review memory verses

A tip for this tougher memory passage (Philippians 2:1-2) might be to recall that there are 4 "if" statements leading to the main idea - "make my joy complete" - and that's followed by 3 ways to accomplish it...

DC 403 - Week 1

2010-03-02T08:54:00.002-05:00

We have just 10 weeks remaining in the Discipleship Curriculum. The first 2 of these weeks are a brief look at Christian denominations. The workload is light over these 2 weeks, since each person will do a report and presentation on the denomination of their choice. Here's how the workload for this week might break down:

Monday - Read 2 Chronicles 1-19 and comment
Tuesday - Read Psalms 107-108 and comment
Wednesday - Memorize Ephesians 4:3 - Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace - and review previous verses, such as
Thursday - Work on report (choose a denomination from this chart) and review memory verses
Friday - Work on report and review memory verses, and try adding this week's memory verse (Ephesians 4:3) to your previous verse (Ephesians 4:2) - maybe even add v1, so it would read like this: "As a prisoner of the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."

DC 402 - Week 9

2010-02-22T08:18:00.002-05:00

This final week of the 402 Discipleship Curriculum will include an in-depth review of baptism. The workload for the week might break down like this:

Monday - Read 1 Chronicles 17-29 and Psalm 106 and comment
Tuesday - Read the articles, "Bringing Baptism into Biblical Balance" by Hank Hanegraaff and "Faith Based Bathing" by Timothy George, as well as "Excerpts from 'Together Again on Baptism'" by Rick Atchley and Bob Russell
Wednesday - Memorize 1 Corinthians 12:7 - Now to each one, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good - and review previous memory verses, such as Galatians 3:28, Galatians 5:1,13, and 2 Timothy 1:6-7
Thursday - Answer questions 1a-c, 2, which is an optional word study on baptism, and 3a-n, some of which are also optional, (15-18 questions), and review memory verses
Friday - Answer questions 4a-f and 5, which includes reading chapters 14-15 and Appendix 6 of Boyd and Eddy's Across the Spectrum (6 questions) and review memory verses

DC 402 - Week 8

2010-02-15T08:37:00.002-05:00

Wow! Just 2 more weeks of 402, and then a 10-week 403 session, and we're done. It goes by fast, especially when we talk about being saved by grace, eternal security, and eternal rewards. This week, we're talking about spiritual gifts and the Spirit-filled life. Here's how the workload might break down:

Monday - Read 1 Chronicles 1-16 and comment
Tuesday - Read Psalms 104-105 and the article by J.I. Packer, "Experiencing God's Presents"
Wednesday - Memorize 2 Timothy 1:6-7 - For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline - and review previous memory verses, such as 1 John 5:13, 1 John 4:1-2, and 1 Peter 4:10
Thursday - Answer questions 1a-c and 2a-e (8 questions), including a review of chapter 3 of Ian Thomas' The Saving Life of Christ and the corresponding article by John Reisinger, "The Carnal Christian Doctrine," and review memory verses
Friday - Answer questions 3a-c, 4a-e, and 5 (9 questions), including the reading of chapter 15 and appendices 7-8 from Boyd and Eddy's Across the Spectrum, and review memory verses

2 Timothy 4:19-22

2010-02-12T09:46:00.000-05:00

V19-22 – ¹⁹Greet Priscilla [or Prisca] and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. ²⁰Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus. ²¹Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers. ²²The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

Paul’s conclusion is typical; he issues personal greetings and a benediction of grace. Apparently from v19, Priscialla and Aquila, who were good friends and partners of Paul throughout his ministry, were back in Ephesus at this time. They had originally remained in Ephesus when Paul was itinerant and then moved to Rome. Onesiphorus was mentioned in 2 Timothy 1:16 for his compassion toward Paul, and Paul, having already asked for mercy toward his household, wants to greet them one last time. He mentions Erastus (Acts 19:22; Romans 16:23), and Trophimus, who was from Ephesus. (Acts 20:4; 21:29; possibly 2 Corinthians 8:19-22). Miletus was a coastal port south of Ephesus.

In v21, Paul urges Timothy to “get here before winter.” Paul needed his cloak (v13), and if Timothy waited too long, it would be impossible for him to sail from Ephesus to Rome due to the weather. Also, if he delayed too long, he may miss the opportunity to say goodbye to Paul, whose death was certainly imminent. Paul names several people, likely from Rome, who sent greetings to Timothy. Linus is worth mentioning, since, according to Catholic tradition, he succeeded Peter as Bishop of Rome, head elder there, or more formally, Pope. Finally, the “your” in v22 is singular, referring to Timothy, but the “you” in v22 is plural, revealing possibly that even this letter, so personal in nature, was intended for more eyes and ears than solely those of Paul’s protégé.

2 Timothy 4:9-18

2010-02-10T09:22:00.002-05:00

V9-18 – ⁹Do your best to come to me quickly, ¹⁰for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. ¹¹Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. ¹²I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. ¹³When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments. ¹⁴Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. ¹⁵You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message. ¹⁶At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. ¹⁷But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. ¹⁸The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Paul, in v9-18, begins to wrap up this letter with the primary purpose for it; he wants to see Timothy one last time. He may have been lonely and struggling with physical ailments (eyes); personal fellowship is immensely valuable. Demas, who was with Paul during his first imprisonment (Colossians 4:14; Acts 20:4; Philemon 24), is criticized in v10. Though he was regarded poorly as one who “loved this world,” we can’t determine his spiritual condition based on this remark. Perhaps he, like any man, didn’t want to be imprisoned for his faith and went away from Paul out of fear and cowardice. That may have been a bad decision, but no worse than Peter’s triple denial of Jesus, providing that he repented and continued in ministry and/or Christ-like living. Crescens and Titus may have left Paul to continue the work of ministry; Titus went to Dalmatia (north of Illyricum), near Nicopolis, where Paul planned to winter during his fourth mission trip (Titus 3:12).

In v11, we read that Luke, the only non-Jewish writer of the New Testament, was the only person who stayed with Paul during this second imprisonment. Luke was Paul’s beloved physician, who probably spent the final 15-18 years of his life with the Lord’s apostle to the Gentiles, and may have even died with him. Paul had clearly forgiven John Mark for his failure to complete the work of ministry on their earlier mission trip (Acts 12:12; 15:38); now Paul wants Mark to visit him, for “he is helpful … in … ministry” (Colossians 4:10; Philemon 24). V12 mentions Tychicus, likely the deliverer of this letter and temporary (or permanent) replacement for Timothy at Ephesus (so he can visit Paul, bringing his cloak, scrolls, and parchments). Paul wanted fellowship, warm clothes, and his books; he was a practical spiritual man. Spurgeon said, “Even an apostle must read… He is inspired, and yet he wants books. He has been preaching at least for thirty years, and yet he wants books. He has seen the Lord, and yet he wants books. He’s had a wider experience than most men, and yet he wants books. He had been caught up into the third heaven and had heard things which it was unlawful for a man to utter, and yet he wants books. He had written the major part of the New Testament, and yet he wants books. The Apostle says to Timothy, and so he says to every preacher [and believer], ‘Give thyself unto reading.’”

V14-15 appear as somewhat of an aside. Alexander was a common name, and so we can’t be certain that this man was the same as the one in Acts 19:33-34 or in 1 Timothy 1:20. He may be the same, but that would make him no worse or better than if he is a different person. Regardless, he opposed the gospel message, and as Paul warns Timothy to watch out for him, he states that fighting against the gospel will bring judgment. Perhaps Alexander lives in Troas, where Timothy will have to go to fetch Paul’s cloak; perhaps he is the accuser who turned Paul in to the authorities, like Jesus’ Judas. Paul says, “The Lord will repay him for what he has done.” And that doesn’t sound very merciful, but notice Paul’s compassion toward believers, as he does not want those who deserted him at his pre-trial hearing to be punished for that (v16; Luke 23:34; Acts 7:60); the Lord was with him (v17; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10; Philippians 4:11-13), and he even proclaimed the gospel in that moment, which may have earned a temporary stay in his execution (delivered from the Lion’s mouth) (v17).

Calvin says, “Because some had fallen through fear and weakness, he desires that the Lord would forgive them; for in this manner we ought to have compassion on the weakness of brethren. But because this man rose against God with malice and sacrilegious hardihood, and openly attacked known truth, such impiety had no claim to compassion. We must not imagine, therefore, that Paul was moved by excessive warmth of temper, when he broke out into this imprecation; for it was from the Spirit of God, and through a well regulated zeal, that he wished eternal perdition to Alexander, and mercy to the others. Seeing that it is by the guidance of the Spirit that Paul pronounces a heavenly judgment from on high, we may infer from this passage, how dear to God is his truth, for attacking which he punishes so severely. Especially it ought to be observed how detestable a crime it is, to fight with deliberate malice against the true religion.”

Calvin also says of Paul’s remark in v17, “By the word ‘lion,’ many suppose that he means Nero. For my part, I rather think that he makes use of this expression to denote danger in general; as if he had said, ‘out of a blazing fire,’ or ‘out of the jaws of death.’ He means that it was not without wonderful assistance from God, that he escaped, the danger being so great that but for this he must have been immediately swallowed up.”

Finally, Paul makes a striking claim in v18, especially since he has admitted that his own death is near. He says, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack.” We might be tempted to see this as a physical punishment or execution, which of course, Paul did face. But he may be speaking of his own spiritual status in these last hours of his life. He remains strong and confident; nothing can harm his spiritual condition, for, as he claims, God “will bring [him] safely to His heavenly kingdom.” In other words, all of Satan’s attempts to harm Paul spiritually would have to come at him physically, but since Paul knew that his spiritual status was secure in Christ, he also knew that no physical punishment or persecution or torture would derail his spiritual condition. He might have said, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” And this is true for us as well. Secure in Christ, we can cry out the doxology along with Paul, “To Him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

2 Timothy 4:6-8

2010-02-09T09:11:00.001-05:00

V6-8 – ⁶For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. ⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing.

Certainly Paul exhibited the characteristics that he has encouraged Timothy to embrace. He views his life as a sacrifice to Christ. Then he reminds Timothy of his suffering and impending death, all on behalf of true, gospel ministry. In fact, Paul’s imminent death is his motive for extending his appeal to Timothy to this point. And as stated earlier in the study of Timothy, Paul measures success in ministry, as we ought, by faithfulness, not the number of converts. He issues three metaphors in v7 as evidence of his faithfulness – fighting the good fight, finishing the race, and keeping the faith. The enemies of God may have claimed that Paul failed, since his life ended in imprisonment and death; but that truth actually, ironically, proves that he was immensely successful in his ministry. He hadn’t wasted the time he’s had since conversion, and he doesn’t want Timothy to waste his time either.

Paul has now in his sights “the crown of righteousness” (1 Corinthians 9:27; James 1:12; 1 Peter 5:4; Revelation 2:4; 4:4). He knows that he will receive his reward “on that day,” speaking of Judgment Day. “Apparently,” says one commentator, “Paul believed that believers would be with the Lord at death (2 Corinthians 5:8), but the rewards and full fellowship awaited Resurrection Day (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).” Paul is not selfish about this crown; he knows that others, in fact “all who have longed for His appearing” will receive it as well. This is the crown of righteousness, the immutably sinless state we’ll embody in eternity. And so we cry out, “Marantha! Come Lord Jesus!” We want the end to come; we’re not afraid of death. We hope with joy, a sign of true Christianity.

DC 402 - Week 7

2010-02-08T08:08:00.002-05:00

After a nice discussion on the topic "saved by grace," we turn to an appropriate follow-up topic: "eternal security and eternal rewards." Here's how the workload might break down:

Monday - Read Hosea (chapters 1-14) and Psalm 103, and comment
Tuesday - Read the articles, "Safe and Secure" by Hank Hanegraaff and "What Will I Do with a Crown?" by Manfred Koehler
Wednesday - Memorize 1 John 5:13 - I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life - and review previous memory verses, such as James 2:14,19; Ephesians 2:10; and Hebrews 12:1
Thursday - Answer questions 1a-b and 2a-e (7 questions) and review memory verses
Friday - Answer questions 3a-h (8 questions), including reading chapter 11 of Boyd and Eddy's Across the Spectrum, and review memory verses

2 Timothy 4:1-5

2010-02-08T08:05:00.000-05:00

V1-5 – ¹In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom, I give you this charge: ²Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction. ³For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. ⁵But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

V1-5 represent the conclusion of Paul’s appeal to Timothy begun in 2 Timothy 1:6. This is the final chapter that Paul would ever write; and he begins with a charge (v1) to Timothy coram deo, before the face of God and Christ. This is a grave situation, and Timothy cannot say he wasn’t sure or didn’t know. Paul is serious here. The audience of this charge is crucial, because the time is drawing near. Soon, Christ will return (epiphany) to “judge the living and the dead.” The command to “preach the word (Jesus)…in season and out of season” in v2 is directing Timothy to be faithful in that regard whether the situation seems promising or not. Each day may be his last, so he ought to live like it, not so much as selfish carpe diem, but a selfless carpe diem. Perhaps we should do the same, refusing to wait for that perfect opportunity to come along so that we can unleash the gospel, and instead to unleash the gospel in every circumstance, knowing that God’s word will not return to Him empty but will accomplish what He desires and fulfill the purpose for which it was sent (Isaiah 55:11).

Calvin says, “By these words he recommends not only constancy, but likewise earnestness, so as to overcome all hindrances and difficulties; for, being, by nature, exceedingly effeminate or slothful, we easily yield to the slightest opposition, and sometimes we gladly seek apologies for our slothfulness… Moreover, this earnestness must relate both to the pastor and to the people; to the pastor, that he may not devote himself to the office of teaching merely at his own times and according to his own convenience, but that, shrinking neither from toils nor from annoyances, he may exercise his faculties to the utmost. So far as regards the people, there is constancy and earnestness, when they arouse those who are asleep, when they lay their hands on those who are hurrying in a wrong direction, and when they correct the trivial occupations of the world. To explain more fully…” Paul urges Timothy to “correct, rebuke, and encourage.” He is to prove the truth, reveal falsehood, and encourage living the truth by preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ; and he’s to do it patiently and carefully (1 Timothy 1:16).

In v3-4, Paul speaks of professing Christians in the church who may or may not be genuine Christians. He says they have “itching ears,” a fascination with everything but the truth (v4). That’s why Timothy has to use sound doctrine to “correct, rebuke, and encourage” carefully; his audience “will not put up with sound doctrine.” One commentator says, “They just want to hear (1) those who agree with them (cf. Jeremiah 5:31); (2) those who teach new and speculative things, or (3) many different teachers (always a new seminar to attend).” People are always deviating from the standard course, turning away from truth and turning aside to myths, for one reason or another. And this is despicable, but it is truth, and good reason for believers to all the more “contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 3).

And again, as Paul commonly does, he contrasts the false teachers and their followers with Timothy. The previous verses are not to describe him, but he is to “keep [his] head in all situations, endure hardship, [and] do the work of an evangelist.” In other words, Timothy is to remain sober or even-tempered, understand that trials come with gospel ministry and endure them, and share the gospel, thereby fulfilling the duties of his ministry. Apart from these three elements (Ephesians 4:11), it may be impossible to claim that one’s ministry duties have been fulfilled.

2 Timothy 3:14-17

2010-02-05T09:29:00.002-05:00

V14-17 – ¹⁴But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, ¹⁵and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Once again, Paul contrasts his words toward the false teachers (v13) with those toward Timothy (v10-12, 14). He is not to yield to false teaching, but he is to “continue in what [he has] learned and [has] become convinced of.” The application for us in this, says Calvin, is that “we ought to unlearn all that we have learned apart from Christ, if we wish to be his disciples.” He reminds Timothy that he has “known the holy Scriptures from infancy;” the Jewish custom was to teach the law to children beginning at five years of age. Also, Paul notes that these Scriptures “are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” Calvin says, “It is a very high commendation of the Holy Scriptures, that we must not seek anywhere else the wisdom which is sufficient for salvation; as the next verse also expresses more fully. But he states, at the same time, what we ought to seek in the Scripture (Christ Himself); for the false prophets also make use of it as a pretext; and therefore, in order that it may be useful to us for salvation, it is necessary to understand the right use of it.”

In other words, the Old Testament, properly interpreted, leads to faith in Christ (1 Peter 1:21). Timothy is living by the Book, and he needs to continue doing that. Why? Because it’s God’s word, and it’s useful! “The primary purpose of Scripture is mankind’s redemption,” one commentator says. And he goes on to say regarding v15, “The mechanism of redemption…is mankind’s faith response to God’s Messiah. This is the essence of apostolic preaching.” The Greek word for “All” in v16 is small, but it is crucial; Paul’s meaning is clear. God exhales every word of His word; and this happens not by might, not by power, but by the Holy Spirit (Zechariah 4:6; 2 Peter 1:21). I pray for my children the prayer of Paul, which reminds of this topic, from Ephesians 3:16-17 – that God “may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”

Scripture has another, subsequent purpose as well, from v16-17; once having brought mankind to faith in Christ, the Scripture equips believers for godly living. It is “useful,” and meant to be used, “for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.” I couldn’t have said it better myself; but teaching is to impart knowledge; rebuking is to show error; correcting is to turn away from error to righteousness; and training in righteousness is to guide in the right direction. This purpose is in itself merely a means to an end, that “the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

The word translated “thoroughly” as an adjective, might better be rendered as the noun “adequate,” followed by a comma, though in fact both “thoroughly” and “equipped” are cognate verbs in the Greek. It’s used only here in all of Scripture, but it means “complete and proficient,” “perfect for a purpose,” or “entirely suited.” And taken together, as one commentator says, the phrase is speaking of “gifted, functioning maturity which is brought by the Spirit through the Scripture.” Apart from Scripture, in other words, we cannot do the good that “God has prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). So to summarize, Paul wants Timothy to stand on the Scriptures for several reasons. First, they bring salvation; second, they are inspired, breathed out, by God through the Holy Spirit in the words of holy (set apart) men; third, they are practical (they bring sanctification) – one commentator has said with many in agreement that there is no more practical book in the world than the Holy Bible; fourth and finally, the Bible is sufficient; nothing more is needed. So stand firm.

2 Timothy 3:10-13

2010-02-05T09:27:00.000-05:00

V10-13 – ¹⁰You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, ¹¹persecutions, sufferings – what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. ¹²In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

Paul contrasts the false teachers as he appeals to his own “teaching, …way of life, …purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, [and] sufferings” to remind Timothy that “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (v12). Thus all true Christians should expect persecution and trials to come their way (Matthew 10:17-18; John 15:20; 1 Peter 4:12; 5:9; Galatians 4:29). When we take v12-13 together, we can infer that all people are bad, but that “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus” will be made good (sanctified) through persecution (Romans 5:3-4; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10; James 1:12; Revelation 2:10). The rest “go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” One commentator adds, “Those trapped by sin, self, and Satan tend to trap others!” The way to guard against these “evil men and impostors” is to emulate Paul and his nine traits listed in v10-11.

My Sister's Keeper

2010-02-04T08:38:00.002-05:00

I didn't know what we were preparing to watch last night as I double-clicked to play the title movie; it turned out to be a saddening tear-jerker for my wife, and I'm sorry about that - she doesn't think those kinds of movies should be made. But My Sister's Keeper was a thought-provoking look at a family dealing with leukemia.

At first, the family of four was happy, but then the daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. The doctor, off-the-record, recommended having another child, genetically altered to be guaranteed to be a donor match for who would be her diseased sibling. The family went through with this course of action, and for years, "used" the youngest of their 3 children to aid the middle child. Meanwhile the struggles, including dyslexia, of the eldest child - a boy - went pretty much unnoticed.

At age 11, the youngest daughter hires a lawyer, desiring to be medically independent. She claims that she doesn't want to be a kidney donor for her sister, because that would keep her from playing soccer or being a cheerleader in her coming years. In other words, she wants a certain degree of freedom to become the woman she wants to become.

The twist to the story comes shortly after this revelation, but it doesn't pounce on you; instead it's developed slowly, enabling the audience to take it all emotionally. Without giving away the ending to the film, I will simply say that many ethical, moral, and familial interdependence issues are raised as the movie progresses. What should be done? Who gets to decide? At what age are certain types of decisions justified? These decisions apply to every family member, because every family member has a valued interest in one another.

Finally, though thinking through these issues is a worthy endeavor, the sad truth is that this film lacked the gospel. It had a gospel, but it wasn't the gospel. It's gospel was summed up in the beautiful scenery of Montana, with occasional, hopeful mentions of the next life and memories of shared and real family life - both good and bad. But the gospel is summed up in Christ, that by grace - due to our sin - through faith, we receive the gift of eternal life.

The film portrayed life as coincidence, and what we make of it (or perhaps with whom we live it) is where the value is found. But the gospel teaches us that life is valued and purposeful, not because of what we make it, nor because of with whom we live it, but because of who made it and for whom it is lived. The chief end of man, says the Westminster Shorter Catechism, is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. It's about Him, knowing Him, enjoying Him. Acknowledging that family is a blessing from Him, we can foolishly substitute the gift for the giver (Romans 1:22-23,25). This movie may have reminded us to intimacy with our families, but it failed to drive us to intimacy with the One who gave us our families. It lacked the ends and the means to those ends of the apostle Paul, which he made clear in Philippians 3:10-11: "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."

2 Timothy 3:1-9

2010-02-04T08:36:00.001-05:00

V1-9 – ¹But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. ²People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, ⁴treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – ⁵having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. ⁶They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, ⁷always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. ⁸Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth – men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. ⁹But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

In v1-9, Paul attacks false teachers, noting their damage at Ephesus, but also reminding of Judgment Day, where God proves His victory. He begins by noting “terrible times in the last days,” referring to the time between Christ’s first and second advent, and lists a block of sins (Romans 1:28-32), which will characterize the pains of birthing the new age of eternal glory during which we will reign with Christ. Though some theologians (postmillennialists) see Christ returning to a Christianized, flourishing world, more (premillennialists and amillennialists) see Jesus coming to restore a world in chaos and corruption by consummating His own kingdom. Each of these sins has selfish idolatry as its root (v2-4); people refuse to love God (v4b).

Yet in v5, where Paul elaborates on the behavior of the false teachers and those who follow them, he hints that they may very well be professing Christians, “having a form of godliness but denying its power.” This makes them especially dangerous and deceitful; thus he commands Timothy to, as well as us, to “have nothing to do with them.” In v6, we see that they have made their inroads with, literally “sneaking into the homes of,” the “weak-willed women” of the Ephesian congregation. They likely seduced families, and even broke them apart, by appealing to the stay-at-home mom while the husband / father was at work. And it didn’t help that the women were not strong in their faith (v6); they were “always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth” (v7). In other words, the false teachers were instructing them into foolishness and ignorance, and their ignorance only compounded the problem, making them fall farther from the truth than they already were. They did not have the good conscience that Paul has noted frequently, and thus their minds were restless, always curious, but never content and settled with the truth. So we see from this illustrative warning that the “terrible times in the last days” will affect the church as well as the rest of the world. The Church is not exempt from these tribulations.

In v8, “Jannes and Jambres” are only mentioned here in all of the Bible, but Jewish tradition taught that these were the names of pharaoh’s magicians who attempted to duplicate all of Moses’ (and Aaron’s) miracles prior to the Exodus. They battled against Moses, and in the same way, the false teachers in Timothy’s congregation battled against truth. Paul calls them “men of depraved minds,” which literally means that they have become depraved and continue to be increasingly depraved through an outside agency, namely Satan and/or his minions, resulting in their willful rejection of the truth (Romans 1:18-32). Paul concludes in v9 that, though these battles will continue until Christ returns, they will not win this spiritual battle in physical reality, for “their folly will be clear to everyone” (Matthew 7:20).

2 Timothy 2:20-26

2010-02-03T08:15:00.001-05:00

V20-26 – ²⁰In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. ²¹If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. ²²Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. ²³Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. ²⁴And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. ²⁵Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

In v20-21, Paul gives an illustration to support his command for Christians to lead holy lives. The “large house” is the church, though elsewhere Paul uses a similar metaphor for the world (Romans 9:21). Some suggest that the articles “for noble purposes” are the true believers (the Church), while the articles “for ignoble” purposes are the unbelievers in the church. Others see this metaphor as describing the truth that some body parts are for less desirable tasks. Either way, v21 implies that a believer who, or a body part that, has been engaging in ignoble deeds can repent (“cleanses himself”) and be sanctified unto “any good work” (Ephesians 2:10). Sanctification is of God and, it seems, of men. We play a role in responding to God’s work within us (Philippians 2:12-13). And we best do that by resisting the devil, by fleeing “the evil desires of youth” (v22) – it seems that every stage of life has different temptations. Instead, as Paul issues a number of other short exhortations for Timothy in v22-25, we “pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace,” just as others “who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

We must avoid “foolish and stupid arguments, because…they produce quarrels” (v23). The word translated “stupid” is elsewhere translated “ignorant,” “trifling,” “un-edifying,” and “senseless.” This command implies that the false teachers not only engaged in these discussions to nowhere, but also that they knew the arguments were useless and did so anyway. Paul wraps up this series with the concept that there’s always room for repentance and forgiveness (v24-26). So Timothy must treat these fools a certain way – not quarrelling, not resentful, kind, gently instructing – “in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will” (v25-26). God grants repentance (Acts 11:18; 1 Corinthians 3:6); that’s the only way that sinners would and could repent. In coming “to their senses,” Paul envisions an awakening, such as that which Ezekiel saw in the valley of the dry bones (Ezekiel 37). And finally, seeing that the devil “has taken them captive,” Paul considers that, just as the gospel takes people captive (as it did to Paul), Satan hunts POWs for his service, taking advantage of their sin nature, which makes them willing and able to serve him apart from God’s intervention. And that is what we were (Ephesians 2:2), apart from grace.

2 Timothy 2:15-19

2010-02-02T08:41:00.001-05:00

V15-19 – ¹⁵Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. ¹⁶Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. ¹⁷Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, ¹⁸who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. ¹⁹Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: ‘The Lord knows those who are His’ [Numbers 16:5 (Septuagint)], and, ‘Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.’

Paul issues some crucial commands for Timothy to follow in this passage. “Do you best” invites Timothy to act decisively; “one approved” refers to the metallurgical testing by fire unto purification, in order to prove genuineness. “A workman” refers to diligence in Christian living and spirit-filled passion for growth “in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). Will you be ashamed of your efforts when you “present yourself to God?” Erasmus translated this passage as “who ought not to blush,” while Calvin translated it as “who does not blush.” Do you see the difference? “Correctly” handing God’s word literally means “cutting a straight path.” Teachers are held accountable for their instruction of Scripture, leading people from point A to point B in a straightforward manner. Calvin gives the analogy of a father cutting his child’s food into manageable portions, with the key being “manageable,” unto the edification of the body. Paul is urging Timothy to teach sound doctrine and live in accord with God’s character (Orthodoxy and orthopraxy).

Timothy can keep on the straight and narrow path, and cut it for others, by avoiding “godless chatter” (v16). Literally, “godless” refers to “worldly and empty” talk. And of course, input-output, what goes in is what comes out. If you “indulge” in the things of this world, you will become more worldly, and therefore, “more ungodly” (v16). Worldliness – and the secular humanist philosophy – is self-deceiving and “will spread like gangrene” (v17), or cancer; it is a “mortal contagion,” Calvin says. Paul counts Hymenaeus and Philetus as traitors to these commands, indulging in the godless chatter that has led them astray, missing the mark, and deeper into ungodliness. He identifies them publicly to warn the congregation. Specifically, in v18, they claim that the resurrection has already taken place. This is a view common of early forms of Gnosticism, which spoke of a spiritual resurrection at conversion and a physical resurrection at the return of Christ. Thus, there was an extreme overemphasis on the present, living in and for the moment, ala Carpe Diem (1 Corinthians 15:12-14).

Despite the influence of such false teaching, which had corrupted the faith of some, Paul says, “Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm.” What he means is that the invisible Church stands firm (on His faithfulness), rejecting apostasy (1 John 2:19), and is actually sealed by the Holy Spirit, proving His ownership and providing security. Paul quotes the Septuagint – the Greek translation of the Old Testament – instead of the original Hebrew text of Numbers 16:5, which says, “the LORD will show who belongs to Him and who is holy, and He will have that person come near Him. The man He chooses He will cause to come near Him.” (See also John 10:14,27.) Paul takes the liberty of interpreting this verse in light of sovereign election and calling; none of God’s sheep, who know Jesus’ voice, will be led astray, because He keeps them by calling them to holiness and protecting them from false teaching.

2 Timothy 2:8-14

2010-02-01T08:46:00.001-05:00

V8-14 – ⁸Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, ⁹for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. ¹⁰Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. ¹¹Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with Him, we will also live with Him; ¹²if we endure, we will also reign with Him. If we disown Him, He will also disown us; ¹³if we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown Himself.¹⁴Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.

Paul begins this passage speaking of the importance of the resurrection. Jesus’ resurrection serves as the basis for his hope (v10-12), Timothy’s hope, and ours as well. Paul also notes that Jesus “descended from David.” This referral may be to emphasize His humanity, or perhaps to highlight the fulfillment of prophecy. Paul calls the preaching of the resurrected man, Jesus Christ, “my gospel,” implying, along with the suffering mentioned in v9, that he has taken full ownership of it, or rather, that it has taken full ownership of him. He voluntarily, actively, and steadfastly serves the gospel as a slave (v10), enduring all things – even imprisonment, “being chained like a criminal” (v9) – “for the sake of the elect.” Paul’s passion lies in the edification of the church (Colossians 1:24), the salvation of God’s people unto glory, both the glory of God in Christ, and the reflection of His glory in His people. “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13); not only did Jesus provide the example for us, but Paul did as well.

Paul jots down “a trustworthy saying” (1 Timothy 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; Titus 3:8), and most commentators think what follows (v11-13) is part of an early Christian hymn. The primary message of this passage is loyalty to Christ. Paul notes the union that we have with Christ in both death and coram deo life (v11; Romans 8:29), referring to baptism (Romans 6:1-11; Galatians 2:20; Mark 14:31; 2 Corinthians 7:3), and the perseverance (guaranteed, as suggested by the grammatical construction) we must pursue, overcoming sin and death (2 Corinthians 4:10) unto a reign in eternal glory (v10b,12a). (The details of this eternal and glorious reign are left out.) Paul also issues a sharp warning against apostasy (v12b), due to the age of persecution, torture, and death; but then he mentions the assurance we have through Christ’s faithfulness to His own (v13). Although believers may become faithless in some sense or degree, God remains faithful to those who are His own, to those whom He knows (Matthew 7:23; 11:27; Galatians 4:9; 2 Timothy 2:19); His character, unlike ours, doesn’t change (Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:2).

Finally v14 – “keep reminding them of these things” – seems to be in reference to the previous verses (v8-13, or v11-13), which helps us to make sense out of v7 as well; still some commentators see v14 as looking ahead to v15-19. Either way, Paul is exhorting Timothy to literally declare earnestly and solemnly in godliness the truth of the gospel, which will, at the same time, eliminate theological speculation (v14), expose the faults of the false teachers, and keep the audience from being ruined (v14), which is the Greek word for “catastrophe.” This is an important endeavor!

DC 402 - Week 6

2010-02-01T08:32:00.002-05:00

After discussing race, class, and gender issues, we now turn to issues related to salvation, namely that it comes by grace. We'll discuss grace and faith and works and how they relate to justification and sanctification. On the tails of this week's study is a similar topic, that of eternal security and eternal rewards. But let's not jump too far. This week's workload might look something like this:

Monday - Read Joel, Obadiah, and Jonah, and comment
Tuesday - Read Nahum, Haggai, and Psalms 99-101, and comment
Wednesday - Memorize James 2:14,19 - "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such 'faith' save him? ...You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder" - and review previous memory verses, such as Galatians 3:28, Galatians 1:8, and Galatians 5:16
Thursday - Answer questions 1a-c and 2a-e (8 questions) and review memory verses
Friday - Answer questions 3a-f, 4a-b, and 5a-b (10 questions), including reading chapter 12 and Appendix 6 of Across the Spectrum, and review memory verses