Monthly Archive for October, 2007

Humility and the Word of God

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Jeff
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31Oct07
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This puts us all in a place of humility before God. We must search the Scriptures, we must study God’s Word, we must wait on God. But because we are still in the evil Age, when we have done our best, we are compelled to say, “Lord, I have searched Thy Word; but I know only in part; I do not perfectly understand.” This lays a demand upon us that we hold the Word of God both in humility and in charity: in humility towards God and in charity towards our brethren.’

–George Ladd, Gospel of the Kingdom

God’s Sovereignty

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Jeff
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30Oct07
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Here are some verses you don’t hear about very often. However, they can be strangely comforting.

Exodus 4:11
Then the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?

John MacArthur mentions the one above in a sermon entitled Why Does Evil Dominate the World?

1 Samuel 2:7
The LORD makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts.

1 Chronicles 29:11-12
11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.

Job 9:12
Behold, he snatches away; who can turn him back? Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’

Daniel 4:35
all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”

Lamentations 3:38
Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?

—————

Romans 11:33-36
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?”
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Sharpening and Adversity In Relationships

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Jeff
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29Oct07
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I had this verse memorized in NIV for a very long time.

As iron sharpens iron,
so one man sharpens another.
Proverbs 27:17 NIV

The guy who helped me become a Christian emphasized that it’s the friction between people that sharpens each other. That never sat well with me.

Then recently I came across Proverbs 17:17:

A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.
Proverbs 17:17 NIV

So having the friction idea in mind I naturally think this means that there will inevitably be adversity between brothers that will help them grow. Again this bothers me. So I looked into it.

NRSV says:
A friend loves at all times,
and kinsfolk are born to share adversity.
Proverbs 17:17 NRSV

and TNIV:
A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for a time of adversity.
Proverbs 17:17 TNIV

These express what most commentators would say the Scripture means. Matthew Henry says, “A brother is born to succour a brother or sister in distress, to whom he is joined so closely by nature that he may the more sensibly feel from their burdens, and be the more strongly inclined and engaged, as it were by instinct, to help them.” John Gill says, “and a brother is born for adversity; for a time of adversity, as Jarchi: he is born into the world for this purpose; to sympathize with his brother in distress, to relieve him, comfort and support him;” Adam Clarke says, “A friend loveth at all times - Equally in adversity as in prosperity. And a brother, according to the ties and interests of consanguinity, is born to support and comfort a brother in distress.”

Back to Proverbs 27:17, NRSV says:
Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens the wits of another.
Proverbs 27:17 NRSV

The emphasis should be on the sharpening not on the friction. Henry says, “Wise and profitable discourse sharpens men’s wits;”

This isn’t to say that there won’t be friction or adversity between brothers and sisters (in the Lord) and that God wouldn’t use it for our good, but that’s most likely not the primary intent of these verses.

Free Will

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Jeff
 on
27Oct07
. 10 Comments

This is an idea I’m still grappling with. Here is a good compilation of quotes and Scripture:
…is there such a thing as “free will”?

Scripture mentioned:
John 6:37, John 6:44, Ephesians 2:1-3, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:4-7

Why Search Scripture?

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Jeff
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26Oct07
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Our real idea of God may lie buried under the rubbish of conventional religious notions and may require an intelligent and vigorous search before it is finally unearthed and exposed for what it is.

A.W. Tozer, Knowledge of the Holy

This is the process I’m going through now and may be for the rest of my life. There are so many “conventional religious notions” as Tozer puts it that I have taken for granted. I’m now in the process of carefully going through the New Testament (and later on at least part of the Old Testament) with the help of commentaries to see what’s true and what’s false. For what’s true I want to know Scripture to back it up. And I’ve gotten to the point that whenever I hear something dealing with theology, a person’s opinion or even hearing or reading a verse of the Bible in isolation, I need to look into it.

More importantly I want to know God better through reading His letter to us. How fascinating and unending this is. And it’s not just reading and gaining knowledge, it’s having the Creator as a teacher revealing Himself to us.

I’ve updated the About page with this information.

How do you know you are saved?

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Jeff
 on
25Oct07
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This GodTube video of Paul Washer speaking expresses some of the ideas written about on 23Oct07 and 6Oct07 in the last third of the video/audio:
How do you know you are saved?

Related Scripture:
My soul followeth hard after thee:
thy right hand upholdeth me.
Psalm 63:8 KJV

Faith and Commitment

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Jeff
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23Oct07
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Faith is a journey, not a destination.

–A.W. Tozer

Millions of professed believers talk as if He were real and act as if He were not.

–A.W. Tozer

Faith now means no more than passive moral acquiescence in the Word of God and the cross of Jesus. To exercise it we have only to rest on one knee and nod our heads in agreement with the instructions of a personal worker intent upon saving our soul. The general effect is much the same as that which men feel after a visit to a good and wise doctor. They come back from such a visit feeling extra good, withal smiling just a little sheepishly to think how many fears they have entertained about their health when actually there was nothing wrong with them. They just needed a rest.

–A.W. Tozer

(I can’t help but think of Joel Osteen in the quote above.)

Faith doesn’t begin and end with a decision. Tozer was writing these things in the 1950’s and these things have continued to build to this day.

Related Scripture:
Luke 9:23, Luke 14:28, Luke 14:33, Acts 2:42, Romans 11:22, 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, Philippians 2:12, Colossians 1:23

Praying God’s Will

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Jeff
 on
22Oct07
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Someone was once saying that a preacher on the radio was saying that we shouldn’t be saying, “If it’s Your will” when we pray because we’re not having confidence in what we’re praying, or something to that effect.

I said that it’s Scriptural to say that because of a couple of passages/verses:

James 4:13-15
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” TNIV

1 John 5:14
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. TNIV

However I’ve rethought my reasoning. The James passage isn’t talking about prayer, it’s talking about plans, predicting the future etc. Proverbs 16:9 says, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” So while I think it’s Scriptural to say, “I’ll be doing … God willing”, the James passage doesn’t support saying, “If it’s Your will” when praying.

The 1 John passage is talking about God answering according to His will, not necessarily how we should pray. Matthew 21:22 says, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” But this needs to be balanced with 1 John 5:14 as mentioned above.

So when is is appropriate to say, “If it’s Your will?” I’m not trying to teach here. I’m just writing what my thinking is at the moment. Please feel free to comment.

If we are praying something that we know is Scriptural, it would almost be disrespectful to to add the if. For example–praying for growth in knowledge, wisdom (James 1:5-8) etc. If we are praying for miraculous healing, a certain material item etc. it may be respectful and reverent to say if it’s Your will. Some would say that shows a lack of confidence. I’m not sure if we could judge right or wrong either way.

As far as asking for something we know might or might not be in His will, it’s fine to ask and to be persistent as the parables of the woman in front of the judge and the man knocking on his neighbor’s door asking for food for a guest. If we should know the answer is no, then should we stop asking.

Paul pleaded with God three times for the thorn in his side to be taken away. God gave him a definitive answer, ‘But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”‘ (2 Corinthians 12:9)

We don’t always know what to pray and the Spirit helps us in our weakness (Romans 8:26-27). Thomas Schreiner in his commentary on Romans says that since the totality of God’s will is hidden from us, the Spirit fills this lack by interceding for us. The Spirit searches our hearts which long for God’s will, searches even the depths of God (1 Corinthians 2:10) and intercedes for us according to God’s will with groans that our words can’t express.

I think it’s very important when praying for someone to always pray for things that you know are in God’s will according to Scripture along with any requests they may have or things you think they should have that may or may not be a part of God’s plan. For example if you pray only for healing and that isn’t a part of God’s plan, you’re not really doing them any good. But if you pray for comfort, perseverance, hope, strength etc. along with healing, you know you will be participating in glorifying God in their situation whatever the outcome.

Our Body As God’s Temple

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Jeff
 on
21Oct07
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People often refer to 1 Corinthians 3:16 as the reference to our body being God’s temple. However, the word “you” is plural and is referring to the church at Corinth along with the Church as the body of Christ (see the footnote in the reference link above). The concept is still valid though with 1 Corinthians 6:19 being the reference.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.

Divorce

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Jeff
 on
20Oct07
. 6 Comments

If nothing else this shows a couple of different methods of scholarship.

What God Has Joined by David Instone-Brewer in Christianity Today

Response:
Tragically Widening the Grounds of Legitimate Divorce by John Piper

Related Scripture:
Malachi 2:13-16, Matthew 5:32, Matthew 19:9-11, Mark 10:11-12, Luke 16:18, Romans 7:2, 1 Corinthians 7:15

Contentment and Provision

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Jeff
 on
19Oct07
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John MacArthur at Pulpit Magazine is writing a series on Contentment based on Philippians 4:11-12.

In addition to that I’d like to mention that I always used to have Philippians 4:13 memorized without thinking about the context of the two verses before it.

Philippians 4:11-13
Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Jesus did say, “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20) But I think we need to keep Philippians 4:13 in context. All things is referring to being content in every condition of life. This includes being content in prosperity without being proud, greedy, hungering for more etc.

Then in 4:19 he says, “And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (emphasis added) Our perception of our needs and what our needs really are may not line up. But He will supply our true needs and we can learn to be content in them through Him who gives us strength.

Election and God’s Sovereignty

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Jeff
 on
18Oct07
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Romans

Romans 9:10-16
And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad–in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls–she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

This is not an easy passage for many of us to read. For those who believe in conditional election, that God’s elects those based on foreknowledge of their free will, this passage seems to eliminate any idea of that. The recipient of the blessing was according to God’s sovereign will, not on Jacob’s virtue. God doesn’t explain Himself beyond this other than he has an ultimate plan that will be carried out because of his own will, not on the inclinations of sinful human beings.

What about grace? Schreiner makes a thoughtful point. “…the stunning thing for Paul was not that God rejected Ishmael and Esau but that he chose Isaac and Jacob, for they did not deserve to be included in his merciful and gracious purposes. Human beings are apt to criticize God for excluding anyone, but this betrays a theology that views salvation as something God ‘ought’ to bestow on all equally.”

Again he says, “God’s election of some for salvation does not exclude the notion that he genuinely invites all to be saved.” (2 Peter 3:9) “The resolution of the tension between divine sovereignty and human freedom lies beyond our present rational capacities.”

Knowing Scripture

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Jeff
 on
16Oct07
. 4 Comments

Romans

Paul quotes the Old Testament more in Romans that in any of his other letters.

Two things come to mind:

1) The Old Testament is important to Paul and should be important to us. He says in Romans 15:4 “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.” This was written before there was a New Testament but after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah. Jesus says in Matthew 5:17, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.”

2) Paul knew the Old Testament. Paul most likely wrote Romans when he was in Corinth so it wasn’t one of the prison letters (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon). At that time he may have had his books and parchments and may not have had to quote everything from memory. But at the time he wouldn’t have had a concordance or a computer to search for the Scripture he wanted to quote. He knew it well enough to find everything he needed and I would guess he had much of it memorized.

While writing the prison letters he may not have had anything written down and have in fact have to have quoted from memory. 2 Timothy 4:13, “When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments.”

I believe a large part of knowing Scripture is memorizing Scripture. In case you need Scripture to support that, here are a few:

Dead To Sin

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Jeff
 on
15Oct07
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Romans

Romans 6:3-7
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin.

In his commentary on Romans, Thomas Schreiner says, “…he is not exhorting believers to cease from sin (a command in the imperative mood); he is proclaiming to them the good news that they have died to sin (a statement of fact in the indicative mood).” (emphasis is the author’s) Later, “We died with Christ in baptism in that we were united with him in his once-for-all death. Because we are incorporated into Christ, his death becomes ours.”

Imperative - “It is imperative that you…”
Indicative - Indicates

Verses 11-14 shift from indicative to imperative:
So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
Romans 6:11-14

We are no longer slaves to sin and don’t have to sin as we used to. Obviously this doesn’t mean that we won’t sin and some still won’t struggle with some habitual sins or addictions. But we are free to know that we are righteous in His sight and that we are free to grow and become what God means for us to be.

Schreiner says, “The indicative is realized in the concrete world of the imperative by which it is demonstrated that the indicative actually is a reality.” This sounds like scholarly gobbledy-gook but it makes sense when we see it as knowing what God has done and who we are in Him compels us to be obedient with the strength that He give us.

The imperative is reminiscent of Philippians 2:12-13:
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Related Scripture:
Galatians 2:20

A Prayer

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Jeff
 on
14Oct07
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Expel from my mind all sinful fear and shame, so that with firmness and courage I may confess the Redeemer before men, go forth with Him hearing His reproach, be zealous with His knowledge, be filled with His wisdom, walk with His circumspection, ask counsel of Him in all things, repair to the Scriptures for His orders, stay my mind on His peace, knowing that nothing can befall me without His permission, appointment and administration.

From Openness - Taken from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, edited by Arthur Bennett. Reformatted by Eternal Life Ministries.
http://www.eternallifeministries.org/prayers.htm