Urim, Thummim, and the Danger of Misinterpretation

The mystical interpretations some pastors preach never ceases to amaze me.

I was tuned to a different radio station while running late for work one day this week. Because of the later time, I was able to hear a preacher I would not normally catch. I did not know who this preacher was but I was not really surprised that I heard some truly poor exposition that I felt I needed to address for two reasons: 1) to correct the poor handling of Scripture, and 2) to show how a mishandling of Scripture moves the preacher off the topic of Christ. When any teaching is the product of poor hermeneutics, the teaching becomes mystical and the preacher becomes a something of a preaching magician. While the congregation "ooos" and "ahhs" over his magical skills in interpretation they for forget that, like any magic show, it is all just an act.

The sermon I was listening to was being shared by Jon Courson, who I really do not know much about. In fact, I forced myself to listen to the whole program so I could find out who was preaching. I have heard his name but have never really heard him preach before. I am not attacking his person; I know nothing about this man. But I feel I must say something about this teaching. Much like Paul confronting Peter when Peter was wrong, I feel I should do the same (Galatians 2:11-21)

Jon was teaching on the urim and thummim mentioned in Scripture. I say "mentioned" because there are only seven verses in all of Scripture that refer to thummim and/or urim (Exodus 28:30, Leviticus 8:8, Numbers 27:21, Deuteronomy 33:8, 1 Samuel 28:6, Ezra 2:63, Nehemiah 7:65). There is nothing in Scripture that tells us what the urim and thummim were or how they were used. Yet, Pastor Courson provided vivid detail on what these were and how God used them.

He indicated that they were stones on the breastplate of the priest (Exodus 28:30 tells us they were to placed in the breastplate but it does not indicate they were stones). He went on to teach that God would actually light up the stones on the breastplate of the priest as part of the use of the urim and thummim (you can read that at his website here as well). I assume he developed that theory from the literal translation of the names ("urim" means "lights" and "thummim" means "perfection."). The Scriptures says NOTHING about the breastplate of the priest lighting up like "Simon" game (I encourage the reader to take the time to read the seven verses above).

So far, there is no real theological problem with this teaching but there is a big hermeneutical problem. I am not sure why a person would want to invent information about anything in Scripture especially when there is absolutely no supporting evidence for it. The theological problem occurred when the poor hermeneutic produced a poor conclusion. Courson began saying something like this: "Just like the priest's breastplate lit up with lights when God was telling his people what to do, Jesus told us 'you are the light of the world' and therefore we are capable of giving others guidance." In short, I came away from the sermon feeling like he was reducing our ministry, and worse Jesus' ministry, to that of a magic 8-ball.

When Jesus told his followers they would be lights of the world (Matthew 5:14), he was not referring to the urim and thummim, and decision making. He was talking about the light of the gospel going into this dark world (Matthew 5:16). Jesus did not come to help us make better decisions or to help us know what we should do. He came to raise us from the dead and give us life. He came to rescue us from the darkness and transfer us into His Son's Kingdom (Colossians 1:13-14). He came to give His life as a ransom (Matthew 20:28). He came to redeem us and forgive us (Ephesians 1:7). But His purpose for coming was not so we could make better decisions.

Additionally, Jesus did not give believes the ministry of better decision making. He gave us the ministry of reconciling the lost world to God (2 Corinthians 5:18-20). He gave us the ministry of making disciples (Matthew 28:19). He gave us the ministry, as mentioned above, of being lights in the darkness. But the main ministry of believers is not making better decisions.

Yes, the Holy Spirit gives believers wisdom and guidance when making decisions (Galatians 5:25). Yes, Jesus uses other believers to help us when we have difficult choices (Proverbs 11:14). Yes, we all need to make better decisions as believers. But, using the urim and thummim to teach this truth smacks of attempting to impress people with magical hermeneutical skills and, in the end, conveys the wrong message about Jesus' ministry.

For this reason, we must be careful to say what the Bible says about an issue, and remain silent where the Bible is silent. I have no idea what the urim and thummim were or how the priest used them. That is because the Bible remains silent on the issue. A pastor should not have to take an obscure passage or item from the Old Testament to tantalize his congregation. The Word is powerful enough on its own (Isaiah 55:11, Hebrews 4:12).

For an interesting on the urim and thummim, this article gives a good balanced approach about this mysterious apparatus of the priests garments.

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Olanchito Bible Institute: Day 1

We started the Olanchito Bible Institute today. World Hope Bible Institute does an amazing thing all over the world. They take pastors who have a Master's degree and send them to places where theological education is hard to accomplish or out right unattainable and provide free theological training for pastors and church leaders. We were anticipating around 35 students today. We had 62!! I started teaching "Introduction to Orthodoxy" which is a short Systematic Theology. Today I essentiall taught three introductory thoughts, what is theology, who can be a theologian, and where do we get theology.

In brief, I taught that theology, simply stated, is discussion about God. In a broader sense, we discussed Anselm's statement, "faith seeking understanding"; the idea the our faith and love of God drives us to want to know more about him, which IS theology. Additionally, i taught that only believers can "do" theology because they are the only ones who are indwelt with the Holy Spirit (John 14:26) and non-Christians will not and cannot accept the things of the Spirit (1 Cor 2:14).

However, we really camped on sources of theology. We discussed how there can be many different sources we use, such as church tradition, church history, personal experience, reasoning. But we nailed down that scripture is not just a source for theology....it is THE source for theology. I taught the necessity for the pastor and ministry leader to know true doctrine so that they will be stable (Eph 4:11-16), and can confidently preach God's word. I think the most sobering verse we read about this was Deuteronomy 18:20:

But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.

How many times have I, or numerous other pastors, deacons, Sunday School teachers, ministry leaders, church leaders been presumptuous when speaking to God's people. Manipulating the meaning of the Word of God to make it say something it really does not say. Even teaching today, after reading that verse, a somberness, and serious reality came down one me. Teaching theology to church leaders is an incredibly important and needed discipline.

If you are a pastor (especially of the Baptist persuasion) and reading this post and would like to experience the joy of teaching eager pastors how to be even more effective in their ministry, contact World Hope Ministries International, who conduct these Bible institutes. They have them all over the world and it would be definitely worth your time.

 

Posted with Blogsy

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The Work of the Holy Spirit - Filling

The final study in our look at the Holy Spirit is the filling of the Spirit. This is another greatly misunderstood aspect of the work of the Spirit. I believe the misunderstanding stems from an emphasis on the work "filling" and focusing in on the idea of quantity. The idea, wrong though it is, is if something is filled then there is more than there was before. Thus, there are some believers who have more of the Spirit than others, and there are those believers who do not have as much of the Spirit as another. This is not only a gross misinterpretation of Scripture, it also produces within the body of Christ different "classes" and thus a type of elitism. It places terrible burdens on those who have not displayed some type of evidence of filling which, in turn, brings many to produce these evidences falsely or to give up on Christianity all together (I have heard many friends give personal testimony to this effect). The idea of filling of the Spirit must be understood for one to be a healthy Christian.

The outline I used for this sermon is as follows:

I. What is filling of the Holy Spirit? (Eph 5:18)
          A. Filling is not maturity
          B. Filling is control

II. What are the conditions in which we can be filled?
          A. Do not quench the Holy Spirit (1 Thes. 5:19)
          B. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30)
          C. Walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16)

III. What happens when we are filled?
          A. We will display Christian character (Gal. 5:22-25)
          B. We will truly worship (Eph 5:19-20)
          C. We will engage in service (Eph. 5:21)

I think the crux of this topic is found in (Ephesian 5:18. In short, this verse indicates that filling of the Spirit is not about maturity but it is about control. The picture used in this verse is the similarity between alcohol and the Spirit. When alcohol is in control of people they are no longer in control but the alcohol is. Inebriated people will say things they would not normally say, they will do things they would not normally do, think in ways they would not normally think. The alcohol controls that person while they are drunk. THIS IS THE POINT!

The filling of the Spirit means that someone is not allowing alcohol to control them but instead the Spirit is in complete control. A person, full of the Spirit, will say things he would not normally say, he will do things he would not normally do, he thinks in ways he would not normally thing. The Spirit is in control. Filling of the Spirit is not about acting drunk in front of a crowd, it is not about having more of the Holy Spirit than the guy sitting next to, it is not about how spiritually mature a person is. It is not about quantity. It is about control. It is not how much of the Spirit you have but how much the Spirit has you (I know...a cliché but it speaks the truth).

When a person accepts Christ, they receive the Holy Spirit and they get ALL of the Holy Spirit. However, the person must yield more and more control of their life to the Spirit. It is this process of yielding which can be characterized as filling of the Spirit.

So, if filling is yielding our lives to the Holy Spirit, then there must be some conditions which more easily allows that yielding. This is my second point: what are the conditions which allow the Spirit to have more control of our lives. First, we must not quench the Spirit. In 1 Thessalonians 5:19 the Holy Spirit is pictured as a fire and we are told to not put that fire out in our lives. When we do not allow the Spirit to work in our lives, we are quenching the Holy Spirit. Second, we are not to grieve the Holy Spirit. We grieve the Holy Spirit when we sin. The Spirit wants to work in us but that is prevented when we live in rebellion. This grieves Him and He cannot be in control if we are willing to allow sin to control us. Finally, we are to walk in the Spirit. The point here is that our lifestyle, our habits, our though process, all need to be more and more under the control of the Spirit. Walking in the Spirit does not mean that we will obtain sinless perfection on earth, but it means we are making that our goal.

So if we understand that filling is control of the Spirit in the believer's life, and that there are conditions which allow the believer to yield to the Spirit, then what does that look like? What happens when someone is filled with the Spirit? While there are many characteristics which could be mentioned, I focused on three. First, the person filled with the Spirit will display the fruit of the Spirit. You cannot be an apple tree and not produce apples. A Christian yielded to the Spirit will display Chist-like character. Secondly, Paul tells us in the Ephesians passage that when one is controlled by the Spirit, a godly worship will be produced. Finally, Paul goes on to say that the yielded believer will be subject to others. In short, the person will serve others much like Christ came to serve.

The filling of the Spirit is simply a metaphor for the control of the Spirit in the life of a believer. To the extent one is allowing the Spirit to work and direct one's life, the results are far-reaching.

My denomination does not seem to have historically spent a lot of time preaching on the Holy Spirit, although that seems to be changing. It is good to spend some time and think about the Spirit's work in our salvation, our life, and our eternity. It is amazing thing to think of the incredible gifts God has given those who have trusted in Christ's work on the Cross and have the Spirit of God working within them.

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The Work of the Holy Spirit - Sealing

Another work of the Holy Spirit, and one that may get overlooked sometimes, is the sealing of the Holy Spirit. This work is one which should bring great hope and encouragement to the believer.

Here is the outline I used in this sermon:

I. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit (Est 8:8, Eph 1:13-14)
          A. The seal of the Spirit shows ownership (1 Cor 6:19-20)
          B. The seal of the Spirit gives security (John 10:27-29)
          C. The seal of the Spirit is irrevocable.

II. We are given a guarantee by the Spirit of God (Eph 1:13-14)
          A. The inheritance is kept for us (1 Pet 1:3-5)
          B. We are kept for the inheritance (Phil 1:6)

III. We are marked by the Spirit of God
          A. We have the mark of holiness on us (1 John 3:9)
          B. We have the mark of resemblance on us (1 John 2:6)

To help in understanding what the Ancient Near Easterner heard when the author used the picture of sealing I went to Esther 8:8. We see in this text that the owner of the seal determines how secure that seal is and if it is the king's seal then that seal is irrevocable. This is the picture of what sealing of the Spirit is. When a believer accepts Christ at that moment he or she is regenerated by the Spirit, indwelt by the Spirit, baptized by the Spirit, and at that moment the believer is sealed by the Spirit. That seal shows the ownership of that person. Like the king's signet ring, our heart, our lives, are stamped to show they are God's and God's alone. The Spirit's sealing also gives believers the security that no one will take that mark from them. This is because that seal is irrevocable. Once God stamps the believer with Him mark, the mark can never be removed.

In the Ephesians passage, Paul show a connection with the seal and the guarantee of our hope. This is my second point about the Spirit's sealing. When the Spirit seal us that sealing is a down-payment, so to speak, on eternity. It teaches us that His sealing preserves an inheritance for us. It also teaches us that He will preserve us for that inheritance.

Finally, while I touched on in my first point, I finished this study by focusing on what it means to be marked by God. The seal of God means that there is a mark on His followers. People should look at His people and know they are His people because of His mark on their lives. While there may be many "marks" which one could identify as showing God's ownership, I chose two. First, there should be a mark of holiness on those who have the seal of the Spirit. I am not advocating entire sanctification but I do believe that if someone is truly sealed by the Spirit, if they truly are a believer, their lives should not be characterized by sin. The Spirit working in our lives will result in increased holiness, from God's work and to His glory. Second, there will be a resemblance of believers to Christ. Much like some parents could never disown their children because the children look like little clones of the parents, a believer should have a walk that resembles Christ.

The sealing of the Spirit is usually not spoke of as a dramatic, dynamic work of the Spirit. This might be because 1) people would rather talk about the controversial aspects of the work of the Spirit like baptism or 2) the sealing of the Spirit seems to be mostly internal. The sealing begins as a work of God which He alone sees as a mark of His children. The results of this are more visible, like someone turning from a sinful life and living and loving more like Christ. Nevertheless, the sealing of the Spirit is an incredibly amazing work of God in the live of believers. We are marked as His and that mark is permanent and can never be removed. Because of that, we can know we will be with Him for eternity and eternity will be there for us. All of this should produce in us a desire to live more and more like the One who died for us. What a great God we serve!

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The Work of the Holy Spirit - Baptism

The next post in our study of the Holy Spirit is possibly the most controversial in the study. This is because of the misunderstanding of both Scripture and the practice of baptism. With this study, it is my goal to shed light on this topic so that the believer can be confident where he or she stands in Christ and what the baptism of the Holy Spirit means to the believer.

It is critical to understand what the bible says about the baptism of the Holy Spirit and what difference it makes in the believer’s life. Because so many have been mislead regarding this aspect of the work the Spirit, it is important to stick with what the Scripture plainly teaches regarding this topic.

Here is the outline I used:

I. We must understand its prediction (Matt 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, John 1:33)
          A. We need to understand the words.
                  1. Not water baptism
                  2. Meaning of the word baptism
         B. We need to understand it had not happened before Jesus
         C. We need to understand its parallel with John’s baptism

II. We must understand its fulfillment (Acts 1:5, 11:15-17)
         A. Jesus guaranteed it (Acts 1:5)
         B. Peter remembered it (Acts 11:15-17)

III. We must understand its purpose (1 Cor. 12:13)
         A. Identifies us with Christ (Gal. 3:26-28)
         B. Creates an oneness with Christ (Rom. 6:1-5)
         C. Puts us in the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12-14)
                  1. All believers have been baptized by the Spirit
                  2. The baptism of the Spirit does not erase racial, social, and sexual differences, but it makes them irrelevant in the church.
                  3. Baptism of the Spirit is something Christ does to us.

To begin with, one must understand the predication of the baptism of the Holy Spirit to understand its fulfillment. John the Baptizer was in the wilderness baptizing people in the Jordan River and Jesus comes to be baptized by John. It is at this time John predicts the baptism of the Holy Spirit. ( Matt. 3:11, John 1:32-33). To understand this prediction we first understand the words used. To begin with, while John was baptizing in water, he made a clear delineation between what he was doing and what Jesus was going to be doing. The point is, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not related to water baptism. Too many times the two are equated because the same word is used. The Greek word "baptidzo" literally means "to sink, to envelope, to immerse." In short, John is simply saying that he is enveloping, immersing people in water, but Jesus will envelope or immerse people in the Holy Spirit.

To understand the prediction of the Holy Spirit we also need to understand that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is connected to the work of Christ. It is not connected to a religious work or rite but it comes to the believer because Jesus Christ died on the cross, was resurrected, and then ascended to heaven. The prediction of the baptism of the Holy Spirit indicates it is not connected with water baptism and it is not something that people work for or deserve.

Finally, to understand the prediction of the baptism of the Spirit, one must note the parallel to John's Baptism. The "stuff" John baptized with was water; the "stuff" Jesus baptizes with was the Spirit. John plunged people into water; Jesus would plunge them into the Holy Spirit. John would cover those who came to him with water; Jesus would cover those who come to him with the Holy Spirit. The point to all of this is that many today teach that the baptism of the Holy Spirit comes when one is baptized in water. This first point, "We must understand its prediction" shows us that the two are parallelled but are not connected.

After we understand the prediction, we must understand the fulfillment of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The fulfillment of John’s prediction came at Pentecost. We know this because first, Jesus guaranteed it. In this passage, Jesus has risen from the dead and had been appearing to people for forty days. He is about to ascend into heaven to sit on His throne and he said (Acts 1:5). Jesus ended His ministry on earth they way it began: with John’s prediction of the baptism with the Holy Spirit. My point is that Jesus pointed to Pentecost as the fulfillment of the Baptism of the Spirit. This means when the apostles received the Spirit, they were also baptized in the Spirit. It was not two separate events but one event - receiving the Spirit and being baptized in the Spirit.

In addition to Jesus guaranteeing it, Peter remembered Jesus guaranteeing it. In Acts 11:15-17, Peter is recounting the story of Cornelius receiving Christ after Peter had a vision in which God told him Gentiles could also receive the Holy Spirit. So Peter went to Cornelius’s house, share Christ, they received Christ, and were baptized both with the Spirit and with water. So when Cornelius was saved, it brought to Peter’s mind Jesus guarantee of the Holy Spirit baptism. My point is that when we see the actual baptism of the Holy Spirit in the Scripture, it is an event that happens at salvation. Cornelius’ experience is the normative Christian experience for today’s believers.

In short, when one understands the fulfillment of the prediction of the Spirit's baptism, one will see that when a person accepts Christ, they are baptized in the Holy Spirit AT THAT MOMENT. Many today teach that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is separate event to conversion. Many who teach this indicate that this baptism is evidenced by speaking in tongues. This teaching is not only a misunderstanding of Scripture, it places undue burdens on those who have not spoken in tongues and makes them feel like second-rate believers when, in fact, they have been just as baptized in the Spirit as every other believer the minute they trusted in Christ.

Finally, after understanding the Spirit's baptism and understanding its fulfillment, we must understand the purpose of the baptism of the Spirit. To put if briefly, the baptism of the Holy Spirit identifies us with Christ (Gal. 3:26-28), creates an oneness with Christ (Rom. 6:1-5), and puts us in the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12-14). The baptism of the Spirit is not about another level of spirituality as compared to other believers. It is about becoming one with Christ and one with the body of Christ.

The points made in this sermon are greatly debated but I believe this is what Scripture clearly teaches. The two main misunderstanding connected to the baptism of the Holy Spirit are 1) the baptism of the Holy Spirit comes when one is baptized and 2) the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a separate event than one's conversion. Neither of these are correct and neither are supported in Scripture. The baptism of the Spirit happens the moment one trusts in Christ. I hope this study helps. Please post any comments and opinions related to this issue.

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The Work of the Holy Spirit - Indwelling

Another aspect of the Holy Spirit's work is that He indwells believers. While I attempted to make each of these sermons an expository sermon, that is, examining one main pericope of Scripture, the rest of these sermons on the Holy Spirit are more like topical sermons. The remaining sermons are biblical and they are theologically sound but are pulled from various passages throughout Scripture.

The Spirit's indwelling is an amazing part of the Spirit's work in the believer's life and is important to understand. Here is the outline I used for this sermon.

I. What is Indwelling? (1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Tim 1:14)

II. What does indwelling provide?

          A. Indwelling makes God’s presence possible. (John 14:16-17)
                  1. The new presence would be their advocate.
                  2. The new presence would bring new knowledge.
                  3. The new presence had not been experience before (John 7:37-39)

         B. Indwelling makes eternal life possible (Rom. 8:9-11)
                  1. The Spirit shows ownership (9)
                  2. The Spirit brings life after death (10-11)

         C. Indwelling makes holiness possible (1 Cor. 6:18-20)
                  1. The temple
                      a. There was great care in the design of the temple
                      b. Great wealth in the construction of the temple.
                      c. The people knew the temple is where God resided.
                  2. Believer’s are the temple of God
                  3. Strength for holiness comes from the Spirit (Eph. 3:16)

This study begins with understanding indwelling. Indwelling is a separate act than that of regeneration even thought it occurs as the same time. Like regeneration, the minute one places their trust in Christ, that person becomes indwelt by the Holy Spirit. "Dwell" in the 1 Corinthians passage is a word which means "to occupy a house, to reside" and by implication it means "to cohabit" with someone. In the 2 Timothy passage "dwell" is made up to two words. The first word is the preposition which denotes a fixed location. It would be the word "in." The second is the word we just discussed: "to reside, occupy, dwell." The Holy Spirit indwells us. When we accept Christ, the Spirit of God comes down and takes up residence within us. He occupies, sets up house, within us.

The word "dwell" or "indwell" in Scripture has a permanency to it. In our culture, there is such a transitory nature of the word "residency." We hear something about occupying a house, we think in a temporary nature. That is not the case for the Ancient Near East. "Dwelling" means permanency we will talk about that more in a moment. My point is that indwelling occurs and it occurs for each and every believer, it happens at the moment of salvation, and it is permanent. There is never an evacuation or expulsion of the Spirit from the believer’s life.

The second part of this study delves into the result of the Spirit's indwelling in the believer's life. The first amazing provision of indwelling is that God is presence is possible. This new presence would be their advocate, or paraklete, a word that It literally means "someone who is called along side" and has the connotation of someone comes along aside to help you through. This new presence would also bring new knowledge. Jesus promises the disciples they will know things they did not really know before. The point is Christ said that He will love and disclose Himself to those who have the Spirit, the paraklete. Finally, the new presence had not been experience before. This presence of the Spirit would be different than anyone had experienced before because Jesus had not been sacrificed and had not been risen from the dead. This means the indwelling we have right now as believers is something Abraham did not have, Moses did not have it. David did not have it. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel did not have it. Even John the Baptist did not have it. It is a new presence which was brought by the glorification of Jesus. The indwelling provides believers with a unique presence of God in our lives.

The second provision of the Spirit's indwelling is that it makes eternal life possible. Being indwelt by the Spirit means we have eternal life. This is because the Spirit shows ownership. When one receives Christ, the Spirit regenerates that person, and He is poured out upon that person. But this also means the Spirit of God comes and makes His residence within them. This means that person belong to Christ. Therefore, if you have the Spirit, you belong to Christ. If you do not have the Spirit, you do not belong to Christ. Additionally, the Spirit brings life after death. The same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead dwells in believers and doesn’t do death. This fleshly body may fade and die. But first, believers' spirits are alive because of the Holy Spirit in them. But in addition to that, it is not just a Spirit resurrection. The Spirit will raise our mortal bodies from the dead. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit guarantees us eternal life.

The final provision of the Spirit's indwelling covered in this study is that it is only through the Spirit's indwelling that the believer can be holy. By comparing believers and the Old Testament temple, Paul utilized this powerful image to show that God provides holiness to the believer. Like the temple in the Old Testament was holy ground because God indwelt it, the believer is holy because that same God indwells them (please note: I do not hold to sinless perfection or that the believer lives in perfect holiness. Only that God sees Christ's sinlessness in those who have trusted in Christ). The point is that the Spirit is the one who strengthens our inner man for the holiness needed as the temple of God. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit leads us to a holy life.

Once again, this is not an exhaustive discussion on the indwelling of the Spirit but is a nice introduction to the study of indwelling of the Spirit. It is an amazing and awesome idea that the God of Creation and the Sustainer of Life resides in believers and gives them the power needed to live in a way that glorifies him. And if you are believer, all of this is available. You have the presence of God within you. You have eternal life. And you have the power through the Holy Spirit for holiness. If you are not a believer, surrender to Him today.

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The Work of the Holy Spirit - Regeneration

After discussion who the Holy Spirit is and what He does, the next five sermons focused in on specific works of the Holy Spirit. These are not meant to be an exhaustive list or exhaustive sermons on each topic. The list of the work of the Holy Spirit in each believer's life would be a long list indeed, and each topic could be expanded more than what could be covered in a 30 minute sermon. Nevertheless, this session deals with Spirit's work of regeneration. I based the sermon on Titus 3:3-7 and here is my basic outline.

I. The Holy Spirit shows us we need a Savior (3)
          A. Sins of a person nature/Sins of the inner person
          B. Sins of the outer life/Sins of the outer person

II. The Holy Spirit is how God saves us (4-6)
        A. Not through good works but through grace & mercy (4-5a,7)
        B. Through the washing of the Holy Spirit (5b)
                    1. Washing produces regeneration
                    2. Washing produces renewal
                    3. The washing is complete (6)

III. The Holy Spirit is how God adopts us (7)
          A. Adoption begins with justification
          B. Adoption makes us heirs
          C. Adoption gives hope

To begin with, the Spirit shows us we need a Savior. This the first step of the Spirit's work of regeneration. He point out the sins of an internal nature (foolish, disobedient, and deceived) and the sins of an external nature (enslaved to lusts and pleasures). The sins of internal nature could be considered mental or intellectual. It deals in the realm of the mind, like disbelief and deceived. The sins of the external nature are summed up in the word for "pleasures" used here. It indicates this is a hedonistic lifestyle that only is concerned with pleasing self, that is, in a physical way. Hence, the reference to the external nature or flesh.

The point is we all were either there at one point in our lives, or we live there now. In either case, as the previous post on the Holy Spirit discusses, it is the Spirit who convicts one of these sins. Paul begins his discourse on regeneration with the topic of conviction of sin.

Next, we see that when one trusts in the work of Christ on the cross, we are saved through the Spirit's work in our life. He saved us through his grace (getting something we do not deserve) and his mercy (not getting something we do deserve). One is not saved through religious activities, good works, or a sacrificial lifestyle. It is only through God's grace and mercy we are save. Paul states this in an interesting way and enlightens us of the Spirit's work in salvation.

The phrase Paul uses "by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit" is much debated. "Washing" automatically brings to mind for many the act of baptism. But first of all, Paul has JUST SAID that it was not through any work we do but through God's grace and mercy alone. Also, I am not sure why baptism, of any mode, could be considered "washing." Pouring, sprinkling, nor immersion could be describes as one washing. But because of the mistaken belief that baptism can cleanse one of sin, many mistake this as a description of the physical act of baptism. This is wrong and changes the whole tenor of what Paul is saying.

"Washing" here is solely the spiritual act the Spirit works in the believer's life. Through my study I have come to the conclusion that washing describes both regeneration and renewal. In other words, the phrase could read, "the washing of regeneration and the washing of renewing by the Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit washes us and this washing results in both regeneration and renewal. The word used for regeneration is literally "to be born again." The word "Renewing" is literally the word "renovation." Once a person accepts Christ's sacrifice, the Spirit renovates the person and they are born anew.

Paul finishes his thought by saying that the washing the Spirit provides is complete. He says that God "pours put" the Holy Spirit "richly" on believers. The phrase "pouring out" is in the aorist tense, which connotes a historical act from the past completed in the past. Paul is speaking to believers so they had received the Holy Spirit in their past. They received Him and it was completed in the past.
When we accept Christ, the Holy Spirit is poured out on us. And He is poured out richly, generously. We are not given only part of the Holy Spirit only later to get more of Him. Paul tells us that God’s pouring out of the Holy Spirit is totally complete for each one who receives Him.

The final part of the Holy Spirit's regeneration has to do with adoption. Once regeneration occurs in the believer's life, which happens at the moment of surrender to Christ, that person is justified. The popular definition of justification is "declared innocent" and can be cleverly summed up by saying "being justified is being able to say that God sees me 'just if I'd' never sinned."

Adoption also makes us heirs to the promise God has given His children. In fact,
Romans 8:14-17 tells us that believers are co-heirs with Christ. This is an amazing truth which should produce hope and encouragement to every believe, which is the final point.

Because we are adopted and heirs, this means that we have a hope that the lost do not have. Hope in Scripture is not wishful thinking. Instead, it is expectant waiting. The two are diametrically different and must be understood. The believer, being regeneration is adopted and is now expectantly waiting for the time when he or she will spend eternity with their Creator and Savior.

The Spirit's power in our lives is powerful and amazing. This first lesson on the specific work of the Spirit in our lives should stir the believer to praise, worship, and service of the one who so lavishly loves us.

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What Does the Holy Spirit Do?

Getting back to the topic I was posting on before my missions break, I will be posting on my sermon series on the Holy Spirit. My second sermon was about what the Holy Spirit does. As the first sermon was a general discussion of who the Holy Spirit is, this sermon was a general discussion of what He does. Using John 16:8-14, here is my sermon outline.

I. The Holy Spirit convicts the lost (8-11).
         A. Of sin because they do not believe (9)
         B. Of righteousness Christ is not physically here (11).
         C. Of judgment because Satan has been judged (10).

II. The Holy Spirit helps the believer (12-13)
         A. He guides us in all truth
         B. He guides by speaking (13)
                  1. He does not speak on His own initiative.
                  2. He speaks what he hears
                  3. He discloses what is to come

III. The Holy Spirit glorifies Christ (14)

This passage provides the reader with great overview of the work of the Spirit. To begin with, He convicts the lost of sin. He explicitly says that this is the sin of unbelief. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts the world, a word John uses throughout his gospel to refer to humankind who are opposed to God and His will, of their unbelief. The Holy Spirit convicts the lost that they have rejected Christ. It is the Spirit’s job to convict men of this rejection. The Spirit pricks men’s consciences of their unbelief. We cannot logically argue them into heaven. We cannot provide enough evidence to convict the lost of their rejection. We cannot nag someone until they receive Christ. It is the Holy Spirit’s job alone. We are supposed to have an answer for our faith and being ready to give an answer is a must. But in the end, the Spirit is the one convicting of unbelief and the lost person must respond to that conviction.


The Spirit also convicts the world of righteousness. When Christ was walking on earth, people could look at Him and see the epitome of righteousness. However, Christ rose to heaven and is now not able to be seen. Because Christ’s physical body is not here and cannot be seen, the Holy Spirit is the one convicting of unrighteousness.

You may have seen this when you tell people you are a Christian. They may have been cursing one minute but then after you tell them they immediately clean up their language and begin talking in church-talk. This is a little like what we are talking about. They are convicted of righteousness but are looking at it in relative terms. Imagine if Christ showed up in His glorified body and stood before them or us. I would think our thoughts, words, and actions would change. But since He does not physically show up, the Spirit is the one who convicts of unrighteousness. This gap between our unrighteousness and God’s righteousness teaches us we need a bridge to God, a mediator. It is the first step in our relationship with God. We need Christ and the forgiveness he brings. The Spirit brings that conviction about.

The Holy Spirit also convicts the world of judgment. This is not the future judgment. We know this by the context. Satan has already been judged. This is in the perfect tense, which indicates an act in the past completed in the past, but the results continue on from that completed act. Satan was judged on the cross and was condemned. He may be the prince of this earth right now, but his fate has been sealed already.

"Judgment" here to the lost is that when we examine every thought, word, and action in light of Christ’s absolute righteousness, we realize we are condemned because we do not measure up. John referred to this once already in the His gospel (John 3:16-19). The fact is, the lost have already been on the cross and they have been found guilty. In fact, every one of us have been judged and found guilty. The good news is that if one receives the forgiveness provided for by Christ, that judgment has been paid for by Christ Himself.

So the summary of the first part of the sermon is this: The Holy Spirit is the one who convicts people that they have been judged. It is this conviction that leads people to accept Christ. The Holy Spirit convicts the world they have rejected Christ, their righteousness falls short, and they have been judged and found guilty as a result of this.

The second aspect of the Holy Spirit's work is that He helps believers. He guides the Spirit by speaking to the believer. John tells the reader three things about the Spirit's communication with believers. John first says the Spirit does not speak on His own initiative. Second, John says the Spirit speaks only what he hears from the Father and Son. Finally, the Spirit discloses what is to come. Now, when Jesus said this to His disciples, it is clear he was referring to all the disciples would encounter as recorded in the Book of Acts. But also, in reference to John specifically, the book of Revelation and the end times.

The final aspect John reveals about the Spirit's work is that He glorifies Christ. I believe this is where most teaching on the Holy Spirit goes awry. If we look at the Holy Spirit, we should see him pointing to Christ. The Spirit does not draw attention to Himself but to Christ. In short, the Spirit points to, or glorifies, Christ and Christ shows us what God is really like.

This provides the listener a nice introduction to the to the work of the Holy Spirit. Knowing that I was going to spend the next five week speaking about the work of the Spirit, I was not concerned that this was not an exhaustive study on the work of the Spirit. In fact, there are some very important things the Spirit does which are not brought up in this passage of John. However, it provided a great starting point for delving deeper into the work of the Spirit.

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Who is the Holy Spirit?

My first sermon of the series on the Holy Spirit was about who the Holy Spirit is. This was a general introduction of the Holy Spirit. It was by no means exhaustive but it was the basics of introducing someone to the Holy Spirit. Here is the basic outline I used.

I. The Holy Spirit is a person.
         A. He has a mind (Rom. 8:26-27)
         B. He has a will (1 Cor. 12:11)
         C. He has emotions (Eph. 4:30).
         D. He communicates (Acts 13:2, 16:6-7)
II. The Holy Spirit is Deity (God)
         A. God’s characteristics
                  1. He is omniscient (1 Cor. 2:10-11)
                  2. He is omnipotent (Luke 1:35)
                  3. He is omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-10)
         B. God’s existence
                  1. He is eternal (Heb. 9:14)
                  2. He is part of the Trinity (Matt. 3:16-17)
III. What are the Implications?
         A. We can have a relationship with Him.
         B. We should worship Him.
         C. He is not far off

This provided a nice introduction to the whole series. The main aspects I portrayed through this sermon was first, that the Holy Spirit is a person and not a force nor an idea. Scripture shows He possesses characteristics of personhood which is an important aspect of understanding who the Holy Spirit is. It should be noted that "person" here is used in the classical sense of the word and should be distinguished from "human." Saying the Spirit is a person is NOT saying that He is human but instead it is saying that He is an individual being.

Secondly, while He is a person, He is fully God and possesses the same characteristics as the other two persons of the Trinity. It is important to understand that the Spirit is wholly God and is equal to the Father and Son. While taking a different role, much as the Son took on a different role, the Spirit is still an eternal part of the Trinity and is God.

Finally, I emphasized what different these truths should make in the daily life of every believer. Because the Spirit is a person, we can relate to Him. Because He is God, we should worship Him. Because He is God AND a person, it means that He is not far off but is active in our lives. Again, while not exhaustive, these implications should change how we relate to our God and how we live our lives.

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Summary of the Work of the Holy Spirit

OK. So I took a "brief" break from blogging and during that time have preached through a series on the Holy Spirit. I think it was really good for me to preach through that series and I think it was good for our body at Summit as well. In teaching about the Spirit, I truly think He worked in the hearts of many in our congregation. I really enjoyed it and grew through the process.

What spurred my thoughts on doing this series is something with which I challenged my students at Pikes Peak Bible Institute. During our Christian Theology class, we discussed Pneumatology, or the study of the Spirit. I found a nice visual aid on the internet HERE (page 31), which I gave to the students for an overview about the work of the Spirt. I challenged them that this handout would make a great sermon series on a topic which sometimes gets overlooked.

So, I took up the challenge myself. I preached a seven-part series on the Holy Spirit. I will post the sermons but I will note that many of my thoughts came from Systematic Theology books which populate my bookshelf and various sermon outlines morphed into original outlines. In short, I borrowed from everyone to make new outlines which works for my style of preaching.

In the next few days or weeks, I will post my sermon outlines and some thoughts about it. After that, I will go back to my posts on Matthew. I hope these will be helpful and I hope you will leave some feedback.

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Overview of Matthew

As I begin to look at the study of Matthew, I want to take several posts to gain a bird's eye view of the entire book. This post I will give some introductory thought and then the next few posts will reveal the main sections throughout Matthew.

To begin with, I hold to the traditional view which says the disciple Matthew is the author of this Gospel. This disciple was also called Levi and who was the son of Alphaeus (Mark 2:14) It is interesting to me to note that the call of Matthew (found in the previous verse) is the only call of a disciple in which only one person is called. We read of Peter and Andrew's call (Matt 4:18-20) and James and John's call (Matt 4:21-22). Matthew's call is the only recorded call where he is alone. This may go to show how much of an outcast his profession made him to his fellow Jews (Mark 2:14) or it may mean nothing at all. I just find it interesting.

I also believe Matthew was writing to Jews. There are many proofs of Matthew's audience throughout the book but a few of the specific items which I would focus on is first the lineage which Matthew starts his Gospel. The evangelist starts by showing that Jesus was from the line of Abraham and from the line of David. Second, Matthew uses the Old Testament in a very specific manner. That would be to show that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies (more will be said about this in upcoming posts). Finally, the focus on Jesus being the King and that His Kingdom has come is a significant characteristic of his Gospel which shows his audience are Jews.

The last thing I will discuss on the overview of Matthew is that I identify eight distinct sections which make up the whole of his book (these divisions of the book are something of a mix of my thoughts and those from different commentaries). In each of these sections, there is a large narrative section in which the story of Jesus is unfolded. Additionally, there is a section of significant discourse in each of these sections. The only exception to this is the section on the passion of Christ which does not have an extended discourse but is mostly all action. Finally, in each discourse found in each section there is challenge issued to the readers. These will be identified in the upcoming posts.

The next several posts will continue the overview of Matthew but will look a bit more closely at these eight sections.

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I'm Back...I Think...

I have another friend and fellow Baptist that is in the blogisphere now. Check out Don's blog at philetus.blogspot.com. He writes about theological issues and has some original articles also available through his site. Of particular interest is his article on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Done has done much research of the Dead Sea Scrolls over the last couple years and was able to put together an interesting overview of what they are, their history, and their impact for today. I would encourage you to print out his booklet and read through it. If you like, contact him through his blog and let him know how much you liked it.

With Don starting his blog and my friend Mark, continuing to post on his blog, Converging Heritage, I thought, maybe I ought to get in gear and start blogging again. I just have found too many excused to not to.

Things that have kept me from blogging this month:

• Transforming a bedroom into a home office
• Building a website for my friend's business
• Family "stuff"
• "Teaching" an online Philosophy of Religion class for OBU MTI
• Distraction over an up-coming interview at a church
• Laziness
• Company
• Changing the faucet on our kitchen sink
• Church "stuff"
• Games (with the family, on the computer, and online)

Needless to say, I have found a great number of reasons not blog. But, I am going to attempt to get back into the swing of things.

Here is what I plan to blog on in the upcoming weeks (not that I think anyone is greatly anticipating anything I will be blogging on next - this is more for me as a "to-do" list):

• Finish the sermon preparation series
• Post a couple of book reviews
• Random thoughts which have been rolling around in my head during the Philosophy of Religion class.
• Thoughts on bible studies I am going through on my own
• AND, of course, more "the funniest thing I have heard today" - looking for those throughout the day are what keep me sane

"all this and more, coming soon!" That is, unless I find a good excuse to not do it.

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The "Point" of the Tower of Babel Story

In the series of post concerning Genesis, I have introducing the topic of poetry and chiasm so that I could share about the tower of Babel story. To begin with, allow me to say that while the tower of Babel story is written in a poetic form, I do believe that it is a true story. Just because something was written with poetic style does not mean that the story is myth. It is just a creative way for the author to convey the story.

The Tower of Babel story, found in Genesis 11:1-9 is written as a chiasm (I wish this was my own thoughts but most of this thought is from Allen P. Ross' book Creation and Blessing, a great commentary for the book of Genesis). This is based on the word pairs identified throughout the story. The image below shows the phrases in which the words are located. It is my desire that the image clearly shows what I am referring to (click for larger image).


One can see from the visual aid that the point of the story is "the LORD came down to see." All the word was united in a ungodly purpose. Most scholars believe that the tower of Babel was a ziggurat on which the people worshipped false gods or intended to worship false gods. Whatever the case, they were building a very tall tower, something of great human accomplishment. I am sure everyone on earth thought it was an amazing feat of human strength and ingenuity. Nevertheless, God has to bend way, way down to see what these puny humans are up to.

Now we know, first, that God is spirit (John 4:24) and so He doesn't "bend" down. We also know that God is omniscient (Psalm 147:4-5) so He does not need to come down to find out what the humans are doing. The author is using this kind of images to show us how infinitly small man's doings are to the Creator and Sustainer of life. Yes, they made a big tower, but only big in man's eyes. God has to bend down and squint to get a good look at it.

You may say, "I see how each word pair relates in this passage. However, there is one set of words that I do not see how they relate. Specifically, 'Come let us make bricks' and 'Come let us confuse.' Why are these in parallel with each other?" This is what make the whole story interesting, creative, and frankly, almost funny.

In the Hebrew, the word for bricks is LBN and the word for confuse is "NBL." Thus, these words are parallel but only because they are the same word but read in the wrong direction. God is saying, you think that you are going to make bricks but I am going to turn that around on you and then you will be confused. Even the words of the story get turned around and make confusion - literally. (Click for larger image)


The story is not only an amazing story of God's power and sovereignty. It is also evidence that the word of God is not only revelation of God, but it is a work of art. God could have revealed Himself to us in a bland lists and plain stories. Instead, He uses the authors' gifts and style to produce an exciting and living revelation of Himself.

Here is the visual aid with both graphics attached (click for larger image):


If I am not beating a dead horse, I would like to share one more story in Genesis structured similarly to this story. I will share it the beginning of next week.

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Structural Issues in Genesis

In a previous post in the series I have been posting on Genesis, I mentioned that one of the more fascinating aspects of the Old Testament literature is the artistry with which it was written. Hebrew poetry is an interesting and enlightening study for the Bible student.

In short, the basis for Hebrew poetry is the word pair or parallelism. Parallelism presents itself in many different forms. One of the more interesting forms is called a Chiasm. First, the word Chiasm (key'-as-um) comes from the Greek letter chi (key) which is written like an "X" (incidently, it makes a hard "K" sound as in the first letter of "Christ"). The reason this is important is because when diagrammed, this form of poetry is shaped like the left half of a chi or an "X."

Secondly, a chiasm is structured so that the middle of the chiasm or the middle of the X is the important part of the passage. For example, an simple chiasm can be found in Genesis 9:6:

            A. Whoever sheds
                        B. the blood
                                    C. of man
                                    C'. by man
                        B.' his blood
            A'. will be shed

There are several to note from this example which will teach us much about chiasms. First, when diagrammed as above, one can immediately see the word pairs and how this structure is shaped like half of an "X." The "A's," "B's," "C's," etc. are for showing how the word pairs relate.

Second, it should be noted that the parallels or word pairs are evident in the Hebrew. That is, a passage may look like a chiasm in an English translation of the Bible but that does not make it so. One must be able to show the same words or words based in the same root word to show the parallelism.

Third, and most important, the point of identifying a chiasm is not to take note of an interesting structure utilized in a passage. The purpose of examining any structure is for interpretive issue. As stated above, the important part of the passage is found in the middle or the apex of the "X." Thus, in the example above, the idea of "man" or "human" is the emphasis of this verse. Genesis 9:6 allows for capital punishment because of the value of human life. If someone is so callous and flippant about human life as to take a life, then that person will not be allow to live. (Note: I am not commenting on the current practice of the capital punishment in America - perhaps in a different post I will - I am commenting on the Old Testament practice of capital punishment.)

In the end, yes, one could gain that understanding from a simple reading of the text. Nevertheless, the author took time to construct this simple verse in an artistic way. As diligent bible students, we should experience the text in the manner in which the author intended. Taking note of specific structures helps the exegete to better interpret what the author was conveying to his audience.

As a sidebar, the present of chiasm in Scripture has been debated among biblical scholars. Some seem to think they are everywhere. Books like Chiasmus in Antiquity: Structures, Analyses, Exegesis and The Literary Structure of the Old Testament propose that it is the main way in which the Old Testament authors, and maybe even the New Testament authors, wrote their contributions to Scripture. Other works, like the article Chiasmus in Ubiquity, acknowledge this type of structure but claim it is no where near as common as the previously mentioned books indicate. (In fact, one can see the almost humorous argument between the two in the titles of the works: Chiasmus in Antiquity vs. Chiasmus in Ubiquity)

My next post will again address the issue of chiasms found in Genesis.

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The Origins of Public Schools

It being one chief project of that old deluder, Satan, to keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures, as in former times by keeping them in an unknown tongue, so in these latter times by persuading from the use of tongues, that so that at least the true sense and meaning of the original might be clouded and corrupted with false glosses of saint-seeming deceivers; and to the end that learning may not be buried in the grave of our forefathers, in church and commonwealth, the Lord assisting our endeavors.

It is therefore ordered that every township in this jurisdiction, after the Lord hath increased them to fifty households shall forthwith appoint one within their town to teach all such children as shall resort to him to write and read, whose wages shall be paid either by the parents or masters of such children, or by the inhabitants in general, by way of supply, as the major part of those that order the prudentials of the town shall appoint; provided those that send their children be not oppressed by paying much more than they can have them taught for in other towns.

And it is further ordered, that when any town shall increase to the number of one hundred families or householders, they shall set up a grammar school, the master thereof being able to instruct youth so far as they may be fitted for the university, provided that if any town neglect the performance hereof above one year that every such town shall pay 5 pounds to the next school till they shall perform this order.

The Old Deluder Act of 1647

Why is it that we never hear about this? I never remember reading in history class, either in public school or in seminary, that the reason the Massachusetts Bay Colony began to teach children to read and to write is so those children could read the Bible and be aware of Satan schemes and not be deceived. Christian schools sometimes get ridiculed for even existing but, in essence, they are just attempting to recapture the original intent of public schools. I find that interesting.

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Orthopraxy Requires Orthodoxy

It is worse than useless for Christians to talk about the importance of Christian morality, unless they are prepared to take their stand upon the fundamentals of Christian theology. It is a lie to say that dogma does not matter; it matters enormously. It is fatal to let people suppose that Christianity is only a mode of feeling; it is vitally necessary to insist that is first and foremost a rational explanation of the universe. It is hopeless to offer Christianity as a vaguely idealistic aspiration of a simple and consoling kind; it is, on the contrary, a hard, tough, exacting, and complex doctrine, steeped in a drastic and uncompromising realism. And it is fatal to imagine that everybody knows quite well what Christianity is and needs only a little encouragement to practice it. The brutal fact is that...not one person in a hundred has the faintest notion what the Church teaches about God or man or society or the person of Jesus Christ.

Dorothy Sayers, Creed or Chaos?

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Filling the Spaces of Creation

This Sunday, I will be leading our Sunday School in a discussion of Genesis. This study will last for two quarters. I am excited about delving into this important book.

The first lesson will be covering the first two chapters of Genesis. Granted, that is way too much ground to cover in one session but Lifeway's material always moves a bit faster than I care to go. Nevertheless, there is still good meat to chew on in the verses we do cover.

The outline of the message is as follows:

Value the Good Environment (1:1, 31)
Appreciate Humanity's Uniqueness (1:26-28, 2:15-17)
Respect God's Plan for Marriage (2:18, 21-25)

In looking at the first 25 verses of chapter 1 and taking a closer examination of the six days of creation, one sees not only God's awesome power in creation, but God's goodness and artistry in the act of creation. One simple example of this is the order in which God created everything and the way in which Scripture records His activity. In verses 4, 7, and 9 the author of Genesis records that God separated areas to make spaces: light and dark, water above and below creating sea and sky, and then separating land from the sea creating dry land. Only after God created all these spaces did He begin to fill them in the order in which He created. In verses 16, 20 and 24 the Bible records God filling up the spaces He just created: Sun and moon and stars to fill the light and dark, birds and fish to fill the sky and seas, and animals and plants to fill the land.

Here is a graphical representation:

Click for larger picture

It is this type of observation which manifests the design of God's creation and how masterfully Scripture captures God's work. God could not create fish with no place to put them. God could not place a cow in the sea without dry land. First spaces, and then filling them.

This is not necessarily a life changing observation from the first chapter of Genesis. But it does shows that God has a purpose for His creation and His purpose is organized, at times symmetrical, and always good for His creation.

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Visual Eschatology

I have been teaching a class for Pikes Peak Bible Institute called Christian Doctrines. It is a systematic theology class. The class follows the following outline:

Revelation
Theology - The study of God
Anthropology - The study of humans
Harmatology - The study of sin
Christology - The study of Christ
Pneumatology - The study of the Spirit
Soteriology - The study of salvation
Ecclesiology - The study of the Church
Eschatology - The study of end things

I just finished the final lesson plan and found some nice graphics that summarize the different views of the Millennium and the Tribulation. I found them in Van Kampen's book, The Sign. While I do not think I hold to Van Kampen's view (I am still in the process of studying Scripture and the various views regarding end times), he does have some nice graphics which sum up these issues.

I wanted to use these in my PowerPoint slides for the class and scanning the graphs into a document would not have produced a nice looking graph. So I recreated them in Word. And I including them below.

Click on each picture to view the full size image:

Different Views of the Millennium

Different Views of the Tribulation

I will reiterate these are not original in content but I wanted to make this available to others. I hope they are helpful. You can download these graphs by clicking on the pictures above, right clicking on the image which appears in the new window, and then choosing "Save Picture As..." from the menu option.

I do not know exactly where I stand on the different views represented but at least I can share what I know about the various views.

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Yes, I Am A Geek

With new season of television shows starting, I have noticed that I have been watching mostly the sci-fi shows. Now, I realize that I should be watching less T.V. but with the help of TiVo, I can at least watch when I want and so my schedule is not dictated by the networks. Nevertheless, I was glad when the seasons for Stargate Atlantis and Doctor Who started up again. I am loving Eureka. I have noticed NBC is capitalizing on the sci-fi theme (not surprising since they own the Sci-Fi network). I have been enjoying Heroes, Journeyman, and Bionic Woman (sort of). I am even looking forward to the Battlestar Galatica new season (whether I should or not). My point is, I realize I am a science fiction geek.

That is why I was somewhat intrigued when I heard that George Lucas was coming out with a live-action T.V. series based on Star Wars (read the article here). Since half the sci-fi on t.v. is reworked shows from the 70's (Battlestar, Bionic Woman, Doctor Who) and they seem to be a doing a fairly good job with them, perhaps this Star Wars series has a chance.

I realize that in general science fiction shows do not match with my theology. Almost by definition, science fiction rules out the concept of God, especially as Creator, and holds up science as the answer to all of life's problems. The shows usually say, "If we could just develop the technology, we could solve...." and then enter any of life's problems: crime, death, disease, famine, whatever. As a believer, I realize that this is not the case and the answer to these issues is rooted in the saving work of Jesus Christ.

That being said, there is nothing like watching dogfights in space, time traveling, worm holes, robotic/bionic/cybernetic whozewhatis, firefights with lasers/phasers/ray guns/stun guns, and so on.

So, I am sure when it premieres, the ol' Tivo will be set to the new Star Wars series and I will give it a shot. Even if that does make me a geek.

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It's Like Cheese, Only Different

Part 2 of Christian Maturity. For part 1 click here.

I love cheese. To make cheese takes time. It has to mature. Below is a time lapsed video in which you can watch cheese mature.


If you would like to watch cheese mature in real time click here.

To get a good cheese one must be patient and realize the final product is worth the wait. Additionally, there are periodic tests to see if the cheese is "done" and ready to consume.

This is similar to the Christian life. It takes time to mature and, while one will never be "done" maturing on earth, there are earmarks of maturity. Paul says it this way:

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitter and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. Eph. 4:11-16

This passage shows Paul's desire to see the church mature more than anything else. First he says that God gave the church leaders for the purpose of equipping believers. This is the issue of maturity. The words used throughout this passage are pregnant with this meaning: "building up," "mature man," "measure of the stature," grow up," "growth." Paul's concern is about mature.

But what does maturity look like. Gary Bredfeldt, in his book Great Leader Great Teacher: Recovering the Biblical Vision for Leadership, uses this verse to summarize maturity:

Maturity is marked by increased unity, knowledge, and Christlikeness, as well as a lessening vulnerability to the deceptions of false teachers. pg. 18

What a great summary of this passage in Ephesians! Paul says that if believers are maturing there will be unity. This is not unity at any cost. A quick glance through Galatians and one will recognize that Paul would reject unity with those preaching a false gospel and a false Christ (Gal. 1:8-10, 5:10-12, etc.). However, for those who hold to the truth, there should be increasing unity.

There should also be a growing knowledge of Christ. In today's terms, this is considered theology. What one believes about God, about Christ, about salvation, or any other aspect of the Christian life is truly their theology. I hear so many people say, "I do not want to hear all that theology. I just want to hear about Jesus." I realize this is an attempt to sound very spiritual, but it shows how little one truly understands the implications of their beliefs. What Jesus do they want to hear about? Do they want to hear about the Mormon Jesus who is Satan's brother and was conceived by the literal sex act between God and Mary? Or do they want to hear the Oneness-Pentacostal Jesus who is God, but not God at the same time the Father and Spirit is God? Or do they want to hear about the Jesus the Scripture reveals? What they "hear" about Jesus is real theology and this must be ever increasing if one wants to mature.

In addition to unity and knowledge, Christlikeness is a mark of Christian maturity. Paul summarizes this concept in Philippians 2:1-11. It could be summarized as humility or selflessness. It could also be summarized by holiness (1 Pet. 1:14-15). Maturity meand becoming more and more like Christ.

Finally, maturity also means recognizing false teachers and falst teachings when one hears it. This is perhaps the most insidious problem in the church today. Today, many are swayed by every novel and shiny fad that is packaged as the Christian faith. In reality, most of these are teachers are simply preying on the immaturity of the average believer. Recognizing false teaching is an essential element of Christian maturity.

None of these aspects are instaneous but there should always be movement closer and closer to the goal of maturity. Cheese will come to a place in the maturation process where it is ready to go on the market to be consumed. The believer, however, is never "done." The Christian is always maturing, always growing, and forever becoming like the One he loves.

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