Wed, Mar 28th - 6:46PM

WHO IS THIS JESUS?

Wed, Mar 28th - 2:02PM

MADE UNDER THE LAW

"But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the Law (Galatians 4:4)."

   This is one of several key verses, one that is related to the incarnation, and therefore it is related to the entire plan of salvation.  The promise was made in the very beginning, when God promised that the seed of the woman would bring salvation from sin and Satan (Genesis 3:15).  It simply did not come to fruition immediately, it took some 4,000 years before the "fullness" of God's appointed time arrived. 

   However, right on schedule Christ arrived.  He came, miraculously conceived and born of "the virgin (Isaiah 7:14)."  The words recorded by Paul in Galatians are not accidental.  The word rendered as "made" (Greek, ginomae) is not the usual word for "born" (gennao).  Paul did not say that Christ was born of a woman, but made of a woman, obviously to illustrate and emphasize that the human birth of Jesus was unique, one of a kind.  His human body had to be specially prepared by God (Hebrews 10:5) so that He could be born without either an inherent sin-nature or any inherited genetic defects from either parent.  These things were necessary in order for Christ to redeem us that were under the, law but He must be without blemish or defect (I Peter 1:19).

   Not only was Christ made of a woman so as to be without inherited sin, but He was made under the law so that He could be shown to live withot committing an sin.  Also so that He could appeal directly to the Jew and to the Gentile from His standing as King of kings Christ had to come through the bloodline of David.  Only through God's written law are we able to really know what sin is.  Romans 3:20 tells us that fact plus we see in James 2:10 that we are unable to keep the whole law. 

   But Jesus Christ did!  Since He was made under the law, came to fulfill the law, and fully kept the law, He can indeed redeem every sinner who will come to Him in repentance and faith.  Christ calls, it is up to each person to hear and to respond.  He/she who has ears to hear, let them hear and heed the word!

~Eric

Tue, Mar 20th - 8:27PM

WHO IS THIS JESUS?

   Picking up where we left off in this study, let's turn in the Bible to John 5:21-23.  "For as the Father raises up the dead, and quickens them; even so the Son quickens whom He will.  For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son: That all men should honor the Father.  He that does not honor the Son does not honor the Father which has sent Him."  It is plainly laid out here that anyone who dishonors Christ is dishonoring God.  One can't choose to reject Jesus Christ and still claim to love God.  We have not been given such latitude by God.  As can be comprehended from verse twenty-one, the Father and the Son have the exact same abilities to raise up the dead and to quicken them back to life.  This forms a chain of equality linking the two forever.  We can also find here that definite positions are established by God.  There is the Father, and then there is the Son.  Elsewhere we can find that there is also the Holy Spirit.

   In John 6:40 Jesus stated the will of the Father who sent Him to earth:  That every one which sees the Son, and believes Him, may have everlasting life and will be raised up at the last day.  This Jesus, the Son of God, has within His power and ability the capability to bestow eternal life and to raise believers from the grave to newness of life.  Looking further along in verse sixty-nine we then find Simon Peter answering the Christ's question of whether or not the twelve disciples would also leave Him: "And we believe and are sure that You are that Christ, the Son of the living God."  All that they had seen, and heard, convinced all of them that He was the Son of God. 

   Jesus also knew that God had given Him all things.  We can see that point in John 13:3, Jesus knowing that as He had come from God He would also go back to God.  Looking at 14:13 in John we also see that the motivation behind what Christ did was to glorify God the Father.  Jesus informs all of us that the extension of this concept is that everything that we ask Jesus to do in His name and that He does will also glorify the Father through Christ Jesus.  Once we come upon John 15:23 we can no longer claim that we may hate Jesus yet still love God for it is bluntly put before us that to hate Jesus is to hate God.  They are one and the same thing. 

   In John 17:1 we find Christ has come to His time of intercessory prayer before the Father.  "These words Jesus spoke, and lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You;"  Jesus then proceeded to intercede on behalf of His disciples.  He desired that believers in Him not be instantly removed from the wickedness of this world but that they be protected from the evil.  If believers were to be removed from the world as they became believers, then how would anyone else ever hear the Word of God?  Jesus wished them to remain here on earth and be sanctified through the truth, God's Word being the truth. 

  Of course, the religious rulers of the day alleged that Jesus had made Himself the Son of God and that He was not in reality divine in nature.  John 19:7 records this allegation against Christ Jesus and Pilate was quite afraid of what was transpiring before his seat of power.  And yet Pilate forged ahead and informed Jesus that he had the ability to crucify Jesus or to release Him.  I always wonder why Pilate did not simply release Jesus since he claimed the Christ had done nothing wrong according to Roman law.  Of course, the following verse reveals that Pilate had full reason to be very afraid of this developing situation since Jesus informed him that he had absolutely no power to do anything to Jesus unless Jesus chose to allow it to happen.  Pilate was not in control.  Jesus was in control. 

   At this point I ought not to digress at all.  But I feel compelled to point out that the Jewish leaders within the Sanhedrin had fallen so far away from loving Jehovah that they clearly desired to identify with the Roman Emperor rather than with God's Messiah.  This was the outgrowth of the original desire centuries earlier when the people chose to have a king to rule over them rather than have God rule over them directly.  King Saul was the first incarnation of that desire, Caesar became the endpoint to this scenario that God had allowed to play itself out over time.  The Jew still refused to have God rule over him, he would rather cozy himself up to a Gentile Emperor who could care less about him.  Verse 15 records their own self-condemnation: "We have no king but Caesar." 

   We must then leap to Romans 1:9 to ponder the words of the apostle Paul: "For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;"  The gospel of whose son?  God's Son.  Jesus the Son of God.  Paul dedicated his life to serving the Son of God in His gospel to the world.  Paul did this unceasingly, something that I can't claim to do.  I ask God regularly to help me pray for others unceasingly, I steadily improve as time goes by.  We all are to take a measure of comfort from these words of the apostle though.  God is my witness as well.  I serve Him with my spirit in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  God witnesses all of this and attests to the truth of it.  No matter what anyone else may allege, God knows the truth about what is in my heart.  That comforts me during times of prejudice, bias, scorn, ridicule, and persecution.  It allows me to continue on in this race that I run, knowing that there are many, many, more miles to cover before I will reach the finish line.  I pray that I run the race to the best of my ability, that I may glorify Christ each step of the way.  Amen.

~Eric

Tue, Mar 20th - 12:30PM

WARS COME FROM WHERE?

"From where come wars and fighting among you? do they not come, even from your lusts that war in your members (James 4:1)?"

   A perennial question asked by skeptics is: "Why does God allow war to exist in His world, if He is really a God of love and power?"  Most of our personal lives have been profoundly affected by war, directly or indirectly.  Those in older generations all remember vividly just where they were on December 7, 1941 and how it changed their lives forever.  Even now, the events of September 11, 2001 are compared to that date, as another "day of infamy," as President Roosevelt called it. 

   God, however, gives a deeper insight on the cause of wars than simply blaming Hitler, bin Laden, or the Taliban.  God says we are all to blame.  The lusts that war in our own minds and bodies lead to personal conflicts, and these to group conflicts, and ultimately to deadly combat between nations.  We see therefore that wars are going to continue in the world as long as sin is allowed to run free to do as it pleases.  As long as sin exists, there shall be wars to deal with.

   Every person, therefore, whether American, Russian, Chinese, Iranian, Israeli, Yemeni, or Pakistani, is by nature a warmonger, not a peacemaker.  But Christ Jesus "made peace through the blood of His cross...to reconcile all things to Himself (Colossians 1:20)."  Bottom line:  before there can be true peace on earth between man and man, there must be real peace between man and God.

   How then can I help bring peace to the earth?  I become a true peacemaker when I do what I can to bring men and women to Christ Jesus.  Christ has given to us "the ministry of reconciliation" as "ambassadors for Christ," in order that we beseech all people "in Christ's stead, be you reconciled to God (II Corinthians 5:18, 20)."  As ambassadors of the King of kings we must conduct ourselves appropriately.  We must behave so that those who are not part of the kingdom of heaven can definitely discern that we are not of this world's accepted system.  As ambassadors of Christ we are to deliver His message clearly, succinctly, without variance from how He delivered it while He walked this earth in the flesh.  An ambassador does not lose themself in the culture in which they find themselves living in, they remain separated from it and remain faithful to their sovereign.  An ambassador remains in communication with his/her sovereign.  As ambassadors of Christ we all must therefore remain separated from whatever culture we are living in the midst of, and must remain in constant prayer.  Prayer is the conduit through which we may report to Christ what we are finding out and the obstacles which we are encountering, all the while remaining open to hearing His voice through His written Word.  As an ambassador of Christ it is up to each of us to pursue God and enter into the Holy of Holies, to become holy.  We are to become knowledgeable of God's holiness and to enter in.  We are to serve Christ's will and not our own.  Until Christ Himself returns as Prince of Peace, there simply is no other effective way to achieve peace.

~Eric

Wed, Mar 14th - 1:15PM

CROSSING THE FINISH LINE IN STRIDE!

"Do your diligence to come before winter: Eubulus greets you, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren.  The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.  Grace be with you. Amen (II Timothy 4:21-22)."

   Here are the final words of the apostle Paul, written shortly before he was beheaded. Despite his faithfulness and fruitfulness in the Lord's service, he was now penniless, lonely, and cold.  Yet he did not complain!  "For I am already on the point of being sacrificed; the time of my leaving has come.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing (II Timothy 4:6-8)."  Paul did yearn to see Timothy, his beloved son in the faith, before he died. Verse nine and twenty-one both illustrate Paul's desire to see Timothy once more before he died. 

   Paul made one hearfelt request of Timothy.  He wished for him to bring the cloak that had been left behind in Troas.  He also wished to have the books and especially the parchments.  Under such miserable wintertime conditions within the prison, still, Paul sought to keep on reading, studying, learning, God's Word.  He recognized the necessity of preparing himself for whatever might come next.  His focus was constantly upon how the Lord would use him next to touch the hearts of more people for Christ Jesus.  Future service to God was what he lived for.  How about us today?  Are we dialed into serving God in this fashion?  Or are we leaning more to the self-serving lifestyle that is common to our society today?  Are we simplfying our living arrangements in order to better serve Christ, or ourselves?

   What a contrast there would be between Paul's present circumstances--abused by his enemies and forsaken by most of his friends--and the glorious reception awaiting him in the very near future!  Paul had been informed by God that he would be rewarded upon entering heaven, he would receive a crown of righteousness, a crown which is priceless.  Paul also made reference to that "Day" in verse eight.  It is the Judgment Day, the day of the second resurrection of the dead.  It is the Day of God's White Throne judgment of mankind.  Believers are to receive their rewards for what they have accomplished in serving God here on this earth while the unbelievers shall receive condemnation and consignment to the lake of fire. 

   Paul has left us a worthy example.  Once accepting Christ as his Savior and Lord, he spent the remainder of his life actively serving Christ in whatever manner Christ demanded of him.  He kept the faith, gladly suffered the loss of all things for the sake of Christ (Philippians 3:8), and was still studying, witnessing, teaching, encouraging, and exhorting, even to the very last day of his death.  Beloved, we are to run the race from start to finish.  We are to pace ourselves in order that we do not suffer from "burn-out."  We are to train continually in order that we might "run the race" effectively and successfully.  We never retire from being a Christian, we are to lead by example, teach the Word in season and out of season.  We are to leave footprints in this world that the younger generations will be able to see and to follow.  We are to be inspirations to those who look up to us.

  One final word to any young person who may come upon this post:  No matter what may be going on in your life right now, do not give up on God!  You may want to believe that God has given up on you, but it is only you giving up on God.  God is steadfast in His love of you and He waits patiently for you to choose to turn to Him with your heart.  Give God a chance.  Do exactly what He says to do in the New Testament through the words of Christ.  My prayers go with you.

~Eric

Tue, Mar 13th - 12:47PM

A SECOND REMNANT?

"And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea (Isaiah 11:11)."

   We find in this passage of scripture a reference to "that day" which speaks of a very specific day in history.  It is not just any old day which we can pick, but it is a day that God has previously appointed to be a time of immense impact upon mankind.  The prophet Isaiah lived during the time when the ten tribes of Israel were being systematically carried off into captivity by the Assyrians, and about a hundred years before his own nation of Judah would also be carried into exile by the Babylonians.  Isaiah gave one of the most remarkable prophecies in 44:28-45:6 wherein he promised that his people would someday return and rebuild Jerusalem and its temple.  Additionally, he even named the future emperor of Persia (the nation which would succeed Assyria and Babylonia as the dominant world power), calling him Cyrus.  This prophecy was fulfilled 175 years after it was first spoken.

   But this man of God also foresaw that, in the distant future, God would also reach out from heaven and "touch" His people a second time in order to recover a remnant of them.  The context of this passage is none other than the glorious future time of Messiah's reign over all of the earth (Isaiah 11:9-10).  The dispersed people of Judah and Israel would return home to the Promised Land, not just from the nations of the Middle East, but from nations from all over the world (Isaiah 11:12).  The nations mentioned in our text above still exist today.  In order of their giving, they are Upper Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, and Syria, respectively.  Isaiah predicted the greater exile of his people that occured after the death of Jesus the Christ.  With the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the end of the first century AD the Israelites were forced to disperse in all directions in order to survive the Roman purge.  By settling in various countries far from Israel the people were able to continue their heritage, their culture, their religion, and provide opportunity for prophecy to become fulfilled centuries into the future. 

   God had put into motion many, many, scenarios which have required centuries of time to pass in order for them to reach fruition.  Yet here we stand today, able to recognize certain signs in current history that cause us to stop and consider whether the "second remnant" has already been culled from around the world, or are we approaching the appointed time when they shall be called home to Israel to witness God's Word to everyone?  Are we staring at the 144,000 called from the twelve tribes of Israel?  Is it they whom Isaiah prophesied about?  This is something which I eagerly yearn to find out in the future.  How about you?

~Eric

Sat, Mar 10th - 12:59PM

WHO IS THIS JESUS?

Wed, Mar 7th - 12:49PM

THE TRINITY AND CHRISTIANS

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.  Amen (II Corinthians 13:14)."

   The doctrine of the triune God is unique to Christianity.  There is only one God, yet there are three Persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - each with His own distinct relation to mankind, yet each equally, fully, and eternally God.  Although these truths are implicit throughout the New Testament, the doctrine of the Trinity is not presented therein explicitly as a formal doctrine.

   However there are several passages where all three Persons of the Godhead are mentioned in the same context, and each one deals with a significant aspect of a Christian's life.  There is the provision of salvation "...the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God (Hebrews 9:14)."  Then we find following this the concept of regeneration, "And because you are sons, God has sent out the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father (Galatians 4:6)!"  Salvation and regeneration are then publically declared in baptism, "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19)."

   The main resource of every believer is prayer, and this also involves all three Persons of the Godhead.  "For through Christ we both have access by one Spirit to the Father (Ephesians 2:18)."  The believer must also continue to learn about Christ, and to bear witness of Him.  "The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things (John 14:26)."  "The Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, He shall testify of Me: And you also shall bear witness (John 15:26-27)."

   In conclusion, it becomes self-evident from the Scriptures that God is triune in nature.  His Godhead is devoid of confusion, devoid of argument, devoid of divisiveness.  He is one God, supreme ruler of the universe which He created.  This concept of a triune God gives us assurance, eternal assurance, that He is who He says He is and that He can, and will, do what He says He will do.  May the grace of Christ Jesus, the love of God, and the communion of their Holy Spirit, be with all of you who read this post.  Amen.

~Eric

Thu, Mar 1st - 1:27PM

MARRIAGE, AND WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

"Have you not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And He said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they, the two, shall be one flesh (Matthew 19:4-6)?"

   Christ Jesus settled forever the question of human origins and the historicity of the Genesis account of creation.  God created Adam and Eve as full-grown adults in the very beginning, united as husband and wife: not a population of primates slowly evolving into people over milions of years.  All of the skeptical scientists and liberal theologians who have insisted that the "two" accounts of creation in the first two chapters of Genesis contradict each other are here sharply rebuked by by the Creator Himself, for Christ quoted specifically from both Genesis accounts.  He accepted both of them as valid, historical, and complementary accounts of the exact same event.

   In addition, He who is the heavenly Bridegroom confirmed the Genesis teaching that the first and most basic of all human institutions was the home, and that marriage was designed by its Creator to be monogamous and permanent.  Although evangelicals may have differing opinions concerning acceptable criteria for divorce and remarriage, it is obvious that "from the beginning it was not so."  The ideal marriage is even used by the apostle Paul as a picture of the loving, permanent union of Christ and His Church: "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it;  that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:25-27)."  God, in His infinite grace, does forgive sin when it is confessed and forsaken, even sin against the marriage covenant, but this does not eliminate the accompanying suffering and heartbreak.

   How much better it is to follow God's creative purpose in all things, especially concerning marriage and the home!  In marriage a man and a woman are supposed to be learning all about the relationship Christ has with His Church of believers.  They are to learn all about intimacy, trust, love, respect, mercy, grace, and forgiveness.  From out of this basic building block of society are to be raised children who also learn all of these things and mature into adults who positively contribute to society rather than detract from it.  If modern society would demand these things from married couples perhaps we would not have to witness senseless violence at our schools, colleges, and universities.  Perhaps we would not be forced to witness child abuse and spousal abuse either. 

   I wish all of you a most blessed day!  Grace and peace of God our Father be yours.

~Eric