Letter To The Jehovah's Witnesses

To Whom It May Concern,

Just a few minutes ago I opened my door only to find a flyer fall at my feet. First I saw a picture of a well-groomed man. I immediately knew whom it portrayed. It was supposed to be Jesus. I unfolded the flyer to see the words “Follow the Christ!” in bold print. Then I continued to read the promises below of improved family life, ability to deal with difficult problems, nearness to God, opposition to the devil, and eternal life. The priority of promises listed (i.e. putting improved family life before everlasting life) did not impress me, but this impression paled when I read whom this invitation was from. It read “You are cordially invited to attend the Follow The Christ! district convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

I was close to being outraged! How deceitful it is to put a portrayal of Christ and an invitation to follow him knowing that you do not believe in him as being the one true God, that is YHWH. The following are biblical reasons that I believe Jesus is God (not excluding his humanity), which in turn is why I nor my family will ever attend your convention.

Jesus is the possessor of divine attributes.
• Colossians 2:9.
• Specific attributes before and after his earthly life.
• Omniscience (Jn 21:17; Acts 1:24)
• Omnipresent (Eph 4:10)
• Immutability (Heb 13:8)
• Even more: During his earthly life Jesus was sinless and holy (Acts 3:14; 2 Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15; 7:26; 1 Pet 2:22; 1 Jn 3:5) just as God the Father is holy (Lev 19:2; Isa 6:3; 57:15).

Jesus is eternally existent.
• Pre-existence. Two texts speak of Christ’s existence or activity prior to his incarnation (Jn 12:41 – see Isa 6:1-3; 1 Cor 10:4). There are also texts which speak of the Father’s sending of the Son into the world (Jn 3:17; Rom 8:3; Gal 4:4; 1 Jn 4:9) or of the Son’s coming into the world (Jn 1:9; 2 Cor 8:9), or his appearance on the earthly scene (Heb 9:26; 1 Pet 1:20), all of which presuppose his prior existence.
• Eternal pre-existence. Other texts affirm Christ’s existence prior to creation (Jn 1:1; 17:5; Heb 1:2). These texts imply the eternal pre-existence of Jesus, but do not explicitly affirm it. The nearest the NT comes to affirming this truth in explicit terms is by using the timeless present tense (Jn 1:18; 8:58; cf. Ex 3:14; Phil 2:6; Col 1:17; Heb 13:8).

Jesus is equal in dignity with the Father.
• The divine name (Mt 28:19)
• Specific names.
o Lord (Ex 6:2; Isa 45:5; Acts 2:36; 1 Cor 12:3)
o Lord of lords (Dt 10:17; Ps 136:3; Rev 17:14; 19:16)
o Shepherd (Ps 23:1; Ezk 34:11-31; Jn 10:11-16; Hb 13:20; 1 Pt 5:4)
o Alpha and Omega (Rev 1:8; 21:6; 22:13; cf. 1:17)
o The Spirit (Rom 8:9)
o The Kingdom (Eph 5:5; Rev 11:15)
o The Throne (Rev 22:1,3)

Jesus is universally supreme.
• (cf. Ps 97:9; 1 Pet 3:22; Rom 14:9; Rev 1:5. Also see Rom 9:5; Col 1:17; Eph 1:20-22).

Jesus is the perfect revelation of God.
• (cf. 1 Tim 1:17; 6:16; 1 Jn 4:12; Jn 1:18; 14:8-9; 1:1 – also see Heb 1:1-3; Col 1:15).

Jesus is the embodiment of truth.
• Everywhere in the OT, the Lord is presented as ‘the God of truth’ (Ps 31:5; Isa 65:16). Among other things, this expression implies that his character is upright, his word is dependable, and his actions are consistent. The NT also claims this for Jesus (Jn 1:9; 6:32-33; 15:1,4). In addition, the NT argues that because Jesus was God’s fully accredited agent (Acts 4:27; 10:38), what he taught about God corresponds to reality and is utterly trustworthy (Mt 22:16; Lk 20:21; Jn 8:40,45). But it’s not simply the case that Jesus spoke the truth and that in an absolute sense truth came through him. In 2 texts, John declares that Jesus is full of truth (Jn 1:14) and actually is the truth (Jn 14:6).

Jesus is the recipient of praise and worship.
• In the 1st century, Jews recited Dt 6:4 twice daily. This confession affirms that there is only one God and that he is unique in the universe. It also implies that God alone is the proper object of worship; to worship the creature rather than the Creator is blasphemy. The first Christians also shared this same sense of utter repulsion at the idea that a human being should be worshipped (cf. Acts 14:14-15; Rev 19:10). Against this background we must take seriously two astounding points.
• When Jesus was on earth he received the praise and worship given to him without ever rebuking the persons who acted in this way (Mt 14:33; 21:15-16; 28:9,17; Jn 20:28; cf. 5:22-23).
• After Jesus’ return to heaven as the exalted Lord, praise and worship of him intensified (Eph 5:19; Phil 2:9-11(Is 45); Rev 5:8-9, 12-14). Also see Hebrews 1:6 and its quotation of Dt 32:43 (LXX).

Jesus is the addressee in prayer.
• All the formal prayers that are recorded in the NT are addressed to God the Father. But occasionally prayer was directed to Jesus himself by groups of Christians (Acts 1:24-25; 1 Cor 1:2; 16:22; Rev 22:20). Furthermore, sometimes individual believers addressed Jesus in prayer (Acts 7:59-60; Acts 9:10,13; Acts 22:17-19; 2 Cor 12:8). Only if the person addressed in prayer was divine, would human beings make requests of him for salvation, forgiveness, deliverance from evil, healing, providential guidance or protection, and security after death.

Jesus is the object of saving faith.
• OT affirms repeatedly that “salvation comes from the Lord” (Jon 2:9; cf. Ps 62:2,6-7). When we turn to the NT, an additional object of saving faith is introduced – Jesus (Jn 14:1; Acts 10:43; 16:31; Rom 10:12-13). In fact, in NT God himself is relatively infrequently held up as the object of faith (only 12 x). This is not because Jesus has displaced God the Father as the one we must trust, but because it is in Christ that God meets us in salvation. There are not two competing personal objects of saving faith. Only because Jesus is fully divine, intrinsically sharing God’s nature and attributes, does he become a legitimate object of trust.

Jesus is the joint source of blessing.
• At the beginning of Paul’s letters is a salutation that ends with a standardized formula: “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:3; 2 Cor 1:2; Gal 1:3; Eph 1:2; Phil 1:2; 1 Thess 1:1; 2 Thess 1:2; Phil 3; 1 Tim 1:2; 2 Tim 1:2; Titus 1:4). Paul is not saying that there are 2 distinct sources of grace and peace, one divine and one human. The preposition – from – is not repeated before ‘Lord Jesus Christ.’ Rather, Father and Son jointly form a single source of divine grace and peace. Of no mere human being could it be said that, together with God, he was a fount of spiritual blessing. Only if Paul had regarded Jesus as fully divine could he have spoken in this way. This is also seen in 1 Thess 3:11; 2 Thess 2:16-17.

Jesus is the object of doxologies.
• A doxology is a formal ascription of praise, honor, glory, or blessings given to a divine person, but never to a merely human figure. NT doxologies are regularly addressed to God, sometimes through Jesus Christ, but on at least 4 occasions a doxology is addressed directly to Christ (2 Tim 4:18; 2 Pet 3:18; Rev 1:5-6; 5:13). This can mean nothing less than the NT viewed Jesus as having equal status with God the Father.

Jesus is the creator.
• (Jn 1:3; Col 1:16; Heb 1:3).

Jesus is the sustainer.
• (Col 1:17; Heb 1:2-3).

Jesus dispensed the Spirit.
• (Joel 2:28-29; Ezk 36; Jn 3:1-10; Mt 3:11; Acts 2)

Jesus raises the dead.
• (see Lk 7:11-17; Mk 5:21-24, 35-43); Jn 11:1-44; cf. Jn 5:21, 28-29; cf. 6:39-44, 54).

Jesus forgives sins.
• (see Mk 2:5-10; Acts 5:31; Col 3:13).

Jesus grants salvation or eternal life.
• OT: God alone as the sole source of physical and spiritual salvation (Ps 62:2,6; 95:1; Jon 2:9; Isa 51:6). NT: writers trace the benefits of the new covenant to Jesus as well as to God (cf. Tit 1:3-4; 2:10, 13; 3:4, 6). Also see Heb 5:9. Within John’s writings, eternal life is seen as a gift that God gives (1 Jn 5:11) or that Jesus Christ grants (Jn 10:28; 17:2).

Jesus exercises judgment.
• (cf. Dt 1:17; Jer 25:31; Rom 14:10 with Acts 10:42; 17:31; Rom 14:10 with 2 Cor 5:10; Jn 5:22-23; Mt 7:22-23; 25:41).

In relation to Yhwh… Jesus and Yhwh.
• Character of Yhwh. Ex 3:14 with Jn 8:58; Isa 44:6 with Rev 1:17; Ps 102:26-27 (LXX) with Heb 1:11-12; Isa 28:16 with Rom 9:33; 10:11; 1 Pet 2:6.
• The holiness of Yhwh. Isa 8:12-13 with 1 Pet 3:14-15
• The worship of Yhwh. Isa 45:23 with Phil 2:10-11; Dt 32:43 (LXX) and Ps 97:7 (LXX) with Heb 1:6.
• The creation work of Yhwh. Ps 102:25 (LXX) with Heb 1:10.
• Salvation of Yhwh. Joel 2:32 with Ro 10:12-13; Acts 2:21; Is 40:3 with Mt 3:3
• The judgment of Yhwh. Isa 8:14 with 1 Pet 2:8; cf. Rom 9:33.
• The triumph of Yhwh. Ps 68:18 with Eph 4:8.

The Divine Title “God” Used of Jesus.
• The NT is replete with titles of Jesus, descriptive terms that indicate his status, character, or function. But only one of these titles explicitly describes his character or nature – the Greek term theos. There are at least 7 texts where Jesus is called theos.
• John 1:1-2
• John 1:18
• John 20:28
• Romans 9:5
• Titus 2:13
• 2 Peter 1:1
• Hebrews 1:8a

I thank God for the heroes of the faith who have preserved this great truth concerning Jesus Christ.!1 I pray He will convince you of the truth.

Sincerely,



Andrew Elston



1The hero of the faith that I am indebted to for compiling these biblical arguments is Dr. Stephen J. Wellum of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Evolutionary Evidence? ~ Part 6

So you really thought that Darwin's theory of evolution was supported by empirical evidence, neutral facts? Well, so did Darwin. Most likely you've seen this image somewhere, supporting Darwin's theory of evolution--Haeckel's Embryos. To put it nicely, Ernst Haeckel, who drew the above picture, fibbed when he portrayed the similarities in human and animal embryo's. For a better representation, click here. Again I resort to Pearcey for an explanation.

As a junior high student, I was immensely impressed when my parents took me to a museum featuring an exhibit sure to be familiar to everyone: It showed vertebrate embryos lined up side by side--fish, amphibian, reptile, bird, and human. The point of the exhibit was to show how similar the embryos are, in order to suggest common ancestry. Darwin himself said the similarity among vertebrate embryos was "by far the strongest single class of facts in favor of" his theory.

But it turns out that Darwin was misled. The embryo series was created by one of his most ardent supporters, a German scientist named Ernst Haeckel. His goal was to support a polysyllabic slogan he had coined--ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny--which means each individual embryo replays all the prior stages of evolution. Shocking as it may seem, however, Haeckel fudged his sketches, making them look far more similar than they really are...

Even more shocking, in Haeckel's own day, more than a hundred years ago, scientists already knew that he had faked the sketches--and his colleagues accused him of fraud. Yet only recently has the scientific community begun to expose the falsehood publicly. An embryologist writing in the journal Science called Haeckel's drawings "one of the most famous fakes in biology." Yet the same drawings, or similar ones, continue to be used in biology textbooks.

Haeckel's principle of recapitulation (that the human embryo replays the steps of evolution) has likewise been debunked, yet it continues to live a kind of postmortem zombie existence--often in arguments used to justify abortion. ("After all, at that stage it's only a fish or a reptile.") Columnist Michael Kinsley even used it in an attempt to support embryonic stem cell research. Technically speaking, Kinsley acknowledged, the principle of ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny has been discredited. Nevertheless, he argued, it contains a kernal of truth: Restated in ordinary language, in the development of the individual human being, "something similar" to evolution really does happen--namely, "that we each start out as something less than human, that the transformation takes place gradually."

But if a principle is false, then restating it in the vernacular does not make it true. Biologically speaking, it is simply incorrect to say that we all start out as something less than human. The embryo is human from day one--a self-intergrating organism whose unity, distinctness, and identity remain intact as it develops.1

"Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, 'I have no pleasure in them'" Ecclesiastes 12:1



1Pearcey, Nancy. Total Truth. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2005.

Evolutionary Evidence? ~ Part 5

How about this image? Ever seen it used as proof of evolution?

Peppered Moths

The case for naturalistic evolution has been seriously damaged in recent years by reversals in key evidence. Take the peppered moths in England, which most of us remember from photos in our high school science textbooks. The moths appear in two variants--a light gray and a darker gray--and the standard textbook story goes like this: During the Industrial Revolution, the new factories poured out smoke and soot, which darkened the tree trunks where the moths perched and made it easier for birds to see the lighter variety and eat them. Over time this process led to a larger proportion of the darker moths. This has long been touted as the showcase example of natural selection.

In recent years, however, a small problem has come to light: Peppered moths don't actually perch on tree trunks in the wild. (They are thought to perch in the upper canopy of trees.) How, then, do we explain the photographs we see in the textbooks? It turns out that they were staged: To create the photos, scientists glued dead moths onto the tree trunks. One scientist who helped make a television documentary acknowledged that he glued dead moths on the trees in producing the film.

Why was such a shoddy piece of scientific research accepted in the first place? And how did it attain to iconic status in evolutionary biology? Because scientists desperately wanted to believe it, says journalist Judith Hooper in a recent expose. The problem with Darwin's theory is that evolutionary change requires thousands or millions of years, so we never actually see it happening. In the case of the peppered moth, however, for the first time evolutionary change seemed fast enough to be actually observed. It was just what Darwinists had been waiting for, and before long it had become "an irrefutable article of faith."

The scandal has now been thoroughly aired in the scientific literature, to the great embarrassment of evolutionists. The peppered moth was a "prize horse in our stable of examples," lamented one well-known evolutionary biologist. Learning the truth, he said, was like learning "that it was my father and not Santa Claus who brought the presents on Christmas Eve."

Yet amazingly, the moths continue to appear in science textbooks. One enterprising reporter interviewed a textbook writer who admitted he knew the photos were faked--but used them anyway. "The advantage of this example," the writer said, "is that it is extremely visual." "Later on," he added, students "can look at the work critically." Apparently even falsified evidence is acceptable, if it reinforces Darwinian orthodoxy.1

"He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power." Hebrews 1:3



1Pearcey, Nancy. Total Truth. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2005

Evolutionary Evidence? ~ Part 4

To come up with better evidence than nature offers, scientists have tried producing mutations in the laboratory, typically using fruit flies. These tiny insects reproduce in a matter of only days, which means researchers can expose them to radiation or toxic chemicals and then observe the resulting mutations over several generations What kinds of mutations have they produced? Larger wings. Smaller wings. Shriveled wings. No wings. They even get oddities like a fly with legs growing out of its head instead of antennae.

So what does it all add up to? To be frank, dysfunctional fruit flies. After half a century of bombarding fruit flies with radiation, scientists have not coaxed them into becoming a new kind of insect--or even a new and improved fruit fly. None of the mutated forms fly as well as the original form, and probably would not survive in the wild.

There's only one mutation that could even appear to be an improvement: The PBS "Evolution" series featured a mutation that produces four wings instead of two. Now that might seem to be an evolutionary advance. But if you were watching the program, and looked closely at the television screen, you would have seen that the extra wings don't actually move. That's because they don't have any muscles; they just hang motionless, weighing down the fly like a suit of armor. If mutations are the engine that drives evolution, as Darwinism claims, they certainly don't seem to be taking evolution anywhere.

...An enormous amount of research has been carried on within the Darwinian paradigm over the past century and a half, yet success has been limited to changes within those "fixed limitations," like mutations in fruit flies. Research has cast virtually no light on the really important questions, like how there came to be fruit flies in the first place. As one wag put it, Darwinism might explain the survival of the fittest, but it fails to explain the arrival of the fittest.1

In conclusion, don't believe everything you see on TV. I hope you are beginning to see that Evolutionary science is not really based on evidence. It is not a neutral, objective understanding of the world and its origin. It may resort to objective data, but the data won't support it.

To many people, this does not matter. They don't need data. Richard Dawkins writes, "Even if there were no actual evidence in favor of the Darwinian theory...we should still be justified in preferring it over all rival theories." Similarly, a Kansas State University professor stated, "Even if all the data point to an intelligent designer, such an hypothesis is excluded from science because it is not naturalistic." Evolution is in fact a religion that worships the creation rather than the creator, an age old sin.

"Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exhanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen." Romans 1:22-25




1Pearcey, Nancy. Total Truth. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2005.

Evolutionary Evidence? ~ Part 3

Have you ever seen this picture in your science books?
http://www.intelligentdesignnetwork.org/images/Finches.jpg
Did you learn that Darwin's Finches proves evolution is true? Were you taught that Darwin's Finches is an example of birds on their evolutionary way to becoming a new species? You may want to consider the following.

One of the most widely cited pieces of evidence or evolution is the variation among finches on the Galapagos islands off the coast of South America. The finches are small, rather dull-looking birds, whose main claim on our interest is that their beak size differs according to the haitats where they live--suggesting that they have adapted to differing conditions. Virtually every biology textbook repeats the story of Darin's voyage to the Galapagos as a young naturalist, and contemporary biologist have gone back there to confirm his theory.

Sure enough, one study found that during a period of drought, the average beak size among the finches actually increased slightly. Apparently the only food available in the dry period were larger, tougher seeds, so that the birds with slighly larger beaks survived better. Now, we're talking about a changed measured in tenths of a millimeter--about the thickness of a thumbnail. Yet it was hailed enthusiastically as confirmation of Darwin's theory. As one science writer exulted, this is evolution happening "before [our] very eyes."

But that was not the end of the story. Eventually the rains returned, restoring the original range of seeds. And what happened then? The average beak size returned to normal. In other words, the change that Darwinists were so excited about turned out to be nothing more than a cyclical fluctuation. It did no put the finches on the road to evolving into a new kind of bird; it was simply a minor adaptation that allowed the speies to survive in dry weather.

Which is to say, the change was a minor adjustment that allowed the finches to stay finches under adverse conditions. It did not demonstrate that they originally evolved from another kind of organism, nor that they are evolving into anything new.

...Another frequent example is the development of resistance to antibiotics. A highlight of the PBS "Evolution" series was a section explaining how the HIV virus becomes resistant to the drug used in treatment, due apparently to a mututation. Once again, this was hailed as evolution in action. But once again, as soon as the drug was removed, the change was reversed, and the virus returned to normal. (It became drug sensitive again.) Such limited, reversible change is hardly evidence for a theory that requires unlimited, directional change.1

"So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:21




1Pearcey, Nancy. Total Truth. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2005.

Evolutionary Evidence? ~ Part 2

So I ask again, why is debating from the Bible on cultural/political issues (abortion, gay-marriage, education, etc) like spitting in the wind?

The heart of the problem exists in the widely accepted idea that modern, evolutionary science is impartial, unbiased, evidence-based investigation of the world. And that religion is merely a personal, subjective understanding of the world's purpose and relative values, but never an objective truth about reality. The two are separated. Science is truth. Religion, Christianity for example, is myth. The two are not allowed to mix. In this view, Christianity has no place in public life. If science is a neutral observer of truth, then only science can dictate was is true for purposes of politics and public life.

The problem with this idea is that evolutionary science is not unbiased or neutral. Evolution is the religion that drives most of modern science. Evolution and Christianity are both religions. Both describe the origin of all things (Big Bang/Creator God), the problem with all things (molecular defects/sin), and the necessary redemption of all things (natural selection/Jesus), etc. The deepest fundamental difference between the religion of Evolution and Christianity is the difference between these two statements: "In the beginning, matter created the heavens and the earth..." and "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth..."

Once this is realized, Christianity is set on level ground with Evolutionary Science. The two cannot be distinguished from each other in the fact/myth fashion. The challenge then is to discover which gives the better testimony of the nature of the universe and all that is contained within it. Which one is comprehensive? If the Bible speaks truly about the world, then the world will verify its claims. If Evolution speaks truly about the world, then the world will verify its claims.

My aim in the rest of these posts is to show that Christianity's biblical understanding of the world is verified by the world. And secondly, that Evolution's (Darwinian materialism) understanding of the world is falsified by the world. What I write is nothing new, but I think it is widely unknown and very enlightening. For a much more comprehensive and eloquent version you can read Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey.


"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work." -2 Timothy 3:16-17

Evolutionary Evidence? ~ Part 1

Why is it that today, debating from the Bible on cultural/political issues (abortion, gay-marriage, education, etc) is like spitting in the wind? It seems to be pointless, powerless, and even embarrassing. I've been asking this question, and I'm determined to find out why it is so and how to reverse this problem. How can an arguement based on the Bible pack the punch that God intends it to?

A few days ago I picked up a book from LifeWay Christian Resources titled Total Truth, written by Nancy Pearcey. This book has done wonders in helping me formulate a response to my questions. Most of what I write in the following series of posts will be what I'm learing from this book. I am posting on this issue because it helps to solidify my thoughts but mainly for the sake of anyone else who has been dealt the lies of evolution, the foundational problem.

"...the truth will set you free" -John 8:32

Wicked Share Croppers ~ Day 33

November 19, 2006 - Day 33

Mark 12:1-12

Passage: Jesus tells a stunning parable to this group of leaders who have come to question His authority. He says that a man planted a vineyard and built everything that was needed for making wine. He leased it to tenant farmers to take over the operation while he was gone in a far country. During the growing season, the owner sent several servants back to the vineyard to see what progress was being made. Each time a servant arrived, the tenants beat and killed him. After all his servants were killed, he decides, “Surely if I send my son they will respect him.” No, rather they kill him and throw his body out of the vineyard. Their thinking was, “This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.” Jesus then poses the question, “What will the owner do?” His answer, “he will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.” The leaders that had approached Jesus realize that Jesus is telling this parable against them. Out of fear of the people who supported Jesus, they leave and abandon their effort to arrest Jesus.

Application: God set up the nation of Israel to be His special people. They received great promises and blessing from God. He made a covenant with them through Moses. This covenant was conditional. They were given laws that they were supposed to keep. If they were not careful to obey them and to only worship God, then they would lose their priveledge. This is the story that Jesus is telling and He is specifically pointing His finger at these men. They were in positions of authority over the Jewish people. They had a responsibility to uphold the law for their nation, but they had horribly distorted it to their own advantage. Jesus pronounces future judgment upon them for what they had done. The application to me is that God has given me a great responsibility now as a Christian and one day as a pastor. Now it is my duty to uphold the name and honor of Jesus Christ and to proclaim the gospel for the good of the church and for the nations. It will be even more my responsibility once I have the position of pastor. I pray that God will give me a clearer perception of the incredible responsibility I have. I do not want to turn this responsibility into selfish gain as the Jews did. Oh God be gracious to me. I often neglect this.

Raw Hypocrisy ~ Day 32

November 18, 2006 - Day 32

Mark 11:20-33

Passage: The chief priests, scribes (experts of Jewish law), and the elders were supposed to be the cream of the religious crop in Jesus’ day. They were supposed to be men of God. But Jesus exposes the raw hypocrisy and unrepentance that controlled their lives. A group of these men approach Jesus to challenge Him. Just the day before Jesus was turning over tables and driving ungodly men from the temple. Now Jesus is back in the temple and these men want to know who he thinks He is. They ask Jesus, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them? Jesus very easily could have responded that His Father in Heaven gave Him authority, but instead Jesus uses this opportunity to expose their hard hearts. He asks them a question they cannot answer, or rather, a question they fear to answer. He asks, “Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” In other words, Jesus wanted them to say whether or not John the Baptist was a true prophet of God. They huddle together to figure out their answer. Their discussion between themselves reveals their utter hypocrisy and unrepentant hearts. It goes like this, “If we say, “From heaven,” he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But shall we say, ‘From man’?” Mark then notes, “they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet.” Then their answer comes, “We do not know.” Jesus then responds to their original question, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Application: In these days I find myself and other Christians in the very same situation that this group of men were in. The question that everyone must answer is, “Was Jesus from heaven or from man?” And we are all faced with the same consequences of answering this question. If Jesus is truly God, sent from His Father in Heaven, then we should believe in Him and submit to His will. If we say that He was merely a man then we must face the discipline of the church. To answer with an “I don’t know” is cowardly and unacceptable. This has been the response of many in the post-modern church. They are not willing to say that Jesus is the only way. They are not willing to say that the Bible is the inspired word of God. I must guard myself from turning cold as these men did. I must believe that Jesus is the Christ and I must be willing to repent of my sins before Him and submit to His will as it is revealed in the Bible.

Zealous For His Father's House ~ 31

November 14, 2006 - Day 31

Mark 11:15-19

Passage: Today’s passage gives a stunning view into Jesus’ zeal for His Father’s house, the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus enters the temple and begins to drive out merchants and he overturns the tables where money-changers were doing business. He begins to teach the people about how far the people of Israel, especially the leaders, had abused and distorted the temple. It was no longer a place of sacrifice and praise to God. It became a business district, a “den of robbers.” He refers to Isaiah 56:7 saying, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations.’ Jesus’ point is that if Israel knew that Jesus was the Messiah, they would have enthroned him as king. The temple would have become a place of prayer for the nations that they might believe in and submit to Jesus. But this was not the case. The next verses say that the chief priests and experts in the law “were seeking a way to destroy him.”

Application: I think the number one application of this passage for me is that Jesus is my king, and I should submit to Him as is fitting. All too often I do not listen to Him. All too often I do not obey Him. I pray that God would humble me at the feet of King Jesus. I pray that God would put a desire for obedience in my heart. Just like an earthly king, with Jesus there are great rewards for obeying His commands and there is great discipline for disobedience. I pray that you would keep me on the path of obedience. Spare me from the pains of your discipline. However, if it is necessary, let me experience your reproving, loving, Fatherly discipline. Thank you Jesus for bringing me into your kingdom. I pray that you would make your church a place of prayer for the nations. Make me a prayer warrior for all the peoples of the earth.

Have Faith In God ~ Day 30

October 31, 2006 - Day 30

Mark 11:12-14, 20-25

Passage: This is an interesting passage that seems a bit out of place, but actually the context gives this passage its meaning. Jesus was hungry so He went to a fig tree that was full of leaves. He expected it to have fruit on it, but it did not. It was barren. This seems to anger Jesus, so he curses the tree to never bear fruit again. The meaning of this passage is clear when it is considered by its surrounding context. The fig tree resembles the Jewish people who on a whole are a spiritually barren people. They will soon reject Jesus for a final time. They are very far from God. They are not fulfilling their purpose as God’s people, just as the fig tree is not fulfilling its purpose as a fig-bearer. This is detestable to Jesus. The Jews in fact would receive judgment from God for their rejection of Jesus and are still to this day.

Application: Jesus gives the application to this passage in verse 20, “Have faith in God.” The Jewish people simply would not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, the coming king. Jesus also says that we should trust God in all things. We should pray with faith, believing that God hears and answers our prayers. So, I must have faith in Jesus. I must believe that He was the Messiah sent from God. I must trust Him for the forgiveness of sin and for the provisions of life. He alone is worthy of this tremendous trust. Thank you Jesus for all that you are to me. I also think this passage beckons Christians to preach the gospel to Jews. They should not be excluded in our evangelism. It is very sad to see their current state, estranged from God.

Behold, Your King Is Coming To You ~ Day 29

October 30, 2006 - Day 29

Mark 11:1-11

Passage: In this passage we find Jesus entering the city of Jerusalem, riding on a donkey. This passage is often rightfully called “The Triumphal Entry.” This passage is a direct fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9 which says, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” There are several main points to this passage. Jesus was entering Jerusalem to claim his title as “King of the Jews.” Jesus truly was and is a king. In fact he is the king of the universe, the King of Kings. His rule is absolute and his jurisdiction is eternally vast. There is not one thing that is out of his control. He is the Sovereign King. Yet, we find Jesus entering Jerusalem on a lowly, untrained donkey. He was not accompanied by a great army or nobleman but rather the poor and feeble of society. He did not enter the city to overtake the throne by force but rather on the cross of crucifixion where he would be given his title “King of the Jews.” Jesus was given all authority on heaven and earth by His Father in heaven (Matthew 28:18). However his rule was not what the Jews expected. For now His rule is partially veiled to our eyes. One day when Christ returns he will exercise his kingly authority by judging all people according to their sins and He will rule in full, visible measure. His kingdom will no longer be “already, not yet.”

Application: The only right response to Jesus’ kingly authority is submission and praise. I thank God that He has revealed to me through His Word that Jesus is king over me. I thank God that He has not let me be confused like the Jews were. They rejected Jesus as their king because they could not see His kingdom. I must always submit to the commandments of Jesus that are laid out in the Bible. I must always praise Him and give Him the honor that is due to Him. I must trust His sovereign, all-powerful dominion over all of my life’s circumstances. He is a good king. He works all things for the good of those who love Him.

Jesus, Son of David! ~ Day 28

October 29, 2006 - Day 28

Mark 10:46-52

Passage: Today’s passage is very rich with meaning. The passage before [and its broader context] is concerning the kingdom of Christ that He has come to establish. As Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem for the last time, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus calls out to Him, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus asks Bartimaeus what he wants and Bartimaeus asks to be given sight to his blind eyes. Jesus grants his request and restores his sight. This could be seen as just another miracle of Jesus’, but there lies a certain meaning here. That is so important when reading the Gospels. Jesus did his miracles not only for the good of the people, but also to display something greater about Himself. Here we see Jesus referred to as the “Son of David.” Bartimaeus understood that Jesus was the one whom the Prophets spoke of (Isaiah 11:1-3; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Ezekiel 34:23-24). He knew that God had promised that a descendent of David would establish an eternal kingdom (Isaiah 9:6-7). And he believed that Jesus was that “Son of David.” Jesus’ power to restore Bartimaeus’ sight was a testimony to the truth of his claim to be the promised Messiah. The next passage of scripture tells of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. Jesus would soon establish His kingdom unexpectedly, and yes ironically, through His death, burial and resurrection.

Application: One of the greatest applications I can think of here is this: God is faithful to His promises and His Word is a faithful witness to them. It is stunning to see how fully and clearly Jesus fulfilled the words of the Prophets of the Old Testament. It increases my faith to think upon these things. I thank God that He will be faithful to do what He has promised me. Secondly, I see how much Jesus cared for the downtrodden. Jesus went out of His way, fighting his way through the thick crowd to get to Bartimaeus. I hope that I can be this attentive to those who are crying out for help around me. Lord help me to be more compassionate towards the poor, sick, and oppressed.

Humility, Service, and Suffering ~ Day 27

October 28 2006 - Day 27

Mark 10:35-45

Passage: Mark is still revealing this theme concerning the disciples and their confusion about Jesus and His kingdom. James and John ask Jesus a favor. They ask if they can sit at Jesus’ right and left hand when Jesus is exalted in glory in His kingdom. In other words they want to be the Jesus’ number one men. They want a place of importance, power, prestige in the coming kingdom of Christ. Little did they know, the kingdom would not be about import, power, and prestige. Rather, the kingdom of Christ is about humility, service, and suffering. Jesus makes it clear that He did not come to sit on a throne but rather to die on a cross. Jesus challenges their request and corrects their request. Jesus says this great word, “and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man [Jesus] came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Application: This passage has profound implications for my life. Jesus has not received me into His kingdom to seek after honor, receive service, or gain temporal comforts. Quite frankly, this is a scary passage. In verse 39-40 Jesus predicted the sufferings and martyrdoms of James and John. Jesus did not call them to easy living, and He does not call me to easy living. First, I must be humble. I must not do things in order that people will recognize me or talk good about me. I shouldn’t be trying to make a name for myself. Jesus humbled himself in such a profound and admirable way when He descended from the glory of heaven to take on a human body and nature. I must be willing to come down to the lowest level of society in order to minister to all types of people. Secondly, I must not seek to gain great power. Jesus said that His disciples are not to rule in the same way that the Gentile rulers rule, cruelly and burdensomely. But rather with compassion and trust in God that He will accomplish what needs to be accomplished. Thirdly, I must be willing to minister to those who hate me and want to kill me. Jesus is the supreme example. James is another great example. He later became the first Christian martyr. Oh God, humble me and give me a servant’s heart that is willing to suffer for the sake of your gospel!

On The Road To Jerusalem ~ Day 26

October 27 2006 - Day 26

Mark 10:32-34

Passage: In this passage I find Jesus and the disciples making their way toward Jerusalem. The passage says that the disciples were amazed and afraid as they followed Jesus, who was ahead of them. It is clear that the disciples were afraid that Jesus was going to Jerusalem to fulfill the things He had earlier foretold, that is, his violent death and his resurrection. They were, in fact, right. After traveling some distance Jesus gathers the disciples and tells them they are going to Jerusalem so that He may be handed over to the chief priests and scribes and they will condemn him to death and deliver Him over to the Romans who will mock him, spit on him, flog him, and finally kill him. He then concludes by foretelling His resurrection from the dead, which will happen three days after He dies.

Application: If I had to pick one purpose for which Jesus came to earth, I would point to this passage. Jesus is the God-Man who came to be mocked, spat upon, flogged, and crucified. He suffered this not for the wages of His own deeds. It was for my evil life, my sins, my deserved punishment. I cannot imagine the thoughts that Jesus may have had on this trip; the thoughts of the physical pain that He would endure, the thought of being separated from His Father in heaven whom He had been in perfect fellowship with from eternity past. How did He not turn back? How was He not crippled in terror? Jesus being God, it was in effect His own wrath that He would experience. He knew the immeasurable torment He was going to endure on that cross. Even more so, how was He not enraged by the fact that He did not deserve this. It was my sin, not His. Oh Jesus, I praise you for this. I repent of my sin. Oh I turn from it in my sorrow. I praise you for your mercy. Help me to be merciful like you. Help me to be willing to suffer so that others will get to hear about this gospel of yours! Thank you for your mercy and grace. Help me to live as one who has been forgiven much.

Rewards Of Discipleship ~ Day 25

October 26 2006 - Day 25

Mark 10:28-31

Passage: In this passage we find Peter’s response to Jesus’ command to the rich young ruler. Jesus had told the rich young ruler that if he sold all that he had he would receive eternal life. With the help of Matthew’s account, we see that Peter wanted to know what he would receive for leaving all that he had in order to follow Jesus. It is amazing that Jesus responds by saying, “I tell you the truth, there is no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive in this age a hundred times as much — homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, fields, all with persecutions — and in the age to come, eternal life.”

Application: I think this passage can very easily be distorted and used in an incorrect way. This is clearly not a promise of big houses, big families, and big properties, at least not in the normal sense of the words, for those who follow Jesus. Rather, it is a promise of something greater. This passage is fulfilled in the community of the church. The early church, which is described in Acts, is described as sharing all things and giving to each other as each had need. It describes deep, personal relationships between believers. People like Barnabas sold their land in order to provide for peoples needs. I have recently been experiencing this type of bond with my new church. I am so thankful for what God has given to me through the church. True fellowship is priceless. It is important to note Jesus' inclusion of promised persecutions. It is simply a fact that any person who lives a godly life, radically following Jesus, will suffer from persecution, some more severely than others. All of these blessings are wonderful but none compare to the gift of eternal life. Jesus says in John 17 that eternal life is knowing God as he really is, forever. The main event of eternal life is being filled with everlasting joy in worship over the knowledge of God Himself! Oh I can’t wait! But I must.

Easier For A Camel ~ Day 24

October 25 2006 - Day 24

Mark 10:17-27

Passage: As Jesus is setting out to continue His journey, a man who is identified as a rich young ruler meets Him. The passage says that the young man runs up to Jesus and asks Him how he can have eternal life. Jesus responds in a very wise way. First He asks the young man if he had kept all the Ten Commandments. The young man responds, “well yeah, I’ve kept those since I was a child.” Jesus, without verbally addressing this rich young rulers sin, shows it by demonstration. Jesus then says to the rich young ruler, “you lack one thing, go and sell all that you have, give the money to the poor, and come and follow me.” The rich young ruler goes away with sorrow. He was not willing to give up all his riches in order to follow Christ. Jesus then says that it is as hard for a rich person to enter into the kingdom of heaven as it is as hard for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. The disciples are stunned at this saying and they want to know, “well who then can enter the kingdom of heaven?” Jesus says that it is impossible for man to do it. He says it is only possible with God.

Application: This is definitely a stunning passage of Scripture. I know that if I were left to myself with my own abilities and desires, I would not have sold all my possessions so that I could follow Jesus. Money and possessions hold such a powerful grip on the hearts of all people, especially me. Jesus said that we must be willing to give up everything in order to follow Him. I think it is right to say that the mere possession of money and things was not the problem of the rich young ruler. The problem was that his love for money was greater than his love for Jesus. He would rather have his riches than have eternal life with Jesus. This same principle applies to all sins. In order to follow Jesus I must be willing to give up all of my sins. This is the meaning of repentance. Repentance is the rejecting and turning away from sin so that I might follow Jesus. I pray that I may have the will and the desire, through the grace of God, to renounce all my sins and any sin that I might discover that is hiding in my life. Jesus, help me to love you more than any other person or thing. Guard me from collecting sinful treasures that dishonor you and your grace towards me. You alone are worthy of my fullest desires and longings.

Faith Of A Child ~ Day 23

October 24 2006 - Day 23

Mark 10:13-16

Passage: In today’s passage I find Jesus being a loving, caring Savior and also being a great prophet concerning the kingdom of God. Jesus was among a group of people when some children came running up to see Him and be blessed and held by Him. These are apparently very small children because the passage says that Jesus took them up in His arms. While the children are trying to get to Jesus, the disciples rebuke their parents (or whoever brought them to Jesus), but Jesus is angered by the disciple's actions. He tells them to let the children come to Him. Jesus then tells the disciples that the only way to enter the kingdom of God is to be just like the children. This was a stern rebuke and probably a very humbling moment for the disciples.

Application: I think this passage can be applied in numerous ways to my life. I want to be careful though and not stretch the analogy that Jesus used in ways it shouldn’t be. The most obvious condition of a child is that they are totally dependent on their parents for all of their life. The parent must provide shelter, food, clothing, and all other necessities. I must approach Jesus in this way. I truly am dependent upon Him for all things in life. I must not come offering my abilities and goodness but rather in a humble attitude of inability and desperate need. Secondly, children are dependent upon their parents for instruction, wisdom, and training in godliness. Children are the best students to be found. They learn so much from their parents, especially in the very first years of their lives. They learn to walk, talk, eat, right from wrong, and other skills. In the same way I must be totally submitted to the teaching of God. I must willing to study the Bible and listen to biblical preaching and teaching. I must be willing to be totally changed in my understanding of the world, of God, and myself. Thirdly, I think Jesus was saying that I must be joyful, glad to be embraced by Him and loved by Him. Children find much joy in their parents company. They love to be loved, cared and embraced by them. I must in the same way be joyful over Jesus. The analogy is not perfect because parents aren’t perfect and children aren't perfect. However, through my relationship to Jesus I have the perfect Father. Thank you Jesus for being so willing to embrace me.

Divorce And Remarriage In The Eyes Of God ~ Day 22

October 23 2006 - Day 22

Mark 10:1-12

Passage: This passage is anti-post-modern-American and maybe just plain anti-American. In today’s passage I find Jesus confronted with the issue of divorce. Jesus as He often does, refers back to the Old Testament. Specifically He refers back to the creation account in Genesis. I love to see Jesus affirm the Old Testament. Even more, I love to see Jesus give a fuller understanding of the Old Testament. That is what He does with the issue of divorce. The Pharisees want to know if it is lawful to get a divorce. Jesus says, “What did Moses say about it?” They say that Moses said to write a certificate of divorce and send her away. Jesus responds with an incredible rebuke and further explanation. Jesus said that the only reason Moses gave this instruction was because he had to deal with the sins of the people of Israel in an orderly fashion. Divorce was not God’s intention for marriage. God originally said after creation to not let anyone separate what God has joined. In other words, it is sin to divorce. Jesus goes on to say that not only is it sin to divorce but it is also adultery to remarry after divorce (Mark 10:11-12, Luke 16:18, Matt 19:7-9, 1 Cor 7:10-11, Rom 7:1-3).

Application: These verses are incredibly counter-cultural in the USA. People believe they have the right to marry and divorce as many times as they very well please. They will not accept the idea that there is a God who tells them what they should and should not do. Divorce and remarriage run completely against the intention of God for marriage. Marriage is supposed to reflect the loving relationship between God and man. Humans have distorted this relationship ever since Adam and Eve first sinned. It is my job as a minister of the Word of God to uphold His standards for marriage. First, I will never divorce my wife. I am a son of a divorced family. I have experienced what it does. I will not divorce for the sake of God’s glory, for the sake of my wife and for the sake of my future children. It’s affects are horrible. Secondly, I will not marry (as in administer a marriage) a divorced man or woman. It would be sin for either one to remarry and it would therefore be a sin on my part for joining together those who should not be joined together. The only exception to this remarriage rule is if the spouse of the divorcee is no longer living (Romans 7:1-3).

It's Better To Tear Your Eye Out ~ Day 21

October 22 2006 - Day 21

Mark 9:36-50

Passage: Today’s passage is a continuation of yesterday’s. Jesus is still teaching what I will call “kingdom ethics.” He first takes a child into His arms and says that the follower of Christ should embrace children. The disciples then ask Jesus what they should have done with a man they met who was casting out demons in Jesus’ name but he was not in the group of the twelve disciples. Jesus said that they should not have told this man to stop casting out demons. Jesus then gives a strong warning to the disciples that they should be sure to never cause someone to stumble and sin, especially not a child. He said it would be better for a huge stone to be tied around their necks and then for them to be cast into the ocean. He then gives another serious instruction concerning their own sins. He said that it would be better for them to tear their eye out or cut off their hand or foot if one of these members causes them to sin than to go to hell with two eyes or hands or feet.

Application: The best way to summarize the main application of this passage for my life is to say: I must live humbly and holy so that the heaven-bound don’t live like the hell-bound. The disciples are still struggling to understand what the kingdom of Christ is all about and how they should live in it. Jesus is driving home the idea that the kingdom is not about prestige and praise and it is not about living as one’s flesh pleases but rather in a manner that honor’s God and brings people to Christ. I must be willing to minister to the “lowest.” I must be so careful not to sin or live in a way that promotes sin in front of people so that I do not cause them to sin with a freer conscience. Jesus is so serious about this that He uses the graphic language of tearing out eyes and cutting off limbs. Of course He did not mean this literally but rather as an exaggeration to give emphasis. Help me God.

The Kingdom of Christ ~ Day 20

October 21 2006 - Day 20

Mark 9:30-35

Passage: Today I find Jesus traveling with His disciples and using the time alone with them to teach them about the kingdom of Christ. It is well known that the Jews of Jesus’ day were expecting a Messiah who would free them from the Roman rule and who would restore the nation of Israel to its former glory, forever. However, the plan of God was far different. Jesus did not come to earth to set up a physical kingdom. He did not come to conquer the Roman authorities by great military might. Rather he tells the disciples that He must killed by the hands of men and that He must rise three days later. He also makes it clear what type of following He expected from His disciples. The disciples were expecting greatness and honor to be awarded them for following Jesus. They wanted to be the king’s right hand-men once He set up His kingdom. Rather, Jesus said you must be last in this world and you must be servants to people. Then you will be considered first in the kingdom of Christ.

Application: The temptation to be number one in the kingdom of Christ is still a reality two-thousand years later and it is still just as contrary to the teaching of Christ. I must guard against desiring the praise of men. It is very easy for me to do things for the sake of being seen or for the mere thought that people will recognize me. This was contrary to the teaching of Jesus. He said you must be last and you must be a servant of people. Jesus also taught in other places that the validity of actions such as serving are also judged by the mind and attitude that they are done with. So I must be sure that in all my ministry and service to the people of God I am not doing it for my glory and praise. I must take the road of sacrifice and suffering that Jesus took and do it with a humble and joyful heart.

Help My Unbelief! ~ Day 19

October 20 2006 - Day 19

Mark 9:14-29

Passage: The passage today is a great continuation of the previous passage that told of Jesus’ transfiguration. Jesus, with Peter, James, and John, descends down the mountain only to find the rest of the disciples quarreling with some scribes. The quarrel centered on why the disciples were not able to cast out an evil spirit from a young boy. Jesus says the reason why they were powerless was because of unbelief. Jesus then declares that all things are possible to those who believe. The father immediately cries out, “I believe; help my unbelief!” Jesus then casts out the demon and restores the boy to normal.

Application: This passage, as all others, is divinely placed by God right after the transfiguration. The purpose of the transfiguration was to make it unmistakably clear that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, the fulfillment of the Old Testament. As seen in this miracle, it is our’s to respond to Jesus in belief. By the grace of God I must believe that Jesus is the God-Man. He is capable of all things and is capable of using me to do all things. This boy seemed hopeless. It seemed impossible for him to be healed. Yet by grace through faith he was healed by Jesus. Everyday of my life I will encounter difficulties that will require me to have faith in Jesus. The greatest, most urgent difficulty is my struggle with sin. By the power of Jesus’ death on the cross sin’s power (death) has been destroyed. No longer does it hold victory over my soul. I must however daily place my faith in Jesus to conquer the remaining sins that I hold on to. Thank you Jesus for giving me the power to overcome so many sins so far. Please help me rid my life of any remaining sin. I believe; help my unbelief!

Jesus Ablazed In Glory ~ Day 18

October 19 2006 - Day 18

Mark 9:2-13

Passage: In today’s text I encounter an amazing miracle and sign. Jesus takes three of His closest disciples with Him high up on a mountain. There on the mountain Jesus is transfigured. His clothes become blazing white and Moses and Elijah appear and begin speaking with Jesus. The disciples are terrified and do not know what to do. Suddenly a voice from the cloud that is surrounding them speaks, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”

Application: One of the main purposes of this is event is to solidify and encourage the disciples understanding of who Jesus is. The amazing blaze of Jesus’ clothes is a revelation of His glory as the God of the universe. Moses is the representative of the Law in the Old Testament. Elijah is the representative of the Prophets in the Old Testament. The purpose of their presence is to reveal that Jesus is the Messiah whom the Law and Prophets pointed to. Finally, the Father confirms all of this by declaring Him as His Son and giving authority to His teaching; “ . . . listen to him.” My personal application must be to bow my life in praise to Jesus the Messiah. Jesus is the God of the universe! He created all things that exist. He upholds the universe by the word of his power. What fool will not worship Him? Secondly, I must obey Jesus. God the Father says to listen to him. Implied in this command to listen is the command to obey. Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth. I must obey all that He commanded.

Take Up Your Cross ~ Day 17

October 18 2006 - Day 17

Mark 8:34-9:1

Passage: After Jesus foretells his death and resurrection He begins to explain the type of following that He requires. Jesus was heading to the cross, a gruesome, shameful, and painful place of execution. Jesus tells the disciples and the crowds that if they want to follow Him they have to take up their own crosses also. They must be willing to give up their lives in order to follow Him. He says it is foolish to hold on to the things of this world in place of following Him. He says that if they are ashamed of Him and the path that He is headed on to the cross then He will be ashamed of them on Judgment Day.

Application: Jesus does not call me to light-hearted, half-committed devotion. That is a contradiction in terms. Jesus calls me to nothing other than radical devotion. Almost all of the disciples would later face great persecution or execution for following Jesus and preaching His gospel. Jesus does not promise me “cheap grace.” I must count the cost of being His disciple. I am often confronted with fear as I feel led to share the gospel with someone. Oh how shameful it is to say that I often give in to this fear. I thank God for His mercy, the same mercy He had on Peter after he denied Jesus three times. I pray that God would make me a bold, courageous proclaimer of the gospel. I want to lose my life for Jesus and the gospel so that I might gain life!

Journal Day 16

October 17 2006 - Day 16

Mark 8:31-33

Passage: In this passage we find Jesus revealing more about Himself and His purpose on earth. He tells the disciples that He will have to suffer many things from the Jewish elders and rulers, even death itself. The passage says, “he said this plainly.” Just like his usual self, Peter crosses a boundary he shouldn’t have. He tells Jesus to stop talking so crazy. “This cannot be if you are the Christ!” he must have said. But Jesus with much force rebukes Peter saying, “Get behind me Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Application: Surely when Jesus called Peter “Satan,” he did not mean that Peter was literally Satan. So what did He mean? Jesus meant that Peter was like Satan because he was thinking like Satan. Jesus quickly tells Peter what he did wrong. He was thinking about worldly things and not godly things. Peter had different plans for Jesus than Jesus did. I think the greatest thing I can take from this passage is the fact that God considers my thoughts as part of who I am and will hold me accountable for all my thoughts. He doesn’t just judge my actions but also my thoughts. Too often my thoughts are on this world and not on God. I pray that God will daily keep my thoughts from venturing into lust, covetousness, greed, and hate. In turn I pray that God would set my mind on the God Himself, the Bible, prayer, and love for people. I thank God that Jesus did come to die and rise from the dead so that all the wrath that I deserve for my wicked thoughts could be forgiven. Oh the peace!

Journal Day 15

October 16 2006 - Day 15

Mark 8:22-30

Passage: After performing many miracles Jesus finally asks the disciples “who do people say that I am?” They list several popular opinions. Then Jesus gets to the point with them. “Who do you say that I am?” Peter finally understands and says, “You are the Christ.”

Application: I need to ask myself this question more often. Andrew, who do you say Jesus is? This is the greatest question I could ever ask myself. All of eternity hangs on this question. If Jesus is not the Christ then the eternal wrath of God looms over my head. If Jesus was just a great teacher then all of hell’s terror awaits my eternal company. If Jesus is not the Christ then I must bear my own punishment, my own horrific cross of judgment. Oh Jesus, thank you for revealing yourself to me as the Christ! You took my place on the cross. Thank you! You are the Christ!

Journal Day 14

October 15 2006 - Day 14

Mark 8:14-21

Passage: Today’s passage is yet another display of the immaturity and questionable faith of the disciples. Jesus and the disciples are traveling in a boat. While in the boat, Jesus seeks to teach and warn the disciples about the danger of the Pharisees. Jesus likens the unbelief and the hypocritical practices of the Pharisees to leaven. Leaven is put inside bread and it causes it to rise and expand. It drastically changes the bread. It transforms the bread. Jesus wants the disciples to be careful not to fall into the same trap the Pharisees are in. However, the disciples do not get it. It seems that all the talk about leaven makes them think about their stomachs. They realize that they only brought one loaf of bread with them in the boat. They discuss between themselves what they are going to do. Jesus is astounded that they have so quickly forgotten the miracles He had already performed. With very few loaves He miraculously fed thousands until they were full, with baskets left over. The disciples were forgetful and therefore faithless.

Application: I find in myself this same tendency that the disciples had. I think I often miss the main point. I wonder how many times I have been struggling with something in my life and not realized that Jesus is trying to teach me a great lesson in truth. This is a lack of maturity and faith. I don’t want to get caught up in the worries of this world and miss out on the blessings of God. The Bible is the revelation of God. In it I find the truths that God wants me to know. I must be diligent to read and study it so that I can then apply it to my life. O God, help me to beware and watch out for the leaven of this world. Help me not be distracted from you and the lessons you are trying to teach me.

Journal Day 13

October 14 2006 - Day 13

Mark 8:11-13

Passage: “The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.” It is simply amazing to see that the people wanted and needed another sign from Jesus to show that He was the Messiah. Jesus just fed four thousand people with only a couple rolls and a few bream fish. Before that Jesus healed a deaf man. Before that Jesus cast out a demon from a young girl. What more did they need?

Application: While it is surprising to see the Pharisees and most of the Jews disbelieve in Jesus even in the face of great miracles, I confess that I would not have believed either. In fact, I didn’t believe for nineteen years of my life. Only by the grace of God did I ever believe and have faith in Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the Savior. Only by the grace of God did I ever understand that Jesus is the the God-Man who died on the cross in my place, receiving my punishment. Only by the grace of God did I ever come to believe that Jesus rose from the dead three days later and now that He has conquered death He offers me eternal life. If Jesus is who He said He was then He demands my truest faith and my strongest devotion. Oh Jesus, thank you for your grace in my life! Help me to live in a way that honors who you are. Increase my faith day by day! Amen.

Journal Day 12

October 13 2006 - Day 12

Mark 7:31-8:10

Passage: Today’s passage is full of miraculous events. Jesus gives hearing and speech to a man who is deaf and has a speech impediment. He the for the second time in His ministry feeds a great crowd. This time he feeds about four thousand people. The main message of the text is that Jesus is the Messiah. I will however save that for the next two days where the message is accentuated the most. Another great observation from this passage is the compassion and care that Jesus had for His people. Jesus says in 8:2 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.”

Application: Jesus was fully God and He was fully a man. In this passage we see the humanity of Jesus. Jesus knew what it meant to be hungry. Jesus knew what it meant to go without food for three days, for He had gone forty days during a fast earlier in His life. Not only did Jesus know what it felt like to be weak in hunger, but also He had compassion for the hungry people around Him. He did not like seeing the people starve and He did not want the people to die because of it. Jesus has compassion on me also. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” This high priest is Jesus. Today, Jesus has had sympathy on me. Today He has gone to God the Father on my behalf and pleaded my cause. I thank God for the sinless, compassionate humanity of Jesus the Christ.

Journal Day 11

October 12 2006 - Day 11

Mark 7:24-30

Passage: In this passage we find Jesus trying to escape the crowds probably for some much needed rest. He is so well known now that it is practically impossible for Him to go unnoticed. A woman from Syria who speaks Greek comes to Jesus and asks that He cast out a demon in her daughter. Jesus responds to her in what seems a rather derogatory manner by saying “shouldn’t the children be fed before the dogs.” In that day the Gentiles (non-Jew) were looked down upon and not respected by the Jews. Jesus likened the Jews to the children and the Gentiles to the dogs. She responded like this, “Yes Lord you are right, but even the dogs get to eat the crumbs that the children drop on the floor.” Jesus greatly commends her for saying this and immediately casts the demon out of the young girl even though she was no where near.

Application: The point of Jesus’ response to the woman was not to lift up the Jewish race and to degrade the Gentiles. Jesus’ point was that the Jew’s were being offered the salvation of God before anyone else. The Jew’s were the chosen people of God through whom the Messiah would come. They received the revelation of Jesus before anyone else. The terrible thing is that the Jew’s largely rejected Jesus and “threw Him to the dogs.” The Gentiles were brought into the chosen people of God. This woman was willing to honor the Jews and to humbly accept her position as a Gentile in the plan of God. I can apply this by being thankful for the Jewish heritage that belongs to every Christian. It is amazing the widespread hatred towards the Jews in today’s time and past times. There is no right place for persecution of Jews. They are close kin to the Christian. it is a shame that we as Christian’s have not been more loving and diligent to share the gospel with Jews. Jesus was a Jew and he loved his fellow Jews. I need to exemplify this same love.

Journal Day 10

October 11 2006 - Day 10

Mark 7:14-23

Passage: Mark, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, tells us more of Jesus’ teaching on the faults of the Pharisees. Jesus wants to get to the root of the problem. The Pharisees believe they have to wash their hands before they eat or else they will defile themselves before God. Jesus says they have it completely wrong. He says it is not what goes in the person that defiles them but what comes out. When Jesus said “what comes out” he was not referring to bodily excrement but rather “evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.”

Application: Reading this list of what defiles a person makes me thankful for the mercy of Jesus because I am guilty of every one of them. Not a day goes by that I do not stumble over one of these sins. What also greatly disturbs me the complete and widespread acceptance of these things in the Church. Where do I see this happening? The TV! I know countless numbers of Christian people who will sit on the couch and be endlessly entertained by these very things! In fact, the only thing that makes for “good TV” are these very sins. Honestly, people would not watch TV if these sins were not the central focus. It is a sin to enjoy such things. But wait? Am I being like the Pharisees? Since TV is simply entering my brain through my eyes and ears it really isn’t defiling me right? I’ve heard this argument before. “It’s okay to watch whatever on TV because what enters a person doesn’t defile a person.” They’re right on one point. The simple occurrence of the sight of something is not a sin, but it is rather the response that is the sin. To be entertained by and to enjoy watching a murder movie, to enjoy shows about gay men and women, to enjoy reality shows where men sexually “test out” women so that he can pick his bride, to enjoy a soap opera where divorce and adultery are the central themes is evil! These Christians say they would never do these things in real life. so why do they bring you happiness and entertainment? Christ would be and is totally disgusted by the portrayed sin that entertains the church. The church is glorifying sin! Oh God help us to see the depth of our depravity. Help us turn from enjoying evil to enjoying you.

Journal Day 9

October 10 2006 - Day 9

Mark 6:53-56; 7:1-13

Passage: This passage is the beginning of a dispute between Jesus and the Pharisees and scribes. The dispute is over Jesus’ disciples. According to this passage the Pharisees and scribes had a tradition of washing hands in a certain way that they believed cleansed them and thus honored God. Jesus very sharply rebukes the Pharisees and scribes for considering the traditions of man to be the commandments of God. Quote, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

Application: I find several applications in this text. One I will save for tomorrow. For today I want to focus on my proneness to being like the Pharisees. It is so easy for me to equate my acceptance to God based on the things I am doing. It is very easy to focus on the outward actions like church attendance, bible reading, and seminary while neglecting the inward “heart” life. The Pharisees had much outward religion and no inward relationship. Their outward actions were but a cover-up of the reality of their wicked hearts. The Bible is clear that the only way to be accepted by God is for a person to have faith in Jesus Christ as the God-Man who received your wrath on the cross and who rose from the dead three days later. Not only did they vainly go through the motions of religion, but to make matters worse, the religion they were following was their own man-made religion. They taught and obeyed the “commandments of men.” I need to be careful not to hold to tightly to the things in church life that are only traditions. Traditions are good but not when they become an authority with or over the Bible. This will become very important for me if I am a missionary. I must only seek to deliver the message contained in the Bible and not the traditions of men.

Journal Day 8

October 9 2006 - Day 8

Mark 6:30-52

Passage: In this passage Mark tells of two amazing miracles that Jesus performs. The first miracle happened when five thousand men (so probably many women and children also) gathered to see Jesus. At the end of the day the disciples ask Jesus if He will send them away so they can get something to eat. Instead of sending them away, Jesus performs a miraculous wonder. Out of five loaves and two fish he feeds thousands of people until they are full with much bread left over. The second miracle happens when the disciples are out at sea after their miraculous dinner. The disciples are by themselves very early in the morning being tossed about on the sea. To their amazement they see Jesus walking on the water. They become afraid because they don’t know it is Jesus. He speaks to the disciples, gets in the boat, and calms the sea. They are utterly astounded, confused, and hardened.

Application: Again we find the disciples not understanding Jesus. The great things he does are amazing to them but they simply don’t understand what He is doing all this for. Their frustration with Jesus is obvious in the sarcasm of verse 37. Jesus performs miracles to show that He is God. I need to trust Jesus when He puts me in situations that seem ridiculous or are painful so that He can carry me through them and reveal that He is truly God. It is very easy to become cynical when I lack understanding or power in my life. I need to trust the Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler of the universe in all seasons of my life.

Journal Day 7

October 8 2006 - Day 7

Mark 6:14-29

Passage: In this passage Mark describes people’s reactions to Jesus and he tells the story of the beheading of John the Baptist. The first part of this passage is what I intend to focus on today. In the previous passage Jesus equipped his disciples with authority to cast out unclean spirits and the ability to heal. He then sent the disciples out into the world to do these ministries. Not only did Jesus give them instructions to heal and such, but apparently He told them to preach a message of repentance. Verse 12 says that they “went out and proclaimed that people should repent.” The next passages are interesting because they describe the various responses of people to the message of repentance. Mixed in with the response to this message was their response to Jesus. Undoubtedly the hearers knew that the disciples were sent from Jesus. It’s obvious from the surrounding context that the disciples did not completely grasp who Jesus was and the salvation He was bringing and certainly most who encountered their ministry did not either. This was a time of much speculation over who Jesus was and what he was doing.

Application: The popular speculations were that Jesus was “John the Baptist…raised from the dead”, some said "He is Elijah", and some said "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old." It is amazing that Jesus is still such a hot topic 2000 years later. An almost unending number of books have been written about Jesus since then which cover a vast amount of views of who Jesus was and is. Jesus asked the disciples who they thought He was in Mark 8:29 which says, “And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Christ." In the midst of all the opinions I must stay true to the Bible’s claims that Jesus is the Christ, the God-Man.

Journal Day 6

October 7 2006 - Day 6

Mark 6: 1-13
Passage: Jesus and the disciples continue on their journey. They reach Jesus’ hometown and stay there for a period. On the Sabbath day Jesus begins to teach in the local synagogue. The people are “astonished” at Jesus’ ability to teach. They want to know how he got to be such a great teacher. They know that he is just a carpenter. They know his whole family. Instead of embracing Jesus and his teaching they take offence at him and their hearts harden in unbelief.

Application: I don’t believe that I’m a prophet (have the gift of prophecy) and I’m certainly not Jesus, however I am a carpenter and my father is a carpenter, my undergraduate degree is in Construction Management and I am currently getting a theological education so that I can preach/teach the Word of God effectively. So in those ways I can relate to Jesus very well. In comparison, only in small ways have I experienced the rejection that Jesus did with the people who knew His history. Not only was Jesus rejected by His hometown but even the whole people of Israel (save the remnant). In that light, my experience of rejection from those who know my past is nothing. These verses help me prepare for what may lie ahead in my ministry. There is always the possibility of pastoring in my hometown of Shreveport, LA. This is a great warning to all of Jesus’ disciples of the risk that is involved with following Him. It is obvious that Jesus was preparing His disciples for what they would encounter as He sent them out to do miracles and preaching on repentance in the very next passage in Mark.

Journal Day 5

October 6 2006 - Day 5

Mark 5:21-43
Passage: Jesus’ renown is growing more and more. Jesus and the disciples cross back over the sea to meet another “great” crowd. Jesus is met by a ruler of a synagogue whose daughter is on the brink of death. Jesus follows the man, Jairus, to his home so he can heal her before she dies. And so does the crowd. On the way there a lady who has some type of constant menstrual bleeding sees Jesus. She believes that if she just touches Jesus’ robe she will be healed. Amazingly she does and she is healed. In the midst of much chaos the news is heard that the girl is dead and the people tell Jesus that He is no longer needed because she is dead. Jesus then proceeds to take just a few people into the home and He then raises the girl from the dead.

Application: It is hard for me to imagine the amazement and joy that the witnesses of this miracle experienced. The parents must have been devastated over their twelve-year-old daughters death. To hear Jesus say that she is just sleeping and then to see him speak life into her must have been overwhelming. I imagine they went from devastation, to anger and confusion (at Jesus’ seemingly foolish statement), to unspeakable joy. The raising of the dead is Jesus’ pinnacle of miracles. This miracle is beyond enough proof that Jesus is the Christ. Moreover, this miracle is the best picture of the miracle that he accomplished on the cross. His accomplishment on the cross in relation to the resurrection from the dead is best seen in the ordinance of Baptism. It is a representation of when we were dead in our sins, Christ entered into that death by the cross and He raised us with Him in His resurrection into life forever.

Journal Day 4

October 5 2006 - Day 4

Mark 4:35-41, 5:1-20
Passage: In this passage two main events happen. First, Jesus is out to sea with his disciples after a long day of ministry. Jesus must have been really tired because He slept through a horrible storm as they crossed the sea. In the middle of the storm, the disciples become very afraid that they are going to sink due to the storm. They wake Jesus up. Jesus rebukes the storm and it ceases. Jesus then questions the disciples why they have so little faith in Him. Second, once Jesus and the disciples reach the other side of the sea they come in contact with a man possessed by a demon whose name is Legion. The demon is terrified of Jesus and says, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” Jesus then casts out the demon from the man and sends it into a herd of pigs.

Application: What I find most astonishing in these passages is that the demon, in a sense, has more respect for Jesus than the disciples did. The disciples don’t understand that Jesus is God! They don’t yet fully grasp all of who Jesus is. The demon however very clearly understands that Jesus is “the Most High God.” Now, obviously, understanding who Jesus is is not enough. The difference between the disciples and the demon is that the disciples loved being in Jesus’ presence and the demon couldn’t stand being in Jesus’ presence. Mere knowledge of God is crucial, but it is not enough. We must love what we know of God and we must strive to know more.

Journal Day 3

October 4, 2006 - Day 3

Mark 4:1-34
Passage: In this passage Jesus explains the work of His disciples. He first describes this work in a parable using a sower of seeds to represent one of His disciples who are spreading the gospel. The ground where the sower is sowing represents the person who is hearing the gospel explained. Jesus then gives four different responses that commonly occur.

Application: The first application that I find is in the way that the sower sowed the seeds. He sowed them on all kinds of ground. Some fell on the path, rocky soil, briar filled soil, and some on good soil. It is easy to pick and choose whom you will share the gospel with based on some external reason. Some people look intimidating, some look poor, some look uneducated, some look too busy, and so on. Jesus made it clear by this passage and by his own ministry that the gospel should be shared with all types of people. The outside appearance of people is a poor indication of the quality of the “soil” of their heart. Secondly I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 3:6. It says that God gave the growth to the gospel seeds that Paul and Apollos planted and watered. This gives me courage to continue sharing the gospel and trusting the Lord for the results.

Journal Day 2

October 3, 2006 - Day 2

Mark 3:22-35
Passage: Jesus is so good at exposing the wisdom of the world as the foolishness it is. The scribes thought they had Jesus captured. The crowds were amazed at Jesus’ ability to cast out demons from the oppressed. The scribes came down from Jerusalem saying that he was casting out the demons by Beelzebul and by the prince of demons. Jesus replies very simply, “How can Satan cast out Satan?” In other words, that’s foolish and illogical! Christ indicts the scribes with a serious statement. He claims that by speaking of the Holy Spirit, which was working with Jesus to perform these miracles, as a spirit of a demon was an eternal sin. It was a sin that would never be forgiven. This is the sin of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

Application: This could very possibly become a terrifying passage to the thoughtful Christian reader. “What if I’ve mistakenly done this?” could haunt the mind and conscience. This could truly be a concern if Christ had not promised to keep all of His flock forever. This could truly be a concern if it was not true that “those whom he justified he also glorified.” (Romans 8:30) As a Christian my future state in glory is sure. I must conclude that God will prevent me from committing this eternal sin of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. I do however think it is wise not to let the tongue loose. We should be watchful over what we say concerning those who claim to perform miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Journal Day 1

October 2, 2006 - Day 1

Mark 2:18-3:21
Passage: The general message of the texts that I read today is that Jesus is the Christ, the fulfillment of the Old Testament. The Pharisees and John’s disciples wanted to know why Jesus’ disciples were not fasting also. Jesus says in parable like fashion that his disciples are only doing what is reasonable. It seems that Jesus understands one purpose of fasting to be a means to draw closer to God. Jesus’ point is “Why fast to draw closer to God when God is here in your presence, that is, I am here?” His point is that something new has come along that will do away with the old methods. He is beginning to reveal himself as the Christ.

Application: Even though I am not at this turning point in redemptive history like the people of this story, these texts are very applicable. While doing ministry and receiving education it is very easy to get distracted from the main point. I often get distracted from focusing on God while I am doing the things of God much like a child who prefers to play with the wrapping paper rather than the gift. Jesus constantly deals with this issue with his disciples. The Pharisees and John’s disciples did not understand that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God so they were distracted by the old. I on the other hand do know Jesus as the Christ and so it is probably doubly foolish to be distracted from Him. I must strive to keep Jesus in focus.

New Line of Posts

Again, I have been neglecting this page for some time...I have a plan to prevent that though. One of my assignments for my Personal Spiritual Disciplines class is to keep a journal for 30 days. Basically I read a passage from the Bible, then I summarize it in my own words, and then I try to apply it. Soo, I'm going to post my entry for each day. This should show up here at andrewelston.blogspot.com and at my Facebook site. So here we go

Seminary

Well tomorrow will be the end of my first week of classes at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. I have to say that I am loving it! It is so refreshing to be in such a "theologically sound and passionate for God and His Word" place. God and His Word are esteemed so high here!

I can already tell from my syllabi that this is going to be one of the greatest challenges I ever face. However, I believe it will be a joy filled struggle.

I'm taking these classes:
-Personal Spiritual Disciplines
-Hermeneutics
-Church History I
-Intro. to Hebrew
-Old Testament Theology

I pray that God would reveal truth to me through His Word, enflame my heart with passion for Him, guard me from pride, and give me a heart for the Church.

Who Chose Who? Part 2.0

Continuing the previous thoughts... It's just everywhere in the Bible. Man is too sinful to ever choose God of his own will. I'm just going to say it, it's arrogant to think that apart from the regenerating work of God's grace you would ever choose God. I mean you can't get any clearer than Romans 3:11 "...no one seeks for God." To say the opposite is to elevate man and contradict the Word.
So what hope do we have?

Paul is very clear as to why a person would ever choose God. How can a person willfully seek God? What makes a person long for salvation?

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Philippians 2:12-13

Paul instructs the Philippians to work out their own salvation. In other words, "Do some heart searching. Examine yourselves to see if you are truly saved. Seek after the Lord Jesus and His salvation." Paul then says God is working inside your hearts to will and to work. God is the source of your desire to seek Christ. God is the one who gives you the will and strength to obey Him. All of their "choosing God" is credited to God. Paul didn't say, "God has done all He can do, now it's up to you." Paul knew that as the Philippians worked out their salvation, God was the one working behind the scenes giving them the will to work. The same is true for anyone who has believed upon Jesus Christ.

Our repentance is a gift given to us by God.

And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
2 Timothy 2:24-26

If you have repented of sin it is because God has granted that repentance to you.

Our faith is a gift given to us by God.

For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, Philippians 1:29

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. Romans 12:3

I say with Paul "So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy." Romans 9:16

Who Chose Who? Part 1.7

Well, I fibbed. I've cooked several dinners since my last post. Let's try again.

Referring to my previous post, we've seen that all people are born with the inability to choose God, love God, and obey God. We are enslaved to sin. We cannot free ourselves from its fetters. We are hostile to God and we cannot submit to his laws. Our hearts are deceitful and sick. Since I last posted I've thought of verses that speak of us being "dead" in our trespasses and sins.

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience--among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. " --Ephesians 2:1-3

Why did Paul say we were dead in our trespasses and sins. Well, what do dead people do? Nothing! Do they act in any way as a living person does? No. Paul was saying, while we were spiritually dead, we did nothing that a spiritually alive person does. We did not because we could not. And the fact is true in both cases, dead people cannot raise themselves to life. Christ is the only source of life, spirtual and physical. He exemplified this truth with the raising of Lazarus. Lazarus was rotting in his tomb. He didn't move a muscle until Christ spoke life into his body. Before a person can have faith (choose) and obey Christ they must be "born again," "made alive" in Christ

Paul continues in Ephesians like this

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- " --Ephesians 2:4-5

Who made us alive? God did in his mighty grace! Who can take credit for this grace and the channel through which it flows called faith?

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." --Ephesian 2:8-10

God alone can take the credit! It is all a gift. If God chose us because we first chose him, we have reason to boast of our own faith. But this is not true. We are God's "workmanship, created in Christ Jesus..." He chose to have mercy on us first. He loved us for no reason of our own (Romans 9:11-15), simply according to His good pleasure and will. We choose Him because He first chose us.

More still to come.

Who chose who?

Today I was flipping through my five TV stations and I stopped for a minute on the "Lamb Broadcasting Network," the local charismatic Christian station. There was a young guy being interviewed about his youth minsitry. He was saying some sound,Biblical things for a while until he started speaking of "who chooses who" between God and man and how a love relationship "relies on the ability of choice."

I agree with him that "forced love" is not true love. Only when both parties in a relationship freely love the other, is it truly a love relationship. My problem with this guy's argument lies in his assumption that sinful humans, in and of themselves, can choose God at all! Let me show my point with Scripture.

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Romans 8:7-8

In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.

Galatians 4:3

But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,

Romans 6:17

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

Romans 6:6

The heart is deceitful above all things, desperately sick; who can understand it.

Jeremiah 17:9

I think its very clear from the Bible that man, in and of himself, will never choose God, have faith in God, or submit to God. These verses present a problem for those who think that a man or woman's will is the determining factor in their salvation. I am not saying the human will is not involved in or crucial to salvation. I will comment on that later tonight after I cook dinner.