5/26/14

From Jim McGuiggan... CHRISTIAN ADVANTAGE? (4)

CHRISTIAN ADVANTAGE? (4)

What good will these pieces on this subject do? I don’t know if they’ll do any good. On the other hand, before they're done maybe, just maybe, they’ll help some of us to depend less on divine magic for strength in our war against the world and stand up, by God’s grace, and be noble humans rather than wimps who feel God hasn’t kept his promises to strengthen us.

[“Well, you know, I really wanted to take the world on but I was expecting God to give me inner and unbeatable energizing in order to do it. But he didn’t live up to his promises.”]

It’s written all over the NT that God strengthens believers in Jesus Christ, empowering them in the war against “the world” of perverted powers and authorities. There’s no doubt about that!

The statements of empowerment are explicit and plain. Here’s the kind of thing I mean from Paul in Ephesians 3:16-21.

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

It’s hard to read a text like that without thinking Christians must be super-men and women. The empowering comes from the Almighty and loving Father who can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. The strength he gives is by his Holy Spirit and it occurs in our “inner being” and the strength he gives is said to be “power”.

Everything about the section seems to scorn the notion of weakness, of barely hanging on, of hardly making it.
   
 Preachers, while in the pulpit and authors in their studies, carried away by the glory of it and forgetting their own weaknesses and failings, soar to the heavens with excitement as they tell their often weary congregations that they’re the most powerful people on earth, that sin doesn’t have a chance with them and that they should be turning the world upside down. Ephesians 3:16-21 is a text like that—isn’t it?!

Wouldn’t we all just love to feel that surge of power flowing through us every moment; just love to almost hear the hum and feel the throb of spiritual power coursing through our minds and hearts? Striking sins dead as they approach, scoffing at temptations, treading them under our feet and living in glorious and virtual sinlessness! Isn’t that how the passage is preached and commonly understood and isn’t it how it looks on the surface?

Looking a gift horse in the mouth isn’t a popular practice but when the gift you depended on to gain some fine goal turns out to be a liability it can breed resentment, bitterness and despair.

Why shouldn’t we read that Ephesian text and believe what he says? I believe we should; but what does he actually say and what does he mean by what he says?

Paul says that he prays the Ephesians will be strengthened in the way he describes. He didn’t say that was their present condition, though they are indeed in Jesus Christ and are already indwelled by the Spirit. If this power Paul describes is the present possession of all who are in Jesus Christ then why does he pray that they might gain it? Whatever he has in mind, it can be obtained or he wouldn’t be praying for them to gain it.

If they presently experience anything of which he speaks they experience it only in its initial stages and if that’s the case we need to know that and we need to say that to sensitive people who tend to worry that they don't have it at all.

I think the word “power” seduces us. Paul knew what he had in mind when he used the word but what he had in mind and how the word was most commonly used in his Roman world (and ours) is not what he had in mind. At the heart of our use of power is the notion of “coercion” and force that aims to coerce.

We see the people who use “power” overwhelming those who don’t have it or who haven’t enough—it has nothing to do with persuasion or mutual agreement or non-coercive shaping; we see it as force that breaks down resistance. Like waves against a sea-wall. We even sometimes speak of the “power” of the gospel (Romans 1:16) and happily remind one another that the Greek word in that passage gave us the English word “dynamite”.

I don’t deny that in some ways and at certain times God has exercised coercive power. I suppose creation was an act of “raw power” when God sovereignly willed it and creation came to be—no persuasion, no mutual agreement; but that isn’t the only face of God’s sovereignty.

How is Paul using “power” in the Ephesians 3 text? He speaks of their being made powerful so that Christ might dwell in their hearts by faith (3:17). He prays that they might be given power so they can grasp the dimensions of Christ’s love (3:18) and he prays they might have power so that they personally could know that love in order that they could be filled with all that God is (3:19).

There's nothing in this section about “brute strength”—it’s all about a power that comes in a relational way. We speak about the power of friendship or role models and we don’t have “force” in mind; it has nothing to do with coercion in any form. Friendship does indeed have “power" astonishing power but its power is never mechanical or an exchange of atoms; it isn’t like an infusion of blood that obliterates anemia. The power in this section is a dynamic power that takes it nature from the nature of the relationship between the believer and God.

The growth of power in a Christian is the deepening of his/her relationship with God in Christ. The relationship isn’t only the way to power, it is the power Paul speaks of. Paul is praying that God will enrich and deepen their relationship with him and that is the empowering he has in mind. The mystery of how an honorable friendship grows between two humans is like the mystery of how we grow in our relationship to God through Jesus. There is no reduction of our humanity; there is a free and growing commitment that is power that results in more power.

God doesn’t take people who turn to Christ and pour some kind of divine energy into them so that they are invulnerable to temptation and sin. He’s a Holy Father to them—weak and wayward at times though they may be (see what Paul says to the Ephesians in 4:25-31) and in the free exchange of a commitment to each other (note 3:17) the relationship deepens and strength increases.

Spiritual and moral strength comes from God but there's no divine magic. Don't ask for that! He isn't interested in producing "Stepford Wives"—he wants a free loving relationship with you and he'll bring it about with your agreement and in the meantime he works through you for the human family.

[To be continued, God enabling.]

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, theabidingword.com.

From Wayne Jackson, M.A. ... The Blind Bookwriter




http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=400

The Blind Bookwriter

by  Wayne Jackson, M.A.

In logic, the Law of Teleology affirms that “where there is design, there must be a designer”—a point conceded by infidels (see Ricci, 1986, p. 190). Thus, even unbelievers have recognized that the design argument is a weapon to be reckoned with in the arsenal of apologetics.
One of the most influential presentations of the design argument was made by English theologian William Paley his work, Natural Theology, in 1802. In the very first paragraph of his celebrated treatise, Paley contended that if one were walking through a waste area and came upon a stone he might, without evidence to the contrary, assume that it simply had lain there forever. On the other hand, if one stumbled upon a watch, due to the fact that the timepiece had integrated parts that moved in concert for the purpose of marking time, one would be forced to conclude that this object was not an accident; rather, it had been designed, and therefore had a designer. Paley then proceeded, by analogy, to argue that the design apparent in nature was evidence of a Grand Designer, namely, God.
Numerous attempts have been made to negate the force of Paley’s logic. Perhaps one of the most significant of these—at least in our age—has been the work of British scientist, Richard Dawkins, who has described himself as “a fairly militant atheist, with a fair degree of active hostility toward religion” (as quoted in Bass, 1990, p. 86). Dawkins, a lecturer in animal behavior at Oxford University, has achieved a degree of fame from several books he has written. In 1976, he authored The Selfish Gene, in which he set forth his theory of genetic determinism (although he would deny that appellation). Akin to E.O. Wilson’s concept of “sociobiology,” it attempts to explain animal/human behavior on a strictly genetic basis. Genes, Dawkins has contended, are the key to understanding animal behavior. But aren’t men animals, according to evolutionary theory? Yes, but in order to escape the logical consequence of his argument (which would suggest that since man is an animal, he is not responsible for his behavior), the claim is made that humans, in their evolutionary progress, have broken free from the genes that program them.
Dawkins has boasted that his work brings home the reality of the ruthless, mechanistic explanation of human existence. “You are for nothing. You are here to propagate your selfish genes. There is no higher purpose to life” (Bass, 1990, p. 60). And, Dawkins has admitted, he is gratified that in reading his book, people are “losing religious faith” (Bass, 1990, p. 60). According to Dawkins, “religion is very largely an enemy of truth” (Bass, 1990, p. 87). He has characterized the idea that man was created by God as a “blasphemy” that atheists “have to fight against” (as quoted in Watson, 1987, p. 11).
In 1986, Dr. Dawkins authored another significant book, The Blind Watchmaker, in which he attempted to negate the widespread influence of Paley’s work. Dawkins vociferously declared that the intent of the book was to negate the influence of Paley because the “apparent design” that is characteristic of Earth’s creatures “cries out for an explanation” (p. ix). He even defined biology as “the study of complicated things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose” (p. 1). According to Dawkins, however, evolution—with its unconscious, automatic process called “natural selection”—is the blind watchmaker behind the wonderful world of living organisms. Dawkins recognizes, of course, that substituting blind evolution for an Intelligent Creator as an explanation for the “apparent design” upon the Earth is a formidable task. Thus, his attempt to prepare the minds of his readers for this propagandizing venture is quite interesting.
First, the professor complained that “Darwinism seems more in need of advocacy than similarly established truths in other branches of science” (p. xi). What he means is this: whereas in genuine science certain truths/laws are demonstrable, and thus quite evident, such is not the case with evolution. Hence, evolution must have special pleading!
Second—incredibly—Dawkins frustratingly says: “It is almost as if the human brain were specifically designed to misunderstand Darwinism, and to find it hard to believe” (p. xi, emp. added). That is absolutely correct, for the human brain was designed to think logically, and evolutionary theory is not logical. It is not reasonable to assume that chaos gave rise to order, that the nonrational produced the rational, that nonliving evolved into the living, that nonconscious became conscious, that amoral developed morality, etc. The simple fact is, people do not accept evolution because it is the logical thing to do; rather, many believe it because they have a vested interest in not wanting to acknowledge the Creator!
The sacred Scriptures vividly describe those who refuse to have God in their knowledge, indeed, whose senseless hearts are darkened (Romans 1:21,28). Some of them have even written books. But they are blind bookwriters who resist the obvious evidence.

REFERENCES

Bass, Thomas (1990), “Interview with Richard Dawkins,” Omni, 12[4]:58-60,84,86-89, January.
Dawkins, Richard (1986), The Blind Watchmaker (New York: W.W. Norton).
Ricci, Paul (1986), Fundamentals of Critical Thinking, (Lexington, MA: Ginn Press).
Watson, David C.C. (1987), “A Reply to Richard Dawkins,” Origins, pp. 10-11, May.

From Mark Copeland... Walking In The Fear Of The Lord (Acts 9:31)

                          "THE BOOK OF ACTS"

                 Walking In The Fear Of The Lord (9:31)

INTRODUCTION

1. In writing about the early church, Luke recorded:

   "Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee
   and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the
   Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied."
                                                       - Ac 9:31

2. In writing to the church at Philippi, Paul told them:

   "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in
   my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out
   your own salvation with fear and trembling;" - Php 2:12

3. The concept of "fear and trembling" in connection with God is not
   a popular concept today...
   a. People prefer to hear about God's love, longsuffering and mercy
   b. When we point out God's righteous indignation, holiness, and
      justice, some say "My God is not like that!"
   c. The emphasis on God's love and mercy today is probably a reaction
      to the "hell, fire, and brimstone" preaching of another generation

4. But could it be that we have gone to other extreme...?
   a. Where there is no concept of fear and trembling as it relates to 
      the Christian?
   b. Could this be why many Christians are apathetic in their service?
   c. Have we forgotten Whom we should fear if we are negligent in our 
      service? - cf. Mt 10:28

5. In this lesson, I hope to accomplish three things...
   a. Define the fear of the Lord
   b. Point out why the fear of the Lord is important to the Christian
   c. Suggest how we can develop a healthy fear of the Lord without going
      to either extreme

[Let's begin by...]

I. DEFINING THE "FEAR OF THE LORD"

   A. THE WORD "FEAR"...
      1. The Hebrew word is yir'ah and is used in the Old Testament
         to describe:
         a. Fear, terror
         b. Awesome or terrifying thing (object causing fear)
         c. Fear (of God), respect, reverence, piety
      2. The Greek word is phobos, and it is used to describe:
         a. Fear, dread, terror
         b. that which strikes terror

   B. WITH REGARDS TO THE FEAR OF THE LORD, IT IS OFTEN DEFINED AS
      REVERENCE OR AWE...
      1. Which is fine as far as it goes...
      2. But I wonder if this definition truly goes far enough...
      3. For though the terms reverence and awe imply a place for
         "trembling", do most make the connection?

   C. FEAR OF THE LORD SHOULD INCLUDE A PLACE FOR TREMBLING...
      1. Even as Paul indicated by combining "fear and trembling" - Php 2:12
      2. The Greek word for "trembling" is tromos (a trembling or quaking
         with fear)
      3. Just as one would likely tremble in the presence of one who
         could take our life, so Jesus taught us to fear the Lord - Mt 10:28

   D. A PROPER FEAR OF THE LORD WOULD THEN INCLUDE...
      1. "reverence and awe..."
      2. "being afraid to offend God in any way" - Hendriksen
      3. A trembling and quaking if one knows they have offended God and
         have not obtained forgiveness! - cf. He 10:26-27,30-31; 12:28-29

[The value of such an attitude is seen as we continue and now notice...]

II. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE "FEAR OF THE LORD"

   A. FROM THE BOOK OF PROVERBS, WE LEARN...
      1. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge - Pr 1:7
      2. The fear of the Lord will cause one to hate evil - Pr 8:13
      3. The fear of the Lord will prolong life - Pr 10:27
      4. The fear of the Lord provides strong confidence and is a
         fountain of life - Pr 14:26-27
      5. The fear of the Lord prompts one to depart from evil - Pr 16:6
      6. The fear of the Lord leads to a satisfying life, and spares one
         from much evil - Pr 19:23
      7. The fear of the Lord is the way to riches, honor, and life!
         - Pr 22:4

   B. WITHOUT THE FEAR OF THE LORD...
      1. We close ourselves to the treasures of God's wisdom and 
         knowledge!
      2. We will flirt with evil and be corrupted by it
      3. Our lives are likely to be shortened by our refusal to heed 
         God's word (e.g., suffering STDs because we did not heed His 
         Word on sexual relationships)
      4. We will not come to know the love of God that gives us
         assurance and confidence of our salvation
      5. When fallen into sin, we will not be motivated to repent and
         turn to God!
      6. We will not be motivated to truly "work out our own salvation"!

[Without the fear of the Lord, we cannot please God (cf. Isa 66:1-2).
Only the person who "trembles at His Word" has God's promise to receive
His tender mercy! (cf. Ps 103:17-18).  But how does one develop the
proper fear of the Lord without going to the extreme of earlier
generations...?]

III. DEVELOPING THE "FEAR OF THE LORD"

   A. IT COMES THROUGH THE WORD OF GOD...
      1. Just as "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of
         God" - cf. Ro 10:17
      2. The children of Israel were told to gather every seven years to
         read and hear the Word - Deut 31:10-13
      3. The purpose?  "...that they may learn to fear the Lord"! - cf. 
         Deut 31:13
      4. As one reads the Word of God, they should gain a healthy degree
         of the fear of the Lord
         a. Consider the words of Paul in Ro 2:4-11
         b. And the words of Peter in 2Pe 3:7-14

   B. THE WORD OF GOD, PROPERLY USED, MAINTAINS A PROPER BALANCE...
      1. To avoid extremes, we must read all of God's Word
         a. Some read only portions that reveal God's love and mercy, and
            have no fear of the Lord
         b. Others focus on the fire, hell and brimstone passages, and 
            know nothing of God's everlasting loving kindness
         c. The one develops an attitude of permissiveness that belittles
            God's holiness and justice
         d. The other develops a psychosis of terror that forgets God's 
            grace and compassion
      2. Even in passages noted above, the context of each speaks much of
         God's grace and forgiveness for those who will repent!
      3. So we must be careful how we use the Word of God, but use it we
         must!

CONCLUSION

1. The Psalmist wrote...

   "God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, 
   And to be held in reverence by all those around Him." - Ps 89:7

2. Why do we need to fear the Lord?  So we will be sure to work out our 
   salvation with fear and trembling! - Ac 9:31; Php 2:12

3. The warning is necessary, for as it is written in Hebrews...

   "Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us
   fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed
   the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word
   which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith
   in those who heard it." - He 4:1-2

   And again...

   "Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone
   fall according to the same example of disobedience." - He 4:11

4. With the proper fear of the Lord, we will "work out our salvation", we
   will "be diligent to enter into that [heavenly] rest"...!

"Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves
from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the
fear of God." - 2Co 7:1

Are we perfecting holiness in the fear of God...?

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2012

From Gary... Turning sadness into joy



To many of you out there, this will be an unfamiliar face, but not to me. Karen Carpenter had a truly amazing voice and is missed.  In a way, this picture is a bit unusual, for it appears to be an early one, that is, before she started to show the deadly effects of the eating disorder that eventually killed her.  The song the Carpenters sing is a sad one and after listening to it, frankly, it took the positive "edge" off my day.  And then I remembered...
2 Corinthians, Chapter 1 (NASB)
2Co 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
2Co 1:4  who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

2Co 1:5  For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.
2Co 1:6  But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer;
2Co 1:7  and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.
Need encouragement? Who doesn't from time to time? Remember this passage of Scripture and realize that no matter how tough life is- God will always be there to comfort.  The thing is... HE is always there, but do you allow HIM in?