The Fallacy of Preaching Pascal by AP Staff

 

 

https://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=922

The Fallacy of Preaching Pascal

by

AP Staff

Preachers and authors in the religious community sometimes commit inadvertent fallacies in what they teach and write. These can stem from a lack of understanding of vital fields, such as biblical languages, church and secular history, psychology, and philosophy. While some of these fallacies are harmless, others can do more damage to a person’s soul through their inaccuracies than if nothing had been said at all. One such fallacy is that of mistakenly “preaching Pascal.”

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) was a French scientist, mathematician, and philosopher. He was a brilliant young man whose father educated him, and who published his first work, an essay on geometry, at the tender age of sixteen. He continued to publish works in the fields of science and mathematics, but he died before publishing his most important philosophical works: Pensées and De l’Esprit Géométrique. Theologically, Pascal was a Jansenist—i.e., a member of a group within the Catholic Church that followed the views of Cornelius Jansen—and spent much of his time refuting the Jesuits. Pensées [Thoughts] is the title posthumously given to a series of notes that Pascal originally intended to publish under the title Apologie de la religion chrétienne [Apology for the Christian Religion] (Popkin, 1967, 6:51-52). It was in these notes that Pascal’s now-famous “wager” was constructed. The wager, simply put, goes something like this:

• If it is impossible for a person to believe with certainty that God exists, then that person should believe in God anyway—“just in case” He does exist.
• If it turns out that God does exist, the believer “wins” the wager by receiving an eternal reward.
• If it turns out that God does not exist, the person who believes has lost nothing (except perhaps some temporal pleasures, the loss of which is outweighed by freedom from the angst of unbelief).
• If God does not exist, and a person does not believe, then he may gain some temporal pleasures.
• If God exists, and a person does not believe, then that person is punished eternally for his unbelief.

Who never “loses” the wager? The believer. Why so? If God does exist, the believer “wins” by going to heaven. If God does not exist—the believer lives and dies, end of story—again, he has lost nothing (except a few finite pleasures). In both cases, the believer wins because he chose the “safe” thing to do.

But who loses 50% of the time? The unbeliever. If God exists, he “loses” by not believing, and therefore goes to hell. If God does not exist—the unbeliever lives and dies, end of story—he (like the believer) has lost nothing.

One of the two “gamblers” never loses; one loses half the time. Thus, Pascal concluded, it is safer to believe in God that not to believe. [Pascal continued in his reasoning by suggesting that if someone does not know how to believe, then he should follow the customs and rites of those who do believe—as if he himself were a believer. Eventually, then, according to Pascal, the person will become a believer (Pascal, 1995, pp. 121-125).]

PASCAL’S WAGER

	One believes	One does not believe
God exists	Eternal reward	Eternal punishment
God does not exist	Freedom from angst	Temporal pleasures

Some ministers of the Gospel preach Pascal’s Wager in an effort to convert people, suggesting that belief in God makes more sense than non-belief because of the 50% risk that is involved if God does exist.

What does this show, and why is it wrong to use Pascal’s line of reasoning in the conversion of non-believers? First, preaching this seems to show a lack of faith on the part of the minister himself. If a preacher’s argument for the existence of God is based on a gamble—even if it is not his only argument for God—then he should re-examine his own beliefs and see if he has truly built his faith on the solid rock of the moral, cosmological, and teleological proofs for God, or if he has built his faith upon the sands of guesswork (Matthew 7:24-27). This is damaging to the congregation for which such a man preaches, because a solid congregation needs a solid man to preach solid truths, and believing in God just because it is “prudent” to do so, shows a lack of solidarity.

Moreover, what of the man who believes in God because of preaching Pascal’s Wager? Since “faith is the substance of things hoped for” and “the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1), a pseudo-belief in God based on statistical risk and/or wager produce a pseudo-Christian. Faith is based on knowledge and certainty, not on probabilities, and someone who believes based on a wager is someone who cannot possess true faith in God and His existence. Paul said that we will be “above reproach in His sight—if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard” (Colossians 1:22b-23a). Pascal’s Wager does not produce a faith “grounded and steadfast,” because it does not build faith. However, faith in God is easy to build through other means, “because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20).

As Christians who are called to handle the Bible correctly (2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16-17), let us not give in to philosophies that are not in keeping with God’s Word (Colossians 2:8). In our preaching, let us be honest with people and teach them to “hold fast” to faith and truth (1 Corinthians 15:1-2), and not let them be led into believing in God just because it makes the “best sense in a gamble.”

REFERENCES

Pascal, Blaise (1995), Pensées, trans. A.J. Krailsheimer (New York: Penguin).

Popkin, Richard H. (1967), “Pascal, Blaise,” The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ed. Paul Edwards (New York: MacMillan).

The Euthyphro Dilemma by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

 

https://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=4102

The Euthyphro Dilemma

by	Dave Miller, Ph.D.

Q:

 What do atheists mean when they speak of the “Euthyphro Dilemma” as a means to discredit theism?

A:

The so-called Euthyphro Dilemma has its genesis in Plato’s dialogue Euthyphro in which Socrates and Euthyphro discuss the nature of piety: “Is the pious  loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?” (2008). Over time, philosophers have sharpened the salient point of the dilemma by presenting it in a modified form. The world-renowned late atheist philosopher Antony G.N. Flew worded the argument this way: “Are the things which are good good because God approves of those things, or is it the case that God approves of those things which are good because they are good?” (Warren and Flew, 1977, p. 26). By this thorny contention, the atheist hopes to dismiss the notion of God by placing the theist in an untenable dilemma.

On the one hand, if an action is right simply because God approves it, then morality would be the product of the arbitrary will of God, which He could just as easily alter. Instead of saying that lying and murder are wrong, He could just as well have said they are right—and that divine intention would make them so. On the other hand, if God approves of an action because it is inherently good, then an objective standard exists outside of God that He merely acknowledges. Such a law would therefore be above and higher than God. By the Euthyphro Dilemma, atheists think they have demonstrated that good is either above or beneath God and thereby proof that God is not God (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: The Euthyphro Dilemma	Figure 2: Reality

But this dilemma is impotent in that it fails to take into account the nature, being, and character of the perfect God of the Bible who is eternal and infinite in all of His attributes. Goodness, like all God’s other attributes, flows from His very being as the Ultimate Good (see Figure 2). Good is neither above nor below God (cf. Mark 10:18; 1 John 4:8; Psalm 33:5). God’s attributes and God’s will are inseparable. The alternatives posed by the atheist do not pose a proper dilemma.

REFERENCES

Plato (2008), Euthyphro, trans. Benjamin Jowett, http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1642/1642-h/1642-h.htm.

Warren, Thomas and Antony G.N. Flew (1977), The Warren-Flew Debate on the Existence of God (Ramer, TN: National Christian Press), info@nationalchristianpress.net.

The Eternality of God by Caleb Colley, Ph.D.

 

https://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=5475

The Eternality of God

by	Caleb Colley, Ph.D.

God alone is eternal. The Bible plainly asserts that God had no beginning, and that He will never end, or die—He possesses eternality. Consider Psalm 90:2: “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” Isaiah wrote: “For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in a high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones” (Isaiah 57:15; see Deuteronomy 33:27). The apostle John wrote: “Grace to you and peace from Him Who is and Who was and Who is to come...” (Revelation 1:4, emp. added). In beautiful, poetic language, God said: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8). It is difficult for finite, human minds to comprehend anyone Who possesses eternality, because every earthly person and thing known to us had a beginning, and has either died, ended, will die, or will end. To emphasize God’s majesty through His eternality, consider several items, which, though striking and awe-inspiring, are not eternal.

The Universe is not eternal. For many years, evolutionists attempted to prove that the Universe never had a beginning. For, they reasoned, if scientists were to arrive at the conclusion that the Universe had a beginning, they must turn to the next logical question: What caused the beginning of the Universe? Attempting to answer that question makes rationally thinking evolutionists uncomfortable. Of course, scientists have shown definitively that the Universe has not always existed, and that it will not exist forever. Because it exists, therefore, someone, or something must have always existed. Astronomer Robert Jastrow observed: “The lingering decline predicted by astronomers for the end of the world differs from the explosive conditions they have calculated for its birth, but the impact is the same: modern science denies an eternal existence to the Universe, either in the past or in the future.”¹ In her book, The Fire in the Equations, award-winning science writer Kitty Ferguson wrote in agreement:

Our late twentieth-century picture of the universe is dramatically different from the picture our forebears had at the beginning of the century. Today it’s common knowledge that all the individual stars we see with the naked eye are only the stars of our home galaxy, the Milky Way, and that the Milky Way is only one among many billions of galaxies. It’s also common knowledge that the universe isn’t eternal but had a beginning ten to twenty billion years ago, and that it is expanding.²

Furthermore, the First Law of Thermodynamics, which states that both matter and energy can be neither created nor destroyed, precludes the idea of an eternal Universe. The Second Law of Thermodynamics, which states that systems become more disorganized, rather than more organized, also establishes that the Universe had to have a starting point. Because matter exists, but has not always existed, then something or someone must have caused its beginning. Some have suggested that the Universe simply created itself. Sproul wrote:

For something to bring itself into being it must have the power of being within itself. It must at least have enough causal power to cause its own being. If it derives its being from some other source, then it clearly would not be either self-existent or self-created. It would be, plainly and simply, an effect. Of course, the problem is complicated by the other necessity we’ve labored so painstakingly to establish: It would have to have the causal power of being before it was. It would have to have the power of being before it had any being with which to exercise that power.³

Obviously, the idea that the Universe was, at one time, nonexistent, but then independently came into being, is contradictory.⁴ Creationists do not have to wonder about the start of the Universe; they understand that God is the cause, and the Universe is the effect. That event is recorded in the first few pages of the Bible (Genesis 1,2).

Humanity is not eternal in the same sense that God is eternal. Humans have immortal souls—souls that will never die (Romans 5:21; 6:22; Galatians 6:8), and bodies that will be resurrected and reunited with their souls (John 5:28-29). And, although humans can access eternal life (Matthew 25:46; 2 Corinthians 4:18), human beings are not eternal, because each human has a beginning. The beginning of humanity itself is described in Genesis 1-2. And, when the Earth ends (see 2 Peter 3:10-12), humanity on Earth will cease. The Greek word translated “eternal” in passages like Mark 10:17,30, Luke 18:18, and John 3:15 is aionios, a word that also is used to denote the eternality of God (Hebrews 9:14; 1 Peter 5:10). “Eternal,” then, has approximately three meanings in the New Testament: (1) without beginning (Romans 16:25; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 1:2); (2) without beginning or end (Hebrews 9:14); and (3) without end (Matthew 25:46; 2 Corinthians 4:18; 2 Thessalonians 1:9).⁵ Humans are eternal in that their souls will never end, but only God possesses eternality in the first two senses of the word.

Why are humans instructed to live in view of, and prepare for, eternity? A few of the many reasons include: (1) Christians will live for a much longer time in heaven than they will on Earth (Philippians 3:20; 1 Thessalonians 4:17); (2) dire consequences await those who refuse to prepare for eternity in this life (Matthew 9:44-48; Matthew 23:33; Luke 13:28; John 5:29); (3) and there are great blessings associated with eternal life (Matthew 8:11; Hebrews 9:24; 1 Peter 1:4, 3:22; Revelation 21:2,3, 22).

Marriage is not eternal. Some religious people teach that marriages will endure throughout eternity. For example, James Duke, representing the Mormon religion, wrote:

Latter-day Saints believe that life is more secure and more joyous when it is experienced in the sacred relationships of the eternal family. Those who maintain such worthy relationships on earth will live as families in the Celestial Kingdom following the resurrection. Thus, a person who lives a righteous life in mortality and who has entered into an eternal marriage may look forward to an association in the postmortal world with a worthy spouse, and with those who were earthly children, fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters.⁶

Jesus, however, said that, after they are resurrected, no one will be married or given in marriage (Matthew 22:30). Marriage has been created by God, Who is eternal, for the enjoyment and benefit of mortal men, but the institution of marriage will end when Earth ends (Genesis 2:24; Proverbs 18:22; Hebrews 13:4).

Angels are not eternal. Here, we refer to spiritual messengers, and not humans (on occasion, human messengers are also called “angels” in the Bible).⁷ Angels, like humans, are created beings. Paul wrote: “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers” (Colossians 1:16). Nehemiah 9:6 reads: “You along are the Lord; You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the Earth and everything on it, the seas and all that is in them, and You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You” (emp. added; see Genesis 2:1; Exodus 20:11). Job 38:1-7 makes it clear that angels were eyewitnesses to the creation of the Universe, so we are left to wonder if the angels were created during the Creation week, or at some earlier time. Respected Bible scholar Herbert Lockyer commented:

The heavens include all that are in them created by God, and among these must be the angels (Genesis 2:1). Among the hosts of heaven the angels are the principal part. They are expressly called “the heavenly host” and “the armies of heaven” (Luke 2:13).⁸

We cannot be certain when the angels were created, but we do know that no other being beside God is eternal in the fullest sense of the word.⁹

The devil is not eternal. Deity is eternal in the fullest sense (Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalm 102:27), but Satan does not possess the qualities of Deity. Thompson commented:

Scripture affirms: “Greater is he [God] that is in you than he [Satan] that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). When he sought to “sift” the apostles as wheat, he first had to “ask for them” (Luke 22:31). Satan is not omnipresent. His position as “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4) was “delivered unto him” (Luke 4:6). When he eventually is cast permanently into his place of eternal torment, the devil will be powerless to resist (Revelation 20:10).¹⁰

Wayne Jackson noted:

…[S]ince the devil is not of the nature of deity, it is obvious that he is a created being, for all things and beings (outside the class of deity) are the result of creation—“for in him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers” (Col. 1:16); this would include Satan as he originally was.¹¹

While it is true that Satan will exist forever, it is obviously also true that he had a beginning. Genesis 1:31 reveals that all things which were created were, originally, “very good.” God did not create Satan to be humankind’s evil adversary; rather, Satan made the choice to become evil, and to work to convince others, both spiritual and human beings, to do wrong. Both Old and New Testament passages imply that Satan, at some point before he tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, led a revolt, the result of which was the ejection of Satan and “his” angels from heaven (Job 4:18; Matthew 25:41; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6). There is every reason to believe that angels still have the ability to choose to do evil. Lloyd Ecrement observed: “They, therefore, have the ability to choose good or evil. It is possible, but certainly not necessary, for them to sin. If they choose evil rather than good, that is no reflection upon their Creator, but simply a rebellion against Him—they abuse the powers of reason and a free will given to them by God.”¹² Little is known about why Satan chose to do evil initially, but it is easier to surmise why he chose to become the archenemy of God and man: he had once inhabited glory with God, but had been cast out.¹³

CONCLUSION

If a man composed a work in which he considered every temporal item, the work would be enormous, because the number of the things that will, at some point, cease to exist, is inestimable. However, there is only One Who possesses eternality. We should be impressed and thankful that our Creator is ageless, timeless, uninterrupted, and perpetual, not only in His existence, but in His personality and attributes. The truth of His message, like His very personage, never will change (Mark 13:31).

ENDNOTES

¹ Robert Jastrowt (1977), Until the Sun Dies (New York: W.W. Norton), p. 30, emp. added.

² Kitty Ferguson (1994), The Fire in the Equations: Science, Religion, and the Search for God (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans), p. 89, emp. added.

³ R.C. Sproul (1994), Not a Chance (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker), pp. 179-180.

⁴ Jeff Miller (2013), “ Evolution and the Laws of Science: The Laws of Thermodynamics,” Apologetics Press, http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=2786&topic=336.

⁵ See William Arndt and F.W. Gingrich (1974 reprint), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press), pp. 27-28; Gerhard Kittel, ed. (1981 reprint), Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans), 1:208; A.T. Robertson (1934), A Grammar of the Greek New Testament In Light of Historical Research, (Nashville, TN: Broadman), p. 272.

⁶ James Duke (1992), “Eternal Marriage,” http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/basic/family/marriage/eternal_eom.htm, emp. added.

⁷ See Haggai 1:13; Alden Bass and Bert Thompson (2001), “When Did God Create Angels?” /rr/rr2001/r&r0106b.htm, 2001.

⁸ Herbert W. Lockyer (1995), All the Angels in the Bible (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson), p. 14, emp. in orig.

⁹ See Bass and Thompson, 2001.

¹⁰ Bert Thompson (2001 reprint), “Satan—His Origin and Mission,” (Montgomery, AL: Apologetics Press), p. 4-5.

¹¹ Wayne Jackson (1980), “Satan,” Great Doctrines of the Bible, ed. M.H. Tucker (Knoxville, TN: East Tennessee School of Preaching), p. 78, emp. and parenthetical in orig.

¹² Lloyd Ecrement (1961), Man, the Bible, and Destiny (Grand Rapids, MI; Eerdmans), p. 33.

¹³ See Wayne Jackson (2004), “Spiritual Warfare Is Real, Difficult, and Dangerous,” http://www.christiancourier.com/penpoints/spiritualWarfare.htm; Thompson, pp. 7-8.

"THE GOSPEL OF MARK" The Crucifixion Of Jesus (15:21-32) by Mark Copeland

 

 "THE GOSPEL OF MARK"

 The Crucifixion Of Jesus (15:21-32)

INTRODUCTION

1. Thus far in Mark’s account of the passion of Christ, we have seen...
   a. The agonizing prayer in the garden of Gethsemane - Mk 14:32-42
   b. The betrayal of Judas and arrest in the garden - Mk 14:43-50
   c. The beating and mocking at Caiaphas’ house - Mk 14:65
   d. The denial by Peter - Mk 14:66-72
   e. The scourging, beating, and mocking by Roman soldiers - Mk 15:15-20

2. By this time Jesus would have been physically exhausted...
   a. Awake for more than 24 hours
   b. Suffering from the beatings and scourging already inflicted

[But the worse was yet to come; condemned to death by crucifixion, the
Roman soldiers led him to the place where He would be crucified (Mk15:20). 

 With the aid of Mark’s text, let us follow Him...]

I. LEADING TO THE CRUCIFIXION

   A. SIMON COMPELLED TO BEAR HIS CROSS...
      1. Jesus started out bearing His cross - cf. Jn 19:17
         a. Likely the wooden crosspiece (patibulum), weighing 30-40 pounds
         b. But it proved too much for Him
      2. Simon of Cyrene compelled to bear it for Him - Mk 15:21
         a. Mark identifies him as the father of Alexander and Rufus
         b. The latter possibly known to the church in Rome - cf. Ro 16:13

   B. BROUGHT TO GOLGOTHA...
      1. A place near (outside) the city - cf. Jn 19:20
      2. Golgotha a modified transliteration of the Aramaic word for "skull" - Mk 15:22
      3. Calvary comes from the Latin word for "skull" - cf. Lk 23:33

   C. WINE AND MYRRH OFFERED BUT REFUSED...
      1. A narcotic drink was sometimes offered to criminals to deaden
         the pain of crucifixion
      2. Jesus was offered such a drink, but refused - Mk 15:23
      3. Perhaps choosing to experience the ordeal of crucifixion with His full senses

[Next we read of...]

II. THE CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS

   A. AS DESCRIBED BY MARK...
      1. "They crucified Him" - Mk 15:24,25
      2. Amazingly restrained, as are the other gospel writers! -  

             Mt 27:35; Lk 23:33; Jn 19:18
      3. Especially when it was "the cruelest and most hideous punishment possible" 

           - Cicero

   B. AS DESCRIBED BY A DOCTOR...
      1. Simon is ordered to place the cross beam on the ground, and
         Jesus is quickly thrown backwards with His shoulders against
         the wood. The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front
         of the wrist. He drives the heavy, square, wrought-iron nail
         through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly, he moves to
         the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to
         pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flexion and
         movement. The cross beam is then lifted in place at the top of
         the vertical beam The left foot is pressed backward against
         the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail
         is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees
         moderately flexed. The Victim is now crucified. As He slowly
         sags down with more weight on the nails and the wrists,
         excruciating, fiery pain shoots along the fingers and up the
         arms to explode in the brain--the nails in the wrists are
         putting pressure on the median nerves.
      2. As he pushes Himself upward to avoid this stretching torment,
         He places His full weight on the nail through His feet. Again
         there is searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves
         between the metatarsal bones of the feet. At this point,
         another phenomenon occurs. As the arms fatigue, great waves of
         cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting them in deep,
         relentless throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the
         inability to push Himself upward. Air can be drawn into the
         lungs, but cannot be exhaled. Jesus fights to raise Himself in
         order to get even one small breath. Finally carbon dioxide
         builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream and the cramps
         partially subside. Spasmodically He is able to push Himself
         upward to exhale and bring in the life-giving oxygen.
      3. Hours of this limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending
         cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as
         tissue is torn from His lacerated back as He moves up and down
         against the rough timber. Then another agony begins. A deep
         crushing pain deep in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills
         with serum and begins to compress the heart. It is now almost
         over--the loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level--
         the compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick,
         sluggish blood into the tissues--the tortured lungs are making
         a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air. The body of
         Jesus is now in extremis, and He can feel the chill of death
         creeping through His tissues His mission of atonement has been
         completed. Finally He can allow His body to die. - C. Truman
         Davis, "The Crucifixion of Jesus. The Passion of Christ from a
         Medical Point of View," Arizona Medicine 22, no. 3 March 1965:
         186-87, as quoted in The Expositor's Bible Commentary Vol. 8,
         ed. by Frank Gaebelein ([1984] pp. 779-80.

[Even the doctor’s description cannot adequately express what suffering
Jesus endured on the cross for our sins.  Before we close, let’s
summarize what else is revealed surrounding the crucifixion...]

III. SUMMARY OF OTHER DETAILS

   A. THE GARMENTS...
      1. When they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots - Mk 15:24
      2. As foretold by David - Ps 22:18

   B. THE TIME...
      1. Mark says it was the "third hour" - Mk 15:25
      2. This would be 9am in the morning

   C. THE INSCRIPTION...
      1. Pilate had the charge or accusation made against Jesus posted on the cross
      2. It was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin - Jn 19:20
      3. Each of the gospel writers record the inscription slightly different
         a. Mark:  "The King of the Jews" - Mk 15:26
         b. Matthew:  "This is Jesus the King of the Jews" - Mt 27:37
         c. Luke:  "This is the King of the Jews" - Lk 23:38
         d. John:  "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews" - Jn 19:20
      4. Reconciling the apparent discrepancy
         a. The full inscription may have been "This is Jesus of
            Nazareth the King of the Jews"
         b. Written in three languages, it may have been abbreviated,
            and each gospel writer simply chose that which reflected
            his purpose in his gospel

   D. THE TWO THIEVES...
      1. Two robbers were crucified with Jesus - Mk 15:27-28
      2. Possibly co-insurrectionists with Barabbas who had been released

   E. THE BLASPHEMY AND MOCKERY...
      1. Those who passed by, with the false charge made against him -
         Mk 15:29; 14:57-58
      2. The chief priests and scribes, taunting Jesus to make them believe - Mk 15:31-32
      3. Even the two thieves, though one later recanted - Mk 15:32; cf. Lk 23:39-43

CONCLUSION

1. Thus begins the six hours that will result in the death of Jesus...
   a. An excruciating death in of itself
   b. Made worse by the beatings and scourging, the mocking before and during

2. What can we learn from this terrible event...?
   a. The terribleness of the guilt of sin - Ro 3:23; 6:23
   b. The greatness of God's love for man - Ro 5:6-9; 1Jn 4:9-10
   c. The inspiration of Jesus' sacrifice - 1Pe 2:21-25

In our next lesson, we shall consider Jesus’ death and burial that
followed this terrible crucifixion.  But as you reflect on what Jesus’
endured, have you considered what you should do...? - cf. Ac 2:36-41    

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2016

Turning Trials Into Triumphs by Ken Weliever, The Preacherman

 

Turning Trials Into Triumphs

Sometime ago there was an article in USA Today entitled “Bad Times Spawn Great Start Up.” It documented some notable successes that have been generated out of the ashes of economic downturns.  Sixteen of the thirty corporations in the Dow Jones industrial average trace their origin to a time of recession.  Walt Disney lost an acting job as a movie extra and started his famous cartoon company in a garage during tough times between 1923-1934.  William Hewlett and David Packard teamed up in Silicon Valley in 1938 during the Great Depression.  And the world’s richest man, Bill Gates, dropped out of college during the recession of 1975 and began Microsoft.

Yes, good things can come from troublesome times.  This is a Bible principle.  The book of James tells us how to do it.  If we are to grow, mature and become complete in Christ it is necessary to triumph over trials. 

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.  If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”  (Jas 1:2-5).

There are four key words that will determine our success in turning trials into triumphs. 

(1) COUNT.  It begins with a joyful attitude in spite of the trial. “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials.”  Really?  Yes!  “Outlook determines outcome and attitude determines action,” wrote commentator Warren Weirsbe.  It is not what happens to you, it is what happens in you that counts.  In Choose Your Attitude Change your Life, Robert Jeffers wrote, “We can choose to allow life’s circumstances either to strengthen us or to destroy us.  The determining factor is our attitude.”

(2) KNOW. You need an understanding mind.  What do Christians know that makes trials easier?  We know that faith is always tested. The father of Faith, Abraham, teaches us that lesson.  But remember God tests us to bring out the best, the devil tests us to bring out the worse.  We know that trials work for the believer, not against him (Rom. 8:28).   And we know that trials can help us to mature, grow stronger and be more Christ like.

(3) LET.  A surrendered will is necessary.  God cannot construct our character without our cooperation.  According to Ephesians 2:8-10 the work of God is three-fold.  There is a work God does for us, which is salvation.  There is the work God does in us, which is sanctification.  And there is the work God does through us which is service.  But God cannot work against our will.  He cannot work on us, in us, or through us without our consent.  We must let Him.

(4) ASK.  If we are to turn trials into triumphs, we must have a believing heart.  James said to ask in Faith.  We cannot doubt.  In James 4:3 he tells us to ask with the right motive.  In James 5:16 we are commanded to ask fervently.  All of this demonstrates a heart that is trusting in God, even when times are tough.

A joyful attitude.  An understanding mind.  A surrendered will.  And a believing heart. There is much wisdom in these four imperatives.  They will aid you along with God’s grace in turning your trials into triumphs.

APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION AND APOSTLES BY STEVE FINNELL

 http://steve-finnell.blogspot.com/2016/11/apostolic-succession-and-apostles-by.html

 

APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION AND APOSTLES BY STEVE FINNELL 

Apostolic succession and modern-day apostles. Is this fact or fiction? Apostolic succession is supposedly the method where the ministry of the church of Christ is passed from the apostles by continuous succession.

In order to have apostolic succession there must of necessity be modern-day apostles. There is no Biblical evidence of the existence of modern-day apostles or apostolic succession.

SIGNS OF AN APOSTLE

2 Corinthians 12:12 The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles.

There are no men today who are duplicating the signs of the apostles.

Acts 2:Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.

Is everyone today feeling a sense of awe by the so-called modern-day apostles? I do not think so.

Acts 9:36-41 Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha.....37 And it happened at that time she fell sick and died;.....40 But Peter sent them and knelt down and prayed, turning to the body, he said, "Tabitha arise." And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up; and calling the saints and widows presented her alive.

If there are true apostles today why are they not going to funeral homes bringing the dead back to life? Why? Because there are no modern-day apostles and there is no apostolic succession.

Signs, wonders, and miracles were performed by the apostle to prove they were representing Jesus the Son of God. They were to establish the church. The church has been established. We have the completed Bible. We do not need  new revelation.

THERE IS NO APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION. THERE ARE NO MODERN-DAY APOSTLES! 

 

Learning Contentment by Sandra F. Cobble

 

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Cobble/Sandra/Fontaine/1933/content.html

Learning Contentment

Your world has fallen apart. Remembering Paul's words, "I have learned in whatever state I am therewith to be content" (Phil.4:11), you have tried to accept the situation. Being a faithful Christian, you believe that "Godliness with contentment is great gain" (1 Tim. 6:6). And now you feel even further discouraged. For somehow you do not feel any real contentment.

Usually we think of contentment merely as a passive state of willingness to "put up with" whatever state we are in. But is that the Biblical concept of contentment? Let us take a closer look.

First let us examine the definition. The word "contentment" used in 1 Timothy 6:6 comes from the Greek ward autarkeia which Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon defines as "a perfect condition of life, in which no aid or support is needed." The word originates from two words: autos meaning "self" and arkeo meaning "to be possessed of unfailing strength; to be strong, to suffice, to be enough (as against any danger: hence to defend, ward off)." But definitions do not heal wounds.

So, let us examine what it means to us. It means that we have within ourselves, BY GOD'S GRACE AND POWER, sufficiency to carry on "independently of external circumstances" as Thayer puts it. It means that we have sufficient strength, ability, power to do whatever needs to be done. We CAN face life with all its heartaches with courage and determination! We DO have what it takes! But how do we develop and use the power that is within us?

The first step in using this power is to analyze the situation and to pinpoint the real problem in YOUR life. If you could have altered the circumstances, you probably would have already done so. The real problem is no longer the situation itself but how you feel and react to it. For example, I was rejected and unloved for many years. I could not and cannot alter those circumstances. The real problem for me now is that any mention of the past may trigger old feelings of being rejected and unloved and cause me to feel that way again. Another example: someone you love may have left the faith. You did all within your power to prevent it. But now a real problem in your life may be that you feel that you have failed in some way and may have a guilt complex.

The next step is to plan your strategy and set a course of action. In my case I told one of our elders exactly what had been the circumstances and suggested a possible course of action which involved deliberately coming in contact with a person who reminded me of one who had mistreated me. For one who feels guilty because he blames himself for the failure of another, a possible course of action might involve reading some sound material on the limits of one's responsibility. No matter how badly you may have failed in YOUR responsibility, any person who has turned from God made his OWN decision to do that and you are not responsible for THAT failure.

Finally, put your plan into action! It is not enough to merely think of a way to overcome problems. You have to put your thoughts into action. I went into the same Bible class as the person who reminded me of the past. Since I made sure the elders knew of my psychological problem, it gave them the opportunity to take special care to make me feel accepted and loved in the family of God.

The one who has a guilt-complex because he feels that he is partly to blame for someone leaving the faith (or failing in any other way) needs to take whatever action is necessary to correct his own mistakes. For example, if you were not faithful in church attendance and you feel that others may be weak because they followed your example, set it right. But then follow Paul's example and admonition in Philippians 3:13, "Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press on toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Put your plan into action! Get your mind right. Get your life right. Then get on with God's business.

In conclusion, contentment is a learned response. Because you have learned the promises of God and then have RESPONDED to those promises in faith, you have developed contentment. Paul said, "I have learned ...to be content." And the process of learning may be long and difficult. But the result: that "perfect condition of life in which no aid or support is needed" will be well worth the effort! This does not suggest or imply that one does not need aid or support from God, but only that GOD HAS ALREADY PROVIDED IT and what we need to do is to accept it! Because when one HAS CONTENTMENT -- "sufficient strength, ability, power to do whatever needs to be done" -- one may BE CONTENT -- "satisfied with his condition"!

Sandra F. Cobble

Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)

The Bible only by Gary Rose

 

In today’s world, Christianity is divided. There are many, many denominations, all claiming to be correct, but their emphasis on creeds causes strife. Christians are defined by the Bible. It is to the Bible that we cling; anything else is at best sheer foolishness. Consider the following passages from the Scriptures...

John 12 ( World English Bible )

⁴⁸ He who rejects me, and doesn’t receive my sayings, has one who judges him. The word that I spoke, the same will judge him in the last day.

⁴⁹ For I spoke not from myself, but the Father who sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.

⁵⁰ I know that his commandment is eternal life. The things therefore which I speak, even as the Father has said to me, so I speak.” (See also, Hebrews 1:1-2; Matthew 17:1-5; Ephesians 1:22f.; Matthew 28:18-20)

Deuteronomy 4 ( WEB )

¹ Now, Israel, listen to the statutes and to the ordinances, which I teach you, to do them; that you may live, and go in and possess the land which Yahweh, the God of your fathers, gives you.

² You shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your God which I command you.

( See also Proverbs 30:5,6 ; 1 Corinthians 4:1-6; Galatians 1:6-9; 2 John 9; Revelation 22:18 )

Acts 3 ( WEB )

²² For Moses indeed said to the fathers, ‘The Lord God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers, like me. You shall listen to him in all things whatever he says to you.

²³ It will be, that every soul that will not listen to that prophet will be utterly destroyed from among the people.’

God the father sent Jesus into the world to proclaim his word. Jesus was that Prophet like unto Moses that the people were to listen to. They didn’t, instead they used the Roman government to have him crucified. However, Jesus’ word remains, as do the words of his apostles. ( See John 14:25-26; 16: 12f; 17:8, 14, 18. especially Acts 2:22-40. )

Today, we have the Scriptures, which are the complete message of God and we do not need anything more; they are sufficient. ( See 2 Timothy 3:16-17; John 20: 30-31; Ephesians 3:3-4; 2 Peter 1:3-4 and 2 Peter 1:15. ) Seeking anything more is wrong; do not do it. Cling to the Bible and the Bible only – reject man-made ideas of what true religion should be and just let God speak for himself. May God bless you in seeking to know the truth of the Scriptures and to apply it!