Hematidrosis: Did Jesus Sweat Blood? by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=1086

Hematidrosis: Did Jesus Sweat Blood?

by	Dave Miller, Ph.D.

Luke, the author of the New Testament books of Luke and Acts, who himself, by profession, was a physician. His writings manifest an intimate acquaintance with the technical language of the Greek medical schools of Asia Minor.

Of the four gospel writers, only Dr. Luke referred to Jesus’ ordeal as “agony” (agonia). It is because of this agony over things to come that we learn during His prayer “his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44). Only Luke referred to Jesus’ sweat (idros)—a much used term in medical language. And only Luke referred to Jesus’ sweat as consisting of great drops of blood (thromboi haimatos)—a medical condition alluded to by both Aristotle and Theophrastus.¹ The Greek term thromboi (from which we get thrombus, thrombin, et al.) refers to clots of blood.²Bible scholar Richard Lenski commented on the use of this term: “‘As clots,’ thromboi, means that the blood mingled with the sweat and thickened the globules so that they fell to the ground in little clots and did not merely stain the skin.”³

The Greek word hosei (“as it were”) refers to condition, not comparison, as Greek scholar Henry Alford observed:

The intention of the Evangelist seems clearly to be, to convey the idea that the sweat was (not fell like, but was) like drops of blood;—i.e., coloured with blood,—for so I understand the ώσεί, as just distinguishing the drops highly coloured with blood, from pure blood…. To suppose that it only fell like drops of blood (why not drops of any thing else? And drops of blood from what, and where?) is to nullify the force of the sentence, and make the insertion of ἁίματος not only superfluous but absurd.⁴

We can conclude quite justifiably that the terminology used by the gospel writer to refer to the severe mental distress experienced by Jesus was intended to be taken literally, i.e., that the sweat of Jesus became bloody.⁵

A thorough search of the medical literature demonstrates that such a condition, while admittedly rare, does occur in humans. Commonly referred to as hematidrosis or hemohidrosis,⁶ this condition results in the excretion of blood or blood pigment in the sweat. Under conditions of great emotional stress, tiny capillaries in the sweat glands can rupture,⁷ thus mixing blood with perspiration. This condition has been reported in extreme instances of stress.⁸ During the waning years of the 20^th century, 76 cases of hematidrosis were studied and classified into categories according to causative factors. The most frequent causes of the phenomenon were found to be “acute fear” and “intense mental contemplation.”⁹ While the extent of blood loss generally is minimal, hematidrosis also results in the skin becoming extremely tender and fragile,¹⁰ which would have made Christ’s pending physical insults even more painful.

From these factors, it is evident that even before Jesus endured the torture of the cross, He suffered far beyond what most of us will ever suffer. His penetrating awareness of the heinous nature of sin, its destructive and deadly effects, the sorrow and heartache that it inflicts, and the extreme measure necessary to deal with it, make the passion of Christ beyond comprehension.

ENDNOTES

¹ William K. Hobart (1882), The Medical Language of St. Luke (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1954 reprint), pp. 80-84.

² W. Robertson Nicoll, ed. (no date), The Expositor’s Greek Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans), 1:631; M.R. Vincent (1887), Word Studies in the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1946 reprint), 1:425.

³ R.C.H. Lenski (1961), The Interpretation of St. Luke’s Gospel (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg), p. 1077.

⁴ Henry Alford (1874), Alford’s Greek Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1980 reprint), 1:648, italics in orig.; cf. A.T. Robertson (1934), A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press), p. 1140.

⁵ Cf. A.T. Robertson (1930), Word Pictures in the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker), 2:272.

⁶ A.C. Allen (1967), The Skin: A Clinicopathological Treatise (New York: Grune and Stratton), second edition, pp. 745-747; “Hematidrosis” (2002), Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary, p. 832, https://goo.gl/U192fY.

⁷ R. Lumpkin (1978), “The Physical Suffering of Christ,” Journal of Medical Association of Alabama, 47:8-10.

⁸ See R.L Sutton, Jr. (1956), Diseases of the Skin (St. Louis, MO: Mosby College Publishing), eleventh edition, pp. 1393-1394.

⁹ J.E. Holoubek and A.B. Holoubek (1996), “Blood, Sweat, and Fear. ‘A Classification of Hematidrosis,’” Journal of Medicine, 27[3-4]:115-33. See also J. Manonukul, W. Wisuthsarewong, et al. (2008), “Hematidrosis: A Pathologic Process orStigmata. A Case Report with Comprehensive Histopathologic and Immunoperoxidase Studies,” American Journal of Dermatopathology, 30[2]:135-139, April; E. Mora and J. Lucas (2013),“Hematidrosis: Blood Sweat,” Blood, 121[9]:1493, February 28.

¹⁰ P. Barbet (1953), A Doctor at Calvary: The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ as Described by a Surgeon (Garden City, NY: Doubleday Image Books), pp. 74-75; cf. Lumpkin, 1978.

Helping Souls Find the Truth by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=5292

Helping Souls Find the Truth

by	Eric Lyons, M.Min.

Nothing will ever replace personal, face-to-face evangelism and Bible study. For thousands of years, God’s people have taught the lost and edified the saved while looking deeply into the eyes of precious souls, helping them see what God says is most important and pressing in life, and challenging them to become real and serious servants of the Savior. Simply put, the church of God’s dear Son should always invest a great amount of time, energy, and money in the teaching and preaching of the will of God in a fervent and personal way.

At the same time, the church of Christ must also realize the amazing opportunity that awaits her on the World Wide Web. According to InternetLive­Stats.com, more than 3.2 billion people around the world have access to the Internet. That number represents 40% of the world’s population, including 280 million users in the United States. Similar to how the Lord spoke to Paul saying, “I have many people” (potentially) in Corinth (Acts 18:10), He has even “many more people” who will potentially be open to the Truth that they find by the grace of God on the Internet.

Are you and the local congregation that you are a part of involved in an effective, active outreach and edifying ministry on the Internet? Have you considered helping those who have a long history of helping millions of souls that you or I will never personally be able to meet, much less teach? What would you think about helping a group of Christians who are involved in disseminating over 22 million electronic pages of biblically sound material a year? Would you like to be a part of a work that is freely “passing out” the equivalent of 62,671 Bible articles, books, and media selections every day? If so, then I humbly ask you to consider supporting the nonprofit work of Apologetics Press.

By the grace of God, in 2015 the Apologetics Press Web site received over 22,875,000 page views from individuals located in some 235 countries and territories worldwide. Only five years ago, the yearly page views at AP stood at just under five million. Though in that same time period (2010-2015), the number of Internet users worldwide increased by nearly 40%, the amount of Web traffic that ApologeticsPress.org received increased by 460%. Every minute 43.5 pages of electronic soul-enriching Bible material on the AP Web site is viewed. In other words, one electronic page on the AP site is seen somewhere around the world every 1.4 seconds. For this, we thank God and give Him all the glory.

We are humbled and overjoyed that God is providentially providing millions of people around the world opportunities to access the AP Web site and to receive logically and biblically sound answers to their questions. Consider the individual who has never heard of the AP site, but googles the Bible phrase “calling on the name of the Lord.” The very first item that appears (out of 68.6 million results) is an article on the AP Web site explaining the true, biblical meaning of the phrase (as of January 2016).

WILL YOU HELP US?

For many years, the staff of Apologetics Press has prayed that God would providentially put our materials into the hands of open, honest-hearted souls who are searching for serious answers to serious questions. Whether non-Christians investigating the Truth or Christians in search of faith-building materials, we pray that, if the Lord wills, He will use us and those who support us in this work to lead lost souls to Christ and to strengthen the Lord’s church.

So how can you help us in this cause? What could you do to assist us in this work? Below are a few ideas that we pray you will consider:

• Bookmark our Web site and visit us when searching for answers to questions about God, Creation, the Bible, Jesus, Islam, evolution, the culture war, various doctrinal matters, etc.
• Link to us on your personal Web site or blog.
• Tell your friends about us.
• Share relevant AP articles, audio, videos, etc. on your social media pages.
• Ask the elders of your local congregation if they will link to us on your church Web site.
• Pray that the Lord would use the AP site to His glory in helping others.
• Last but not least, would you consider supporting us monthly or yearly in this work? With the financial help of faithful Christians, we believe we could do more and more work through apologeticspress.org. We would be honored and extremely grateful if you would consider assisting us in disseminating tens of thousands of Web pages of material everyday to individuals around the world. For more information, see http://www.apologeticspress.org/Donation.aspx or call 334-272-8558.

Which Church Should I Attend? God's Church! by Trevor Bowen

http://insearchoftruth.org/articles/church.html

Which Church Should I Attend?

God's Church!

Fundamental Truths

• How can I know there is a God?
• How do I know that the Bible is God's will for me?
• What must I do to be saved?
• I have become a Christian, but what should I do now?
• Which church should I attend?

Introduction

Converted and convinced to do God's will, the next important step is to consider which church to attend.  The Bible teaches that a local church should have certain essential characteristics.  First, however, we must recognize the difference between God's will for people in OldTestament times and for Christians today under the NewTestament.   Otherwise, we will accidentally enforce requirements that were intended only for the Old Testament saints.  One should also be convinced that there is indeed apattern that God expects us to follow.  Now, let's examine somebasic Bible concepts about churches in general.

What is a "Church"?

The original word for "church" was an everyday Greek word, ekklesia, which merely meant a common assembly (Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words).   The word is sometimes used to refer to common assemblies of government (Acts 19:39) or even to a riotous mob (Acts 19:32, 41).  Other times it refers to the religious assembly, or group of God's people (Matthew 16:18, Ephesians 1:22).  However, the same word is translated as "church" when it is used in a religious context and as "assembly" when used in a common sense.

The Local and Universal Church

The Bible speaks of the church in two different ways.  Although it never uses the above references, it does speak of two distinct assemblies that are well characterized by the labels, local church and universal church.  Understanding the distinctions between these two assemblies is essential to understanding and finding a local church that is patterned after God's Word.

The phrase, "universal church", refers to the entire church at large, all saints - past, present, and future.  It is the body of all the saved, and it is always used in a generic sense.  The identity of each person is lost in the use of this phrase.  It always refers to the group as whole.  Jesus Christ used it when He said, "I will build My church" (Matthew16:18).

Paul illustrated the universal church through the symbol of a body, where Christ was the head, and the entire church was the body:

"And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." Ephesians 1:22,23

"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling." Ephesians 4:4

"For the husband is the head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church, and He is the Savior of the body." Ephesians 5:23

The Bible never speaks of the universal church being organized to do anything.  While it is given a work and mission, the work is not carried out by any other organization than the distributed and autonomous local churches.  It has no committees, no overseeing boards, no organization - except what is seen in the passages above.  Christ is the head of the entire church, and it answers solely to Him.  It is merely the group of all saints, of which one must be a member to be saved(Ephesians1:3 ; Galatians 3:26-27).  It is God who places people in this body as they are converted and enter a saved relationship with Him (Acts 2:37-38; 47).

The phrase, "local church", refers to members of the church that assemble together in a given location.  Unlike the universal church, man has some control over who is a member of a local church.  Churches are commanded to withdraw fellowship from those who do not follow God's Word (I Corinthians 5:1-13; IIJohn 9-11).  This occurs on the local level, not the universal.  Christians may erroneously withdraw fellowship from someone who is still approved by God and a member of the universal church (III John 9-10).  Moreover, members of a local church may erroneously extend fellowship to someone who is excluded by God from the universal church (I Corinthians 5:1-13).  Therefore, the local church is a collection of Christians, overseen by fallible men, who work together to worship God and be pleasing to Him.

Since the universal church is made up of individuals, it is therefore not made up of local churches.  Local churches and denominations are not subsets of the universal church, neither are they saved as whole.  The Bible nowhere speaks of such a structure or system.  But, the Bible does speak of individuals being saved as members of the universal church (please read again Ephesians 1:3; Galatians 3:26-27).  The local church is simply a collection of people who are working toward this final salvation, while the universal church consists of all Christians, whose membership is controlled by God.

Outline of the Essential Characteristics

It is within this study of the "local church" wherein lies the answer to our question.  We should be asking ourselves, "What are the Biblical characteristics of a local church which will be approved by God?"

Using examples and commandments found in the NewTestament, we can establish a list of characteristics that are essential to a local church following God's pattern.  Some characteristics would be:

• The Work of the Church
• Offices of the Church
• Autonomy of the Local Church
• The Organization of theChurch
• The Name of the Church
• Various TeachingsEndorsed by the Local Church

Although many characteristics could be used to make up this pattern, we will use this brief list to help us identify and differentiate between many practices which are taught as God's will, but are in practice the doctrines and traditions of men .  Understanding the Bible teaching on these points will assist us in finding a local church that is in truth trying to follow God's pattern; however, it is by no means a complete or infallible list.  God's word in its entirety is the only standard for determining His Will and the pattern for a local church that is striving to obey it.

Conclusion

The difficult task is determining which characteristics are essential and which are not.  Obviously if we seek to please God, we must use the Bible as the standard to determine if a characteristic is essential.  This demands a diligent effort to study the Bible, an open mind, and constant attention to prayer.  Once we have established such a pattern, then we must compare the church that we now attend to the pattern.  If it does not coincide with God's pattern for a local church, then we must do one of two things, if we seek to be pleasing to God:  We must either seek a new local church that is following God's pattern, or we must try to reform the church with which we now attend.  How can we do otherwise if we love God and love our brethren?

Next: The Work of the Church

Author: Trevor Bowen

Electing A Savior Electing A Savior by Ben Fronczek

http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?p=926

Electing A Savior

Electing A Savior

Isaiah 53:1-12

“Who has believed our message     and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces  he was despised,and we held him in low esteem.

4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”

OPEN: How many of you have noticed that there’s a Presidential election coming up? 

I know, you’d have to be a hermit living in a cave in the mountains with no phone or mail to escape the advertising.   America has a decision to make in a few weeks and it seems to be coming down to a choice between two men, each of which I think will lead the country in a different direction. These men have raised millions of dollars to be used so that they can try to out-campaign the other candidate.

Many today think it would be a disaster to invest all that money and effort into a candidate who is perceived as someone who is: Un-attractive, un-popular Un-presidential, and generally liked but then unliked by a majority.

Personally I don’t think the American people would even elect Jesus as their president; as our commander and chief.  Why?

Because in Isaiah 53:2b-3 he tells us:
“He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.”

Now, there are those who believe that this passage is implying that Jesus was not physically attractive or as handsome as Obama or Romney. And that may have been the case. Or Isaiah may have been alluding to the fact that most of the people of Jesus’ time simply viewed Him as undesirable.

Jesus probably would never be elected President of the USA or leader of any other country. He just wouldn’t be popular enough. He wasn’t overly popular in the days of His ministry in Judea, and He wouldn’t be popular enough now.

But it wasn’t ALWAYS true. After Jesus fed the 5000 with 5 small barley loaves and 2 fish, He turned some heads… John 6:15 tell us: “Jesus, knowing that they intended tocome and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.”

And when Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time before His crucifixion… the crowds had the same idea: Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread palm branches they had cut in the fields.

Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest!” Mark 11:8-10

These people saw Jesus as a perfect earthly leader (at least for a while).      He was a man of power, authority and decisiveness. He could feed thousands with just a small amount of food. He could heal the sick with the touch of His hand, and raise the dead with the command of His voice.

From this perspective He could lead their nation and help Israel overthrow the hated Roman Empire and make Israel a nation to be reckoned with.

But just few days after that “Palm Sunday” event… probably some of these same people and just about everybody else in Jerusalem seem to turn on Jesus, and the crowds cried out “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

Why the change?   Why were those who were so excited about Him just days earlier now calling for His death?

Well, part it was because Jesus didn’t give people what they wanted.  He did not tickle their ears with false promises like some of our politicians today.  Instead, Jesus insisted on telling people things that they NEEDED to hear; even things that they DIDN’T want to hear.
And what was that message?  It was the same message then as it is today: We don’t need a politician to fix our most important problem, we need a savior! Why, because just like He let them know, we are all sinners. Our sin is the problem!

Isaiah 53 lets us know that’s why He came, he wrote:
· He was pierced for OUR TRANSGRESSIONS · Crushed for OUR INIQUITIES
· He came to bear OUR SINS   · He was punished to bring us peace.

Isaiah 53:6 sums it up by saying “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

Like Sheep, he wrote… we’ve all gone astray.  We have chosen to go OUR own way    – not God’s way.  And because we chose to seek our own path rather than His, God says our hearts are filled with iniquity. The root word in Hebrew for iniquity here is “twisted, Warped, distorted, or perverted”.

Because we’ve chosen our own way so long, God says we’ve developed a “twisted, warped, distorted, or  perverted” character (that is compared to what it should be, and compared to His). And because we are warped, we don’t think and act the way we ought. Simply put, we are all sinners.

Solomon’s wrote “There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.” Ecclesiastes 7:20

We all know that this is a unfortunate truth, we are all twisted, warped or perverted in some way,  and it’s not a very popular subject to talk about.

You know what presidential candidate I liked who ran for office years ago? Ross Perot. I liked him because he had the guts to tell it like it is. He pointed at the problems and said, ‘Here they are and they have to be fixed, but it’s going to cost everyone of us.’  People did not like to hear that. People don’t want to hear what it’s going to cost them to fix their problems, especially from a political candidate. And so Mr. Perot was not elected.

And likewise, Jesus did not gain a popular vote in His final days.

After that triumphal entry where people cried, “Hosanna,”  He entered the Temple area and started flipping tables over and accused the Jews of being a bunch of thieves, turning a place of worship into a den of robbers (Matthew 21:12-13)

Each day after that, the religious leaders got angrier and angrier at Jesus the more He spoke; especially when He accused them of being a bunch of show-off hypocrites. He goes on to call them snakes and a brood of vipers and condemns their evil practices. (Matthew. 23)

People who call the kettle black and speak the truth about things people don’t want to hear don’t go too far in the political realm. At this point rather than elect Jesus to be their Savior,  many wanted to kill Him.

He let all of us know that we all have a problem. We are ALL unholy sinners and we will not be welcomed into the presence of God in heaven after we die.

Now, some folks just don’t want to hear that. They have a problem accepting the idea that they’ve got a problem, that they are broken, and they need help from someone else.

Some people simply think that they’re ok, that they are “pretty nice people”.
That’s why, when people are asked if they think they are going to heaven, most will reply:  “Well sure, I’m not that bad. I never killed anyone.”

They don’t see themselves as ungodly because of the things that they have or haven’t done. They view themselves by their own standards not God’s.

They don’t want to hear that God is ready to throw them into Hell and lock the door.  Like the Pharisees and other religious leaders in Jerusalem when they hear the truth they get upset when Christians tell them that they are doomed and need a Savior.

In their anger many choose not to elect Jesus as the Lord of their lives.
What Jesus represents is not really attractive to them in that way.
He may interesting… but He is not their source of hope for salvation.

You see those religious leaders of old had a big problem. They were too proud to realize that they were in trouble and needed help; and only the kind of help that Jesus could provide. They were too proud to hear and act on that truth, and wanted to be patronized, not criticized.

And we likewise put our self in a dangerous position when we do the same; when we are too proud to hear the truth, when we refuse to act on those truths, and when all we want is to be patronized and not criticized.

That’s why Jesus’ preaching didn’t appeal to the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the self-righteous of His day. He exposed them for what they were. He revealed the sinful foundation of their thinking. And they hated Him for it.

But Jesus did appeal to some…to those who realized they had a problem.
The prostitutes and the tax collectors and the sinners… they KNEW THEY weren’t good enough, nor righteous enough to make it to heaven. They desperately needed the answers Jesus supplied. So, when Jesus came and offered them forgiveness of sins and a new life they chose to follow Him. They elected Him Savior.  Jesus told these self righteous ones, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.” Matthew 21:28-31

You see, they DIDN’T CARE if He was physically attractive or well dressed.
They didn’t care if anybody else liked Him. They had a problem… and Jesus could fix it.

If my car breaks down and I need to take it in to be fixed I don’t care how good looking my mechanic is. I don’t care how attractive his body shop is. I don’t care how clean his restroom is. All I care is: ‘Can he fix my car?’

If I am diagnosed with a disease and I have to go the hospital I don’t care how attractive my doctor is. I don’t care how fancy the room is decorated. All I care is: ‘Can they help me. Can they fix me?’

Things haven’t changed much from those days of old when the people then sneered at what Jesus had to say and what He represents.

Some people are still too proud. In all reality, none of us will ever be good enough to make to heaven on our own. We need a Savior. We need Jesus.

And until people realize they have a problem… they’re not going to look for His help, nor will they seek Him out.

People who elect Jesus as their Savior do so because they humble enough to ·KNOW that they’ve got a problem.
·They KNOW they can never be good enough to be good enough!
·They KNOW they can never be nice enough to work off their sins!
·They know that we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

God knows it too. That’s why He sent his one and only son into the world to pay the price for our sin if we so choose to accept Him.

But the sad reality is, some will never accept God’s gift for whatever reason.

Jesus made a very chilling comment once and I have to admit the reality of what He said here both scares & sadden me. In Matthew 7:13-14  Jesus advised,   “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

I would like to encourage you today to make sure you are on the right road, on the right path. Don’t be too proud and turn a deaf ear on wholesome criticism; it may be for your own good. If you haven’t already, don’t let your pride get in the way of seeking Jesus’ help. Elect Jesus as you Savior. He loves us and has our best interest in mind. He is a leader like no others, He leads by example.

Based on a sermon by Jeff Strite

To read more Sermons click on the following link: http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?page_id=566

COMPROMISED TRUTH ARE LIES DISGUISED AS TRUTH by Alfred Shannon Jr.

https://biblicalproof.wordpress.com/2011/05/page/2/

COMPROMISED TRUTH ARE LIES DISGUISED AS TRUTH

To please everyone, is to please no one. When we preach a secular gospel, we are adhering to the will of man, and not to the will of God. Any attempt to change the Word is to charge God with lying, and expect Him to repent or admit error. God is immutable, infallible, and unchangeable. His Word is perfect, tried, and true. To compromise the truth of God in the hope of saving a sinner, loses both the sinner, and ourself. Compromised truth, is nothing but lies disguised as truth. Seek it, obey it, and never attempt to change the perfect will of God.

Ps 12:5; Ps 18:30; Deut 32:4;  Nu 23:19; 1 Sam 15:29; Mal 3:6; Heb 13:8; Heb 6:17,18;  2 Tim 2:13; Jam 1:17; Rom 12:2

LUKE by Paul Southern

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Southern/Paul/1901/luke.html

LUKE

1. THE TITLE
The third gospel gets its name from the writer, Luke (light-giving), or Lucas, which is an abbreviated form of Lucanus.

2. THE WRITER
The name Luke occurs three times in the New Testament (Col 4:14; II Tim 4:11; Phil 24). Combining tradition with scripture, we have the following indefinite outline of his life: According to Eusebius, Luke was a native of Antioch in Syria, and according to Paul, he was a physician (Col 4:14). Tradition says that he was also a painter. He must have been a Gentile, for he is not reckoned among those "of the circumcision" by Paul (Col 4:11-14). The "We Sections" of Acts indicate that Luke was a companion of Paul, and writer of Acts of Apostles. Apparently, he joined Paul at Troas on the second tour and journeyed with him to Philippi (Acts 16:11-40). He remained at Philippi until Paul returned on the third tour. Luke then joined the missionary party again, accompanying Paul to Caesarea and finally to Rome (Acts 20:1-17; also chapters 20-28). We know nothing of his age and death. In his preface (Lk 1:1-4), the writer indicates that he was not an eyewitness of the Lord from the first.


3. THE GOSPEL


1. The date: Probably about A.D. 60-63 while Luke was with Paul at Caesarea or in Rome.
2. Place where written: As indicated above, probably Caesarea or Rome.
3. Addressee: Theophilus, a Gentile, and probably a native of Italy.
4. Subject: Jesus the Savior of all men.
5. Source of information: Luke was guided by the Holy Spirit. Whether he witnessed any or all of the facts recorded in the narrative cannot be decided with any degree of certainty.
6. Language: It was written in Greek.
7. Characteristics: Tidwell (The Bible Book by Book) gives the following:
1. It is a gospel of song and praise (1:46-55; 1:68-79; 2:14, 29-32).
2. It is a gospel of prayer (3:21; 5:16; 6:12; 9:28; 11:1;23:34,46).
3. It is a gospel of womanhood (1:42-45; 1:46-55; 2:36-38; 7:12-15; 7:36-50; 8:1-3; 8:48; 10:38-42; 13:16; 23:28).
4. It is a gospel of the poor (3:12; 5:27,29,30; 7:36-50; 8:43-48; 15:30; 15:11-32; 16:19-31; 14:7-24; 19:1-9; 23:39-43).
5. It is a Gentile gospel. The genealogy traces Christ's lineage back to Adam instead of Abraham, for Adam was a representative of all humanity. Luke presents Jesus as a joy to all the people (2:10,32).
6. It is a gospel for the Greek. Greeks were interested in perfect humanity. Thought, beauty, speech, and spirit were cultivated to the highest point. Hence Luke presents Jesus as perfect, the Savior of all men.
7. It is an artistic gospel. Luke was the most cultured of the gospel writers. His gospel has been called the most beautiful book in the world.


4. EXERCISES FOR STUDENT ACTIVITY


1. Six miracles and eleven parables are peculiar to Luke. List and study them in detail.
2. Study the following characteristic phrases which occur in Luke and list the places where each is found:
1. "Son of Man."
2. "Son of God."
3. "Kingdom of God."
3. The Gospel According to Luke emphasizes Christ's interest in the last, the least, and the lost. As you read the book, list all the illustrations of each of these groups.
4. Study the following songs recorded by Luke and explain the Latin title associated with each:
1. "Magnificat" (Luke 1:46-55).
2. "Benedictus" (Luke 1:67-79).
3. "Gloria in Excelsis" (Luke 2:14).
4. "Nune Dimittis" (Luke 2:29-32).

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

More than butterflies by Gary Rose

Believe it or not, there was a time when I was this young. A time when  very simple things  amazed me. To this day, I still remember how much fun I had playing with pots and pans as a VERY small child. 

But, that was then, a more uncomplicated existence. Things have changed, I grew up (and then some). I went from childhood to young adult and beyond.

Then, one day I heard  THE Truth of  THE GOSPEL. I studied it, prayed about it and debated it with others. Finally, I obeyed it!

God changed my life and I will never, ever go back on my commitment to God.  I am very sorry to say that not everyone is like me. Others I have known were drawn away to something other than THE TRUTH. 

Why? The reasons are as varied as the people who have followed error; but family, friends and captivating preachers are near the top of the list.

And the problem is not a new one...

Galatians 1 (World English Bible)

  ⁶  I marvel that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different “good news”;  ⁷ and there isn’t another “good news.” Only there are some who trouble you, and want to pervert the Good News of Christ.  (emphasis added)  ⁸ But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any “good news” other than that which we preached to you, let him be cursed.  ⁹ As we have said before, so I now say again: if any man preaches to you any “good news” other than that which you received, let him be cursed.  

1 Corinthians 13 (WEB)

 ¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things. 

There is only one hope, one way to heaven- Jesus. Believe it, because that is correct. Listen to what the Scriptures teach and NOTHING ELSE!!! 

Be mature in your thinking and be steadfast in your adherence to the truth!!