Will we be more prepared for judgment if we kept the sabbath?

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Steve Husting

One group of Christians which strongly makes its voice heard regarding readiness for the end times believe that we must keep the sabbath law or we will be damned – all our efforts will be for nothing. You will miss the Rapture. You will not be in the kingdom. You are an idolater who should burn forever.

Does the sabbath’s importance really carry this much weight? Did God intend for the sabbath day observance to be our highest priority, that without it all our holy practices and obedience to God will fail? Let’s examine the passages regarding the sabbath in the Old Testament and the New. The scriptures are where I get my teachings, so I will ignore the writings of the many believers who insist on keeping the sabbath. You can use an online Bible search and search the Word for “sabbath,” as I did for this study.

God repeatedly promised severe penalties for those who would not keep the sabbath:

Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. (Exodus 31:14)

But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched. (Jeremiah 17:27)

Clearly, God felt strongly about His people keeping the sabbath. Various penalties have been shaken before the Israelites, including death, fire, and being cut off or cast out of the land. The sabbath rituals were a non-negotiable with God.

In addition, God clearly indicated that the sabbath was to continue for a long time:

Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. (Exodus 31:16)

Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. (Leviticus 24:8)

It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever. (Leviticus 16:31)

And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. (Isaiah 66:23)

These passages clearly indicate that God did not intend for the sabbath to stop. He expected His people to keep them “perpetually,” “a statute for ever,” “from one new moon to another,” “throughout their generations.” How many different ways does He have to say it before we get the point – the sabbath was meant to be kept always. We already know the penalties for neglecting or dishonoring the sabbath day with work: death and fire. So are the sabbath-keeping Christians right about this after all? If we stop here, we must agree. However, if we remain with this conclusion, then I believe it conflicts with later biblical revelation. Clearly, the sabbath statutes are not supposed to end. But is that the real meaning of “perpetual”? Let’s take a look at other verses using this word and let the Word interpret itself:

And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest’s office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons. (Exodus 29:9)

We know from Hebrews 7:11-12 that Aaron’s office has been shut down:

If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. (Hebrews 7:11-12)

The Old Testament priesthood was not “perpetual” at all in the English sense of the word. The Aaronic priesthood (with the Levitical priesthood) came to an end when Jesus came. When Jesus came, the law changed. So the law was never meant to continue forever. “Perpetual” means a long time, not forever.

Look at a couple more instances of “perpetual.” God speaks of perpetual judgment on Israel:

To make their [Israel’s] land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head. (Jeremiah 18:16)

And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten. (Jeremiah 23:40)

Has this judgment continued on Israel? No, for God has shown mercy and Israel has prospered abundantly. The perpetual was conditional. Perpetual does not mean forever, but a long time, until something else interrupts it. In this case, Jesus’ priesthood replaced the Levitical priesthood, as mentioned previously. Why is this significant? Because the Levitical priests officiated over the sabbath. If there are no Levitical priests, the sabbath cannot be observed:

Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. (Leviticus 24:8)

And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy. (Nehemiah 13:22)

Has the Lord clearly changed His mind about a “perpetual” ordinance? Yes; He told Eli in 1 Samuel 1:30 that though He promised that Eli’s house would go in and out before Him “forever,” the Lord changed that, “for those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.” The promise was conditional on honoring the Lord. The Sabbath certainly did not result in people honoring the Lord; the Israelites were disposed to follow after the gods of the peoples around them.

Let’s consider something else. Remember the severe penalties for violating the sabbath? Well, just when it is acceptable to ignore the sabbath laws? Jesus Himself violated the sabbath laws several times and the priests called Him to account over and over:

And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? (Mark 2:23-24)

And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. (Mark 2:27-28)

It was against the sabbath law to work. Plucking ears of corn was considered work, not rest. Yet Jesus, the Author of the sabbath, had no problem with His disciples helping themselves to the corn. What was the guiding principle here? Mercy and compassion should guide the application of any spiritual law. The disciples were hungry, so they should eat, sabbath or no. When Jesus said that the sabbath was made for man, He was saying that the sabbath yielded to the needs of man. Furthermore, the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath. The sabbath was not the highest law. Jesus is even higher than the sabbath. This means that following Jesus is a higher priority.

We can see how promoting the sabbath law more highly than we ought will harden hearts of those who prize it too highly:

And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day. (John 5:16)

The sabbath is mentioned repeatedly in the New Testament. In the book of Acts, it tells us when the people met in the synogogue. For example:

And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, (Acts 17:2)

These passage merely tell me when they met. None of the passages indicate that meetings must be held on that day. Historically, Jews met for reading of the Word on the sabbath days. Shall we follow this custom because the Jews did? Shall we follow this custom because the Scriptures say that it is a “perpetual” statute?

Jesus did not come to destroy the law. He came to fulfill it:

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. (Matthew 5:17)

In what way does He fulfill the law? The following gives us a clue:

Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:36-40)

Love and compassion fulfills the law. (Truly, if the sabbath was supposed to be the greatest law, this would have been a terrific place for Jesus to mention it!) The law could never make us perfect. It could never take away our sins or our guilt. When we try to keep laws and fail, we are ashamed and draw away from God. With the coming of Jesus, we find God merciful and may draw back to Him again:

For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God. (Hebrews 7:19)

There was something “wrong” with the law, in a matter of speaking. That is, it could not fulfill God’s purpose of creating a people who love to serve Him. So God disregarded the law and replaced the covenant with a new covenant. Instead of trying to follow external laws written on paper, God would put the law in our hearts so that we follow it from an inner prompting to obey:

For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.

For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: (Hebrews 8:7-10)

With Jesus, we find the ability to obey the spirit of the law, which is to love one another. When we love God and others, we fulfill the law. We yield to the goodness of God and eagerly serve Him, something we find difficult to do consistently by obeying principles alone. When we find ourselves failing, the law could only condemn us, and we withdraw from God in failure. But with the new covenant we may come boldly to Christ – and find His cleansing blood and a Shepherd who eagerly receives us again.

This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. (Hebrews 10:16-17)

This is not the covenant with the sabbath! This is the covenant of faith in Jesus:

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)

I conclude that we need not worry about keeping the sabbath law. A greater than the sabbath has come. Those who insist the sabbath must be observed forget that the law, of which the sabbath is a part, never made anyone perfect – Jesus perfects us. It never forgives sins, but reminds us of sins repeatedly – but Jesus forgives us. It never sanctifies us – but Jesus has sanctified us through the offering of His body.

What Do You Think?

a. Is Sunday the Christian sabbath? What proof do you have to back it up?

b. If you believe in keeping the sabbath, are you making up your own ideas on how to go about it, or are you following the laws of the OT?

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How can anyone know God’s will?

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Steve Husting

When a soldier needs to know his commanding officer’s will, he asks, “What are your orders, sergeant?” When an employee wants to know what the boss wants done next, she asks, “What do you need me to do now, sir?”

How do we find out God’s will? We go to God, of course. But that answer’s too short. Let’s look at the issue in more detail.

Before the soldier is on the battlefield asking for orders, he’s first in the classroom listening to instruction and reading field guides. It starts that way too with the Christian who wants to know God’s will – she goes to a Bible-teaching church and she studies God’s field manual, the Bible.

The Bible gives plain direction for living. It guides our thoughts, words, attitudes, and behavior. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). It tells us what to do and what not to do. It instructs us in God’s character and ways. Later, when we are praying for his will, we’ll get answers and we’ll be able to compare the impressions with the Bible to find out whether the voice was from God or elsewhere.

For instance, the Bible tells me, “For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God” (James 1:20). So if I am about to act in uncontrollable anger, then anything I do will be against the will of God. My first step would be to calm down and submit to God’s way of doing things. Only then will I have the calm head to figure out the right course of action. The Bible tells us in what attitude to approach in life so that we will pursue life with God’s values in mind.

We will be confused about the will of God when we habitually live for ourselves. “That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God” (1Peter 4:2). Imagine a soldier trying to work out a commander’s orders to rush the enemy – while trying to stay comfortable in the foxhole! Choosing your own way over God’s way will send you in the wrong direction. When we put our desires ahead of God’s will, we’ll miss any kind of spiritual wisdom. But when we choose to resist the world’s ways to understand our God, we will win: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2).

The problem comes when we try to know God’s will in specifics, like, “Does God want me to marry that person?” “Should I go to that college?” There are no specifics on which college or which woman to marry, only guidelines on moral choices and behavior to take as we consider these things. (For instance, we are to marry only those “in the Lord,” not unbelievers.) Where these things are not specifically mentioned, we have free will to choose what’s right. Adam had free choice to choose whatever he wanted to eat, just not from that one tree. The instructions were clear and full of liberty – he did not have to ask God every day what he could eat or when.

What Do You Think?

a. Since there is no shortcut to knowing God’s will, are you willing to take steps to get to know God on an ongoing basis?

b. We may not know as much about God’s will as we’d like, but he has shown us how to live in the Bible. Shouldn’t we start with his revealed will first? Why or why not?

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What is the grace of God?

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Steve Husting

Grace is the amazing willingness of a holy God to help fallen men and women. When we don’t understand grace we’ll try to become good enough before we think God will act on our behalf. Many of us think we are not worthy and miss out on the incredible resources God showers upon unworthy sinners.

Consider that God used Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Yet Moses was a murderer! God also helped King David, although he was a murderer and adulterer – both crimes demanded capital punishment. Remember that Paul, who wrote many of the New Testament epistles, had formerly imprisoned and killed God’s believers. Paul said of his being chosen by God to encourage his believers, “The grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant” (1 Timothy 1:14a).

The greatest example of God’s grace is the sacrificial offering of Jesus on the cross to pay the price for our sins. God, a holy and righteous judge, could have simply banished us to h ell to satisfy his justice. Instead, his Son chose to suffer and die for our guilt.

To misunderstand God is to misunderstand grace. Grace is not mercy. When God shows mercy, he refrains from giving us what our iniquities deserve. With grace, we receive what we could never earn on our own. The writer of Hebrews encourages us to come boldly to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16) because Jesus sympathizes with our weaknesses. He does not point out our faults to demoralize us, but to give us strength to overcome. This is grace; instead of punishing us or driving us away, God opens the path to himself, then gives us every resource to triumph over the issue.

God releases grace when we act in faith in a way that furthers his purposes. When we believe God for a particular decision or a Scripture passage, God grants us help for the journey. When God enables by his grace, one consciously labors beyond one’s own ability – and praises God for it. “To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily” (Colossians 1:29). This increases our confidence to persevere in spite of any setbacks.

This grace is so little experienced because God is so little believed. We do not believe because we think we’re not holy or spiritual enough, we’ve done too many bad things, other people ridicule our inspiration and we take it to heart, God has it in for us, we’re satisfied to live for this world, we are too weak, and many other grievous reasons.

“We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain” (2 Corinthians 6:1). If God has given us his Son, how much more will he give us whatever we need for life and godliness? Take hold of God’s promises, run with them, and see what he will do!

What is it like to rest in God’s grace?

With an expectation of God’s grace:
•    When taking an particular step, we have an expectation that God will do good, but not necessarily our way. It gives us a positive outlook in life.
•    We don’t consider whether we’ve been good or bad. God is not keeping count of our positives and negatives.
•    We don’t consider the risk as too great or our sufficiency as too little; we expect God to provide.
•    Circumstances don’t discourage us because Jesus is Lord over our circumstances.
•    We become more thankful.
•    We are not quickly crushed under the pressures of life, for God can use those in our life for good.

Without an expectation of God’s grace:
•    We pick away at flaws.
•    We are negative about our chances; we  expect little or nothing to come of it. So we have less energy to pursue a project, or don’t have the heart to begin.
•    Our prayers don’t have an expectation of help or hope; instead, we whine or groan.
•    We worry; we are anxious and fussy. We complain about things and don’t recognize the blessings that we do enjoy and that others lack.
•    We are not thankful.
•    We wilt too quickly under pressure.
•    We consider ourselves and how we’ve failed God.
•    We look on our negative experiences and not on what God can do.
We figure out how we would do it, and attempt little.

What Do You Think?

a. If God was willing to use men who murdered, why would he not be willing to use you?

b. Grace means that God works with us even when we don’t deserve it. Does that mean we ask for his help after we’ve saved up a lot of good deeds and can bargain with him, or may the Christian walk boldly to the throne of grace to ask for help?

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If there is free will, how can God be in control?

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Steve Husting

Your will is not as free as you suppose. Your upbringing, culture, personality, conscience, friends and acquaintances, role models, and the media have shaped you in many ways. For instance, if you are shy, your decisions at a party would be different than an outgoing person’s choices.

The community has further restricted your will by laws regulating your conduct in public, including in your home, on the streets, school, and workplace. Drugs, alcohol, and medication may also inhibit your free will, discouraging or encouraging you to take steps a sober person may never take.

The sanctified Christian’s free will is different from the free will of the unregenerate, although both share many of the same limitations. The Christian can tell God, “Lord, I give you my life. I give you permission to bring anything into my life to conform me into the image of your son. Use me to fulfill your purpose for me.” We enjoy free will the most when we learn of God’s will and voluntarily give ourselves to it. God is in control because we have freely of our own will given him permission to work in our lives.

The Christian freely limits his actions, thoughts, and words to the direction of the Word of God. In doing so, the Christian finds greater life as God indwells that person. The Christian, freed from the forces of sin, has the liberty to say yes to God’s will. The person controlled by sin can only say, “I can’t follow God.”

What Do You Think?

a. If you claim to have a free will, can you choose to follow God no matter what?

b. Which person has a freer will, the one who takes money illegally when tempted, or the one who refrains from taking the money?

c. How can self-restraint be a good form of free will?

d. Are there forms of self-restraint that go against free will?

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Why do you Christians think you are better than the rest of us?

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Steve Husting

I was not born a Christian. I became a Christian when I realized that I had offended a holy God and needed his forgiveness. Apart from that forgiveness, I was headed for h ell . How can I say I am better than others when, after all the good I had done, God saw me fit for eternal punishment? Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, set the standard of righteousness by which God will judge humanity, and I had fallen short: “for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). So I am going to the kingdom of heaven, not because I am better than anyone else, but because I had entered into the one door that leads there: Jesus Christ.

Now every time my thoughts and motivations are based on the word of God, I know I am going in the right direction. Some people will object to the teachings I get from the Bible. In that case, who thinks he is “better”? Me, who borrowed the teachings from God above, or the person who boasts that his ideas are better than God’s?

Nevertheless proud Christians will be found everywhere. I did not start out my Christian life with the above mentality. Pride is inherent in all that we do. Pride does not die easily. When I became a Christian, I found new ways to wear the garment of pride, like priding myself over my Bible knowledge. Others are proud because they belong to a particular denomination. Still others look down on others because of their own superior religious works – whether in kind or quantity.

The disciple Peter was proud. When Jesus told Peter than he would deny the Lord, Peter protested (Matthew 26:31-35). Peter was too proud to recognize his own frailty. The proud are humbled when the shallowness of their pride and joy is revealed to them. Peter was broken when the Lord’s prophecy came true and he denied the Lord three times, as prophesied.

The apostle Paul was proud. In Philippians 3:5-6 he spoke of all those traits that made him feel superior to everyone else. But he threw them all away when he found that righteousness was through faith in Jesus Christ alone. He actually found those attributes of his pride to be harmful to his walk and future.

When you find a Christian acting in pride against you, there’s not much you can do except remind her of where she would have gone if not for faith in Jesus Christ. None of her works or status had helped her before then, and none of it can improve on faith’s righteous standing now.

What Do You Think?

a. Unfortunately, many Christians have put themselves in the place of superiority over others. If you are a Christian who knows that Jesus alone saved you from h ell , do you have any reason to think of yourself as superior to others around you? Why or why not?

b. Some people think Christians are arrogant because they say that Jesus is the only way to God, or that the Bible is the only truth. But if those people say that Buddha is the only way and the Bible is full of errors, are they being arrogant? Actually, a person may be wrongly arrogant, but still say the truth about a matter. My pride or lack of it would not change the truth about Jesus or Scripture.

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Don’t Christians have to answer for what other Christians have done in the name of Jesus?

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Steve Husting

We can derive an answer from a story in the Bible. Jesus told a story of three servants who received instructions from the same master. After the master delegated duties to each man, he went away. When he came back, he wanted to know how the servants did. After hearing two servants give a good account of their work, he said to each, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord” (Matthew 25:21).

After a third servant recounted his part, the master called him a “wicked and lazy servant” (Matthew 25:26), and took away his privileges.

He treated each servant differently, based on each servant’s own performance. When he called a servant wicked and lazy, it did not change the status of the other servants.

So each of us will answer for our own actions, not the actions of others (1 Corinthians 3:8).

What Do You Think?

a. Do you think it would be fair to punish everyone in a company for the crimes of a few? If not, then do you think God would be less fair? Why or why not?

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Isn’t the Bible full of contradictions and mistakes?

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Steve Husting

Theologians have placed Bible difficulties and contradictions in various classifications in order to unravel their problems. For instance, some problems are due to sequence, such as the events following Jesus’ death at the end of each of the gospels. They don’t follow the same order of events nor include the same details. Yet some groups have assembled perfectly plausible sequences of events from the four chapters.

Another classification is scribal error. Copying a document by hand day after day is bound to introduce some errors, such as repeated words, missed words, missed or miscopied letters, or repeated or dropped lines. By comparison of manuscripts and careful analysis, we’ve been able to detect these types of errors.

Our English Bibles are translated from the existing (called “extant”) manuscripts, and are frequently not word-for-word translations. Mistranslations have introduced complications between verses, especially in earlier Bible translations, where none really exist.

People have introduced difficulties due to their own interpretations of the Bible text. Correcting their understanding usually resolves the so-called difficulty.

Another classification deals with the compression of events. Details are omitted to condense the story or focus on key points. For instance, in Matthew 20:30 we read of two blind men calling out for Jesus to have mercy on them. In Mark 10:46 we find only one blind man calling out for mercy, and we are given his name. They are either two separate events or Mark’s retelling of the story leaves out one of the blind men. Mark’s quick-moving narrative is noted for its sparse detail.

The Bible authors have arranged their material to suit their audiences, and that introduces another series of Bible difficulties. Matthew included details in his gospel that concerned his audience of Jews. Mark and Luke audiences were different, so those details were omitted, since they were not necessary.

Another classification concerns geography. In one case, Jesus is said to leave Jericho to go somewhere. In another gospel of the same event, Jesus enters Jericho. Which is correct? Both are! In the first case, the writer references the old Jericho site to place Jesus, while another author uses the new Jericho site. Hundreds of Bible difficulties have been cleared up by archeological digs. Historical figures and places thought to be made up have been uncovered over the centuries that verify the biblical accounts.

The Bible’s arithmetic has been called into question. For instance, we are given the circumference of a large bowl in 2 Chronicles 4:2, and its width. Yet the width does not exactly match a bowl of that circumference. In this case and others, that’s because our tools make exact measurements to several decimal places while they used their fingers, hands, arms, and crude sticks. Their measurements were of necessity approximations.

We encounter other Bible difficulties when we apply our present-day thinking or customs to the ancient times and mores of the Bible. In some cases, what is wrong to us today was acceptable in their times.

Other Bible problems arise from thinking of God as a two-dimensional cardboard character. In one place he loves; in another place he hates. Well, don’t we all love something and hate other things? God’s character is complex, like our spouse’s!

Many, many knots have been unraveled over the centuries, but some stubborn tangles still remain. Thankfully, many solutions have been offered for the remaining problems, though they do not convince all.

The main contention people have is that if God is so perfect, and he’s the one who wrote the Bible, then why would there be any contradictions at all? Why can’t every event be perfectly synchronized among the various writers? Why can’t all arithmetic figures be exact to the decimal point? Surely he should have anticipated all the problems that would arise today.

Actually, today we have more resources for proving the accuracy of the Bible than ever before. Witness the explosion of Christian books from the perspective of archaeology, science, ancient manuscripts, and theology that are successfully putting to rest centuries of attacks. Because literally thousands of objections have been raised and thoroughly and convincingly refuted over the centuries, I have no problems with any remaining issues.

As seen in other places in this book, God has provided us with more than enough helps for us to intellectually accept what he has written. Remember that the Bible was written for God’s people. You can expect his enemies to try to find reasons not to believe. No matter how much evidence comes up to verify the Bible, they’ll always find another problem. Web sites gleefully list the many “problems” they’ve found. If they are looking for problems, they will always find them. This book is not for them. Do not argue with them.

On the other hand, there are those who want to believe, but cannot because of the difficulties they’ve read about. These difficulties are surmountable for a believer, but to someone who knows little about the Creator, they are a strong barrier to the truth of God. If any of them really wants to know the truth, the Lord will guide them there, as he has been doing for thousands of years to others.

For those who love arguments, books like this one in your hand will be worthless. For those who are seeking answers to Bible difficulties, this and similar books will help fill the need.

What Do You Think?

a. Many skeptics do not consider the Bible divinely inspired because of inconsistent details among the gospel accounts. If the details of all gospels perfectly dovetailed with each other, why do you think skeptics would still not consider them divinely inspired?

b. Some believers are able to put aside any contradictions and wait to see if any answers crop up later. Others decide to stop believing everything about the Bible when they find a problem area. What do you think about these two approaches?

c. When you get contradictory information from two acquaintances, how do you resolve the issue – do you heckle them, simply believe the most trustworthy person, do more research independently, or use another method? Do you deal with Bible difficulties the same way?

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Don’t the passages in the OT mentioning evil, proud, fools, and wicked persons refer to the unsaved, and good, wise, and righteous persons refer to the saved?

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Steve Husting

I used to interpret my Bible that way. When I trusted Christ, God imputed his righteousness to me. Therefore I thought the verses referring to the good, wise, and righteous I applied to myself. Everything evil I applied to the unregenerate … until I found those same negative verses in the NT being applied to the believer.

 

Wicked
“Therefore ‘put away from yourselves that wicked person’ ” (1 Corinthians 5:13). Here, Paul applied an OT verse (Deuteronomy 13:5) to a man in the church who had immoral relations and was corrupting the others. He was pronounced “wicked” and ordered removed from the church until proofs of repentance were seen. He was still a Christian, though, and was allowed back into the church meeting when he repented.

 

Evil
“For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil” (Romans 13:4). Many verses warn us about stopping certain bad behaviors. This verse was directed to Christians in Rome. Be assured that if we willfully continue in the way God has forbidden us, he will not call us righteous. “Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous” (1 John 3:7).

 

Good and Evil
“Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil” (1 Peter 3:11-12). In this verse, Peter does not only quote the OT (Psalms 34:15-16), but applies the positive and negative consequences to the believer. The Lord makes a difference between believers who are good and bad according to their works.

 

Proud and Humble
“Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble’ ” (1 Peter 5:5). Peter encourages us to be humble, using an OT teaching (Proverbs 3:34). He hopes the negative consequences will carry enough force to alter our behavior so that we may receive grace.

 

Wicked and Lazy
“His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant” (Matthew 25:26a). After returning to his home, this lord asked his servants to give an account of how they fared with his goods. The third servant stepped forward and admitted burying the goods in the ground. For that, he was called a wicked and lazy servant. This was an analogy, for the Lord is telling us what will happen at the judgment when his people will give an account of their service performed while he was gone.

 

We will stand before God at Judgment Day, and he will evaluate our works. In the character we have when we die (or are raptured), in that state we will appear before him. We may have the righteousness of God imputed to us by faith, but God will judge our characters by our works. Paul did not rest on the theology of having Christ’s righteousness imputed to him, and warned us: “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5-10).

What Do You Think?

a. How do you reconcile verses on imputed righteousness and those on righteousness based on conduct?

b. The master who listened to his servants give their account considered all of them servants. However, only a few lived up to the name honorably. We may be call righteous by faith, but is that the same as living up to the name honorably?

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Who are the overcomers of Revelation chapters 2 and 3?

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Steve Husting

In Revelation chapters 2 and 3, our Lord encourages the churches to overcome the issues he raises. Did Jesus intend for his warnings to refer to believers, or unbelievers? Do the blessings in these chapters apply to all believers, or only certain ones? Let’s look at an example of some warnings before we answer the question:

“Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works” (Revelation. 2:22-23). Is this warning for believers?

“Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you” (Revelation 3:3). If you are saved, can you safely ignore this?

These warnings have presented problems for some believers. Because of the severity of the punishment promised, some readers insist that Jesus was addressing unbelievers in the congregation. They insist that all the saved are overcomers and have no need to fear or repent. They point to 1 John’s usage of overcomer to justify their case. Here are the verses in 1 John:

“I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. … I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one” (1 John 2:13, 14).

“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith” (1 John 5:4).

The conclusion people have presented to me from these passages is: overcomer = saved. According to this train of thought, since John addresses the saved people in his epistle as overcomers, then all the saved people in the Revelation churches are also overcomers. The warnings therefore are directed to unbelievers. Are these conclusions correct?

Actually, Jesus separates the people in the troubled churches into two groups, but not as believers and unbelievers. Some may insist, “Yet are not today’s churches composed of believers and unbelievers?” The question’s logic is unsound, because biblically, the church is composed of a called-out people, Christ’s body on earth, not the building in which his people gather.

Let’s briefly consider John’s use of overcomer in his epistle. Then we’ll see that the groups in the Revelation churches are composed of two groups: of those who repent and those who don’t!

A person needs to overcome something before he can be called an overcomer. He needs to win a contest before he is called a winner. The readers of John’s epistle were formerly slaves of the wicked one and the world. As long as the readers had believed the lies of the Devil, they were captives. Through the gospel they believed God’s perspective of sin and escaped the enemy. They learned to detect the work of the enemy, resist the Devil, and maintain their relationship with God. Their overcomer status reflected a change in their attitude toward sin and God as a result of faith in the word preached to them.

So, overcomer = saved should be: overcomer = one who responded by faith and repented.

The churches in Revelation 2-3 are facing enemies in their midst and in their hearts. If they respond to the serious issues raised in the messages by faith and repent, they will be worthy of the term overcomer and of the rewards promised only to overcomers. The terrible dangers cited by the Lord are therefore for those believers who will not repent.

The warnings to the churches are to strike fear in our hearts in case we wish to pursue sin. The promises to the ovecomers are to remind us that God has something great in store for us who forsake our sin.

What Do You Think?

a. Are you overcoming sin, or do you treat sin indifferently?

b. Do you make sure to live in such a way as to obtain the promises Jesus gave, or not?

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What kind of study resources will help me understand the Bible better?

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Steve Husting

Many resources, written and digital, are available to help us understand the Bible. Here are a few resources I use:

Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. This book gives us the meanings of the Greek text. Like English words, Greek words will have different shades of meaning based on how they are used. This book gives the various rendering of the words and where they are used in Scripture, and gives the contextual meaning in those places.

Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. If you are familiar with your version of the Bible, such as the King James Version, then get the concordance for your version. This book is good if you can’t remember a verse, but you know a word or two of the verse. You look up the word (like in a dictionary) and following the word is a list of every verse in the Bible containing that word. You could also do a word study with the list – just look up each verse to see how the word is used. This will often deepen your understanding of the doctrinal term. This book also cross-references with a Greek and Hebrew dictionary at the back so you can learn the original definition of the word.

The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament and The Interlinear Hebrew-English Old Testament. These books give you the actual Greek (or Hebrew) words with the English translation right above the word. You can see the word order chosen by the writers. You’ll also be able to tell which Greek or Hebrew word was used, and from there look it up in Vine’s or Strong’s.

New Bible Almanac. This book gives you the historical and cultural setting of the Bible, such as the money, marriage customs, government structure, weapons, agriculture, and so on. A very important book that helps us understand why the Bible characters did what they did, and illuminates some of obscure passages in the Bible.

Bible Dictionary. The Bible is full of words we don’t use in regular life. It’s important to understand them and not guess at their meaning when we come across them in the Bible.

The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict. This book outlines the many proofs that validate what the Bible says. It builds up a solid case as to why we know the resurrection of Jesus is true, for example.

Bible Handbook. This book gives a summary of every book of the Bible, including charts, maps, and timelines, outlines, keywords, key verses, and special considerations. If you are new to the Bible, this is a handy book to have at your side.

Commentary. A commentary is an author’s comments on almost every verse in the Bible. Many commentaries exist, from concise one-volume works to 30-volume sets. Some commentaries cover only a single book while others cover all sixty-six books. The Bible Knowledge Commentary (2-book set) is a good place to start for your first full-Bible commentary.

Parallel Bible. This resource contains two or more versions of the Bible in one volume so you can see how the translators have interpreted each passage. This book can give you a deeper or broader perspective of each passage than one version alone could do.

These are just a few helps I’ve used over the years. Many other books will cover apologetics (how to defend your faith), marriage and family, prayer, worship, prophecy and the end times, and many other topics. Visit your Christian bookstore or go online to find these and many others.

What Do You Think?

a. If you’ve never used a Bible study help before, which one of the above would you pick first, and why?

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