World Christianity

Are the New Testament themes found in the Old Testament?

2008-10-11T01:31:00.000-07:00

Are the New Testament themes found in the Old Testament?

The concepts in the New Testament were not derived out of thin air. Amos 3:7 says, "Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets." What is mentioned in the New Testament is revealed in the Old Testament either clearly or in types and figures. Gen. 22 is a great example of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Son in Typology represented by the sacrifice of Isaac.

Some critics of Christianity state that Christianity borrowed its concepts from pagan sources like Mitrha, Osiris, Apollonius, etc. Admittedly, there are similarities in some pagan religions with Christianity, but that does not mean Christian writers borrowed from them any more than similarities between Communism and Democracy mean one is from another. Similarities abound in many religions. Hinduism has moral statements similar to Christianity as does Taoism. But they are unrelated to each other.

There are, however, several reasons working against the idea that the people who wrote the New Testament copied ideas from pagan myths. First of all, the writers of the New Testament were Jews. As Jews they would have nothing to do with paganism in any form. They knew specifically that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament which is why they followed Him. Second, the Old Testament has almost all the New Testament themes from which a devout Jew would refer when writing the New Testament. Third, there is no proof at all that the New Testament writers borrowed from pagan sources and incorporated them into the New Testament. It is up to the critics to supply reasonable evidence for this if they want to hold the position. Just saying it happened doesn't mean anything. Fourth, so what if there are similarities? What does it prove? If two writers in the same city both write similar articles about the President of the U.S., does it mean one used another's concepts? Not at all. Similarities happen all the time when dealing with similar subjects. Besides, it makes sense that common themes would be around an area at the same time in history when all nations served various gods. Undoubtedly, some similarities will occur, but that doesn't mean one was borrowed from another. Finally, there is another possibility worth examining. The concepts of redemption, the incarnation, resurrection, etc., are prophesied in the Old Testament and these documents were around for hundreds and hundreds of years. It is quite possible that if any borrowing was done, it was done by the pagans who incorporated Old Testament concepts since these documents existed prior to many of these pagan myths.

Nevertheless, following is a chart that exemplifies many of the themes that were revealed in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New. It is easy to see that there is no need at all for the Christians to borrow from any source outside the Old Testament.

John 5:39, "You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me."

Theme	Old Testament Reference	New Testament fulfilled in Jesus
Ascension of Jesus to the right hand of God	Ps. 110:1	Matt 26:64; Acts 7:55-60; Eph. 1:20
Atonement by blood	Lev. 17:11	Heb. 9:22
Baptism	Exodus 40:12-15; Lev. 16:4; Gen. 17:10; Ezek. 36:25	Matt. 3:16; 28:19; Col. 2:11-12; Heb. 10:22
Begotten Son, Jesus is	Psalm 2:7	Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5
Creative work	Gen. 1; 1:26	John 1:1-3; Col. 1:16-17
Crucifixion	Psalm 22:11-18; Zech. 12:10	Luke 23:33-38
Damnation and Salvation	Dan. 12:2	Matt. 25:46
Eternal Son	Micah 5:1-2; Psalm 2:7	Heb. 1:5; 5:5
First and Last	Isaiah 41:4; 44:6; 48:12	Rev. 1:8,17; 22:13
God among His people	Isaiah 9:6; 40:3	John 1:1,14; 20:28; Col. 2:9; Matt. 3:3
Incarnation of God	1)Ex 3:14; 2)Ps. 45:6 Isaiah 9:6; Zech. 12:10	1)John 8:58; 1:1,14; 2)Heb. 1:8; Col. 2:9; Heb. 1:1-3
Monotheism	Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8; 45:5	John 10:30; Eph. 4:5
Only Begotten Son	Gen. 22:2. See Typology	John 3:16; Heb. 11:7
Priesthood of Jesus	Psalm 110:4	Heb. 6:20; 7:25
Resurrection of Christ	Psalm 16:9-10; 49:15; Is. 26:19	John 2:19-21
Return of Christ	Zech. 14:1-5; Mic. 1:3-4	Matt. 16:27-28; Acts 1:11; 3:20
Sacrifice of the Son	Gen. 22. See Typology	Heb. 9:27
Salvation by grace	1)Gen. 12:3; 2)15:6; Hab. 2:4	1)Gal. 3:8-11; 2)Rom. 4:9
Sin offering	Ex. 30:10; Lev. 4:3	Rom. 8:3; Heb. 10:18; 13:11
Sin offering made outside the camp	Ex. 29:14	Heb. 13:12-13
Sin offering without defect	Ex. 12:5; Lev. 22:20; Deut. 17:1	Heb. 9:14
Son of God	Psalm 2:7	John 5:18
Substitutionary Atonement	Isaiah 53:6-12; Lev. 6:4-10,21	Matt. 20:28; 1 Pet. 2:24; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 3:18;
Trinity	1)Gen. 1:1,26; Job 33:4; 2) Gen. 17:1; 18:1; Ex. 6:2-3; 24:9-11; 33:20; Num. 12:6-8; Psalm 104:30; 23)Gen. 19:24 with Amos 4:10-11; Is.48:16	1)John 1:1-3; 2)John 1:18; 6:46; 3)Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14
Virgin Birth	Isaiah 7:14	Matt. 1:25
Worship of Jesus	Psalm 97:7	Matt. 2:2,11; 14:33; 28:9; John 9:35-38; Heb. 1:6

Why would God have to die to save people from Himself?

2008-10-11T01:21:00.000-07:00

Why would God have to die to save people from Himself?

Why would God have to die to save people from Himself? Because there is no other way to save anyone from their sins.

Because God is holy and righteous, He must punish anyone who breaks His law. Since He is the one who administers the punishment, we then need to be saved from His righteous judgment. But, since we are not capable of pleasing God by our mere works, the only one left who can cleanse us is God Himself.

The one offended is the one who must pardon. If I offend you, I do not ask forgiveness from your neighbor. I have to ask you. The same goes with God. If we sin against Him we have to go to Him to be forgiven. But, simply asking for forgiveness isn't enough. The reason is because when we sin, we sin against a holy and infinite God. But, God is also righteous and He must do what is right. Therefore, it is right to punish those who defy Him. But the problem is that since God is infinite and we are not, we cannot do enough to please an infinite God.

An analogy

Let's say I am at your house or apartment with my wife. We are talking about church and in my zeal I accidentally knock over your lamp. Now, this lamp is special. A dear friend gave it to you and it has great sentimental value, and besides, you need a light in your room. After a moment or two you realize that the damage is done and decide to forgive. You say to me, "That is alright, Matt. I forgive you for breaking the lamp, but give me ten dollars."

Is asking for ten dollars after you've just forgiven me, true forgiveness? Certainly not! When God forgives our sins, He says He will remember them no more (Jer. 31:34). Forgive and forget are similar in spelling and similar in meaning. If you forgive me can you demand payment from the one forgiven? No, because a forgiven debt does not exist.

Let's say that instead of asking me for ten dollars you turn to my wife and say, "Matt broke my lamp. You give me ten dollars for it."

I ask you again. Is that true forgiveness? No. You are simply transferring the debt to someone who was not involved in the original offense.

But, we have a problem. The lamp needs to be replaced. In true forgiveness, then, who pays for its replacement? (Think about this a bit before you go on to read the answer.) Who pays? You do! You're the only one left. Remember, if you've forgiven me the debt, how can you demand payment?
Now, who was my offense against? You. Who forgives? You do. Who pays? You do.
When we sin, who do we sin against? God. Who forgives? God. Who pays? God! Did you get that? God pays! How does He do that? Simple. 2000 years ago on a hill outside the city of Jerusalem He bore our sins in His body and died on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24). He took our punishment: "Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried... He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him..." (Isaiah 53:4-5).
God is just. God is merciful. God is gracious. In the justice of God, He took our place. In the mercy of God we don't get punished. In the grace of God, He gives us eternal life.

Even though we are unworthy of salvation, even though we are unworthy of God's love, even though we are unworthy of mercy, even though we are worthy of wrath, God saved us. He did so not because of who we are, but because of who He is, not because of what we do, but because of what He did. God is love (1 John 4:16). God is holy (1 Peter 1:16). God is good (Psalm 34:8). We could never fathom the depths of His purity and kindness (Rom. 11:33). We could never, through our own efforts, attain Him. There is only one thing left for us. We must worship Him, love Him, and serve Him. He alone is worthy. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Why did animals have to die for the sins of Adam and Eve and others?

2008-10-11T01:19:00.000-07:00

Why did animals have to die for the sins of Adam and Eve and others?

In the Old Testament, animal sacrifices were a representation of the true future sacrifice of Jesus. These Old Testament animal sacrifices were not able to cleanse anyone of their sins (Heb. 10:4). Yet, they were offered as a predictive representation. In other words, they were a type, a representation, a picture of the final and real sacrifice that was to occur when Jesus died on the cross bearing our sins in His body (1 Pet. 2:24).
In the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve sinned, God covered them with animal skins (Gen. 3:21). This was the beginning of the animal sacrifice system and it was instituted by God. The amazing thing is that it is also God who is the one who fulfilled this sacrificial requirement by becoming one of us (John 1:1,14), bearing our sins in His body on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24), and cleansing us of our sins (1 John 1:7). All of the Old Testament sacrifices pointed ahead to the real one offered by Jesus. This way, the Old Testament saints could, by faith, trust in God's provision: "The just shall live by faith," (Hab. 2:4), and "Then he [Abraham] believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness," (Gen. 15:6).
So, it really wasn't that the animals were dying for anyone's sins. They simply were a type of the true sacrifice made by Christ.

Why believe in Christianity over all other religions?

2008-10-11T01:14:00.000-07:00

Why believe in Christianity over all other religions?

Critics often ask why Christianity is any better than any other religion in the world. After all, of all the religions that exist how can it be that only Christianity is true? If God exists, why can't God use different religions? Don't all paths lead to God? These kinds of questions are asked all the time of Christians and unfortunately the answers aren't always very good ones particularly when dealing with people who have a relativistic truth base and don't believe in absolutes.
Therefore, in an attempt to demonstrate why Christianity is true and all other religious systems are false, I've prepared the following list of reasons for Christianity's superiority.

There are such things as absolute truths

If truth is relative, then the statement that truth is relative is an absolute truth and would be self defeating statement by proving that truth is not relative. But, if truth is absolute, then the statement "truth is absolute" is true and not self defeating. It is true that truth exists. It is true that truth will not contradict itself as we have just seen. In fact, it is absolutely true that you are reading this paper.
If we can see that there is such a thing as truth in the world, then we could also see that there can be spiritual truth as well. It is not absurd to believe in spiritual absolutes anymore than physical or logical absolutes. Even the statement that all religions lead to God is a statement held to be a spiritual absolute by many people. This simply demonstrates that people do believe in spiritual truth. Why? Because truth exists. However, not all that is believed to be true actually is true. Therefore, all belief systems cannot be true since they often contradict each other in profound ways.

Religions contradict each other; therefore, they cannot all be true.

Mormonism teaches that there are many gods in existence and that you can become a god. Christianity teaches that there is only one God and you cannot become a god. Islam teaches that Jesus is not God in flesh where Christianity does. Jesus cannot be both God and not God at the same time. Some religions teach that we reincarnate while others do not. Some teach there is a hell and others do not. They cannot all be true. If they cannot all be true, it cannot be true that all religions lead to God. Furthermore, it means that some religions are, at the very least, false in their claims to reveal the true God (or gods). Remember, truth does not contradict itself. If God exists, He will not institute mutually exclusive and contradictory belief systems in an attempt to get people to believe in Him. God is not the author of confusion (1 Cor. 14:33). Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that there can be an absolute spiritual truth and that not all systems can be true regardless of whether or not they claim to be true. There must be more than a mere claim.

Fulfilled Prophecy concerning Jesus

Though there are other religions that have prophecies in them, none are 100% accurate as is the Bible and none of them point to someone like Jesus who made incredible claims and performed incredible deeds. The Old Testament was written hundreds of years before Jesus was born. Yet, the Old Testament prophesied many things about Jesus. This is undoubtedly evidence of divine influence upon the Bible.
Please consider some of the many prophecies of Jesus in the following chart.

Prophecy	Old Testament Prophecy	New Testament Fulfillment
Born of a virgin	Isaiah 7:14	Matt. 1:18,25
Born at Bethlehem	Micah 5:2	Matt. 2:1
He would be preceded by a Messenger	Isaiah 40:3	Matt. 3:1-2
Rejected by His own people	Isaiah 53:3	John 7:5; 7:48
Betrayed by a close friend	Psalm 41:9	John 13:26-30
His side pierced	Zech. 12:10	John 19:34
Crucifixion	Psalm 22:1, Psalm 22:11-18	Luke 23:33; John 19:23-24
Resurrection of Christ	Psalm 16:10	Acts 13:34-37

Fulfillment of prophecy can have different explanations. Some state that the NT was written and altered to make it look like Jesus fulfilled OT prophecy (but there is no evidence of that). Others state that the prophecies are so vague that they don't count (but many of the prophecies are not vague at all). Of course, it is possible that God inspired the writers and Jesus, who is God in flesh, fulfilled these prophecies as a further demonstration of the validity of Christianity.

The Claims and Deeds of Christ

Christianity claims to be authored by God. Of course, merely making such a claim does not make it true. Anyone can make claims. But, backing up those claims is entirely different. Jesus used the Divine Name for Himself (John 8:58), the same Divine Name used by God when Moses asked God what His name was in (Exodus 3:14). Jesus said that He could do whatever He saw God the Father do (John 5:19), and He claimed to be one with God the Father (John 10:30; 10:38). Likewise, the disciples also called Him God (John 1:1,14; John 10:27; Col. 2:9). By default, if Jesus is God in flesh, then whatever He said and did would be true. Since Jesus said that He alone was the way, the truth, and the life and that no one can find God without Him (John 14:6), this all becomes incredibly important.
Again, making a claim is one thing. Backing it up is another. Did Jesus also back up His words with His deeds? Yes, He did.

· Jesus changed water into wine (John 2:6-10).

· Jesus cast out demons (Matt. 8:28-32; 15:22-28).

· Jesus healed lepers (Matt. 8:3; Luke 17:14).

· Jesus healed diseases (Matt. 4:23,24; Luke 6:17-19)

· Jesus healed the paralytic (Mark 2:3-12).

· Jesus raised the dead (Matt. 9:25; John 11:43-44).

· Jesus restored sight to the blind (Matt. 9:27-30; John 9:1-7).

· Jesus restored cured deafness (Mark 7:32-35).

· Jesus fed the multitude (Matt. 14:15-21; Matt. 15:32-38).

· Jesus walked on water (Matt. 8:26-27).

· Jesus calmed a storm with a command (Matt. 8:22-27; Mark 4:39).

· Jesus rose from the dead (Luke 24:39; John 20:27).

· Jesus appeared to disciples after resurrection (John 20:19).

The eyewitnesses recorded the miracles of Jesus and the gospels have been reliably transmitted to us. Therefore, we can believe what Jesus said about Himself because Jesus performed many convincing miracles in front of people who testified and wrote about what they saw Him do.

Christ's resurrection

Within Christianity, the resurrection is vitally important. Without the resurrection, our faith is useless (1 Cor. 15:14). It was the resurrection that changed the lives of the disciples. After Jesus was crucified, the disciples ran and hid. But when they saw the risen Lord, they knew that all that Jesus had said and done proved that He was indeed God in flesh, the Savior.
No other religious leader has died in full view of trained executioners, had a guarded tomb, and then risen three days later to appear to many many people. This resurrection is proof of who Jesus is and that He did accomplish what He set out to do: provide redemption for mankind.
Buddha did not rise from the dead. Muhammad did not rise from the dead. Confucius did not rise from the dead. Krishna did not rise from the dead, etc. Only Jesus has physically risen from the dead, walked on water, claimed to be God, and raised others from the dead. He has conquered death. Why trust anyone else? Why trust anyone who can be held by physical death when we have a Messiah who is greater than death itself?

Conclusion

Why should anyone trust in Christianity over Islam, Buddhism, Mormonism, or anything else? It is because there are absolute truths, because only in Christianity is there accurate fulfilled prophecies of a coming Messiah. Only in Christianity do we have the extremely accurate transmission of the eyewitness documents (gospels) so we can trust what was originally written. Only in Christianity do we have the person of Christ who claimed to be God, performed many miracles to prove His claim of divinity, who died and rose from the dead, and who said that He alone was the way the truth and the life. All this adds to the legitimacy and credibility of Christianity above all other religions -- all based on the person of Jesus. If follows that if it is all true about what Jesus said and did, then all other religions are false because Jesus said that He alone was the way, the truth, and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). It could not be that Jesus is the only way and truth and other religions also be the truth.
Either Jesus is true and all other religions are false or other religions are true and Jesus is false. There are no other options. I choose to follow the risen Lord.

Where did Cain Get His Wife?

2008-10-11T01:12:00.000-07:00

Where did Cain Get His Wife?

In Genesis 4:16 it says, "Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. ¹⁷And Cain had relations with his wife and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch; and he built a city, and called the name of the city Enoch, after the name of his son."
Genesis tells us that Adam and Eve had two sons: Cain and Abel. Cain killed Abel, was exiled by God, and then in Genesis 4:17 we read that Cain had relations with his wife. Where did Cain get his wife? The answer is simple: Cain married either his sister or a niece.
In Genesis 5:4 we see that Adam had other sons and daughters.

"This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. ²He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them Man in the day when they were created. ³When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth. ⁴Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters. ⁵So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died," (Gen. 5:1-5).

Since Adam lived several hundred years, having lots of children was not a problem. The Genesis account does not tell us about the order of the births nor does it tell us how old they were. By having many children it is certainly possible that there were many women around. This would mean that Cain married either a sister or a niece or some other relation. Of course at this point, the question of inbreeding is raised. But it is not a problem early on in the human race because the genetic line was so pure. Therefore, the prohibition against incest was not proclaimed until much much later (Lev. 18:6-18).

What is the gospel of Q and does it prove the Gospels are false?

2008-10-11T01:07:00.001-07:00

What is the gospel of Q and does it prove the Gospels are false?

Q comes from the German "quelle" meaning "source." Some biblical scholars have proposed that there was a document prior to the writing of the gospels which was used by the writers of Matthew and Luke as a source of information.¹ They have called this hypothetical document "Q." It is hypothetical because there is no proof that the document existed. Nevertheless, this proposal has gained some acceptance in scholarly circles due to the very close similarities and identical written accounts found in both Matthew and Luke. It is reasoned that the very similar accounts must be taken from a common source.
Since Matthew was probably originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic according to the historian Papias, and all we have is the Greek texts, some conclude that a translation of the Hebrew gospel of Matthew into Greek would have resulted in translations slightly different from the Luke accounts. But since some of the accounts are identical, it is proposed that Matthew and Luke shared a common reference source. This is perfectly reasonable and we do see differences in translations as well as identical wording. Is this the result of an unknown document known as Q? Perhaps, but there is no way to be sure since it is possible that one copied from another or copied from Mark.
Following is a small sample chart of some of the sayings in Matthew and Luke that are identical as is demonstrated by being underlined. The text is taken from the NASB.

Matt. 3:7-10, But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸"Therefore bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance; ⁹and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you, that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ¹⁰"And the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.	Luke 3:7-9, "He therefore began saying to the multitudes who were going out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸"Therefore bring forth fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ⁹"And also the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."
Matt. 23:37, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.	Luke 13:34, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it!
Matt. 11:2-6	Luke 7:18-23
Matt. 8:18-22	Luke 9:57-62
Matt. 17:19-20	Luke 17:5-6
Matt. 25:14-30	Luke 19:11-27
...etc.

As I said above, another theory is that Matthew and Luke copied from Mark. Please consider the following quote which deals with both the Q theory and the Markan Source theory.

"It is plain as a pikestaff that both our Matthew and Luke used practically all of Mark and followed his general order of events. For this reason Mark has been placed first on the pages where this Gospel appears at all. But another thing is equally clear and that is that both Matthew and Luke had another source in common because they each give practically identical matter for much that is not in Mark at all. This second common source for Matthew and Luke has been called Logia because it is chiefly discourses. It is sometimes referred to as "Q."²

The above quote from A.T. Robertson, one of the foremost Greek scholars of the 20th century, is a good reflection of the position of many scholars. It may be that there was a common source for Matthew and Luke, either Q or Mark, or a combination of both.

If Q is true, are the gospels inspired?

Some people say that the Q theory invalidates the inspiration of the gospels since it would mean that the writers copied their material from one another and were then not inspired of God. But this does not invalidate inspiration at all. If Q is an actual source it does not invalidate the validity of the gospels. Why would copying from an earlier source invalidate the Gospels or say they were not inspired? Can God not inspire a writer as he copies from another document? Of course.
If anything, the existence of Q would mean that the time between the actual events and their written record is lessened. In other words, Q would have to precede Matthew and Luke. This would mean that there is a source even earlier than the those gospels which only adds to the validity of the accuracy of the gospels since it shortens the time between the event and the record.

If Mark was a source of Matthew and Luke, then...

Furthermore, if Mark was used as a source for Matthew and Luke, how would he have known what to write about if he wasn't an eyewitness? This isn't a problem because Mark was a disciple of Peter and Peter was in the inner circle with Jesus. Therefore, Mark received his information from Peter who was an eyewitness. Also, Matthew, who was a disciple, agrees with the account of Mark's gospel concerning Jesus and the events surrounding Him as is evidenced in his account. There is no disagreement between them, only confirmation and verification. So, we have confirmation of Mark's accuracy.

______________________
1. Achtemeier, Paul J., Th.D., Harper’s Bible Dictionary, (San Francisco: Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc., 1985.
2. Robertson, A.T., A Harmony of the Gospels, Harper & Row; New York` 1950. p. 255.

For further reading the possibility of Q, please consider

Richard A. Edwards, A Theology of Q: Eschatology, Prophecy, and Wisdom (Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press 1976).
John S. Kloppenborg Verbin, Excavating Q: The History and Setting of the Sayings Gospel (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press 2000).

What is Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? Can A Christian Commit it?

2008-10-11T01:05:00.000-07:00

What is Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?
Can A Christian Commit it?

Jesus mentions a sin that is unforgivable in Matt. 12:31-32 and calls it blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. But what exactly is this unforgivable sin? For that, we need to look at the context.

Matt. 12:22-32 says, "Then there was brought to Him a demon-possessed man who was blind and dumb, and He healed him, so that the dumb man spoke and saw. ²³And all the multitudes were amazed, and began to say, "This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?" ²⁴But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "This man casts out demons only by Beelzebub the ruler of the demons." ²⁵And knowing their thoughts He said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand. ²⁶"And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand? ²⁷"And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Consequently they shall be your judges. ²⁸"But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²⁹"Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. ³⁰"He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters. ³¹"Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. ³²"And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the age to come," (All Scripture quotes are from the NASB).

Let me review this section briefly. In verse 22, Jesus healed a blind and dumb man. The Pharisees accuse Jesus of casting out demons by the power of "Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons" (v. 24). Jesus responds by saying that a kingdom divided will fall (vv. 25-28) and how the devil must first be bound before you can plunder his house (v. 29). In verses 31-32, He states that blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven in this age or the age to come.
By simply looking at the context it becomes apparent that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is saying that Jesus did His miracles by the power of the devil. This is unforgivable. But why? We can find a clue by looking at when Jesus began His ministry.
Jesus stated that His baptism was to "fulfill all righteousness," (Matt. 3:15). The word "fulfill" should cause us to think of the Old Testament. Basically, Jesus was baptized because He had to fulfill the Old Testament requirements for entering into the priesthood. He was a priest after the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4; Heb. 5:8-10; 6:20). Priests offered sacrifice to God on behalf of the people. Jesus became a sacrifice for our sin (1 Pet. 2:21; 2 Cor. 5:21) in His role as priest. According to the Old Testament, in order for a priest to be consecrated as a priest, He had to be washed with water (Lev. 8:6; Exodus 29:4, Matt. 3:15) and anointed with oil (Lev. 8:12; Exodus 29:7; Matt. 3:16). Both of these were bestowed upon Jesus at His baptism. Additionally, He may have needed to be 30 years old - (Num. 4:3).
The oil is representative of the Holy Spirit who descended upon Jesus at His baptism (Matt. 3:16). It was after His baptism that He began His ministry and started performing miracles. He did His miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit who had come upon Him at His baptism. The Pharisees - who knew that Jesus' miracles validated His words and ministry (see John 11:45-48) - were attempting to discredit Jesus' Messiahship by saying that His works were by the devil and not by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, when the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Satan, they were blaspheming the Holy Spirit by whom Jesus performed His miracles. This is unforgivable because it struck at the very heart of the redemptive work of God in Christ. It struck at the very nature of Jesus’ ministry of redemption, testimony, and teaching. Jesus was ministering in the power of the Holy Spirit Himself, fulfilling the divine plan of God to provide a sacrifice for our sins (John 3:16; 1 John 4:10). The Pharisees were attributing this to demonic activity. This is a great blasphemy.

Can a Believer Commit the Unforgivable Sin?

No. A believer cannot commit the unforgivable sin. How can someone who has been born again (John 3:7), made a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), and received eternal life (John 10:27-28) actually commit the unforgivable sin? He cannot. Jesus Himself said that we have eternal life, not conditional life: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand." Besides, it says in 2 Cor. 5:17 that the Christian is a new creation in Christ. We are different, no longer slaves to the old nature (Rom. 6:14). We are regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
There is no biblical support for a believer committing this sin. It just hasn’t happened. Also, if you are worried that you may have committed the sin and can’t be forgiven, then don’t be concerned. If you are worrying about it, then you haven’t committed it. If you are worried about it, then that is a sign that you have not committed it. If you had, you wouldn’t be concerned.

What is a Christian World View and Why do Christians Need One?

2008-10-04T02:11:00.001-07:00

What is a Christian World View and Why do Christians Need One?

A world view is a set of presuppositions and beliefs that someone uses to interpret and form opinions about his humanity, purpose in life, duties in the world, responsibilities to family, interpretation of truth, social issues, etc. A Christian should view all these things, and more, guided by the light that is shed upon them by the Bible.

The Bible has much to say about the nature of man, the world, purpose, truth, morality, etc., and so does the world. More often than not, the secular world view is in conflict with the biblical one. For example: Where the world asserts that man evolved, the Bible says he was created and ultimately responsible to God. Where the world says that morals are relative, the Bible says they are absolute. Where the world says that there is no need of salvation and redemption, the Bible clearly states that all people are in need of deliverance from their sin. The contrast is obvious and profound. Both cannot be true.

The secular world exalts man to the apex of evolutionary development, the sovereign over all he dominates, though only another animal. God is relegated to the belief systems of the uneducated and superstitious. Such opposing views will clash.

The Condition of Society

The fruit of the secular world view can be seen in around us. As we observe society, it is evident that not all is well. Television has degenerated into a bordello of violence, soft-pornography, anti-family sit-coms, commercials that appeal to immediate gratification, and senseless children's cartoons that are full of violence, occultism, and disobedience to parents. It often portrays pastors as psychotics, priests as pedophiles, and religious people as insecure, ignorant, and bigoted.

The News is extremely biased and when speaking in areas where religious and secular morals collide, it uniformly presents information with loaded words. Instead of "pro-life" we hear "anti-abortion rights." Instead of "conservative" it is "right wing fundamentalist." Other words are used such as "Bible thumpers," "censorship," "intolerance," "bigoted," etc.

"According to the Center for Media and Public Affairs, the average TV watcher sees 14,000 references to sex and the average child "watches 8,000 murders and 100,000 acts of violence by the end of elementary school."

Illegitimacy is on the rise. In 1970 babies born out of wedlock were 10% of all births. In 1991, it was 30%. Rape is increasing as is violent crime, venereal disease, drug usage, and prison populations.

In many American schools the "Impressions" series is promoting the New Age and the occult. Some programs have students being taught that they alone are the ones who should decide if drug use is good or bad. Many school textbooks teach anti-family values, promote homosexuality, teach moral relativism, encourage sexual conduct, and, of course, instill evolution as a fact. In addition, they condemn the notion of a Christian God even being mentioned. Consider the following:

"When 10-year old Raymond Raines bowed his head and silently said grace over lunch in a St. Louis public school cafeteria, he was placed in detention for a week and told that he must eat in a room by himself if he continued to pray.

"When 30 Texas high school students gathered to pray at the flagpole before school one morning, the principal politely told them not only to leave, but to pray out of sight.

"In Illinois, a high school principal sent police to break up a similar prayer group. Two students were arrested."

Obviously, America (and the world) is in desperate need of the life changing gospel of Jesus.

The Progress of the Gospel

But lest you get discouraged, the gospel is progressing. There are more Christians in the world now than ever before. In the 1700's less than 20% of the American population went to church where now it is above 50%. More people have heard the gospel than ever before, and Bibles are produced en masse and being sent to nations all over the world with unprecedented reception. The Gospel is preached on Television and Radio. Millions are coming to Christ in third world countries and a new Christian awakening is working its way through Russia and Africa with China becoming the new Christian frontier.

Nevertheless, the Christian community has a great deal of work left to accomplish. To fully carry out the mandate of winning the world for Christ, Christians must adopt a biblical world view in all aspects of life and present to the world, biblical perspectives on every niche of our existence. This includes everything: education, medicine, the arts, politics, science, contemporary issues, ethics, and more.

To God be the glory

What are Some Elements of a Christian World View?

2008-10-04T02:11:00.000-07:00

What are Some Elements of a Christian World View?

Following is a representative list of statements that can help you establish a Christian World View. This list is not exhaustive. But it is a good cross section of biblically derived principles that should help as you seek to understand a biblical world view. As you study them, notice how they would affect your beliefs and actions about various topics: God, church, evangelism, creation, worship, family, sin, salvation, homosexuality, abortion, etc.

Principles are like a fountain from which other beliefs and actions flow. The closer you are to biblical beliefs, the better able you will be to carry out the commission of our Lord and Savior to make disciples of all nations, to glorify Him, and to understand His creation.

There is a God (Isaiah 43:10,11; 44:6,8; 45:5).
The Christian Trinity is the only God (Gen. 1:26; Zech. 12:10; 2 Cor. 13:14; John 1:1).
God has revealed Himself in three ways: In creation, in the Bible, and in Jesus (Rom. 1:18-20; 1 Cor. 15:3; John 5:39; Acts 10:43; Heb. 1:1-3; John 14:9).
God created the universe and all that is in it with order and design -- the universe is not an accident (Gen. 1; Isaiah 44:24; 45:18; Jer. 27:5; Neh. 9:6).
All life on earth was created by God with a design and a purpose -- life did not evolve (Gen. 1:11,12,21,24,25; 1 Cor. 15:38,39).
The unseen supernatural world is just as real as the physical world (Eph. 6:12; Job 1:6; Mark 5:2; Matt. 12:22)
God made man in His own image distinct from the animals -- man did not evolve (Gen. 1:26-27; 2:7; 1 Cor. 11:7).
Man, from conception, is human and possesses dignity due to being made in God's image (Job 31:15; Ps. 22:10; 139:13; Hosea 12:3; Luke 1:41-44).
The first humans were Adam and Eve (Gen. 2; Rom. 5:14; 1 Cor. 15:22,45; 1 Tim. 2:13).
Adam and Eve were the first family (male and female) according to the purpose of God for procreation and glorifying Him -- homosexuality, therefore, is unnatural (Gen. 1:28; 2:21-25).
Man is morally responsible and answerable to God (Ex. 15:26; 1 Kings 11:38; Rom. 2:16; Ps. 50:6; 82:8; James 1:21).
God gave dominion of the earth to Adam and Eve and, thus, to their descendants (Gen. 1:28; Titus 1:7)
Man is steward of God's creation and is to subdue the world in a manner consistent with biblical revelation (Gen. 1-2; 2 Tim. 3:16-17).
Sin entered the world through Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:1-6; Rom. 5:12-14)
All people have sinned and are in need of salvation (Rom. 3:23).
Only God can save. Man cannot save himself (Matt. 19:25-26).
Jesus is the only way to escape the judgment of God (Acts. 4:12; John 14:6).
The Christian Gospel is the key to the conversion of all people (1 Cor. 15:1-4; Mark 8:35; 13:10; Rom. 1:16)
The Bible is the inspired revelation from God and correct and authoritative in all it addresses (2 Tim. 3:16-17; Acts 17:11; Amos 3:7).
The Bible reflects the true and moral character of God; therefore, truth and morals are knowable and absolute, not relative (Exodus 20:1-17).
Government is ordained by God and is God's provision for order and safety in society (Rom. 13:1-7; John 19:11).
Christians are to follow the laws of the land except where they contradict the Bible (Acts 5:29; 4:19).
Christians are to evangelize the world (Matt. 28:18-19; Ps. 22:17).
All areas of life are subject to God and should have Christian principles guiding them: personal, public, and political matters, as well as medicine, science, art, literature, etc.. (Gen. 1:28; Matt. 28:19-20).
All areas of life are Christian mission fields: political, medicine, science, art, literature, education, technology, family, economics, etc. (Gen. 1:28; Matt. 28:19-20).

The Plurality Study

2008-10-04T02:05:00.001-07:00

The Plurality Study
The following study is an interesting examination of theophanies. A theophany is an appearance of God. God appears in the Old Testament in different ways: as an angel of the Lord (Acts 7:30-32; Exodus 3:2; Judges 2:1), apparently in physical form (Gen. 3:8; Exodus 24:9-11), in visions and dreams (Num. 12:6-8), and in flame (Judges 13:20-21). However, there are verses that say that you can't see God: Exodus 33:20; John 1:18). If this is so, then is there a contradiction in the Bible? No, there isn't.
Study the following verses, read them in context in the Bible, and see if you can figure out what is going on. If you can't, continue reading and you'll be pleasantly surprised.
These verses are taken from the New American Standard Bible. Please note that "LORD" is equivalent to YHWH, Yahweh, and Jehovah which is the name of God.

Plurality of God:

Gen. 1:26, "Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness..."
Gen. 19:24, "Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven."
Amos 4:10-11, "‘I sent a plague among you after the manner of Egypt; I slew your young men by the sword along with your captured horses, and I made the stench of your camp rise up in your nostrils; yet you have not returned to Me,' declares the LORD. ‘I overthrew you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah...'"
Isaiah 44:6, "Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides me...‘" See also, Isaiah 48:16.

Appearances of God

Gen. 17:1, "Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be blameless."
Gen. 18:1, "Now the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day."
Ex. 6:2-3, "God spoke further to Moses and said to him, ‘I am the LORD; and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD I did not make myself known to them.'"
Exodus 24:9-11, "Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they beheld God, and they ate and drank."
Exodus 33:11, "Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend..."
Num. 12:6-8, "He [God] said, "Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, shall make Myself known to him in a vision. I shall speak with him in a dream. Not so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful in all My household; with him I speak mouth to mouth, even openly, and not in dark sayings, and he beholds the form of the LORD..."
Acts 7:2, "And he [Stephen] said, "Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran...."

Can't see God:

Exodus 33:20, "But He [God] said, ‘You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!'"
John 1:18, "No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father; He has explained Him."
1 Tim. 6:16, "[God] who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen or can see."
John 6:46, "Not that any man has seen the Father except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father."
John 8:58, "Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am."
Exodus 3:14, "And God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM'; and He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.'"
Zech. 12:10, "And I [God] will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son..."

It is evident above that God was seen. But, considering the "Can't-see-God" verses, some would understandably argue that people have not seen God; otherwise, there would be a contradiction in the Bible. A possible explanation for this is that people were seeing visions, or dreams, or the Angel of the LORD (Num. 22:22-26; Judges 13:1-21). But the problem is that the verses cited above do not say vision, dream, or Angel of the LORD. They say that people saw God (Exodus 24:9-11), that God was seen, and that He appeared as God Almighty (Ex. 6:2-3).
At first, this is difficult to understand. God Almighty was seen (Ex. 6:2-3) which means it was not the Angel of the Lord, for an angel is not God Almighty, and at least Moses saw God, not in a vision or dream, as the LORD Himself attests in Num. 12:6-8. If these verses mean what they say, then we naturally assume we have a contradiction. Actually, the contradiction exists in our understanding, not in the Bible--which is always the case with alleged biblical contradictions.
The solution is simple. All you need to do is accept what the Bible says. If the people of the OT were seeing God, the Almighty God, and Jesus said that no one has ever seen the Father (John 6:46), then they were seeing God Almighty, but not the Father. It was someone else in the Godhead. I suggest that they were seeing the Word before He became incarnate. In other words, they were seeing Jesus; compare John 8:58 with Exodus 3:14 above.
If God is a Trinity, then John 1:18 is not a problem either because in John chapter one, John writes about the Word (Jesus) and God (the Father). In verse 14 it says the Word became flesh. In verse 18 it says no one has seen God. Since Jesus is the Word, God then, refers to the Father, and the apparent contradiction is easily resolved, especially when this is examined in the light of Jesus' words in John 6:46 where He said that no one has ever seen the Father. Therefore, Almighty God was seen, but not the Father. It was Jesus before His incarnation. There is more than one person in the Godhead and the doctrine of the Trinity must be true.
This is an interesting study to present to Jehovah's Witnesses. Since they deny the Trinity, they have to do a lot of fancy talking to explain away the theophanies. I've never yet met a J.W. who could adequately explain these verses.