It Is Appointed For Man Once To Die
August 28th, 2008by Pastor Scott
by Pastor Scott
by Pastor Scott
By Pastor Scott
I know, it just does not sound right but it did peak your interest and it is biblical. Certainly our Victorian way of thinking often interferes with accepting other cultures but sometimes a glimpse into their idiosyncrasies opens up the door to truth. I recently watched a program on bathroom technology and found out that it was not until the early eighties that a toilet was shown in a television commercial. Though there is no need to entertain ourselves with societal taboos, a lot of cultures closely associate bodily functions with real-life situations. The ancient era of the Apostles was one of those cultures. While attempting to convey a spiritual truth to the Corinthians, Paul, in 2 Corinthians 6:11-13 associated their spiritual apathy with physical constipation. No pun intended, uncomfortable, though it may be, there is a spiritual truth hidden here. Perhaps Luke the physician, a close companion of Paul, had moderate influence over Paul’s rhetoric.
The text reads, “O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections.” First of all, Paul’s use of a vocative, the O Corinthians part, is not necessarily a unique thing but to do it in the middle of a book is a way to express heartfelt emotion about the subject at hand. It tells us that Paul is letting them know that certain accusations made against him are not accurate. Whereas 1 Corinthians seemed harsh in its tone against sin and divisions, 2 Corinthians seems to be a defense of Paul’s Apostolic ministry. According to one author, there was a faction in the church that was challenging Paul’s integrity, ministry, and authority. There were also charges of insincerity, financial indiscretions, spiritual impotency, and rhetorical ineffectiveness. Paul’s emotions overflow in 2 Corinthians and his address to them here in 6:11 is another expression of that. His statement, “We have spoken openly to you (to stoma aneogen pros humas)” literally means “our mouth was wide open to you.” Paul was a man who was not restricted by anything when he spoke and his acknowledgment of that here is important. Though he was accused of being too harsh in his letters and a wimp in person (see 2 Cor. 10:10), he still unashamedly admits that his words are unhindered. And though he was seen by some as being malicious he did not regret it (2 Cor. 7:8).
He proceeds to tell them that “our heart is wide open (hemon he kardia peplatuntai).” This statement is most certainly an expression of Paul’s love for the Corinthians and his use of the perfect tense here is suggesting that there is nothing that can change that fact. When an individual is accused of being something that he is not it hurts. Even though it is obvious that many of the Corinthians still believed and accepted Paul, false accusations have a way of tainting the feelings of even the closest of friends. It seems natural that Paul would express himself this way. 2 Corinthians 7:2 further exemplifies Paul’s feelings of anguish towards the church at Corinth when he says, “Open up to us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have cheated no one.”
Paul goes on to assert that the Corinthians are not restricted by him or those who are with him (ou stenoxoreisthe en emin). This kind of restriction (stenoxoreisthe) has to do with being severely limited but if Paul was not responsible for it who was? It was the unbelievers in verse 14 that were causing all of the problems. This is why Paul warned them in verse 14 to not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. Because so many have used verse 14 to badger Christians who marry non-Christians, the true intent of what Paul said has been lost and as a result the church is full of non-believers. If the church was as adamant about regenerate church membership as they are about maliciously peering into other people’s lives then perhaps we would not spend most our time dealing with problem people but rather we would be encouraging the saints and seeking to increase their tribe. Unbelievers who creep in unawares have a way of distracting the church from its mission by pointing out petty issues that pertain to nothing but the unbeliever being recognized as a force to be reckoned with. O’ that Pastors would stand against such men, whatever the cost.
Paul further pinpoints the real issue at hand in the second half of verse 12 by telling them that “they are restricted by their own emotions (stenoxoreisthe en tois umon splagxnois).” Again they are told that they are restricted but this time he says that it is emanating from their bowels (splagxnois). It is not that they could not relieve their selves of feces, but this is more a reference to their emotions, feelings, and affections. They had been taken captive by false accusations towards Paul and their ability to open up to him was severely restricted, i.e. spiritual constipation. What is needed is a spiritual enema. To purge one’s body of a clog is one thing but Paul’s statement in verse 14 about being unequally yoked with unbelievers is his way of saying get the feces out of your church. This may not sound like the Christian thing to do but the church must go forward without the influence of non-believers. If we are ever going to see a day of true awakening and revival we must not let unbelievers or anyone outside of the church influence what is going on inside the church. Though it is difficult, is not the church worth fighting for?
By Pastor Scott
It is one thing to be able to identify truth. It is quite another to love truth. We can learn of truths through experience but even then our understanding is often clouded by what we have experienced. We learn by touching a flame that it is hot and can bubble the skin yet Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego lived through a fiery furnace. We learn that lying is damaging and therefore wrong yet Rahab made the faith hall of fame because she had lied regarding the servants of God. Even David lied to the priest and ate the showbread, yet Jesus used this act to convey a truth about the Sabbath. The sun courses without error through the sky and yet it stood still for Joshua. And though I would never bathe with rattlesnakes the Apostle Paul lived on without harm after being assaulted by a viper on Malta. Some great day, though equestrianly challenged, I will soar through the air behind my Savior and other Saints on a white horse.
We need not worry that there is no standard for truth because God chose to intervene in a seemingly unorthodox way. We can rest assured that God has not lied to us. God’s Word is so sure that one jot or tittle of it will outlast creation and He has put His Word even above His own Name (Psalm 132:2). When even logic fails for us it does not mean that we have understood all its rules. Someday when all of the pieces and parts are in place I will understand but I will not make excuses for God and pretend that I have all of the information. At this point many theories about God leaves one with more questions than answers but we are still in a world where sin exists and it would not if God had not given a rule which was not to be broken. It is not a matter of closing one’s eyes to what we have seen but is recognition that truth sometimes surpasses our understanding of it. Like the statue cannot fathom its artist, neither can we know or understand His ways. If we forsake His truth we forsake His very name too.
Many non-atheists claim to have a hold on God because His creation has grabbed them in some way. The acknowledged splendor of the heavens, the awe of a new life from the womb, and the rescue from an almost tragedy have sent many to the flames of torment. To reflect upon an artist’s handiwork does not mean that we know that artist and unless one has a practical encounter with God’s truth neither can He be known. We can understand the medium used but not the user of the medium. It is a good thing to praise God for His handiwork but how much better to praise Him for His truth.
Can it be said of us that the devils know truth better than us? They tremble. We pay mere penance only when caught. Much religion is built upon man’s personal denial of the truth and all efforts are geared at controlling the flesh of others. Accurately applying truth begins in your own life. When we see that we are undone because of sin and that we have judged ourselves unfixable, it is then that we will look outside of ourselves for help. Coupled with the acceptance of the truth of the gospel this inward journey produces faith in God’s revelation of the truth. Another truth that is a part of our Christian maturity deals with this unfixable part of us. It does not go away when we are saved. As much as we try to will it away our sin nature is there. This is the flesh, the law of sin that Paul spoke of in Romans 7. When this truth is not accepted it brings forth legalism and gossip. Legalism to control the flesh and gossip to ensure that nobody rises above us in our pursuit of self righteousness. It is for freedom that we have been set free and it is only truth that can set us free. Take your eyes off of others and look into His truth to hear what it says about you. Sound too simple? Isn’t our God good?
by Pastor Scott
By Pastor Scott
Reflections on John 1
If you have ever faced a knowledgeable Jehovah’s Witness then I am sure that you have debated the deity of Jesus. It is the one point of theology that Christians and Jehovah’s Witnesses cannot agree upon and as long as the JWs deny his deity there is no common ground. Their main argument is based upon a portion John 1:1, which reads kai theos ēn ho logos. Read as is it says, “and God was the word.” Most English versions translate this as “and the Word was God.” The New World Translation of the JWs translates this as “the word was a God.” This does not necessarily break the rules of Greek grammar as it can be seen that ho is not present before the word theos. Ho is what is known as a definite article. When a word is made definite the word “the” is added, which signifies that one is speaking about this certain god as opposed to any god. When speaking of any god the definite article can be left off and the proper translation would be “a god.” But since ēn is a being verb, the general rule of Greek grammar dictates that whatever is on one side of the being verb the same has to appear on the other side. In other words, both sides of the being verb must equal one another. This being the case, it is not wrong to translate this portion of John 1:1 as “God was the Word.” It seems kind of strange that John would use “God” without a definite article when “word” has a definite article but nonetheless the fact that there is a definite article on one side of the being verb does not make it wrong to assert that it belongs on the other side. It would not be a stretch to say that John left the definite article off of God because he is predisposed to the fact that there is only one God and the use of a definite article in this case would be redundant.
JWs deny the Trinity. That is that they believe that there is only one God and he exists only as one being, not three beings in one as traditional Christianity would assert. The logical weakness of the JWs translations appears at this point. Since they assert that there is only one God they contradict their selves by saying that Jesus is also a God. Even if Jesus might be considered a lesser kind of God it is still a contradiction. Though many texts in both the Old and New Testament echo this fact, Isaiah 43:10 says it most clearly when it says, “No god was formed before Me, and there will be none after Me.”
On the other hand, conservative Christians have missed the mark when they put all of their hope in the deity of Jesus based upon the word ēn. As alluded to above, ēn is a being verb. It is the past tense form of “being” which is translated as “was.” The heart of the conservative argument rests upon the fact that ēn is in the imperfect tense, which signifies continuous action in past time. Said in a different way, the imperfect form dictates that the time of being for Jesus in the past was continuous and therefore He had no beginning. He always “was.” This argument fails at two points. First of all, ēn is the only way to say “was.” There is no other form of the being verb to represent time that has already occurred. There are other past tense forms in Greek but the being verb only occurs in the imperfect tense. For example, there is what is known as the aorist tense in the Greek which represents past time as being punctiliar, i.e. it signifies action that happened in the past without regard to its duration. But since the being verb only occurs in the imperfect tense there is no other way to say was, even if one is talking about someone or something that is obviously not eternal. This opens the door for the second point as to why the use of ēn is not a stable argument to be used to prove the deity of Jesus. In John 3:1 the text reads, “ēn de anthropos ek ton farisaion, Nikodēmos onoma auto” – “There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus.” Notice that ēn is used here to say Nicodemus “was.” This is certainly not an argument for the eternal existence of Nicodemus. As mentioned above, ēn is the only way to say was. It is not wise to assert that the meaning of ēn can change with its application to Jesus alone because this would require that an assumption of Jesus’ deity would already have to be in place prior to coming to this text. This is called proof texting and is not a sound means to be used when interpreting the Bible. It is like saying that I already believe that Jesus is God therefore this text means that Jesus is God because it uses an imperfect being verb to describe Jesus. This is not to say that Jesus is not God but it must cause us to use the right means to assert his deity rather than simply saying that this text claims that Jesus is God because I already believe it. In fact, if we were left only with John 1:1-2 we would be left to believe that Jesus was with God in the beginning but we would be in the dark not knowing if His existence predated creation. The evidence that Jesus is God, and that he predated creation infinitely is not found in John 1:1-2 but in John 1:3-4 where ēn is contrasted with the word egeneto.
There is a basic principle in hermeneutics that states that the unclear passages should always be viewed in light of the clear passages. In other words, an unclear passage can never contradict a clear passage and in light of grammatical principles John 1:1 alone is not a clear passage. But when placed in context it is obvious that ēn in verse one was used by the Holy Spirit to contrast those things which came into existence. Whereas as ēn is freely used elsewhere simply to convey a state of being in past time it is here used to give us a glimpse into the glory of our Savior.
In John 1:3 we are introduced to a new word, which is egeneto. It is the aorist tense of ginomai which means to become; come into being; be born or created. Usually the aorist tense is not extremely significant because it is a simple way to express action in past time without reference to its duration. It may or may not have been eternal. That which is being referenced as becoming is all things, panta. The important thing to notice is that John’s choice of words is not accidental. Simply put, Jesus was and all things became. However, there is still one hurdle to overcome. John 1:3 makes the claim that all things became “through” Jesus. For those who deny the Trinity this poses no problem. They see Jesus as an agent of creation and as one who was created for that purpose. Colossians 1:16 is often used to convey this as it too says that “all things were created through Him and for Him.” Again, if this was all of the information that we had we would have to say that there is no evidence that Jesus is uncreated. But John does not stop there. The death blow to the anti-Trinitarian position is found in the final part of John 1:3 where it says “without Him nothing was made that was made.”
A literal reading of this portion of John 1:3 is “and without Him not one thing became which became.” Think of it this way. Every single thing that came into existence came into to existence through Him. Because John stresses every single thing that was created this means that Jesus could not have come into existence without Himself being there to bring Himself into existence. Every single thing that was created was created through Jesus which means that He was uncreated. Obviously he was there at the beginning but He was there as an uncreated being. He is much more that an agent of creation. He is an eternal being. Though ēn is not necessarily a good means to establish eternal existence, it was intentionally used here by John to make a clear distinction between that which always was and that which came into existence. There is one place in the book of John where he even takes this a step further.
In John 8:58 we are told that before Abraham was Jesus is. Though grammatically awkward it makes sense. The word used to describe Abraham’s existence is, you guessed it, ēn. Just like egeneto was used to contrast the created from the uncreated in John 1:3, ēn is here contrasted with ego eimi, which means “I myself, I am.” But it meant much more than that to the Jews. The Septuagint is a 3rd century B.C. translation of the Old Testament and there is no doubt that Jews in Jesus’ time were well aware of it. In the Septuagint when the word Jehovah appeared they substituted it with the phrase ego eimi. The Jews were not going to stone Him because he claimed to exist before Abraham. He had already told them this two verses earlier and they thought He was crazy. It was when He said “I Myself, I am” that they took up stones to throw at Him. This reminds us of Exodus 3:14 where God says, “Thus you shall tell the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to You.” This is either a mistake or Jesus is declaring that He Himself is God. Not “a” god like many would ascribe, but the One and only God. This is why Thomas could say in John 20:28, “My Lord and my God.” Had Jesus been a created being then He is guilty of receiving worship. If He is God then He was right for not rebuking Thomas for saying such a thing. It is wrong to say that the Bible does not declare Jesus to be God. He is the Great I am.
Posted by Pastor Scott on 7/10/2008
By Pastor Scott
Unguarded words are an epidemic. Much of what we say is not intended to harm and is often done in a joking manner but any good joke has an element of truth to it, resulting in hurt feelings. To this we should heed Paul’s admonition in Ephesians 5:4 to not have “coarse jesting” named among us as Saints. And then there is the cussing. Many words that were considered bad to the previous generation are said without conscience in the most public of settings. Again, Ephesians 4:29 tells us to “let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” Simple, yet difficult to do: speak only words that build up an individual. If this is not possible then not speaking is the next best thing. Proverbs 17:28 reminds us that “even a fool is considered wise when he holds his peace; when he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.”
Controlling the tongue is a task that has eluded man since the dawn of creation. We are all guilty at times of this. Pastors are often the worst about this as we sometimes feel privileged to speak of another’s ministry as if we are only trying to avoid their pitfalls. The average church member struggles as well as their identity is often found within their selves and not in Christ. Nonetheless, unguarded words are not only hurtful but also worthy of judgment. Jesus said in Matthew 12:36, “But I say to you that every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day judgment.” The word for idle here is rather revealing as it implies laziness. The word for work, which is ergon, is negated by a preceding “a”, forming through elision, the adjective argos, which means unemployed, lazy, or careless. With little thought it is easy to see that the only kind of work put into a word spoken is thinking.
We are too eager to be heard and with little thought of consequences we speak words in which little or no work was used. We would be wise to daily reflect upon James 1:19-20: “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” The word righteousness, which is dikaiosuna, is rooted in the word justice. Justice? Is that not what we are looking for when we speak quickly in moments of a trial? When we arm ourselves with the weapons of the flesh we lose, or at least we find ourselves as equals with the ones who could not keep their mouth shut to begin with. For the initial aggressor it is enough if they can cause us to react for then they find justification in their accusations or complaints. But when we hold our peace and proceed God’s way then the cowardice of the attacker is revealed. They do not have the wherewithal to follow rules of engagement and God, by judging righteously, removes the problem.
If we are wrong about a situation then all of our maneuvering will not make us right. If we are right, talking about it will not make us more right. Romans 3:4 reminds us, “Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar.” God will certainly have the final word so simply stack your chips and let them fall where they may. You may attempt to knock over another’s tower but the stones may fall on your own head. Put work to your words before you speak them O’ man of the flesh.
By Pastor Scott
Idle words are lazy and thoughtless words. Listen to this sermon by Pastor Scott and judge for yourself if there is room for improvement in your life.
By John
Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley has offered 18 ways that you might be a lukewarm Christian. Be warned, you might see yourself, I know I did.
1. Lukewarm people attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they believe “good Christians” do, so they go. Isaiah 29:13
2. Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the church as long as it doesn’t impinge on their standard of living. If they have a little extra and it is easy and safe to give, they do so, After all, God loves a cheerful giver, right? 1 Chronicles 21:24, Luke 21:1-4
3. Lukewarm people tend to choose what is popular over what is right when they are in conflict. They desire to fit in both at church and outside of church; they care more about what people think of their actions (like church attendance and giving) than what God thinks of their hearts and lives. Luke 6:26, Revelation 3:1, Matthew 23:5-7
4. Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don’t genuinely hate sin and aren’t truly sorry for it; they’re merely sorry because God is going to punish them. Lukewarm people don’t really believe that this new life Jesus offers is better than the old sinful one. John 10:10, Romans 6:1-2
5. Lukewarm people are moved by stories of people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. They assume such action is for “extreme” Christians, not average ones. Lukewarm people call “radical” what Jesus expected of all His followers. James 1:22, James 4:17, Matthew 21:28-31
6. Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends. They do not want to be rejected, nor do they want to make people uncomfortable by talking about private issues like religion. Matthew 10:32-33
7. Lukewarm people gauge their morality or “goodness” by comparing themselves to the secular world. They feel satisfied that while they aren’t as hard-core for Jesus as so-and-so, they are nowhere as horrible as the guy down the street. Luke 18:11-12
8. Lukewarm people say they love Jesus, and He is, indeed, a part of their lives, their money, and their thoughts, but he isn’t allowed to control their lives. Luke 9:57-62
9. Lukewarm people love God, but they do not love Him with all their heart, soul, and strength. They would be quick to assure you they try to love God that much, but that sort of total devotion isn’t really possible for the average person; its only for pastors and missionaries and radicals. Matthew 22:37-38
10. Lukewarm people love others but do not seek to love others as much as they love themselves. Their love for others is typically focused on those who love them in return, like family, friends, and other people they know and connect with. There is a little love left over for those who cannot love them back, much less for those who intentionally slight them, who kids are better athletes than theirs, or with whom conversations are awkward or uncomfortable. Their love is highly conditional and very selective, and generally comes with strings attached. Matthew 5:43-47, Luke 14:12-14
11. Lukewarm people will serve God and others, but there are limits to how far they will go or how much time, money, and energy they are willing to give. Luke 18:21-25
12. Lukewarm people think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven. Daily life is mostly focused on today’s to-do list, this week’s schedule, and next month’s vacation. Rarely, if ever do they intently consider the life to come. Philippians 3:18-20
13. Lukewarm people are thankful for their luxuries and comforts, and rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to the poor. Matthew 25:34, 40, Isaiah 58:6-7
14. Lukewarm people do whatever is necessary to keep themselves from feeling too guilty. They want to do the bare minimum, to be “good enough” without requiring too much of them. 1 Chronicles 29:14, Matthew 13:44-46
15. Lukewarm people are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are slaves to the god of control. This focus on safe living keeps them sacrificing and risking for God. Matthew 10:28
16. Lukewarm people feel secure because they attend church, made a profession of faith at age twelve, were baptized, come from a Christian family, vote Republican, or live in America.
17. Luke warm people do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to. They don’t have to trust God if something unexpected happens-they have their savings account. They don’t need God to help them—they have their retirement plan in place. They don’t genuinely seek out what life God would have them live—they have life figured and mapped out. They don’t depend on God on a daily basis-their refrigerators are full and, for the most part, they are in good health. The truth is, their lives wouldn’t look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God. Luke 12:16-21
18. Lukewarm people probably drink and swear less than average, but besides that, they really aren’t very different from your typical unbeliever. They equate their partially sanitized lives with holiness, but they couldn’t be more wrong. Matthew 23:25-28, Luke 14:34-35
By lowly Federal employee John,
One of my signature verses in Scripture pertains to a frantic dad who desperately desired for his son to be healed. And when the Lord Jesus says to the man: ” All things are possible to him who believes.” The father said: “I do believe; help my unbelief.” Admitting the imperfection of his faith, mixed as it was with doubt, the man pleaded with Jesus to help him to have the greater faith the Lord demanded of him. And I am so there, I do believe, but there are times when that stinkin’ doubt rears its ugly head and I give it to much space in the cranium. The doubt isn’t in the big things per se, but in those day-to-day decisions and in trying to live the intentional life of being obedient and faithful.
We recall Peter taking his eyes off of Jesus and sinking but we would miss a lesson in this if we focus only on Christ’s criticism of His disciple’s “little faith.” Though mixed with doubt and fear, Peter does still walk on the water! And even when he starts to sink, His Lord is there to rescue him. Amen. So don’t lose hope when your faith seems small and incomplete or its sprinkled with doubt at times–simply ask for greater faith, plead for it. Take comfort in His promises found in The Word and don’t be afraid of those times when you say: “I do believe Lord…help my unbelief.” And even when you find yourself sinking, His hand is always there.
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