Reflections on the Church #3

The Church is unlike any other institution or body in society. That is why the Church must retain its special mission to present Jesus Christ to the world in a clear manner. Many think this is the pastor's job and they are willing to let him do all the work.

Yet it is clear in Scripture that God gives each Christian work to do. The job descriptions are listed in 1 Corinthians 12:27-30. Here Paul explains, “Now Christ’s body is yourselves, each of you with a part in the whole. And those whom God has appointed in the Church are…

First – apostles
Second – prophets
Third – teachers
Fourth – workers of miracles, and so on...

The qualifications for clergy are given in 1 Tim 3:1-13. Here we note that only those who are "in Christ" are to be added to the Church and only those who are mature in faith and stable in their relationships are to lead others.

In 1 Corinthians 3:1-17, Paul warns against bad conduct. Christian leaders to fail to adhere to the high moral standard of the Apostles harm the Church and give Christ haters occasion to speak evil of the Lord and his Church. Those who serve faithfully will be rewarded at Christ’s Judgment Seat.

The pastor is to follow the example of the Apostles. He is to instruct, correct, discern the spirits, rebuke, commend, and proclaim the Gospel. He is to gather the people for worship, for the study of God's Word, and for fellowship that builds the local congregation.

All Christians are to regularly participate in the life of the Church. “. . let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24-25)

All Christians are to seek the truth by searching the Scriptures, as did the noble Bereans who "received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Acts 17:11

Related reading: All Christians are Ministers; Few are Priests; Reflections on the Church #1; Reflections on the Church #2

Reflections on the Church #2

The Church is the body of all faithful people. They are called "saints" because they are sanctified. The words "saint" and "sanctified" share the same Latin root. Sanctus means holy. The saints are sanctified, that is, we are made holy by divine grace. St. Paul explains this to the believers at Corinth.

“To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.” (1 Cor 1:2)

Paul encouraged the Christians at Corinth to live sanctified lives. Their conduct was to be exemplary. They were to live pure lives in the service of Christ and his Church. Their holiness would stand out in the midst of the sexual immorality that characterized this ancient city. Paul wrote:

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.” (1 Cor 3:16, 17)

All forms of sexuality immorality were to be avoided: adultery, fornication, bestiality, onanism, and homosex.

The Apostle's admonition is repeated in the epistle to Timothy.

“. . . so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.” (1 Tim 3:15)

1 Timothy 3:1-10 is directed to the leaders of the Church. They are held to a high standard.

Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.

In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.

Verses 12 and 13 continue the description of the style of life expected of a deacon.

 A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well. Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.

The call to holiness applies to the Church today as much as to the time of the Apostle Paul. Those who seek to live sanctified lives will stand out in a morally corrupt society. This is one way that the Church witnesses to the world that God grants power to live above the baseness of the prevailing culture. The saint who overcomes by God's grace will be clothed in a white robe of righteousness (Rev 3:5).

Related reading: Reflections on the Church #1; The Wardrobe of Saints

Reflections on the Church #1

Edward F. Lundwall, Jr.

This is the first of several reflections on the Church.

The word "Church" appears 77 times in the New Testament. Some notable examples include Jesus' promise to build his church (Matt 16:18); the church as an instrument of correction (Matt 18:15-20; Acts 5:1-11); the natural home of the true convert (Acts 2:37-42); and the body that continually devotes itself "to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:41, 42)

The Church is God's creation through the blood of Jesus Christ, and an expression of God's will on earth. Therefore, the Church is a target for evil forces and needs faithful clergy and laity to protect it. The Apostle Paul understood this and experienced demonic attempts to destroy the fledgling congregations that he and other apostles worked so hard to plant and sustain. He experienced the "plots of Jews" to kill him and harsh treatment at the hands of Gentiles. He wrote:

"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things,. .” (Acts 20:28-30)

What is needed in the Church are faithful clergy who will uphold the Gospel, rightly divide the Scriptures, maintain discipline in the churches, gather the people for regular worship, and equip them for ministry. Is this happening in your church?


Related reading: Looking for the True God?; A Latent Stumbling Block; Contending for the Faith; A Historic Battle; Satanic Strategies; Defining Orthodoxy; The Spiritual Battle; Principles Determining Interpretation

The Establishment of a Religion

The First Amendment guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition. It forbids Congress from both promoting one religion over others and also restricting an individual’s religious practices. It guarantees freedom of expression by prohibiting Congress from restricting the press or the rights of individuals to speak freely. It also guarantees the right of citizens to assemble peaceably and to petition their government.

Edward F. Lundwall, Jr.

The First Amendment to our Constitution forbids Congress to establish a religion. The meaning of this needs clarification to safeguard the other provision in the First Amendment that guarantees the free exercise of faith. Organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union have used the courts to limit this freedom to exercise one's faith by citing the First Amendment.

The First Amendment prohibits Congress to establish a national religion. Our founding fathers knew that the establishment of a religion meant the adoption of a specific Church as the required religious affiliation for their citizens. This was what they hoped to avoid, given the numerous conflicts that arose from this arrangement. In an established religion tensions arise because of these conditions:

• The State or Crown appoints officials in a hierarchical church structure. Only those who hold to the doctrine and liturgical tradition of the State religion are granted offices in the church.
• The State or Crown specifies doctrines that define church orthodoxy. Many people were put to death when they challenged these doctrines.
• Ecclesiastical courts enforce religious regulations and orthodoxy.
• The State or Crown levies taxes on the churches.
• The State or Crown dictates the religious instruction in schools. 

When I served in the Army at our barracks at the old Dachau prison camp in West Germany, a notable warning was emblazoned in the camp. It said: “If we forget history, we are bound to repeat it!” Early in our history some colonies attempted to establish a religious: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland and Pennsylvania are examples.

The basic premise of the Declaration of Independence from England acknowledges the Creator as the Giver of “inalienable rights” which no State can rightfully take from its citizens. In the Constitutional Congress, the delegates were at an impasse and near giving up when Benjamin Franklin exhorted them to pray. Then, differences were overcome and the writing of Constitution was finished. To this day, congressional sessions begin with prayer. Even the Supreme Court begins its sessions with an invocation to God.

In 2014, the Supreme Court upheld the right upheld the tradition of offering prayers to open government meetings. In a case involving the town of Greece, New York, the justices ruled by a narrow margin that opening local government meetings with sectarian prayers doesn't violate the Establishment Clause. The Court decided the town was using prayer for "permissible ceremonial purposes" and not as an "unconstitutional establishment of religion."

Thomas Jefferson required the teaching of the Bible in the DC schools even though he authored the worn out phrase “a wall of separation between Church and State!” Though Jefferson's "Bible" has no miracles, it is clear that he recognized the existence of the Judeo-Christian God.

George Washington read the Scriptures and prayed the daily office of the Book of Common Prayer. While at Valley Forge, on 3 August 1776, General Washington issued this warning against taking God's name in vain.

The General is sorry to be informed that the foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing, a vice hitherto little known in our American Army is growing into fashion. He hopes that the officers will, by example as well as influence, endeavor to check it and that both they and the men will reflect that we can little hope of the blessing of Heaven on our army if we insult it by our impiety and folly. Added to this it is a vice so mean and low without any temptation that every man of sense and character detests and despises it.

In contemporary American society there are numerous organizations that hope to remove such expressions of faith from the national memory. The Humanist Manifesto seeks to remove God from public conversation. This infringes on the Constitutional rights of "theists" and proposes a view of humanity quite foreign to that of our Founding Fathers; namely that "Humans are an integral part of nature, the result of unguided evolutionary change." If that is true, it is futile to speak of "inalienable rights."

Related reading: Six Supreme Court Decisions that Would Have Been Different Without Justice Scalia

The New Testament: What Authority Without the Inspiration Doctrine?

Edward F. Lundwall, Jr.

Just for the sake of argument, what authority can the New Testament documents have without the doctrine of verbal plenary inspiration? This doctrine states that every word in the entire biblical text was inspired by the Holy Spirit so that there are no errors in the original Scriptures.

Why should we even consider such a question? A number of parties have set aside any real authority of the New Testament by denying the verbal plenary inspiration. Through out Church history the supreme authority of the New Testament has been set aside in effect by making Church or cult authority to be equal to that of the Bible.

The Roman Catholic Church has said that the Church had the authority to give them the authority of canonicity, so therefore it has the imputed power to teaching of equal authority. So for the sake of argument how do the New Testament documents stack up as sources of authority just as epistles from the early period of Church history?

What claims can they have as historical documents?

1. Historically authority.
From multiple extra biblical evidence, it has been established that they come from the first century, i.e., the time they profess to report. Further, that they are authored by their traditional authors.

a. Any document has no more authority than its author(s). The Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution have authority because their authors were the duly appointed representatives of the people in two authorizations: 1. The delegates were authorized to put together a revision of the Articles of Confederation of the original States. 2. The finished documents were ratified by the elected State Assemblies. Therefore, these documents had the authority of the combined people of the United States.

b. Who were the human authors of the New Testament documents? What authority did they have? They claimed to be or accounts of eye witnesses of what they wrote (1 Peter l:2; 2 Peter 1:16). The apostolic authors claimed not only to be first hand students of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that they accurately transmitted His message (Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1, 2). Most of the authors claimed to be Apostles of Christ, Christ’s authoritative representatives (Matt 10:2; Gal 1:1, 12; Eph 2:19, 20; 2 Peter 3:2, 16, 17).

They claimed, and the Church accepted their claim, that they were the officially appointed representatives by the Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of many others that heard Christ. Those that were not, did not claim to be, but the early Church agreed that they either wrote under the supervision of an Apostle or that what they said was the Apostolic message, i.e. what was established by what the Apostles taught. Again, the witness of history agrees with their claim. Both during their life times and afterwards, the most reliable witnesses ratified these claims. Even their enemies and heretics agreed with their claims of being the Christ authorized messengers .

c. The conclusion of the historical evidence:
Therefore, their teachings were reliably those of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, if one professes to be a Christian and a logical and objectively honest person in the face of evidence, the New Testament documents have the cumulative authority of Christ. Of all other religious teachers, organizations and professed prophets, which have objectively substantiated evidence that can come close to equaling the authority of the authors of the New Testament? Not one!

2. Historically and source wise, the unavoidable conclusion:
So, therefore, even without the traditional doctrine of the infallibility of Holy Spirit inspiration, there can be no greater set of documents or religious teaching that can compete with those of the New Testament documents. To challenge their teachings, their grammatically established doctrines is to challenge the authority of Christ. How can one do this and still claim to accept himself as a believer and a follower of Christ?

And if one accepts the New Testament documents as the authoritative teachings of Christ, then he must accept their infallibility, because this is their uniform teaching of themselves.

Looking for the True God?

Edward F. Lundwall Jr.


How would you know Him? There are many gods and occult demons who try to deceive. These claim to be God, so beware!

There are also religious teachers who claim to be the way of Truth. They do not claim to be God, but they would receive the honor due to God alone. Buddha did not claim to be God. Buddhism is a non-theistic religion. Some say it is not a religion at all, but a philosophy. Mohammed did not claim to be God. Islam demands obedience to the Prophet Mohammed, but such obedience belongs only to God.

No philosopher has claimed to be God. Some may claim to possess absolute truth, but none has the power to create from nothing.

By definition, God must be greater than his highest creation. That is a mark of the True God.

God's nature is unchanging and eternal. It is Goodness and Light. God alone has the power to create and re-create. If you are looking for the True God, you will discover what you need to know in the Bible. Start with the Gospel according to John.


Related reading: A.W. Tozer on Pursuing God

How Faith Overcomes - Part VI

Edward F. Lundwall Jr.

Because Satan gained control of the world by inciting our first parents to follow him by believing his gospel of seeking self satisfaction through human wisdom, the world's culture is devoid of love and light. In the world, the expression of love of someone is usually a conditional act of deception. “I love you because…” or “I love you if…” or “I love you when…” are the hidden phrases behind most “I love you.” Each implies a motive of getting something that is unknown by the other person. They are an act of darkness.

The result is pain and suffering or punishment if the deceitful one does not get his motivating desire or if he has gotten his hidden desire, he is unsatisfied, tires of it, or resents any responsibilities or consequences it brings with it. For example, a man may “love” his wife “because she is beautiful,” but when age, illness, childbearing, or accident reduces that attractiveness, his love turns to dissatisfaction, neglect of the marriage relationship, resentment of her expectations and his responsibilities, adulterous relationships, abuse, and even divorce.

Another example is the woman whose love is dependent on what a man can provide for her materially or to satisfy her vanity. When her expectations are not fulfilled, she acts out in selfish ways, pouts, manipulates, nags, often seeks those things in ways that are inappropriate, disrespectful, and disloyal. Both are acting darkly just as a child who pouts because he did not get what he wanted.

In Galatians 5, this character of worldly love is spelled out as the works of the flesh. Since the worldly person considers one's self to be his god, he or she claims a right to demand or force his will. One does whatever he needs to do to get what he wants whether he hurts himself or others in the process of overcoming the obstacles in his way by forceful self assertion. Examples of persons having fleshly character are found in dysfunctional families, socialistic political movements, revolutions, and crime elements.

What one truly loves is the object that one occupies their time obtaining. What people choose to love reveals where they put their faith. The person who loves the world believes that the world's culture possesses the things that benefit him. The same applies to God and the things of God, Hebrews 11:6 says, “…without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is rewards those who seek Him.”

First John 1:1-4 states that the basis of faith and fulfillment resides in the reality of Christ's coming. In Him is revealed the solution of the world's ignorance and the turmoil of personal nature of sin. He is the immediate Creator of all things before they were corrupted by man's sin (John 1:1-3; Genesis 1:31). In His resurrected Person, He becomes the Head and Life Source for the regenerate and a new creation: “So also it is written, ‘” Adam became a living soul."’ The last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.” (1 Corinthians 15:45-47; 1 John 5:10-13).

Through a trusting relationship with Christ, the corrupted worldly troubles can be replaced. The new birth that Jesus talks about in John 3 allows a person to become a new person from the inside out. “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son that whoever would believe in Him would have everlasting life (Verse 16). Paul writes that by being a new person through faith in Christ, God “…has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…” (Ephesians 1:3 NASU) How does one appropriate those spiritual blessings? Paul answers that question by example: “…we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NASU) The practical way of understanding “beholding…the glory of the Lord” is to understand that this is just seeing His surpassing worth.

How then does faith overcome the world and its lack of real love? It is by a willful replacement of worldly culture’s views and actions by the provisions gifted us through faith in Christ in three ways:

1. By continuing a daily learning attitude and practicing of Christ's commands (Matthew 28:20); studying, meditating, and applying the Holy Scriptures to your life (2 Corinthians 10:4, 5).

2. By reflecting God’s character by a pattern of pure and intelligent love; emptying of one’s selfish desires to be filled with the Holy Spirit's teaching through meditation and prayer (James 1:2-8).

3. By maintaining an appropriate relationship with the Lord on every level of maturity; being faithful to follow Christ’s leading in every area of your life and from every stage of your life (Philippians 3:12-14).

Related reading:

How Faith Overcomes - Part I

How Faith Overcomes - Part II

How Faith overcomes - Part III

How Faith Overcomes - Part IV

How Faith Overcomes - Part V

Obedience of Faith - Part I

Obedience of Faith - Part II

Obedience of Faith - Part III

Daddy, What's the Trinity?

                  
A Simple, but Personal Picture

By Edward F. Lundwall


 Jimmy was going to a church membership class. He seemed to understand the many subjects taught, especially after the teacher answered the many questions he asked. However, one subject was still not clear in his mind. His teacher had proven the doctrine of God as a Trinity, but Jimmy heard his teacher say that the Trinity was hard to understand and theologians often debate how to describe what they know. Since Jimmy did understand that God is not the author of confusion, he decided to see if his Dad could help him. Jimmy started with the question, "Is there a simple way to understand the Trinity?"

 “Well, son, you have asked a difficult question. While the word “trinity” does not appear in the Bible, yet, it describes a very important thing about God as He reveals Himself. Trinity means three in one, i.e., tri (three) unity (one whole). Trinity is used to describe His basic nature and how it functions. This word is not used to describe all his characteristics, power, and details of His nature. Trinity simply describes His personality functions. This means that He has a unity of life, involving more than one personality expression.

 The Bible speaks of many plural unities. The Bible emphatically teaches that there is but one true God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth and the One who provides redemption for fallen men: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:" (Deut 6:4). However, the Old Testament Hebrew word for "one" is a plural unity. It is used of specific things having more than one member. This Hebrew word stem is used for the first day of creation yet it was composed of “evening and morning.” A single day but having two parts performing different functions that work together to do more that can be done without the other.

Another plural unity described in scripture is marriage. From the very beginning husband and wife were called one flesh. Family members are one in the sense that they share the same life and live together. Christ prays that along with himself and God the Father, that Christians or believers are to be one in the same way (John 17:11). Christ possesses both eternal life from an eternity past as God, the Word (John 1:1) with God the Father. Born again Christians experience an oneness with God by receiving Christ’s life (Galatians 2:20) and thereby are Christ’s brethren (Romans 8:29). As God, the eternal Word (John 1:1–3), He united with a sinless human life becoming Jesus. Thereby, in Himself God is a plural unity. His name in prophecy, Emmanuel, (Isaiah 7:14) describes Him as “God with us” born of the Virgin Mary (Matthew 1:23). When believers become born again, they receive the life of Christ (1 John 5:11, 12) and therefore are in unity with God the Father and the Holy Spirit by sharing this life. So there are many plural unities in the Bible and life.

Another way to understand these plural unities and the trinity is to identify their functioning parts. As with any living being, its various parts have different functions or jobs (1 Corinthians 12:14–18). The word “trinity” describes the eternal God as three identifiable parts in His being. In the limitations of language, these different parts are called personalities: Father, Son (God, the Word dwelling in flesh – John 1:14) and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).

In my opinion, son, the easiest way to understand the trinity of God comes by understanding our own being. Adam, as the first human being, was created by God in His own image (Genesis 1:26). So when we consider the essential components of human life, we begin to see a picture of God's life. In 1 Thessalonians 5:23: the Bible clearly describes man as a trinity, one man, composed of three parts: "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Each individual is composed of a spirit, a soul and a body and yet is but one person, a plural unity, i.e., a trinity created in the image of God. Each part of man has a different function, one from the other, yet together, they complete one being. Each part of man is identifiable by its function, yet all parts are essential for each person to be complete. The body functions to house one's spirit and soul through which they function in their expressive ways. Also, the body functions, according to its own needs and desires. The soul functions to gain and express personality through intellect (learning and thinking), emotions (giving feeling to one’s intellectual orientations) and volition (the power of choosing and sticking with it). While the spirit functions in communion (fellowship with God’s Spirit), conscience (the testimony of sensing right and wrong while in communion with the Holy Spirit) and intuition (enablement to understand spiritual things).

God designed human beings to be like a kingdom within their own self like He is, a sovereign within Himself. For the true Christian, the body is like the people who are ruled by the soul, led by a prime minister, the Holy Spirit, who then communicates with God the supreme King. So, the Trinity of God is reflected in God’s design of man. Jesus, as the Word, gives visible expression from and about God the Father like the body functions as a stage for man’s soul and spirit. Therefore, God the Father is the Authority of the Trinity like man’s soul and the Holy Spirit as the Trinity’s communication and effecting agent like the human spirit.

 Jimmy, why not just look at yourself? You were created in God’s image. Your body, soul, and spirit are different parts of you, but together, they harmoniously live and function as one…A special young man, my son, Jimmy!”

 The young boy broke out in a huge grin, and hugged his dad tightly saying, “I got it, Dad. Now, I see what the teacher was trying to say. I will explain it to her the way you explained it to me next week!”
  

Further Thoughts on Creationism

Edward F. Lundwall Jr.


In their zeal for their “fundamental” emphasis, Young Earth Creationists have laid a stumbling block to many a young people. Their six 24-hour days doctrine has become a latent stumbling block, especially to young Christians that attend secular schools. In a Independent Baptist Church, it was announced that 75% lost their faith. In Jacksonville, Florida, Southern Baptists said that it was 89-90%!

It is a tool in the hands of unbelieving secular professors to discredit the Bible as the trust worthy Word of God in the light of scientific discoveries. This essay is a further look at key Scriptures that have been overlooked or disregarded by those leaders that promote the 6/24 hour view of creation of the Universe as well as the world.

There are a growing number Bible believers that have observed that God calls people to learn from revelation found in His creation (Ps. 19:1-6; Prov. 6:6; Job 38:9). These people assert that a proper understanding of creation and the Bible will be in agreement since they have the same God that made them.


Neglected or discounted passages of young creationists

Fundamentalists fume at astronomers when they propose that the earth was formed four billion years ago. Some even say that the planets and galaxies were formed on the fourth day of creation as found in Genesis 1. Their reasoning to arrive at about 6000 years ago stems from the work of a Church of England priests named Ussher and Lightfoot that used the Genesis genealogy of Adam. But then, because of their desire to have an early date for creation, they assert that the days of creation to be six successive twenty four hour days. Again to show that evolution is impossible.

Some have said that the way to hide something is to have it so obvious as to be overlooked. Recently, I found that this is what has happened in much of the discussions about the age of the earth from the biblical record. Genesis 1:1, 2 states that God created the universe, including the earth. To understand that this must be considered a unit in the creation record apart from the “days of creation” is seen that the first day of creation was a fundamental change in an already existing planet! The days of Creation, or rather steps of making the earth habitable, have a relative means of measuring their age. However, nothing in the Bible dates when Genesis 1:1 happened. In Job 38:4, God said that He laid the foundation of the earth and clothed it with a cloud. All this was before the first day of creation and was the beginning of change. All the days of “creation” are changes one after another. Therefore, the planet earth and the galaxies could be billions of years old, and the days of making the earth habitable for living things and man have a much later date, making they much younger than planet earth of Genesis 1:2.

In my earlier essay, I observed that God uses time terms as units of time to give relative time considerations other than their usual literal meanings. In ANY determination as to what words mean in an expression the immediate context must be depended upon to know what the word's meaning is in the place it is used.

The meaning of the days in creation MUST include Genesis 2. Most of the young universe - earth proponents neglect this in their head long efforts to maintain their interpretation that the days of creation are 24 hours!

There are three disregarded passages of Scripture that specifically state that days, when only God and His angels are considered, are longer periods of time than 24 hours. When I have brought them up to these people, they simply brush them aside without considering what these passages say.

Genesis 2:4: “This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven.” (NASU)

This has been overlooked or deliberately mistranslated. It is of key importance because it is a part of the creation account. Its influence should define whether the days of creation are 24 hour days or simply periods of undetermined time. In one book I read, the author argued that the Hebrew “in (a) day” (or “in the day” in many translations) should be translated by a word that disregarded its literal meaning. This showed that he argued his cultural orientation rather than Scripture. It showed that Scripture was not his governing authority.

Even worse, a professor with a PhD in Hebrew when faced with this verse only gave a grammatical term for the construction, but did not speak about what the words actually said in this verse. Apparently, he didn't want to change as he did not show that he tried to answer any of the other demands of interpretation of the multitude of verses I gave for consideration.

1. “For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it passes by,” Psalm 90:4. This Psalm is attributed to Moses, the human author of Genesis. In this when, only God is involved, Moses says by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, a day is “like” a thousand years. By writing “like” Moses is writing that with God a day is a very long period and not restricted to just a thousand years. Moses said "days" to God, when He alone is "as a thousand years" not a billion. Young earth creationists just mumble something of no significance and ignore the demands that this passage pertains to the days of creation.

2. They also ignore 2 Peter 3:9. It clearly states that a day with God is “like” thousand years. “But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.” They usually say that this only applies to the Lord's return.

3. The ways of God should affect everyone's interpretations, but not the young earth zealots. In my earlier essay, “A Latent Stumbling Block,” I detailed that through the biblical ages, God did nothing quickly. In fact, waiting upon God is considered not only a virtue, but a source of spiritual life: “. . those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength...” Isaiah 40:31

In conclusion, it seems so strange for those who hold so strongly to the Bible and the necessity that people must be saved from God's wrath, let their idealism hold a latent stumbling block that destroys the faith of so many!

And this, in spite of the Lord Jesus' words: “...whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” Matthew 18:6

Related reading:  The Science-Faith Question; Creation of the Universe: Examining the Evidence; Let's Ruminate About Evolution; Theories of Change and Constancy

If Jesus Didn't Rise, Why Bother About Him?

“If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn't rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.”  ― Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

Bible Blurb: Probability and reliability

Probability and Reliability

When written out fully, 10 to the 157th power looks like this:

100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,0000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

If one considers only 48 prophecies found in the Old Testament about the coming of Messiah described in the New Testament, occurring in the life of a single person, the probabilities would be only one (1) possibility or probability in the number written out above.

All of them were fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ, whose life, crucifixion, and resurrection we celebrate and proclaim during what is called “Holy Week,” the seven day period between the what is called “Palm Sunday,” when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a colt greeted as a king with palm branches waved by the crowd, and the third day after his Roman crucifixion when He rose from his grave and was seen by many, the day Christians designate as “Resurrection Day,” popularly known as Easter.


Source: Don’t Check Your Brains at the Door by Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler


Related reading: Bible Blurb: Specific details; Bible Blurb: The Bible is a Library, 

Further Thoughts on Creation Issues

Edward F. Lundwall, Jr.

Thoughts on Creation Issues: Part I

“We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5 NASU)


In the conflict over the age of the Earth and Universe, there is much idealism and reaction. Idealism largely reflects “What God could do!” and neglects the full biblical record of what He chose and did do! Idealism is too often what people want to believe rather than what the Bible spells out.

In the light of something difficult, especially seen in suffering, people often will say to themselves and others: “How could an all-loving and powerful God let such and such happen?” They set aside the facts that God created the earth as a perfect place and early in it revealed the existence of Satan as His and humanity's enemy. In the third chapter of Genesis, Satan seduced our first parents into believing his suggestion and lie that God's warning was not to be believed. Instead, he made them believe and embrace the lie that using misapplied knowledge could enable them to make a better future than trusting God as One who rewards those who would diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). In doing so, they would make themselves their own god(s) (Genesis 3:5). By this, they adopted Satan's self orientation.

In the biblical books of Isaiah and Ezekiel, God reveals what happened to Satan to transform him from a cherubim to being a rebellious, self conceited enemy of God1. When people adopt their own or culturally held views and make them authoritative over the exegetical teachings of the Bible, they assume the attitude of being their own god, which is the attitude of natural human nature2. To correct this reasoning, Paul characterizes his ministry as “…destroying speculations and every lofty thing…” (2 Corinthians 10:5). One danger of teaching is to speculate and teach lofty or idealistic things. Even in teaching or holding to accurate biblical doctrine there is danger of being harsh and prideful: “Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies.” (1 Corinthians 8:1b NASU)

Almost all of “young earth” people have become angry when I have suggested that theory they hold is not accurate biblically. They ignored “…speaking the truth in love…” (Ephesians 4:15 NASU) My motive in correcting this erroneous theory is exactly what secular professors use this to discredit the inspiration of the Bible and so tear down many young people's faith.

In the doctrine of creation, the idealistic teaching is that creation and even the universe came into being in six successive twenty four hour days. While this school of teaching has some variation, the most emphatic of them will say that the universe is only about 6000 years old. It does not bother them that the father of this modern movement, Dr Henry M Morris in his book: “Studies in the Bible and Science” (1966) admits: “A date of about 15,000 B.C. for man's creation would probably represent the outer limit…” (30). Young earth is relatively new; it has not always been held by scholarly Bible believers. For many years C. I. Schofield (venerated by many Fundamental Christians) in his study Bible viewed the earth and universe as much older than 6000 years. Even in the reedited copy, this view is presented. The editorial committee listed nine of the most respected men from some of the most respected institutions and ministries. They held some of the highest biblical academic degrees available.

While Dr Morris and Dr Humphries have no academic degrees in the Bible, their promotion of the young creation teaching has prevailed in a great number of biblically Fundamentalist circles because of their strong allegations that any variance of their interpretation is denying the inspiration of the Scriptures. They shout that any “Old Earth/Universe” teaching open the door to the atheistic Darwinian theory of natural evolution. Even those who emphatically reject the validity of evolution are called “theistic evolutionists.” Why? Because evolution is built on the idea that natural selection and survival of the fittest require millions of years. By using a young earth position as their tool to dispute evolution, they unconsciously imply that the theory of evolution could be valid. However, even pure scientists reject macro evolution. Macro evolution theorizes that all life evolved from prehistoric slime to produce the multiplicity of species of life, climaxing in man. The numbers of these scientists are constantly growing. From astronomers to micro biologists, massive amounts of evidence support intelligent design. While many are not yet Christians, they are progressing towards faith.

Basically, only the secular academic community holds to evolution as a fact. To the secularist evolutionist, evolution has become their religion. Having chosen to reject the existence of God, they have replaced Him with the worship of evolutionary theory, even though as some have said, “It takes more blind faith to be an evolutionist, than to be a Bible believer!”


Related reading: The Science-Faith Question; Creation of the Universe: Examining the Evidence;

Another Response to Islam

Alice C. Linsley

Jesus is recognized as a great prophet in Islam. He is designated as the one who will lead the angelic armies of God in the last great battle against evil. Radical Muslims, such as Mohammad Atta and his 911 comrades, have portrayed this evil as Western decadence. They appear blind to the moral decadence in their own societies and such men perpetuate evil in the name of religion.

Yet Jesus is more than a prophet. He fulfills all divine prophesy. He was and is the Seed of the Creator, eternally begotten by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit and born fully human yet fully God of the Virgin Mary. Jesus' nativity is beautifully described in the Qur'an.

Islam is a religion that requires observance of specific laws and leadership. The words Islam and Muslim mean "submission." Jesus lived before Mohammad and therefore could not have been a follower of Mohammad. Islam began with Mohammed's establishment of the Ummah. Jesus Christ had already established the Church 600 years earlier.

The worship of the Creator God existed among the Afro-Arabians before Mohammad. The great meteorites that fell onto Arabian soil, one of which is shrouded at Mecca, were believed to be gift from the Creator. The people venerated these signs from heaven and even began to worship idols. Mohammad told them not to do this.

Mohammad also endorsed the Five Books Moses (the Pentateuch) as sacred Scripture. The Scriptures say that Yaqtan (Joktan) was Abraham's son by Keturah (Genesis 25). His name is a variation of the name Jonathan, meaning "God gives." Joktan lived about 1987-1912 B.C. That he was a ruler is evident by the solar symbol Y at the beginning of this name. This symbol designates chiefs and rulers.

The Joktanite Tribes of Arabia are Abraham's descendants and the Holy Name they knew was YHWH, meaning "I am that I am."  The people of Yaqtan knew this name before they knew the name Allah.

Related reading:  Edward Lundwall's Response to Muslim Scholar;  Reza Aslan Missed the Son of God; Who Is Jesus?; The Shock of Mohammad Atta's Afterlife

My Response to a Muslim Scholar

Edward F. Lundwall Jr.

A Muslim scholar posted a comment in response to my article "Why Sincere Muslims Should Learn About Jesus" and I would like to reply to him. Here are his questions and my responses.


Question:  Was Jesus a Muslim prophet?

Islam is a religion that requires observance of specific laws and leadership. The words Islam and Muslim mean "submission." Jesus could not have been a follower of Mohammad before Mohammad existed. The Muslim religion did not begin until Mohamed established it. Jesus Christ lived and established His Church over 600 years earlier than Mohammad’s birth, much less his prophecies.

Mohammad endorsed the first five books of the Bible written by Moses (Genesis through Deuteronomy) as Scripture; therefore, he must be bound by it. In fact, the whole claim that the Muslims descend from Abraham is based upon the Mosaic writings. In these books, the name the Creator gave for Himself was Yahweh (transliteration of the Hebrew text) meaning "I am that I am,” not Allah. The worship of Allah existed before Mohammad’s revelations. Allah was a moon god as admitted by the crescent as the symbol of Islam. Folk tradition has said that Mohammad took a sword and cut the moon in half; such tales contradict and exist as additions to Mosaic scripture. They indicate a synthesis of the Bible’s teachings with one of the great sins after the flood, worship of the heavenly stars (Genesis 11:4; Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17-25).

Muslims need to study the Bible thoroughly. Even Jesus’ ministry and coming were based upon extensive prophecies starting from Genesis 3:1. Mohammad appointed no apostles (appointed and equipped followers) before he died. Therefore, the leadership of Islam continues to be controversial as seen in the fighting between its various branches. Islamic leaders claim authority that Mohammad did not give, nor had according to the Mosaic scriptures that he himself claimed as authoritative.

Question: According to the Bible, should women be covered, especially their heads?

What does Bible teach about the covering of women? This question is discussed in 1 Corinthians 11 in the New Testament portion of the Holy Bible. The basic premise is the question of whether or not the order in creation in Genesis is applicable to lines of authority in society, and how that authority should be practically applied in the worship and prayer (11:5, 13) services of the Christian Church.

God’s chain of authority is as follows: God Himself, then Christ, His Apostles as vessels of the Holy Spirit, man, woman, and children. First Corinthians 11:3 says, “But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.”

The outward symbols for this order under discussion were concerning head covering. The length of hair was one symbol. A man was to have short hair (11:4) thereby showing that his basic authority is God (11:7). While the woman was to have long hair in comparison to show her acceptance of her the husband’s or father’s leadership and authority (11:5-6). Women were considered created as a suitable complementary helper supporting man in the carrying out his duties in God’s service (Genesis 2:18-24).

Another issue that was being addressed in Corinth at that time was how to distinguish a Christian woman under either her father’s or husband’s authority from women under no authority (protection) and/or a prostitute. In that culture, these women most often did not wear sufficiently modest covering. Therefore, in order to present a godly witness, women were instructed to have covering and/or apparel showing a relationship to male authority in a godly family. For some, long hair was adopted as their covering (11:15).

First Corinthians was written because of controversies within that particular Church as they wrestled with the question, “Now that I am a Christ-believer, how should I then live in my culture?” It is significant in that it set a precedent for all early churches as Paul was an Apostle of Christ. Christ Jesus appointed definite leaders and representative to carry on his revelations and commandments (Matthew 10:2-4; Galatians 1:1; Romans 11:3). These Apostles were authoritative in the transmission of Jesus commands, promises, and revelations whereby believers may come to know the Father and Jesus and experience eternal life (John 17:3, 20; Romans 10:8-17). For this reason the New Testament has authority; it was written either by or under the authority of Jesus’ Apostles, all eyewitnesses of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, and granted the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to write and record those events.

Related Reading: Another Response to Islam

President Lincoln's Faith

Abraham Lincoln
16th President of the United States of America

March 30, 1863

“It is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.”

President Abraham Lincoln

Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States 

The Science-Faith Question

The internet is buzzing about the Ken Ham-Bill Nye debate. Here are some thoughtful articles related to the science-faith question.

"There are two fundamentally different battles raging in the current debates about evolution. The first pits nearly the entire scientific community against creationists, who believe that they are upholding the veracity of Scripture by denying that evolution happened at all. The second battle concerns not the fact of evolution but the standard neo-Darwinian explanation of it, and the issues at stake are primarily philosophical and scientific."--American physicist Stephen M. Barr 

Creation of the Universe: Examining the evidence

Biblical Illiteracy and Biblical Literalism

A Ken Ham Nightmare: Human Foot Prints Found Below Ice Age Deposits

The "Science Guy" Reveals His Ignorance

Ken Ham Does Not Speak For Me

Faith and Science: A dialogue, not a debate (Conversation with Ian Barbour)

The Ham-Nye Creation Debate: A Huge Missed Opportunity

BioLogos Conversation: Ken Ham vs. Bill Nye

#HamOnNye Post-Debate Round-Up

YEC Dogma is Not Biblical

Objections to the Fundamentalist Reading of Genesis 1-5

The Battle Over Genesis

Millions of Years a Stumbling Block

A Scientific Timeline of Genesis

Science Journalists One Cause of Americans' Ambivalence?

Bishop Ussher Goofed

Loving for a Lifetime

Edward F. Lundwall Jr.

The Many Facets of Christian Married Love – Part V

Loving for a Lifetime

A foundation of married love is agreement share by the couple on God’s calling for their lives together, including its overall purposes, and its temporal projects. This adds richness and variety to a couple’s life together, helping to avoid feelings of boredom since simply living together can become routine. The important thing about God’s ongoing purpose for marriage is to exhibit it as a model of Christ and the Church. The husband’s calling from God must be first priority like Christ’s mission, and the wife must make being her husband’s “suitable helper” her basic calling from God. God wants women to serve him by intelligently and enthusiastically being in unity as one in spirit with her husband (Ephesians 5:24, 30, 33; 1 Peter 3:7). Much of feminism has sadly destroyed this attitude. What a privilege to be co-creators with God whether of godly children and/or partner together in whatever other adventure He would lead them to do!

Also, all expressions of married love should be intelligent and frequent. God’s love is intelligent in that it meets real needs and is timely, but must be received with discernment and patience. This applies to all areas of married love, but especially to sexual expression. Marital sexual love is more that what is done in bed. Fond touches, kisses, and even smiles of appreciation are acts of marital sexual love. These should never be interpreted simply as foreplay. Couples must remember that demands for intercourse can destroy love and the marriage. Giving it as a means of manipulation can be just as damaging. The love-making experience should be a mutual way of expressing affection, appreciation, and acceptance and is always enhanced when even small expressions are received as such. Meditation on 1 Corinthians 7:2–5 will furnish a firm biblical basis of this aspect of a Christian marriage.

Unfortunately many marriages, do not start out to be between believers or with believers oriented according to God’s design (Ephesians 5:22–32). If one marriage partner becomes a believer, the Scriptures teach that the way to possibly make them into Christian marriages is godly living, not preaching or reproof. He or she must simply model a godly example and wait for God created opportunities to share their faith (1 Corinthians 7:10–16; 1 Peter 3:1–6). However, even with an unsaved husband, the wife must remember that by creation she is to be in subjection to him as his “suitable helper.” We must always remember that it is imperative to discern the spiritual state of a possible mate before getting married. This will determine most predictably the possibilities of fulfillment and happiness of both. Waiting upon God either for His selection or any need will always have the best consequences. This is the practical principle of Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.”

Foundational to all the above are family devotions as well as private ones. In my own marriage of 53 years, this was the instrument that not only brought us together, but kept us together. As Warren Weirsby puts it, “Love for this book brought us together, and obedience to it will keep us together.” The first time that I took my wife to her apartment, she said, “Let me go get my Bible and let us have devotions!” We had several devotional books, and wore out some. In the later years, it was always our practice after breakfast. When our children were small, they learned to have devotions as we would put them into bed, and join in their prayers. They are diligent to this day to have personal devotions.

A final possible facet of Christian married love is the resource of loving the other partner even when the flesh gets the better of the other. Since love is a choice, we can obey Christ’s command to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43–48). This happens even with consecrated Christians, for all of us have battles with the flesh and the assaults of Satan, when we lose our spiritual focus (Romans 6:11–16) and do not use our spiritual weapons (2 Corinthians 10:4, 5). Even when the other is unregenerate or a candidate for God’s severe chastening (1 Corinthians 11:28–32), the Scripture instructs us not to look for revenge, but to commit the matter to the Lord (Romans 12:19–21). This will keep one sweet and avoid a root of bitterness that can deprive oneself of grace and defile others who might take up an offense that is not theirs.

For those who use what is commonly called “The Lord’s Prayer” as an outline for their prayer time the section that leads us to pray: “…forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us”(Luke 11:4), marital conflicts become easily resolved. Again, this goes back to God’s design for marriage where He is the senior partner. As long as the marriage partners practice the Lord’s presence and grace, there is nothing that can seriously disrupt their union. As the Psalmist said: “I have set the LORD always before me…” (Psalm 16:8).

How great will be the marital experience if married couples will use their spiritual gifts and resources according to the Apostle Paul’s exhortation in Romans 12:9–19:

“Let love be without dissimulation. 

Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

Be kindly affectionate one to another with brotherly love;

In honor preferring one another;

Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

Distributing to the necessity of the saints; and given to hospitality.

Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.”

Related reading: Part I: Christian Marriage; Part II: Married Love; Part III: The Many Facets Of Christian Maried Love; Part IV: Living in Harmony

Christian Marriage

Edward F. Lundwall Jr

The Many Facets of Christian Marriage (Part I)

God’s ordination

The first facet of Christian marriage appears in Genesis 1 and 2 as an established relationship ordained of God. The record testifies that God made Adam in His image. He made Adam’s body first and God breathed into him making him a living soul. Because Adam was made in God’s image, His soul became his personality, having intellect (the ability to identify, categorize, and synthesize information), emotions (the ability to feel what was in his intellect) and volition (the ability to choose and energize what he learned). 

 Origin and nature of spiritual life

The word breath in Hebrew is also used for “spirit.” God breath in Adam’s body thereby created both his soul and spirit. Adam was made in the image of God as a trinity in that he had three distinguishable parts having separate functions yet being a single person. As God is a sovereign being, choosing what He will, so human beings in the image of God were made to be a sovereign under sovereigns. As such, God’s design was for human beings to be in harmony with Him and His purposes thorough faith that perceives who and what He is. This perspective leads to the fellowship of obedience inspired by that faith. Genesis records that God walked or fellowshipped with Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening. 

The Spirit of Love 

One of the emotional orientations of vital fellowship with God is that of love: “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” (1 John 4:16) This kind of person just loves everyone, even his enemies and has compassion on even God’s enemies (Romans 9:1–3; 10:1–4, 21). Some call this the greatest love as it is unconditionally offered (Acts 14:17). However, the greatest love is consummative, that is, to know the Lord as one’s spiritual husband (Ephesians 5:22–32; John 17:3). This love begins when one receives Christ by faith in God’s promises and righteousness. This consummative love is no longer one–sided as love unconditionally offered, but functions as dynamic living interrelationship. 

 

Experiencing Consummative Love 

The Lord Jesus enlightens everyone (John 1:9), but only those who believe and receive Him as He is can experience God’s consummative love. Only to them is the promise: “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9). But love in attitude is insufficient to find fullness, fulfillment comes only in the loving experience where faith inspires obedience: “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” (John 14:21) As David said: “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” (Psalm 16:11)

Human courtship loves through letters, but, oh, how much greater marriage with its the honeymoon and the enjoyment of loving obedient children! The honeymoon of conversion must continue in an abiding in Christ to give the fulfilling fruit of spiritual children that in turn give spiritual grandchildren (Galatians 4:27; Matthew 28:16, 19, 20). This is the blessedness of marriages that have the Lord as their most prominent member. This marriage has purpose, endurance and blessedness. They consider themselves as being just junior partners under the loving sovereignty of God.

What next? 

This series of posts will discuss the many facets of marital love in the context of this scriptural portrayal of marital love. It will picture the relationship between Christ and the Church in the lives of the husband and wife as seen in Ephesians 5:22– 32.

The Glory of Belonging

Edward F. Lundwall, Jr.

"His!" Written in the Book of Life!

Thankful thoughts flooded her mind and heart, as the preacher pronounced them man and wife. She had waited long to find this husband of her dreams. As a truly spiritual young woman, she had meditated upon Ephesians 5:22–32, hoping for a Christ-like man, a man who she could trust herself to as the Church should trust itself to Christ, someone with a Christ-like character and deep rooted walk with God (Rom. 8:28, 29) whose lead she could follow. She considered such a husband a treasure since he would not be addicted to drugs, immoral, irresponsible, humanistic, stuck on himself, nor biblically illiterate. She would value him for his dedication and life practice to his personal Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. As they walked out of the church, she felt joyful anticipation of fulfillment and fruitful Christian service with a lifelong companion. She affirmed, “Yes, he is mine, and I am his.”

Christian marriage gets its value from the spiritual realities it should and can reflect. The Apostle Paul uses Christian marriage as a symbol of the Church’s relationship to Christ. Similarly, stopping to meditate on the spiritual glory of being Christ’s Bride strengthen one’s spiritual life revealing the many meanings of being "HIS"!

As the bride takes on her husband’s name, so does the believer when one becomes a part of being Christ’s Bride. What does Jesus name mean? Matthew 1:21 tells us that God the Father ordained what His only begotten Son’s name was to be. He said to Joseph, Jesus’ foster father, "…thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." This is crucial thing to be "His!" One must truly be a “Christian,“ one that belongs to Christ” or literally, a “Christ-one.” However, being saved from the penalty of one’s sins through faith only begins the glory of being "His."

Superseding even the ability of doing miracles in Jesus’ name, a believer’s name is written in Heaven as being "His!" I will never forget the joy of faith when I claimed Christ’s promise in Matthew 10:32: "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven." On that day, God wrote that I as “His!”

In the place where my sins had been recorded as being a part of Adam’s fallen and condemned race, Jesus erases that with His blood and gives me glorious righteous righteousness that is "His!" (2 Cor. 5:21) Then by faith the blood bought believer can look around God’s treasure city and see the door promise to its treasures as being united with Christ by faith reckoning (Rom. 6:11) that one has all the blessings God has to offer (Eph. 1:3). For all God’s treasures find their place in Christ and become ours as we appropriate them because we are "His!" In this life, these blessing largely belong to us in the realms of faith and spirit.

Before the born again one enters into this eternal blessedness through death’s awful door, being "His" brings peace to our hearts as we are engaged in the spiritual warfare going on in this world. Whether a spiritual child, or as a seasoned soldier of Christ, the Christian will experience attack from Satan and his forces in multitudinous ways (Eph. 6:12). In the midst of this warfare, the Lord provides spiritual weapons so that we might not be victims of the onslaught; they are provided because we are "His!" Christians only fail when they don’t use God’s Word to cast "…down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5). In the lives of those that love Him and have answered His call to serve Him, the Lord even uses those failures for their spiritual good (Rom. 8:28, 29). So it is that through both our successes and failures, the Lord demonstrates His wisdom, love, and provision (Eph. 3:10) for "His!"

Who can obtain blessed with blessed identity and relationship? In John 10:27, 28, Jesus says: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." The prophet Malachi of old spoke of this treasure of being God's people, when he said: "Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not." With this kind of faith and treasured relationship, the true believer can look forward to an abundant and fulfilled life. It is all possible, because they are "His!" If you are not "His,” you can be. Seek Him with all your heart until you find Him (Jer. 29:14).

Legalism and Idealism Are Antithetical to the Gospel

Edward F. Lundwall Jr.

Living the Gospel, Part I

The Evangelist emphatically cried out: "If you don't win a soul each week, how are you living the Gospel? Are you sure you're a Christian? Are you sure you're saved?"

In making such a declaration, this evangelist reveals that he is an idealist. An idealist sees things in terms of the greatest expression of a principal, and idealism is simply undefined legalism.

Legalism declares that if one does not keep a set of rules that one is living under condemnation. The condemnation can be either the state being outside of a relationship with Christ as savior, or just failing to live under the approval of God. In the Bible, legalism was keeping the Old Testament Law composed of rules for living, especially the Ten Commandments, but not confined to them, and maintaining a state of forgiveness by offering the sacrifices for sins and worship. Without doing so a person was under the condemnation of “the wages of sin is death.”

Idealism differs from legalism in that the way to obtain an idealistic acceptability is undefined. There are no intermediate steps. The standard is the fullest expression of a good principle. Whatever the principal under consideration, no one can fully attain it. The idealist considers everyone is inadequate or condemned in light of the principal, whatever the principal. When the idealist considers anything some people feel has merit, he asserts that all come short and live in a state of sin and some form of condemnation. He will quote, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23). Yet God, who is the Ideal, commends believing sinners for what good they have done. Christ's analysis of the seven lead churches in Asia found in Revelation 2 and 3 confirms this.

The idealist usually presents himself as exemplary of the ideal in limited way. In the idealistic statement by the evangelist in the example, the preacher presents himself as living the evangelistic ideal, and in one way or another condemns all others who do not. Even if he softens his words by including himself with the term "we," for after all, "all have sinned and come short" (Rom 3:23), his exhortation condemns those to whom he addresses it. Thereby, there are no steps in spiritual life whereby one can become complete in any level, for the consideration is the ideal, the perfection of that principle.

At this point, it is important to consider the literal meaning in the original Greek manuscripts, rather than any particular translation. In the King James translation, the word "perfect" in Matthew 5:48 in which God commands seeming idealistic perfection: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." The Greek word does not indicate a fully achieved representation of an ideal, but instead it indicates progress towards an end or goal. As might be implied from: "The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master" (Luke 6:40) as “perfect” is rendered in the King James translation. But rather: "A student, literally “disciple,” is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher" (Luke 6:40 NIV).

The King James is not clear also in reference to the Lord Jesus: "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect , he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;" (Heb 5:8, 9 KJV). This English idea of perfect would imply that before Christ suffered on the cross he was less than perfect. Being God, how could He not be perfect from eternity past? The Greek communicates the understanding that "made perfect" has the idea that until His Gospel work was finished that his prophetic calling was not complete.

Another way that idealism affects the understanding of "Living the Gospel" is accepting casually popular idealisms. Oftentimes, "Living the Gospel" has idea of living out the full wisdom of God. This is too broad an understanding for lifestyle application.

In order to get and live a full scriptural understanding, we must understand the exact meaning of words.

To be exact, what is the Gospel? "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (1 Cor 15:1-4 KJV).

Recorded in this passage, the Gospel is threefold: First, "Christ died for our sins;" second, "he was buried:" and third, "he rose again." The scriptures make it plain that living the Gospel is applying the basic meaning of each of these phases to our lifestyles. The Scriptures have much more clarity here than is popularly understood; it plainly says that Christians must in one way or another, in spirit or in fulfillment of specific Bible statements, appropriate and apply the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. In doing so they will experience the full benefits of the salvation and the sanctification Christ came to give! Applying the Gospel will prove that the individual believer is following Jesus (John 10:27--30) and has experienced a new spiritual birth!

Related reading: The Many Triumphs of Christ's Resurrection; Who Am I in Christ?