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Resurrection Proof 4/4/99 If someone were to tell you that they didn't believe that Jesus died on the cross, but that He had been alive and later walked out of the tomb, how would you answer them? How would you answer someone who said He had died, but that the disciples had stolen the body? Can you prove from the scriptures that Jesus did die on the cross and was raised? The Word is all we need to use because it reflects the viewpoint of several witnesses, which is what would be needed in a court of law. The witnesses don't reflect exactly the same wording; this shows that there wasn't a conspiracy to propagate a concocted story. Proof that Jesus died: "Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water." (John 19:31-34) The Roman soldiers were experts in making sure someone was dead. That's why they broke the leg bones of the two criminals, so they wouldn't be able to support themselves and they would suffocate. When they pierced Jesus with the spear, blood and water flowed out. Any physician can tell you that this was a sure sign of death since blood immediately separates into serum (water) and blood cells at death. "Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs." (John 19:38-40) Even if Jesus hadn't died on the cross, this process of wrapping in Him beneath multiple layers of linen and spice (75 pounds) would have probably killed Him because of His weakened condition after His scourging. Do you think that these two men would have continued to wrap Him if He had shown any signs of life? "Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph." (Mark 15:43-45) Pilate gave his permission to give the body of Jesus to Joseph only after he had the word of the centurion that he was dead. This Roman governor and the centurion were essentially staking their lives on the fact that Jesus was dead. Proof that the disciples didn't steal the body: "'Sir,' they said, 'we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.' 'Take a guard,' Pilate answered. 'Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.' So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard." (Matt 27:63-66) A Roman guard was put on watch to make sure that no one entered or left the tomb. There would probably be at least four trained soldiers at any time. The penalty that they would face for messing up on the job was death. If the disciples tried to steal the body, they would have been in for fight and the Romans would have to be killed or seriously injured to get the body. Take a look at the account of the disciples in the garden when Jesus was captured. Peter wasn't an accomplished swordsman. The disciples would also have been wanted men and would not have been able to move about publicly as they did after Pentecost. "There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men." (Matt 28:2-4) There was more than one guard, which supports the history books' descriptions of the Roman guards. They were frightened to death by the angel. With God's intervention in this manner, there is no doubt that the disciples didn't have to do anything to fake a resurrection. "While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, "You are to say, 'His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.' If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day." (Matt 28:11-15) This account explains why people claim the disciples stole the body. What this really shows is that the chief priests had to pay the governor as well as the soldiers to tell the story. If the governor had not been bought off, the guards would have lost their lives for losing the body. The guards had to be bought off because they were essentially out of work and disgraced for having "fallen asleep" while on guard duty. "Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid." (Mark 15:47) Just in case someone may say that the women and the disciples went to the wrong tomb, this verse lets us know that His burial was done in full view of many witnesses. Besides that, the officials would have simply produced the body and settled the matter. "He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed." (John 20:5-8) There are two things here that verify the resurrection and the fact that the disciples didn't steal the body. These involve the description of the strips of linen and the folded head cloth. They were lying there. If you were going to snatch a body from under Roman guard in the middle of the night, would you take the time to unwrap the body or fold the head cloth? The other thing is the use of the word that describes the strips of linen. It is the Greek word "keimai" which means - 1) to lie. a) used of an infant b) used of one buried c) used of things that quietly cover some spot; for example, a city situated on a hill d) used of things put or set in any place, in reference to which we often use "to stand": of vessels, of a throne, of the site of a city, of grain and other things laid up together, of a foundation. The way others and I look at this definition is that it implies that the strips were vacated without having been unwrapped. They were still set in place and collapsed on the spot where Jesus had been lain. John's response when he saw this was profound - he believed. By the way, this is one of the reasons why I don't buy the theory that the Shroud of Turin is Jesus' burial cloth. They used strips of linen and had it interwoven with spices, they didn't use a single cloth. There was also a separate head cloth. We also have the witness of the disciples and the women. These are the most well known witnesses and I won't quote all the verses regarding their encounters with the resurrected Christ. However, many more saw Jesus after the resurrection. "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born." (1 Cor 15:3-8) At the time that Paul had written this, there were hundreds of people who had seen Jesus alive after the resurrection. Anyone could interview them and verify the fact that Jesus had risen. In a court of law, there is a preponderance of proof that Jesus died and was resurrected. Paul was so sure that Jesus was raised that he rightfully declared that His resurrection is the proof of Christianity. "But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men." (1 Cor 15:12-19) Jesus' resurrection proves that He is who He said He was. It is proof that His death on the cross is sufficient to pay for our sins. If Jesus were not raised from the dead, then we would be fools to follow Him today. Since He has been raised, we are fools if we don't place our faith in Him for the forgiveness of our sins and our eternal salvation as well as our hope for this life. This week and for all time, let us be bold in proclaiming that Jesus is raised indeed! In Jesus,
Ray Ruppert Do you love yourself? Well, if you don't, you certainly should because you can't love others until you learn to love yourself. This is the advice that is often given by the world and by many Christian counselors to people who are having relationship or emotional problems. They reason that a person who is doing abusive things to himself, whether physically or emotionally, doesn't love himself, otherwise he would be taking care of and treating himself better. The solution is to teach the person to take care of himself first, then healing of emotional and relationships problems can begin. Does the Bible teach this as well? Many people believe that it does. "The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." (Rom 13:9-10) The reasoning with this verse and several other like it (Matt 22:39-40) key in on the word "as". You must love others as yourself and if you don't love yourself, this hatred of yourself will show up in your relationships with others, namely, adultery, murder, theft, coveting and whatever other problems a person has. At first glance, this seems to make sense. The other side of the coin can also be applied. "In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church--for we are members of his body." (Eph 5:28-30) These verses state that we don't hate ourselves because we feed ourselves and care for our bodies. The logic follows that even a person who is suicidal loves himself because he is trying to do what he considers most loving for himself by ending the pain and torment that he is in. I don't want to carry this too far since there are some people who express a hatred for themselves. I don't know exactly what is going on in these cases, but one thing is clear, if a person hates himself, a particular physical characteristic or personality trait about himself, then he hates what God created and is telling God that He made a mistake. If a person hates a manifestation of a personality trait that results in behavior that causes relationship problems, then he is on the right track to personal growth and maturity. I think that for the majority of people, the biggest problem is that we love ourselves too much. Many relationship problems occur, not because we are afraid of hurting another person's feeling, but because we are afraid of the pain that comes to us when we are called upon to do what is right. If we do something to alienate a loved one, even when it is Biblically correct to cause the alienation, like telling the truth, we fear the loss of relationship so we don't do what's right. That fear of a loss of relationship is really a demonstration of how we love ourselves too much. We generally don't dig deep enough into our motivations and reactions to discover these things because that digging also hurts us. When we love ourselves too much we avoid hurt because we think it isn't good for us. This occurs in marriage relationships, parent - child relationships, work relationships and even in the church. "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them." (2 Tim 3:1-5) Does this describe our generation? Paul starts out this downward spiral by stating that people will be lovers of themselves. From the love of self comes all the other woes and sins described here. When we are told that we must learn to love ourselves, we are being given permission to indulge in things that can lead to the destruction of us as an individual and our society. Let's go back and look more closely to what Jesus said. "'Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?' Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.'" (Matt 22:36-40) The greatest commandment is to love God more than anything else and that includes ourselves. If this is not the first priority in our lives, then we will be turning too much attention on ourselves. Only when we have Jesus as the first love of our life will we be able to have right relationships with others and esteem ourselves in the way we should. "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you." (Rom 12:3) Paul warned us to not think more highly of ourselves than we should and he did this right after telling us not to conform to the world's ideas but to renew our minds. "And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve him, to love the name of the LORD, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant--these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." (Isa 56:6-7) As a foreigner (not an Israelite), this is a promise for us when we put the Lord first in our lives. We will be living on His holy mountain (living a holy and pure life with right relationships with others as well as with Him). We will have joy in His house of prayer (our lives will be joyful because we are His temple and in contact with Him through prayer). Our lives will be acceptable to Him (if we are looking to please Him rather than men, we will have the strength to do what is right in relationships). "Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." (Luke 9:23-24) A very important principle in loving Jesus is denial of self and giving up our lives for Him. It is only after we have done this that we can move on to loving others the way God wants. "Do to others as you would have them do to you." (Luke 6:31) The golden rule is in the Bible. This is the explanation of what it means to love your neighbor as yourself. Of course, this assumes that what you would like to have a person do for you is Biblically correct and it will be, if you love Jesus more than any other. It also goes hand in hand with denying ourselves and being the servant of others. When this occurs, we will meet the requirement of the law. "The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Gal 5:14) When love flows first from our love of the Lord, it will then reach out to our neighbors. In truth, we will not be focused on ourselves anymore and the concept proposed by the world that we need to learn how to love ourselves will seem strange to us. "We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother." (I Jn 4:19-21) John summed it up well by pointing out that we can love others only because God first loved us. He demonstrated that love for us by dying on the cross to take our sins and their punishment on Himself. It is only when we accept that sacrifice on our behalf that we can have a relationship of love with God, including salvation. When He lives in us, He enables us to love others. The proof of our love of God and a correct relationship with Him is in the way we relate to others - in love. Thus, the law is fulfilled in loving our neighbor, because Jesus does it through us. This week, may we demonstrate our love of the Lord by loving our neighbors. In Jesus,
Ray Ruppert "The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all." (Acts 23:8) When Jesus walked the earth, the two most powerful religious factions couldn't agree on some of the basics that we accept today. At the heart of Christianity is the resurrection of Jesus. It is our hope to be physically brought back from the dead and continue our existence for eternity with bodies that will never die. As we finished studying Daniel last week in our home fellowship group, I was impressed on how clearly the promise of a resurrection for all believers was given to Daniel. The life of Daniel was the life of a person who walked with God daily and understood Him well. Before Daniel, the Bible only hints at a resurrection in a few places. I decided to take a journey through the Bible to see how this promise developed. "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." (Gen 3:15) "By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." (Gen 3:19) When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, their punishment was to die and return to the dust of the earth as indicated by verse 19. However, when God pronounced the punishment on Satan, there was an infinitesimal glimmer of a promise of the resurrection because the offspring of the woman would only have His heel struck. Without hindsight, I doubt that anyone would consider this as a resurrection verse. "If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come." (Job 14:14) "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes-- I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!" (Job 19:25-27) Some say that Job was a contemporary of Abraham, others say he lived much later, perhaps at the same time as Moses. At the time that Job lived, he made the startling statements that he was waiting for his renewal and that he knew that he would see his redeemer in the flesh. This is one of those inspirations that could only come from God. It had not been mentioned before. "Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay." (Ps 16:9-10) David knew that the Messiah would be resurrected. He knew that the Messiah would die and be in the grave, but that somehow, He would not rot in the grave. Contrast that to the Solomon's statement only one generation later. "Man's fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?" (Eccl 3:19 - 21) No wonder the Sadducees were a bit confused. Solomon was supposed to be the wisest man who ever lived and it appears that he didn't even have assurance of an afterlife at this point in his life. (It is either that, or he was pondering the possibility that animals will also be resurrected.) To be fair, the Sadducees only held the first five books of the Bible to be authoritative and it is because of the absence of any references to a resurrection in those books, rather than Solomon's confusion, that they didn't believe in the resurrection. "But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead." (Isa 26:19) "After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light [of life] and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities." (Isa 53:11) God gave Isaiah a much clearer spark for the belief in a resurrection. He also told us, as did David, that the Messiah would be raised from the dead. "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever." (Dan 12:2-3) I wonder what was going on in Daniel's mind when he heard the angel announce to him these verses describing the glorious promise of the resurrection. Through the message entrusted to Daniel, the resurrection was now spelled out clearer than any other previous references in history. Added to the promise of the resurrection of the righteous was the promise that the unrighteous would also rise, but only to shame and contempt. It was clearly stated that the resurrection would be everlasting. We (our physical bodies) will become immortal! The striking thing that this last revelation brought was that even the unrighteous will be raised to eternal "life", if you can call it life. By the time Jesus came, the doctrine of the resurrection was fully accepted by the Pharisees and rejected by the Sadducees. "That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question." (Matt 22:23) Both the Pharisees and the Sadducees tried to trap Jesus on issues of doctrine or tradition. The Sadducees rightly thought that Jesus would support the doctrine of the resurrection so they tried to trap him with the story of a woman who had sequentially had seven brothers as her husband. They asked who's wife she would be at the resurrection. They probably thought that He would pick one of the bothers and they would be able to ridicule Him because none of the other brothers would have a wife in eternity. What they didn't expect was His use of the very same scriptures that they respected to blow all the steam out of their arguments against a resurrection. "At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. But about the resurrection of the dead-- have you not read what God said to you, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living." (Matt 22:30-32) Jesus fully assured us that what God had told Daniel and the other prophets was indeed a fact of faith. He was able to explain from the tense of "I am" that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were still alive. Before Jesus explained this verse, no one had seen a promise of the resurrection in it. He also clarified what heaven would be like regarding our relationships, that is, without marriage. This really shoots holes in the cults who get married and expect it to be for eternity. "But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." (Luke 14:13-14) Jesus confirmed again what Daniel had learned, that there will be rewards at the resurrection of righteous people. Though without stating it here, the implication is that there is also a resurrection of the wicked; otherwise He would not have specified that it was the resurrection of the righteous. "Jesus said to her, 'Your brother will rise again.' Martha answered, 'I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.' Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?'" (John 11:23-26) Jesus is the one who will bring our bodies to life again because He is the Resurrection. We will be raised to be with Him because we are already in Him, we are alive and will not die. The promise of the resurrection goes beyond just the fact that we will have immortal bodies and includes the knowledge that the death of our bodies does not result in the death of who we are. Our spirits remain alive because they have been born again when we became Christians. Hallelujah and praise the Lord! Jesus was comforting Martha assuring her that her brother was still alive; this is the comfort that we can give everyone who has lost a loved one who is a Christian. They are still alive - more so than us because they have been freed from the physical confinement of their earthly bodies. "However, I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets, and I have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked." (Acts 24:14-15) Jesus fully confirmed the resurrection of the righteous and the wicked. The Apostles and Paul continued to teach it as the hope that we have in God. What a contrast this is to other religions that teach reincarnation. Their hope is that in some future life they will come back in a better position than in the current one. But the odds are that they will screw up and come back as something less than a human being. They could come back as a person in far worse circumstances. These lives would make it even harder for them to advance. Considering that there are millions of bugs in my back yard, not to mention all the dust mites in our heating ducts, reincarnation certainly is at the bottom of the scale as far as hope goes. "But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith." (1 Cor 15:12-14) Reincarnation denies the truth of the gospel and Christianity as well, yet there are many who call themselves Christians and believe in reincarnation or that there will be no resurrection. "So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body." (1 Cor 15:42-44) It is hard for us to imagine exactly what our resurrected bodies will look like. People wonder if we will look like we were in our forties or thirties or the same as when we die. Will bald people have a wonderful head of hair? Others wonder if we will still be recognizable because we may have been deformed in life, but not in the resurrection. The best answer I have to that is that Jesus was recognizable even though He had been beaten beyond recognition, yet He kept the scars of the cross. He could appear and disappear at will. Our body will be like His and Paul described it, not in terms of what we will look like, but in eternal terms. First, it will never die again. This is a great promise for believers but should throw unbelievers into a terrific fear. Our bodies are dishonorable in that we have sin with us and even when we have matured greatly in our walk with the Lord, we sin. In our resurrected bodies, we will not sin. (Do I hear a hallelujah for that one?) We are now weak physically. Our resurrected bodies will have the same power that Jesus has and the wisdom to use it correctly. We are now confined to the three dimensions of the physical world. In our future bodies we will not be confined to the physical world but will be able to move freely through the spiritual world and right into the presence of Jesus and God the Father. "Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed--in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." (1 Cor 15:51-52) It is evident that when Jesus comes back again, there will be believers who will receive a resurrected body without having to go through death. According to 1Thes 4:13-17 the dead in Christ will be raised when Jesus comes back and then any living believers will be changed and caught up with those who had previously died. This is not called the first resurrection. The first resurrection will take place later. "I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years." (Rev 20:4-6) The first resurrection will occur right after the end of the tribulation. The people who will be raised at that time are all the people who became believers after the rapture and died during the great tribulation. Those that became believers during the great tribulation, but were not killed, are still alive and will be the people who will populate the earth during Jesus' millennial reign on earth. "Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." (Rev 20:11-15) During the millennial reign, people will live very long lives, but there will still be death. At the end of this time the nations will be deceived once more and unbelievers will be killed. The Bible doesn't tell us what will happen to the believers that are still alive at the end of the millennial reign, but the earth and the sky will flee from God's presence as He appears on His great white throne. It doesn't appear that there would be any place for mortals. The believers will probably be changed the same as in 1 Cor 15:51-52. At this time all the wicked will be raised from the dead along with any believers who died during the millennial reign. All the wicked will be judged and thrown in the lake of fire. This is the part that should scare any unbelievers. "where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'" (Mark 9:48) Jesus made it clear in this and other verses (Matt 8:12, 13:42, 13:50, 22:13, 24:51, 25:30, Lk 13:28) that they would not die in the lake of fire even though it is called the second death. May the hope of the resurrection encourage us and also spur us on to sharing the good news with those who don't believe. In Jesus,
Ray Ruppert There are times when each of us has a heavy heart. What are some of the things that have caused you to have a heavy heart recently? How did you react when you heard about the shooting in Littleton? Did you mourn that these kinds of things happen in our country as well as for the families? When NATO started bombing Kosovo, what was your reaction? Were you angered that we were getting involved in a war without declaring war or were you relieved that we were trying to stop the injustice of the genocide that is occurring? Are you aware that there are other areas of the world where even more atrocious things are happening, such as in Sudan, and we turn our backs? When you learn that a friend is getting a divorce or a loved one has cancer does your heart ache? Are there other times when you just don't have a reason for your feelings but you know that things aren't right and you heart is downcast? When evil comes upon other people and in far-away places, we have no control over it. We are left feeling helpless and very vulnerable. We can get involved in politics (and more of us should). We can give to the needy (and more of us should). We can become missionaries (and more of us should). But we will probably still have a heavy heart because there will always be injustice, violence and sin in the world. We can't solve all the problems ourselves. Welcome to the human race! "David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God." (1 Sam 30:6) Before David became king of Israel, he returned to his base of operations and found that it had been burned to the ground and all of his and his men's families had been taken captive. Just like now, the men blamed their leader for the disaster. David wasn't taking the news very well either, besides the fact that he was facing a lynching party. David found his strength in the Lord at that and many other times when his heart was downcast. David and his men were able to go on and rescue their families and belongings. There are many times when we are hurting, but have to go on for the good of others as well as ourselves. We need the strength of the Lord for those times. "Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting. When my prayers returned to me unanswered, I went about mourning as though for my friend or brother. I bowed my head in grief as though weeping for my mother." (Ps 35:13-14) David had a lot of enemies. When they had been in trouble, he says that he prayed and fasted for them but they were gleeful when David was in trouble. Many times we bad mouth our leaders when they are vile and corrupt rather than taking David's example and humbling ourselves. We should mourn and pray about their injustice and iniquities but we should also be praying for their health and welfare. We should not be gleeful when they fall, but be sorrowful. "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" (Ps 42:1-2) One of David's greatest delights was to fellowship with the Lord. He was eager to go to the house of the Lord. This was probably written when Absalom took over Jerusalem and David had to flee across the Jordan for his life. "These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng." (Ps 42:4) As he remembered the days when he was able to worship at the temple, he got down right depressed. "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon-- from Mount Mizar." (Ps 42:5-6) His remedy for depression in this case was to remember the Lord and all that He had done for him. He had to make a mental decision to trust in God because all the circumstances would indicate that he would never again see the temple of the Lord. If we ever get in a situation when we are unable to worship the Lord with others and the life we know seems to be at an end, it would seem fitting to get depressed. However this should only be temporary and we will need to keep focused on Jesus. If we have been walking with Him in our daily lives, it will be much easier when the trouble arrives. We will be able to remember the times when we worshiped Him with others, and even from the other side of the Jordan, worship Him. "He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 'My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,' he said to them. 'Stay here and keep watch.'" (Mark 14:33-34) Jesus was so overwhelmed by the burden of sin that was about to be dumped on Him that He felt that He would die. Can you identify with that kind of sorrow? Remember the reason that Jesus was sorrowful. Another reason we can become depressed is because of the sin in the world and the hurt that it brings to our Lord, not just to people. "When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven." (Neh 1:4) Nehemiah heard that things were not going well in Jerusalem for the remnant that had survived the exile. It disturbed him and he wept, mourned, fasted and prayed about it. In another time or place, someone might have told him to "snap out of it" or "get over it". It was during that time of mourning and prayer that God gave him a plan to go to Jerusalem and get the wall rebuilt. "I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy. I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble." (Ps 142:1-2) "While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites-- men, women and children-- gathered around him. They too wept bitterly." (Ezra 10:1) When we run into those times when things just don't make sense to us, when we are overwhelmed by life and its injustice or grievous sin, we can do the same as Nehemiah, David or Ezra. We can let it loose, using the emotions, feelings and dismay to turn them into effective prayers to the Lord. "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." (Rom 8:26) These are the times when we need to depend on the Holy Spirit to translate those prayers for us because we really don't know what or how to pray. When we read the headlines this week, let's weep for our world and pray.
In Jesus,
Ray Ruppert The book of Judges tells about the yo-yo spiritual state of Israel after they entered the Promised Land. It is punctuated by phrases like these. "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit." (Judg 17:6, 21:25) ... "the Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the LORD." (Judg 4:1, 3:12) It was only while there were strong judges in Israel that the people did what God wanted and He blessed them. As soon as their troubles were over and a new generation came on the scene, they fell away and suffered the curses that God had warned them about when they first entered the Promised Land. Most of the book can be summed up in a few short verses. "Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the LORD had compassion on them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them. But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways." (Judg 2:18-19) The one thing that impressed me the most was that they did as they saw fit. "In those days Israel had no king. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking a place of their own where they might settle, because they had not yet come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel." (Judg 18:1) This begins a story of the Danites when they began to look for an easy way to get some land in Israel instead of removing the people that God wanted removed. The story merges with the story of the Levite in Judg 17:6 who became the personal priest for a family. The Levite and the Danites join forces and ultimately end up destroying a people who were peaceful and unsuspecting. They started living in the village they took over and with the help of the Levite started to worship other gods. This was all because there was no king (they didn't follow God as their king) and everyone did as he saw fit (they didn't follow God's commands). The Israelites looked around at the other nations who had many gods and incorporated some of the foreign gods into their worship of God. There are several instances where household gods were mentioned. Even in David's house there were idols. (1 Sa 19:13) When the Israelites worshiped other gods, their behavior adapted to the standards that they thought those gods accepted. The chief result was a do-what-seems-best attitude. Today, we call it a do-what-feels-good attitude. "Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment." (Eccl 11:9) There is a place for doing what seems best and what feels good when the direction is guided by our Lord. When it is in the wrong direction we will pay for it. "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." (Prov 14:12) "All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD." (Prov 16:2) The point is that we simply can't trust our feelings and what seems right to us. The natural man is bent on evil and we need to look outside of ourselves to find out what is right. This is the reason that we have the Bible and the Holy Spirit. With them we find the right path; the path to salvation in Jesus and from there, a guide to determine what is right for every day of our lives. Unfortunately this do-what-seems-best attitude is alive and well in the Church today. I see it all the time when I hear the phase "I think God wants me to ...", "I don't think that God cares if we ...", "I don't think God requires ... "or "I think that God understands ... ". You can finish the sentences for yourself. Notice that all of these phrases start with "I think". Listen to yourself the next time you start a discussion regarding the Lord. If you hear yourself say "I think", stop and ask yourself if this is your opinion or if it is based on a solid Biblical study. We have been taught to be so tolerant of others that we have become afraid of saying clearly what the Bible says. We don't want to offend others. We are told to express ourselves with our opinion because each of us is entitled to express our opinion, whether it is right or wrong. Too bad, but we have become a nation and a Church where God's truth has been eroded because we are afraid to offend. We have looked around us and incorporate the god of "tolerance" into our churches. "Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire." (John 8:43-44a) Jesus didn't mince His words when He was dealing with error. Maybe we should be a bit more careful when we express what we think the Bible says and be prepared to back it up with the Scripture. Otherwise, we may come face to face with Jesus and find out that we were not speaking His Word, but the devil's. After the Babylonian captivity, Israel continued with the same problem until the religious leaders got tough with the people. "I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair." (Neh 13:25a) Nehemiah sounds like he was not afraid to offend to get God's truth proclaimed and followed. The opposite side of the fence is when the spirit of the law is tossed out and people impose strictness as a substitute for following the Lord with all our heart. This was the state of affairs when Jesus arrived. The religious leaders certainly weren't doing what seemed right in their individual eyes, but what was written in their rules and regulations. However, those rules were mostly man made traditions that actually took precedence over God's word. "You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." (Mark 7:8) "Jesus replied, 'And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.'" (Luke 11:46) Jesus came down hard on this strict religion, not because they were wrong in keeping the laws, but because they put their own laws above God's commands and kept people from ministering to each other. When this happens in churches today, we call them legalistic. Many of us have grown up in these churches and have rebelled against the strictness. The result is that we are very vulnerable to "doing what is right in our own eyes". We have seen where the "organized" church has lead people astray, so we condemn all churches or get into one where we can do our own thing when and how we want. This leads to churches were 20% of the people do 80% of the work, and where 20% give 80% of the support (and it's not because the 20% are wealthy). We become a people who are not accountable to others in the Church because we want to develop a "religion" based on what is comfortable, easy for us and seems best in our eyes. There must be a balance in all of this and the only way to know how to reach a balance is to be thoroughly in love with Jesus, putting Him and His interests before our own. But that isn't enough. That love should drive us to His Word to listen to what He has already said so that we can be assured that we aren't doing what seems right in our own eyes, but what is right in God's eyes. This week, let's examine some of our thoughts, attitudes and actions to see if we are doing what seems right in our own eyes or if we are blindly following man made traditions. Prayerfully, we will all move closer to walking with Jesus, the way He wants. In Jesus,
Ray Ruppert This email may shoot some sacred cows of Christianity as we know them today. Because of this, I have had it reviewed by a couple of astute Bible scholars in our church, one who is responsible for keeping our home fellowship groups on track and the other who is a Precepts leader and seminary student. I am firmly committed to the accurate study of God's Word because inaccuracy leads to doctrines or beliefs that eventually result in behavior that doesn't glorify our Lord and could bring discredit to the cause of bringing people to Christ. While some things are of minor consequence, they may later lead someone off track. It is better to be picky than it is to let inaccuracy slip by. My goal is to follow Paul's advice to Timothy. "Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." (2 Tim 2:14-15) I don't want to quarrel about words, but I want to handle the Word of truth correctly and to encourage others to do so as well. I am also fully committed to the fact that all Scripture is valuable for us. "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Tim 3:16-17) We can learn from the Old and the New Testament so that we don't have to repeat the mistakes of others and so that we can grow in righteousness. Living a righteous life includes every aspect of our walk with the Lord and our relationships to others. Our work for the Lord will be more in accordance with His will when we handle His Word correctly. "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (Heb 4:12) I also believe that God's Word is alive. That means He can use it to speak to us and reveal His will as we are walking in obedience with Him. He can also use it to convict and straighten us out when we are heading in the wrong direction. There are times when He will impress a verse upon our hearts for a specific situation when we need to hear His voice encouraging us. With these principles stated, I can get to a sacred cow. It is the practice of "claiming" God's promises when the verse that is quoted doesn't apply to the person or persons claiming the promise. When people do this, they must quote the "promise" out of context or in a version that translates it in a way that it becomes a promise. In most cases, they could have used a different verse to claim the same promise without having to take the more familiar verse out of context. An extreme example of this occurred when a TV preacher claimed the promise that God wants us to command Him to do our bidding. He then quoted the following verse. "Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me." (Isa 45:11) I think he left the middle part out to emphasize that God wants us to order Him about. I was so astounded that I had to look it up and found it in the KJV. The NIV really looks a lot different and expresses the context much better. "This is what the LORD says-- the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands?" (Isa 45:11) The obvious consequence to claiming this promise is to reverse the position of the Sovereign Lord and His creatures, man. God is reduced to the position of a magic genie who has to obey the bidding of his owner. Quoting incorrectly in this manner is not done only by "name it and claim it" preachers. It is something that is done in most fundamental churches as well, though to a lesser degree. I firmly believe that there are thousands of legitimate promises of God that apply to all believers. These occur when God has made it clear that it is for all believers. "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me." (John 17:20-21) These verses are obviously intended for all believers, not only in these verses, but also in the context of the complete passage. There are many other verses that we can also claim as promises from God that aren't always as clear. "My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart." (Ps 7:10) In this Psalm, God is exalted and praised, and the only restriction placed on those who benefit from His favor is their relationship with Him. He is the shield for the upright in heart, but is also the judge who will express His wrath on those who are pregnant with evil. We can claim this promise as long as we are walking with Him. If we stray, we can't claim His promise to shield us. When claiming a promise for ourselves, we need to look at the verses in context and make sure that what God has said is applicable to us today. Many of His promises were made to the people of Israel to be literally fulfilled in their life and in their time. "The LORD answered, 'I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.'" (Judg 6:16) In this example a specific person was given a promise for a specific event. God promised Gideon that He would be with him, help him and enable him to strike down all the Midianites. Because it was so specific, we can't claim this verse for ourselves, especially since there aren't any Midianites left. This doesn't mean that we can't apply 2 Tim 3:16 to this situation and learn from it. We can learn that when God tells us to do something, He will be with us and through Him, we will succeed. What we can't claim is how that success will be measured. There is a big distinction between the Israelites in the Old Testament and believers in the New Testament. God called this people to be a nation set apart from all other nations to be a testimony to Him. "Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites." (Exod 19:5-6) He gave them specific physical promises, most of them were conditional and dependent on their ability to meet His holy requirement and observation of the laws He provided. One of the promises was to give them a physical nation. He didn't give this promise to any other people. He promised prosperity and peace for that nation if the people would follow Him. As we look at history, we can't tell what percentage of the people in the nation had to be obedient in order to receive that prosperity. During the time of the kings, it did depend a lot upon the king who was in office at the time, since the king set the moral climate for the rest of the nation. God's promises of prosperity didn't necessarily apply to individuals even then, for He said they would always have the poor in their country and made provision for them in the law. On the other hand, believers are not called as a physical nation, but as individuals we are called to a relationship with the Lord. "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." (1 Pet 2:9) "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household ..." (Eph 2:19) While we are called to be a nation, that nation is not a part of this current era. We are called out of the world, but unlike the Israelites, our citizenship is in heaven. We are the body of Christ, the Church, regardless of the earthly nation in which we live. We are aliens waiting for a future land. The promises that we have are not for personal or national prosperity, but for persecution. "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted ..." (2 Tim 3:12) Because of these differences, we need to be careful when we try to claim promises from the Old Testament that were given to Israel as a nation, not the church as a body of believers. "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (2 Chr 7:14) There is a major problem claiming this verse for us today. The promise was given to the nations of Judah and Israel for the time when they would turn away from God. As explained before, God promised them a land and dealt with them as a nation. As believers, we don't have a nation, a land that God has promised us, and He doesn't deal with us as a nation. He deals with us through the Church and as individuals. God didn't call a nation of people to separate from the world and come to America. Some of our forefathers may have come because of religious persecution, our nation's government may be founded on Biblical principles, but God didn't form this or any other nation in the unique way that He formed Israel and established a covenant with them. If we want to apply 2 Chr 7:14 to ourselves we should apply it to the Church, the body of Christ, not the nation in which we live. If there is wickedness in the Church today, we better do something about it. "Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth." (Rev 2:16) Jesus was pretty blunt with the churches in the book of Revelation. When there was something wrong, it was clear that they needed to repent or there would be disaster to those in the church. Smyrna was a church that Jesus had only good things to say to. His promise to them was not that they would prosper, but rather, not to be afraid of what they were going to suffer. "Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life." (Rev 2:10) Even if we repent of wickedness, our repentance doesn't bring a promise that our nation will be blessed and healed. Perhaps, if we live in a democracy (few believers do), and if there is a solid majority of Christians who are involved in government, then we could expect a healing of the nation in which we live. But we must remember that the nation in which we live is not "our" nation. It still belongs to the world and is under Satan's control until Jesus comes again. (Matt 4:8, 1 Jn 5:19, Rev 11:15) I don't find anyone claiming the promise of suffering if we are walking obediently with Him. If the Church has wickedness in it and we humble ourselves and pray, will the Church be healed? I certainly believe it will. If the Church is healed, will the nation we live in be healed? Only if we are able to convert the majority to Jesus Christ! However, if we do repent and make even stronger attempts to bring the gospel message and faith to the rest of the nation, there is the distinct possibility that we will polarize the nation and that could bring persecution rather than a healing of the nation. "Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division." (Luke 12:51) In fact, this does seem to be the result when the Church is pure in most parts of the world. Even though our obedience will most likely bring problems and persecution, we need to keep it up. "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming." (2 Pet 3:11-12a) If we, the Church, are living the way we should, we will speed the end of all things. From everything that I read in the Bible, apostasy and rampant sin in the world will mark the times of the end. "The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved." (II Th 2:9-10) As the Church becomes stronger, so will the opposition and the time of Jesus' return will come more quickly. In summary, I have focused on two of the most important aspects of understanding the Bible, context and historical setting. If the Bible student would merely let a passage speak for itself within the context of the paragraph, chapter, or book, the majority of all errors in interpretation would be avoided. (from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary) (Copyright (C) 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers) We must remember that the Bible was written for us, but not to us. We need to understand the historical context so that we don't claim promises that were not intended for us. There are many other aspects of proper interpretation that I didn't mention. For a detailed explanation, see BIBLE, INTERPRETATION OF, (HERMENEUTICS) in Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary. In addition to correct handling of God's word, we need to remember that very few promises in the Bible are unconditional. Most of them will only be fulfilled when we meet the requirements. Let's be careful to distinguish between what we claim as a promise from God and what He gave us to be used for instruction. There is a big difference. Be attentive and see if you can identify some promises that you have heard that shouldn't be applied in the way many Christians are applying them. Identify why the passage shouldn't be claimed. Next, see if you can identify the consequences of the error in claiming them incorrectly. When we claim God's promises based on a faulty study of His Word, we aren't going to know Him better; things probably won't work out as we expect. We will be confused about Him and won't be growing in our knowledge of Him; rather, our misconceptions about Him will grow. We won't be giving Him glory. Look up Is 49:16, Jer 29:11 and Ro 10:9 as some examples since they are frequently used as promises. Do they all qualify? Why or why not? This week, let's draw on the promises of God that do apply to us and correctly handle His Word. In Jesus, Ray Ruppert Be Hears of The Word and Not Doers I have begun to believe that James must have been mistaken. "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." (James 1:22) I think he meant to say "Merely listen to the word and get lots of knowledge so that you can do what you want." This conclusion is based on observation, not on the truth of God's Word. God's Word comes to us in many ways. We may hear a good sermon; we may read a great devotional like "Our Daily Bread"; a friend may share a passage or a story; His Holy Spirit may speak to us as we read the Bible. Most of the time it goes in one ear and out the other. James said to not merely listen. I saw a comic strip (Shoe) where Cosmos and Shoe were talking. Actually, Cosmos was talking and Shoe was reading the newspaper. Cosmos was going on and on about how Shoe must have learned so much despite the disappointments in all his failed marriages. He emphasized how people learn from their mistakes and how Shoe must have really learned a lot. All the time Shoe is answering "Um Hmm." Finally, Shoe turns and says "I got real good at pretending to listen." When we don't act on what we hear in God's Word, all we are doing is pretending to listen. There are many scriptures that warn us to take heed of what we hear. "Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the LORD." (Ps 107:43) "Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD." (Prov 16:20) "Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near." (Rev 1:3) The implication of these and other verses is that heeding or taking to heart is something active that is required of us and that it makes a difference. One of the reasons that we don't do what we should in response to God's Word is that we have become masters in deceiving ourselves. "Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise." (1 Cor 3:18) None of us wants to be a dummy or gullible so we always filter what we hear to make sure it applies to us. Unfortunately, instead of using God's Word to do the filtering, we use the wisdom of the age. With this world's wisdom, we have put man's word above God's Word. Another reason we deceive ourselves is that we bow to peer pressure. "Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character.'"(1 Cor 15:33) We usually yell at our kids and use this verse when they bring home friends that we think will lead them astray. However, we even need to look at other Christians and be careful about their influence on us as well as our influence on others. How many times have you gone to a movie or read a book because another Christian recommended it? Did it seem more violent or sexually explicit than you expected, but you finished it because the other person had recommended it? I have read books that I would never recommend to another Christian because of the subtle undermining of Christian principles that I discovered, yet I have found believers to label the same book as one of the best stories they have read. Some have even been on the Christian Best Selling list. Be aware that we often judge the rightness or wrongness of something based on whether or not our friends think it is ok. For others, it may be ok, but we are not all equally mature or have the same gifts of discernment. We need to make those decisions based on the Holy Spirit's quickening of our spirit based on the Word of God. Giving, praying, Bible study, church membership and any other disciplines of the faith may be adversely influenced because we know Christians who are slacking off in one of these areas and they are doing ok and seem to be mature. We also deceive ourselves when we get proud of our spiritual maturity. "If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself." (Gal 6:3) Each of us has one or more particular vulnerabilities to sin. It may have started before we were saved or it may be something that has troubled us after we were saved. We know it is sin and we seem to be tempted more often in this area than in others. We can go for years without falling to the temptations, then when we think we have the problem overcome, our guard drops and suddenly we can be deep in trouble. This failure is sometimes rationalized because we think that God is making an exception for us and lets us indulge in this sin because we have been so faithful in other areas. Another problem with the "spiritually mature" is that we don't do to well when someone points out a different interpretation of the Word. For years we have always looked at a particular passage and it has fit into our theology just as the footnotes in our favorite Bible have said, or as we have taught others. Then along comes some upstart and challenges us to look at it in a broader context. We then fail to become a doer of the Word because we simply disagree with the explanation given, even if it is right. So what did Jesus say about being a doer of the Word? "'Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" (Matt 7:21-23) This doesn't bode well at all! Not only does Jesus say we need to do the will of the Father, but we need to know Jesus as well. Jesus said that there will be people who think they know God's will (to prophesy, drive out demons and perform miracles and even do it in Jesus' name), but something is terribly wrong. The measure of knowing Jesus is not just our claim to know Him or what we think God wants us to do, but actually doing His will. Jesus didn't come to show us the broad path to salvation, but the narrow path. (Matt 7:13-14) "That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows." (Luke 12:47) Jesus told a quick little parable about servants of a master who had gone away. He didn't make any distinction whether or not the servants were saved or not. He called both the good and the bad ones servants. He call us His servants as well, so does this apply to us? If we have heard sermons and received instructions in God's Word, we should have a pretty good idea what His will is. I don't know how this verse squares with Jude 24, but I shouldn't be concerned if I am doing His will when He returns. "To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy--" (Jude 24) If I receive instruction and don't follow though with His will, then I need to be concerned. This week, when it comes to God's Word, let's do It. May you be blessed as you do. In Jesus, Ray Ruppert This may seem like an unusual topic, but I was asked this week what Jesus said about capital punishment and then my mind went off wondering what this might have to do with Christian maturity and knowing our Lord better. Sometimes people are mystified how a follower of Jesus could justify and encourage capital punishment while other "Christian" leaders openly condemn it. It is a subject that can up in the most unexpected places and may lead to an opportunity to witness for our Lord and challenge a person's preconceived ideas about God. Jesus didn't say anything specifically about capital punishment, whether it was right or wrong. However, since Jesus is the Word, (Jn 1: 1) we can go to places in the Bible when God spoke about capital punishment and conclude that Jesus is in agreement with what has already been said. The history of capital punishment begins after Cain killed his brother Abel. "The LORD said, 'What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.'" (Gen 4:10-12) Surprisingly, God didn't invoke the death penalty for this crime. However He did give us insight into His abhorrence of murder. The blood of the victim cries out to God from the ground that received it. As a result, God stopped the ground from producing crops for Cain. Cain was worried that someone would kill him for his sin, but God reassured him that if anyone did kill him, that person would receive seven times the vengeance of God. (Gen 4:14,15) Later in the chapter Lamech killed a man for wounding him. He used the example of Cain to say that anyone who would seek to kill him for the crime would receive God's vengeance seventy-seven times. We don't know if this was valid self-defense or whether Lamech simply wanted to get even and went too far and killed the man. This leads me to believe that until the time of Noah, there may not have been capital punishment. The example of Cain shows us that at that time, God did not require the death of a person when he shed the blood of another person. Lamech certainly capitalized on this. Unfortunately, from the time of Cain to the time of Noah, things got worse until God wiped out most of mankind with the flood. Is it possible that the lack of a death penalty was one of the contributing factors to the increase in wickedness? One of the big arguments of those opposed to capital punishment is that it is not an effective deterrent to crime. It is very interesting that Genesis gives quite a bit of detail to Abel's murder, then jumps many generations to Noah, giving few details of events in human history. Then, after the flood is over, one of the first things that God does is to address the issue of capital punishment. God made it very clear what the punishment for murder would be from that day on. "'And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.'" (Gen 9:5-6) At this time, God had given the responsibility to inflict the death penalty to man. A member of the victim's family usually carried it out. This person was known as an "avenger of blood". The "avenger of blood" is mentioned in Num 35:19-27, Deu 19:6-12, Jsh 20:3-9 and 2 Sam 14:11. In these passages, the context is usually talking about cities of refuge where someone could flee if they had accidentally killed someone. As long as they lived in the city the "avenger of blood" could not kill him without becoming a murderer himself. There were other conditions that had to be met for the killer to be protected, which you can read for yourselves. "But if a man hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him, assaults and kills him, and then flees to one of these cities, the elders of his town shall send for him, bring him back from the city, and hand him over to the avenger of blood to die. Show him no pity. You must purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, so that it may go well with you." (Deut 19:11-13) "Any of the Israelites or any alien living among them who killed someone accidentally could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly." (Josh 20:9) From these passages, we can determine that government had become involved in the judicial process. The city of refuge ensured that there was to be a trial before the "avenger of blood" could carry out the sentence. The elders of the victim's city could extradite the killer from the city of refuge if it wasn't an accident. It makes it clear that God did not only approve and required capital punishment, but He set up the process where it would be done in as fair a manner as possible. God also gave the reasons for capital punishment. It goes back to the time of Cain and the affect it had on the land. "Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it." (Num 35:33) God again reminded His people that unpunished murder pollutes the land. Above in Deut 19:13, God said that the guilt must be purged from Israel "so that it may go well with you." It looks like any nation that decides they know better than God and eliminates the death penalty will begin to have problems. The real problem is that the people really don't know God and His holy requirements for living. The decision to stop capital punishment is an outcome of the rejection of God, but it escalates the downfall of a nation. So far, I've only shown what the Bible says about the sentence for murder. What are some of the other reasons that God demanded the death penalty? We can find things like: attacking mother or father (Exo 21:15); kidnapping (Exo 21:16); cursing mother or father (Exo 21:17); having sex with animals (Exo 22:19); sacrifices to other gods (Exo 22:20); working on the Sabbath (Exo 31:14); adultery, incest and other sexual misconduct including homesexual relations (Lev 20:9-15); being a medium or spiritist (Lev 20:27); blasphemy (Lev 24:16); contempt for judge or priest (Deu 17:12); false prophet (Deu 18:20). Many of these verses end with the phrase or similar phrase; "You must purge the evil from Israel." The bottom line of most of these commands for the death penalty was to ensure that evil didn't take root and grow in Israel. Evil people affect others and influence them to sin as well. Part of the reason for the death penalty was a deterrent, but not in the way most people think. We usually think that the threat of death will keep a person from doing anything that has the death penalty attached. But this is not the real deterrent. It is meant to remove the evil influence of the criminals. Is the death penalty to be carried out regardless of the circumstances? The Bible teaches me that it isn't. The primary example is that of David. He committed adultery and had his lover's husband killed. According to the law, he should have been stoned. "Then David said to Nathan, 'I have sinned against the LORD.' Nathan replied, 'The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.'" (2 Sam 12:13) David repented before the Lord and the Lord spared him from death, but he still reaped the consequence of his sin. If David had not repented, would the people have carried out the sentence against him, or would God have taken his life? "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin." (John 8:3-11) This example is probably best known since it is used as the proof text for those who oppose capital punishment because Jesus let her go. A closer examination of the context leads me to believe that we shouldn't use this passage to make a case against capital punishment in general. First, the text clearly says that the reason for the whole questioning was not to make a decision about capital punishment, but to trap Jesus. If He agreed to stone her, they could report Jesus to the Roman officials because the Romans were the only ones who could pass a death sentence. If He disagreed to the stoning, they would say that He didn't uphold the Law of Moses. Either answer would have ruined His ministry. Second, it was an unjust situation because the man who was involved was not also brought for sentencing. Third, if anything, Jesus reinforced the concept described in David's situation that punishment didn't need to be carried out if the person repents, but the passage doesn't say anything about abolishing capital punishment. Some argue that because we are under Grace instead of the Law, that we should do away with capital punishment. That argument is flawed in two ways. The first is that the same argument would conclude that murder (thou shalt not kill) is no longer a law we need to obey. The second is that capital punishment IS supported in New Testament writings after Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the Law on the cross. In Acts 5:1-10, God Himself inflicted death on two Christians, Ananias and Sapphira, for lying to the Holy Spirit. Then in Romans it is again supported. "For he (government) is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer." (Rom 13:4) This confirms that the government has the right to punish serious crimes. The implication of "bearing the sword" is capital punishment. Finally, in Rev 3:23 Jesus said "I will strike her children dead." Jesus threatened the death penalty for those in the church at Thyatira who were the "children" of false prophetess called Jezebel. The last thing we need to remember is that this life is not all there is. In many ways, it is a shadow of eternal life. The death penalty is a foreshadowing of the eternal punishment that all who reject Jesus will face. When we talk to others about what the Bible has to say about capital punishment, let's use this as a stepping stone so that we can then explain that Jesus has taken on Himself the punishment for all of our sins even if they include murder. God accepts His death in place of ours when we turn to Him in faith and repentance. Just like David, any who repent may escape the eternal death penalty that we all deserve because of our sins. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom 6:23) May you be blessed this week as you study God's Word and discover the blessings that He gives as we do things His way. In Jesus, Ray Ruppert These last few weeks, our home fellowship groups have been studying prayer. As we looked at different aspects of prayer, the subject of being angry with God and letting Him know about it has come up a couple of times in our group and the leader's meetings. I haven't always been able to clearly explain my concerns from a Biblical position in conversation so I have taken this time to put my thoughts in writing. As we discussed prayer and being honest with God in our prayers, two things came up that I believe need to be addressed more clearly. The first is the question of whether or not it is ok to be angry with God. The second thing is whether or not we can reach a point in our spiritual maturity where we will not become angry (whether with God or others) during life's crises. I became concerned because of two statements that were made by different people at different times. The first one is "It is ok to be angry with God because He understands." The second statement came as a question. "Do you really think it is possible to not become angry, because anger is part of human nature?" Webster's Comprehensive Dictionary defines anger as "Violent vindictive passion; sudden and strong displeasure, as a result of injury, opposition, or mistreatment." It goes on to discuss the synonyms of anger, which clarifies the meaning. "Anger is sharp, sudden, and, like all violent passions, necessarily brief. Resentment (a feeling back or feeling over again) is persistent brooding over injuries. Rage drives one beyond the bounds of prudence or discretion: fury is stronger yet, and sweeps one away into uncontrollable violence. Anger is personal and usually selfish. Wrath is deeper, more enduring than anger, and may be vengeful. Indignation is impersonal and unselfish displeasure at unworthy acts, that is, at wrong as wrong. Pure indignation is not followed by regret, and is often a duty." As you read this email, please remember the definition of anger. First we need to understand that the Bible is very clear about anger and our need to control and overcome it. I can't list all the verses that deal with this, but the following ones clearly outline the basic premises. "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires." (James 1:19-20) Until we reach a point where we can control ourselves and develop a more Christ like nature, we will become angry at times. We are told that when we do become angry, we are not increasing in our maturity because our life isn't becoming righteous the way God wants it to be. Our anger is usually sinful. "'In your anger do not sin': Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry," (Eph 4:26) We are also commanded to not sin when we become angry. This implies that there is some form of anger that we can have and still not sin. Very briefly, when we examine Jesus' life we can see the many times that He became angry and we know that He didn't sin. In the Old Testament, we also see God's anger expressed many times. God gets angry about sin. When we do become angry, it must be anger that is like God's. Unfortunately, when we become angry, it is more often because something didn't work out the way we expected or wanted, rather than because we were upset with sin. If we do become angry for unrighteous reasons, we don't want to add to that anger by doing anything sinful either. "A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control." (Prov 29:11) Anger can be controlled and venting it is something that only a fool does. When we take the world's advice to let it out, the Bible calls us fools. Controlling our anger will not harm us as the world teaches. However, denying our anger and not dealing with its causes and our inability to control it will certainly harm us. "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." (Eph 4:31-32) We are to take a further step and get rid of anger. When we get rid of anger, we become more Christ like. Instead of reacting in anger to things, we need to develop a nature of compassion and forgiveness, because God has forgiven us in Jesus Christ. When we have gotten to the point in our walk with Jesus that we don't get angry, we have finally gotten rid of it. If it were not possible for us to mature to this point, then the Bible would not have commanded us to get rid of anger; it would have stopped at the point of telling us to not sin in our anger. Yes, it is possible for us to overcome our human nature and reach a point where our "natural" reaction is not to become angry. This happens when we have a Spirit controlled life. "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ." (Rom 8:9) When we have the Holy Spirit in our lives, we should be on the road to maturity. It doesn't happen all at once because we have to learn to let the Holy Spirit control us instead of yielding to our old nature. As long as we believe that we can't overcome anger, we won't try. I think the above makes a case that most of our anger, if not all of it, is sin. If we recognize that anger is sin, then we have to admit that it isn't ok to become angry with God. There isn't any circumstance that I know of where God condones sin. But we also need to understand what we are doing when we say we are angry with God. When we are angry with God because something didn't work out the way we wanted or expected, we are saying that God doesn't know what is best for us, other people or the rest of the world. We are insulting His omniscience. When we blame Him for the bad things that happen in our lives, we are accusing Him of sinful behavior. We are insulting His holiness. When we get angry because something doesn't happen when we thought it should, we are saying that He can't do what was needed. We are insulting His sovereignty. When it gets right down to examining why we are angry with God, we are calling into question one or more of His attributes. Do you think that pleases God and that He would say it is ok? I want to inject here that I understand that the death of loved ones and other traumas of life hurt very much. This hurt is very real and leads many to anger. I am not trying to say that a person needs to learn how to ignore or control the hurt, but that the hurt doesn't need to lead to anger. We all feel emotions when things happen to us. This is part and parcel of being human. However, these emotions can lead to sinful actions or thoughts. In the definition of anger, the words violent, vindictive and selfish stand out to explain why anger is sinful. When we are told to control anger, we are being warned to not let our strong emotions control our actions. As we grow in our walk with Jesus and begin to view things from His perspective, our emotions begin to change when we are injured or wronged. The book of Job is a study of whether or not it is ok to get angry with God. Satan was betting that if enough things could be done to Job he would renounce God. Job was severely tested as he lost his possessions, family and health. The story says that Job didn't sin as a result of the disasters that came upon him. Then his three friends came to comfort him. After their bad advice, Job was drawn into complaining to God. After God revealed Himself and spoke to him, Job repented. "Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes." (Job 42:6) Job's example makes it clear that if we do become angry with God, we need to repent. God is gracious to forgive us, but that doesn't make it ok to get angry with Him. Instead of getting angry with God, we need to be working to the point where we get rid of all anger and trust Him in all things. This brings me back to a summary of the things that we learned in our study of prayer, which are some steps to becoming mature.
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom 8:38-39) My desire for all of us is that we grow to the point where we are so convinced of God's love for us that absolutely nothing that happens to us will cause us to become angry with Him or anyone else. I want us to be able to view everything from His perspective and see every trial as a means of becoming more like Jesus. I want us to be able to trust Him in any and every situation. May you be blessed in every way as you strive to become more like Jesus this week. In Jesus, Ray Ruppert If you would like to know how to surrender your life to Jesus, click on Eternal Net on the left.
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