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November 11, 2015

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Christian living, Life Questions

Does God reward those who give to churches and other ministries?

If you have ever tuned in to television preachers you have probably heard a request for money. Most of the time the requests for donations are joined with promises of great blessing to those who give. The promises may be that God will give you ten or a hundred times your gift. The promises may be that if you plant your seed of faith with a minimum donation to the ministry, God will reward you with prosperity and freedom from financial woes. Sometimes the promises are not so dramatic, but the great majority of televised ministries that ask for financial aid promise that God will give back to you many times more than you give. Is this Biblical? Does God reward those who give to churches and religious ministries?

When it comes to understanding the promises of God to Christian’s believers must start with the New Testament. The majority of the verses used to bolster the preacher’s claims come from the Old Testament. The promises made by God to Israel are unique, particularly the promises of physical blessing. Applying them to Christian’s today is a serious error in understanding the Bible. The nation of Israel was a unique people group on the earth, set apart by God to show His power and glory to the entire world. Because of their unique position, God promised Israel that if they would obey Him, He would give them rich blessings. God promised Israel that if they disobeyed His commands He would take away their blessings and bring them under intense suffering. The promises God made to the church are very different.

The New Testament church is a special group of people set apart by God to proclaim His salvation to the entire world. Because of the unique nature of the church, the New Testament promises those who follow Him will suffer persecution, troubles and afflictions. “In the world ye shall have tribulation.” (John 16:13) “All that will live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12) The promise to the believer is that the world will respond to the faithful Christian with hatred, mockery and persecution. The New Testament contains no example of a believer being made rich, or even financially stable, because of his giving to the ministry.

The only passage in the New Testament that speaks directly to giving and the blessings of God is 2 Corinthians 9. Verse 6 is one of the verses used by some preachers to promise rich reward to those who give. “He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.” Is Paul promising that God will give rich financial rewards to those give generously? Two verses later Paul explains the blessing God gives to those who give generously. “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things may abound to every good work.” In other words, the blessing of God to those who give is grace to be more generous in good works. He does not promise a return of wealth but spiritual provision enabling the Christian to continue serving. The only promise of physical supply is found in Philippians 4:19. In Philippians 4 Paul tells Christians who gave sacrificially to his ministry that God would supply their needs. God does not promise to give rich financial rewards to Christians. He promises rich grace, many spiritual blessings and provision for daily needs.

Those who promise physical provision mistake the priorities of the Christian and the church. They misunderstand the true natures of the riches of God’s blessing. God is not working in the Christian today to make him physically healthy and prosperous. God is working to make the believer more like Jesus which will result in eternal rewards. Spiritual prosperity is worth far more than all the riches of this world. The Christian should not give to reap treasures on this earth but to lay up rich treasures in heaven. (Matthew 6:19-20)

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November 6, 2015

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God, Life Questions

Does God know the future?

Many Christians believe God knows everything that has happened and is happening. Some have problems believing God knows ahead of time what decisions individuals will make or all the specific events of the future. How extensive is God’s knowledge? Does He know every decision a man will make? Does God know the future? The Bible is not lacking in descriptions of the extent of God’s knowledge. Psalm 147:4 describes the massiveness of God’s knowledge. “He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.” The known universe continues trillions of trillions of stars. The incomprehensible knowledge of God knows precisely how many stars are in the universe and the name of each one. Matthew 10 says that God knows whenever a sparrow dies and “The very hairs of your head are numbered.” God knows the details of life and death for even the least significant creatures and He knows precisely how many hairs are on every one of the 7 billion people on the earth. Though the number is constantly changing, God’s limitless knowledge always knows precisely how many hairs reside on your head. His knowledge is not limited to the physical world. Psalm 139:2 says, “Though understandest my thought afar off.” God knows every detail about all the events that happen in the observable world. He knows every thought in every person’s mind. Every detail of the metaphysical is fully comprehended in God’s unlimited knowledge. His knowledge is all inclusive of every detail throughout the entire universe.

Regarding the future, the accuracy of Biblical prophecy shows that God knows at least some future events. Isaiah 46:9-10 indicates that God has full knowledge of every future event. “I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done.” He has described all events in history from the very beginning to the very end. The things not yet done are known of God and have been known by Him from the very beginning. God’s knowledge is complete, including all that is, all that has been and all that will be.

A great pastor and author of the last century, AW Tozer, said about the knowledge of God, “God knows instantly and effortlessly all matter and all matters, all mind and every mind, all spirit and all spirits, all being and every being, all creaturehood and all creatures, every plurality and all pluralities, all law and every law, all relations, all causes, all thoughts, all mysteries, all enigmas, all feeling, all desires, every unuttered secret, all thrones and dominions, all personalities, all things visible and invisible in heaven and in earth, motion, space, time, life, death, good, evil, heaven, and hell. Because God knows all things perfectly, He knows no thing better than any other thing, but all things equally well. He never discovers anything, He is never surprised, never amazed. He never wonders about anything nor (except when drawing men out for their own good) does He seek information or ask questions.”

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November 4, 2015

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Will the kingdom of God be an earthly kingdom?

The kingdom of God is a very large topic that would require a substantial multi-week study to even begin to properly address. In brief, the kingdom of God is based on the promise of God given to the descendants of Israel. The promises include a king that rules over Israel forever. The kingdom will begin a new golden age for Israel and usher in worldwide peace, justice and righteousness. The promise of God to David in 2 Samuel 7:16 is one of the kingdom promises, “And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for every before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.” The prophecies of Isaiah 11 are also kingdom prophecies, “With righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth.” “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the younglionand the atling together; and a littlechild shall lead them.” “And in that daythe Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people.” “He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather togethe the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”

The many kingdom promises in the Old Testament are of such a nature that an earthly, future kingdom is necessary for them to have a literal fulfillment. The Kingdom promised in the Old Testament requires a physical fulfillment. The promises of the kingdom are still waiting for fulfillment and will be fully completed when Jesus rules the world from Jerusalem.

One aspect that creates confusion is the relationship of New Testament Christians to the kingdom. Christians today are part of the kingdom. They are citizens of the kingdom that is coming. The citizenship of Christians in the kingdom does not mean the church is the kingdom, or that the kingdom promises will be spiritually accomplished in the church. The church will part of the kingdom when Jesus establishes it on the earth. The kingdom will not exist until Israel has been restored to true worship of God and all the promises made to Abraham and David are fulfilled. The kingdom will be set up exactly as has been promised through the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Zechariah. We look forward to the return of Jesus and the inauguration of His earthly kingdom of righteousness and peace.

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October 30, 2015

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The Bible

Do we have any of the original Biblical writings?

Most of the books of the Bible were written on parchments (processed animal skins). These parchments were rolled into cylinders for storage and transports. The apostles and prophets wrote on these scrolls and distributed the scroll to the intended readers. The human authors of the Bible knew they were writing the Word of God and most of those who received the writings knew they were Scriptures. As a result, the original writings were carefully copied, spread to others and some of the copies carefully preserved. The youngest book of the Bible is over 1,900 years old. Through the passage of time, the original writings have been lost to use, wear and in some cases intentional destruction. We have none of the parchments written by the hands of any of the apostles and prophets.

The absence of the originals should not cause any concern for Christians. The absence of the originals provides no grounds to question the authenticity of the Bible. The fact is, at least in the New Testament, most churches never handled the original. For example, the letters written by Paul would be carried by a special messenger to a specific church. The letter would be read to the entire church. Sometimes a copy would be made and kept in the receiving church. The original would then be sent on to another church. Sometimes the original would be kept in one church and copies made to be sent off to other churches in the region. As time passed the originals were lost or simply fell apart from time and use. The originals and first copies were carefully copied, passed on to still more churches and handed down from one generation to the next. The absence of originals is no problem for the church because of the existence of thousands of carefully made copies.

We have great confidence that the copies available to us today are accurate reflections of the originals. The men who copied the books of the Bible were not careless. The majority of the copyists believed the Bible to be God’s Word and were diligent to accurately copy the words of God. One of the greatest evidences of the care and accuracy of the copyists was found with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Before the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered the oldest known copies of the Old Testament were dated at around 1,000 years after Christ. The Dead Sea Scrolls are from the century before Jesus. Over 1,000 years of copying separate the two groups, yet the copies were 95% identical (which in a book of well over half a million words is astounding). The vast majority of the 5% differences were obvious spelling errors and similar readily apparent scribal mistakes. Though we have none of the originals, we have incredibly accurate copies of the Bible carefully passed down to us from previous generations of believers.

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October 28, 2015

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Christian living, Salvation

What role does obedience play in salvation?

The gospel message is God’s promise of full forgiveness of sin because of Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection to life. Central to the gospel is the promise that salvation is received through faith alone apart from any individual effort to purchase, earn or deserve God’s salvation. Salvation is only by the grace of God and is never given as reward or repayment for good works. The classic way of stating this is that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone. This is the most basic Christian teaching. One is not saved who believes salvation can be gained, whether partially or completely, through any meritorious deed.

Obedience will never bring salvation to a person. Obedience will never secure salvation. Obedience will never sustain salvation. Obedience will never strengthen salvation. All obedience necessary to save a person has been completely accomplished by Jesus. Some protest that such a full and free salvation would encourage men to receive salvation and then live a sinful life with no regard for obedience. Paul answers this exact objection in Romans 6, “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid!” The freeness of salvation is never an excuse to live wickedly. Since the obedience of the individual plays no role in gaining or securing salvation, what is the relationship of obedience to salvation?

Obedience shows the reality of one’s salvation. Obedience is the certain result of salvation. Many denominations and religions teach unbiblical ideas on this point, so clarity is crucial. Obedience is the inevitable fruit of salvation, just like an apple on a tree. The apple itself brings nothing to strength or stability of the tree. Fruit reveals the health of the tree. The gospel seed that is received in a believing heart will bear fruit. One fruit of salvation is diligence to obey the commands of God. The absence of obedience does not remove salvation from the soul. The absence of obedience does not prevent one from being saved. The absence of obedience reveals the person was never saved. 1 John 2:4 says, “He that says, I know Him and keeps not His commandments is a liar.”

Obedience is the inevitable fruit of salvation but this does not mean the saved person will never sin, nor even that the person will never commit serious sin. Peter is a powerful example of this. Many remember Peter’s denial of Jesus. Though He most vigorously and blasphemously denied Jesus, Peter remained a disciple. The book of Galatians describes an event many years later. After the gospel began to spread into the regions around Jerusalem Peter fell into an act of collusion with apostates who denied the gospel. The seriousness of his sin brought a stern and public rebuke from the apostle Paul. Peter’s sin was one that undermined the gospel, but he never ceased to be a Christian, nor even to be an apostle. Failures in obedience do remove salvation, nor do incidents of disobedience disprove salvation. Rather, a pattern of striving to obey God in all things is a mark of genuine salvation. A life of willful disobedience is evidence that a professing Christian has not actually been saved. Obedience is the evidence of genuine salvation, the by-product of the transformed heart.

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October 23, 2015

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God, The Bible

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What does Jehovah mean?

The name Jehovah is probably familiar to many who attend church on a regular basis. Even those who do not attend church may be aware of it because of a visit from a couple Jehovah’s Witnesses. Though the word may be familiar, it is not necessarily understood. What exactly is Jehovah? The simple answer is that Jehovah is the proper name of the God of the Bible. Ancient religions had gods such as Zeus, Odin or Ra. Modern religions have gods like Allah or Vishnu. The title “god” is a generic title that is applied to all deities in all religions. To distinguish one deity from another, many of them had specific names. The God of the Bible tells us His name to distinguish Himself from all other deities. The name of God has come down to us today as Jehovah.

The name Jehovah is found early in the Bible, it’s first use being in Genesis 2. Jehovah is found throughout the book of Genesis, but in Exodus 3 God explains the significance of His name. For generations the nation of Israel was enslaved in the land of Egypt. God spoke to Moses and told him to go to Pharaoh and request permission for the Israelites to leave the country. In response, Moses asked God what he should tell the Israelites when they asked who sent him. The Israelites were in a land that worshiped hundreds of gods. When Moses informed them God had sent him to deliver them, they would naturally want to know which particular god was doing the sending. “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” (Exodus 3:14) God says His name is “I AM”. The name “I AM” is the word that has been translated into English as Jehovah. Jehovah means “I AM”.

The simple definition is not a full explanation of the name Jehovah. In telling Moses who He is, God is telling Moses something important about His nature. Jehovah, or I AM, is a declaration that God is eternal. He is not “I was” or “I will be”. He is I AM. He is changeless. What He is now He always has been and always will be. He is self existent. He simply is. He does not owe His existence to another god before Him. He is not dependent on some outside agency. He exists because He is God who has always existed. The name Jehovah declares the eternal, changeless, self-existent nature of God.

Of course, when God spoke to Moses He did so in Hebrew. The name He gave to Moses would have been written in Hebrew, which is quite different from English. A close English approximation of the Hebrew word is YHWH. The word Jehovah is a rough English transliteration and pronunciation of the Hebrew name. Though some people make a big deal out of saying Yahweh instead of Jehovah, the English translation is a legitimate and proper use of God’s name. Most English translations of the Bible translate YHWH as LORD, and print the name a little differently to inform the reader that the original is speaking of Jehovah. Any time a Bible translation has the word Lord in all capital letters, it is indicating the name Jehovah. Jehovah is the proper name for the God of the Bible, a name that distinguishes Him from all the false gods and that declares to man His infinite nature.

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October 21, 2015

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Current Events, Life Questions

Are there intelligent alien races in the universe?

Most people who ask about alien life are not talking about microbes, bugs, flowers or animals. Most people are talking about intelligent alien life. What if a space ship landed on earth and a Cygnutian stepped out wanting to meet with earth’s leaders? How does the Bible teach us to think about such a possibility? While I am willing to grant the unlikely possibility of non-sentient life in outer space, intelligent life is an entirely different matter. A Biblical worldview would seem to strongly suggest that humanity is the only intelligent race in the universe (not including angelic creatures, which are not material beings and not properly of this universe).

The most compelling reason intelligent life is impossible has to do with morality, sin and redemption. Intelligent creatures must also be moral creatures. The capacity to think involves the capacity to understand right from wrong. In my estimation this is part of what it means that man was created in the image of God- God gave man the ability to reason and the ability to chose between right and wrong. As mentioned in a previous article, all creation has been cursed by man’s sin. Not only are inanimate objects and non-sentient life froms affected by the church, all moral creatures in the universe must also be under the curse of sin. They would suffer death and sorrow because of man ‘s sin. Cursed, moral beings of a race other than humanity have no possibility of redemption. For example, Satan and the angels that rebelled with him cannot be redeemed because Christ did not die in their place. When Jesus died on the cross He took on Himself the nature of humanity and took mankind’s place in punishment. Jesus’ is the Savior of men because Jesus took upon Himself humanity and bore the penalty of sin in His own human flesh.

Why couldn’t Jesus take upon Himself the essence of alien beings and suffer their punishment? This possibility is removed by the singular nature of Jesus’ death. Hebrews declares most emphatically that Jesus died only once for the redemption of all men and all creation. “For Christ was once offered to bear the sins of man.” His single sacrifice is sufficient for the salvation of all mankind. Because of His sacrifice, He will redeem a people to Himself and will restore creation to it’s original perfected order. The Bible makes much of the fact that Jesus died once for all sin. His death was only for the redemption of humanity. If there were any alien races they are not redeemed by the death of Jesus.

If there were moral, sentient beings elsewhere in the universe they would suffer under the curse of sin with no hope of redemption. Such a fate is in direct opposition to the mercy and grace of God so plainly revealed in the Bible. This has nothing to do with an arrogant anthropocentrism that imagines man to be the center of the universe. Rather, it has everything to do with the Biblical statements of God’s special creation of mankind, the effect of man’s sin on the entire universe and the results of Jesus’ redemption.

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October 16, 2015

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Creation, Current Events, Origins

What would happen to Christianity if alien life is discovered?

Assume for a moment that life is discovered somewhere else in the universe. How does extraterrestrial life fit into a Biblical framework? If alien life is found, would it completely undermine the reliability of the Bible? A proper answer to that question would depend in part on the kind of life discovered. Before beginning to answer the question it is important to remember this is all hypothetical. No life of any kind, no matter how tiny, has ever been found anywhere else in our solar system. Some claims of evidences of life or the existence of materials necessary for life have been made, but those claims are notoriously difficult to test and verify. At this point no evidence exists that could reasonably lead one ot conclude there is life out there.

Popular science fiction focuses on alien life that intelligent or semi-intelligent. Of course, a movie about alien bacteria floating around in alien pond scum growing, dividing and floating around some more is about as entertaining as an elementary school biology film about the habits of earth bacteria. Science fiction entertainment requires alien life that is intelligent enough to produce conflict and drama. Intelligent life is not the only kind of life on earth. Consequently, to answer questions about alien life and the Bible one must consider the many different kinds of life.

From a Biblical perspective, alien life is not necessary. The purpose of God in creation is the revelation of His own glory. Life on other planets or in distant galaxies is not strictly necessary for the accomplishment of God’s eternal purpose. Of course, one could argue that life in the bottom of caves, under the Arctic ice and in the darkest depths of the ocean is not strictly necessary for the revelation of God’s glory. Regardless, from a Biblical perspective alien life is not neccessary to understand what God has revealed or for the accomplishment of what God has promised.

If life were to be discovered in the universe, it seems to me that microbial life is the most probable. The tiny bacteria that breakdown and recycle the elements of this earth might be found somewhere else fulfilling the same basic role they fulfill on the earth. Such a discovery would offer no proof of evolution, would not contradict any teachings of the Bible nor would it undermine any Biblical principles. The discovery of microbial life outside of earth would have no real impact on the Bible, creation or a Biblical worldview.

The discovery of a slightly higher order of life, like plants and animals, does not seem to be that likely, but granting the possibility for the sake of discussion what impact would such a discovery have on the Bible and Christians? Imagine in some future generation scientists develop a space ship capable of making the journey between the stars. During one an exploratory trip astronauts find a jungle planet, teeming with animal life. What impact would such a discovery have on Bible believers? As with microbial life, the presence of lower orders of alien life does nothing to undermine or destroy the teachings of the Bible. Life on another planet offers no more conclusive proof for evolution than does life on this planet. All such a discovery would mean is that God created other planets teeming with life that show off His power, majesty and eternal Deity.

Unfortunately, space has run out for this answer, so we’ll have to take up the matter one more time in the next article and consider a Biblical theology of intelligent alien life.

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October 14, 2015

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Current Events, The Bible

What about Aliens?

It seems that every few months there is another announcement of evidence of water on extra terrestrial bodies. The most recent one being the discovery of what appears to be an ancient lake bed on Mars. This announcement has more or less coincided with the release of a major movie about an astronaut stranded on Mars. The prospect of life somewhere besides earth is tantalizing. Astronomers spend huge amounts of time looking for evidence of life on other planets. Since water is key to life on this planet the search for life similar to that found on earth starts with the search for water. Many hope we will find life out there somewhere, many are convinced life exists elsewhere in the universe and a few believe extra terrestrial life has found us.

With the widespread allure of alien life, what is a Biblical framework from which to think about life originating somewhere other than earth? The Bible’s creation account must still guide the Christian’s life and thinking. Many who accept evolutionary explanations of life think there must be life elsewhere. The sheer magnitude of the universe and vast number of stars has convinced some that extra terrestrial life is a certainty. The Biblical perspective is silent about any physical life outside of earth. The Bible is not silent about the origin of all life. The creation of all life happened because of the decree of God. Any life in the universe exists because it was created by God during the six days of creation. All Biblical references to the creation of life only describe the creation of life on earth. Admittedly, this is not conclusive that God did not create any kind of life anywhere else, but the only creation of life that God reveals to man is that of life on earth.

The Bible also declares the entire universe has been cursed by man’s sin. Romans 8 says “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” This means that any life found in the universe is going to be suffering under the curse of sin. Utopia and the salvation of civilization will never be found off planet. This also means that man has a very unique position in the whole of creation. Genesis 1 and 2 announce this with the declaration that man was created in the image of God and given dominion over the earth. Romans 8 shows just how far that uniqueness extends. Because of man’s sin, all 32 billion light years of the universe are cursed. If there is life elsewhere, it labors under the curse of sin and longs for the time when Christ will make all things new. If there is life elsewhere, man still has a unique position among all creation. In the next article we’ll consider some questions of what effect the discovery of alien life would have have on this Biblical world view.