Evaluating the Responses...Round 3

Remember, this series of posts is based on the following statement from the survey:

The Bible is the highest authority for what I believe.

Let's get started...

"Who do you say that I am?"

That is the question our Lord asked Peter.

That is the same question the Lord asks those who profess to believe in Him today...

"Who do you say that I am?"

Without going into a massive amount of detail, I'd like to hit the high points of two major groups of professing "Christians".

The first group believes Jesus was the first "spirit child" born to God the Heavenly Father and one of his multiple wives.  They do not recognize Jesus as the one true God but hold that He BECAME God just as they will all eventually become gods.  They believe that Lucifer was the second "son" born to God.  Therefore, Jesus and Lucifer are "spirit brothers".  This group is known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints...AKA the Mormons.

The second group believes Jesus is the archangel Michael.  Thus, Jesus is a created being for them as well.  Logically, this belief leads to the denial of Jesus' deity and, by extension, a denial of the doctrine of the Trinity.  This group also rejects the penal substitutionary death of Jesus on the cross, paying the penalty for sin. Instead, it opts for a "ransom" theory...that Jesus' death was a "ransom" payment for Adam's sin.  This group is known as the Jehovah's Witnesses.

Both of these groups have been classified as cults because their beliefs fall well outside the boundaries of orthodox, biblical Christianity.  However, there is a growing number of professing Christians, including the creator of The Chosen series, Dallas Jenkins, who balk at the notion that Mormons worship a different Jesus.  They believe that Mormons are our brothers and sisters in Christ, worshipping the same "jesus" we worship.  That could not be farther from the truth.

Why am I starting this post in this fashion?  The reason is simply this:

There are an alarming number of professed evangelicals that hold beliefs which are absolutely identical to heretical cults.  This is astounding and disturbing at the same time.

In this edition, we are going to consider two statements in one post.  The reason we are going to examine the responses to two statements in one post is because the two statements are basically joined at the hip.  Here are the two statements:

Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God.

Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God.

So, who do evangelicals say Jesus is?

A mind numbing, dumbfounding 73% of professing evangelicals agree with the first statement while nearly half, 48%, agree with the second.

As Christians, we establish our doctrine on what the Bible teaches.  What DOES the Bible teach on these matters?  

Let's open the Bible and see what it has to say.  John 1:1-3:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

These three verses tackle those two statements head-on.

I'm going to rely on www.blueletterbible.org a good bit from here on out.  It's such a good resource.

"In the beginning was the Word".  The Greek word translated as beginning means, strangely enough, "beginning" or "origin".  

John uses "the Word" to refer to Jesus.  John's use of "the Word" to describe Jesus is full of meaning to both his Greek and Jewish readers of the day.  It is an interesting study that would take up much more space than is available in this post.   

The verb "was" is a small word but very important.  The Greek word translated as "was" means "to be, to exist, to happen, to be present".  It is in the imperfect tense.  This verb tense represents continual or repeated action.  It is in the active voice.  This means that the subject...in this case "the Word"...is the doer or performer of the action.  Lastly, it is in the indicative mood.  That is a simple statement of fact.

Tying all of that together, those six words mean this:

In the origin, or beginning, the Word was continually being, continually existing, continually happening, continually present.

These words "In the beginning" from John 1 are linked together with Genesis 1..."In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth".  John 1 is referring back to Genesis 1.  When everything was created "In the beginning" in Genesis 1:1, the Word was already continually existing "In the beginning".  This does not refer to someone or something that was created.  The Word (Jesus) was not created because the Word (Jesus) was before anything was created.  We will see this in a moment.

As we continue on in verse 1, we read "the Word was with God".  The Word was in a continual state of existing or being with God "In the beginning".  Again, this is all before creation.

Continuing to the end of verse 1, we read "and the Word was God".  This clearly states the deity of the Word.  The Word (Jesus) was continually existing, continually present as God.  The Greek sentence structure is even more clear.  The original Greek reads, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and GOD WAS THE WORD."  That is unambiguous.

In verse 1, both statements are refuted.  Jesus was not created because He continually existed.  Jesus WAS God because John, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, clearly says exactly that.  Let's jump to verse 3.

In verse 3 we read:

All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

The phrase "came into being" translates a single Greek word that means "to become" or "to come into existence".  The "Him" in this verse is referring back to the Word (Jesus).  Verse 3 is saying that all things became, came into existence through Him and apart from Him nothing became or came into existence.

Since John 1 and Genesis 1 are linked, let's go back to Genesis 1..."In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."  Who created?  God created.  Jumping back to John 1:3, all things came into existence (were created) through Him (Jesus) and apart from Him nothing that was created has been created.  John 1:3 refutes both statements as well.  This verse clearly presents Jesus as the creator of all things.  Genesis 1 says God created the heavens and the earth.  By simple logic, we can conclude that Jesus was God.  In addition, Jesus being the Creator of all things implies that He CANNOT be a created being.  Jesus can either do the creating or be a creation.  He cannot simultaneously be a created being and the Creator of all things.  That is not possible.

The idea that Jesus was God's greatest creation and that He was not God dies a well-deserved death with some basic knowledge of the Bible and what it says.  The pages of Scripture could not be any more explicit on these subjects.  Sadly, it is completely misunderstood or, even worse, unused in the vast majority of households today.

Although I believe John 1 was more than effective in dismantling these two statements, here is a list of scriptures that declare the deity of Jesus and, by default, show that He was NOT a created being.  This is not a complete list as the list would take up too much space but it's a start:

Matthew 14:33

Matthew 28:9

John 1:14

John 3:16

John 10:33

John 14:9

Colossians 1:16-17

Colossians 2:9

Philippians 2:6

Titus 2:13

Hebrews 1:2-3

Hebrews 1:8

1 John 4:9

1 John 5:20

Evaluating the Responses...Round 2

As we move forward in this series, evaluating the beliefs of professed evangelicals, let us consider the response to the 2nd statement:

God learns and adapts to different circumstances.

48% of self described evangelicals agree with this statement but is it biblical?  Remember, the definition of evangelical, for the purpose of this survey, was built on the foundational statement that respondents strongly agreed with:

The Bible is the highest authority for what I believe.

We are going to hammer on this point in every post, regarding this survey, because it is of the utmost importance.  So, with that being said, let's dive into this 2nd statement and bring the Scriptures to bear.

Let me begin by saying there is a theological ideology behind the idea that God learns and adapts...whether the people who hold that belief are aware of it or not.  That ideology is called The Openness of God or, by another name, Open Theism.  Those who hold to this theological framework will say that while God is omniscient, He does not have complete knowledge of the future because the future is still undecided and OPEN.  The choices that human beings will make because of their free will leaves the future undetermined.  Therefore, those who hold to this theology believe God knows ALL THAT CAN BE KNOWN but DOES NOT KNOW EVERYTHING THAT THERE IS TO KNOW.  In other words, because of human free will, the choices humans will make cannot be known until they make them.  Therefore, God is on the defensive, having to adapt His plans in response to these choices.  Is this an idea that can be supported by the Scriptures?

There are a myriad of verses we can point to, but we will start with Isaiah 46:9-10.  These verses, in my opinion, are some of the strongest words the Holy Spirit used in the entirety of the Scriptures. They declare the omniscient, all-powerful, all-knowing triune God of the universe.  Isaiah 46:9-10:

Remember the former things long past,

For I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is no one like Me,

Declaring the end from the beginning,

And from ancient times things

    which have not been done,

Saying, 'My counsel will be established,

And I will accomplish all

    My good pleasure'

In verse 10, the Hebrew word that is translated as DECLARING means to tell or to make known.  Here in this passage, God is letting Israel know that He is TELLING them and MAKING KNOWN to them the end from the beginning.

He is not wishing He knew.

He is not hoping He knows.

He is not pacing the floor, wringing His hands, worrying about having to adapt and overcome to unforeseen circumstances.

He is DECLARING, TELLING, MAKING KNOWN the end from the beginning because He is the sovereign, all knowing creator of the universe.

There are several other Scriptures upon which we can meditate that talk about these attributes of God.  We will look at one more in this post.  I will provide a list of Scriptures at the end that you can look at if you so desire.

Job 37 is a chapter recording Job's friend Elihu's words concerning the things that were happening to Job.  In verse 16 he says this:

Do you know about the layers 

    of the thick clouds,

the wonders of one perfect

    in knowledge,

The phrase "of one perfect" is a translation of a single Hebrew word that means "complete, whole, entire".  That Hebrew word comes from a primitive Hebrew root word that means "to be complete, be finished, be at an end".  

The phrase "in knowledge" is translated from a Hebrew word that means, oddly enough, "knowledge".  It comes from a Hebrew root word meaning "to know".

Putting all of that together, the phrasing "one perfect in knowledge" means, if I may paraphrase, to know or have knowledge that is finished or at an end and is complete, whole and entire.

Taking these two examples from Scripture into account, does this sound like a God that learns and adapts to different situations?  Does this describe a God that doesn't know the future?

No.  This describes a God who is in total and utter control, having knowledge that is complete, entire and whole.

The idea that God learns and adapts on the fly to circumstances beyond His ability to know is not a concept that is supported by Scripture.  Therefore, it is an idea that should be shunned by those who would call themselves Christian.

As promised, here is a list of Scriptures that speak to these attributes of God.  This list is in no way exhaustive...but it is a start:

Numbers 23:19

Psalm 102:26-27

Malachi 3:6

Ephesians 1:11

Job 42:1-2

Proverbs 19:21

Isaiah 14:26-27

1 John 3:20

Psalm 33:11

   

Evaluating the Responses...Round 1

As we begin to press on with this series, we will be evaluating the responses of evangelicals to straight-forward statements from the survey that I referenced in my previous post.  That survey encompassed a whole host of topics that included the evangelicals' view of God, themselves and culture.  What I want to keep in the back of our minds through this entire series is this one statement, the bedrock upon which the foundation for the definition of evangelical was built by the survey team:

The Bible is the highest authority for what I believe.

Let's get started.

The first statement we will examine is this..."God accepts the worship of all religions including Christianity, Judaism and Islam."  56% of those who call themselves evangelical agree with this statement.  Is it true?  Let's go to the Scripture to find out because that is where the answer lies.

When God the Father gave the 10 Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai, Exodus chapter 20 verse 3 is the first commandment He gave and it says, "You shall have no other gods before Me."  In verse 4, God gives the next commandment which is "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth."  What is an idol?  In the immediate context of verse 4, an idol is something that a person makes, builds or crafts in order to worship it.  Does a golden cow ring a bell here?  But, in the broader context including verse 3, an idol is also a false god that really isn't a god at all.

The biblical writers, in both the Old and New Testaments, under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, affirm that there is but one true God.

Genesis 1:1 speaks of one God who "created the heavens and the earth".  

Deuteronomy 4:39 says, "Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the LORD, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other".  

In Isaiah 45, the prophet Isaiah was given a prophecy about the Persian king Cyrus who would come hundreds of years later during the time of Daniel.  In verses 5 and 6 of Isaiah 45, we read this:

I am the LORD, and there is no other;

Besides Me, there is no God.

I will gird you, though you have not known Me;

That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun

That there is no one besides Me,

I am the LORD, and there is no other

Romans chapter 1, starting in verse 18, is a scathing rebuke from the apostle Paul.  It is directed toward those who know that there is one true God but suppress that knowledge in unrighteousness, making gods that are to their own desire.

Paul tells Timothy in his first letter that there "is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5).

There is no getting around the fact that there is but one true God presented in the Scripture.  All others are demonic fabrications and idols.  So, with this being said, would this one true God accept worship from all religions? 

John 4:23 and 24 say this:

But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.  God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

Those who worship God must worship in truth.  What truth is spoken of here?  We find it in John 14:6. That verse says this:

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

We find some more truth in 1 Timothy 2:5:

For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

We find a little more truth in Hebrews 7:25:

Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Let's try to piece this together somewhat.

We learn from John 4 that those who worship God must worship in truth.  We learn the truth from John 14 and that truth is not a single person can come to God the Father unless they come to Him through Jesus.  We learn in 1 Timothy that there is only one mediator between God the Father and men.  That mediator is Jesus Christ.  That is simply another way to state the truth of John 14 that no one comes to the Father but through Jesus.  Hebrews 7 corroborates this truth by stating that He, being Jesus, is able to save forever those who draw near to God (or worship God) through Him (Jesus).

Having examined just a scant handful of Scripture, we have determined that God only accepts the worship that is offered to Him in truth.  That truth is that no one comes to the Father but through Jesus.  Therefore, God only accepts worship that is offered through the truths of Christianity.  Christianity is the only religion that looks to Jesus as the only hope of reconciliation to God. Christianity is the only religion that acknowledges that Jesus is the sinless Son of God who was offered as the sacrifice for sin.  All other religions see Jesus as a good teacher or a prophet of some kind and that is where the line is drawn.  

Worship is offered to God the Father in the manner He has prescribed, which is through Jesus, OR the worship being offered is worship being offered to a god that is not the God of the Bible.  It is a demonic entity and idol, pretending to be God and leading people down the wide path that leads to destruction.  

God's Word is not silent on this subject.  It is crystal clear and unambiguous.  May those who proclaim to be evangelical actually dig into it and know what it says.  May those who do not proclaim to be evangelical be led to a church that teaches this Word that they may find the Jesus contained within its pages. 

State of the Church...2024

Every two years Ligonier Ministries, in conjunction with LifeWay Research, conducts a survey of Americans on what they "believe about God, salvation, ethics, and the Bible".  The results of this survey are compiled into a report entitled "The State of Theology".  These results can be seen by going to www.thestateoftheology.com.  They offer an interesting, dare I say disturbing, peek into the visible "church" in America.  

The results of this survey are from 2022 as the results from the 2024 survey have yet to be published.

The survey is not limited to only people who identify themselves as "religious" or "spiritual" or "Christian" or "evangelical".  However, for the purpose of this little series we are embarking upon, we are going to focus on the responses of those participants who identified themselves as "evangelical".  "Evangelicals" were defined by LifeWay Research as people who strongly agreed with these 4 statements in the survey:

1---The Bible is the highest authority for what I believe.

2---It is very important for me personally to encourage non-Christians to trust Jesus Christ as their Savior.

3---Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is the only sacrifice that could remove the penalty of my sin.

4---Only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Savior receive God’s free gift of eternal salvation.

This post, and subsequent follow-up posts, will take a look at responses that were given to survey statements.  This post is merely going to list statements in the survey and the corresponding percentage of "evangelicals" that either agreed or disagreed with said statement.  In the follow-up posts, we will dissect each response and do some biblical evaluation.

The total number of respondents to this survey was 3011.  The number of respondents that identified as "evangelical", according to the parameters set above, was 711.  That is just a shade less than 25% who considered themselves to be Christians.  

Again, keep in mind that the responses to the statements we are focusing upon were given by people that, first and foremost, stated the Bible was the highest authority for what they believe.  Also, keep in mind that we are only listing statements and responses in this post.  Merely seeing these statements and percentages will give you something to chew on for a little while.  We will get into specifics in later follow-up posts.  Let's dive in.

-----God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

56% of evangelicals either strongly or somewhat agree with this statement...46% strongly, 10% somewhat.

-----God learns and adapts to different circumstances.

48% of evangelicals either strongly or somewhat agree with this statement...43% strongly, 5% somewhat.

-----Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God.

73% of evangelicals either strongly or somewhat agree with this statement...70% strongly, 3% somewhat.

-----Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God.

43% of evangelicals either strongly or somewhat agree with this statement...38% strongly, 5% somewhat.

-----The Holy Spirit is a force but is not a personal being.

60% of evangelicals either strongly or somewhat agree with this statement...51% strongly, 9% somewhat.

-----The Holy Spirit can tell me to do something which is forbidden in the Bible.

27% of evangelicals either strongly or somewhat agree with this statement...25% strongly, 2% somewhat.

-----Everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature.

57% of evangelicals either strongly or somewhat agree with this statement...36% strongly, 21% somewhat.

-----Even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation.

55% of evangelicals either strongly or somewhat agree with this statement...48% strongly, 7% somewhat.

-----Everyone is born innocent in the eyes of God.

65% of evangelicals either strongly or somewhat agree with this statement...61% strongly, 4% somewhat.

-----Gender identity is a matter of choice.

37% of evangelicals either strongly or somewhat agree with this statement...32% strongly, 5% somewhat

This is just a sampling of 10 statements found in this survey.  There are others that I could have included but these 10 are the ones that stood out to me as being the most disturbing.  I could probably sum up the problem we see here in just one post because the nonsense and, quite honestly heresy, evident here boils down to a common denominator.  But there are shades of nuance in the responses that we can unpack a little to provide a better understanding.

I pray you will stick around as we go forward with this series and, hopefully, together, we will be edified and educated in the process.

Some Thoughts on Redemption

Last week Pastor Jim preached on the 4 major themes of Scripture.  One of those themes is redemption and as he was preaching, he stated that redemption was NOT man centered.  There is a ton of truth wrapped up in that statement.  But if this statement is true and salvation is not centered around man, it stands to reason that the emphasis lies elsewhere.  Where is that?

There are several places in the Scripture we can go to answer this question.  In my opinion, Ephesians 1 is one of the best, if not the best, portion of Scripture to look at when speaking about the focal point of our redemption.  Here are the relevant verses...Ephesians 1: 3-14:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.  In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.  In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.  In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.  In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.  In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation - having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to  the praise of His glory. 

(Ephesians 1: 3-14  NASB...Emphasis added is mine)

In these few verses notice everything God did, to whom He did it and the reason for doing what He did.  You will also notice everything that the human being DID NOT DO....

Verse 4---He chose us, before the foundation of the world, so that we would be holy and blameless

Verse 5---He predestined us to adoption...according to the kind intention of His will...TO THE PRAISE OF HIS GLORY

Verse 7---In Him we have redemption ACCORDING TO THE RICHES OF HIS GRACE

Verse 9---He made known to us the mystery of His will ACCORDING TO HIS KIND INTENTION WHICH HE PURPOSED

Verses 11 & 12---We have obtained an inheritance having been predestined ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE WHO WORKS ALL THINGS AFTER THE COUNSEL OF HIS WILL...TO THE PRAISE OF HIS GLORY

Verses 13 & 14---Having believed the message of truth, the gospel, you were SEALED IN HIM WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT OF PROMISE...GIVEN AS A PLEDGE...TO THE PRAISE OF HIS GLORY

These few verses show the progression, from beginning to consummation, of our salvation.  God does it all.  God the Father chooses and predestines, God the Son provides the redemption and God the Holy Spirit effectively calls and seals.  All of this is done to the praise of His glory, mentioned 3 different times in these few verses.  God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are the center and focal point.  Mankind is not.

In the Old Testament we see the same thing as well.  In Deuteronomy 7 we read:

The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

(Deuteronomy 7:7-8)

Notice it says He didn't choose the Israelites because they were greater in number.  In other words, there was nothing special about them.  It wasn't because of them in any way.  Rather, it was because the LORD was faithful to keep His oath He swore to their forefathers.  That's why He brought them out of Egypt...the sake of His own glory.  He did not do it because they were so lovable.  He did it because He was so faithful.

The church is filled with people who think they are so incredibly lovable and God simply cannot live without them in heaven at His side.  He just loves them SOOOOOOO much.  To an extent, this is true.  However the love, mercy and grace of God are perfectly balanced along side His justice, righteousness and wrath.  Quite frankly, a human being within the church, or without for that matter, cannot understand how much God loves them until they understand how much they do not deserve it.  Romans 3:10-18 emphatically states this:

THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;

THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS GOD;

ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;  THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE;

THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING, THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS

WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS;

THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, 

DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS

AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN

THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES

(Romans 3:10-18) 

You are not so incredibly lovable that God cannot live without you.  In fact, you are so incredibly wicked and vile that there is no fear of God in you.  In spite of all that, however, God still did everything listed in our opening verses of Ephesians 1: 3-14.  

Make no mistake.  Salvation is centered on God and His glory, not on mankind and his lovableness or anything mankind thinks he may deserve.  Mankind deserves nothing but condemnation from a holy, sinless God.  Romans 3:10-18 is a perfect description of every human being that is dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1).  Does this passage describe you?  Are you dead in trespasses and sins?  It need not be that way.    

God is holy and righteous.

You are not holy and righteous. You were born in sin (Psalm 51:5) because of our first parents, Adam and Eve.  Because of their disobedience in Genesis 3, every human being after them is born with an inherently sinful nature that is predisposed to disobedience and sin and deserves God's just wrath and judgment.

There is absolutely nothing that you can do to save yourself from this sinful condition except perfect obedience to God's law.  This is totally impossible.  Isaiah 64:6 tells us that our best deeds are like a filthy garment.  In the original Hebrew, this "filthy garment" is a menstrual cloth used during a woman's period.  That is the picture God the Holy Spirit chose to paint to describe your works.  Your works are that bad in His sight.

Jesus Chris was born of a virgin, conceived of the Holy Spirit so as to bypass the sinful nature of mankind.

He lived a life on this earth that was sinless, perfectly obeying the law of God, in your place and for your benefit, because you could not.

Because He lived a sinless, perfect life, Jesus Christ was able to offer Himself as the spotless sacrifice needed to satisfy the just wrath of God against sin.

Jesus Christ was nailed to a cross.  He shed His perfect blood on that cross to take away the sin of all who would believe in Him.  He died on that cross and 3 days later, according to the Scriptures, He was raised from the dead and now sits at God the Father's right hand, interceding on behalf of the redeemed.

If you will place your trust in Him for the forgiveness of your sin, He will give to you His perfect righteousness in exchange for your sinfulness.  God the Father will accept Christ's sacrifice on your behalf and will declare you to be righteous for Christ's sake.  When God the Father looks at you, He will not see your sinfulness.  He will see the blood of His Son covering your sin. Because of this, when you die, you will not suffer the just wrath of God in hell against sin for all eternity but will enter in to the blessed rest that God has prepared for those that love Him.

That is the good news of the gospel.  That is what God has done on behalf of His people.  Trust Him with your soul today.  

Thoughts on 1 Peter 2:4-5

A few weeks ago, Pastor Jim preached on 1 Peter 2:4-5.  I have been mulling that over since then and have some thoughts about what he preached.  I do not wish to trump what he said.  I am merely expanding a little on what he preached.

1 Peter 2:4-5 says:

And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Christ is the stone that men rejected.  Psalm 118:22 says this:

The stone which the builders rejected

Has become the chief corner stone.

This is a messianic prophecy about Christ.  The religious leaders rejected Christ.  They heard the claims that He made about Himself and rejected Him out of hand.  They knew the writings of their forefathers...what we would call the Old Testament.  They knew what was written about the messiah and his coming but Christ was a threat to them.  He threatened their power.  He threatened the hold they had over the people.  He threatened their man-made traditions.  They vehemently fought against Him and attempted to neutralize Him by putting Him to death.  But, as we have seen in 1 Peter, Christ was "choice and precious in the sight of God."  Christ was God the Father's chosen means to bring salvation to sinful men.  Christ was shown to be God's chosen vessel for salvation through His resurrection from the dead.  That's why He is a "living stone."  He is not in the tomb but risen from the dead.  He is alive and has a living relationship with His people.

As believers, we are living stones as well.  We have the very life of Christ residing in us.  And, as "living stones", we are "being built up as a spiritual house" through our relationship to Jesus.  This is where I want to focus.

"Spiritual house" is terminology that is used to describe the church.  When we place our faith in Christ for the forgiveness of sin, we become a "living stone" and are added to the "spiritual house" of the church.  The Holy Spirit regenerates the dead sinner, thus bringing to life a once dead and stone cold heart.  The once dead sinner, having been brought to spiritual life through the power of the Holy Spirit, suddenly realizes the severity of his situation before a holy and just God.  He then flees to Christ as his only means of salvation from the penalty of his sin.  Because of the work He did on the cross for the redemption of His people, Christ takes the now alive believer and places him, as a "living stone", into His "spiritual house", His body of believers known as the church.

Notice the wording in the text we are examining.  The text does not say, "You also, as living stones, are building up a spiritual house."  The text says, "You also, as living stones, ARE BEING BUILT UP AS A SPIRITUAL HOUSE."  What does this mean?  It quite simply means this:  We, as believers, do not build the "spiritual house."  We are BUILT INTO the "spiritual house" by the Builder of the house.  Christ builds His house...we do not.

In the gospel of Matthew, chapter 16, Jesus asked His disciples who people said He was and they had a myriad of answers to this question.  Verse 15 and following:

He said to them, "But who do you say I am?"  Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.  I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it."

The Roman Catholic Church uses this text to say that Jesus just made Peter the 1st pope and that he is the fountain head of all succeeding popes.  This post is not about the RCC and I am not here to bash the RCC but I will say that this doctrine falls flat on it's face with a little work.

The greek word for Peter is PETROS, which basically means a little rock or stone.  The greek word for rock, used later in the text, is PETRA.  This word means a rock, cliff or ledge.  It is a big, solid rock.  This text is saying that Jesus did not build His church on Peter, PETROS, the little stone.  Jesus builds His church on the PETRA, the big, solid, foundational rock of Peter's confession of Him as the Christ, the Son of the living God.  John MacArthur says that Jesus is making a play on words here, saying that such a foundational, boulder-like truth came from the mouth of Peter, the small stone.  I agree with this assessment.

That is how Christ builds His church.  He builds it as the Holy Spirit brings dead sinners to spiritual life and they confess Him as the Son of the living God through faith by grace.

I say all of this to say this:  

We do not build the church.  The confession of Jesus as the Son of the living God builds the church.  No amount of programs that is done, as a church, will build the church.  Celebrate Recovery does not build the church.  Small group home "bible studies", which are largely a pooling of biblical ignorance, do not build the church.  A sermon series on the gospel principles found in the movie 50 Shades of Grey does not build the church.  A vibrant "worship band", complete with a whole production and stage show, does not build the church.  A large sampling of volunteer ministries that one can join does not build the church.  This builds pride, for sure, but does not build the church.  All these things put butts in pews and fills the "church building" but they do not build the true church.  I have one more.

I may take some heat over this one but that is OK.  It is simply the truth.  I am going to paint with a very broad brush here because not all groups fall into the category I am going to put forth.  In general, though, what I am going to say is true. 

Large youth groups do not build the church.  In fact, I would argue that they are quite detrimental to the growth of the church.  For the most part, a youth group is led by a youth pastor that is not much older than the kids he is pastoring.  He has no wisdom to give the youth.  He is still a young kid himself.  What he has is a plethora of techniques that he learned in seminary to keep kids entertained with a wishy-washy, law-filled, 7 minute pep talk at the end of the night.  What he has is the social gospel.  What he has is a whole host of progressive, liberal ideas about the Bible and what it says about God.  Those ideas have been given to him by a whole host of progressive, liberal professors who do not like what the Bible says and do not know the God contained within the pages. Any attempt to present the gospel is extremely watered down, influenced by the progressive, liberal theology he has been taught.  It is a gospel devoid of grace and stuffed with "Do better, be better."  It is not the gospel. It is works and it is destroying our kids because they realize they can never do what they have been instructed to do.  Eventually, over time, they realize they aren't "good enough" and never will be.  They realize there is no way they can live up to the standard to which they have been yoked and they throw in the towel.  By throwing in the towel, I mean they ditch Christianity all together.  This is, quite simply, the truth.  I have seen it happen with my own children. 

The preaching of the gospel, which is the job of every believer, is what builds the church.  When dead sinners are converted through the work of the Holy Spirit to bring them to spiritual life, Christ adds them to His "spiritual house"...the church.  Christ builds His church through the regeneration of dead sinners who are cut to the heart because of their sin and flee to Him for refuge.  That takes place through one way and one way only...the preaching of the gospel:

So faith comes through hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.  (Romans 10:17)

Anything other than that is the tickling of ears...and the entertainment of goats.  Those things will fill a building.  It will not build the church.  Jesus does this.  

The gospel...that's the foundation upon which the church is built.

"You keep using that verse..." Inigo Montoya on Isaiah 53:5

Joseph Prince, when waxing eloquent on Isaiah 53 said this:

"But what came on Him was not just the whip stripping the flesh off His back, but your sicknesses and diseases.  Each time He was whipped, every form of sickness and disease including arthritis, cancer, diabetes, bird flu and dengue fever came upon Him.  'The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed'."

Here is the link to the entire piece he wrote.

Joseph Prince on Isaiah 53

Kenneth Copeland had this to say as he gave a prayer we are to pray:

"Father, I come boldly before Your throne to obtain grace to help in time of need.  I have confidence in Your Word, and I take hold of Your promises to heal me.  According to Isaiah 53:5 and 1 Peter 2:24, I resist sickness and disease.  I speak with my mouth and believe in my heart that I am healed of all sickness and disease."

Here is the link to the entire post he wrote.

Ken Copeland on Isaiah 53

To be totally honest, there is so much wrong in both of these posts.  But, we are going to focus on the absolute torturing of Isaiah 53:5 because, as the title of this series says, I do not think this verse means what they think it means.

This post will be short because it doesn't need to be long.  There is one thing that I will employ in this "fact checking" mission:  CONTEXT.

"With His stripes we are healed" are the last few words in Isaiah 53:5.  Here is the entire verse in the KJV that they love to quote: 

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities:  the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.  (Isaiah 53:5. KJV)

Just reading the entire verse puts the part they quote into perspective.  But if that context does not satisfy your understanding, here is the next verse:

All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.  (Isaiah 53:6  KJV)

What are they key words here:  Transgressions, iniquities, chastisement, peace.  These are the important concepts that we will come back to.

We must, however, treat a little to verse 4 because this is where the false teachers begin their false teaching.  Verse 4 says:

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.  (Isaiah 53:4. KJV)

In the Hebrew, the word translated as "our griefs" is CHOLIY, which means "sickness".  So, the false teachers are right to an extent.  Jesus DID take our sickness on Himself.  However, they completely miss the context.  The first word of the next verse, verse 5, is "BUT".  Verse 5 says:

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities:  The chastisement of our peace was upon him; and by his stripes we are healed.  (Isaiah 53:5  KJV)

It does not say he was wounded for our sickness or bruised for our disease.  So what does verse 4 mean?  It means that Jesus was human...just like us.  He suffered...just like us.  He was just like us in every way except one...He never sinned.  And that is why He could be "wounded for our transgressions"....because He was the sinless, perfect Son of God who became the perfect, sinless Son of Man...to live the perfect life that we could not in order that we could have the perfect life that we do not deserve.  We deserve death because of our unrighteousness before a holy God.  God is holy and we are not.  But because of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, if we place our faith and trust in Christ, we can have the eternal reward that we do not deserve. 

Isaiah 53:5 has absolutely nothing to do with our physical healing and EVERYTHING to do with our spiritual healing.

Back to the key words:  transgressions, iniquities, chastisement, peace.  He was wounded for our transgressions, or REBELLION in the Hebrew.  He was bruised for our iniquities, or PERVERSITY or DEPRAVITY in the Hebrew.  The chastisement, or DISCIPLINE or CORRECTION in the Hebrew, that brought us peace, or COMPLETENESS, WELFARE, PEACE FROM WAR in the Hebrew, was upon Him and by His stripes we are healed...SPIRITUALLY.  WE ARE SAVED FROM THE WRATH OF GOD...WRATH WE DESERVE BECAUSE OF OUR SIN...BY HIS STRIPES IF WE WILL PLACE YOUR FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST.  

That is what Isaiah 53:5 is talking about...your eternal, spiritual healing by the death of Christ.  What the false teachers teach about physical healing being your guarantee is disgusting and shallow.  It is demeaning to Christ and what He accomplished on the cross.

Will you not turn to Him today?  

Call out to Him.  His word assures us:

All that the Father has given Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.  (John 6:37)