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All Along the Watchtower

~ A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you … John 13:34

All Along the Watchtower

Author Archives: Rob

The Road to Emmaus

08 Tuesday Sep 2015

Posted by Rob in Bible, Faith, Salvation

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Christianity, Forgiveness, Jesus, Suffering & Rewards, Trinity

Jesus_Emmaus

 

“They were going to a village named Emmaus, Jesus approached and began traveling with them; beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures Lk. 24:13-27.

Jesus testified about all the OT scriptures concerning Himself John 5:39, Luke 24:13-27 teaching His disciples. He is the source of their teaching about Himself, what they learned about is what they taught them. With the Old Testament and the life of Jesus Paul and the others were equipped to write the New Testament revelation through the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 12:1-6 (A New Translation by J.N. Darby)

“In that day you shall say, ‘Jehovah, I will praise You; for though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You have comforted me.’ Behold, God is my salvation: I will trust, and not be afraid; for Jah, is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation. And with joy shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall you say, ‘Give thanks to Jehovah, call upon His name, declare His deeds among the peoples, make mention that His Name is exalted. Sing psalms of Jehovah, for He hath done excellent things in all the earth.’ Cry out and shout, you inhabitants of Zion; for great is ‘The Holy One of Israel’ in the midst of you.”

This passage alone indicates that the resurrected Lord must have been with these two disciples for quite some time. It is remarkable for its brevity which encompasses ‘Five Names of God’ and reveals the relationship between these well-known Old Testament Names and the New Testament Name of Jesus who is both God and Man, our Lord Jesus Christ is clearly shown in this passage.

The Names of God are first listed 1) to 5) in order of frequency as they appear in the passage.

1) יְהוָה (YHVH) ‘The Tetragrammaton’.

The Old Testament personal Name of God occurring in 5,321 places. It is considered un-utterable in the synagogue where it is usually substituted with the Name Adonai (Lord) This Tetragrammaton is translated LORD in most translations and Jehovah in other translations. This Name is frequently pronounced incorrectly as “Jah-weigh”. The actual pronunciation is unknown.

2) אֵל (EL) God, god, mighty one.

The Old Testament use of the word either denotes the ordinary name “god” or “the God” of Israel.

3) יְשׁוּעָה (Yeshua) is the Hebrew name for Jesus.

Yeshua, (Jesus) the Son of God occurs 78 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. In the KJV this word is translated in the Old Testament as salvation 65 times. help 4 times, deliverance 3 times, health 3 times, and save, saving or welfare one time each. See some New Testament texts below:-

“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: (Yeshua) for he shall save his people from their sins” Matthew 1:21. “To him give all the prophets witness, that through His Name everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins” Acts 10:43.
“For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek: for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on him. For whosoever will call on the name of the LORD will be saved Rom.10:12-13.”

The Tetragrammaton is not a Name that may be called upon for salvation, as it cannot be pronounced. Jesus, the Name which all men may believe upon for salvation, is easily uttered. What better Name for Him, ‘The Lamb of God’ who takes away the sin of the world than ‘Salvation’?

4) יְה (Jah) a contracted form of the Tetragrammaton:

Jah occurs 50 times in the Old Testament. It is sometimes rendered “LORD” in the KJV.

5) קְדוֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל (Kidosh Yisra’el):

‘Kidosh Yisra’el’ – ‘The Holy One of Israel’ occurs 37 times in the Old Testament.

Isaiah 12:1-6 (JND) is modified below by modernising personal pronouns and various terms and substituting the English names of God for the Hebrew Names and inserting transliterated forms in parentheses to indicate the Son of God, His incarnation, crucifixion and atonement, second coming and also the believer’s salvation through Him.

Isaiah 12:1 “And in that day you shall say, יְהוָה (YHVH / Yahweh), I will praise You; for though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You have comforted me.” – Here sin is atoned for and forgiveness through the Lord Jesus Christ is available. Rom.3:25, 1 Jn.4:10. For only in Christ can a man’s sin be forgiven and only in Christ may mankind find and know the comfort of God. 2Cor.1:3-4.

Isaiah 12:2 “Behold, אֵל (EL) is my יְשׁוּעָה (Yeshua): I will trust, and not be afraid; for יְה (Jah) יְהוָה (YHVH / Yahweh), is my strength and song, and He is become my יְשׁוּעָה (Yeshua).” – Here we see we see the God of Israel is one and the same as Yeshua and that His very Name means Salvation. We see the incarnation of Christ and His crucifixion, as He becomes the salvation of sinners. We read that for the believer trust displaces fear 2Tim.1:7, Rev.1:17 as the sinner owns Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. So with sins forgiven and knowing God as his strength and his song he goes rejoicing. In this we see the change and empowerment the Holy Spirit brings as the believer is baptized with reference to and for the Body of Christ 1Cor.12:13.


Isaiah 12:3 “With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of יְשׁוּעָה (Yeshua).” – Here we see the believer’s dependence on Christ for his very sustenance and the Christian’s joy as he draws from the Holy Spirit, who is seen in the water Jn.4:1, and who leads the believer in service of Christ His Lord Act.6:8.


Isaiah 12:4 “In that day shall you say, Give thanks to יְהוָה (YHVH / Yahweh), call on His Name, declare his deeds among the peoples, make mention that His Name is exalted.”

The four-fold works of the believer ‘in Christ’ are here:


   1) Giving thanks and praise to God for the ‘Matchless One’, and for every provision in every

       difficulty Eph.1:6; Php.1:11.

   2) He calls upon the Lord with prayers and supplications; Php.4:6.
   3) Being missions minded Act.13:2, declaring the glad-tidings of salvation, among the nations

       and calling them to faith in our Lord Jesus Christ 1Cor.15:1; Php.1:14; Titus 2:1.
   4) He teaches new believers to exalt our Lord Jesus at all times in everything they do Col. 1:28

       &3:16.

Isaiah 12:5 “Sing psalms of יְהוָה (YHVH / Yahweh), for He has done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.” – The believer worships ‘The Most High’ in words of highest praise.

Isaiah 12:6 “Cry out and shout, you inhabitants of Zion; for great is the קְדוֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל (Kidosh Yisra’el) in the midst of you.”

Here Jesus is returned to earth. In Rev.14:1 the faithful, those in the first resurrection Phil. 3:10-11 are with Him and behold His greatness. They sing together ‘The Song of Moses and the Lamb’ Rev. 15:3-6; Deut. 32:1-43 and participate in His Millennial reign Rev. 20:6; Matt. 24:45-47; Rom. 8:7&18; 1 Cor. 4:7-10; 2 Cor. 4:17; 2 Tim. 2:11-12; Heb. 11:25; Rev. 2:26; 3:21; 7:14.

For Geoffrey on topic http://www.spurgeongems.org/vols10-12/chs547.pdf

Tags: Salvation, Forgiveness / Atonement, Jesus Christ, Trinity, Suffering & Rewards.

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The Idolatry of Religion

04 Friday Sep 2015

Posted by Rob in Faith

≈ 19 Comments

Tags

Christianity, Jesus, Legalism, religion, Ritualism

pure-religion

Religion generally makes for bad press these days a good gossip story in the local rag or more serious concerns in the coverage of war and terrorism.

The majority population in UK associate the term ‘Religion’ with negative connotations.

At home I was told “Talking about religion and politics only causes arguments”; while attempting evangelism at my first job (in the early 1960s) it was common the be rebuffed by the older guys; “Religion causes wars”! Who was I to argue with those who had been active in WW2, given the violent history of the world’s religions including the Christian one?

The influence of two world wars in the last century has not featured much here in discussing the decline in religious practice and adherence in the West. Shortly before WW1 there was a major revival in wales in which 100,000 converts entered the Welsh chapels. They did not just lose heart and drift, most of the men were lost in the Great War and their potential for the churches went with them. Prior to 1914 the most prominent work in Christian missions was carried out by Germany and the UK, two ‘Christian nations’, who were to be locked together through two bloody wars.

The effects of liberalism and 18th Century higher criticism seems not to have affected the UK’s evangelical pulpits or congregations but it did affect many Protestant Churches, dumbing down, hardening or disaffecting the populace. Others may have jumped ship and bolstered evangelical churches which were and largely remain well attended.

James mentions a pure religion that is acceptable to God so logically he had in mind another form of religion that was impure and unacceptable (James 1:27). As we have seen the Pharisees of the time for all their preciseness in the Law of God were largely rebuked for their ‘form of religion’ which followed the letter but missed the heart of the Law.

Although their religion used only the ‘right’ and scriptures, ‘right symbols’ and ‘right ‘rituals’ specifically authorised by the Lord ‘their religion’ was void of God’s life and marked as hypocritical, self-serving and full of pride by Christ Lk. 8:9-14, while Paul counted all that he knew of it as dung Phil. 3:8 in comparison to knowing Christ.

It is easy to become like a Pharisees we just have to stop resisting the temptation of our weak egos to put others down to improve our own sense of importance or self-worth, get on a soap box and tell others how they should live. In fact this is exactly how many objectors view our Christian religion. We need to take note – it cannot all be without reason.

For others religion means sets of beliefs, forms of religious rites, symbols and practices which they have no interest in. And if the Pharisee can engage fully with God ordained Law, rites and symbols, it is equally possible to embrace those elements encompassed in Christian religion and yet not to possess anything of the life of God. We may be moved emotionally by ‘High Mass’, ‘Gregorian Chant’ or ‘Shine Jesus Shine’ and be assured that we have the true religion of Jesus while our hearts are far from Him and we are under His condemnation.

It is no wonder given ‘all that’, that some Christians when communicating the gospel, in an attempt to avoid the negative connotations of religion, say they have nothing to do with religion, they are talking of “a relationship with Jesus Christ.”

The enjoyment of religion that does not impact our inner motivations and outer works of mercy is not worship; in fact it is idolatry – and the enjoyment or elation is the god. The outward idol may be a statue, the Bible or an icon etc. In reality it is self-worship, we may become ensnared by legalism, ritualism or a host of other-isms and in effect become our own idol doing what is self-pleasing, self-affirming and leaving the Lord at the margins.

I will add a few quotes from: ‘Benefit of the Doubt’ pages 55-56 by Greg Boyd

“In Jn. 5 Jesus confronted some religious leaders … These leaders thought they possessed life by diligently studying scripture. What made these leaders feel accepted and secure before God was that they knew their Bible and were confident they embraced true Bible-based beliefs … Jesus, of course, wasn’t suggesting that there was anything wrong with their diligent study of scripture … the issue wasn’t about ‘what’ they believed: he disputed the way they believed it.”

“He (Jesus) was trying to get them to see that there is no life in knowing the Bible and embracing Bible-based beliefs unless they lead to him. By trying to wring life out of things that have no life apart from Christ, these leaders made an idol out of the Bible and their Bible-based beliefs”.

Religious hypocrisy – religion without reality is dangerous spiritual state. If we play religion without sincere repentance, simple faith and a desire for holiness we are in a bad way. Our religion at best is natural, intellectual and or emotional – ‘such religion’ has an empty form of godliness but denies its power (2 Timothy 3:5). This state of affairs cannot exist for long, ‘nature hates a vacuum’ and ‘devils find work for empty hands’.

Boyd continues:- “There is a demonic self-reinforcing quality about idolatry that can be discerned in these leaders. By trying to derive false life from their confident knowledge of scripture … these leaders made an idol of their knowledge …they were not hungry for the true ‘Bread of Life’ because they had stuffed themselves with the false life of their idol. … The idols that trapped them … looked very spiritual and) made them confident they were OK with God.”

The wisdom of religion that is self-orientated with features identified by James is a religion of this world, earthly and natural in a toxic environment and soon becomes demonic James (3:13-18).

Boyd concludes:- This episode demonstrates the way we believe what we believe can transform what we believe into an idol that actually blocks us from getting life from Christ … this happens whenever we are confident we are OK with God because of what we believe rather than because of our relationship with … (Jesus Christ) … If what makes us feel ok with God is our confidence in the correctness of our beliefs, then our confidence in our beliefs is, in effect, our god.

The same is true of anything else religion that has won our confidence if it is anything other than Christ Himself!

The following link provides a further critique:

http://reknew.org/2014/10/the-most-subtle-of idolatries/?utm_source=Website+Signup&utm_campaign=2c759920f4-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0de6226b5c-2c759920f4-42046169

 

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Foolish to the Gentiles – The Atonement

01 Monday Jun 2015

Posted by Rob in Atonement, Bible, Faith

≈ 43 Comments

Tags

Christianity, Faith, Jesus, sin

 

jesus-on-the-cross

The cross is meaningless to those who are perishing. Christ crucified is a stumbling block for Jews and foolishness to Gentiles but to us who are being saved it’s the power and wisdom of God seen in Jesus Christ. In this manner of redeeming us God’s foolishness proves wiser and His weakness stronger than we can conceive. I began in faith simply knowing God gave Jesus for me and that believing I would experience His life.

However as time moved on there was an underlying disturbance in my soul over the explanation I was receiving of how Christ was given for me. The picture emerged gradually that Jesus agonising death on the cross was in order for God the Father to punish Him for my sins so that I could be released from the punishment I deserved.

Love for Christ was the response whenever I considered His suffering, but accompanied with that unease. How could this work, conscious doubt was notpossible, the concept of Christ dying for this purpose was so pervasive in the church I dare not question it. The explanations that the cross satisfied Gods demand for justice and exhausted His wrath against sin by inflicting it on Jesus only made things worse. What sort of justice is this that kills the innocent in order to let the guilty go free? Is God schizophrenic, ‎‎needing to vent his anger before He can offer His forgiveness? Is the Father actually forgiving if the Son is paying the debt? The explanation was totally unsatisfying butwas not to be considered.

When we live with un-answered questions they can have a corrosive effect on faith. Fortunately I knew enough of Christ for the cross to act as a magnet of love towards Him despite the year’s long, un-voiced question over what I was obliged to believe in order to hold onto Him. I was unaware of other explanations of how the cross might work but the power of it still drew me to Him. I was not equipped to consider the dilemma between my feelings and intellectual dissatisfaction with the explanations, so the matter lay dormant. I did not know that the explanation I had received had a name ‘Penal Substitutionary Theory of the Atonement’ (PST) or that it was rather poorly represented and just one theory amongst several. My dilemma came to a joyful end as I encountered other explanations of the cross and learned that many claimed that PTS was not heard of before the fifteenth centuryand others advised to treat it carefully.

This was good news for me, it actually was Gospel! I began to study and consider  other views and the theories of ‘ransom’, ‘recapitulation’, satisfaction’, ‘moral influence’, ‘government and Christus Victor. Once the field opened up I was free to think my suppressed thought of PTS as it was often spoken of, it seemed completely repugnant and intellectually bankrupt. One recent Baptists writer caused a stir in amongst British evangelical by quoting in reference to PST, when presented as the Father’s punishment of the Son that it was like “cosmic child abuse” and I found myself in agreement.

I now consider such views an obstacle to faith for many non-Christians and particularly so in confronting Islam, that questions “Why cannot God just forgive”. The question of the atonement is tied closely to that of the Trinity as it required the incarnation and the sacrifice of the God-man. If this can be clarified for Moslems we may make headway on the Trinity.

Several atonement theories are fully compatible with one another and may be combined along with insights of other theories. Let us consider Paul’s Words: – “The cross is foolishness to the Gentiles”. If we start with Paul’s perspective in our evangelism that the cross appears foolish when misunderstood or if misrepresented, perhaps we (I particularly refer to evangelicals whose practice I know best) may do a better job in disclosing the meaning of the cross. I feel our failure to do so is part of the reason we are losing ground and that this is one element that we need to address in order to meet with greater success in the evangelism of our societies. This post is presents from a subjective point of view in order to illustrate the personal effects of atonement theory and how a simplistic ‘one brush fits all’ approach may also be unsatisfactory for many we seek to witness to. An overview of each theory and its history can easily be achieved by other means.

That which satisfies me and which I would use as appropriate in evangelism is the Christus Victor, Recapitulation and Moral Influence Theories with insights from others. My hope is that the post will prompt consideration and discussion producing more light than steam.

Perhaps I might initiate discussion in two ways. You could indicate which theories you find most satisfactory and why, and which if any cause concern.

Jesus said He came to give His life as a ransom to many, giving rise to the ‘ransom theory’ popular in the early church and supported by a number of Fathers until Anselm’s satisfaction theory became more popular. How do you understand the‘ransom’ Jesus spoke of? Who was the ‘ransom’ paid to if indeed to any?

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The Two Witnesses of Revelation11

02 Wednesday Jul 2014

Posted by Rob in Faith

≈ 9 Comments

I first posted this as a comment but as njb4725 has posted further on the two witnesses of Revelation 11 I have posted it as a topic giving an alternate view.

 In – Revelation 5:10 we read what God will make the saints / overcoming believers to be:

  “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth”.

 Peter tells us that we believers are already a nation of ‘kings and priest’ and I believe this kingly priestly ministry, available to all believers but exercised by ‘overcoming believers’ is precisely what is figuratively represented by the two witnesses of Revelation 11.

 The speculation on who these two are (as if they will be the actual return of former Old Testament saints) has varied. Along this literal line of interpretation has been suggested Enoch and Elijah as neither died so could return to earth or Moses and Elijah as the signs performed by these two recall the signs of these Old Testament prophets.

 However the specific identification of the two witnesses given to us in Revelation 11:4

 “These are the two olive trees and the two lamp-stands that stand before the Lord of all the earth.”

  “The ‘two lamp-stands’ seem to have an obvious interpretation. In Revelation chapters 1-3 we are introduced to seven lamp-stands representing seven churches and just two of these churches receive no rebuke from the Lord. Surly the ‘two lamp-stands’ represents a significant remnant minority of believers/churches that ‘overcome’ (as all are exhorted to do in these early chapters).

 While ‘the two olive trees’ are identified in Zechariah 4:3, 11-14 as: “These are the ‘two sons of oil’ (or ‘anointed ones) that serve the Lord of all the earth”.  

 In the context of the book we find that they are Zerubbabel (the one in kingly succession to the throne of Judah) and Joshua the High Priest. So they again represent the kingly / priestly ministry of the ‘overcoming’ believers represented in several images in Revelation.

 I believe these two represent a corporate people of God rising to complete the ministry of the church as ‘Kings and Priest to God’. They are those who know how to pray with authority and convey heaven’s answers to earth bound men.

  These images provide us with a fundamental understanding of the believer’s authority.

 In New Testament times who had more authority than a king? Here this verse declares ‘kings’ is what the Lord will make ‘overcoming believers’ to be. The verse goes on to explain the purpose of this imparted ‘kingship’. That we might reign on earth. However this emphasis MUST be balanced by the fact that we are made to be kings and ‘PRIESTS’. If we do not understand our kingly authority in terms of its priestly function we go astray.

 The priest is an intercessor, speaking to God on behalf of others and representing God to others; coming from God’s presence with His word and His Spirit for others. So the kingdom authority expressed and demonstrated is a mediated authority, it is not latent in the kingly office but mediated through the priestly office; these roles are the privilege of all believers to explore and exercise through intercessory prayer, prophetic words, deeds and actions.

 All this we are told is: “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty. Zech 4:6

 Would that the total church throughout this age had understood and ministered in the Spirit’s power rather than the means it often turned to. But we have the promise that the mission of the church will be completed in the Holy Spirit’s power. I believe this will largely have been accomplished by the remnant that overcomes throughout history and will be completed by a future remnant of anointed believers.

As njb4725 says time will tell! 

 

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Sacraments or Ordinances do They Convey Grace?

22 Saturday Feb 2014

Posted by Rob in Faith

≈ 6 Comments

RobI found this  Mennonite Confession of Faith on another site I sometimes comment on and have been thinking of explaining the different position of some Charismatics to sacraments or ordinances. The Mennonite statement provided a good launchpad for something I had been wondering how to offer, so here goes.

The Catholic contingent here comments on Protestant views that sacraments are just symbols and do not convey grace. The 1963 Mennonite Confession of Faith says something different about Ceremonies and Practices that is perhaps not Catholic or Protestant but somewhere between the two:-

“The Lord Jesus and His apostles instituted ordinances for the church to observe permanently as symbols of Christian truths. The apostolic church literally observed them. Among these are baptism with water, the communion of the Lord’s Supper, the washing of the saints’ feet, the holy kiss, the laying-on of hands, and the veiling of Christian women, the anointing of the sick with oil, and the institution of Christian marriage. When the church observes ordinances as expressions of a heart of faith, divine blessings are received, and a Christian witness is given.”

I found this while reading a post about foot washing and the question posed was “Is foot washing a NT ordinance for the church”

I have posted here what I posted there to illustrate the understanding that the outward symbol practiced in faith becomes a touch point that enables faith and releases grace which can be extremely tangible. We have seen evidence of the exorcism of demons without any attempt along that line but just as subjects were baptized. But let me return to my experience of foot washing.

Foot washing is practiced in the ‘Church of God’ or the ‘Church of God of Prophecy’ I cannot remember which it was that I visited, now living in Barbados. It was very meaningful for me to have my feet washed as a white man by a black man from a nation previously enslaved by whites; particularly as there is still a pronounced racial segregation here and my wife and I are usually the only whites visiting a black church.

I also had an interesting experience on a mission trip I took to South Africa to help a man I had got to know through my son’s time at a Bible school there. Let me first paint the picture.

The man had been a JW for 35 years and the main foundational member/pioneer worker opening the Kingdom Hall in the township. He had become a Christian through his son 2 years previous to me meeting him. He had been preaching Christ to a community living in shacks made of rubbish and won a whole group of converts to Christ. He built out of meager income a meeting place in his garden.

Subsequently I spent 2 periods of 6 weeks teaching and evangelizing among the community as the only white man who had ever lived among them. Things seemed to be ordained by God in our meeting from the start. The first time I met him (Ronny) on visiting my son at end of term I asked how he understood the Trinity now that he was a Christian – he said he did not understand it but just believed it – fair enough I thought. But I just happened to have in my computer case a print out of my studies on the Trinity that I had been expanding the Lord is great at coinciding incidents like this.

Well that paints the picture now back to feet and eventually sacraments.

At the end of one meeting I appealed for anyone who needed prayer for healing to come forward. I think very few of them could have afforded to visit a Dr and I’m unsure if medical services are provided by the state there. About 10 people came forward.

When I got to my friend Ronny he explained that he had a lot of pain in his feet. He was paralyzed down one side from childhood and had to walk with a very awkward motion dragging one leg. In this condition he worked visiting homes for a few hours every day apart from Sunday when he was occupied with the converts he had won to Christ already. He would visit these homes (or shacks to be more accurate worse than what we would keep our dog in) and get permission at some house he called on to hold a meeting there and preach the gospel the next night gathering the neighbors.

He had done door to door work as a JW for 35 years doing a considerable number of hours unpaid every week dragging his lame leg. Perhaps we have some things to learn even from Arians.

So now he faces me with feet in pain hindering him but not preventing his now more enlightened work for Christ. I immediately sensed what I thought the Lord wanted me to do. I said “Ronny take off your shoes”. He did so and when he was finished I said “Ronny take off your socks” and he did so.

Then I knelt down in the dirt floor of the meeting room and kissed both of his feet. He said the pain immediately left his feet. The pain did not return in the weeks I was there and I never had any report of a re-occurrence of the pain.

Each place we visited Ronny told people this white man kissed my bare feet. He did not remember in most cases to tell them that his feet were also healed through the foot kissing sacrament; the greater miracle for him was that the white man he had recently met had been kissing his black South African feet.

It’s fun when you work with the Lord not just for the Lord and sacraments work well then I wish I could get it right more often.

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Receiving and Applying a Revelation

20 Monday Jan 2014

Posted by Rob in Faith

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Christian conversion, revelation, Salvation

A response to Jess’ recent posts ‘Excluded’ and the ‘The Man From Borth’

Jess wrote:

“There was no revelation – but there was the assurance that God was love and loved me, as He loves us all.”

I would like to un-wrap this statement and give my perspective. I hope in doing so I do not push into Jess’ personal space inappropriately but will share what I would say to someone I was trying to assist further.

Jess described a lovely encounter that the Lord arranged with ‘The Man From Borth’, at a most needy moment. In the Charismatic corner of the vineyard we refer to such as ‘divine encounters’ and someone else commented – “there was a man sent from God”; exactly so. These events often happen at turning points in our life looking back they often appear as signpost to a new phase of life in God and so it was for Jess.

Now I could never say about such a ‘Borth Experience’ that ‘There was no revelation’. I see in it a clear and wonderful ‘revelation’. It was not anything new as we read in “The man from Borth” that she believed Jesus was love and wanted to save everyone.

We often know truth in our heads. But our personal confidence in that truth may be shaken by circumstances, events or others words “The poison of asps in under the tongue” and this poison can even be spoken by the Lord’s disciples whether ignorantly or maliciously, Jesus rebuked His disciple for doing so. Jess’ evangelical advisors may have been the source of her doubt in God’s love for her or maybe it had not previously been entirely personally realize leaving room for the damage they caused.

Anyway following the Borth encounter we read “… there was the assurance that God was love and loved me”!

That was revelation. Revelation is often sensed when what we know in our head drops 18” into our heart when the ‘penny drops’ so to speak and we ‘know what we know’ as an inner knowing. Paul prays for the Ephesians 1:15-23 to have more of the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in order to know Him Better and describes the experience as “the eyes of the heart being enlightened”. That sounds exactly like what we read took place at ‘Borth’ and Paul calls it ‘revelation’.

In Romans 10:5-13 we read of God’s message of faith which is near YOU and on YOUR lips and in YOUR heart. It goes onto say “if YOU confess that Jesus is Lord … YOU will be saved. For it is by our faith that we are put right with God; it is by our confession that we are saved”. Here Paul makes it personal for each of us.

The word ‘saved’ has a much wider meaning than ‘new birth’ or ‘justification’ it is also translated as ‘healed’ or ‘made whole’ in the gospels, depending on the context. It is spoken of as a past personal event, an ongoing transformational event and a future completion.

In this context we might say then that we are ‘right with God by the faith in our hearts’ but ‘we are made whole’ by our confession.

Our confession of Christ as Lord is an act of faith and it grounds that which is in our heart it becomes more concrete and real to us, our belief often becomes experiential through our confession, which is what I consider happened as I read “The Man From Borth” post. In place of the ‘exclusion’, ‘doubt’ and ‘hurt’, there was an immediate “assurance God … loved me” and the confession brought ‘wholeness and healing’.

The spiritual guide (the elderly man) was wise he did in fact next to nothing unlike the evangelicals who tried to get Salvation worked up by the pleading. All he did was draw aside the veil from a burdened mind and assist the Spirit to reveal what was already in the heart and to encourage a confession of it.

Can I be so bold as to encourage us each to stop making the negative parts of our confessions e.g. stop saying the equivalent of “There was no revelation” and only make the positive parts from now on i.e. “… there was the assurance that God was love and loved me, as He loves us all” and start to embrace the fact that our Lord gives revelation and as He said “My sheep hear my voice and they follow me”. As we do so we become more secure as His sheep and know what and who we are ‘in Christ’.

I believe that such confession of the truth that is in our hearts engenders our ongoing transformation towards wholeness and that this is the meaning of the passage in Romans.

Salvation, healing, wholeness – is as we (most of us) agree not only a one off initial event but also a lifelong transformational process. Therefore as we continually implement ‘the confession that saves’ i.e. speaking “the word that is … in your mouth and in your heart, that is the word of faith” we progress in the saving/healing process.

I do not mean ‘the power of positive thinking’ where we try to convince ourselves of that which we do not have faith about that becomes delusion.

It is interesting that Romans 10:14-15 goes on to speak of those sent out with the word of the Gospel to enable others to call on the Christ that they may not as yet have believed in. This will be the outcome of the Spirit’s work in our lives in some way or other whether small or large whether public or among acquaintances – as the word of faith we confess – becomes the confession that heals – and then the testimony and witness we preach.

Jess has opened her heart here in a very personal way and we all have a deep responsibility in any response we make. It is interesting that Jess has recently moved out into the work of the Gospel, she met a challenge here from one source denigrating her faith. It brought back momentarily something of that ‘excluded sense’ from that past.

Jess it is my sense (a revelation if you like) that ‘The divine encounter of the past’ is revisited here because the Lord is working powerfully and putting to death any remnants of that past experience to equip you for the work you have committed to. If this is so you may by now have realized that this is what is going on – that is for you to judge and consider perhaps with others you do this work with.

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Theology & The Context of Revelation

09 Thursday Jan 2014

Posted by Rob in Faith

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Christianity, mission & culture, revelation, Theology

It has been said: that God reveals Himself in two books Scripture and Nature they are both ‘true’ but our understanding of either one or both of these books (Theology & Science) may be faulty and result in a conflict between them. Going further God seeks to reveal Himself to all cultures and all faiths contain some truth but given the fallen state of mankind we need to consider the vast variety of spiritual and religious experience carefully and assess it by the touchstone of the revelation of Jesus Christ, and records of His eye witnesses.

Comparing the OT and NT understanding of God it is obvious that the scriptures were produced in given cultural contexts and that the revelation was developmental – culminating in the incarnation.

Scripture claims to contain a revelation of God; there is that ‘incomplete revelation’ and therefore ‘imperfect revelation’ of the OT which comes to us in a certain cultural context, and here we must particularly be aware of the need of contextual understanding. I do not mean to say that contextualization is un-required in the NT but rather to illustrate that the vast advancement in knowledge of God through and in Christ demonstrates the need of it. Christ said there were many things He needed to teach but they were not ready and that later the Holy Spirit would lead them (the apostles) into ALL truth. This seems like Jesus used ‘theological contextualization’.

However it’s possible for our ‘theological contextualization’ to run amok as it functions on the ‘reason’ leg of our three legged ‘theological stool’ – scripture, tradition and reason. We may contextualize our theology but it is vital that we do not compromise the revelation given. We must not make use of ‘Contextual Theology’ to force scripture to fit comfortably with our own context. The processes of exegesis and hermeneutics must be applied to sort out what ‘truly has been revealed of God in the context of the original revelation. We may then interpret it into our own context or the one we work into, without loss of ‘revealed truth’. Truth is not ‘relative’ we must not bend it to our own or any other context or fashion.

God actually chose Abraham and Israel, their history and experience as the particular vehicle of His self revelation. We therefore give particular attention to this culture and context in theology and in positioning ourselves to interpret the revelation for our own time and culture. The history and experience provides us with a guideline to interpret our own spiritual experience.

Genuine experience of God is the origin of all theological understanding (spiritual experience = revelation = scripture historically understood = theology). On the experience level we have to sort the genuine from the false, in this respect those pre the incarnation and post ascension are in the same boat in that all their experience is subjective. This is why the writings of the apostolic age are unique in their authority as they record the objective’ experience of those who ‘knew the incarnate God’ intimately and those writings of others that were available to be confirmed by them. This eyewitnesses testimony is ‘a more sure word of prophecy’ 1 Pt. 1:19

The task of ‘Contextual Theology’ and transmission of this revelation can be broken down into three stages’:

a)      Distinguish between which elements of scripture are unalterable revelation of God and the ways he requires us to respond and which simply represent the cultural setting. With the OT identify which parts represent an incomplete/imperfect revelation. We will not all agree on the finer details or on what the non essentials are.

b)      Distinguish between which parts of the new host culture are compatible with the gospel and which parts are incompatible.

c)      Distinguish between which parts of our own practice is cultural baggage not to be impose on the new host culture.

If we have thought through our faith and are thoroughly conversant with the NT we will already have distinguished in our own minds between revelation and cultural baggage.

Scripture and tradition requires contextual analysis but ‘revelation’ is the unalterable truth of God.

True knowledge of God is ‘experiential knowledge’ i.e. ‘that we might know Him’, here the ‘Anthropological Model’ assists. We do not come to such knowledge of God by reason or philosophy but may employ these tools to assess the validity of our knowledge in order to confirm, amend or reject it.

We must understand that reason and contextualization of theology as a function of reason, will not itself bring us or anyone else to a knowledge of God. The first three chapters of 1 Corinthians warn of the limitations of any accumulated cultural/contextual wisdom:

 “God made foolish the wisdom of the world”

Paul categorically states that the world through its philosophy did not come to know God and that it was in God’s wisdom that they should not do so by that means.” 1 Cor. 1:19-22.

Nevertheless “we can speak philosophy among the perfect; but not a philosophy of this age, nor of the useless leaders of this time. We speak instead, a divine philosophy in the hidden mystery which God ordained before the ages for our rectification, which none of the leaders of this age recognized; for if they had recognize, they would not have crucified the master of that rectification” 1 Cor. 2:6-8 F. Fenton

Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God; He is the wisdom of God to us. Contextualization must never detract from the person, work, character, mission or authority of The Christ already revealed. The essential question and our appropriate response remains – “Who do you say that I am” and “follow me”. If we get these two right we are Christian if we don’t we are not.

I consider the purpose of ‘Contextual Theology’ is best restricted to considering how we may uncover the revealed of Christ so that it becomes implement in a meaningful manner in the target culture, rather for determining what the revelation actually is. The application of exegesis to the text and its cultural setting will clarify the actual revelation.

We could think of the six models as transparent overlays through which we view the task of uncovering revelation. In this way we benefit from the strengths and hopefully avoid the weaknesses.

Greeks search for (contextual) philosophy we preach Christ crucified as God’s self revelation.

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The Trinity and Fatherhood of God

02 Thursday Jan 2014

Posted by Rob in Bible, Faith

≈ 30 Comments

Tags

Christianity, Trinity

imageMusing and contemplating the trinity is something I find myself often engaged in. I search out fresh thoughts in the scriptures and add the findings to my ever-growing notes from which I drew the following comment which relate to this post.

“if they were simply different modes in which the one God appears, then such an act of communion would not be possible.”

The understanding of the trinity that the church has come to harmonizes the diverse revelation of scripture. However God is then often described with a number of terms that are incomprehensible to the man in the street. In an attempt to communicate more simply I found a simple definition helps.

“There is one God perfectly united and existing in three eternal and personal modes”.

The difference between ‘appears’ and ‘existing’ is the difference between heterodox and orthodox.

Of course we need to go on to explain the manner of God’s unity as it is expressed in Trinitarian doctrine but the above seems to give easier access to those explanations.

“The Father alone is the one true God.”

This seems to impute deity only to the Father. As Jess said the phrase ‘startles’ and we might wonder where the room is left for Christ and the Holy Spirit – clearly things are explained as you move on but that phrase still sticks and I can’t swallow it easily. However you cut it seems to say that the Father alone (As in Father, Son and Holy Spirit is “Alone The One True God’)

Surly this ‘form of words’ cannot be precisely true or uphold the deity of the ‘The Son’ and ‘The Spirit’.

I shall have to consider how reference to ‘an article’ apply only to ‘The Father’ is to be understood but as of now am happier with the following:-

“The one true God is Our Father”

This attributes both deity and Fatherhood to the Trinity.

The way in which ‘an article’ maybe being applied to the Father (alone) might be in the contexts of the Fatherhood of the ‘Triune God’, this will require a survey through the scriptures I had not noticed before that ‘an article’ was used exclusively in this way.

‘The Son’ is begotten of ‘The Father’ and ‘The Spirit’ proceeds from the Father through the Son – which indicates a Father relationship within the trinity towards ‘The Son’ and Holy Spirit. Several texts teach that the Spirit proceeds from the Father is the correct understanding in relation to the Holy Spirit e.g. Luke 11:13; Jn.14:16 & 26; Acts 1:4, 2:33 & 38.

The term Father must be understood differently in terms of the FSS interrelationships within the Godhead than it is understood in relation to us and God as our Father.

Jesus foretelling His death said “I go to my Father and your Father and to my God and your God”. He did not say “I go to our Father etc”. Although that is how he taught us to pray.

Christians have a common relationship to the Father, Son and Spirit who gave us existence and through who we become a new creation and sons of God. Jesus eternal and un-created relationship to the Father is one of an entirely different order.

The Trinitarian God is our Father:
a) The Father is our Father Matt. 6:9;
b) The Son is a Father to us Isaiah 9:6;
c) The Holy Spirit is a Father Spirit, in Jn. 14:18.

Jesus speaking of the Holy Spirit in Jn. 14:16-17, is speaking in the context of Philip’s request to see the Father Jn. 14:8, and states:

“I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you”.

So in the Spirit’s coming Christ comes to us and in the Spirits coming we are no longer ‘orphans’ – we are no longer Fatherless. In this way Jesus applies Fatherhood to both Himself and the Holy Spirit. These passages are breathtaking clear in establishing the unity and trinity of God.

Additionally many experience a unique relationship with each of the persons of the trinity. No wonder even God’s transport is ‘Wheels within wheels’.

I think Christians often speak too glibly mixing up references to God and the Father e.g. Jesus’ statements:-

“No man comes to the Father except by me”

I’ve heard this quoted as “No one comes to God except ….” In evangelism this presents a barrier and causes un-necessary objections and was certainly untrue of Cornelius’ approach to God which was accepted and prompted the Lord’s response Acts 10:1-2 & 4. However no one comes into the intimacy of relationship with God as Father except through Jesus, while it is also true that all those reconciled to God will be reconciled through His blood.

Then again our Lord’s cry of dereliction from the cross:-

“My God, My God why have you forsaken me?”

I have heard it said the Father forsook Christ on the cross turning away from the sin He bore. What happened at the cross is the greatest mystery. I believe Fr. John would confirm it is an Orthodox saying “He reigns from the cross”. Whatever went on I do not think the trinity could have been torn asunder at the cross. The trinity created the cosmos and continually upholds it. How could ‘the stuff of the universe’ continue with a disassembled trinity?

Was it Jesus in his perfect humanity that was torn apart and God forsaken or was it His sense of God’s abandonment. This must surely be the deepest mystery of the trinity for us to comprehend but the depth of love so demonstrated is deeper.

Just my meditation – I’m interested in how those with knowledge of creeds and councils consider this.

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New Year Family Quiz

30 Monday Dec 2013

Posted by Rob in Faith

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

church, family, Fun, jokes, love one another, quiz

Have fun with Rob’s New Year Family Quiz: ask no why’s expect no reason.

Don’t try this quiz at home, or try it at your own risk of new-year’s family strife it’s up to you!

We had fun with our family of ten Bambam, Nanny, Benjamin (eldest son) & Nadine their girl Faith 5 yrs, Matthew (younger son) & Danielle with children Shaylem 10 yrs, Caleb 8 yrs and Esther 6 yrs.

From Faith to ‘Bambam’ that’s me, just about everyone gave different answers. If you wonder ‘Bambam’s’, the name assigned by my eldest grandchild when he began to speak which is now used universally even by our neighbors!

A TV program mentioned someone gave a man a drink from their bottle and then threw the bottle and the rest of the drink away. There was a racial difference and the man interpreted this as prejudice.

So what’s the quiz?

I considered whose glass I would drink from and decided to survey my family.

So whose glass would you share – plot a matrix of family relationships and research the results you will have fun.

Among our lot Caleb the 6 yrs was coy about answering, he did not want to offend me as mine was the only glass he would not drink from. Diarize New years resolution “clean teeth more regularly”!

Shaylem 10 yrs is very intelligent and just getting wise – would not drink from any of the other kids glasses but would drink from all the adults glasses except mine – Diarize “clean teeth MUCH more often”!!

My youngest son would only drink from His children’s glasses – wife, mum, dad, brother and sister in law were ruled out – what’s wrong with adults?

The survey also revealed that I must be a sacramentalist after all as I had my objections to several family members but realized that I will happily share a common cup with a multitude of strangers at communion.

My wife was the most liberal in libations, claiming she would drink from all glasses including the dogs, of which we have 7 and the cat’s dish, but would not drink from the snake’s dish – a new Christmas pet.  Perhaps she will get used to our snake or it may be a theological matter.

All responses are guaranteed to be genuine and accurate.

I do not necessarily expect you to divulge such intimate secrets of you own family – but  of course you may do so.

Happy New Year to you all

Rob (Bambam)

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Evangelical Camps

30 Monday Dec 2013

Posted by Rob in Faith

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Charismatic Movement, Christianity, Evangelicals, Pentecostals, Reformed Church

 RobStruans is mugging up on Evangelicals he seems to have experienced difficulty in finding any to communicate with him so picked on me that’s OK I’m quite used to being picked over. So I sent him this broad rundown of the different camps of evangelicals and we thought it might help others to cope with them. You should not be surprised at what’s below as camping often gets muddy. Camping is an allusion is to Tabernacle rather than Temple typology for the church both of which have a place.

a)      Cessationist Evangelicals: believe that the ministries of apostles, prophets, the gifts of the Holy Spirit Rom. 12 & 1 Cor. 12 and any types of miracles were only for the apostolic age. They see Pentecostal’s and Charismatic’s experience at best as a psychological aberration or worse a demonic deception.

The charismatic experience has become that of many non evangelicals and of Roman Catholics. Cessationists see this as evidence that the Charismatic Movement is a deception particularly due to Roman Catholic participants. Cessationists rant against Charismatics and oppose the ecumenism of their relationships and experience.

b)      Reformed Evangelicals: Are strictly Calvinistic. Calvin was a cessationist believing that the current church ministry consisted of only the pastor/teacher. Today a minority of Reformed believers are charismatic. The reformed will usually describe c) and d) as teachers of heresy – while acknowledging that they are at least Christians. Many would not join the Evangelical Alliance of UK due to, as they see it, the heresy it allows and in Wales they have a separate reformed organization ‘The Evangelical Movement of Wales’.

c)       Armenians in the tradition of Wesley and Open Theistic Evangelicals: are non Calvinistic evangelicals.

d) Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians:  emphasise the present activity of the Holy Spirit, many would also define themselves as Evangelical they believe in the continuing ministry of apostles, prophets, evangelists, the gift of the Holy Spirit and miracles. The growth of this form of Christianity within a little over 100 years is phenomenal causing commentators to refer to it as ‘The Third Force in The Body of Christ’ i.e. Catholic, Protestant and Charismatic, see Charismatic Christianity – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia … In 2011, Pentecostals and Charismatic Christians numbered over 500 million, a quarter of the world’s 2 billion Christians.

Pentecostals are virtually exclusively non Calvinistic their roots being in the Wesleyan ‘second blessing’ tradition/theology and numerous early twentieth century revivals. A very small minority of Pentecostals see the Charismatic Movement as a deception, chiefly due to its entrance into the Roman Catholic Church and the subsequent experiential ecumenism of most Charismatics.

The Charismatic Movement of the 1960s in main line churches and the 70’s in RC Church (Catholic Charismatic Renewal – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) going forward resulted in the Pentecostal experience entering most of the historic Christian denominations and was the origin of many new church movements throughout the world. Charismatic’s are in agreement with Pentecostals on ministries and gifts of the Holy Spirit. The majority of Charismatics follow c) in theology and their common experiences has created a charismatic ecumenism of believers crossing all denominational divides.

Some reckon there is a total of 500, 000, 0000 Charismatic believers in Pentecostal, historic, evangelical, new churches and underground churches combined.

According to a document titled Baptism in the Holy Spirit, published in Rome by the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services (ICCRS), more than 120 million Catholics in 238 countries have been baptized in the Holy Spirit. Though that may be a conservative figure, it indicates the Pentecostal/charismatic movement remains alive in the modern Catholic Church. Is Charismatic Revival Exploding Among Catholics?

If the number is anything like that for a theological emphasis resurfacing on a wide front just over 100 years ago it requires serious consideration. Charismatics now  span the church spectrum making it an interesting phenomena, which must, whatever one’s conclusions, lead us to question whether it is a genuine work of the Holy Spirit and where it might lead, for many it promises an alternative form of ecumenism. I recently read a Catholic comment on the ‘ecumenism of the martyrs’ add to this an ‘ecumenism of the Spirit’ and we may see that the Lord is working among us in a deeper way that we may initially perceive.

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