Friday, June 17, 2005
Use of Greek "rhema" in the New Testament
There are 70 places in the New Testament where the Greek word “rhema” is used. There is a distinct connection in my thinking between 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Ephesians 5:25-27, Ephesians 6:17, Romans 10:8,14-17, Hebrews 1:3, and Acts 5:30-32. It seems there is a sense in which the spoken word (rhema) has a superior beauty to it (Romans 10:15). The importance of the written word (logos) is everywhere made obvious (and necessary) in all of the scriptures, but it seems there is just something very special about the spoken word specifically in the life of the Christian. There is the “breathing-out” or “saying” of all the scriptures that is attributed to God, immediately followed by a summation of the very purpose of the scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16-17). So it is by the speaking of God (rhema) that we have the (written) sayings (logos) of God. Christ Himself is identified as both the “logos” of God (John 1:1) and the “rhema” of God (Matthew 4:4, John 6:63). It is obvious that one is not used at the expense of the other. If the Christian is to be an “imitator of God” (Ephesians 5:1) he must also “breathe-out” or speak the word of God. If he is to do that effectively, actively, this has at the very minimum the following implication: it must be resident within him. Its use in Ephesians 6:17, when considered contextually, is very practical - the sword is to be used. The idea here is not one of merely the written word, as if Paul were talking about the writings themselves, but the Writings written upon the heart and ready on the tip of the tongue. It is interesting to note that the spoken word is everywhere and in every practical way much more accessible to the masses than is the written word, and it is the specific means which God has set up to redeem men to Himself (Romans 10:14, 17). Therefore, too much emphasis can not be given to the necessity of the spiritual ingestion of the word of God in order that it might at every point in the life of the Christian be written upon his heart and ready on the tip of his tongue. Scripture memorization is absolutely essential.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
The relationship between desire and sinful anger
There is a distinct relationship between desires (pleasures) and sinful anger according to James 4. Anger is produced anytime there is conflict. (Note that all anger is not sinful-Ephesians 4:26.) Anger proceeding from conflict is actually by God’s design and is intended to be used in destruction of the problem. Sinful anger proceeds from sinful desires. Sinful anger is expressed in “wars” and “fights”. According to James 4:1 this comes out of the desires of the heart. Anytime a desire takes priority in the heart over desire (love) for God it is sinful. Sinful desire is at the very heart of sinful anger.
Friday, June 10, 2005
The Inspiration of Scripture
The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God, and are the only sufficient, certain and authoritative rule of all saving knowledge, faith and obedience. This doctrine, like every other, is based on Scripture and is not the invention of man. The Bible repeatedly affirms that all of Scripture is profitable for us (2 Timothy 3:16) and that all of it is “God-breathed.” It is completely pure (Psalm 12:6), perfect (Psalm 119:96), and true (Proverbs 30:5). The 66 books of the Bible are God’s written revelation to man, given to us by the Holy Spirit, inspired equally in all parts (1 Corinthians 2:7-14; 2 Peter 1:20-21). The truth of Scripture stands in judgment of men; never do men stand in judgment of it. The Spirit-given message is not merely the idea of a passage, but rather the very words (Deuteronomy 18:18-19; Jeremiah 1:9). This may be seen in the manner in which Jesus used the Bible. Consider the Lord’s reply to the Sadducees who denied the resurrection of the body (Mark 12:18-27). He refutes them by the use of one sole word from a historical passage: by the use of a single verb in the present tense instead of the same verb in the past tense. Not “I was”, but “I am the God of Abraham…” Those men therefore are still alive, and Christ has based his argument upon a single word. Another such example is found in John 10:34-35 where Jesus quotes Psalm 82, affirming its inspiration and authority. Upon even a cursory examination, it is surprising to see how frequently and emphatically the Bible speaks of itself.
An often-used verse for proof of the inspiration of Scripture is 2 Timothy 3:16 even though Paul is not addressing directly the proof of inspiration. In the greater context of the passage here, Paul is speaking to Timothy about the practical use of the Scriptures (2 Timothy 1:13-14, 2:1-2, 2:7-9, 2:14-15, 3:14). When studied in context, Paul’s mention of inspiration in verse 16 gives the impression that inspiration is clearly an assumed doctrine in need of no explanation here (which makes its teaching about inspiration all the more powerful – in this sense alone it might arguably be the strongest single verse in proof of the doctrine). Paul says that because God breathed the Scriptures out they are useful. The word in v. 16 translated “inspiration” or “inspired” (theopneustos) is probably better translated “God-exhaled” or “God-breathed”. Since it is writings which are said to be “breathed-out” this must be understood as God’s Word spoken in written form. Paul’s reference to inspiration is to emphasize the priority, authority, sufficiency, and power of God’s word in the four uses he immediately then defines: teaching, conviction (reproof), correction, and discipline in righteousness. These four identified uses serve further to prove the very doctrine of inspiration and the plenary nature of it. First, the Scriptures must be used for teaching. This principle is the very foundation of progressive sanctification. The teaching of the Scriptures reveals to the believer more of the character and attributes of God than he had known previously, as well as his own spiritual state and inability, naturally leading to the second defined use: conviction. The use of the Scriptures to convict the believer of his wrongdoing flows necessarily out of the use of them in teaching. Right thinking is born from the teaching of the Scriptures. The more rightly a believer thinks, the more he agrees with God’s holiness and his shortcoming of it. Conviction then leads the believer to the next logical question – What can be done to correct this situation? Third, the Scriptures then are clearly useful in correction. After crushing us through teaching and conviction, they tear the sin out of the believer’s life and offer in its place the correct response to God. Fourth, the Scriptures prove useful for the next logical need – sustenance. They work with the believer continually to help him order his life with the ultimate goal being godliness (1 Timothy 4:7). In these verses the Scriptures themselves clearly declare themselves both necessary and sufficient.
The effect of this evidence is cumulative. This doctrine of inspiration is not something tenuously deduced from two or three verses. No. It is the explicit, the repeated, the emphatic, the constant declaration of the Bible in all its parts.
An often-used verse for proof of the inspiration of Scripture is 2 Timothy 3:16 even though Paul is not addressing directly the proof of inspiration. In the greater context of the passage here, Paul is speaking to Timothy about the practical use of the Scriptures (2 Timothy 1:13-14, 2:1-2, 2:7-9, 2:14-15, 3:14). When studied in context, Paul’s mention of inspiration in verse 16 gives the impression that inspiration is clearly an assumed doctrine in need of no explanation here (which makes its teaching about inspiration all the more powerful – in this sense alone it might arguably be the strongest single verse in proof of the doctrine). Paul says that because God breathed the Scriptures out they are useful. The word in v. 16 translated “inspiration” or “inspired” (theopneustos) is probably better translated “God-exhaled” or “God-breathed”. Since it is writings which are said to be “breathed-out” this must be understood as God’s Word spoken in written form. Paul’s reference to inspiration is to emphasize the priority, authority, sufficiency, and power of God’s word in the four uses he immediately then defines: teaching, conviction (reproof), correction, and discipline in righteousness. These four identified uses serve further to prove the very doctrine of inspiration and the plenary nature of it. First, the Scriptures must be used for teaching. This principle is the very foundation of progressive sanctification. The teaching of the Scriptures reveals to the believer more of the character and attributes of God than he had known previously, as well as his own spiritual state and inability, naturally leading to the second defined use: conviction. The use of the Scriptures to convict the believer of his wrongdoing flows necessarily out of the use of them in teaching. Right thinking is born from the teaching of the Scriptures. The more rightly a believer thinks, the more he agrees with God’s holiness and his shortcoming of it. Conviction then leads the believer to the next logical question – What can be done to correct this situation? Third, the Scriptures then are clearly useful in correction. After crushing us through teaching and conviction, they tear the sin out of the believer’s life and offer in its place the correct response to God. Fourth, the Scriptures prove useful for the next logical need – sustenance. They work with the believer continually to help him order his life with the ultimate goal being godliness (1 Timothy 4:7). In these verses the Scriptures themselves clearly declare themselves both necessary and sufficient.
The effect of this evidence is cumulative. This doctrine of inspiration is not something tenuously deduced from two or three verses. No. It is the explicit, the repeated, the emphatic, the constant declaration of the Bible in all its parts.
Why did Christ die?
Christ died because his Father killed him. “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief.” (Isaiah 53:10) One of the greatest paragraphs in all the Bible is Romans 3:23-26.
All have sinned and come short of God’s glory and must be justified without cost, by His grace, through the redemption that has been accomplished by Christ Jesus, Whom God publicly provided (by the shedding of his blood) as an appeasing sacrifice to be appropriated by faith. He did this to demonstrate His righteousness because, in His tolerance, He had passed by sins committed previously in order to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so that He Himself might be just and the Justifier of the person who believes in Jesus.
Christ’s death was God’s justifying the ungodly (Romans 4:5). Yet Proverbs 17:15 tells us “He who justifies the wicked and condemns the just are equally hateful to Yahweh.” How can it be right for God to justify the ungodly? This is the very heart of the gospel – that God justifies the ungodly! Something so profound happened in Christ’s death that millions of sinners can be acquitted. It is God the Father who put forward Christ for slaughter (Romans 3:25). There is this eternal paradox: the Bible reveals God to be infinitely passionate about and joyful in His own name and glory and, at the same time, the Bible reveals Him placing His omnipotent affection on God-belittling sinners who despise His glory and cheapen His name. Is God crazy? Is He in need of counsel? No. The Lord has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6). It was not for Jesus’ sin that God crushed Him. It was because He wanted to show His people mercy. He wanted to forgive and heal and save and rejoice over us with loud singing. So in order to accomplish His purpose – to save sinners and at the same time magnify the worth of His glory – God lay on Jesus our sin and abandoned Him to death on a cross. There is a great heaviness to be grasped here. If God was going to acquit sinners then something awesomely terrible had to happen so that His unswerving passion for His glory might not be impugned. That is what Paul is talking about in Romans 3:25 when he refers to the demonstration of God’s righteousness. Christ, the God-man, must die for God to be the “just and the Justifier”. Jesus’ death glorified His Father’s name and saved His Father’s people.
All have sinned and come short of God’s glory and must be justified without cost, by His grace, through the redemption that has been accomplished by Christ Jesus, Whom God publicly provided (by the shedding of his blood) as an appeasing sacrifice to be appropriated by faith. He did this to demonstrate His righteousness because, in His tolerance, He had passed by sins committed previously in order to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so that He Himself might be just and the Justifier of the person who believes in Jesus.
Christ’s death was God’s justifying the ungodly (Romans 4:5). Yet Proverbs 17:15 tells us “He who justifies the wicked and condemns the just are equally hateful to Yahweh.” How can it be right for God to justify the ungodly? This is the very heart of the gospel – that God justifies the ungodly! Something so profound happened in Christ’s death that millions of sinners can be acquitted. It is God the Father who put forward Christ for slaughter (Romans 3:25). There is this eternal paradox: the Bible reveals God to be infinitely passionate about and joyful in His own name and glory and, at the same time, the Bible reveals Him placing His omnipotent affection on God-belittling sinners who despise His glory and cheapen His name. Is God crazy? Is He in need of counsel? No. The Lord has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6). It was not for Jesus’ sin that God crushed Him. It was because He wanted to show His people mercy. He wanted to forgive and heal and save and rejoice over us with loud singing. So in order to accomplish His purpose – to save sinners and at the same time magnify the worth of His glory – God lay on Jesus our sin and abandoned Him to death on a cross. There is a great heaviness to be grasped here. If God was going to acquit sinners then something awesomely terrible had to happen so that His unswerving passion for His glory might not be impugned. That is what Paul is talking about in Romans 3:25 when he refers to the demonstration of God’s righteousness. Christ, the God-man, must die for God to be the “just and the Justifier”. Jesus’ death glorified His Father’s name and saved His Father’s people.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)