The Rapture

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Why death couldn't hold Jesus in the grave

   Some would look at the title of this message as a question and it would be okay to look at it that way. Everyone else that has ever lived has died and has remained dead. Even those who Jesus raised from the dead like Lazarus eventually died again (John 11:43).  Why do we die? Because of sin. 

   Romans 6:23 declares, "The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." This verse has a negative and a positive. The morbid truth is we all die because of sin, but the wonderful contrast is that eternal life is given to all freely who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for their soul salvation. 

    Here's a question that MUST be answered, since Jesus never committed any sin, why did he have to die? The Bible answers that question for us; to be a propitiation for mankind's sins. What in the world does propitiation mean? It is the Greek word hilasmos. This means Christ's sacrifice was the means by which a person can have their sins removed from them forever when they believe. Christ had to die in order to appease the Father's anger against him for being made sin although he personally knew no sin because he never committed any sin (2 Cor 5:21).

   Sin always has to be judged and punished. The only one worthy to accept the punishment for all of the mankind's sins and eradicate it was Jesus alone. Imagine how terrible it would be if every person that will ever live had to pay for their own sins! What that would mean is God would be exercising his justice with no mercy and everyone would go to hell!  And get this, he would be totally righteous in doing so! We all deserve God's wrath.

 Getting back to the original statement, Christ HAD to die because of our sins, and get this, he HAD to raise from the dead because he has no sin! Both scenarios had to play out in the one person, Christ Jesus. A sinless divine and human being had to die in order to appease the Father's wrath against sin, and only a sinless divine human being can raise himself from the dead (John 10:18)! Sinful mankind could never pull that off. Death cannot hold a perfect man in the grave. That is why Jesus rose in three days like he declared (Matt 16:21). 

 In Acts 2:23-24 we read, "this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised up, loosing the pangs of death because it was not possible (emphasis added) for him to be held by it."

  Here's the wonderful news for believers, we will be raised from death like Christ. Here's the proof, "who will transform our body of our humble state into conformity with the body of his glory..."(Phil 3:21).

  

  

Who wrote the Bible?

A simple but most important question. Many years ago I was heading home from work on the bus. I was sitting in the back and heard a man say, “well you know man wrote the Bible!” Since he was in my earshot, I felt compelled to tell him that that was an untrue statement. Surprisingly, he listened to me as I presented my case. The scripture I used to prove my point was 2 Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is theopneustos in the original Greek language or God-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be complete or mature, equipped for every good work.”

The man’s reply to me was, “You’re the first person to ever tell me that!” Why do I bring this matter up? Because it is essential that we as believers can 1) know the origin of the Bible, and 2) be able to properly defend its truthfulness (1 Pet 3:15; Jude 3).

If we believe man wrote the Bible, then it is no different than any other false religious book. It does not have divine authority, and it is untrustworthy. But, if we believe the collection of 66 books are of a divine origin, then we have to believe it has absolute authority, and we MUST submit to its demands.

Here is another passage that proves that the Bible is God’s word, “Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever (italics mine) by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 2:20-21).

Someone may still argue that “The words were still written by men!” True. But that is where it ends. Man did not contribute any wisdom or insight into God’s word. Man was only an instrument the Lord used to record it.

In Exodus 24:12 God commands Moses to come up to Mount Sinai so he could receive tablets of stone with the Lord’s commandments on them (Emphasis added). Once again, these are God’s words, not man’s.

All throughout scripture we read the phrase(s), “The word of the Lord came to me saying, or God spoke to….”

Jeremiah 1:4 – Now the word of the Lord came to me saying…

Jeremiah 1:9 – Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, “Behold I have put my words in your mouth.”

Jeremiah 30:2 – Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you.

Ezekiel 3:4 – And he said to me, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears.”

Ezekiel 22:1 – And the word of the Lord came to me saying…

Zechariah 4:8 – Then the word of the Lord came to me saying…

Jonah 1:1 – Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying…

1 Kings 21:17 – Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite saying…

Luke 3:2 – during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

Acts 13:48 – And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.

1 Corinthians 14:37 – If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things I write to you are the Lord’s commandment.

Even Jesus while on the earth respected and obeyed his Father’s commands. “For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment – what to say and what to speak (John 12:49).

These men of God did not move unless commanded to do so. Jonah is an exception – he did not initially obey the word of God when he was commanded to preach to Nineveh (Jon 1:3). He did obey later on (Jon 3:1).

The aforementioned verses clearly let us know the words in our Bibles come from God. This is the order of how the word of God came to us in the present:

1

.       Revelation – God supernaturally disclosing his words to the prophets and apostles and men of old

2.       Inspiration – Or better translated, God-breathed. From the mind of the prophet to the original document. Lord placed his words in the minds and hearts of the human authors of scripture to record it on a document

3.       Canonicity – The process that determines which books would comprise our Bibles. We have 66 books in our Protestant Bibles. The Catholic Bible has an additional 12 books called the Apocrypha.[1] Protestants do not believe the Apocrypha are inspired books. Two of the books have reliable historic material – The books of 1 & 2 Maccabees

4.       Transmission – The method of preserving and getting the manuscripts through time to us in the present

5.       Textual Criticism – We have numerous extant (or existing) manuscripts that have to be placed into Old & New Testaments, Hebrew and Greek Bibles

6.       Translation – The process of getting our Hebrew and Greek Bibles into one’s native language

Men throughout history have carefully preserved the Biblical text. That has been their involvement regarding it. He has never had the responsibility or the right to write his own thoughts. The wisdom it contains is far too great for any man or committee of men to develop. The reason the writer of this article can dogmatically say that is because I have read the entire Bible several times, and feel like I have just scratched the surface regarding its marvelous truth. One of my teachers likened his knowledge of Biblical truth like walking along the beach standing at the shoreline with his feet barely getting wet. In his mind, he had not reached into the deep richness of God’s word. What was amazing about his statement was he had been teaching God’s word for forty years and was an amazing and extraordinary expositor of the truth before his passing.

So again, the question must be asked, “Who wrote the Bible?” If you say man wrote it, then we must conclude that it contains nothing but errors and cannot be trusted. It is corrupted and should be thrown away. But, if these are the very words of God, then we must embrace it as the most precious, priceless commodity on earth and be willing to study it diligently, learn its precepts, plumb its depths, obey its commands, preach and teach it lovingly, and boldly, and defend it at all costs. That is what faithful men and women have done throughout history; they were convinced the word of God was true and many gave their lives for it.

Why should we do this?

Simple, because its true (Pro 30:5; John 17:17).

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[1] Apocrypha means hidden. These books were written in what is called the intertestamental period – between the Old and New Testaments. None of the N.T. writers quote from these books. That is why they are not included with the Canon – i.e. the sixty-six. If they are in any Bibles they should be included as a post script indicating they are non-canonical.  

Is God a Respecter of Persons?

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What does genuine confession of Sin look like?

How do you know if someone has really repented of sin? How do you know if you have really repented of sin? Can you say you have sincerely repented if you continue to commit the same sins over and over again? Repentance by definition means in Greek to change one’s mind. Regarding sin we are not only commanded to change our minds, we are to change our behavior as well.

The best illustration in the New Testament would be that of King David. We all know the story of David and Bathsheba, and how he committed adultery with her (2 Sam 11:4). When David was confronted with his sin by the prophet Nathan, David immediately expressed contrition and repented (2 Sam 12:13). As a matter of fact, David said, “ I have sinned against the Lord”. Well, didn’t he sin against Bathsheba and her husband Uriah whom he arranged to have killed in battle too (2 Sam 11:17;12:9)?

Yes, David sinned against all three, but he knew the ultimate and most gravest of his sins was against the Lord who’s laws he broke. God through Moses said, “You shall not murder (Ex 20:13). You shall not commit adultery (Ex 20:14). You shall not steal (Ex 20:15). You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife (Ex 20:17).

To go deeper into David’s grief we must travel to the fifty-first Psalm.

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.

5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

9Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.

14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

15 Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.

16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

18 May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

This is what is called a penitential psalm because the psalmist is expressing grief over his sin. Notice what David says in verses 12-13, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me, then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.”

What the psalmist means in these verses is that once he cleans his own life up, he is in a position to help others see their sin so that they can repent and turn to God like he did.

David is devastated by his sin, and begs to be restored to a right relationship with God. Sin breaks our fellowship with God, not our relationship. David never ceased being a child of God, he was simply in disobedience to his Heavenly Father so he had to be severely chastened for his evil ways (Heb 12:5-11).

This is a clear picture of what genuine repentance looks like. How do we know David truly repented? He never committed adultery again.

We all need to use David’s words as a model of genuine confession of sin and by the power of the Holy Spirit vow to never commit the same sins over and over again. Will we always succeed? No. Because sin or evil dwells within us. But, as we become more like Christ, and develop a more Biblical mind, our frequency to sin should decrease. The more real God becomes to us, the more we will love and revere his commands, the stronger in our walk we will be.

Fire Insurance Christian

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About Evil

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Originally recorded November 1, 2015.