Paul's Charge to Timothy - Part 4

 Part 4 of a 6 part eries: Click here for part 3 or here to go to the start

During the last three posts ,we looked at the three facets of preaching that Paul gave to Timothy.  - Exhort, Reprove and Rebuke.    We saw that we Christians love the exhort part but we could be accused of seldom reproving and even shun the idea of rebuking.  We looked at how the word rebuke is not to be confused with being judgmental, but that in scripture, judging is discerning.

The words preceding the three facets provides further instruction on this - 'Be Ready, whether convenient or not." We will look at the first part - "Be Ready"

How is Timothy to be ready?

Firstly, Timothy prepared himself with prayer. Paul instructed Timothy this at the start of his first letter following the introduction and greeting.  “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;” (1 Tim 2:1)

Spurgeon says this gem

“Notice, that is was a prayer that came before anything else. It does not say that Nehemiah set a watch [ed: this is a watch as in a guard, not a timepiece] and then prayed, but, ‘…Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch’ (Neh 4:9).  Prayer must always be the fore-horse of the team!  Do whatever else is wise but not until you have prayed!  Send for the physician if you are sick, but first pray.  Take the medicine if you have belief that it will do you good, but first pray. ‘Well, I am going to do so and so,’ says one, ‘and I shall pray a blessing on it afterwards.’  Do not begin it until you have prayed!  Begin, continue and end everything with prayer, but especially begin with prayer.  Some people never begin what they are going to do if they prayed about it first, for they could not ask God’s blessing upon it. Is there anybody here who is going out of this Tabernacle to a place where he should not go?  Will he pray first? He knows he cannot ask a blessing on it and, therefore, he ought not to go there!  Go nowhere where you cannot go after prayer!  This would often be a good guide in your choice of where you should go.  Nehemiah first prayed and then set a watch” (Sermon 2254 (1892))

Several years back when I started my ministry I was reading 1 Peter 3:15.

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:(KJV)

The words, “be ready always,” stuck out more than the rest.  I remember asking myself this question (or was it the Holy Spirit prompting?)  “Am I ready?”  At the time I confess that the answer was, 'no.'  I keep asking myself that question, “am I ready.”  The easy answer for most is no, and use that as an excuse for others who can say yes to do the work of spreading the message for Christ.

I have asked myself these questions over a period of time and I want you to ask yourself the same,

• “If someone came up to me and wanted to come to Christ, what would I say?”
• “If I met a person in a desperate situation, what would I say that would lead them to Christ as their only answer?”
• “If I heard a message that seemed to not be based on scripture, what would I say?”
• ‘Am I prepared?”

Rich Vermillion wrote an excellent article on his blog where he outlined a simple test to prove if you are a mature Christian or not.  

One part of that test asks much the same as the questions I posed.  But he added that a person that calls themselves mature in Christ can fire off quotes from scripture on demand to anyone who is seeking salvation – and he means more than John 3:16.  How many Christians can do that?  Sadly not enough. I freely admit that while I can fire off plenty of verses, I am pretty useless at remembering the place where they are. I will usually say, “It says in Philippians that…..”  Fortunately I do carry bible apps on my phone and tablet so can look them up.  Nevertheless it showed me that I have a way to go before declaring myself mature.  How about you?

Paul helped Timothy out here by telling him, “Until I come, give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.” (2 Tim 4:13), “ By pointing out such things to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, having nourished yourself on the words of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.” (1 Tim4:6) “Make every effort to present yourself before God as a proven worker who does not need to be ashamed, teaching the message of truth accurately.” (2 Tim 2:15).  

The King James Version states the last verse this way “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 

I am going to take you on an important tangent for a small time as we examine this more closely.  The last part of that verse is explained in more detail in Hebrews.  "The word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedgedsword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Heb 4:12). The overall theme is that the word of God is the ultimate source of discernment (Judging).  We see four facets of us humans here, the body (joint and marrow), the soul (incuding the spirit), the mind (thoughts) and the heart (intents) The four things we are supposed to Love the Lord our God with.  Furthermore, the two sets of soul/spirit and thoughts/intents (or heart/mind) is difficult to rationalise and explain well.  

From personal experience, when I was trying to explain in Bislama what the soul/spirit/mind/heart difference was, it proved a bigger task than what I imagined.  There is a whole series I could write on those four facets but in brief I will say that the pairs are difficult to separate as they are very similar as to appear the same.  The point is that the word of God can make that separation.

Also I want you to consider the fact that Christ himself is seen in John's revelation as having a sharp twoedged sword going forth out of his mouth.  I need not remind you again that, in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.  Take a close look at the Hebrews verse again and notice that the word of God is a discerner.  'Discerner' is a noun that represents something that can perceive, detect or distinguish differences.  That implies that it is capable of comprehension meaning the word is alive, does it not? The Apostle Peter agrees (1 Pet 1:23) and the King James translation of Hebrews also agrees. Christ is alive, word of God is alive,   the scriptures tnat we know as the Old and New Testament are also alive.  Christ and the word are inseprarable.  I want to throw out to you this point - The word of God, is the Bible, is Christ, the son of the living God, is God.  To deny gods Word is therefore to deny Christ, deny the Bible and to deny God.  Deny any one and you deny them all.  Devalue any one and you devalue them all.  

IT COMES DOWN TO THIS - ANYONE OR ANY SO CALLED CHURCH OR BELIEF THAT DENIES OR DEVALUES GOD'S WORD, ( That is, Christ and the Bible), DENIES GOD.  So simple!

The more that you study the word, the more you will be able to discern, or judge, what is true an what is false.  We do not judge, but the word of God can.  We are expected to judge according to that word of God.

Now we return to the place where we left the story: So from those three verses which provide instruction to Timothy we can see that in order to proclaim the message that is the Gospel and the message of the word of God, he must devote himself to the study of scripture.  Again I emphasise that Timothy needed to be grounded in the Word of God so much that he had to live and breathe scripture.  He was as Rich Vermillion defines it, a mature Christian.  For Timothy was well prepared to extoll, reprove and rebuke using scripture!

Apollos, “refuted the Jews vigorously in public debate, demonstrating from the scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.” (Acts 18:28).  Notice here that Apollos refuted vigorously.  Can you imagine what Apollos would say if the Jews said, “do not judge!”

Now when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul became wholly absorbed with proclaiming the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. (Acts 18:5)

Proverbs tells us, “My child, keep my words and treasure up my commands in your own keeping.” (Prov 7:1)

 While we are in Proverbs, an extension to this verse can be found back in Chapter 2

Prov 2:1-15 (NET)

1.  My child, if you receive my words, and store up my commands within you,

 2.  by making your ear attentive to wisdom, and by turning your heart to understanding,

 3.  indeed, if you call out for discernment – raise your voice for understanding –

 4.  if you seek it like silver, and search for it like hidden treasure,

 5.  then you will understand how to fear the LORD, and you will discover knowledge about God.

 6.  For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.

 7.  He stores up effective counsel for the upright, and is like a shield for those who live with integrity,

 8.  to guard the paths of the righteous and to protect the way of his pious ones.

 9.  Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity – every good way.

 10.  For wisdom will enter your heart, and moral knowledge will be attractive to you.

 11.  Discretion will protect you, understanding will guard you,

 12.  to deliver you from the way of the wicked, from those speaking perversity,

 13.  who leave the upright paths to walk on the dark ways,

 14.  who delight in doing evil, they rejoice in perverse evil;

 15.  whose paths are morally crooked, and who are devious in their ways;

Another word from Spurgeon who said,

”The open volume of the Word of God is our open evidence of salvation” (Sermon 2297 (1893)). 

Then Jesus said, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and take up residence with him.” (John 14:23) 

We have covered two important points are important for Timothy to prepare or ‘Be ready” for his mission – prayer and study of scriptures.  There were other preparations but we will leave it for this post at those two.   
I want to tie these in and demonstrate how this does not solely apply to Timothy but to us all.  I take you back to the words of Jesus when he was asked a trap question as to which commandment is the greatest.

 Matt 22:37-40 (KJV)

37.   Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

 38.  This is the first and great commandment.

 39.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

 40.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

In the proof texts above we see that keeping Gods word (obeying His commandments) is paramount to being an effective servant of Christ.  Devotion to the study of the Bible, prayer are two elements that demonstrate that you keep His word.  To keep His word you have to read His word.  To love his Word is to Love Him.

As AW Tozer says

“To love God with all our heart we must first of all will to do so.  We should repent our lack of love and determine from this moment on to make God the object of our devotion.  We should set our affections on things above and aim our hearts toward Christ and heavenly things.  We should read the Scriptures every day and prayerfully obey them, always firmly willing to love God with all our heart and our neighbour as ourself.” (In Pursuit of God – emphasis mine)

Since we are expected to obey and keep Gods commandments then naturally we are therefore expected to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul and mind. To love God we must love His word, to love God we should pray to Him.  If you are to be useful in spreading the Gospel message and of absolute importance if you are to be in Church leadership with the responsibility that entails, you must be ready.  Can you effectively use scripture to reprove, rebuke or exhort? Paul knew it, Timothy knew it, all the Apostles knew it, Even the Old Testament prophets knew it (but they did not yet know personally the Messiah yet, but they were aware of the Holy Spirit – Spirit of God.) 

Do not read this and think, yeah, well I am not in leadership and I am not likely go out and spread the gospel then, consider this: 

Peter says in 1 Peter 3:15 to be ready to give an answer.  He was addressing who? – He addressed his letter to the “strangers all around Asia Minor”! (1 Pe 1:1).  He was not talking to church leaders, or evangelists and the like.  He was talking to common people spread all over Asia Minor who were, on the road spreading the gospel message.

This is the same as you being a stranger to me wherever you are since I have no idea who you are! .I am a stranger to you too.  Yes you may be a brother or sister to me in Christ but you are still a stranger.   Here in Vanuatu I am adopted into two families.  Family structure here is massive compared with the West.  As such, I have tens or even hundreds of relatives, yet I have no idea who they are!

So, no offense intended when I tell you that I don’t care it you are a bishop, pastor, priest, elder, deacon, evangelist, missionary, organist, flower arranger, church usher, or pew sitter.  You are a stranger in another land, and Peter would have thought the same!    (I am literally a stranger in another land - I am an ex-pat New Zealander living in Vanuatu!) Therefore I implore you to be ready also!  Never did Jesus or an Apostle say that this is exclusive for some.  They never condemned anyone for sharing the true gospel.  To be ready then, you need to have a good grounding in the Word of God and to do that you must incorporate bible study into your life.

The Bereans – Example to us all

A great example of a group that got studied the scriptures daily and use that to discern whether teachers were telling the truth or not were the Jewish believers from Berea. This passage is coming out loud and clear in a tremendous amount of apologetic ministries these days so it is important that you heed the lesson. 

Acts 17:10-12 (NET)

10.  The brothers sent Paul and Silas off to Berea at once, during the night. When they arrived, they went to the Jewish synagogue.

11.  These Jews were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they eagerly received the message, examining the scriptures carefully every day to see if these things were so.

12.  Therefore many of them believed, along with quite a few prominent Greek women and men.

One thing that I find interesting here is that the Jews in Berea are compared with those in Thessalonica. Berea is literally just down the road from Thessalonica, Macedonia, which is part of modern day Greece. 

We have looked at two sections from Thessalonians previously when we were investigating the three facets of the use of the message – exhorting, reproofing and rebuking.  It was mentioned that there was considerable conflict between the more Orthodox Jews (I am not sure if they were called that then) and the Christian Jews. Paul and company had a difficult time there.  We don’t need to concern ourselves with that at this time, but I want to focus on the verse 11 as a whole as it applied to the Bereans. But first I want you to not forget the context of this passage.

Another interesting thing to come out of the Thessalonian experience was that Paul and company preached in the synagogue yet there were many prominent Greek men and women that got converted. (Ac 17:4). These Greeks were most likely proselytes converted to Judaism since the Jews accounted for about 20% of Thessalonica at the time of Paul’s visit. However, the result of the Greek converts to Christ made the Jews jealous.  A characteristic of Paul’s ministry was that wherever he went he preached to the Jews first then the Gentiles.  This is an interesting point that Paul raised with the Romans:

I ask then, they did not stumble into an irrevocable fall, did they? Absolutely not! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make Israel jealous. Romans 11:11. 

The events in Thessalonica testify to that having resulted.  However, also in Romans, and four verses earlier we read, “ What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was diligently seeking, but the elect obtained it. The rest were hardened,”

The New English Translation calls the Bereans open-minded.  The King James calls them, “more noble.”  Given the reason for that description, the term open-minded appears more apt.  However note that while both are Jewish groups, it was the Bereans that had the difference in that they, “eagerly received the message, examining the scriptures carefully every day to see if these things were so.”  In many respects that Bereans could be regarded as part of that remnant Jewish group that found the Messiah.  How they found the Messiah was because they eagerly received the message (the Gospel) through careful and daily searching the scriptures.  They did not blindly accept, nor did they throw out Paul’s argument on the basis that it went against their current traditions. 

You can be certain that Paul quoted a tremendous amount of Scripture to them.  We see his knowledge of scripture to be top class.  He was after all a member of the Sanhedrin (or rather was, before he encountered the living Christ)  and therefore by nature of that office, he was well educated in scripture.  The Thessalonian Jews by and large did not examine the Word and see if what Paul was saying was true or not.  They were blinded and prophetically, became jealous when the Greeks accepted their (albeit rejected) Messiah.   The remnant Berean Jews did accept the message and it is my personal opinion that they helped form the modern extreme form of Messianic Jews that adhere to Judaism.

What is most important here that Paul most likely spoke the same message to both groups.  (In fact he probably spread the same message to every group!  There is after all One True Message – The True Gospel of Jesus Christ).  One group believed and the other did not (or only a few did).  The group that believed did so because they studied carefully and daily, the Word of God.  Therein lays a secret that some know but many don’t -  It was the Word of God that led them to salvation, not the eloquent and convincing argument of Paul and company.  That is an important message for everyone who desires to bring people to Christ and it is vital for the Christian believer as well.  You can bring someone to Christ but you cannot save their souls.  Only the Word of God can do that.  Any Christian knows that the bible is the Word of God (or at least they should).  But it takes a careful study of Scripture to reveal that the Word of God is, of course, God’s spoken word.  That word inspired men to write scripture so the bible is the written word of God.  But the Word also came and dwelt amongst us (Jn 1:14) and that Word was with God and the Word was God. (Jn 1:1).  That Word is Jesus Christ.

If you want to know Christ, read the Word of God. If you want to know God, read the Word of God. If you want to keep his commandments, read the Word of God. If you want to know if what I am writing is true or not, or if your pastor's last sermon is true, read the Word of God.  If you want to help someone to come to Christ – read them the Word of God.  The Holy Spirit will convict them through the Word of God, as He did with the Bereans.

 If you need to exhort, reprove, or rebuke – READ THE WORD OF GOD  -but first of all PRAY!

In the next post we will look at not only being ready, but as Paul instructs, be ready whether convenient or not.

Polygamy and the Mormons

Did you know that Joseph Smith was a poygamist.  Not only that but he had many affairs with married woman and with underage girls.  Here is a little read piece from Doctrines and Covenants - a book that the Mormons claim is divine scripture and therefore talk from God. 

D&C132
52 And let mine handmaid, Emma Smith, receive all those that have been given unto my servant Joseph, and who are virtuous and pure before me; and those who are not pure, and have said they were pure, shall be destroyed, saith the Lord God.
   [Translation: Emma, Smith's true wife is to accept other virgin woman that Smith wishes to have as wives]

53 For I am the Lord thy God, and ye shall obey my voice; and I give unto my servant Joseph that he shall be made ruler over many things; for he hath been faithful over a few things, and from henceforth I will strengthen him.

54 And I command mine handmaid, Emma Smith, to abide and cleave unto my servant Joseph, and to none else. But if she will not abide this commandment she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord; for I am the Lord thy God, and will destroy her if she abide not in my law.
  [Emma must remain a loyal wife to Smith and only Smith.  If she leaves him then God will destroy her]

The Mormon Corporation says that they no longer support polygamy but there are quite a few that still do.  Instead they speak of Celestial Marriage and have special ceremonies where a young woman can be "sealed" to a man for eternity.  When they enter their heaven (celestial) they use these wives (plural) to procreate beings from their own little World as the new Earth's God and Mother.

THE BIBLE SAYS
 1 cor 6:9-10 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

 1 Tim 3:2  A bishop [Overseer or Elder] then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach

 Mark 12:18-25
18  Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) also came to him and asked him, 19  “Teacher, Moses wrote for us: ‘If a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, that man must marry the widow and father children for his brother.’ 20  There were seven brothers. The first one married, and when he died he had no children. 21  The second married her and died without any children, and likewise the third. 22  None of the seven had children. Finally, the woman died too. 23  In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For all seven had married her.” 24  Jesus said to them, “Aren’t you deceived for this reason, because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God? 25  For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

Paul's Charge to Timothy - Part 2

Part 2 of 6 part series

In Part 1 we looked at Paul's charge to Timothy and the basic background to that instruction.  We looked at the key verse in the charge - 2 Timothy 4:2 - and looked at the first facet of preaching the Word of God - Exhorting.  We now turn our attention to the next point

The next point is reproving.    Another word for reproving is convicting.  Preaching the message must convict.  Charles Spurgeon says something along the lines of; that a Christian is not a true Christian until they are absolutely convicted of their sins in the first place.  They must reach a point where they see the absolute depravity of their situation and cry out in desperation God for forgiveness.  It is the responsibility placed on evangelists, and pastors in particular to convict sinners of their sins.  We seldom see that at altar calls these days, do we?

Repentance means to turn away from sin and towards God through Jesus and can only come about when one is convicted of their sins.  That is a violent act for the flesh and the sinners spirit but for fleshly desires it is destructive, but for the spirit is powerfully constructive.   It is like turning a large ship, full steam ahead into rocks 180 degrees around and steaming on full power away.  If the captain saw the rocks and said, ”Oh look, some rocks! We had better back off a bit, but after I have finished my nice cup of tea.” What would the result be?  BANG, SINK, DROWN, DEAD!  The captain instead says “YIKES – ROCKS!  Full reverse - NOW! (He may even drop the cup)”   Unless we see the hopelessness of our sinful existence, or make others see that hopelessness, they have little chance of understanding what repentance actually means. 

I have stood on the edge of an active Volcano – Yasur in Tanna,just like the people in this photo:

This is what you can see in the daytime.  Notice the steep sides!

Now the beast was seized, and along with him the false prophet … Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with sulfur. (Rev 19:20)

And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are too, (Rev 20:10)

Rev 20:14-15 (NET)

Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death – the lake of fire.

 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, that person was thrown into the lake of fire.

My friend, your life and the life of others is not a game!

For me personally, that reason, like Spurgeon’s, is all about quality of conversion not quantity. I would rather see one person saved and truly repent, and remain a disciple of Christ, and become greater in the eyes of God than I am (however significant I am only God knows) than to see thousands cite the sinners prayer at one of my services without truly being convicted of their sins and wandering back “onto the rocks” days later.  If they never truly come to repentance then they are never truly saved.  Those that are not saved are not in the book of life and they will spend eternity in torment. 

It is not only my belief but also the belief of men such as AW Tozer, George Whitefield and John Wesley.  These great men of God preached and wrote of the importance of conviction leading to repentance.  We often joke about fire and brimstone preachers.  Yes we must share the gospel message with courtesy and respect (1Pe 3:15-16) and not go around everywhere and tell people they are going to hell!  God is not interested in people that only repented to avoid the lake of fire, but he is delighted by people who see how depraved sin is stopping and  calling out to God - Abba, Father!  Save me!

The modern preacher instead, tries to avoid completely terms like hell, fire and brimstone, and “ghastly” concepts by replacing them with catch phrases like

• “Repent and God will bless you with wealth and happiness”
• “Come to Jesus and he will take away your sickness”
• “Become a Christian and your life will improve”
• “Join us and become a part of our family because we will make you welcome”
• “Give give give.  Give and receive back from God, 10, 30, 50 , 100 fold!”
• “If you accept Jesus as your saviour you will go to Heaven”

I have just got of the internet where I was in dialog on a public forum just now over the topic “is smoking sin.”  I pointed out a few things which I won’t go into but as I was referring to sin he accused me of edifying sin!  To him, the Holy Spirit has liberated us and we can do anything we like!  These people do not like talk about sin.  Sadly this is common amongst many evangelical preachers these days so he is merely echoing his false teacher. Joel Orsteen for one is on record for saying that he does not dwell on sin and hell but only on the good stuff.

The phrases above by themselves are straight forward enough.  In fairness I have slipped them out myself at times, especially the last one.  In themselves there are not wrong, although some offer guaranteed promises that challenge God which makes them wrong, that is the issue.  (For example, give 10% to God and he will give you 30 or 100 fold,  versus, You shall not put the Lord thy God to the test (Deut 6:16, Mat 4:7)). 

The issue is the context in which they are given.  The sinner is more convinced to become a Christian because they get something out of it, rather than the reality that they need to put so much in – their life!  Take another look at the phrases – they all say what you will get.  The result is a so called Christian with selfish ambition who has not truly converted. That person has a high probability of turning back to sin simply because they never truly turned away.  We could say that they repented (turned away) from God but that would mean that they turned towards him at some stage when most likely they didn’t.  Even if they did receive the Gospel (received being accepted and adopted and not just listened to) and then turned away, then that is Apostasy.

But it does not end there.  There are many Christians in church that believe that because they have repented and are therefore saved, that they have made it!  If you have truly repented then, yes, you are truly saved.  But we must remember that it is hard to turn that ship of our heart and thoughts around.  Picture yourself in a car speeding along and the driver turns sharply to the left.  Your body moves to the right. It tries to keep going in the line of the original movement until it adjusts to the new direction.  You do not actually move right but as the car moves left you appear to move right.  That is called Inertia.  When we repent, there is an element of spiritual inertia. We turn our lives around spiritually, but the flesh still wants to travel along the direction it once did. Because of this we must receive constant conviction. 

Francis Chen, founder of Cornerstone Church (Simi Valley, CA – and not to be confused with Cornerstone Fellowship Church) in his preface his New York Times Bestseller – “Crazy Love” said that the book was written for those “who would rather die before their convictions do.”  To be convicted you must first be convinced and to be convinced your beliefs must be reproved and in some cases rebuked.  It is easy to look at reproving as being for sinners alone but it also is constant in the life of the Christian and within the church. Reproving and indeed rebuking can be a healthy thing!   So are you absolutely convinced that Jesus died on the cross for your sins?  If the answer is no then you need more conviction, seek reproof! 

A PRACTICAL EXAMPLE OF REPROOF

Do you believe that there is no Trinity because you have heard that the word Trinity is never mentioned in the bible?  Then you have been convicted by a heretic at some point.  As reproof I can point you to this (as a quick starter only) - Firstly, we know that God the Father is God so we do not need to prove that.

Jesus is God 

God said to Moses, “I AM that I AM.” And he said, “You must say this to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exod 3:14)

Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, before Abraham came into existence, I am!” (John 8:58)

No one has ever seen God. The only one, himself God, who is in closest fellowship with the Father, has made God known. (John 1:18)

If you have known me, you will know my Father too. And from now on you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:7)

The Holy Spirit is God

The Spirit of God is God, just as your Spirit is You

For who among men knows the things of a man except the man’s spirit within him? So too, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. (1Cor 2:11)  [Only God is omniscient]

The angel of God, who was going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. (Exod 14:19)  ... His people remembered the ancient times. Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea, along with the shepherd of his flock? Where is the one who placed his holy Spirit among them, (Isa 63:11) [These two verses speak also of Jesus]

how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our consciences from dead works to worship the living God. (Heb 9:14) [Only God is eternal - from everlasting to everlasting]

In addition to God the Father, no other gods are associated with God.  Just the THREE – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit- as one True God.

That is what I would have said to a very friendly, well-dressed man and his well-mannered son, both Christadelphian believers (the latest false Christian Cult to establish in Vanuatu), in the market the other day issuing pamphlets that heretically denied that the Holy Spirit and Jesus are God and that their belief there is no Trinity. Unfortunately I was busy doing other business as I would have loved to share the real Gospel with them.

Conviction is not guilt.  Conviction is belief or faith.  A Christian has a conviction that Christ died on the cross, was buried and rose again according to scripture. That is not guilt, it is faith!  Conviction not only makes us repent from sin but it also keeps us in Christ.

I will add here at the end something of paramount importance: Conviction of sin comes about through the work of the Holy Spirit.  We can lead a person to Christ the saviour but we cannot save them.  We can prove to them that sin leads to death and hell, and even directly point out their sins, but only the Spirit can convict them.

 I shake my head when I read about modern evangelists that publish how many thousands attended an altar call for salvation in some stadium someplace.  Their marketing hypes that up.  The glory is all theirs and they have received their reward. (Mat 6:2). I read a book recently by Reinhard Bonnke which I gave up half way through.  The reason why was because the only thing I really learnt was how many people come to his crusades and how big the alter calls are.  Bonkke writes a lot about the fire of the Spirit, but the only place that book belongs is in a different fire.   This is a little difficult to do as it is on my tablet!
He is more pyromaniac than charismatic.

Of the thousands, I am praising God for the few that actually got convicted by the Holy Spirit and were lead to true repentance, because they will come to know Christ.  But I have concern for the thousands who were not genuinely touched because they are most likely to fall back.  Here in Vanuatu, whenever I do an altar call, nearly everyone comes forward.  Even people who I know are strong Christians come forward to accept Christ.  I know that few are genuine but there are some who genuinely are.  If I count them (which I don’t, that kind of number doesn’t interest me.  I leave the counting to God as only he knows who to count) then there are few genuine people who actually repent. 

The evangelist receives all the attention because it is claimed that if it wasn’t for him then 1,000’s would not come forward.  I am telling you now that if a white man stands up in Africa, India, or here in Vanuatu then thousands will come forward. 

I am not denying that true evangelists can lead literally thousands to Christ because clearly that precedent has happened.  It happened during the Day of Pentecost when 5000 got saved (someone counted), during the Great Awakenings in America beginning about 150 years ago, and God still uses some Spirit filled evangelists today.  Evangelism is listed as a gift of the Holy Spirit and that gift is still active. But the true evangelist with that gifting never claims that he is the agent. 

Again, Paul says it nicely

 To the weak I became weak in order to gain the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that by all means I may save some. (1 Cor 9:22)

Save some, not plenty, or thousands, but some.  (Please do not stress that Paul said that he saved some, since only Jesus saves, as saved can be figurative as in this context). For that reason, my heart sings out in joy if I get just one come forward out of the many that truly repent. If you have never experienced that first hand (and let’s face it, most of you have never stood at the front of a church or on a stage and made an altar call – it’s no big deal if you haven’t ) then it is hard to explain that joy, but trust me, it is amazing!

Secondly, what will convict people the most is not some fancy sermon, or some entertaining performance, but what convicts is the Word of God.  If we look at a court case.  You can be convicted of you crime only if there is proof.  What proof is there that sinners are going to hell?  What proof is there that Christ died on the cross for your sins? The proof does not come from what I say, or what a famous preacher says, but the proof that you are destined to hell comes out of the mouth of the one that created it- God.  And the proof that you are destined for Eternal Life and other rewards comes from the one that created that – God.  The strongest witness for or against you is the one that created you, who knows you and knows your thoughts.  That is God . So you are convicted by the Holy Spirit based on the Word of God.

“It is God’s Word that saves souls, not our comment upon it, however correct that comment may be!  Let us, then, be scrupulously careful to honour the Holy Spirit by taking the weapon which He was prepared for us, believing in the full inspiration of the sacred Scriptures and expecting that God will prove their inspiration by their effort upon the minds and hearts of men” (Spurgeon – Sermon 2246 (1842))

[It is interesting that Spurgeon wrote this a staggering 171 years ago who wrote that about 1650 to 1700 years after Paul's letters, yet, sadly, in 170 years since Spurgeon, many modern evangelical preachers have forgotten that!]

In my next post, we will next look at the one that most preachers don't like to teach about - rebuking

Weekly Devotion - Good Times and Bad Times

Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praises. Jas 5:13

How are you today?  When you woke up this morning, did you open your eyes feeling sore, not wanting to go to work, did you groan as you prepared for the day ahead, are you suffering loss?  These are some things that cause us suffering.  Or did you wake up, stretch your arms and felt great!  You were looking forward to another day?

As write this I am looking out my study window and it is clear blue sky!  There is a light breeze tickling the coconut fronds.  I am in good spirits!  If you are feeling down you won’t like to hear me say that.    

Likewise, if you are in good spirits and I tell you that I am feeling miserable, you won’t want to hear that either.  This is because the human emotion of “feeling” something is so unreliable and not to be trusted.

The instruction given to us by the Apostle James makes it clear that whenever we are suffering we should turn our attention to God and seek Him in prayer.

“Believe in prayer and you will pray believingly” 

(1891, Spurgeon, sermon 2209)

And if we are in good spirits, we should turn our attention to God and praise him – thank him for your good situation.  We all go through both situations, we ride up and down.  But no matter what, and in every situation, turn your attention to God.

The universe came into existence as a medium through which the Creator might show forth His perfections to all moral and intellectual beings: “I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another” (Isa 42:8).  “Thou art worthy,O Lord, to receive glory, and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Rev 4:11) (A W Tozer- Man, The Dwelling Place of God)

Many of you in Vanuatu would have been on a boat to travel back to your home island.  Or perhaps you have been out fishing. the rocking of the boat can make you sick. The worst thing you can do is look down.  Experienced travellers will tell the sea-sick person to look up and concentrate not on the waves or things close at hand but the horizon. Why? – The Horizon doesn’t move – you do!  Likewise, when you are feeling down, look something  unchangeable and unshakable – God.

For I am the LORD, I change not; Mal 3:6a

Now what happens if you are feeling great but then you take your eyes off the horizon, then you will start concentrating on things back in the boat and you will feel sick again. So it is often with us.  We feel great and we forget to thank God at this time.  Keep your eyes on the unchangeable and unshakable God.

A parallel to this is found in Matthew 8:24-27.  The disciples were with Jesus and a great storm came up.  The disciples panicked.  They were looking at things close at hand.  They were concentrating on the waves.  What was Jesus doing – sleeping!  You can see here that we humans get thrown around, but the unmovable cannot get thrown around.  The good news here is that Jesus proved that no matter what the problem, and how big it appears, that problem itself is under submission to Him.

This week, spend time each day in prayer.  Ask God to help you and also be sure to also praise Him.  If you do not know what to say, use the bible verses above as a guide.  Often the best prayer and praise to God is by proclaiming God's Words.

Through him [Jesus] then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, acknowledging his [Jesus] name. Heb 13:15

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Cult Alert for Vanuatu

Christadelphians

Some people in Vila may have been handed a small foldable handout from some very nice people around the Market recently. The handout is called 10 Important Facts You Need to Know. But who are the Christadelphians and since they have Christ in their name, are they Christian?

The short answer is NO THEY ARE NOT CHRISTIAN
Cults are very good at taking a truth, presenting it as truth but adding a small twist of lies in with it. This is very subtle and the intention is to hooking you into their belief and follow their programming before you realise they are false teachers.

I will cover this cult in more detail but for now I will cover the first “fact” that they list in their handout to prove they are not based on sound bible doctrine and you should beware! Let us look at what the handout says: (I have put their statements in red so that you are not confused)

There is only one God
Jesus taught that knowing and understanding God is ESSENTIAL to life eternal.

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. John 17v3

The word ‘Trinity’ and the phrases “God the Son” and “God the Holy Spirit” are NEVER found in the Bible.

Let us tackle each one - point at a time

There is only one God

The first statement is true. There is only one God.

Jesus taught that knowing and understanding God is ESSENTIAL to life eternal.

The second statement you would think sounds true but is not. The Bible makes it very clear that Eternal Life is given as a free gift to those that believes (follows) Jesus Christ. Belief in Jesus as the Christ is ESSENTIAL to life eternal. Furthermore, it is Christ that gives us Eternal Life (Jn 10:28), just as Father God can and just as the Holy Spirit can also. This claim came from Jesus and through the Apsotles (Rom 6:23)

John Chapter 3 explains all of this (Jn 3:14-16, 36). Jesus taught that the one who is given life eternal is whoever believes in Him (Jesus)

Christadelphians do not like John 1:1-3,14 (KJV)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.John 1:1

[So here we see that The Word was in the beginning, from time eternal past (Bifo we bifo); Also the Word was God.]

The same was in the beginning with God.John 1:2

[God and the Word existed bifo we bifo]

All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.John 1:3

[The word “him’ here is plural. It can mean ‘him’ or ‘them’. Notice that John did not say, All things were made by God, so we cannot assume that he meant God, the Word or both. was responsible for creation verse 10 says that the world was made by the word. (1 Cor 8:6 suggests that it was God through the Word also).

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.John 1:14

[The Word was made flesh. God was not made flesh but his Son Jesus was. So Jesus is the word, and the word was with God and the word was God. – God the Son!

In John 5:37-40: Jesus was talking to the scribes and Pharisees. These people thought that they could become righteous and know God and gain eternal life through studying scripture. But in that they failed to see the Jesus the Messiah. This is true of the Christadelphians. You will also read here that the Son (Jesus) will raise us up on the last day. The ability to raise people up like this is reserved for deity. Then in the next Note in the verse above that Jesus said “I am the father are one.” He was accused of blasphemy by saying that he was God. His answer was “I am the Son of God.”

It is not just Jesus that claims that eternal life comes through Him, but the Apostles claim eternal life comes through Jesus too

1John 5:5-12 (NET) (Apostle John writing)

5 Now who is the person who has conquered the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 6 Jesus Christ is the one who came by water and blood – not by the water only, but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify, 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three are in agreement. 9 If we accept the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, because this is the testimony of God that he has testified concerning his Son. 10 (The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has testified concerning his Son.) 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 The one who has the Son has this eternal life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have this eternal life.

The word ‘Trinity’ and the phrases “God the Son” and “God the Holy Spirit” are NEVER found in the Bible.

This is put in there to question your faith. It is there to confuse and make you question your faith. The word Christadelphian is not in the bible too, but that does not deny their existence. It also never says the word Bible in the Bible, but you know that to exist. It also NEVER says in the bible that the Apostles went to the toilet either. I know that you breathe. I did not read anywhere that you do, but I can deduce you can because you are a living human. But we know that they must have done so, because we know what humans do. This is called implicit reasoning.

So lets clear this up: It is true that Trinity, “God the Son” and God the Holy Spirit” is never found in the bible, but you can find implicit references that prove that the Son (Jesus) IS God and that the Holy Spirit IS God by looking to see they have the characteristics of God.

God has characteristics that only deity can possess – OMNIPOTENCE (All powerful), OMNISCIENCE (All knowing) AND OMNIPRESENCE (Present everywhere). Only God has those three. Only God is Eternal and therefore only God can give eternal life. So if Jesus is God then he must match those characteristics – If it looks like a mango, and smells like a mango and tastes like a mango then it is a mango!

JESUS IS OMNIPOTENT AND ETERNAL- For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.Isa 9:6

Rom 1:2-4 (NET)

2This gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures,3 concerning his Son who was a descendant of David with reference to the flesh,4 who was appointed the Son-of-God-in-power according to the Holy Spirit by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.

John 1:1

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Rev 5:12-14 (KJV)

12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

 John 8:57-58 (NET)

Then the Judeans replied, “You are not yet fifty years old! Have you seen Abraham?”58 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, before Abraham came into existence, I am!”

[the term I AM is a holy name for God (see Ex 3:14). Here we see that jesus called himself God and also that he existed before Abraham!]

JESUS IS OMNISCIENT (all knowing) - Furthermore, I will strike her followers with a deadly disease, and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay each one of you what your deeds deserve. Rev 2:23

JESUS IS OMNIPRESENT but not while he was in the flesh on Earth. For where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them.”Matt 18:20.

For in him all the fullness of deity lives in bodily form, Col 2:9, see also Gal 2:20 







Sadly, despite the Christadelphians declaring that they recognise Jesus as the Son of God, they do not declare that Jesus is God. Because of this fact they do not worship the Jesus that a true believer in Jesus, and scripture regards as the Son of God.

1John 2:22-26 (NET) (Apostle John Writing)

22 Who is the liar but the person who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This one is the antichrist: the person who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either. The person who confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 As for you, what you have heard from the beginning must remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 Now this is the promise that he himself made to us: eternal life.

26 These things I have written to you about those who are trying to deceive you.

The word Christ means saviour. Only God can save and forgive sins and give eternal life yet Jesus Christ can also do this. Because Jesus stated categorically that he was God then we can rightly say God the Son. To deny that is to deny the Son and to deny the Son does not have God. That person is a liar.

Matthew 28:19
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit

It does not say “names” It says name but name here is a noun – the name being (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) – Trinity – The three are one God!

I will have more to say about the Christadelphians later.  In the meantime, if you see them, be friendly and say hello.  Greet them as Ni-Vanuatu are famous for.  They are here to build their meeting place in Vila.  Remember that you should pray for their salvation and that they come to know the true God.  Often these people are unaware themselves that they have been lead astray,  One out of three Mormon missionaries leave the Mormon Corporation when they finish their term after two years because they come to realise that they have been preaching lies.  They often leave God altogether.  This may be true for the Christadelphians too.  That is very sad.

Eph 1:15-23 (NET)
For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,
 I do not cease to give thanks for you when I remember you in my prayers.
I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you spiritual wisdom and revelation in your growing knowledge of him,
 – since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened – so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
 and what is the incomparable greatness of his power toward us who believe, as displayed in the exercise of his immense strength.
 This power he exercised in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms
 far above every rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
 And God put all things under Christ’s feet, and he gave him to the church as head over all things.
 Now the church is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. 

Paul's Charge to Timothy - Part 3

You are reading Part 3 of a six part series.  click here for part 2 or here to start.

Our last post covered reproof as it is mentioned in 2 Tim 4:2. In this third part of our series regarding Paul's Instruction to Timothy,we turn our attention to rebuking.  This is a tacky issue for most Christians and therefore I want to implore you to bear with me as I try to unravel what Paul means by saying that there is a place for rebuking.  I intend no offense by what I might say but as I always instruct my audience.  Check out what I say against scripture.  I strongly encourage discussion and if you strongly disagree and believe I am in error, please comment accordingly.
 

During my previous posts, I have actually incorporated the third term use in the Timothy charge – rebuke.  A rebuke is stronger than a reprove.  Rebuking tends towards the person while reproving tends towards the doctrine, belief or action.  Additionally, rebuking tends towards the believer while reproving tends towards the sinner.  This is not set in stone but it is a useful way of referring to it.  If you try and look up reprove and rebuke in your bible, and compare it with another translation you will see that the two words are interchanged a lot.  It is a bit like the difference between scarlet and crimson.

Do not concern yourself too much with the comparison and try to come up with a hard and fast difference. However be aware that the “do not judge” policies of some appears to have come about as a result of a misunderstanding of the difference between reproof and rebuke.

According to Mickelson’s Enhanced Strong’s Greek and Hebrew Dictionaries, the Greek word used in this passage – Elegcho (pronounced  - El-eng-kho) means Confute or Admonish.  Confute means to deny or disprove, while admonish is to reprimand, rebuke or warn.  Since the verse contains the word rebuke as well, it may be seen to mean that Paul’s intentions with this word was more with the confuting facet –Disproving.  Remember that a theme in Paul’s letter to Timothy was to beware of false prophets and teachings.  Be on your guard from blasphemers.  Timothy was sent by Paul into pagan hotspots where Christians were contending with pagans.  (Pagans do not call themselves pagans by the way) – Corinth, Thessalonica, Philippi, Colossi.   Thessalonian Christians were contending with Non-Christian Jews. In this context, which is relevant, the denial and disproval was targeted at false teachings and pagan belief. This raises an interesting point:

Have you ever used this saying, or had this saying said to you, “Do not judge lest you be judged yourself?”  You may be surprised by this, but the quote in the bible is actually “Judge not that ye not be judged”(Mt 7:1)  It is also used in Romans chapter two verse one.

Therefore you are without excuse, whoever you are, when you judge someone else. For on whatever grounds you judge another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge practice the same things.

This verse is a favourite of  those who come under rebuke or reproof. The main problem with their defence is that while Jesus said, “Judge not, lest you be judged,” also said later in the same verse “you will know them [false prophets, etc.] by their fruits."  If I have a bad fruit, I can judge if it is good or not by looking at it and inspecting it. 

Then across in John 7:24, Jesus tells us to judge!

Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

Paul says plenty of times do not judge but his letters are full of judgements.

Towards the end of Chapter 4, James says that we should not judge but then rips into people in chapter 5!

There was a popular African-American preacher who was a strong Anti-Homosexuality campaigner.  He preached from the pulpit and on TV with all the fire and brimstone against homosexual activity.  Recently he fell from grace as he was exposed as a homosexual himself when it was revealed that he was having sexual relations with a young man. – “For on whatever grounds you judge another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge practice the same things.”

The founder of the Seventh Day Adventist Church – Ellen G White, laid down many so called God Inspired laws on her followers. One such rule was the banning of eating shellfish, eggs, duck, pork, tea, coffee, etc.  She claimed that God showed her that eating of such things was an abomination to God.  I will not debate whether the list is scriptural or not, but nevertheless she literally persecuted and tormented believed that were caught easting such things.  Yet there are eyewitness reports, even from her family that she loved eating oysters.  Demanded herrings (banned) to eat (this was screamed out by one of her children at a camp meeting when the organisers questioned their cleanliness) and one of her trusted companions noted that her table always had a large bowl of fresh eggs on it. – “For on whatever grounds you judge another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge practice the same things.”

Mrs White’s judgemental actions were akin to the Pharisees.  They introduced man-made rules on top of the Laws of God.  Jesus himself never broke any of the Law yet we see the Pharisees accuse him four times of breaking the Sabbath.  He did not break any of the Sabbath Laws laid down by God through Moses but rather willingly broke pharisaic law to prove a point.  In fact Jesus called them a Brood of Vipers twice and John the Baptist called them the same once.  Matthew 23 contains his most vitriolic attack on the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, in what is termed the Seven Woes.

“Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean. (Matt 23:27)

So Paul’s instruction to Timothy to reprove (in this case; confute – disprove) is not in conflict with Paul’s instruction to the Romans.  Timothy was expected to challenge and disprove whatever beliefs and opinions were not in line with God.  He of course could not disprove something that he himself believed or practiced in secret as that would be hypocritical and make him no better than a Pharisee.

This has practical implications for us today.  Whenever we hear or see things or doctrines that are contradictory to scripture including the Gospel we must be ready to reprove that doctrine.

It is not we that judge but it is the Word of God that Judges.  If we judge people according to the Word of God then just as we judge them in that manner to too God judges us.

But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. (1 Cor 2:15)

Here the the word Judgeth is from the Greek, krino which means ‘to discern.’  The same word krino occurs in the "Do not Judge" verse too.  If you discern (judge) something is wrong then Paul is saying that reproval or a rebuke is in order.

If you check the Strong’s reference whenever the word “judge” appears, you will find that it translates from krino “discern.”  And we discern actions by comparing with  scripture.

So judge (discern) everything against the Word of God because you too are judged (discerned) against the Word of God.  That judgement is not divisive as in you judge someone because you see them drinking a beer, or seen at a nightclub.  Are you judging them because they are at the nightclub, or have you discerned that something is not right with their walk with God?  I see Salvation Army officers in nightclubs - giving out their magazine.I see Christians in kava bars - witnessing - I do it! See the difference?  The judgement that we are talking about when it comes to exhorting and reproving has to do with discernment.   

Now that we have covered the three facets to do with preaching the message, or the Word of God, we will move in the next post to looking at the preceding words - "Be Ready"