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Page 1 Disciple Magazine, Vol. 6, #5, 5/19/2014—Printer-Friendly Version

Table of Contents:Lamb and Lion: The Eternal Christ - - - - - - - 1The Father as Prophet - - - - - - - - - - - - 2What Outsiders Do Not Understand - - - - - - -3Exegetically Speaking- - - - - - - - - - - - 5Words to Stand You on Your Feet - - - - - - - 6Living out the Living Word- - - - - - - - - - 7Following God - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 9Points to Ponder - - - - - - - - - - - - - 10Jewels from Past Giants - - - - - - - - - - -11

Counselor’s Corner - - - - - - - - - - - - 13The Story behind the Song - - - - - - - - - -14Church Builders - - - - - - - - - - - - - 15Advancing the Ministries of the Gospel - - - - 15Marks of the Master - - - - - - - - - - - - 16Book Reviews- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 17News Update- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -18Sermon Helps - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 20Puzzles and ‘Toons - - - - - - - - - - - - 22

__________________________________________________________________________________________Lion and Lamb: The Eternal ChristBy Charles Haddon Spurgeon

I. The Slain Lamb“And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne

and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain” (Rev. 5:6a).

Why should our exalted Lord appear in His wounds in glory? The wounds of Jesus are His glories, His jewels, His sacred ornaments. To the eye of the believer, Jesus is passing fair because He is white and ruddy: white with innocence, and ruddy with His own blood. We see Him as the lily of matchless purity, and as the rose crimsoned with His own gore.

Christ is lovely upon Olivet and Tabor, and by the sea, but oh there never was such a matchless Christ as He that did hang upon the cross! There we beheld all His beauties in perfection, all His attributes developed, all His love drawn out, all His character expressed.

Beloved, the wounds of Jesus are far more fair in our eyes than all the splendor and pomp of kings. The thorny crown is more than an imperial diadem. It is true that He bears not now the scepter of reed, but there was a glory in it that never flashed from scepter of gold. Jesus wears the appearance of a slain Lamb as His court dress in which He wooed our souls, and redeemed them by His complete atonement.

Nor are these only the ornaments of Christ: they are the trophies of His love and of His victory. He has divided the spoil with the strong. He has redeemed for Himself a great multitude whom no man can number, and these scars are the memorials of the fight. Ah! If Christ thus loves to retain the thought of His sufferings for His people, how precious should his wounds be to us!

“Behold how every wound of His a precious balm distils, which heals the scars that sin had made, and cures all mortal ills. Those wounds are mouths that preach His grace; the ensigns of His love; the seals of our expected bliss in paradise above.”

II. The Refiner’s Fire

“The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap” (Mal. 3:2).

The Lord’s first coming was without external pomp or show of power, and yet in truth there were few who could abide its testing might. Herod and all Jerusalem with him were stirred at the news of the wondrous birth. Those who supposed themselves to be waiting for Him, showed the fallacy of their professions by rejecting Him when He came. His life on earth was a winnowing fan, which tried the great heap of religious profession, and few enough could abide the process.

But what will His second advent be? What sinner can endure to think of it? “He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked” (Isa. 11:4). When in His humiliation He did but say to the soldiers, “I am He,” they fell backward; what will be the terror of His enemies when He shall more fully reveal Himself as the I AM? His death shook earth and darkened heaven, what shall be the dreadful splendor of that day in which as the living Savior, He shall summon the quick and dead before Him? O that the terrors of the Lord would persuade men to forsake their sins and kiss the Son lest He be angry!

Though a lamb, He is yet the lion of the tribe of Judah, rending the prey in pieces; and though He breaks not the bruised reed, yet will He break His enemies with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. None of His foes shall bear up before the tempest of His wrath, or hide themselves from the sweeping hail of His indignation; but His beloved bloodwashed people look for His appearing with joy, and hope to abide it without fear: to them He sits as a refiner even now, and when He has tried them they shall come forth as gold. Let us search ourselves this morning and make our calling and election sure, so that the coming of the Lord may cause no dark forebodings in our


mind. O for grace to cast away all hypocrisy, and to be found of Him sincere and without rebuke in the day of His appearing.

III. The Amen“These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true

witness, the beginning of the creation of God” (Rev. 3:14b).The word “amen” solemnly confirms that which

went before; and Jesus is the great confirmer; immutable forever is “the Amen” in all His promises. Sinner, I would comfort you with this reflection. Jesus Christ said, “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” If you come to Him, He will say “Amen” in your soul; His promise shall be true to you. He said in the days of His flesh, “The bruised reed I will not break.” O you poor, broken, bruised heart, if you come to Him, He will say “Amen” to you, and that shall be true in your soul as in hundreds of cases in bygone years.

Christian, is not this very comforting to you also, that there is not a word which has gone out of the Savior’s lips which He has ever retracted? The words of Jesus shall stand when heaven and earth shall pass away. If you get hold of but half a promise, you shall find it true. Beware of him who is called “Clip-promise,” who will destroy much of the comfort of God’s Word.

Jesus is Yes and Amen in all His offices. He was a Priest to pardon and cleanse once—He is Amen as Priest still. He was a King to rule and reign for His people, and to defend them with His mighty arm—He is an Amen King, the same still. He was a Prophet of old, to foretell good things to come, His lips are most sweet, and drop with honey still—He is an Amen Prophet. He is Amen as to the merit of His blood; He is Amen as to His righteousness.

That sacred robe shall remain most fair and glorious when nature shall decay. He is Amen in every single title which He bears. Your Husband, never seeking a divorce; your Friend, sticking closer than a brother; your Shepherd, with you in death’s dark vale; your Help and your Deliverer; your Castle and your High Tower; the Horn of your strength, your confidence, your joy, your all in all, and your Yes and Amen in all.

Three selections from Morning and Evening

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892), “the Prince of Preachers,” was a renowned pastor and author who served

as pastor of London’s Metropolitan Tabernacle for 38 years. His works are still widely read today.

__________________________________________________________________________________________The Father as ProphetBy Franklin Sanders

Published in Pulpit Helps, June 1996.Like Paul. Christ called me to His service as a man

already grown, “as one born out of due time.” Imagine, then, my eerie astonishment a short time later when I discovered that with his last breath, my grandfather seven generations removed declared in 1767 the might and mercy of God. Humbled and surprised. I found I had inherited the duty of a prophet. God Himself had ordained me to it before the foundation of the world, that He might glorify Himself by His covenant faithfulness and this same office is the heritage of every Christian father.

As Americans we also inherit a special handicap. With our mother’s milk we drink in anti-biblical notions of atomistic individualism which cripple the performance of our duties as fathers. But we are not isolated servants of God, serving only ourselves and our children. Rather, we are one link in a covenantal chain of grace that reaches back to our first parent and forward through our children and grandchildren for many generations (Ex. 20:5-6).

The Prophetic OfficeWhat do the Scriptures teach about the prophet?

First of all, the Word of God is in his mouth—the true Word, the sweet savor of Christ like honey from a

honeycomb. The prophet’s office is not optional: God imposes it on us all as a duty. The prophetic Word also leads inevitably to active judgment. Therefore we must not only speak the Word, we must also live and act it out.

The prophet’s Word is not just any word. It is not “wise tips for living” conjured up for our children out of our own experience. Rather, our words must repeat the Word of God revealed by His Spirit in the Scriptures. That Word, living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, also judges. The power of Christ’s Spirit makes it effectual to genuine and eternal judgment.

Thus Christian fathers must discipline their children, but always according to the Word alone. The father as prophet declares the Word of God, teaches it to his children, then judges according to it. Your child learns the character, law, and mercy of God as you act it out in his life.

When you discipline, ask the child what he has done, declare the law, and then judge his act according to the law. “What did you do?” I went outside after Mama told me not to.” “What does the Bible say about obeying your Mama?” “I am supposed to honor my mother and father.” “Did you honor your Mama when you disobeyed her?” “No.” Then comes punishment, and then, since the


prophet’s goal is to bring the wayward to the mercy of God, comes repentance and forgiveness expressed and granted.

God Himself ordained the prophet’s office, setting us aside before we were formed in the womb, so it is not optional to us. From Moses to Isaiah, when God calls prophets they uniformly alibi with their lack of training, ability, and holiness, while God uniformly promises to supply whatever they need.

“By their fruits you shall know them,” Christ says. Watchful children judge our word by our work. Thanks be to God, our children partake of God’s forgiveness toward our manifold failures. When we sin against them, against our wives, or against others, we must be quick to repent and ask pardon, so that even out of our stumbling our Christian example may bring redemption.

But children can easily distinguish the faithful Christian from the hypocrite who mouths a standard of Christian obedience he will not follow himself. They will filter every word through the grid of your example, both inside and outside the family.

Pictures of SalvationKnowing that sin darkens our understanding, God

gave us not only His written Word, but surrounds us also with “pictures” of Himself, instructing our hearts, minds, and wills through our senses. “The heavens declare the glory of God!” Every time the church baptizes or celebrates the Lord’s Supper, the grace and salvation of God in Christ are pictured and acted out before our eyes.

The prophet, too, pictures the Word of God in his own life, bringing a heavenly message by an earthly act. As the father serves his family as a prophet, so too this prophet serves church and commonwealth as a father, lovingly calling the wayward to obedience. The prophet acts out the Word and, as the faithful witness of Christ, also suffers for the Word.

Over and over God commands His prophets to act out His judgment on the nation and to picture before their eyes His mercy on Israel and all mankind. Again and again apostate church and state reward the prophets’ faithful witness with beatings, imprisonment, and death.

In their own suffering the prophets show forth the faithful witness of obedience. To believer and unbeliever alike, what could more plainly reveal God’s eternal power and enabling grace than the three Hebrew children in Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace? Or Daniel unharmed in the lion’s den?

Because the rebellious world hates the Word, it hates the Word-bearer as well. As Christ our Head suffered for the truth, so we also, prophets to our families, must be willing to “fill up whatever is lacking in Christ’s sufferings.” To be identified with Him is to share His sufferings in history.

“…Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourging, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth” (Heb. 11 :35b-38).

Has Anything Changed?Like the prophets of old, we want to make alibis.

We tell ourselves that today, God’s prophets are not called to such suffering. Count the cost, Jesus still says. “Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33). The world still hates the Word, and if we as fathers and prophets do not faithfully reveal the will of God for our salvation by our works, then our words will fall fruitless to the ground.

But who is able to do such works? No one. But by the grace of God, He promises to equip every man—to reveal through us in family, church, and state His will for our salvation. “Through the blood of the everlasting covenant…through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Reprinted from Tabletalk Magazine, January, 1996, with permission of Ligonier Ministries. Lake Mary, Fla.

__________________________________________________________________________________________What Outsiders Do Not UnderstandBy Joe McKeever

“But the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, for they are spiritually appraised” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

I was sitting in church on a recent Sunday morning thinking about what outsiders say concerning our worship and how we practice the Christian faith. Most simply do not get it.

1) Some say we are taking the way of Jesus as an escape, that this is an easy way out. My main response is laughter. It’s anything but easy, but only an insider would know that. You’re swimming upstream in a downstream world. What’s easy about that? I know people who suffer greatly for the stand they take for Christ. If it were easy, they’d have bailed a long time ago.


2) Some say we give money to buy God’s approval. As I dropped my tithe into the offering plate last Sunday, I thought of this. The amount of the check is just about right for a monthly car payment. And yet, I write in “First Baptist Kenner” and insert into the envelope and send on its merry way, knowing I will never see it again and for the most part, will have no idea what it accomplished. And I’m fine with that. I’m buying something? Trying to earn brownie-points with the Heavenly Father? Not even close. Christians give out of gratitude and faith, out of obedience and love. Period.

3) Some say we work in the church in order to earn rewards in Heaven. Again, missed by a country mile. I honestly do not know a single Christian who is hoping to earn something from God by the years of Sunday school teaching, VBS working, or a thousand other tasks associated with ministry. Now, from what I hear, some aberrations of the Christian faith–use your imagination–do indeed teach that those who work hardest and longest at knocking on doors and handing out their literature will be given the best places of honor in the next life. But no one I know believes such a heresy. On the other hand, the Word is filled with promises from the Father to reward the faithful. Yes, the reward is there. No, it is not what drives us from morning ‘til night.

4) Some say we evangelize because we want to manipulate others and make them as miserable as we. Oh sure. Our people leave family and everything dear to them, they travel to foreign countries where they spend years learning the language and culture, and they do this in order to make people miserable? One wonders if such critics think we are totally stupid.I suppose they do, come to think of it. We can live with that. It’s their loss.

5) Some seem to think we follow Jesus because we are afraid of going to hell. I don’t want to go to hell, true enough. But honestly, I rarely give hell a thought because Jesus Christ has taken that off the board for me. “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Any right-thinking person should be afraid of going to hell. That’s why, incidentally, many find it simpler to dismiss hell as unworthy of their thought. As though if they don’t believe something, it ceases to exist. But that’s where the good news of the Gospel becomes so special. For believers in Jesus Christ, that’s all been taken care of: “…that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

There is so much outsiders just do not get. The nature of Scripture and why we love it. The reason for our obedience and why we delight in doing His will. The love we have for one another. Our humble courage and our courageous humility. Our imperfections and the unlimited grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why we work for the Lord

but not in order to get to Heaven. We work for Him because of His goodness, not in order to earn it.

This is why our Lord put one massive, earth-shattering requirement on anyone who would enter the kingdom. First, you have to become as a little child (Mark 10:15; Luke 18:16; 1 Corinthians 14:20; 1 Peter 2:2). Let’s be honest, that is a deal-breaker to people who pride themselves on their strength, skill, or intellect. That’s why the Apostle Paul noted in looking around at the membership of the church in Corinth—in Greece, noted for its philosophers and ancient wisdom!—“there are not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble.” He explains, “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong….” And why would He do this? “That no man should boast before God” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).

How does a brilliant man or woman–one with a superior brain and numerous degrees and great accomplishments–go about humbling himself or herself and “becoming as a child?”

Get on your knees (in private) and ask God for mercy and help (read Luke 18:9-14 and figure out which one of those two men represents you best).

Tell Him you are a sinner and deserve his judgment and condemnation. You are and you do. If you cannot get past this, I suggest you start paying attention. A thousand things in your life send daily messages to this effect (Romans 3 is a place to consult).

Ask, “Lord, what will you have me to do?” (It was Paul’s first prayer when confronted by the living Christ and the best prayer any of us can ever pray. See Acts 22:10.)

Find a Bible-believing man or woman of God to help you. God has made you and me so that we cannot live this new life in isolation. Try it by yourself and you will abort it sooner or later, or end up taking detours into craziness. You will be needing a Christian church with lots of good friends.

That’s the starting place. Where will the Lord lead you from here? I have no idea, nor does anyone else. When He redeems you, God is doing something brand new. You will be a new creation (see 2 Corinthians 5:17) and what He does with you will be unlike anything He does with anyone else. It is just what Jesus called it: an “abundant life” (see John 10:10).

Welcome to the inside, friend. Glad you came in from the cold.

Joe McKeever is a retired Southern Baptist pastor from New Orleans, Louisiana. He blogs regularly

at www.joemckeever.com.

__________________________________________________________________________________________Exegetically Speaking—by Spiros Zodhiates

http://www.joemckeever.com/


The Father of LightsJames 1:17b

From Faith, Love & Hope: An Exposition of the Epistle of James, AMG Publishers, 1997.

“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow” (James 1:17).

James has spoken of the manner of God’s giving, that it is good and that the gift itself is perfect in that it accomplishes perfection in us. Let me give you as accurate a translation from the original Greek as I can of this verse: “all giving [that is] good and every gift [that is] perfect is from above, descending from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow cast by change.”

We have already dealt with the first part of the verse. Now we proceed, starting with the expression, “is from above.” So many of us, whenever we need something, look horizontally to men about us instead of looking to God above us. I have a very dear friend, a Hebrew Christian, who has been bedridden for over 15 years now and. has had innumerable operations. The fact that he is living at all is a miracle. It is, however, a life of deep affliction and suffering which he leads. And yet, every letter he writes to me has this triplet at the top: “Look to self and be depressed; look to others and be distressed; look to Jesus and be blessed” Here is a man who is certainly in need of the goodness of God but where does he look for it? Not around him, not inside him, but above him and thus and only thus is God’s purpose in his life made perfect.The gifts people give you will not always be good, they will not always contribute toward the fulfillment of God’s will in your life, but His gifts are good and perfect.

On the 27th of March, 1808, a grand performance of the Creation took place in Vienna, and the composer himself, Franz Joseph Haydn who was 76, was able to be in attendance. He was so old and feeble that he had to be wheeled into the theater in a chair. His presence aroused intense enthusiasm among the audience, which could no longer be suppressed as the chorus and orchestra burst with full power into the passage, “And there was light.” Amid the tumult of the enraptured audience the old composer was seen striving to raise himself. Once on his feet, he mustered up all his strength and, in reply to the applause of the audience, cried out as loudly as he was able, “No, no! Not from me, but,” pointing to heaven, “from thence—from heaven above—comes all!” He then fell back on his chair, faint and exhausted, and had to be carried out of the room. What a humble acknowledgment for a great musician co make. Whatever good there is in us has come from above.

If there is nothing good in us, that means that we have had no heavenly visitation in our souls. This word

ánōthen is the same word that the Lord Jesus Christ used when speaking to Nicodemus when he came to Him by night. “You must be born from above” (John 3:3). This new birth into the kingdom of God is the greatest gift that you can receive from God. Have you received it? No one around you can give it to you. It has to come from above.

The next word, katabaínon, meaning “descending,” I prefer to take with what follows, instead of with “is from above,” which precedes it. I believe it makes for much smoother reading in the original Greek. This gift that is from above comes down. There is an uninterrupted permanence here. There is a perpetual rain and sunshine of gifts. This participle is in the continuous present tense, which would indicate that God never ceases, not for a single moment, to shower His blessings upon us. How unfortunate it is, however, that so many times we fail to appropriate that which comes down from heaven.

It is told that Sir Walter Raleigh was continuously submitting requests to Queen Elizabeth on behalf of convicts. Once the Queen said to him: “Sir Walter, when will you stop being a beggar?” “When Your Majesty ceases to be a giver,” was the wise answer. Oh, how wonderful to know that God is the inexhaustible Source of blessing! There is another story of a poor woman from the slums of London who cook her first trip to the seashore and looked for the first time at the ocean. Tears were streaming down her face. One standing by asked her why she was crying. “Oh, it is so wonderful,” she replied, “to see something that there is enough of!” Look into the heart of God and you will see there is enough of everything, enough of love for the unlovable, enough of mercy for the sinner, enough of everything for everybody. It keeps coming from heaven, but the trouble is that we fail to catch it.

Up to now in this verse James has not mentioned the name of God. And now, when he does, he calls Him “the Father of lights.” Why call Him that? As man looks up from whence his blessings come, he sees the majestic firmament with the sun and the stars. It is so easy to become nature worshipers, forgetting that behind the sun and the stars there is One who created them all, who is Light Himself. All these heavenly bodies He simply brings to our service and they are part of His good giving unto us. As you experience the warmth of the sun and enjoy its light upon the otherwise dark objects on this earth, do not thank the sun, do not become a sun worshiper, but a God worshiper. Do not for one moment make the mistake that so many do of calling God “nature.” He is “the Father of lights.”


And then James gives a qualification of the nature of this Father to show that He and the lights are not the same thing. These lights vary; they are sometimes brighter than at other times because they are only created objects, while He, the Creator, is always the same, for He is not limited either by time or space. So many times it seems to us that God does change, does it not? We feel at times that He is very close to us, and then at other times He seems to be far removed. In our lives we seem to have eclipses of God even as there are eclipses of the sun. But it is not the fault of the sun when it is hidden from our sight. It is the earth’s fault. It gets to the place where all it can receive is the shadow of its satellite, the moon.

The moon, as you know, is a dark body, and what light it has it borrows from the sun. In the original Greek, the last phrase of our verse should be translated, “in whom

there is no variation [or change] or shadow as a result of turning." The heavenly bodies change, they move about in space, and their benevolence to us varies, but not so with the One who is light, who is space, who is time, who is the Creator of them all, and no one can cast a shadow on Him. Many a night it is so dark that nothing can be seen in the sky. A change has cast a great shadow. There are dark days when the sun is in shadow. But it is not so with "the Father of lights." There is no night so dark that His light cannot shine upon you. "I am the Lord, I change not" (Mal. 3:6). "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5).

Spiros Zodhiates (1922-2009) served as president of AMG International for over 40 years, was the founding editor of Pulpit Helps Magazine (Disciple’s predecessor), and

authored dozens of exegetical books.

__________________________________________________________________________________________Words to Stand You on Your Feet—by Joe McKeever

The Mess We Make Because We Like Our Doctrine Soft and Easy

“This is a hard saying. Who can hear it?” (John 6:60)

A fellow arguing for a cult religion scoffed at my statement that some doctrines are difficult and sincere Christian people differ on their interpretation. “If it’s difficult,” he said, almost yelling with delight, “it’s because you are getting it wrong!”

I knew enough about his religion to be wary of anything he said. The leaders of that religion grew tired of having to explain away the obvious teachings of Scripture and so they came out with their own translation. Bible scholars scoff at what they did and Greek/Hebrew linguists assure us that no one involved in that translation—if we want to call it that—was trained and capable of such a mammoth task.

What these people did with Scripture in order to get it “simple” and make it say what they wanted was akin to a fellow trying to close an overstuffed suitcase by taking the scissors to anything that didn’t fit and snipping it off. At the end, it closed easily. The only problem is that everything inside was injured.

Beware of anyone telling you there is nothing in the Bible difficult to understand. In the same way you want to be wary of those who say nothing in it is understandable. Both are erroneous.

Something inside us wants doctrines to be simple. Those people will reject doctrines that are difficult to get their minds around. Predestination, the Atonement, the Trinity, Prophecy. Depending on who you’re talking to, the Incarnation, Pentecost, and Sanctification are also up for debate, and for that matter, so are the inspiration of Scripture, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper.

In John 6, the disciples had taken about all they could. Finally, one said, “Lord, this is a hard saying. Who can hear it?” Jesus had intentionally made His teachings obtuse for this very reason. People were clamoring to follow Him because He fed them and did miracles. So He intentionally made the teaching hard to follow, as something of a test. And true to form, they went away. The true disciples are the ones who stick.

You have to wonder what it is in the human which insists that some things are rocket science, but when it comes to such basic matters as God’s work in the human heart, it should be simple and easy to follow.

In the 1940s, a college professor asked his students how many believed that God understands radar? Only a few raised their hands. If they couldn’t get their minds around that concept, it figured that God in Heaven was likewise at a loss.

“In the beginning God created the Heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). It all starts there. If you cannot accept that and believe that the Heavenly Father is the One in back of it all, nothing that follows in Scripture will make sense to you. As Paul asked his jury when on trial for the resurrection of Jesus, “Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?” (Acts 26:8) If He’s God—if we can settle that!—then everything else falls into place.

I’ve sometimes had fun in Bible studies by tossing out this question: “If God in Heaven were to write a book, what would it look like?” The answers, once you stop to think about it, include: It would be true, wise, and accurate; it would be deep and beyond the mind of mortals in many areas; it would be helpful and meet our needs; and it would

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also be accessible even to a child. We have such a book in the Holy Bible. Oh, one more. It would be a stumbling block—hard to swallow!—for the carnal mind. As it is.

The Lord’s people must always leave room in their doctrinal understanding for three particular graces. 1) Mystery: things hidden from us which the Lord has not revealed.

2) Majesty: Things beyond mortals, reserved for the Lord. We recall the Psalmist saying, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain” (Psalm 139:6). And Paul’s words: “O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out!” (Romans 11:33).

3) Maturity: Growing in our understanding. “But grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior

Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever” (2 Peter 3:18). If I am faithful in the Lord, I am still growing. The moment I quit growing, I become a liability to the work of the Gospel.

Finally, my brethren…I’ve learned a great many things about our Lord and about the Bible. I give thanks for that, but frankly, I am glad that much of the revelation of Heaven is beyond my poor mind’s limited ability to grasp. I admire those whose insights are beyond mine—and there are many!—but I know also that no one has it all figured out. Be wary of anyone who claims otherwise.

Joe McKeever is a retired Southern Baptist pastor from New Orleans, Louisiana. He blogs regularly at

www.joemckeever.com.

__________________________________________________________________________________________Living out the Living Word—by Justin Lonas

Make Certain about His Calling2 Peter 1:1-11

Pivoting back to the New Testament after our series on Jonah, I would like to revisit the first author and setting we looked at in this column and open 2 Peter together.

There is no better way to introduce this study and lay out its purpose than to use Peter’s own words: “This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles” (2 Pet. 3:1-2). From this, we gather that his audience is the same group of beleaguered and persecuted Christians he wrote to previously, “those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (1 Pet. 1:1), and that his goal is again to shore up their faith on the solid rock of Scripture against the tides of the world.

Indeed, Peter’s second epistle bears many similarities to his first. 1) It is brimming with quotes, allusions, and expositions of the Old Testament. 2) He takes great pains to reestablish and confirm the truth of the Gospel as the only sure foundation of hope. 3) He addresses the threats to the truth and to the Church (though this time more focused on the rise of false teachers and straying church members than from external persecution). 4) He applies the truths he teaches to exhort his readers to holiness, faithfulness, and growth in understanding of God and His Word.

Peter begins, as almost all New Testament writers do, by introducing himself and speaking a blessing packed with truth: “Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same

kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (1:1). Interestingly, beyond merely mentioning his position and authority as an apostle of Christ, Peter also calls himself a “bondservant” (literally a slave, from the Greek doulos), setting a tone of subservience to the Lord and labor on His behalf. Rather than addressing the letter’s recipients by their location or by name, he leaves his readership somewhat open-ended, for all those who have trusted Christ.

The New American Standard is a bit stilted in its rendering of the Greek here, where Peter appears to emphasize the value of our salvation rather than its congruity with the apostles’ teaching (isótimon, “equally precious”), and the New International Version catches this nuance better: “To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours.” In both translations, the layered description of the work of Christ in salvation is on full display. First, our precious faith is “received”—it comes to us as a gift from above, not through any merit of our own. Second, because it is not of man, it is shared, equally precious to all believers across time and space. Third, it is provided to us through the righteousness of Christ—His perfect obedience to fulfill the Law has been credited to us by grace. Peter explicitly calls Christ “our God and Savior”, making clear that His righteousness was of a piece with His deity.

His opening benediction sets up the themes of the letter, seeking to reassure his readers’ faith while at the same time reminding them that they have been called to live out that faith: “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the

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knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises” (1:2-4a).

The “grace and peace” Peter prays for them to have multiplied is grounded not in experience or emotion, but in “knowledge”—an admonition that spiritual growth will not come without faithful study of God’s Word. This knowledge of God, once received, necessarily results in a life that reflects His will by putting His truth in action to glorify Him before a watching world. Just as Peter previously affirmed, believers are called as “a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9). Moreover, we are not left to wonder about the content of our lives, because He has through “His precious and magnificent promises” (that is, His Word and His opening our eyes to understanding it by His Spirit) given us everything we need to know “pertaining to life and godliness.”

Peter further expounds the purpose of our salvation: “so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust” (1:4b). In Christ, we have been “born of the Spirit” (cf. John 3:6-8), and thus are transformed from the decaying passions of the flesh (epithumía) to newness of life indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Some (especially the more mystical branches of the Church) have made too much of this statement, taking our partaking of the divine as a special connection with Christ beyond what is warranted from Scripture (in the extreme, even claiming a measure of divinity for devout believers). Rather than any unique fellowship with God reserved for a select few, we should read Peter’s claim as a statement of the fruit-bearing relationship to the true vine that all believers enjoy.

Whereas the first four verses make clear that our faith is the work of the Lord, Peter applies this truth by calling believers to active work in service to the Lord. This dual thread runs throughout the New Testament, confirming that our salvation is only brought about by God’s doing, but that once saved, we all have responsibility to pursue holiness through His power at work in us.

He writes, “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love” (1:5-7). Because of our wonderful Christ-bought salvation, Peter exclaims, we are to apply “all diligence” to the inner purity of heart and outward expressions that our faith should bring about. While we cannot ever earn righteousness by our works, Peter and the rest of the New

Testament pull no punches to ensure that we understand that neither are we to expect growth in personal holiness without ongoing effort to know Scripture, mortify sin, and pursue Christ-like attitudes and behaviors.

Note the ascending chain of virtues we are to pursue in faith, climbing from the basic to the most difficult, each building on the one before. Once we have believed in Christ, we first obey by turning from the sin that we have been convicted of, growing in moral excellence. From there, we grow in knowledge, learning more and more of God’s ways. In that knowledge we must exercise self-control, both of our own sinful desires and of the pride that so easily creeps in with spiritual maturity. Knowing that we will always be tempted to turn aside to sin and error (or to conceal our faith in the face of persecution), Peter exhorts us to perseverance. As we endure, we grow in godliness, showing His stamp in our lives. There, atop this list, are the two attributes wherein we most mirror the character of our Savior—brotherly kindness (philadelphían) toward our fellow men and self-sacrificing love (agápēn) for them.

Peter tells us that our striving after these things is the mark of our faith, and their absence in our lives should be cause for grave concern: “For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins” (1:8-9). As painful as this may sound to our notions of tolerance and free grace, Peter squarely delivers the truth that our steady effort in the direction of Christlikeness is the proof of His work in our hearts. If we are content to aimlessly attend to our spiritual health, refusing to confront persistent sin in our hearts, living according to the world’s standards rather than God’s, and failing to put others before ourselves, we should take his warning to heart.

He concludes his introduction by restating this point: “Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you” (1:10-11). Peter’s admonition is not a condemnation that contradicts the completed work of Christ, but a declarative statement that repentance and fruit are the visible marks in our lives of that work. The way to eternal life is opened for us by Christ’s blood, and we know that we are on His path when we humbly bear His fruit in our lives. Truly it stands written, “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). As Peter’s letter continues, we will see fruitfulness exalted as the proof of our salvation and fruitlessness as the sure indicator of false teachers and false converts.

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Justin Lonas is editor of Disciple Magazine for AMG International in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

__________________________________________________________________________________________Following God—by Erik Christensen

Equipping the Saints by the WordEphesians 4:11-13

In Ephesians 4:7, Paul makes clear that each believer has been given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. How? Because Christ, having conquered all, has the power and authority to give gifts. Paul has started out chapter four transitioning from the reality of being “in Christ” to the exhortation to now “walk in a manner worthy of the calling.” Each of us in our walk with the Lord has been given a specific measure of the grace of Christ. Grace is not simply appropriated for justification but clearly, Paul is stating that grace is a part of our walk as Christians. Grace is transformative. We are dependent upon the grace of God for salvation as well as the walk we are now invited into as children of the conquering King.

In verse 11 Paul continues with the gifting theme by stating that the Lord “gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers….” In the context, Paul is speaking of men (as each of these nouns is in the masculine case) who have been given a position within the church. Some would suggest that these are not positions but rather are “gifts”. In either case, it is clear that these are “gifted men” who all are proclaimers of the Word of God to the Church. The apostles were those who helped found the Church. The New Testament prophets helped proclaim the Word of God prior to the canon of Scripture being written. Evangelists, while helping proclaim the Gospel to the lost were also those who equipped the saints in the Word to evangelize. Pastors who are also teachers help feed the flock with the Word of God. All of these positions are specifically for the equipping of the saints.

A general definition for the word “equip” is to fit or complete. The Word of God completes us. Men who are given the responsibility of teaching or proclaiming the Word of God are to do so in order to complete, to perfect, the saints. This is a work of God through the Holy Spirit rather than something that any man could accomplish. How essential is this? It is imperative! Without the teaching and proclamation of the Word of God, how are the saints to grow in Christ? Romans 10:17 tells us that “faith comes from hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ.” How are we to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which we have been called if not for God’s grace and His Word in our lives?

This is not about “style” or “skill”. This is about God’s Word, delivered by spiritually gifted and empowered men, working in our lives through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit toward our completion. The success or failure of a Church will be utterly contingent upon the strength and or weakness of the preaching or teaching of the Word of God. Saints cannot mature without the Word of God. Saints also will not experience true ministry apart from the transformation that takes place by the means of God’s Word.

Paul makes clear that the equipping of the saints is to lead toward (eis, into) the work of service—ministry. Ministry or service here simply is implying that which one does for the Lord, our service to Him. This in turn helps build up the Body of Christ to fullness or maturity. This maturity includes unity of the faith as well as knowledge of the Son of God. Each believer has been graced by God, and now, through the Word of God, is being equipped to serve the Lord and become mature in the faith. This builds up the Body of Christ.

How does the Church grow? With so much of our focus on church growth today, this is an amazing passage to prayerfully reflect upon. We know that the Lord Himself builds His Church (Matt. 16.18). We know that only the Lord can grow anything (1 Cor. 3.6-7). The means of growth in believers’ lives is the Word of God. This in turn builds up the Body of Christ to where Christ Himself is seen in the lives of His people through love. As Paul states in verse 16, which we will look at more in depth next time, the body begins to build itself up “in love”.

The Church is God’s program to present Himself to the World. When the Body of Christ is being equipped by the Word of God toward maturity, then the love of Christ is seen in and through each of our lives. Are we proclaiming the inspired and anointed Word of God? Are we being equipped in the Word of God toward the service, work of ministry, that He has for us? Are we maturing in the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God? Are we following Him?

Erik Christensen is senior pastor of Hoffmantown Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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__________________________________________________________________________________________Points to Ponder—by David L. Olford

Evidences of Genuine Conversion

Text: “…knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God” (1 Thess. 1:4).

Thought: Every true “born-again” disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, especially everyone involved in the ministry of Christ, should be concerned about authentic biblical ministry and genuine spiritual conversion. None of us can look into the hearts of men, and we must always appreciate the fact that the work and ways of God are beyond our total understanding. At the same time, there are biblical truths and examples that must be our guide as we seek to be faithful in ministry. In these early chapters of 1 Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul is grateful to God for the genuine conversion, the authentic spiritual experience, and the continued faithfulness of the “brethren” of the church in Thessalonica.

In our text, Paul makes it clear that his readers in Thessalonica were genuinely Christian, indeed he was confident of their “election by God.” The surrounding context of this statement concerning election contains remembrances and reflections on the ministry in Thessalonica and the response and experience of these people who are receiving this letter. Paul’s confidence in their “election” seems directly related to what took place in Thessalonica through the ministry of the Gospel and the response of the people. These people were genuinely converted. What can we learn from Paul’s opening remarks in this letter that give us a picture of what genuine conversion looks like?

I. Genuine Conversion Is Based on the Gospel (1:5-7)The Apostle makes it clear that the preaching of the

Gospel was not just a matter of words. The confident preaching of the Gospel was empowered by the Holy Spirit and presented by exemplary ministers of the word (1:5). The Gospel was preached in such a way that the people realized that is was God’s Word (1 Thess. 2:13), and not just human rhetoric, religious speech, or man’s communication. How such power was demonstrated is not specified, but the description warns us against viewing the preaching of the Gospel as simply a human activity. Indeed, sensing that God was involved in the ministry of the Word is one of the proofs of the authentic communication of the Gospel message.

There was not only the authentic empowered preaching of the Gospel, there was the definite reception of the Gospel. These people “received the word” (1:6). Indeed, they received the word in an exemplary fashion (1:7). Despite “affliction” which most likely speaks of persecution, they received the gospel “with joy of the Holy

Spirit” (1:6). Acts 17 gives us details concerning the difficult time of ministry in Thessalonica and Berea. Yet the reception of the Gospel was so complete that these people are described as “imitators,” both of those who ministered the Word and of the Lord. The inner response was reflected in outer behavior that could be spoken of as exemplary.

II. Genuine Conversion Involves Repentance and Faith (1:8-10)

The reception of the Gospel and the response to the Gospel of these Thessalonians became known beyond their community. Indeed, The Apostle Paul writes that the Word of God had “sounded forth” from them. Their experience, their testimony, their “repentance” and ‘faith” were made known.

What a testimony is wrapped up in the phrase, “…how you turned from idols to serve the living and true God” (1:9)! How definite the turning, the repenting, was! There was a “from” and a “to” in their repentance. In contrast to their former ways of serving false and dead gods, these people turned to serve the true God who lives. In this brief phrase is captured a total change of life. This is not just a change of habit or religious practice, it is a summary statement of a complete re-orientation of belief and behavior.

Obviously related to this repentance was the “faith toward God” that was so obvious that Paul says that he really didn’t need to say anything about it (1:8)! It is other people and communities that bear witness to both the repentance and faith of these Thessalonians. What was it that these Thessalonians believed? Well, we have to assume that Paul’s Gospel in Thessalonica was the same as he preached elsewhere. Also, you gain evidence from reading Acts 17, and the two Thessalonian epistles. But, even the last verse of our text gives us insight into gospel fundamentals: “…and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1:10). They obviously turned to the living God in the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They understood Jesus Christ to be the resurrected Son of God, exalted to heaven, the one who delivers from the coming wrath. Undoubtedly, other basic elements of the gospel and discipleship were shared, so that they even could be called “imitators of the Lord.” So, their faith in the living God was based upon the revelation of the living God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

III. Genuine Conversion Involves Outward Fruit (1:1-3, 4-10)


There is a sense in which this whole section of Thessalonians bears witness to the outward evidence of the election of these Thessalonians. We need to add to what we have discussed already a few comments on the first few verses. Note that a church was formed. Paul is writing to a specific church of people. What took place at Thessalonica did not result in simply a series of individual spiritual experiences. What took place resulted in a community of people, a church. Paul writes to them as a group of people of the same Lord, of the same Gospel, in need of the same instruction. This church was a testimony to the saving work of God in the lives of its members.

Not only was a church formed, but fruit was demonstrated. Paul writes about their “work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope…” (1:3). The Apostle’s fundamental trilogy of Christian experience was evident in their lives, not in a mystical subjective sense, but in the way they actually lived. Words like “work,” “labor,” and “patience” point to a lifestyle that reflects genuine spiritual life even in difficult times. No wonder Paul rejoiced when

he received news of the continued faith and love of these believers (1 Thess. 3:5-10). They were standing fast “in the Lord” (1 Thess. 3:8). This, of course, did not mean that they had no need of further encouragement or instruction, but it did mean that they were continuing in their Christian walk, which was always a source of joy and prayer for the Apostle.

Thrust: Although we should not legalistically have a self-made checklist to authenticate true ministry and the work of God, we need to gain our understanding of God, His salvation and authentic conversion from passages of Scripture like the one we have just considered. When we experience what seems to be the genuine saving work of God in people’s lives, we should be truly thankful to God (1:2).

David L. Olford teaches expository preaching at Union University’s Stephen Olford Center in Memphis,

Tennessee.

__________________________________________________________________________________________Jewels from Past Giants

The Fall and Recovery of Man—Part 1 of 2By Christmas Evans

Editor’s Note: Originally delivered by Evans as a sermon, this version was published as a selection in The World’s Great Sermons in 1908. Edited for length and modern spellings.

“For if, through the offense of one, many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many” (Romans 5:15).

Man was created in the image of God. Knowledge and perfect holiness were impressed upon the very nature and faculties of his soul. He had constant access to his Maker, and enjoyed free communion with Him, on the ground of his spotless moral rectitude. But, alas! The glorious diadem is broken; the crown of righteousness is fallen. Man’s purity is gone, and his happiness is forfeited. “There is none righteous; no, not one.’’ “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

But the ruin is not hopeless. What was lost in Adam is restored in Christ. His blood redeems us from the bondage, and His Gospel gives us back the forfeited inheritance. For if, through the offense of one, many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.” Let us consider, first, the corruption and condemnation of man; and secondly his gracious restoration to the favor of his offended God.

I. Man’s Corruption and CondemnationTo find the cause of man’s corruption and

condemnation, we must go back to Eden. The eating of the forbidden tree was “the offense of one,” in consequence of which “many are dead.” This was the sin, the act of disobedience, which brought death into the world, and all our woe. It was the greatest ingratitude to the divine bounty, and the boldest rebellion against the divine sovereignty. The royalty of God was contemned; the riches of His goodness slighted; and His most desperate enemy preferred before Him, as if he were a wiser counselor than infinite wisdom.

Thus man joined in league with hell against heaven; with demons of the bottomless pit against the almighty maker and benefactor; robbing God of the obedience due to His command and the glory due to His name; worshiping the creature instead of the creator; and opening the door to pride, unbelief, enmity, and all the wicked and abominable passions. How is the noble vine, which was planted wholly a right seed, turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine!

Who can look for pure water from such a fountain? “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.” All the faculties of the soul are corrupted by sin; the understanding dark; the will perverse; the affections carnal; the conscience full of shame, remorse, confusion, and mortal fear. Man is a hard-hearted and stiff-necked sinner; loving darkness rather than

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light, because his deeds are evil; eating sin like bread, and drinking iniquity like water; holding fast deceit, and refusing to let it go. His heart is desperately wicked; full of pride, vanity, hypocrisy, covetousness, hatred of truth, and hostility to all that is good. This depravity is universal. Among the natural children of Adam, there is no exemption from the original taint. “The whole world lieth in wickedness.” “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness is as filthy rags.”

The corruption may vary in the degrees of development, in different persons; but the elements are in all, and their nature is everywhere the same; the same in the blooming youth, and the withered sire; in the haughty prince, and the humble peasant; in the strongest giant, and the feeblest invalid. The enemy has “come in like a flood.” The deluge of sin has swept the world. From the highest to the lowest, there is no health or moral soundness. From the crown of the head to the soles of the feet, there is nothing but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores. The laws, and their violation, and the punishments everywhere invented for the suppression of vice, prove the universality of the evil. The bloody sacrifices, and various purifications, of the pagans, show the handwriting of remorse upon their consciences; proclaim their sense of guilt, and their dread of punishment. None of them are free from the fear which hath torment, whatever their efforts to overcome it, and however great their boldness in the service of sin and Satan. “Mene! Tekel!” is written on every human heart. “Wanting! Wanting!” is inscribed on heathen fanes and altars; on the laws, customs and institutions of every nation; and on the universal consciousness of mankind.

This inward corruption manifests itself in outward actions. “The tree is known by its fruit.” As the smoke and sparks of the chimney show that there is fire within; so all the “filthy conversation” of men, and all “the unfruitful works of darkness” in which they delight evidently indicate the pollution of the source whence they proceed. “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” The sinner’s speech betrays him. ‘Evil speaking proceeds from malice and envy. “Foolish talking and Jesting” are evidence of impure and trifling thoughts. The mouth full of cursing and bitterness, the throat an open sepulcher, the poison of asps under the tongue, the feet swift to shed blood, destruction and misery in their paths, and the way of peace unknown to them, are the clearest and amplest demonstration that men have gone out of the way, have together become unprofitable.

We see the bitter fruit of the same corruption in robbery, adultery, gluttony, drunkenness, extortion, intolerance, persecution, apostasy, and every evil work—in all false religions; the Jew, obstinately adhering to the carnal ceremonies of an abrogated law; the Mohammedan, honoring an impostor, and receiving a lie for a revelation from. God; the papist, worshiping images and relics, praying to departed saints, seeking absolution from sinful

men, and trusting in the most absurd mummeries for salvation; the pagan, attributing divinity to the works of his own hands, adoring idols of wood and stone, sacrificing to malignant demons, casting his children into the fire or the flood as an offering to imaginary deities, and changing the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the beast and the worm.

“For these things’ sake the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience.” They are under the sentence of the broken law, the malediction of eternal justice. “By the offense of one, judgment came upon, all men unto condemnation.” “He that believeth not is condemned already.” “The wrath of God abideth on him.” “Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law, to do them.” “Woe unto the wicked it shall be ill with him, for the reward of his hands shall be given him.” “They that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, shall reap the same.” “Upon the wicked the Lord shall rain fire, and snares, and a horrible tempest; this shall be the portion of their cup.” “God is angry with the wicked every day; if he turn not He will whet his sword; He hath bent his bow, and made it ready.”

Who shall describe the misery of fallen man! His days, though few, are full of evil. Trouble and sorrow press him forward to the tomb. All the world, except Noah and his family, are drowning in the deluge. A storm of fire and brimstone is fallen from heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah. The earth is opening her mouth to swallow up alive Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Wrath is coming upon “the beloved city,” even “wrath unto the uttermost.” The tender and delicate mother is devouring her darling infant. The sword of men is executing the vengeance of God.

The earth is emptying its inhabitants into the bottomless pit. On every hand are “confused noises, and garments rolled in blood.” Fire and sword fill the land with consternation and dismay. Amid the universal devastation wild shrieks and despairing groans fill the air. God of mercy! Is Thy ear heavy, that Thou canst not hear! Or Thy arm shortened, that Thou canst not save! The heavens above are brass, and the earth beneath is iron; for Jehovah is pouring His indignation upon His adversaries, and He will not pity or spare.

Verily, “the misery of man is great upon him”! Behold the wretched fallen creature! The pestilence pursues him. The leprosy cleaves to him. Consumption is wasting him. Inflammation is devouring his vitals. Burning fever has seized upon the very springs of life. The destroying angel has overtaken the sinner in his sins. The hand of God is upon him. The fires of wrath are kindling about him, drying up every well of comfort, and scorching all his hopes to ashes. Conscience is chastising him with scorpions. See how he writhes! Hear how he shrieks for help! Mark what agony and terror are in his soul, and on his brow! Death stares him in the face and shakes at him his iron spear. He trembles he turns pale, as a culprit at the bar


as a convict on the scaffold. He is condemned already. Conscience has pronounced the sentence. Anguish has taken hold upon him. Terrors gather in battle array about him. He looks back, and the storms of Sinai pursue him; forward, and hell is moved to meet him· above, and the heavens are on fire; beneath and the world is burning. He listens, and the judgment trump is calling; again, and the brazen chariots of vengeance are thundering from afar; yet again, the sentence penetrates his soul with anguish unspeakable—“Depart ye accursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels!”

Thus “by one man, sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” They are “dead in trespasses and sins” spiritually dead, and legally dead, dead by the mortal power of sin, and dead by the condemnatory sentence of the law; helpless as sheep to the slaughter, they are driven fiercely on by the ministers of wrath to the all-devouring grave and the lake of fire!

But is there no mercy? Is there no means of salvation? Hark I amid all this prelude of wrath and ruin, comes a still small voice, saying: “Much more the grace of God and the gift by grace, which is by one man Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.”

Christmas Evans, a Welsh Baptist preacher, was born at Isgaerwen, Cardiganshire, South Wales, in 1766. Brought

up as a Presbyterian, he turned Baptist in 1788, and was ordained the following year and ministered among the

Baptists in Carmaerthenshire. In 1792 he became a sort of bishop to those of his denomination in Anglesey, where he took up his residence. After a somewhat stormy experience

with those he undertook to rule, he removed to Carmaerthen in 1832. He distinguished himself by his debt-raising tours, in which his eloquence brought him much success. He died

in 1838.

_____________________________________________________________________________Counselor’s Corner—by James Rudy Gray

Is Biblical Preaching Relevant Today?

What helps Americans grow in their faith? Most of you reading this would probably include the study of God’s Word and being involved in church. However, a recent survey by Barna research dealt with that question. Church was not in the top 10. Over half of the respondents said attending church was “not too important” or “not important at all.”

Across denomination and age parameters, unchurched people were asked, “Why don’t you attend church?” Forty percent said they “find God elsewhere” and 35 percent said “church is not relevant to me personally.” When that is coupled with the recent report that skepticism toward the Bible continues to rise, it leads to the question, “Is biblical preaching relevant today?” My answer is, “Yes!”

All preaching or teaching is not necessarily biblical, but biblical preaching and teaching is not only relevant, it is desperately needed. To grow as disciples of Christ we need to read, study, understand, and apply God’s Word. We need preachers and teachers who will teach us God’s truth. Jesus taught with authority, and faithful preachers and teachers of the Word today use His authority as their platform to communicate His truth.

Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote, “If there is a crisis in preaching, it is a crisis of confidence in the Word. If there is a road to recovery, it will be mapped by a return to biblical preaching.” Robert Smith, professor at Beeson Divinity School, in his book Doctrine That Dances, said that

preaching is “the escorting of the hearers into the presence of God for the purpose of transformation.”

We need good and Godly teachers and preachers. Romans 10:14 asks, “How shall they hear without a preacher?” Paul exhorts Timothy (and all preachers and teachers), “preach the Word; be ready in season, and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction” (2 Tim. 4:2).

How can we interpret Barna’s statistics in the light of Scripture’s mandate to preach and teach the Word? It all depends on our perspective, just like the old story of a shoe salesman who went to an undeveloped country. He stayed a few weeks but sold no shoes. He telegraphed the home office that he wanted to come home because “nobody wears shoes here.” A few weeks later, a second salesman arrived at the same place. After a couple of months, he sent a telegram to the home office, “Please send shoes. Everybody here needs shoes!”

People need to hear the Word. Even in our post-Christian culture, people need to hear the Word. Today is not the time to give up in frustration but give out the clear, plain teaching of God. Some will hear and their lives will be forever changed. We are saved by grace through faith. Romans 10:17 says, “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

During his tenure as president of Southeastern Seminary, Paige Patterson preached during a chapel service at New Orleans Seminary. He challenged those attending by saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, the people in the churches



you’re going to serve wherever you go are in a state of confusion. What is needed to speak to the confusion of our people is a generation of preachers who are Bible-teaching preachers.”

Preaching and teaching God’s Word is relevant today. In fact, it may be the only thing that is eternally relevant in an age of irrelevance. For those of you teachers and preachers who study diligently, pray fervently, and

communicate God’s truth faithfully—be encouraged. What you do is eternally relevant and greatly needed.

James Rudy Gray is certified as a professional counselor by the National Board for Certified Counselors, and is a

member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He serves as the editor of The Baptist Courier,

the official newspaper of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.

__________________________________________________________________________________________The Story behind the Song—by Lindsay Terry

A Heart’s Cry, Put to MusicSong: “The Potter’s Hand”

“But now, O LORD, You are our Father, we are the clay, and You our potter; and all of us are the work of Your hand” (Isa. 64:8).

Darlene Zschech, born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, in 1965, said, “I can’t remember a time in my life when music wasn’t a critical part of the atmosphere in which I existed.

“The first song I ever wrote was at age fifteen, following my salvation experience. Our church sang it one night, and to be honest, rather than being elated, I was totally blown away by the spiritual responsibility of putting a praise and worship song in someone else’s heart for them to sing. I then put writing worship songs on the shelf for the next five years until I understood a little more about the power of ‘in spirit and in truth’ worship.”

Today this mother of three works alongside her husband, Mark, at the Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia. Darlene is the author of scores of songs, several of which are well on their way to becoming “standards” in the worship ministry of churches around the world, while others have already reached that plateau—songs such as “Shout to the Lord” and “The Potter’s Hand,” the subject of this story.

Darlene declares, “Worship is the very first commandment: to love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and all your strength. Worship should be a priority in your life—to love Jesus, to put him first in your life and to serve him, whatever he calls you to do. Live to delight the heart of God! He loves your praise of him; so much so that he says he inhabits [dwells in] the praises of his people. The whole Bible is punctuated with outbursts of praise.”

On a notable day in 1997, in prayer and communion with her heavenly Father, Darlene, at age thirty-two, made what she has described as “a totally honest and pure cry from my heart that God would do all that he needed to do in me—break me and change me.” During those moments, because she is a dedicated worship leader and songwriter, she sensed a desire to set the thoughts of

her heart to music. She added, “The result was a song. It was not really crafted; it was just a heart’s cry put to a melody given to me from the Lord. I never expected it to have an impact outside of my own experience and journey in God.”

In this gift to Darlene, God has given to his church a song of complete surrender and yieldedness to Himself. Not since “Have Thine Own Way, Lord,” written by Adelaide Pollard in 1902, has the church experienced a greater song of dedication to the Savior. Darlene prayed in her song that God would “take me, mold me, and use me,” and as she did so, she somehow must have sensed the biblical message of Isaiah 64:8: “we are the clay, and You our potter.”

“The Potter’s Hand” has made its way around the world and has been used in countless churches and Christian gatherings. It has been recorded by Darlene and myriad other worship leaders and Christian recording artists. Darlene and Mark continue their great work for Christ in Sydney. The Hillsong television program Life Is for Living is now seen in eighty different countries.

Darlene leads the worship every week on this program. She also is the associate director of Hillsong Conference, which is the annual music and leadership conference of Hillsong Church, and it enjoys an attendance of more than twenty thousand full-time delegates.

The crowning moment in the life of all Christians is when they are yielded to the Potter’s hand, allowing God to mold and shape them into vessels that please, praise, and honor him.

© 2008 by Lindsay Terry. Used by permission.

Lindsay Terry has been a song historian for more than 40 years, and has written widely on the background of great

hymns and worship songs including the books I Could Sing of Your Love Forever (2008), from which this piece is

excerpted, and The Sacrifice of Praise (2002).

http://www.baptistcourier.com/


__________________________________________________________________________________________Church Builders—by Bernard R. DeRemer

P. B. Fitzwater: Theologian and Teacher

Perry Braxton Fitzwater (1871-1957), born in West Virginia, was educated at Bridgewater College, Xenia Theological Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Princeton University. He received an honorary D.D. degree from Muskingum College.

After teaching at public schools in West Virginia, Virginia, and Iowa, he entered the ministry. Fitzwater served as a pastor in Elkhart, Indiana, and then worked in a city mission at Sidney, Ohio. He served as dean of the Bible Department, Manchester College, and later taught at LaVerne College, California.

Dr. Fitzwater Joined the faculty of Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, where “in his long career [he] probably laid the theological foundation of more [MBI] students than any other one teacher.” He placed a great emphasis on practicing what one preached, often repeating the maxim that “character is the sum and total of a person’s choices.”

He was director of the pastors’ course. This writer was privileged to have him for classes and what a great inspiration he was. In getting students to re-think a proposition, he would frequently ask, “You mean to say, then…?” Regularly, he joined other faculty and staff members for lively games of tennis or volley ball—until

age 79 when he had to substitute walking and other exercises.

His books include: The Church and Modern Problems, God’s Code of Morals, Why God Became Man, Woman: Her Mission, Position, and Ministry, The Doctrines of the Christian Faith, Christian Theology, Preaching the Bible, and Preaching and Teaching the New Testament.

For 20 years he wrote syndicated columns of Bible lessons for 2,600 newspapers and International Sunday School lessons for Moody Monthly magazine.

Dr. Fitzwater died at Evanston, Ill., as a result of an automobile accident. “…Well done, thou good and faithful servant…” (Matt. 25:21).

Bernard R. DeRemer chronicled the lives of dozens of heroes of the faith in more than a decade of writing

for Pulpit Helps Magazine. He continues to serve in this capacity as a volunteer contributor to Disciple. He lives in

West Liberty, Ohio.

Reference: Who Was Who in Church History, by Elgin S. Moyer; excerpts used by permission of Moody Publishers.

__________________________________________________________________________________________Advancing the Ministries of the Gospel

“The Living God Cares for Them”: Ministry to Leprosy and HIV/AIDS VictimsBy AMG International Staff

Odds are, you don’t spend a lot of time worrying about leprosy. Thanks to antibiotics, new cases of leprosy have declined sharply, but many still suffer from this disease and its devastating physical, emotional, and social effects.

Leprosy has often been seen as much as a curse as an infection, and its victims are treated with contempt beyond fears of contamination. In Scripture, men and women who dishonored God were sometimes stricken with leprosy as chastisement (Miriam in Num. 12, Gehazi in 2 Kings 5, Uzziah in 2 Chron. 26). We also see, though, Jesus touching lepers and healing them (Luke 5, Luke 17, etc.), even pointing to reversing that “curse” as proof of His identity as the Messiah (Matt. 11:5).

In India, the curse of leprosy still hangs over many. Here leprosy patients and their families are cut off from employment, education, healthcare, and social services. Just as Jesus showed His love and power in caring for those society rejects, Christians in India are usually the only ones

willing to reach out and touch those who suffer from this disease.

For decades, AMG India has led the way in showing the love and healing of Christ to leprosy patients in Andhra Pradesh. Arun Kumar Mohanty, AMG India’s director, shares the need and vision for this unique ministry: “Leprosy patients, who are deformed and unable to work, need Christ’s love and care. The incidence of leprosy has come down [in recent] years, however, many of the victims affected by this disease have to continue living. The social stigma has not reduced. Our support to them is a testimony that the living God cares for them and has not forsaken them.”

AMG’s leprosy ministry is a key part of our holistic approach to giving the Gospel—seeking to meet both physical and spiritual needs for God’s glory. AMG National workers conduct Sunday schools, youth meetings, and church gatherings among leprosy patients; they distribute Bibles and go house to house in the colonies to share the


Gospel with victims and their families. They also provide mobile clinics to diagnose and treat new cases, they perform cataract surgeries at Kadyum Eye Hospital to restore sight, and they provide food, clothing, and medicines to those in the “Valley of Love” and other colonies.

Arun explains how these pieces of the ministry fit together: “What percentage of the ministry is ‘humanitarian’ and what part ‘evangelistic’? This is a very difficult question to answer. All our efforts at serving the leprosy victims is the result of God’s love and grace we have received and our desire to share Christ’s love and compassion with these marginalized and neglected people.”

As long as people suffer with leprosy, we are committed to caring for them. Thankfully, though, the days appear to be numbered for this illness. AMG India is ready for whatever comes next as well: “It is true that no new leprosy cases are diagnosed. For this reason, many organizations working among the leprosy patients have closed or moved to serving other marginalized groups. Many of the leprosy patients from these organizations have joined our colonies. I visualize that in the next 7 years there will be a decline in the number of leprosy patients. Then there will be a need to shift away from leprosy to another ministry like HIV/AIDS.”

In a sense, HIV/AIDS is a modern “leprosy”, destroying lives both by disease and by social disgrace, and AMG is already working among those who suffer. In Kampala, Uganda, AMG’s Upendo Christian Academy was established specifically to provide for those who have been crushed by this disease, either suffering with the virus themselves or who have been orphaned or impoverished because of it.

The love of Christ shown through this work is transforming lives. Joy Mirembe, a seventh-grade student at Upendo writes: “Before coming to Upendo, I was sick and didn’t have hope that I could become healed. But AMG has been feeding me a balanced diet and has treated me. I thank AMG for praying for me and for the work they have done in me. I thank God for Upendo, for keeping me safe, and for giving me everything I need.”

For victims of these diseases, the ravages of sickness and the injustice with which they are treated truly make them among “the least of these” (Matt. 25:40), and especially in need of the care and love Christians provide in the name of our Savior. Their families and their countries may not value them, but they carry the image of God just as we all do.

Our ministry to children like Joy in Uganda and leprosy patients in India depends fully on the generosity of sponsors just like you. Would you please consider financially supporting this work, joining with us in prayer that the Gospel will continue to go forth through these crucial ministries?

To learn more about AMG’s ministry to leprosy and HIV/AIDS patients and how you can partner with us, please

visit www.amginternational.org or call 1-800-251-7206.

Advancing the Ministries of the Gospel (AMG) International is a non-denominational, international

missions agency based in Chattanooga, Tenn. AMG’s distinctive has always been its reliance on national workers

to carry the Gospel in their own cultures. Today, they operate ministries in over 30 countries around the world

through partnership with national believers.__________________________________________________________________________________________Marks of the Master—by the Old Scot

Yucca-Moth Partnership

Originally published in Disciple, December 14, 2009.

One of the prominent plants of the great arid region of the Southwestern United States is the yucca plant, also called the Spanish bayonet because of its dagger-shaped leaves.If you were blessed with night-vision, and chanced to observe the yucca after dusk during its time of flowering, you might notice a little white moth fluttering about the waxy white flowers.Many have seen the yucca plant and the moth, without ever realizing the connection between them which is vital to the existence of both—and thereby is revealed one of the true marvels of our world.

In order to be pollinated, the yucca must be visited by the pronuba moth, for the flowers of the yucca hang

down in such a way that pollen cannot otherwise reach the stigma, or female receptacle. The moth, on its part, has to have the seed pod of the yucca as a nursery for its eggs, because the larvae cannot thrive on any food but immature yucca seeds.

Now let us see how this partnership works. The moths winter in the ground as larvae, and emerge just before the yuccas bloom. The fertilized pronuba female begins her work after sunset. She first visits one flower, where she gathers pollen from the male anthers. This pollen she rolls into a pellet and tucks it under her chin. Then she flies to another yucca and proceeds to lay her eggs inside the seed pod.

The final act of the mother moth is to stuff the little ball of pollen into the cup-shaped stigma designed for it, thus fertilizing the flower’s seeds. Her children will





consume some of the seeds, but always there will be enough seeds left to insure the continuation of the yucca plant life cycle.

The question that springs to mind is this: Why does the moth carefully roll the pollen into a pellet and later place it in the one place where it can bring life to the seeds? Does she know that unless the seeds are fertilized they can never develop into food for her brood?

Impossible! What has happened is not the product of reasoned thought: The moth cannot think, as we think. Nor can her actions possibly be the result of instruction by example, for each individual moth is thrown absolutely upon its own resources from the moment it is laid as an egg. The mother never visits her children; nor, indeed, does she live long after fulfilling her destiny.

No, each moth does its part in the integrated life-cycles of the plant and insect species by sheer instinct. It is unreasoned knowledge implanted in the moths’ genes, transmitted unfailingly to each generation.

But how did it start? How did the first pronuba moth know the one technique which would insure life for its children? We are driven to look to God the Creator for the answer. Nothing less, nothing else, can satisfactorily explain the marvel we behold. The moth does its duty instinctively, because God created it with those instincts—

just as He created the yucca with its down-turned flow and cup-shaped receptacle for the pollen ball. God matched them to each other.

Why did God do this? Perhaps so that, in the fullness of time, men who seek true wisdom might discover this unassailable testimony to God’s role as Creator of our universe, and give Him glory. For if God created the pronuba moth and the yucca plant, God also created man. And if He created us, it was for a divine purpose. And that purpose, Revelation 4:ll tells us, is to give Him glory. Let us worship our omnipotent Father-God!

The Old Scot (Ted Kyle) served as managing editor for Pulpit Helps magazine (Disciple’s predecessor

publication) from 1993-2008. He was always fascinated by the natural world, and readily saw God’s hand in every

detail. Ted went to be with His Creator and Savior in April 2013.

Sources: The Evidence, edited by John Clover Monsma, Gospel Lit. Service, Bombay, India, 1958, p.78.Ingenious Kingdom, Henry and Rebecca Northen, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1970, p. 91

__________________________________________________________________________________________Book Review—May 2014

Recent Releases

Mission Drift: The Unspoken Crisis Facing Leaders, Charities, and Churches, Peter Greer and Chris Horst, 2014, Bethany House, Bloomington, Minn., ISBN 9780764211010, 219 pages, $19.99, hardcover.

Without careful attention, churches and faith-based organizations drift from their founding mission. Organizations that abandon their Christian foundations don’t drift off course overnight, but the small and subtle shifts over time become insurmountable. Greer and Horst helpfully offer case studies of different organizations (some that have drifted, some that have held true, and some that have fallen partially and recovered), distilling principles to diagnose and correct mission drift and prepare churches and charities to prevent it in the future.

A Christ-Centered Wedding: Rejoicing in the Gospel on Your Big Day, Catherine Strode Parks and Linda Strode, 2014, B&H Publishers, Nashville, ISBN 9781433681141, 256 pages, $14.99, softcover.

In today’s culture, wedding planning is big business, with an average celebration costing upwards of $25,000. All too often, even among believers, weddings become a day focused on image and excess, leaving the powerful theology and symbolism of marriage in the background at best. Strode & Parks (a mother-daughter team) seek to help couples recover the bedrock truth that marriage is God’s portrait of the relationship between Christ and the Church and convey it beautifully to all who attend. In addition to the big-picture refocusing on the purpose of weddings, the authors include chapters filled with practical information about everything from pre-marital counseling and choosing a wedding location to other resources like a planning checklist and timeline, music suggestions, guidance on potential issues of conflict, a listing of traditional financial responsibilities, and sample vows.

Everyone’s a Theologian: An Introduction to Systematic Theology, R. C. Sproul, 2014, Reformation Trust, Lake Mary, Fla., ISBN 9781567693652, 357 pages, $19.00, hardcover.


Many people react negatively to the word theology, believing that it involves dry, fruitless arguments about minute points of doctrine. Sproul argues, though, that everyone is a theologian. Any time we think about a teaching of the Bible and strive to understand it, we are engaging in theology. Therefore, it is important that we put the Bible’s varied teachings together in a systematic fashion, using proper, time-tested methods of interpretation so as to arrive at a theology that is founded on truth. Sproul demonstrates his trademark ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, surveying the basic truths of the Christian faith, reminding us of what God is like and of what He has done for His people in this world and the next.

Taking God at His Word: Why the Bible Is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough, and What That Means for You and Me, Kevin DeYoung, 2014, Crossway, Wheaton, Ill., ISBN 9781433542404, 144 pages, $17.99, hardcover.

Can we trust the Bible completely? Is it sufficient for our complicated lives? Can we really know what it teaches? With his characteristic wit and clarity, Michigan

pastor Kevin DeYoung has written an accessible introduction to the Bible that answers important questions raised by Christians and non-Christians alike. This book will help you understand what the Bible says about itself and the key characteristics that contribute to its lasting significance. A refreshing and needed recovery of the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture for an American Church always seeking something “more”, “deeper”, or “closer to God” than His own revealed Word.

Now That I'm a Christian: What It Means to Follow Jesus, C. Michael Patton, 2014, Crossway, Wheaton, Ill., ISBN 9781433538049, 176 pages, $11.99, softcover.

You’ve become a Christian. Now what? Michael Patton unpacks the basics of the Christian faith, helping brand new believers think carefully about God and live fully for God as they begin their new lives in Christ. In ten easy-to-read chapters, this book introduces readers to the foundational teachings and life-giving practices of Christianity—from the doctrine of the Trinity to reading and understanding the Bible. This is an ideal guide for seekers and new Christians in your church or neighborhood, helping them answer a crucial question: What does it mean to follow Jesus?

__________________________________________________________________________________________News Update—May 2014

George: American Christians Should Prepare to Be Despised

“It’s no longer easy to be a faithful Christian” in America, says the chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Our culture increasingly condemns Christian beliefs as bigoted and hateful, says Dr. Robert P. George. “They despise us if we refuse to call good evil and evil good.”

The Princeton University professor and author told Washington, D.C.’s 10th annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast that American culture no longer favors faithful Christians. For example, he asked attendees to consider “the derision that comes from being pro-life and pro-traditional marriage,” reported the Christian Post. “Because of that, Christians must be willing to bear the consequences of standing up for the teachings of Jesus and his bride, the Church.”

“They threaten us with consequences if we refuse to call what is good, evil, and what is evil, good. They demand us to conform our thinking to their orthodoxy, or else say nothing at all,” Dr. George said.

The intimidation to remain silent is insidious and growing, he said, citing the recent public humiliation of fired Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich and cancelled reality show hosts David and Jason Benham—all paying heavy prices for defending traditional marriage. Dr. George told the

prayer breakfast that “what American Christians are facing is the 21st century version of the question, ‘Am I ashamed of the Gospel?’”

Of course, Christians can avoid public derision, Dr. George noted, by staying silent. It is still socially acceptable, he said, for a Christian to be “tame”, to be “ashamed of the Gospel, or…unwilling, publicly, to act as if he is not ashamed of the Gospel.”

Christian Headlines

Nigerian Teen Speaks About Father and Brother's Murder by Boko Haram

Deborah Peters, 15, spoke in Washington, D.C. Tuesday about her personal experiences with the Boko Haram. The native Nigerian, who now lives in the U.S., saw her father and brother die at the hands of the militant group.

Peters is a Christian, and the Boko Haram targeted her father, a Christian pastor. She previously lived in Chibok, the village where 276 schoolgirls were recently kidnapped and taken captive by the militants.

“On December 22, 2011, 7:00 p.m., me and my brother were at home,” Peters said. “We started hearing gun shooting. So my brother called my dad and told him not to come home because they are fighting and my dad told him to just forget about it.”

http://www.christianheadlines.com/blog/american-christians-should-prepare-to-be-despised-official-tells-national-prayer-breakfast.html


Peters’ father came home; shortly thereafter, three members of the Boko Haram entered the house, demanding that he renounce his faith. “He told him that he would rather die than to go to hellfire,” Peters said.

The young woman recalled her father being shot in the chest three times. The Boko Haram members then turned on her brother, assuming that he, too, would become a pastor one day. Peters is the first female survivor of Boko Haram violence to speak in D.C. Her testimony was part of a panel hosted by the Hudson Institute of Washington, D.C. The Christian Post reports.

Christian Headlines

Judge Denies Stay Request, Gay Marriage Legalized in Idaho

Homosexual couples are able to marry in Idaho as of May 16, as a judge rejected Governor Butch Otter’s request to halt marriages in the state until the appeal process is complete. Otter wanted the stay in order to prevent the chaos that Utah faced when the state lifted its gay marriage ban, calling it an “unmitigated disaster.”

Otter’s motion read, “Utah, its administrative agencies, its same-sex couples and its citizens generally have been plunged into uncertainty, chaos and confusion over the marital status of the same-sex-couples who received marriage licenses in that state before the United State Supreme Court stepped in.”

After Judge Candy Dale denied the stay request, Otter called for an emergency meeting for Friday morning Christian Today reports.

Attorney General Lawrence Wasden also supports the ban and is planning a second stay request. If Dale denies the second stay, marriage licenses will be available to sam-sex couples.Otter said that he will fight same-sex marriage in the state to the Supreme Court if necessary.

Christian Headlines

Kenya Polygamy Law Bad for Families, Christian Leaders Say

Christian clergy fear that a new marriage law signed by President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday (April 29) will tear families apart and weaken the church and the nation. The law legalizes polygamy, allowing men to marry multiple wives in a country where they previously were permitted to have one.

Parliament passed the measure in March, after an amendment was added that allows a man to take another wife without informing his existing wife. Christian leaders said the law would dilute the principle of holy matrimony. They had united to urge Kenyatta to reject the law, but with the signing this week, the clerics expressed their frustration.

“We are very unhappy,” said the Rev. David Gathanju, moderator of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa. “Having met the president over the bill, we didn’t expect him to sign it.“If polygamy is allowed, it will open the floodgates for all sorts of separations and divorces. That will surely hurt the family institution and the country at large will suffer,” he added.

“I think the law will cause more problems and confusion than it would solve,” said Bishop Joseph Methu, leader of the Federation of Evangelical and Indigenous Christian Churches of Kenya. “We now begin a journey to see how it can be amended. I don’t think it’s good for us.”

Muslim leaders backed the law, saying polygamy is found in the Bible and in the Quran, so it’s not much of an issue. “I commend the president. I don’t think this is about faith since figures in the Bible were polygamous,” said Sheikh Juma Ngao, the Kenya Muslim National Advisory Council leader. “Those who can maintain more wives should be able to marry.”

The law sets a minimum age of marriage at 18. It also allows wives a 50 percent share of the property acquired during the union, among other benefits.

Christian Headlines

__________________________________________________________________________________________Sermon Helps—from www.sermonhall.com

Sermon OutlinesStrengthening Family RelationshipsSelected Scriptures

Intro.: There is no greater blessing on earth than to live in a godly, Christian home. Note five fundamental family relationships we need to strengthen.I. The Relationship of Children to Parents (Eph. 6:1-3)

A. Obey your parents1. In the Lord.2. For this is right.

B. Honor your parents that you might have a long life (Eph. 6:3).

II. The Relationship of Brothers and Sisters to Each OtherA. Be kind to one another.B. Be tender-hearted toward each other.C. Be forgiving when quarrels arise (Col. 3:13).

III. The Relationship of Parents to Children (Eph. 6:4)A. Don’t provoke them to anger.B. Bring them up in the nurture of the Lord (discipline).





C. Bring them up in the admonition of the Lord (teaching).

IV. The Relationship of Husbands and Wives to Each Other (Eph. 5:33)

A. Husbands, love your wives.B. Wives, reverence your husbands.

V. The Relationship of the Entire Family to Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:22)

A. Should be one of submission to Christ as the Head of the church.B. Should be one of surrender to Jesus as the Savior of the world.

Victor Knowles

Why There Is a HellMatthew 25:41

Intro.: By way of background, the word gehenna, which we translate as “hell” in English versions of the Bible, originally referred to garbage dump located south of Jerusalem. It had also earned an infamous distinction as a place of child sacrifice to Molech, one of the pagan gods during Old Testament times. Now the name designates a place of confinement after death to everlasting punishment away from the presence of God (2 Thess. 1:9). Throughout Church history, many have tried to downplay or deny the hard biblical teachings about hell. Attempts include annihilationism, probationism and universalism, but all fail the Bible test. Why is there a hell, and what do we learn about it?I. From Biblical Theology

A. God originally designed hell for the devil and his demons (Matt. 25:41).B. God also designed hell as a place of conscious punishment for those who live like the devil (Mark 9:47-48).C. God designed hell to last forever because sin deserves such recompense (Matt. 25:46).

II. From Historical TheologyA. God never intended for us to use hell to terrorize people (Luke 16:27-28, 31 [19-31]).B. God never intended for us to use hell as a long term motivator for people to serve Him (Rom. 1:32).C. God did intend for hell to serve as a short term motivator for people to repent (Matt. 10:28).

III. From Systematic TheologyA. Hell serves as God’s means of administrating moral justice (Rev. 20:12).B. Hell serves as God’s means of respecting insolent human free will. (John 5:39-40).C. Hell serves as God’s incentive for providing a substitutionary sacrifice for sins. (John 3:16,18,36).

Conc.: How should you then respond? 1) Accept Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. 2) Then warn others of the

judgment to come. The Apostle Paul makes this application when he explains that: “since we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men” (2 Cor. 5:11).

Steve Eutsler

IllustrationsMy Dad Knows God

When my son was a small boy playing with his buddies in the back yard, I overheard them talking one day. One of them remarked, “My Dad knows the mayor of the town!” I overheard another say, “That is nothing—my Dad knows the governor of our state!” When I wondered what was coming next in the “program of bragging” I heard my own little son of four years of age say, “That is nothing—my Dad knows God!” I hurriedly left my place of eavesdropping with tears running down my cheeks, I looked up to God and prayed, “Oh God, I pray that my boy will always be able to say, ‘My Dad knows God.’”

Anonymous

The God-Image in FathersIt has been said a child is not likely to find a Father

in God unless he finds something of God in his father. A Bible school teacher asked her class to draw a picture of God for her. A little boy finished first and said, “I drew a picture of my daddy because I don’t know what God looks like, but I know what my dad looks like.” What a great responsibility we fathers have! It is so important for us to be the kind of parents that will make our children want to honor their father and mother (Eph. 6:1-4).

Anonymous

Bulletin InsertsOn FathersHe didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.

Clarence Budington Kelland

One father is more than a hundred Schoolmasters. George Herbert

Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father!

Lydia M. Child

It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and sons.

Johann Schiller

A father carries pictures where his money used to be. When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.


I don’t care how poor a man is; if he has family, he’s rich.

These three anonymous

It has been said that as goes the family, so goes the world. It can also be said that as goes the father, so goes the family.

Voddie Baucham

A father acts on behalf of his children by working, providing, intervening, struggling, and suffering for them. In so doing, he really stands in their place. He is not an isolated individual, but incorporates the selves of several people in his own self.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

__________________________________________________________________________________________Puzzles and ‘Toons

Church ‘Toons by Joe McKeever


Answers to last issue’s puzzles:

Father Abraham and Hidden WisdomBy Mark Oshman

Originally published in Pulpit Helps, May 1998

Hidden Wisdom on next page


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