Rajesh

Learning a Minimal Spanish Witness

October 29, 2011

In the past several years, I have encountered a fair number of Spanish-speaking people on door-to-door visitation. Not knowing much Spanish at all, I have not been able to witness to them much at all beyond trying to give them a tract.

This afternoon, I decided to use Google Translate to come up with a minimal Spanish witness that I could use with Spanish people when I have opportunities to witness to them. This minimal witness is based on an approach to visitation that I first learned years ago when I began to go on door-to-door visitation at my church.

Hi, my name is Rajesh.	Hola, mi nombre es Rajesh.
I am from Mount Calvary Baptist Church.	Yo soy de la Iglesia Bautista Monte Calvario.
This is _______________ (name of visitation partner).	Este es ____________________.
We are going through the neighborhoods around our church and visiting with people.	Estamos pasando por los barrios alrededor de la iglesia y visitando a la gente.
We want to help people to know for sure that their sins are forgiven.	Queremos ayudar a que la gente sepa a ciencia cierta que sus pecados son perdonados.
Can I give you something to read that explains how you can know for sure that your sins are forgiven?	¿Puedo darle algo para leer que explica cómo se puede estar seguro de que tus pecados han sido perdonados?
Thanks for your time!	Gracias por tu tiempo!
Have a nice day.	Que tenga un buen día.

By learning how to pronounce these words properly and carrying this card in my Bible, I hope to evangelize Spanish-speaking people more effectively in the future when I give them a gospel tract.

In Evangelism, Spanish

"Jesus Loves Me" in Solfeggio and Simplified Chords Format

October 28, 2011

For the past three weeks, I have been teaching a guitar class for a number of people in a church. Because it is a Spanish church, I have been developing a new method of playing guitar that uses the solfeggio syllables instead of notes.

Working on this new method has reinforced my own understanding of playing of the guitar in ways that I was not expecting. It has also helped me improve my own playing!

My latest piece in my solfeggio and simplified chords format is Jesus Loves Me.

Notes for playing this piece:

“DO” means the do that is an octave higher than “Do.”

In the simplified chords diagrams, the partially shaded dot above the first string in the F chord means that you can either not play that string at all or play that string open. Not playing the first string at all, the chord is an F chord; playing the first string open, it is an Fmaj7 chord, which is an acceptable substitute for an F chord.

In Guitar Music

Should We Sing Prayers to Jesus and the Holy Spirit?

October 27, 2011

In response to a question that was recently directed to me, I have been pondering again whether we should pray to Jesus and to the Spirit as well as to the Father or whether we should pray only to the Father. It occurred to me tonight that we sing many songs that are prayers directed to Jesus and to the Spirit.

If we should pray only to the Father, should we be singing any prayers like the following?

Whiter Than Snow	“Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole . . . Break down every idol . . .” Similarly, every stanza is a prayer to Jesus.
O to Be Like Thee!	“O to be like Thee, Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art; Come in Thy sweetness . . . Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.”
“Are Ye Able,” Said the Master	“‘Are ye able’, said the Master, ‘To be crucified with Me?’ . . . ‘Lord, we are able.’ Our Spirits are Thine. Remold them , make us . . .”
Draw Me Nearer	“Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, To the cross where Thou hast died . . .”
More Love to Thee	“More love to Thee, O Christ, More love to Thee! Hear Thou the prayer I make . . .”
Break Thou the Bread of Life	“Break Thou the bread of life, Dear Lord to me, As Thou didst break the loaves Beside the sea . . .”
Lead Me to Calvary	“Lest I forget Gethsemane; Lest I forget Thine agony; Lest I forget Thy love for me, Lead me to Calvary.”
My Faith Looks Up To Thee	“My faith looks up to Thee, Thou Lamb of Calvary . . . Now hear me while I pray, Take all my guilt away . . .”
Have Thine Own Way, Lord!	“Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!”
Near the Cross	“Jesus, keep me near the cross . . .”
Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me	“Jesus, Savior, pilot me . . .”
I Need Thee Every Hour	“O bless me now, my Savior . . .”
Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us	“Blessed Jesus, Blessed Jesus, Hear, O hear us when we pray . . .”
Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart	“Spirit of God, descend upon my heart, Wean it from earth . . .”
Fill Me Now	“Hover o’er me, Holy Spirit, Bathe my trembling heart and brow . . .”
Open My Eyes, That I May See	“Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!”

If it is right for us to sing these prayers to Jesus and the Spirit, then it would seem . . .

What do you think?

In Music, Prayer

Paul’s Commission to Proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom of God!

October 26, 2011

In his testimony to King Agrippa, Paul made known the commission that he had received from Jesus (Acts 26:16-23). He declared that Christ said that He was sending Paul to the Gentiles “to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me” (26:18).

The purpose clause in this statement shows that Christ had ordained that through Paul’s ministry the Gentiles who believed in Him would receive two things: forgiveness and an inheritance. Because Luke’s record provides no further information from Paul about what this inheritance was to be, we have to look at other passages to determine its identity.

Colossians 1 is the only Pauline passage that uses the same word for inheritance (κλῆρον) that occurs in Acts 26:18. In his prayer for the Colossians, Paul was “giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:12-14).

A close comparison of Acts 26:18 and Colossians 1:12-14 reveals striking similarities:

(1) “darkness to light” (Acts 26:18) cf. “darkness” (Col. 1:13) and “light” (Col. 1:12);
(2) “Satan unto God” (Acts 26:18) cf. “power of darkness” (Col. 1:13) and “kingdom of His dear Son” (Col. 1:13);
(3) “forgiveness of sins” (Acts 26:18) cf. “forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:14)
(4) “inheritance among them which are sanctified” [κλῆρον ἐν τοῖς ἡγιασμένοις] (Acts 26:18) cf. “inheritance of the saints” [τοῦ κλήρου τῶν ἁγίων] (Col. 1:12)
(5) “faith that is in Me” (Acts 26:18) cf. “of His dear Son: in whom ” (Col. 1:13-14)

These striking similarities show that Jesus commissioned Paul with a ministry that had as its purpose that people would receive an inheritance in His kingdom!*

Moreover, Paul had spoken to the Colossians of “the hope which [was] laid up for [them] in heaven, whereof [they had] heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel” (Col. 1:5) and then proceeded to pray his prayer of thanksgiving to the Father for making them “partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light” (1:12). He followed that by stating that He had translated them “into the kingdom of His dear Son” (1:13). From the flow of thought here, we learn that the gospel that the Colossians heard from Paul declared to them the hope of their inheritance in the kingdom of God!

Paul thus preached the gospel of the kingdom to them, and the close correlation of Colossians 1 with Acts 26:18 supports holding that Paul’s commission from Jesus was to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of God that involved receiving an inheritance in the kingdom of God!

————

* Many passages with similar teaching to Acts 26:18 and Colossians 1:12-14 confirm this interpretation by using words related to the word for inheritance (κλῆρον) in both passages to speak of those who will or will not inherit the kingdom (Matt. 25: 34; 1 Cor. 6:9-10; 15:50; Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5; James 2:5).

In Biblical Greek, Biblical Languages, Gospel, Interpretation

We Must Preach the Same Gospel as Philip and Peter Did

October 25, 2011

The book of Acts records at length the gospel ministries of key leaders in the early church (Peter [Acts 2, 10]; Philip [Acts 8]; Paul [Acts 13, 17]). A close examination of Acts 8 and 10 reveals a vital truth that is sometimes overlooked concerning the gospel message that both Philip and Peter preached.[1]

Luke informs us that Philip’s gospel ministry of preaching Christ (8:5) in Samaria resulted in both men and women who “believed [his] preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ” and were baptized (8:12). This key statement reveals that he did not just preach the name of Jesus Christ; he also preached about the things concerning the kingdom of God. Philip thus preached a gospel message that comprised two key aspects and not just one.

In contrast with this statement about Philip, Luke’s record of Peter’s ministry in Caesarea does not provide us with such a single statement that concisely sums up the gospel message that Peter preached. We, therefore, must carefully examine the contents of Peter’s entire message (10:34-43) to determine whether he preached the same two key aspects of the gospel message that Philip did.

Explicit mention of Jesus Christ (10:36) and His name (10:43) shows that Peter did preach “the name of Jesus Christ” just as Philip did (8:12). But, did Peter also preach “the things concerning the kingdom of God” (8:12)?

Before testifying about the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ (10:39-41), Peter declared, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him” (10:38). He thus preached that Jesus was the God-empowered Anointed One who by the Spirit of God was delivering all who were in bondage to the devil. The very close correlation of this statement with similar teaching by Jesus Himself (“But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you”; Matt. 12:28) shows that Peter in effect declared to his hearers in Caesarea that the kingdom of God had come upon all the Satanically oppressed people whom Jesus had healed.

Moreover, after testifying to the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ (10:39-41), Peter declared, “And He commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is He which was ordained of God to be the Judge of the living and the dead” (10:42). This declaration announcing the One whom God has appointed to be the supreme judicial authority over all people, living and dead, made known the One whom God has exalted to be His King over all–the King (cf. Matt. 25:34, 40) who will one day decide both who will “inherit the kingdom” (cf. Matt. 7:21; 25:34) and who will “go away into everlasting punishment” (cf. Matt. 7:22-23; 25:46).

Peter therefore preached the very same gospel as Philip did! Because the inspired record of the Jerusalem Council teaches us that we should give special attention to Peter’s gospel ministry in Caesarea (see the previous post), this comparison of Acts 8 and 10 teaches us that we must preach the same gospel about both the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ that both Philip and Peter preached!

[1] For an outlined argument concerning the evidence that shows that the gospel did not change from Samaria to Corinth, and, therefore, shows that Paul also preached the same gospel message that Philip and Peter did, see my post, Did the Gospel Change from Samaria to Corinth?

In Evangelism, Gospel, Interpretation, Ministry, Preaching

Putting Peter in His Place: Learning Evangelistic Theology and Practice from the Jerusalem Council

October 24, 2011

Any occasion on which all the top leaders of the early church would have gathered to decide a vital doctrinal matter would obviously have been a crucial event in church history. Acts 15 provides us with the only inspired record of such a gathering, the Jerusalem Council. The record of this event in Acts 15, therefore, provides information that must vitally inform our theology and practice.

Petrine, Not Pauline, Priority in the Record of the Jerusalem Council

In that record, Luke relates that false teaching from some men concerning Gentile salvation (15:1) elicited vigorous responses from Paul and Barnabas (15:2a). As a result, the brethren decided that Paul and Barnabas and certain other men should go to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders to address this vital matter (15:2).

The apostles and elders’ meeting with Paul and Barnabas about this issue resulted in “much disputing” (15:6-7a). In response to these developments, Peter (15:7b-11), Paul and Barnabas (15:12), and finally James (15:13-21) addressed the gathered believers.

The inspired record of the deliberations of the Council thus reveals that the Holy Spirit directed Luke to record at varying length the contribution that each of these early church leaders made in settling the issue. Whereas the records of the ministries of Peter and James comprise multiple verses (5 verses and 9 verses, respectively), only one verse records the contribution of Paul and Barnabas.

Moreover, Luke relates another important difference among the testimonies borne by these church leaders. Whereas the recorded speeches by Peter and James both refer to the same specific evangelistic encounter involving Peter (15:7, 14), the record of the testimony borne by Barnabas and Paul refers generically to what God had done among the Gentiles through them.

The order in which these leaders addressed the Council is also significant. First, Peter spoke, followed by Paul. Having heard both of these leading apostles address the Council, James then appears to have weighed in decisively to settle the issue at hand.

James had both Peter’s testimony to the Council and Paul’s testimony to it to draw from in making his decisive remarks. We are not told that he referenced what God did through Paul in saving Gentiles; instead, he specified Peter’s ministry in Caesarea as the evangelistic encounter with Gentiles that provided the definitive evidence of how God had saved Gentiles without their being circumcised or being directed to keep the Mosaic Law.

These observations show that although the crucial issue of how Gentiles were to be saved was decided by ministry from all these church leaders, the record conveys not Pauline priority in these proceedings but Petrine. Our theology and practice must account for this fact properly.

The Jerusalem Council and A Proper Evangelistic Theology and Practice

Several important applications of the Petrine priority seen in the record of the Jerusalem Council inform us about a proper evangelistic theology and practice.

Acts 10 is a more important record of apostolic evangelism than Acts 13

First, the NT records at length two major evangelistic encounters each of both Peter (Acts 2, 10) and Paul (Acts 13, 17). Of these encounters, Paul’s ministry at Athens (Acts 17) took place after the Council and therefore does not pertain directly to the proceedings of the Council.

Acts 15 records explicitly that Peter’s ministry at Caesarea was vitally referenced at the Council, but it does not provide any explicit record that Paul’s ministry at Antioch of Pisidia played an important role in the decision making process of the Council. Thus, the inspired record of the Jerusalem Council teaches us that we should not hold that Acts 13 is a more important record of Gentile evangelism than Acts 10 simply because the former concerns the ministry of Paul and the latter concerns the ministry of Peter. In fact, Acts 15 instructs us that we should give greater importance to Acts 10 than to Acts 13.

Acts 10 must be properly correlated with 1 Corinthians 15 in order to have a proper understanding of the gospel

Second, although we certainly should regard 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 as important for our understanding of gospel preaching, we should note that Paul had not yet ministered in Corinth when the Council took place. Because the Council was able to settle decisively the truth of how Gentiles are to be saved by vitally referring to Peter’s ministry in Caesarea and without any contribution from the record of what Paul ministered in Corinth, we should not elevate 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 in such a manner as to regard it as of exclusively decisive significance for our understanding of Gentile evangelism. Rather, the record of Peter’s ministry in Caesarea must also play a central role in our understanding of Gentile evangelism.

The correctness of this interpretation is confirmed by our noting that Acts 15 records that Peter declared at the Council that “God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel , and believe” (15:7). This statement makes clear that Peter asserted at the Council that he had preached the gospel at Caesarea, and the fact that the record does not show anyone (including Paul) challenging his assertion as flawed teaches us that everyone at the Council regarded Peter’s ministry at Caesarea as authentic gospel ministry. We, therefore, should regard Acts 10 as a key passage that must be correlated with 1 Corinthians 15 in formulating our understanding and practice concerning gospel preaching.

Acts 10 provides vital understanding of apostolic gospel preaching that 1 Corinthians 15 does not

Furthermore, when Acts 10 and 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 are compared thoroughly, we should note that they do not provide us with two differing approaches to gospel preaching. Rather, what Paul gives us in only the briefest summary form in 1 Corinthians 15 is filled out in at least two important ways by Luke’s record of Peter’s ministry found in Acts 10.

First, Acts 10 teaches us how an apostle preached Jesus as the Christ to unsaved Gentiles (10:38) before testifying to His crucifixion and resurrection (10:39-41). Second, it reveals to us a key truth (10:42) that an apostle proclaimed after testifying to His crucifixion and resurrection (10:39-41) and how he based his subsequent appeal to sinners for salvation (10:43) on the basis of his prior proclamation of that key truth.

Conclusion

A careful examination of the Jerusalem Council account in Acts 15 has shown that the Holy Spirit inspired Luke to write this account in such a way that it emphasizes Petrine gospel ministry in a unique way. We, therefore, should learn from the Jerusalem Council to put Peter in his place in our evangelistic theology and practice by carefully accounting for the priority given to him at the Council concerning his ministry to Gentiles that is recorded in Acts 10 and 11.

In Evangelism, Gospel, Interpretation

Evangelistic Emphasis on God's Empowering Jesus to Heal People Who Were Oppressed by the Devil

October 23, 2011

The record of Peter’s preaching of the gospel at Caesarea reveals that he included testimony to the miraculous aspects of Jesus’ works: “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38). This statement suggests several important points about how we should testify to Jesus’ miraculous works in our evangelism.

First, Peter bore testimony to a specific aspect of Jesus’ miraculous works–healing those who were oppressed of the devil–that probably few people today regularly bear testimony to in their evangelism. Despite the contemporary popularity of emphasizing such miracles as His turning water to wine, raising dead people, walking on water, and feeding multitudes, we should learn from Peter foremost to bear testimony to His delivering Satanically-oppressed people.

Second, this record does not show that Peter stressed this miraculous work by Jesus as a proof of His deity; instead, it shows that he emphasized how God empowered Jesus to do that miraculous work. Our evangelism likewise should emphasize God’s empowering Jesus to deliver those who were oppressed by the devil.

Third, Peter explained Jesus’ healing all those oppressed people by saying, “For God was with Him.” He thus stressed that Jesus did not act alone in delivering those people–the Father was accompanying Him in some manner that Peter did not explain further. Based on this record, we should learn to stress that the Father was with Jesus as He was going about doing this miraculous work.

In Evangelism, Gospel

Evangelistic Trinitarian Testimony to Christ

October 22, 2011

In his seminal message at Caesarea, Peter preached Christ to unsaved Gentiles by declaring “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: Who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38). This statement confronted Cornelius and those who were with him with testimony to God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost. These unsaved Gentiles therefore were put in a position of having to believe an evangelistic message that testified not just to the deity of Jesus, but also to God who anointed Him with the Holy Spirit.

Peter’s evangelistic Trinitarian testimony to Christ did not hinder his hearers from getting saved; in fact, all of them were saved (10:44)! From this account, therefore, we should learn that instead of thinking that we have to keep the message simple by talking only about Jesus, we should witness to people by presenting Him rightly as the Christ by relating Him to both the Father and the Spirit.

Undoubtedly, we would enhance our proclamation of the gospel by doing so!

In Evangelism

Preformatives on Hebrew Verbs Chart

October 21, 2011

From my study of biblical Hebrew in the past and my recent times of intensively tutoring a student in beginning Hebrew, I have found some very helpful patterns with the preformatives on Hebrew verbs. My Verb Forms Preformatives Chart brings out these patterns visually in a way that I think is very helpful!

I would appreciate feedback about any problems or errors in this chart.

In Biblical Hebrew, Biblical Languages

Through the LXX in 2011!

October 20, 2011

The Lord has graciously allowed me to read through the entire Septuagint this year! I praise Him for helping me to finish this project.


Section	Greek	English
OT	929/929	547*/929
NT	20/260	260/260
Bible	949/1189	807/1189

*Includes listening to 129 chapters of the OT from the Bible on MP3

I hope to read through the remaining 240 chapters of the Greek NT by the end of the year. If I am able to do so, this would be my first year to read through the whole Bible in Greek.

As the Lord allows and directs, I hope to read through the Bible in Greek every year for the next 8-10 years. I also plan to read the Hebrew NT next year and perhaps start reading in the Hebrew OT as well.

In Bible reading

Archives For rajesh

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: