Rajesh

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Ten Examples of the Value of Learning Biblical Greek!

February 21, 2015

If you have ever studied New Testament Greek, I think that these ten previous posts would help confirm to you the truth that using Biblical Greek is very valuable for understanding the Bible and the things of God better!

A Good Example of the Value of Learning NT Greek

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

The Teaching of Nature (1 Cor. 11:14-15)

Haman, Head Coverings, and First Corinthians 11:1-16

Who Did John the Baptist Identify Jesus to Be

Understanding the Biblical Use of “Dunamai” More Accurately

God Made Jesus Both Lord and Christ

The King’s Words about Everlasting Fire

Interpreting the Word “Lord” in the NT

The “Sabbath” Psalms

In Biblical Greek, Biblical Languages, Interpretation, Theology

On The Value of Learning More about Being a Witness of Christ

February 17, 2015

I began my message this past Sunday morning with this illustration that pointedly challenged my hearers about a key issue:

Suppose that tomorrow, several hundred people here in Greenville would go to their mailboxes to get their mail. They find a letter that congratulates them because they have been chosen to attend some very special seminars. Billionaires will give specific teaching in these seminars that is guaranteed to make them very rich.

Can you imagine how eagerly people would pay attention in those seminars? Don’t you think that people would try to learn as much as they could? Wouldn’t they take very detailed notes about what those billionaires teach them about making money?

We are not here this morning to hear from billionaires about how to make lots of money. We are here to profit from the words of God about how to be a witness of Christ, which is far more important than making lots of money. I hope that you will pay very close attention this morning and take many notes from what God teaches you today.

How interested and eager are you about learning more about being a witness of Christ? If you will be in Greenville this Sunday morning (and do not already have your own church that you regularly attend), I invite you to come hear my final message in this series Thoroughly Equipped to Be a Witness of Christ.

In Evangelism, Preaching

Learning from Philip as a Witness of Christ

February 13, 2015

Acts 1:8 records that Jesus instructed His disciples to be witnesses of Him to the whole world. The rest of the book relates many accounts of their bearing witness to Him and for Him.

For many reasons, Acts 8 is a uniquely important chapter in the book of Acts for our understanding of being a witness of Christ:

—Shows how not just the apostles, but also other believers were witnesses of Christ (Acts 8:4)

—Has key statements about how believers initially witnessed of Christ to people outside of Jerusalem (Acts 8:1, 4)

—Has far more occurrences of forms of a key verb for preaching the gospel (euaggelizomai) than any other chapter of the book of Acts has (Acts 8:4, 12, 25, 35, 40)

—Provides the only inspired record of the gospel ministry of the only person named as an evangelist in Scripture (Acts 8:5-13; 26-40)

—Provides a crucial statement about the dual-faceted nature of sound gospel preaching (Acts 8:12)

—Records vital apostolic instruction about the necessity of repentance and prayer for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 8:22)

—Relates the vital importance of believers’ helping people understand what that they have been reading from Scripture but have not understood properly (Acts 8:30-35)

—Underscores the importance of confronting people with their need to have hearts that are right in the sight of God (Acts 8:20-23; 37)

Because God has given us Acts 8 to teach us so many important truths that vitally equip all believers for doing the good works of evangelizing and making disciples of the world, we need to profit from it as fully as possible. Because this chapter uniquely provides us with an extensive record of the evangelist Philip as a witness of Christ, we all as believers need especially to learn from Philip how God wants us to be witnesses of Christ.

If you will be in the Greenville area on this Sunday and are looking for a church to attend, I would like to invite you to come hear my message this Sunday morning that will explain these things further.

In Discipleship, Evangelism, Preaching

Petición de oración por mi predicación este domingo

February 13, 2015

En mi mensaje el pasado domingo, yo prediqué de Hechos 2 acerca de Pedro como testigo de Cristo en Jerusalén. Dios mediante, el domingo que viene, yo voy a predicar de Hechos 8 acerca de Felipe el evangelista como testigo de Cristo.

Por favor oren por mí.

In Preaching, Spanish

Beware This “News Report” Approach to Using John 11 in Evangelism!

February 9, 2015

This morning, I used a creative approach with some other believers to help them understand better how many believers have not rightly understood why Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead the way that He did. I believe that a vast number of believers need to understand this key point and then use that understanding to adjust in a very important way their use of John 11 in evangelizing people.

An Imaginary News Report of Jesus’ Raising Lazarus from the Dead

Imagine that a news crew from a leading TV network is able to go back in time to videotape one key Bible event, and they choose when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. This crew has the ability to record what takes place without any of the people even seeing that they are present.

As they watch Jesus and others coming to the tomb, they choose to begin recording only at the exact moment when He actually commands Lazarus to come forth. Getting what they want on tape, they return to the present to share their highly selective eyewitness account with the world.

On a prime time news program, they present the stunning video, which instantly creates a worldwide sensation. As teams of news reporters and analysts all around the world go back and forth discussing the remarkable footage, leading news anchors here in the US carry on a torrid debate about what the world should make of this miraculous event.

The Internet explodes with a never-before-seen deluge of discussion on social media. Many bloggers chime in with their take on what significance the world should attach to seeing Jesus do something that no one else had ever been recorded doing—raising a person back to life who had been dead for four days!

Everywhere, people fiercely dispute why Jesus did what He did the way that He did it and what His doing so reveals about who He was. An endless stream of world leaders, political and religious, gives their opinions on whether they believe that the video proves that Jesus was God.

All too often, many Christians have evangelized people by using the account of Jesus’ raising Lazarus from the dead in a very similar way to what I concocted in this hypothetical story. By focusing on a very small portion of the Bible record about this event, they have in many cases not given people a right understanding of why Jesus raised Lazarus the way that He did and what His doing so shows about who He was.

The Foreground Significance of Jesus’ Raising Lazarus the Way That He Did

An examination of the Holy Spirit’s inspired report of what happened shows clearly how this has been the case. When John relates to us what happened immediately before Jesus commanded Lazarus to come out of the grave, he says,

Joh 11:38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.

³⁹ Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.

⁴⁰ Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

⁴¹ Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.

⁴² And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

Only after relating these events does John tell us the very selective part that the fictitious news story I gave above provided:

⁴³ And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

⁴⁴ And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

Had the Spirit only inspired John to write verses 43-44 after he had given enough preceding material to give the basic information about the setting of this event, the news report would have been a more valid representation of what took place on this occasion. John, however, provided vital information in the verses immediately preceding verses 43 and 44 that the news report failed to provide.

Right before Jesus commanded Lazarus to come forth, John says that Jesus lifted up His eyes and talked aloud with God the Father (John 11:41). In this conversation, Jesus thanked the Father for hearing Him and for His always hearing Him. These statements show that Jesus communicated that He had prayed to the Father just before His raising Lazarus from the dead and that the Father had heard His prayer, just as He always had done before this event!

Moreover, John then recorded that Jesus then remarked to the Father, “But because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 11:42). Here John reports from the mouth of Jesus Himself what is the key to understanding why Jesus raised Lazarus the way that He did—He wanted the people to believe the vital truth that the Father had sent Him!

Saying this, Jesus told all those who were present on that occasion that the foreground significance of His raising Lazarus the way that He did was that people would believe that God the Father had sent Him! What He Himself said prior to what He was about to do thus made known that His intent through this miraculous event did not have proving His own deity as its foremost significance.

Yes, what He did testified to His deity but that clearly was not the sum total of what this event testified about Him. In fact, by Jesus’ own statement that John relates, we know that His own deity was not even the foremost truth to which His raising Lazarus the way that He did gave witness to His original audience.

How We Must Use John 11 Properly in Evangelism

As we have seen, this conversation between Jesus and the Father about His hearing Jesus’ prayer was a vital facet of this miracle that the news report completely left out. What Jesus testified about His purpose for doing this miracle the way that He did it is also a vital facet of this event that many, many believers do not account for when they use this account to witness to people.

In using John 11 in evangelism, we must not use this “news report” approach to sharing this glorious event with lost people. We must rather faithfully tell them that Jesus raised Lazarus the way that He did so that they will believe that the Father sent Him!

In Evangelism, Exhortation, Exposition, Theology

Thoroughly Equipped to Be Witnesses of Christ: Part I

February 7, 2015

In my first message in this series, I presented key introductory truths about how all Scripture equips us thoroughly to be witnesses of Christ. The following seventeen points summarize most of the teachings of Scripture about this vital subject that I emphasized in this message.

God has given us the Bible to make us wise unto salvation (2 Tim. 3:15) and to equip us thoroughly for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17). We can only know with certainty what those good works are through what the Scripture says.
Because we are believers in God after the coming of Christ, the NT books are of special significance for us in our knowing what good works God wants us to do (cf. Heb. 1:1-2). To understand further what these good works are that the NT books specially equip us to do, we must examine some key features of these books.
Of the 27 books of the NT, we know that God explicitly directed many of them to the same original recipient or recipients. For example, First and Second Corinthians were both written to the same church (1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 1:1), First and Second Timothy were both written to the same man, Timothy (1 Tim. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:2), and Luke and Acts were both written to the same man, Theophilus (Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1).
Because of this key feature of these books, we are justified in treating them together as units of the NT. Among such units of the NT, Luke-Acts is by far the largest; in fact, Luke-Acts comprises more of the NT than the combined writings of any other author of the NT.
Because God directed far more of the NT to Theophilus than He did any of the rest of the NT to any other original recipient or recipients of Scripture, we can be certain that Luke-Acts is of special importance for our understanding of the good works that Scripture equips us to do.
Another indicator of the special importance of Luke-Acts relates to the special nature of the first five books of the NT in our present canonical order of Scripture. Each of the first four books ends by informing us that Jesus gave authoritative instructions to His disciples after His resurrection (Matt. 28; Mk. 16; Luke 24; John 20) and Acts, the fifth of these books, begins by doing so (Acts 1; cf. also Acts 10).
From Matthew, the earliest written of these books as well as the first in the canonical order, we learn that Jesus informed His disciples that He had been given all authority in heaven and in earth (Matt. 28:18). Based on that authority, Jesus commanded them to go and make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19).
Moreover, in making disciples of all nations, they were to baptize them and instruct them to obey everything that He had commanded them themselves as His original disciples to do (Matt. 28:19). Finally, He promised to be with them until the end of the age (Matt. 28:20), which implied that believers from then on were to continue making disciples for all time until the age would end.
From Matthew, therefore, we learn that Scripture thoroughly equips us to do the good work of making disciples of all nations by teaching them to obey all that Jesus commanded. We are to do this good work because Jesus with the authority that the Father has given Him commanded us to do so and because Jesus promised to be with us as we do so until the end of the age.
The Gospel of Mark ends by specifying that Jesus commanded His disciples to go into the whole world and preach the gospel to every person (Mk. 16:15). Based on Matthew and Mark, we learn that all Scripture equips us for doing two primary good works that Jesus with the authority that the Father has given Him has commanded us to do: (1) evangelize all people in all nations; and (2) disciple all nations to obey all that Jesus commanded. Moreover, we are to do these good works until the end of the age.
Although Matthew and Mark both provide us with vital information that equips us to do these good works that Jesus has commanded us to do, we should expect Luke-Acts to be even more important in doing so because it comprises by far the biggest section of the beginning books of the NT in the present canonical order of books. When we give special attention to Luke-Acts to see what it teaches us about these good works that Jesus has authoritatively directed us to do, we certainly discover that such is the case.
The Gospel of Luke teaches us that God wants us to know the certainty of the things that we have been instructed (Luke 1:4). It also teaches us that God wants us to know all that He has revealed about what Jesus did and taught (cf. Acts 1:1).
Luke ends with a record of explicit teaching from Jesus that He directed His followers to be witnesses of repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations (Lk. 24:46-48). Based on what Matthew, Mark, and Luke combined teach us, we learn that Scripture equips us to do two primary good works: (1) evangelize all people in all nations by preaching the gospel to them, including especially witnessing to them about repentance and the forgiveness of sins; and (2) disciple all nations to obey all that Jesus has commanded.
Acts begins with a record that amplifies our understanding of what Matthew, Mark, and Luke teach us by specifying that the disciples were to be witnesses of Christ to all places in the world in a specific geographical progression (Acts 1:7-8). Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Acts, therefore, equip believers to do two primary good works that Jesus has commanded them to do until the end of the age: (1) evangelize all people in all places in all nations, including testifying to them about repentance and remission of sins; and (2) disciple all nations to obey all that Jesus has commanded.
Based on what we find in the rest of the book of Acts, we know that a major purpose of the book of Acts is to relate to us how the believers in the apostolic company were witnesses of Christ from Jerusalem to the world (Acts 1:7-8). Moreover, by applying Matthew 28:18-20 to what we find in Luke-Acts, we know that Christ wants us also to be such witnesses for Him (cf. Acts 8:1-4).
Based on the discussion above, we learn that God has given us Luke-Acts especially so that we would be thoroughly equipped to be witnesses for Christ. In these four messages, we will look at many passages in Acts to learn more about how God wants us to be witnesses for Christ.
The goal of this series is to present as thoroughly as possible in the time allotted many key biblical truths from Luke-Acts that we all need to give more attention to in our teaching and ministry in the area of witnessing.

In Preaching, Theology

Beware “Theological Reductionism” that Overemphasizes the Deity of Jesus!

February 3, 2015

Is overemphasizing the deity of Jesus even possible? Mark 1:1-3 is a crucial passage for showing that such overemphasis is not only possible, but also is very widespread and has negatively affected the theological understanding of many believers.

The Proper Approach to Interpreting Mark 1:1

The Gospel of Mark begins with vital teaching about the gospel of Jesus Christ: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1). This theologically pregnant statement juxtaposes many key theological terms: “gospel,” “Jesus,” “Christ,” and “the Son of God.”

Self-evidently, a right handling of this text is of preeminent importance. How then should we approach interpreting what Mark affirms here?

The Holy Spirit answers that question by how He has inspired what immediately follows in the passage: “As it is written in the prophets …” (Mark 1:2a). To interpret Mark 1:1 properly, we must relate it properly to how the Spirit has signified that Mark 1:1 is to be understood through our attention to previous biblical teaching.

What Does Mark 1:2-3 Itself Teach Us?

Before we can understand how Mark 1:1 relates properly with Mark 1:2-3, we must examine what Mark 1:2-3 teaches us itself. Mark 1:2-3 directs our attention to teaching found elsewhere in Scripture:

Mar 1:2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. ³ The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

A careful analysis of verse 2 reveals that this biblical citation speaks of three distinct persons:

(1) the Speaker of the statement (“I,” “my”);

(2) the one who is sent by the Speaker as His messenger and who will prepare the way of another Person to whom the Speaker addresses the statement;

(3) the One Whom the Speaker addresses the statement to and Whose face the Speaker will send His messenger before and Whose way the messenger will prepare before Him (the third Person spoken of in the passage who is the referent of both occurrences of the pronoun “thy” in this verse).

The Speaker is God the Father, the one whom He sends as His messenger is John the Baptist (cf. especially 1:4-6), and the third Person in the passage is Jesus (Mark 1:7ff.).

Because Mark 1:3 informs us that the messenger would proclaim that the One whose way he would prepare (Mark 1:2) is the Lord, interpreters rightly understand that the passage is affirming the deity of Jesus. Is this affirmation of His deity, however, the only essential teaching of the passage about the gospel of Jesus Christ?

What Mark 1:1 Signifies Based on Its Relation to Mark 1:2-3

Many interpreters hold that the phrase “the Son of God” at its essence signifies Jesus’ deity in this passage and support this understanding by noting how that phrase is used elsewhere and by how 1:3 speaks of Him as the Lord whose way the messenger would prepare. Arguing in this way, they affirm that the essential truth about the gospel that Mark is stressing here is that Jesus Christ is deity Himself.

All too often, as they handle the passage in this way, however, they lose sight of another essential truth that the passage plainly affirms about Jesus before it speaks of Him as the Lord—Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is a distinct Person from the Father who sent His messenger before Him to prepare His way and His paths! Yes, this passage affirms the full deity of Jesus Christ, but what it teaches about His deity is not the only essential truth that this passage provides us about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Discussion

When interpreters emphasize one truth that a passage teaches to such an extent that they obscure or minimize without biblical warrant other key truths that the passage also teaches, they engage in what I call “theological reductionism.” Such reductionism, when it is repeatedly done, easily leads to widespread neglect of key biblical teaching and the mishandling of key passages of Scripture.

Yes, Mark 1:1-3 affirms the deity of Jesus Christ as the Lord. No, the passage does not teach that Jesus Christ as the Son of the God means only that Jesus is God Himself.

Rather, through inspiring Mark 1:2-3 as the essential explanation of the meaning that He intends for us to understand about the gospel significance of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the Holy Spirit teaches us to hold that “the Son of God” here denotes both His deity and His being a distinct person from God the Father. To emphasize the former at the expense of the latter is to engage in theological reductionism.

Moreover, the passage teaches us that the Father sent His messenger to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus to people as the Lord. The emphasis on the preparatory ministry of the messenger shows us that what would take place in Jesus’ life as the Lord was not a self-determined expression of and exercise of His own deity; Jesus came as the Lord whose paths His Father directed and determined.

Conclusion

Mark 1:1-3 teaches that a right understanding of the gospel significance of Jesus Christ as the Son of God includes both His deity and His distinction in person from God the Father. It also teaches us that another key truth about the gospel significance of Jesus Christ as the Son of God is that the Father prepared His way to come to people as the Lord.

We must take care not to reduce the vital theological teaching of this passage about the gospel in such a way that we communicate that the gospel at its essence is reducible to merely an affirmation of and an expression of the deity of Jesus Christ. To furnish people with a proper understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we must communicate to them not only the deity of Jesus but also both His distinction in person from God the Father and the Father’s essential working in the life of Jesus.

In Exposition, Gospel, Theology

Are You Rightly Receiving the Bible in Your Life?

January 29, 2015

Paul ends Second Timothy 3 with a profound statement that is rightly stressed for what it teaches about the inspiration of Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16). An examination of that statement in its surrounding context provides crucial understanding that every believer needs to have in order that he would be rightly receiving the Bible in his life.

Scripture Makes People Wise unto Salvation

Paul taught Timothy that the holy Scriptures were able to make him wise unto salvation through faith that is in Jesus Christ:

2Ti 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

This statement shows that genuine salvation results in a person’s life from his contact with the Bible only if he allows it to impart to him the wisdom that he lacks. Specifically, he must accept God’s wisdom that Scripture reveals to him by believing what the Scripture presents to him about Jesus Christ.

People who refuse to believe in Jesus Christ through the ministry of the Bible that they receive are people who reject divine wisdom that is essential for salvation. Until a person repents of such rejection, he will never rightly receive the Bible in his life.

Scripture Profits Believers unto All Good Works

When a person repents toward God and believes in Jesus Christ through rightly receiving the Scripture in his life, he is saved. After his salvation, God intends for him to continue rightly receiving the Bible in his life:

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Here Paul taught Timothy that as a believer in Jesus Christ, he was to receive profit from all Scripture such that it all would perfect him as a man of God. Paul then expanded on how Scripture was to perfect Timothy as a man of God by telling him that through his rightly receiving all Scripture in his life, Timothy would be thoroughly furnished for all good works.

By concluding this teaching as he did, Paul expressed that God’s intent for providing the entirety of the Bible to every believer was so that he would be fully equipped to do all the good works that God wants him to do! Saying this, Paul taught the profound truth that a believer’s doing all the good works that God intends for him to do is the essential outcome that must result from his contact with all Scripture.

When a believer is not doing all the good works in his life that God wants him to do, he shows that he is not rightly receiving the Bible in his life. He must repent and believe what Scripture teaches him about all the good works that he is to do.

Conclusion

We must all assess ourselves with all diligence to see if we are rightly receiving the Bible in our lives. To whatever extent we are failing to do all the good works that God wants us to do, we are not rightly receiving the Bible in our lives.

Are you rightly receiving the Bible in your life?

In Discipleship, Exposition, Theology

An Excellent Free Online Resource for Learning Spanish!

January 26, 2015

For the past 24 days, I have been learning Spanish on a free site that a friend told me about recently (duolingo.com). I am now at Level 8 and have found this site to be an excellent supplement to the many other means that I have been using to learn Spanish for the past three years!

As you can see from the screenshot on the left, I have already completed 20 “sections”! I hope to finish the remaining 44 “sections” in the next two months or so.

Of the several sites that I have used to work on my Spanish so far, I think Duolingo has the best setup for systematically reviewing what you have learned. I look forward to working on improving my Spanish a lot in the near future through using this site intensively!

In Spanish

Like Jesus from Childhood to Death!

January 24, 2015

Two profound statements in Scripture about Jesus arrest my attention nearly every time I read them:

Luk 2:40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

The first shows that as a child who was waxing strong in Spirit and filled with wisdom, Jesus had the grace of God upon Him. The second shows that Jesus tasted death for every man by the grace of God.

Comparing these two verses, we see that Jesus—both as a sinless child and as a dying Christ who died for our sins—was what He was by the grace of God! Obviously, these verses do not have as their primary focus that Jesus Himself was “very God of very God” because God does not need grace to be or do anything.

Yes, Jesus was “very God of very God,” but these verses forcefully teach us that we must not make that glorious truth the sum total of our understanding of Jesus’ life from childhood to death. A theology and practice that mostly overlooks or ignores the biblical teaching about the grace of God in Jesus’ life is a distorted and unbiblical theology and practice.

Although He was fully God Himself, Jesus yet both lived and died by the grace of God that was upon Him! Let us take great encouragement from these truths that we can be like Jesus (in the ways that we can and should be) from childhood to death by the grace of God!

Praise God for His marvelous grace that He pours out on all who repent toward Him and believe in His Son!

In Exhortation, Interpretation, Theology

Archives For rajesh

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An Imaginary News Report of Jesus’ Raising Lazarus from the Dead

The Foreground Significance of Jesus’ Raising Lazarus the Way That He Did

How We Must Use John 11 Properly in Evangelism

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The Proper Approach to Interpreting Mark 1:1

What Does Mark 1:2-3 Itself Teach Us?

What Mark 1:1 Signifies Based on Its Relation to Mark 1:2-3

Discussion

Conclusion

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Scripture Makes People Wise unto Salvation

Scripture Profits Believers unto All Good Works

Conclusion

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