Rajesh

Andrew Murray on Hebrews 11:35-38 and Our Suffering

April 26, 2013

In his book, The Holiest of All, Andrew Murray provides some excellent comments on Hebrews 11:35-38 and suffering:

Heb 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:

³⁶ And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:

³⁷ They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;

³⁸ (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

God has given us these examples of those who by faith triumphed over the extremities of suffering , that we might from them learn how to bear our lesser trials. Their faith in extraordinary suffering must strengthen ours in ordinary. It is in the little common trials of daily life that every believer can follow in the footsteps of these saints, in the footsteps of the great Leader of our salvation. By faith alone are we able to bear suffering, great or small, aright to God’s glory or our own welfare.

Yes, by faith alone. Faith sees it in the light of God and eternity; its short pain, its everlasting gain; its impotence to hurt the soul, its power to purify and to bless it. It sees Him who allows it, with us in the fire, as a refiner watching our purging and perfecting, as a helper of our strength and comfort. It sees that the forming of a character like that of the Son of God, maintaining at every cost the Father’s will and honour, is more than all the world can give. It sees that to be made partaker of His holiness, to have the humility and weakness and gentleness of the Lamb of God inwrought into us, and like Him to be made perfect in suffering, is the spirit of heaven, and it counts nothing too great to gain this treasure. By faith alone, but by faith most surely, we can, in the midst of the deepest suffering, be more than conquerors.

—Andrew Murray, The Holiest of All, 470-71.

In Discipleship, Quotes

Does Your Theology and Practice Properly Account for Hebrews 2:9 and 5:9?

April 24, 2013

Christian theology and practice is only as sound as it is in full keeping with all that Scripture teaches about any given subject or practice. Hebrews 2:9 and 5:9 are two verses that provide a good means of testing the soundness of one’s beliefs and living as a Christian.

Hebrews 2:9

The writer of Hebrews declares, “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” (2:9). This verse presents some key truths about the death of Jesus, including the following: (1) He became incarnate in order to suffer death; and (2) He tasted death for every man.

What the Scripture writer specifies about the latter truth reveals an even more profound truth—Christ experienced death on behalf of others by the grace of God. With this teaching, he asserts that God’s grace to Jesus was vital in His dying for others.

In my experience, this truth has very rarely been stressed; nearly always, it has been Jesus’ laying down His own life that has been stressed. Hebrews 2:9, however, unmistakably asserts that Jesus died by the grace of God that was granted to Him.

We, therefore, must conceive of the death of Jesus in full accord with all that Scripture reveals about it: not only His laying down His own life of Himself (John 10:18), but also His receiving grace from God to do so. Regardless of whether or not we can understand how both these points can be true, we must maintain in our theology and practice that both are true.

Hebrews 5:9

In chapter five, we encounter another similarly profound truth that we must properly reflect in our theology and practice:

Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; ⁹ And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him (5:8-9).

These verses declare that Jesus was made perfect through what He suffered, and that His being perfected in that way was how He became the author of eternal salvation for all those who obey Him.

Strikingly, the author of Hebrews asserts that Jesus provides eternal salvation not simply by virtue of His intrinsic deity, which was true of Him throughout His entire life! Rather, His doing so vitally stems from what resulted from the suffering that He experienced as the God-Man. The profundity of this verse, as with 2:9, thus pertains directly to what we do with the truth of Jesus’ deity in relation to other vital truth about Him.

What a Proper Theology and Practice That Reflects These Truths Looks Like

The immensely profound truths revealed in Hebrews 2:9 and 5:9 require that we not overemphasize the deity of Christ in our theology and practice to such an extent that we fail to give other vital truths their proper emphasis. Discussions of the death of Jesus and His saving work must reflect not just His deity, but also the grace of God at work in His life and His saving people by virtue of what He experienced as the God-Man.

These truths, in particular, must shape how we evangelize people. We must not present Jesus’ death only as His exercising His divine power. Nor should we present Him as able to save people solely because He is God.

Instead, when we evangelize people, we should also emphasize the divine help that He received in His death. Moreover, we should present Him as the glorified God-Man who provides salvation to those who obey Him because of how He as the God-Man was perfected through His sufferings.

In Discipleship, Evangelism, Theology

Guitar Music for "Feliz, feliz cumpleaños"

April 22, 2013

Feliz, feliz cumpleaños is a special song that every Spanish guitarist should know how to play. This PDF provides the chords, melody notes in my number format, and the first line of the song.

In Guitar Music, Spanish

¿Eres una persona joven que es como Cristo era cuando era joven?

April 20, 2013

¿Dios piensa que usted es una persona joven que . . .

1. tiene un gran interés en aprender más acerca de las cosas de Dios?

2. realmente le gusta estar rodeado de gente de mente espiritual que saben más acerca de la Biblia que usted?

3. escucha con atención y entusiasmo al hablar con esa gente?

4. se hacen esas preguntas las personas que muestran que usted quiere saber más acerca de Dios y la Biblia?

5. conoce su Biblia bien para una persona joven?

6. tiene que ser de las cosas de su Padre Celestial?

7. tiene que estar en la casa de su Padre Celestial?

8. abiertamente valora su relación con su Padre Celestial?

9. está continuamente sujetas a vuestros padres?

10. somete a sí mismo a sus padres, incluso cuando están en lo cierto, no lo entiendo, y ellos están equivocados?

11. trata a su madre con respeto, incluso cuando usted se enfrenta públicamente?

12. guarda sus palabras en tu corazón?

13. es abiertamente crecía en sabiduría?

14. es abiertamente aumentando en gracia para con Dios y el hombre?

15. realmente quiere ser como Jesús fue cuando era joven?

In Discipleship, Spanish

Why I Still Do Not Drink Alcohol Now That I Am a Christian

April 18, 2013

Whether or not Christians should or even may drink alcohol is a hotly debated subject these days. In this post, I offer my testimony concerning this issue. I hope that it will strengthen other brethren to continue to refrain from drinking alcohol.

Before My Conversion

As an unsaved college student at Western Illinois University, I had many opportunities to drink alcohol in social settings. Although I also encountered suggestions that I should drink alcohol on at least a few occasions, I never drank alcohol throughout my years of being an unbeliever.

In my thinking then, alcohol was a toxic substance that was not at all necessary for life and posed a serious risk of harming my body and enslaving me. I had watched some of my friends suffer harmful consequences of their drinking and had no desire to experience any of what they did.

In fact, I do not recall ever having in any context even the slightest desire to try alcohol, cigarettes, or any other such substances. As a very health-conscious person majoring in Fitness Instruction and Human Performance, I thought that it would be foolish for to me to drink alcohol.

For me it made perfect sense that if I never tried alcohol, there would be no possibility that I would ever become an alcoholic. Nor would I ever drive under the influence or engage in immoral behaviors under the influence of a mind-controlling substance that has destroyed the lives of millions of people throughout the world.

After My Conversion

After becoming a Christian, I devoured the Bible and much other Christian literature. Nothing that I read in those early years of my being a believer signaled to me that I should change any of my thinking about drinking alcohol.

Over the rest of the years that I have been a believer, I have not heard or read anything that suggests to me that there is any value for me as a believer to drink alcohol. Moreover, my present belief that abstaining from alcohol consumption is the right position on this issue is even stronger than when I was an unbeliever who abstained from drinking alcohol.

My Encouragement to Other Brethren Facing Pressure to Change Their Views

If you are a believer who has abstained from alcohol consumption in the past, I encourage you to stand fast against any pressure you may be facing to change your position. If you never try alcohol in the first place, you will never become an alcoholic. If you never try alcohol, you will never become drunk.

Even some unbelievers recognize the value of not ever drinking alcohol and resist the pressure to do so; we who have the Spirit of God in us have incomparably greater resources and motivation to do so!

In Discipleship, Health, Testimony

The Bible!

April 15, 2013

THE BIBLE contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you.

It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s charter. Here Paradise is restored, Heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed.

CHRIST is its grand subject, our good the design, and the glory of God its end.

It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. It is given you in life, will be opened at the judgment, and be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labor, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.

—From the Gideons International New Testament

In Bible reading, Christian Books, Quotes

Jesus Loves Aborted Children

April 13, 2013

Jesus Loves the Little Children, by C. H. Woolston and George F. Root, is a classic children’s song that celebrates His love for little children. The words of Jesus Loves Aborted Children use the same tune to declare and magnify the love of Jesus for the multitudes of precious children who have been mercilessly aborted.

Stanza 1 magnifies the life of rejoicing in His presence that they live now! Stanzas 2 and 3 emphasize the truth of their living again physically some day before the throne of Jesus.

These words should be sung slowly and meditatively:

Jesus Loves Aborted Children

1. Jesus loves aborted children;

They now suffer no more pain;

Knowing Him who once was dead,

They live through Him who has bled.

Bowing at His throne,

Rejoicing they remain!

2. Jesus loves aborted children;

They’ve been mercilessly slain.

He will raise them from the dead;

Those who slew them will regret,

When before His throne,

They face them once again.

3. Jesus loves aborted children;

They will never die again.

They will rise up from the dead;

They will praise Him as their Head;

When before His throne,

They know life once again.

You may use this song in a ministry context provided you do not change any of the words and you provide copyright information to anyone whom you distribute it. Please contact me for any other use of the song.

In Music, Theology

Is Jesus As the Judge "The Bad News" about Jesus Christ?

April 12, 2013

The world detests the message that Jesus is the Judge. Sadly, many believers also may often have a mindset that views the truth of Jesus as the Judge as “the bad news.” Is the truth of Jesus as the Judge “the bad news”? If so, how is it bad news and for whom?

John 5 is a key passage in the Gospels that emphasizes the truth of Jesus as the Judge. A close examination of this passage provides a clear answer to our question.

The Primary Truth about Jesus in John 5

John 5 records at length Jesus’ interaction with an impotent man and certain Jews in Jerusalem. Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath. He did so as the Son of Man with the authority to forgive sins on the earth.

Observing the man who was healed carrying his bed on the Sabbath, the Jews confronted him about his actions, which they regarded as unlawful (5:9-10). The man defended himself by saying that the One who had healed him also ordered him to take up his bed and walk (5:11). The Jews inquired who it was that directed him to do so (5:12).

The man did not know who it was because Jesus had left the location (5:13). Later, Jesus found him in the temple and sternly charged him, “Behold, you are made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come to you” (5:14). The man left and informed the Jews that Jesus had made him whole (5:15). The Jews, therefore, persecuted Jesus and sought to kill him (5:16, 18) because He healed the man on the Sabbath and because they rejected His saying that God was His own Father (5:17-18).

The entire conflict between these Jews and Jesus concerned what was and was not lawful to do on the Sabbath. The Jews judged Jesus as a lawbreaker and wanted to kill Him for what they regarded as His unlawful actions and for His stupendous assertion that they regarded as His making Himself equal with God (5:18).

Jesus’ response to them comprises one of the lengthiest records of His words (5:17; 19-47; 30 verses). The great length of direct discourse by Jesus that John records here stresses this passage greatly.

In effect, Jesus defended Himself before these Jews by making known that His actions were not unlawful because He is the One to whom the Father has given all judgment (5:22, 27). As the God-appointed Judge, He is thus the Lawgiver who decides what is and is not lawful.

Seen in this light, the entire passage (5:1-47) is primarily about Jesus as the God-appointed Judge. His explicit statement that what He said to these Jews was so that they might be saved (5:34) shows that this passage is an evangelistic account. Jesus’ profound emphasis on His judicial agency (explicit statements in 5:22, 27, 30; contextually throughout the passage) in His evangelizing these hostile Jews shows that Jesus held that His judicial agency was the central truth that He wanted them to receive in order that they might be saved (5:24).

John 5 Illumines What the Good News Is in Act 10

This analysis of John 5 provides help for us to rightly interpret Peter’s climactic statement at Gentecost that stated that Jesus is the One appointed by God as the Judge of the living and the dead (Acts 10:42). Far from being the bad news to the Jews (John 5) and to the people at Gentecost (Acts 10), the truth of Jesus as God’s judicial agent was the central truth that sinners had to hear and receive at these occasions to be saved.

How can this possibly be? A closer look at Jesus’ words to the Jews reveals just how this was the case.

The God-Appointed Judge Who Raises People to Eternal Life!

In brief, Jesus emphatically and repeatedly asserted His judicial agency with great solemnity (“Verily, verily”; three times, John 5:19, 24, 25). As part of His explanation of His judicial agency, He taught that an hour is coming when all who are in the graves would hear His voice as the Son of Man to whom the Father has given authority to execute judgment (5:27-28). Those who would hear His voice would come forth to one of two fates: a resurrection of life or a resurrection of damnation (5:29).

Jesus thus taught that He as the God-appointed Judge is the One who would raise all dead people and that they would thereafter enter into their eternal destiny (5:25-29). The ones that had done good would enter into the resurrection of life; the ones who had done evil would enter into damnation (5:29). He closed this section of His witness to them by yet another explicit statement of His judicial agency by saying that He could not do anything of His own self; as He had heard of the Father, He did (5:30a). He added that His judgment was just because He did not seek His own will, but the will of the Father who had sent Him (5:30b).

With this teaching, Jesus made known that He as the God-appointed Judge would decide the fates of all dead people. Some He would raise to eternal life and the others He would raise to eternal damnation. His judicial agency, therefore, is only “bad news” to those who have done evil and die refusing to repent of their sins and believe in Him.

For those who have done evil and then repent of their rejection of Jesus’ equality with God by believing in Jesus as the One whom the Father sent with all authority to execute judgment, His judicial agency is the greatest good news that they could possibly hear. He is the Judge who will raise everyone one day and give eternal life to those who do good by hearing His word and believing on Him who sent Him to be that Judge (5:24)! To do so is to do good because they thereby honor the Son even as the Father, which is the purpose of the Father’s giving all judgment to the Son (5:22-23).

They will not enter into condemnation because He as the Judge will not condemn them (5:24). They have passed from death to life (5:24) because He as the Judge has already quickened them (cf. 5:21) and will one day assuredly raise all of them who die to the resurrection of life (5:29).

The Good News of the God-Appointed Judge Who Saves Those Who Repent and Believe in Him!

Based on this analysis, we understand that Jesus as God’s judicial agent is not “the bad news of Jesus Christ” to sinners who repent and believe the good news that He is the One to whom the Father has given all judgment. His judicial agency is the central truth that both Jesus and Peter gave to sinners that they might be saved in the two accounts treated above.

The Jews rejected His judicial agency and were not saved. The lost people at Gentecost believed in Him as that God-appointed Judge (Acts 10:42) and were therefore forgiven their sins by Him (Acts 10:43). They were saved by believing in the name of the One whom the Father sent as the Son of God (John 5:25), the Son (5:26), and the Son of Man (5:27), His judicial agent (5:22, 27, 30)!

By virtue of the judicial authority that the Father has given Him (5:22, 27, 30), Jesus gives eternal life to as many as the Father has given Him (17:2). He does so for those who believe that He died for their sins and that God raised Him from the dead (1 Cor. 15:3-5; Rom. 10:9-10). Hear His own words about His judicial agency, acknowledge that you have done evil and are repenting, believe on the Father who sent Him with all judicial authority, and you will have everlasting life! You will never come into condemnation; you will have passed from death to life!

As the Son of Man, He has the judicial authority to forgive your sins (Luke 5:24; cf. Acts 7:56-60; 10:42-43) and to give you eternal life (John 5:24-29). He will save you by doing these things and much more (Heb. 7:25; 1 John 2:1). Believe the good news of Jesus Christ that includes the glorious truth that He is the God-appointed Judge and you will be saved!

In Evangelism, Exposition, Theology

Guitar Music for "The Church's One Foundation"

April 10, 2013

Samuel J. Stone’s great hymn The Church’s One Foundation is a good hymn for beginning guitarists wanting to learn to strum and pick the chords in the key of C. This PDF provides the melody in my number format, the chords, and the first line of this hymn.

There are also many other PDFs of hymns for guitar in the Resources on my site in the Music section!

In Guitar Music

Guitar Music for "Del Culto El Tiempo Llega"

April 9, 2013

To play the Spanish hymn Del Culto El Tiempo Llega in the key of Do, you only have to be able to play five basic chords: Do, La m, Fa, Sol7, and Re m. The melody is played on the second string.

This PDF gives you the chords, melody, and first stanza of this hymn.

In Guitar Music, Spanish

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Before My Conversion

After My Conversion

My Encouragement to Other Brethren Facing Pressure to Change Their Views

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