Interpretation | A People for His Name

Establishing the Necessity of an Intermediate Earthly Kingdom

April 28, 2011

This post presents an approach that seeks to establish the necessity of an intermediate earthly kingdom without necessarily having to espouse beforehand any particular theological system. This approach consists of the integration of key biblical texts that contain within their own contexts clear indicators of how to interpret them. A careful examination of the nature of periods preceding and following the intermediate earthly kingdom combined with an integration of the texts showing a sharp contrast with those preceding and following periods establishes the necessity of an intermediate earthly kingdom.

Periods preceding and following the intermediate earthly kingdom

Present state: Sinners sinning, death taking place, children being born, most die before 100, carnivorous animals, Satan not bound, no Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, Israel not preeminent among the nations of the world, Christ not ruling physically on the earth, no nation worshiping Christ as King on the earth

Eternal state: No sin, no death, no procreation, people live forever, Satan forever punished in the lake of fire, a new heaven and a new earth, new Jerusalem, no Temple, Christ and God rule forever

Sharp contrast of the intermediate earthly kingdom with the preceding and following periods

Isaiah 65:20-25: Period with infants and old men, death – not eternal state; period with 100-year old people called youths, people’s life span compared to trees, complete harmony in the animal kingdom – not present state; combination of all these demands an intermediate earthly kingdom

Ezekiel 36: God judged His people who sinned exceedingly in their own land and scattered them among the nations of the world; such scattering led to His name being profaned on account of those people; God has purposed to vindicate the holiness of His great name by bringing those people out from the nations where He had scattered them and back into their own land; clearly not speaking of the Church anywhere in these verses; glorious changes in the land testify about God to the nations, and all know Him; shows that an intermediate earthly kingdom is a necessity for the vindication of God’s holy name

Zechariah 14: Marvelous chapter clearly showing an intermediate earthly kingdom; the Lord returns to the earth to defend His people; establishes His kingdom in the world; immense topographical changes in Palestine; He is worshiped worldwide with no idolatry anywhere; annual worship of Yahweh by surviving nations; sin still occurring—nations refuse to come to worship—shows that this cannot be the eternal state; all-pervasive holiness of the LORD’s house concludes the chapter; chapter describes an extended period of time that cannot be the eternal state nor the present because it features both the worldwide worship of Yahweh and sinners still refusing to worship Him– demands an intermediate earthly kingdom

Conclusion

Scripture repeatedly teaches an intermediate earthly kingdom

Not necessary to hold to or even know a particular theological system to understand the Scripture’s teaching about the intermediate earthly kingdom – the passages themselves provide contextual indications of how they are to be interpreted

Vindication of God’s holy name necessitates an intermediate earthly kingdom

In Interpretation

Give the Resurrection Its Full Significance!

April 23, 2011

Tomorrow, millions of people will celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Multitudes of people will likely do so, however, without much awareness of its full significance. They will do so because many preachers, theologians, and other Bible teachers have given noticeably limited attention to a key aspect of the significance of the Resurrection.

Although various aspects of the significance of the Resurrection have received considerable attention, especially its being a key element of the gospel (1 Cor. 15:3-5), one NT emphasis has not. Four passages, one in each major section of the current topical arrangement in most Bibles today, point to an important truth that should receive much more current attention than it has (John 2; Acts 17; Rom.14; Rev. 1).

John 2

John records Jesus’ forceful actions to cleanse the temple when the Jewish Passover was near (John 2:13-22). Seeing people who were defiling the temple through their mercenary activities (2:14), Jesus judged them by expelling them and violently disrupting their activities (2:15). He also judged them by ordering them to remove the offensive elements from the temple and to stop making His Father’s house a “house of merchandise” (2:16).

Seeing His actions, His disciples recalled the Scripture that said, “The zeal of Thine house hath eaten me up” (2:17). By recording both Jesus’ commands to the people and what the disciples remembered, John points his readers to Jesus’ judicial agency on behalf of the Father.

The Jews responded to Jesus by asking Him, “What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?” (2:18). They thus demanded of Him a sign for His authority to act as a judge on behalf of God to do what He did and say what He said.

Jesus responded, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (2:19). He thus informed them that His raising up His body after His death at their hands would be the sign of His judicial agency to cleanse the temple as He had.

In his Gospel, therefore, John records teaching from Jesus Himself that His resurrection would attest to His having been the Father’s Agent of judgment for dealing in this manner with these who had defiled His Father’s house. John adds that following the Resurrection, His disciples remembered what Jesus had said on this occasion and believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had said (2:22). Writing this, John teaches that the disciples believed that the Resurrection signified that Jesus was God’s judicial agent.

Acts 17

Luke’s record of Paul’s evangelistic ministry in Athens reveals teaching from Paul that closely corresponds to Jesus’ own teaching. At the climax of his evangelistic message at the Areopagus, Paul informed his audience of a key evangelistic significance of the Resurrection: By raising Jesus from the dead, God has proven to all men that He has fixed a day in which He will righteously judge the world through the Man whom He has appointed, Jesus (Acts 17:31). Because God has proven this to all men, He commands all men everywhere to repent (17:30).

Recording these statements, Luke attests to the universal significance of the Resurrection as God’s proof to all men that Jesus is His judicial agent. Both John and Luke, therefore, provide teaching about this key significance of the Resurrection.

Romans 14

Paul highlights the significance of the Resurrection for believers’ not judging one another in certain matters over which they differ (Rom. 14). As part of his explanation for why believers are not to judge one another in these areas, he says, “For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that He might be Lord both of the dead and the living. But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ . . . Let us not therefore judge one another (Rom. 14:9-13).

To instruct us not to judge one another in these matters, Paul makes a key statement about the purpose of both the death and the resurrection of the Messiah—He experienced both so that He might be the Lord both of the dead and the living. The immediately following statements make plain that one of the purposes of the Messiah’s death and resurrection was that He might be the Judge of the living and the dead!

Paul, therefore, joins John and Luke in teaching this key significance of the Resurrection. We thus have explicit teaching about this truth’s significance in the first century for Jews (proof of Jesus’ authority to cleanse the temple – John 2), all men (basis for God’s universal demand that all repent – Acts 17), and believers (stop wrongly judging one another – Rom. 14).

Revelation 1

John’s opening teaching in Revelation includes how the glorified Jesus ministered truth to him about His death and resurrection: “And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying unto me, ‘Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death’” (1:17-18). Jesus comforted John by informing Him about His being alive forevermore though He had been dead. He added that He had the keys of hell and death, which communicated that He had authority over these aspects of God’s judgment of sinners. Juxtaposing these statements, Jesus linked His resurrection with His judicial authority.

Recording this teaching, John informs believers once again about the significance of the Resurrection for Jesus’ judicial agency. With all four sections of the NT setting forth this teaching, we should heed what the Spirit highlights for us.

On this Easter and forevermore, we should make known to everyone that God has proved to them through His raising Jesus that Jesus is the God-appointed Judge of the living and the dead! We should also praise God for proving that truth to all men and heed what else this truth means for us as believers (stop judging one another wrongly – Rom. 14; not fearing – Rev. 1).

In Discipleship, Evangelism, Interpretation

Handling the Evangelistic Accounts in Acts More Accurately: Part I

April 19, 2011

Scripture provides us with numerous evangelistic accounts, especially in the book of Acts. Because such material comprises a sizeable portion of one key book of the NT, we should be all the more diligent to handle it as accurately as possible.

Over the years, however, I have observed recurrent problems in the handling of the evangelistic accounts in Acts. One of the most problematic aspects has been the widespread unwarranted assumption that what the evangelist(s) testified in a given evangelistic encounter was limited to what Luke records. In his very first account, Luke provides us with explicit indications that such was not the case.

Acts 2 records Peter’s message at Pentecost. Luke provides us with a lengthy record of the witness that Peter gave, including 23 verses about his actual message (2:14-36). He, however, also provides us with two explicit statements that show that we do not know the entirety of the witness given on this occasion.

First, prior to Peter’s message, Luke records that the crowd were “all amazed and marvelled” because of what they were hearing (2:7). They said, “We do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God” (2:11). Luke does not tell us anything more about what this testimony included, and we have no definitive way of accounting for what information the crowd received at this time that prepared them for Peter’s message. Because the filling of the Holy Spirit supernaturally produced this testimony (2:4), we must hold that this was information that played a divinely ordained part in the ultimate salvation of the approximately 3,000 people that were saved that day (2:41).

Because we do not know exactly what testimony the crowd received immediately prior to Peter’s message, we cannot say with certainty that Peter did not testify a particular truth to them. Thus, this aspect of the record of Peter’s evangelism at Pentecost teaches us that it is not legitimate to use this passage as evidence for arguing against other teaching about what we should testify in our evangelism (for example, 10:42).

Second, Luke records that the crowd responded to Peter’s message by saying, “Brethren, what shall we do?” (2:37). Peter responded with authoritative direction (2:38) and an explanation of that direction (2:39). Luke then adds, “And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this untoward generation'” (2:40).

Luke specifies that Peter gave them “many other words” of testimony and exhortation and summarizes that ministry with a six-word statement that plainly does not record all that Peter gave them at this time. Saying this, Luke provides us with a second explicit indicator that he has not given us a record of all the testimony that these people received on this occasion. We thus do not and cannot know exhaustively what these people did hear to be saved.

Because the Pentecost account is the first evangelistic encounter that Luke records, we are justified in approaching it with special regard from that literary standpoint. Given that fact, Luke’s giving us two explicit indications that he has not given us an exhaustive record of the testimony given on that occasion is noteworthy and implicitly instructs us that we should not regard any of the following accounts in the book as an exhaustive record.

Furthermore, because the Pentecost account records both the first instance of apostolic evangelism after the Ascension and the beginning of the Church, it is one of the most important evangelistic accounts in Scripture. It is also one of the longest recorded evangelistic accounts. In addition to its being the first recorded evangelistic account in Acts, these facts make Luke’s not giving us an exhaustive record of it even more significant.

Based, therefore, on the two explicit indicators from the Pentecost account about its not being an exhaustive record (2:11, 40), we should learn to handle the evangelistic accounts in Acts more accurately by not viewing them as exhaustive records of what was testified on those occasions. The lack of mention of a particular truth in any of the accounts in Acts does not definitively tell us that there was no testimony given to that truth in that evangelistic encounter.

In Evangelism, Interpretation

Scholarly Comments on the One Who Forgives

April 17, 2011

This post compiles some scholarly comments about Jesus as the One who forgives our sins:

The Pharisees’ attitude is probably like that expressed in [Luke] 5:21: ‘Who can forgive sins but God?’ In Luke-Acts, the right of Jesus to judge and thus forgive sins is one of Luke’s major claims, which shows one must deal with Jesus in order to be accepted by God (Luke 24:47; Acts 10:42; 17:31; on the Son of Man’s authority, see Luke 22:69; Acts 7:55-56). Here is raw eschatological authority, and the Pharisees know it. It is not the claim of a mere prophet. —Comments on Luke 7:49 by Darrell L. Bock, Luke 1:1-9:50 in BECNT, 707; bold added.

The term [Son of Man] is eschatological in Daniel; Jesus uses it in the same way in Matt. 24:30 and 26:64, and this is done also in the Revelation passages. But this Judge at the great consummation cannot be the judge only then, his work must reach back through the entire process of redemption, the consummation of which is the final judgment. [In Luke 5:24,] Jesus very properly thus expands the title and applies it to his person in the days of his humiliation. . . . Authority . . . to remit sins ‘on the earth’ during the era of grace comports with ‘the Son of man.’ To bring to us and to make our own this remission Jesus had to come on his great mission as ‘the Son of man.’ —Comments on Luke 5:24 by R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Luke’s Gospel, 303; bold added.

The resurrected Jesus is announced to be the Judge-designate. . . . Without this point, we might be tempted to think of the resurrection as something tremendous that happened to him but which has no relation to us at all. Without this statement that the resurrected Lord is the Judge-designate, we might believe the story of Easter and comment, ‘Terrific! But after all, that was Jesus. What has that got to do with us?’ Verse 42 [of Acts 10] answers this question by linking our destiny to that of Jesus, for it tells us that Jesus is every man’s Judge. This statement says that the man whom God designated to judge us is the man executed on Golgotha and raised on Easter. If, then, our destiny depends on the verdict of this Judge, we must recognize that the story of Jesus is the story of the one who will be the arbiter of our status before God. Suddenly for each individual, the story of Jesus is transformed from a piece of interesting ancient history to the disclosure of ‘where my destiny hangs.’ This change makes the story of Jesus real news. But it still does not show why this is good news; it could just as well be bad news. . . . These words [v. 43] transform the information about Jesus into the good news for all mankind. According to this early sketch of the gospel, the good news consists of the headline that the Judge forgives those who believe on his name. That is, he forgives those who believe he is really the Judge. Here is the heart of the good news in this sermon: The Judge forgives. —Leander E. Keck, Mandate to Witness: Studies in the Book of Acts, 68-69; bold added.

Here [Acts 10:43] Peter underscores that it is faith in the Jesus he has just described that brings the forgiveness. So the way of salvation is through the judge of the living and the dead, by appealing to him to forgive sin, which leads into the way of peace through the gospel (v. 35). —Comments on Acts 10:42-43 by Darrell L. Bock, Acts, 400; bold added.

In agreement with Keck and Bock, Schnabel regards Acts 10:43 as an ”exhortation to turn in faith to this judge in order to receive [the] forgiveness of sins.” Eckhard J. Schnabel, Jesus and the Twelve, vol. 1 of Early Christian Mission, 713; bold added.

What do you think about these scholarly comments? Do you agree with their saying that Jesus is the Judge who forgives sin?

In Gospel, Interpretation, Quotes

"Who Will Go For Us?"

April 15, 2011

Isaiah 6 presents the Lord’s commissioning of Isaiah. He saw a vision of the Lord on His throne (6:1-4). His response to the vision (6:5) led to a seraphim’s acting to consecrate him for his commission by dealing with his iniquity and sin (6:6-7).

Isaiah then heard the Lord say, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” (6:8a). He responded by volunteering himself to be sent by the Lord (6:8b). The remaining verses in the chapter relate the details of his commissioning (6:9-13).

Preachers have used Isaiah 6:1-8 to challenge believers to be involved in evangelism and missions. Based on what I can recall from my experience, they have not treated his actual commission (6:9-13) much at all in those messages. Treating the passage in that manner may have resulted in obscuring important understanding for many believers because of what the rest of the passage teaches Isaiah’s commission actually was.

The Lord accepted Isaiah’s volunteering himself and directed him to go communicate His message to His people (6:9a). He was to tell them, “Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not” (6:9b). His mission also included that he was to “make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed” (6:10).

These statements show that Isaiah’s mission was hardly an evangelistic one in the traditional sense. Rather, Isaiah was being sent as an agent of God who would not bring about their turning to the Lord—he would actually serve to harden them so that they would not see, hear, understand, convert, and be healed.

The ensuing dialogue between Isaiah and the Lord confirms this interpretation (6:11-13). Isaiah asked, “Lord, how long?” (6:11a). The Lord responded, “Until cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, and the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land (6:11b-12). Isaiah was thus informed that the hardening would continue until there would come about a great destruction among His people. God, however, did provide him with some hope by telling him that there would be a tenth who would be a remnant, who would yet suffer judgment themselves, but from whom also there would yet be “the holy seed” (6:13).

This analysis suggests that preachers should not use Isaiah 6 to challenge believers about evangelism and missions without at least some explanation of what Isaiah’s actual commission was. By at least briefly explaining the original sense of the passage, the preacher who chooses to use Isaiah 6 to challenge contemporary believers will be less likely to promote his audience’s having a superficial understanding of or even a total lack of awareness of the original significance of the passage as a whole.

In Interpretation, Ministry, Preaching

The Personality of the Holy Spirit

April 14, 2011

In addition to the texts typically presented in the discussion concerning the proofs of the personality of the Holy Spirit, three other texts that have not at times been considered also deserve attention as well: Acts 10:20; 13:2; 1 John 4:4.

Acts 10:20
Luke records the Spirit’s speaking directly to Peter following his vision (10:19-20). The Spirit informed him that three men were seeking him and that Peter should go meet them and accompany them, doubting nothing because He had sent them. The Greek text shows that the Spirit used an emphatic first-person personal pronoun (ἐγὼ) to speak of His sending them, which points directly to His personality:

BGT Act 10:20 ἀλλὰ ἀναστὰς κατάβηθι καὶ πορεύου σὺν αὐτοῖς μηδὲν διακρινόμενος ὅτι ἐγὼ ἀπέσταλκα αὐτούς.

NAU Act 10:20 “But get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.”

SCR Act 10:20 ἀλλὰ ἀναστὰς κατάβηθι, καὶ πορεύου σὺν αὐτοῖς, μηδὲν διακρινόμενος• διότι ἐγὼ ἀπέσταλκα αὐτούς.

KJV Act 10:20 Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.

Acts 13:2
Luke’s record of the church at Antioch includes a report of their ministering and fasting to the Lord. While they were doing so, the Spirit spoke to them to set apart to Him Barnabas and Saul for the work to which He had called them. The Greek text shows that the Spirit again used a first-person personal pronoun (μοι) to refer to Himself, which points directly to His personality.

BGT Act 13:2 Λειτουργούντων δὲ αὐτῶν τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ νηστευόντων εἶπεν τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον• ἀφορίσατε δή μοι τὸν Βαρναβᾶν καὶ Σαῦλον εἰς τὸ ἔργον ὃ προσκέκλημαι αὐτούς.

NAU Act 13:2 While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

SCR Act 13:2 λειτουργούντων δὲ αὐτῶν τῷ Κυρίῳ καὶ νηστευόντων, εἶπε τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον, Ἀφορίσατε δή μοι τόν τε Βαρνάβαν καὶ τὸν Σαῦλον εἰς τὸ ἔργον ὃ προσκέκλημαι αὐτούς.

KJV Act 13:2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

1 John 4:4
Contextually, the discussion here is about testing the spirits that are indwelling people and leading to their confession either that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh or that He has not come in the flesh. Those who confess the former have the Holy Spirit in them, while those who confess the latter have the spirit of the antichrist in them. Thus, verse 4 should be understood as referring to the Holy Spirit (cf. 4:6):

BGT 1Jo 4:4 ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστε, τεκνία, καὶ νενικήκατε αὐτούς, ὅτι μείζων ἐστὶν ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν ἢ ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ.

NAU 1Jo 4:4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

SCR 1Jo 4:4 ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστε, τεκνία, καὶ νενικήκατε αὐτούς• ὅτι μείζων ἐστὶν ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν ἢ ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ.

KJV 1Jo 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

John’s use of the masculine article in ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν to refer to the Holy Spirit when he could have phrased it as τὸ ἐν ὑμῖν shows that he viewed the Holy Spirit as a Person. Explaining the masculine article as a reference to Christ or God as the One whom John has in view in verse 4 does not fit the context and doing so is not demanded by any other consideration.

Thus, Acts 10:20, 13:2, and 1 John 4:4 all teach the personality of the Holy Spirit!

In Interpretation

Parallels between Abigail's Actions and Christ's

April 13, 2011

First Samuel 25 records the wonderful story of how David was greatly blessed by the actions of Abigail, “a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance” (25:3). When her evil husband abused servants sent by David to him, David purposed to kill him and all the men in his household (25:4-13; 21-22). Abigail intervened in behalf of her husband at this crucial time, and because of her intervention, David spared her husband and all his men (25:18-20; 23-35).

A closer look at Abigail’s intervention reveals striking parallels between her actions on behalf of her husband and his men and Christ’s actions on behalf of us as sinners. Abigail learned of the death sentence that had been passed by David upon her husband and his men (25:14-17). She went to David, the one who was preparing to judge them (25:13; 22-23) for their wickedness (25:21), and beseeched him to let their iniquity be upon her (25:24). Addressing David 14 times with the words, “my lord” (25:24; 25 [2x]; 26 [2x]; 27 [2x]; 28 [2x]; 29; 30; 31 [3x]), she pled her case before the one who had judicial authority over her and her household (25:34). She thus abundantly manifested that she regarded David as her lord, the judge.

Although she herself does not seem to have done anything wrong, she pled with her judge to forgive her trespass (25:28). She also provided “the blessing” to her judge that her husband had wickedly withheld from him (25:27; 35). With her actions and words, she propitiated David’s wrath. Because of her intervention, David accepted her person and did not judge her husband and his men (25:35).

Interestingly, although Abigail to some extent “paid” the penalty for her husband’s sins, at least in the sense of providing what he had sinfully withheld from David, God still subsequently judged her husband (25:38). David’s response to His doing so was to recognize that God had judged him for the reproach that he had brought upon David (25:39).

While the parallels between Abigail’s and Christ’s actions are, of course, far from exact, it seems that there are some significant similarities between their works in their respective contexts. If this interpretation is valid, 1 Samuel 25 would then be another way that the Scripture provides teaching about Christ (cf. Lk. 24:27), albeit in an indirect way.

I would love to hear what you think about my interpretation of this aspect of 1 Samuel 25.

In Interpretation

Ultimate Blessedness for Mankind!

April 12, 2011

After God created man, He blessed Him (Gen. 1:28). When man sinned against God (3:6), He judged him by denying him access to the tree of life and banishing him from the Garden of Eden (3:22-24).

After the initial statements about how God blessed man, the word blessed occurs 300 times in 285 verses in Scripture. An analysis of these abundant occurrences of this important word reveals some key facts, including the following:

God continued to bless man in spite of his sinfulness
The word occurs in 41 books of Scripture
Five books have 10 or more occurrences of the word (Gen. [43]; Deut. [14]; Ps. [47]; Matt. [18]; Lk. [26])
Psalms is the only book that begins with the word

Psalms, the book with the most occurrences of the word blessed, reveals how people are blessed:

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper (1:1-3).

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him (2:12).

In the latter text, David (cf. Acts 4:25-26; 13:33) specifies that blessedness comes to all who put their trust in the Son (2:12), the LORD’s anointed King (cf. 2:6-9), who in context is described as the Judge (2:9, 12).

The final occurrence of the word blessed reveals the same wondrous truth of blessedness coming from the Judge:

And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right [ἐξουσία] to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city (Rev. 22:12-14).

This passage specifies that the ultimate blessedness that God intends for mankind includes their being authorized to have access to the tree of life—the very access that had been forfeited in the Garden! Praise God for so great a salvation!

In Interpretation

Overcoming Potential Bias in Our Doctrine and Practice

April 8, 2011

When God saves people, He miraculously makes them a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). His work of remaking people, however, is not complete at the initial point of salvation; He renews us on a continuing basis (Rom. 12:1-2; 2 Cor. 3:18).

Because He has ordained that there be such continual renewing, we must be mindful of potential lingering wrong thinking that biases our doctrine and practice. Biased doctrine and practice is sourced in wisdom that is not from God, but is “earthly, sensual, devilish” (James 3:15; cf. 1 John 2:16). Correcting such bias requires wholehearted acceptance of all that God in His wisdom has given us in His word.

Because the primeval account in Scripture of human failure to think properly (Gen. 3:1-13) highlights our first parents’ rejection of divine revelation about the doctrine of judgment (2:17; 3:3), we should not be surprised to find lingering manifestations of such bias in our doctrine and practice. In order to overcome any lingering inherited Edenic bias in our doctrine and practice, we must scrutinize our perspectives concerning the doctrine of judgment.

Beginning with the account of the Fall of man, Scripture provides us with key passages that suggest areas about which we need to examine our thinking concerning many potential manifestations of lingering Edenic bias against the full biblical teaching about the doctrine of judgment:

1. Is God’s punitive judgment to be viewed as a “negative” teaching of Scripture?

See Deuteronomy 28:63, Psalm 119:119, and Revelation 18:20.
Should we then have a “negative” perspective about God’s condemnation of unrepentant sinners?

2. Is judgment mainly condemnation that lost people will experience in the future?

See Genesis 16:5, Psalm 75:6, Ezekiel 22:2, John 12:31, Romans 14:9-10 and 16:20,
1 Corinthians 11:32, and James 4:12.
Scripture teaches that God/the Lord is the Judge who judges between believers. He is the Judge who presently abases people and exalts others, especially in the realm of civil authority. He sends people to judge others by declaring their sinfulness to them. At the Cross, the world was judged, and the prince of this world was cast out.
Jesus died and rose again that He might be the Lord, the Judge of the living and the dead, who will judge all believers one day. God will shortly bruise Satan under the feet of believers. The Lord judges believers when He chastens them, and He does so that they will not be condemned.
Is the doctrine of judgment, therefore, concerned mainly just with the future condemnation of lost people?

3. Why did Jesus come into the world?

See Genesis 3:15, John 9:39, Hebrews 2:14-15, and 1 John 3:8.
Both testaments speak of the woman’s Seed who would come to render judgment, especially on the evil one. Is it right, therefore, to focus mainly only on His coming as the One who would save people?

4. Who saves people?

See Isaiah 33:22 and James 4:12.
Both testaments explicitly teach that God/Jesus as the Judge is the One who saves people. Is it right, therefore, to say dichotomously that God/Jesus as the Judge is “the bad news,” while Jesus as the Savior is “the good news”?

5. What are we to preach to the world?

See Psalm 96:10 and Acts 10:42-43.
Both testaments explicitly teach that God has commanded us to proclaim who the Judge is. Is it right, therefore, to say that what we really have to preach is that God/Jesus is the Savior, but we do not necessarily have to preach that Jesus is the Judge?

These five points are representative of many major aspects of the biblical teaching concerning the doctrine of judgment about which we must allow all the Scripture to renew our minds if we desire to overcome any potential lingering manifestation of our inherited Edenic bias in our doctrine and practice.

(See this post with the full text of all the verses here.)

In Discipleship, Interpretation

Remember Jesus as the Risen Davidic Messiah!

April 7, 2011

Nearing the end of his life, Paul wrote his last epistle, Second Timothy. In his final words to his beloved son in the faith, Paul commanded Timothy concerning who and what he was to remember: “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel” (2 Tim. 2:8). This verse reveals to us many key truths about how we are to be Pauline in our understanding of and ministry of the gospel.

Paul commanded Timothy to be engaged in the mental activity of remembering on an ongoing basis. His commanding Timothy to be engaging in this activity suggests that Timothy needed forceful challenge to be actively mindful of the truth that he had been given. Paul’s command also suggests that Timothy had a propensity to forget the truth that had been given to him, especially in his context of suffering for the faith.

The truth that Paul specified Timothy to be remembering concerned a Person. He said that Timothy was to be remembering Jesus, the Christ. . . .

(Read the full article.)

In Discipleship, Evangelism, Gospel, Interpretation

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