Theology | A People for His Name

On Excellence in Preaching

January 4, 2016

Jesus of Nazareth was the greatest preacher who has ever lived. Matthew 5-7 provides the lengthiest record of any of His sermons.

The Holy Spirit has bracketed that record with these four statements:

Mat 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

² And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

Mat 7:28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

²⁹ For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

These divinely inspired words reveal that the greatest sermon of the greatest preacher who has ever lived was foremost an instance of His authoritatively teaching His audience! Based on this evidence, we must conclude that excellence in preaching first of all concerns the nature of the teaching that a preacher provides to his hearers.

We must also be careful about making dichotomous statements about preaching versus teaching, as if the two were sharply distinct. Because Matthew 5-7 shows that excellent preaching essentially includes authoritative teaching that instructs people in doctrine, we must not make statements that downplay the importance of the teaching that a preacher provides when he preaches.

In Discipleship, Interpretation, Preaching, Theology

Did Solomon Repent Before He Died?

December 28, 2015

First Kings 11 chronicles at some length the tragic final years of Solomon’s life. The chapter ends with three verses that relate his death, but the Holy Spirit did not choose to inspire any mention in the chapter about his repenting before he died.

Interpreters dispute whether the book of Ecclesiastes is an OT record of the repentance of Solomon prior to his death. In support of taking Ecclesiastes as a record of his repentance, the ending of 1 Kings 11 as well as several NT references imply that Solomon did repent before he died.

A Written Record of All That Solomon Did

The Spirit concluded First Kings 11 by providing an intriguing statement about further information concerning the ending of Solomon’s life:

1 Kings 11:41 And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon?

This verse tells us that the writer of First Kings knew of a written document that recorded all the rest of what Solomon did in his life prior to his death. That document would have been available to others who lived after Solomon had died.

If Solomon had died as an unrepentant apostate, evidence that he did so would undoubtedly have been recorded in this book. For the writer of Second Chronicles to not say anything negative about Solomon, especially about the horrific ending of his life would be unintelligible if there were such a written record of Solomon’s complete and final apostasy.

Because the writer of Second Chronicles does not relate any such information, we are justified in holding that First Kings 11:41 provides us with implicit indication that Solomon did repent before he died.

Jesus as a Greater than Solomon

In the NT, Matthew and Luke record that Jesus Himself compared Himself with Solomon:

Mat 12:42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

Luk 11:31 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

Had Solomon died as a wicked apostate who never repented, Jesus would not have compared Himself to Solomon because Solomon would in that case have ultimately proved to be the greatest fool in the history of Israel.

Furthermore, had Jesus likened Himself to such a defective man, he would have left Himself open to a profound rebuke from his enemies (Matt. 12:38) whom He rebuked with this statement (Matt. 12:39). Had these scribes and Pharisees believed that Solomon had died as an apostate, they would immediately have reproached Jesus for comparing Himself (Matt. 12:42) to such an apostate.

Because neither Matthew nor Luke records that they turned this statement by Jesus against Him as a compelling reason to reject His wisdom, we can be confident that both they and Jesus believed that Solomon did not die as the greatest fool in their history. Jesus’ positive use of this statement in response to His enemies implicitly communicates to us that Solomon did repent before he died.

Solomon’s Porch in the Temple

Three verses in the NT speak of Solomon’s porch in the temple:

Joh 10:23 And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch.

Act 3:11 And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.

Act 5:12 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.

Had Solomon died as an apostate, he would have been the worst example of apostasy in the history of God’s people. It is unthinkable that the Jews in the times of Jesus would designate any part of the temple or allow any part of the temple to be called by the name of such a heinously wicked man who failed to repent before he died.

By recording that this part of the temple was called Solomon’s porch, the Spirit has again implicitly related to us that Solomon did repent before he died.

Conclusion

Both the OT and the NT provide information that implies that Solomon did repent before he died. He is not in hell today. We will see Solomon in heaven one day.

Hebrews 11:22 and the Case against Cremation

December 21, 2015

In my last post, I treated three reasons why cremation is unbiblical. A striking statement about Joseph in Hebrews 11 provides additional conclusive evidence for the case against cremation.

Joseph’s Charge to the Israelites Prior to His Death

As he neared death, Joseph communicated his full assurance that God would fulfill His promises to His people about bringing them out of Egypt and into the land that He had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Gen. 50:24). Joseph then made the Israelites take an oath that they would carry his bones with them out from Egypt (Gen. 50:25).

By giving this charge to his own, Joseph displayed that he valued highly what would become of his bones after he had died. Not only did he not want his body to be cremated so that it would be reduced to ashes, but also he cared about where his remains would be buried.

Joseph wanted his bones to be buried in the Promised Land into which he was certain that God would one day lead His people. Was Joseph’s desire concerning his bones simply a manifestation of a cultural practice of his time or was it a display of something far greater?

Israel’s Obedience to Joseph’s Charge

When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, he obeyed Joseph’s charge by taking his bones with them (Exod. 13:19). The children of Israel later finally fully fulfilled the wishes of Joseph when they buried his bones in a parcel of ground in Shechem, which parcel “became the inheritance of the children of Joseph (Josh. 24:32).

The OT Scriptural record of Joseph’s charge and the Israelites full obedience to that charge shows that God has wanted all His people who have ever received His Word to know what Joseph ordained concerning his bones and what ultimately happened to them. Does this Scriptural record merely relate the fulfillment of self-chosen instructions given by a powerful Israelite leader who was following the cultural customs of his time or is the record intended by God to communicate something of far greater importance?

Divine Commendation of Joseph’s Charge

The writer of Hebrews explicitly commends Joseph to NT believers as one who “obtained a good report through faith” (Heb. 11:39). Considering all that Scripture reveals about Joseph that is commendable, it is highly instructive that the explicit commendation given concerning Joseph in this key NT passage concerns the very charge that we read of twice in preceding Scripture:

Heb 11:22 By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.

God thus highlights that Joseph’s giving the charge that he did concerning his bones was the exemplary manifestation of his faith in God that God wants to call to the attention of all Christians! God’s commendation of Joseph’s believing desires that his bones be buried in the Promised Land shows that what he did was not just a record of a powerful Israelite following his own wishes in keeping with a cultural custom of his people and time.

Conclusion

Joseph wanted his bones to be buried—not cremated, and his wanting to do so was a vital expression of his faith in the promises of God. All Christians must likewise display their faith in God by seeking to have their bodies buried when they die.

The Scriptural record concerning Joseph’s charge about his bones powerfully argues against any legitimacy of cremation for God’s people. Christians must not cremate their own!

In Discipleship, Exposition, Theology

Three Reasons Why Cremation is Unbiblical

December 14, 2015

Many biblical facts show why cremation is unbiblical. This post examines three reasons why cremation is unbiblical.

No OT support for cremation instead of burial

The OT does not record a single instance of God’s people cremating one of their own instead of burying him. Although it does have one passage that relates when some Israelites burned the bodies of some of their people when they died, a close examination of that account shows that it does not support cremation at all.

First Samuel 31 records the tragic end of the lives of king Saul and his three sons. When the Philistines decapitated them and fastened their bodies to a wall (1 Sam. 31:7-10), some inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what had taken place and valiantly acted to attend properly to their bodies:

1Sa 31:11 And when the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead heard of that which the Philistines had done to Saul;

¹² All the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Bethshan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.

Scripture provides no explanation for why these men burned the bodies of Saul and his sons. Regardless of why they did so, they did not cremate their bodies instead of burying them, as the next verse plainly states:

¹³ And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

This key statement reveals that the men did not burn the bodies of Saul and his sons until they became ashes and then dispose of the ashes in whatever way they thought was acceptable. Rather, they burned the bodies in a way that preserved their bones, and then they buried them.

First Samuel 31 does not provide any support for Christians cremating a loved one instead of burying him. In fact, it shows that cremating a dead Christian is not at all either a biblically acceptable form of burial or a biblically acceptable substitute for burial.

God’s condemnation of people who completely burned the bones of a person

Amos 2 relates God’s declaration of His fierce wrath upon the Moabites for what they did to the bones of the king of Edom:

Amo 2:1 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:

² But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet:

³ And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the LORD.

Because the Moabites burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime, God was going to judge them fiercely. C.F. Keil explains,

The burning of the bones of the king of Edom is not burning while he was still alive, but the burning of his corpse into lime, i. e. so completely that the bones turned into powder like lime . . . This is the only thing blamed, not his having put him to death (Keil-Delitzsch, 10:250).

This passage reveals God’s wrath on those who desecrated a man’s body after he had died by burning his bones until they became a powder. Based on this passage, Christians must not think that the Bible does not have anything to say against cremation.

No evidence of Christians ever cremating their own

The NT does not record a single instance of Christians cremating anyone after he had died. Furthermore, the account of the death of John the Baptist strengthens the case against cremation in a telling way.

Mark 6 records the horrific death of John the Baptist at the hands of wicked king Herod. Having had John beheaded, Herod had his head brought in a platter to the daughter of Herodias, who then gave it to her mother (Mark 6:27-28).

The disciples of John responded to the tragic murder of John by properly attending to his body:

Mar 6:29 And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.

A comparison of the accounts of the deaths of King Saul and John the Baptist reveals that the disciples of John did not first burn his decapitated body—they buried his body in a tomb. Any possible support that a believer could try to make for cremation from the account in First Samuel 31 is invalidated by this parallel account in Mark 6.

The disciples of John—who through progressive revelation knew even more about the ways of God than the people of Jabesh Gilead did in their earlier time—did not employ any kind of burning in dealing with the decapitated body of John the Baptist. Mark 6 compared with First Samuel 31 shows that there is no New Testament support for God’s people even in an extreme circumstance to use some form of cremation prior to or in place of burial.

Conclusion

Cremation is not a biblically acceptable form of burial nor is it a biblically acceptable substitute for burial. Christians should not cremate their own.

Rather, they should do everything that they can legitimately do to see that their loved ones and other believers receive a proper burial as the fitting ending to their lives.

Ezekiel 39: A Test Case for Certain Notions about Cremation versus Burial

In Discipleship, Exposition, Interpretation, Theology

Ten Key Notions That the Bible Does Not Teach about Music

December 12, 2015

What the Bible teaches about music is a very important subject that is an issue of much controversy among many believers today. A careful, thorough examination of Scripture shows that it does not teach ten key notions that many people believe about music:

1. God created all music.

2. God created all musical styles.

3. All musical styles are inherently amoral.

4. All musical styles are inherently good and fit for human use, including for divine worship.

5. God has called Christians to “redeem” certain musical styles by using them to accompany Christian words.

6. Secular testimonies about evil spirits and music are inherently unreliable.

7. Music can only be sensual if it has sensual lyrics.

8. God does not care about the instrumental music that is used to worship Him—He only cares about the words that are sung to Him.

9. Believers with conservative musical positions have the burden of proof concerning musical styles that they say are unacceptable for Christian use, especially for divine worship.

10. For a musical style to be unacceptable to God, Scripture must explicitly say that He does not accept it.

For detailed, biblical explanations of how the Bible does not teach these notions, see the articles referred to here.

In CCM, Music, Theology

Acts 21:14: An Illuminating Parallel Reference to Matthew 6:10

December 5, 2015

While reading in Acts 21 this morning in my Spanish Bible, I noticed a phrase that immediately brought to my mind another passage. When I checked the Greek text of both passages to see if the second passage truly was similar, I discovered an illuminating parallel reference.

Acts 21:14 and Matthew 6:10

Luke records the believers’ response when Paul refused their efforts to persuade him not to go to Jerusalem:

Act 21:14 Y como no le pudimos persuadir, desistimos, diciendo: Hágase la voluntad del Señor.

Act 21:14 And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.

Act 21:14 μὴ πειθομένου δὲ αὐτοῦ, ἡσυχάσαμεν εἰπόντες, Τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Κυρίου γενέσθω.

What these believers said closely parallels what Jesus taught us as His disciples to pray:

Mat 6:10 Venga tu reino. Hágase tu voluntad, como en el cielo, así también en la tierra.

Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Mat 6:10 ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου· γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου, ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς·

The very close parallel between these statements in Acts 21:14 and Matthew 6:10 shows that these believers responded in a way that displayed where their ultimate allegiance lay—they wanted God’s will to be done on the earth. Their response suggests an important application for us as believers.

Application

At times, we all will likely encounter a situation where our best efforts to persuade other believers not to pursue a certain course of action that will likely be harmful to them are rejected. In keeping with what Acts 21:14 reveals, we perhaps should not respond to them primarily by saying something like, “You’ll be sorry,” or “Don’t say you weren’t warned.”

Instead, based on Acts 21:14, we should respond mainly along the lines of what was said to Paul on this occasion: “The will of the Lord be done.” Such a statement will testify to the other believers that we are responding to their refusal by declaring our heeding the Lord’s teaching about the will of God being done on the earth.

In Interpretation, Theology

What Does the Bible Say to God’s People about Global Warming?

November 30, 2015

God’s people properly believe that the Bible is the word of God, that whatever the Bible says is so, and that whatever it says about any subject is vital information about that subject. What does the Bible say to such people about global warming?

Scripture has two passages that speak directly about global warming consisting of devastating worldwide increases in temperature resulting from God’s judgments coming on the earth: Revelation 16:8-9 and 2 Peter 3:7-12.

Rev 16:8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. ⁹ And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

⁸ But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

⁹ The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

¹¹ Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

¹² Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

For us as God’s people who believe the Bible properly, these passages provide the most important information about global warming to which we need to give urgent attention. Strikingly, both passages directly speak to us about God’s desire that human beings repent of their sins (Rev. 16:9; 2 Pet. 3:9) so that they will not be consumed by the devastating global warming that God will bring about in the future!

As God gives us as believers opportunities to engage people on the subject of global warming, we should graciously set before them what the word of God has to say about the fearful global warming that will truly destroy the present heavens and the earth! We should then appeal to them to repent and believe the gospel of God and His Christ.

Furthermore, we who are believers should allow these passages to challenge us continually to be all that God wants us to be in view of the devastating global warming that surely is going to come to all the world. Let us truly be people who live our lives “in all holy conversation and godliness” (2 Pet. 3:11) as we continue “looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God” (2 Pet. 3:12).

In Exhortation, Theology

What Has God Called Us to Redeem?

November 27, 2015

Suppose that two young evangelical couples, the Smiths and the Christians, were expecting their first children. Suppose also that in order to magnify what they believe the Bible teaches about God’s redemption, the Smiths would name their son, Judas Iscariot Smith, and the Christians would name their baby daughter, Jezebel Herodias Christian.

If there were two such couples that were to do so, would what they do be a valid application of biblical teaching about the redemption that is in Christ Jesus? Are the names Judas Iscariot and Jezebel Herodias redeemable?

What has God called us to redeem?

In Theology

If Solomon Were in Hell . . .

November 14, 2015

Based on the available biblical data, I do not believe that King Solomon is in hell now. If Solomon, however, were in hell now, his being there would have some very important ramifications.

First, if Solomon were in hell, he would be the only person that we know from Scripture was a man who loved God while he was alive (1 Kings 3:3) and yet ended up in hell. Moreover, Scripture tells us that God loved Solomon (2 Sam. 12:24).

In fact, God gave Solomon the name Jedidiah, which means beloved of the Lord (2 Sam. 12:25). We are also told again that God loved Solomon (Neh. 13:26).

Because only regenerate people love God, Solomon’s being in hell today would mean that he went from being a genuinely saved person to being a lost person. Christians who believe that Solomon is in hell must also believe that people who are truly saved can lose their salvation.

Furthermore, if Solomon were in hell, his dying and going to hell would surely be Satan’s greatest success story (of destroying someone who was a believer). Given all the biblical data that we have about Solomon, especially about God’s love for Solomon and Solomon’s love for God, Solomon’s being in hell would mean that Satan has succeeded in ultimately destroying someone that was very special to God.

Second, if Solomon were in hell, he would be the only man that we would know of who wrote Scripture and yet died as an unholy man. If that were the case, then Solomon somehow would have been a holy man of God (2 Pet. 1:21) who became an unholy man.

Because the only way that a man can be a holy man of God is to be a true believer in God, Solomon’s being in hell now would mean that Solomon lost his salvation. Christians who believe that Solomon is in hell must also believe that true believers can lose their salvation.

Third, in direct conversation with God when He appeared to Solomon, Solomon prayed a prayer that truly pleased God (1 Kings 3:10). God was so pleased with Solomon that He gave him not only what he prayed for but also far more than what he prayed for (1 Kings 3:12-13).

Solomon’s prayer is a prime illustration of seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33-34). No unsaved person seeks God’s interests above his own—Solomon was a true believer. If Solomon were in hell, he would have had to have lost his salvation, and Christians who believe that he is in hell have to believe that true believers can lose their salvation.

Conclusion

Solomon is not an eternal trophy to the devil’s victory over God in bringing about the eternal destruction of someone whom God loved in a special way. Solomon was a true believer who did not lose his salvation; if Solomon did not repent before he died of his sins that he committed as a believer, God chastened him with death (cf. “many sleep,” [1 Cor. 11:30-32]).

Solomon is not in hell now. We will see Solomon in heaven because of God’s faithfulness to His own.

In Theology

“Who are the Apostles in the Body of Christ?”

November 9, 2015

Pastor Minnick preached last night on 1 Corinthians 12:28a and dealt with a key question: “Who are the Apostles in the Body of Christ?” This post provides some of the key thoughts (as I understood them) that he shared in the message.¹

Some people that are called apostles in Scripture were people that various local churches commissioned as their delegates, but these men were not among those who were officially the apostles of Christ.
Those who were the apostles of Christ possessed two cardinal qualifications: (1) they were chosen by Christ Himself; (2) they were eyewitnesses of the risen Christ.
The apostles of Christ performed the signs of a true apostle that demonstrated divine confirmation of their being true apostles of Christ.
The apostles of Christ performed two unique functions in the body of Christ: (1) they (along with the NT prophets) laid the foundation of the Church when they witnessed to the Resurrection of Christ; (2) they were recipients of new and inscripturated revelation for the Church.
There were only 12 apostles of Christ whose names are written on the 12 foundation stones of the holy city, New Jerusalem, and the identity of the twelfth apostle is a disputed matter that the Scripture does not seem to make clear with absolute certainty.

To profit fully from this vital message, you should listen to it fully² because undoubtedly my notes and this listing of some key ideas from the message provide an inadequate presentation of the truths brought out in it.

¹ These five statements are based on my notes from the message; for the most part, they are largely either direct quotes from the message or statements that I derived closely from direct statements made my Pastor Minnick.

² Who are the Apostles in the Body of Christ? November 08, 2015

In Mount Calvary Baptist Pulpit, Theology

Archives For Theology

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A Written Record of All That Solomon Did

Jesus as a Greater than Solomon

Solomon’s Porch in the Temple

Conclusion

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Joseph’s Charge to the Israelites Prior to His Death

Israel’s Obedience to Joseph’s Charge

Divine Commendation of Joseph’s Charge

Conclusion

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No OT support for cremation instead of burial

God’s condemnation of people who completely burned the bones of a person

No evidence of Christians ever cremating their own

Conclusion

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Acts 21:14 and Matthew 6:10

Application

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