Should We Preach Repentance, Faith, or Both?

March 10, 2014

Many Christians today think that those believers in Scripture who preached evangelistically or who evangelized sinners in other ways did so with messages or testimonies that varied substantially from occasion to occasion. In fact, it is not uncommon to hear believers today say that sometimes the disciples preached that people should repent and other times they preached that people should believe.

This view of biblical evangelism stems from an approach to the evangelistic accounts in Scripture that I believe does not account for all the biblical data. To see why this is the case, consider the following analysis of the gospel ministries of John the Baptist, Jesus, and Paul.

The Gospel Ministry of John the Baptist

The Gospels consistently present John the Baptist as preaching repentance to sinners (Matt. 3:2, 8; Luke 3:3, 8). Noting this data, many have concluded that John only preached that people should repent and that he did not tell people to believe.

In the book of Acts, however, Luke makes clear (through a widely overlooked statement by the apostle Paul) that this is an incorrect assessment of the evangelistic ministry of John:

Act 19:4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.

This Pauline summary statement about the gospel ministry of John the Baptist shows us that it was a ministry of preaching to sinners that they should both repent and believe. It also teaches us that we should not take brief statements about evangelistic ministry (such as Matt. 3:2 and Luke 3:3) and draw definitive conclusions about what content that ministry did not include.1

The Gospel Ministry of Jesus

A key statement in the Gospel of Mark shows that the gospel ministry of Jesus included the same dual emphasis that was in the evangelism of John the Baptist:

Mar 1:14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Notice that this statement is not just about Jesus’ preaching in one location on one specific evangelistic occasion—it is an inspired summary statement of certain key elements of His gospel preaching throughout His gospel ministry in Galilee. Both John the Baptist and Jesus, therefore, preached to sinners that they should both repent and believe.

The Gospel Ministry of Paul

A summary statement of Pauline evangelistic ministry over an extended period (“from the first day that I came into Asia” [Acts 20:18]; cf. “by the space of three years” [Acts 20:31]) reveals that his gospel ministry included similar testimony to both repentance and faith:

Act 20:20 And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house,

 21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

For three years, Paul told both Jews and Greeks everywhere he went in Asia that they had to repent toward God and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Like John the Baptist and Jesus, Paul’s gospel ministry thus had the same dual emphasis of preaching to sinners that they should both repent and believe.

Discussion

From the Gospels and Acts, we have seen that John the Baptist, Jesus, and Paul all evangelized sinners by telling them both to repent and to believe. Because we have seen that summary statements about the gospel ministries of all three of these leading evangelists in Scripture explicitly mention this dual emphasis, we should adjust our views of biblical evangelism to reflect properly this key biblical data.

Moreover, the lack of explicit testimony to both elements in many evangelistic accounts in Scripture does not show that the disciples often preached only one of these elements but not the other. Rather, we should allow the above-discussed comparison of Acts 19:4 with the other evangelistic accounts of John’s ministry to teach us that the lack of an explicit record of testimony to a key evangelistic element in a particular evangelistic account does not provide valid evidence that such testimony was lacking on that occasion.

Conclusion

Whenever our circumstances allow us to do so, we should preach both repentance and faith to the people that we evangelize. Doing so, our gospel ministries will best reflect all the biblical data about the evangelistic ministries of John the Baptist, Jesus, and Paul!

1 A close comparison of two statements in Acts 9:20-22 with Acts 26:20 fully confirms this interpretation. Luke writes that Paul’s evangelistic ministry began in Damascus and provides two brief summary statements about that ministry:

Act 9:20 And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.

Act 9:22 But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.

Neither of these reports about Pauline evangelism in Damascus mentions that he told people there to repent. In Acts 26, however, Luke records that Paul testified to King Agrippa about his entire evangelistic ministry by giving him this key summary statement:

Act 26:20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

Based on Paul’s own testimony, we can be certain that he preached repentance in Damascus—even though Acts 9 does not record that he did.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Evangelism, Exposition, Gospel, Interpretation, Theology
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Video of “Hallelujah for the Cross”

March 8, 2014

Hallelujah for the Cross is a special hymn at my church, Mount Calvary Baptist, in Greenville, SC. Here is a video of us singing this glorious hymn.

“It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: To show forth thy loving-kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night” (Ps. 92:1-2).

 

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Music
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Nice video of a beautiful Spanish hymn!

March 8, 2014

¡Oh, qué inmenso amor! is a beautiful Spanish hymn. Here is a nice video of an instrumental version of the hymn.

Gloria a Dios por música hermosa!

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Music, Spanish
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Maintain Your Body Wisely

March 7, 2014

This post attempts to provide a biblical understanding of what it means for a believer to maintain his body wisely. I commend it to you with the desire “that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth” (3 John 2).

What does it mean to maintain my body wisely?

To maintain my body wisely is “to keep [it] in a condition of good repair or efficiency” (definition of “maintain” – The American Heritage College dictionary, 1997, p. 817), “having understanding or discernment of what is true, right, or lasting” (definition of “wise” – Ibid., p. 1548). Keeping my body in an efficient condition is to keep it “acting or producing effectively with a minimum of waste, expense, or unnecessary effort” (definition of “efficient,” Ibid., p. 437).

“Effectively” means, “in an effective way” (Ibid., p. 437), and “effective” means, “having an intended or expected effect” (Ibid.). Thus, putting all these definitions together, to maintain my body wisely is to keep it acting with or producing the intended or expected effects that it should with a minimum of waste, expense, or unnecessary effort, having understanding or discernment of what is true, right, or lasting.

What source of information is most important for me to maintain my body wisely?

I must have the right sources of information concerning my body to maintain it wisely. Scripture contains all the essential information needed for me to maintain my body wisely.

Information obtained from a proper study of “the firmament” that shows His handiwork is valuable and must also be heeded. It is, however, clearly of secondary importance in comparison to the information provided by Scripture.

What does Scripture teach about maintaining my body wisely?

Scripture reveals the universal reality that of God, through God, and to God are all things, to whom be/is the glory forever. Thus, wise maintenance of my body is one of the all things that are to His eternal glory.

The following points present many key truths from Scripture about how I maintain my body wisely.

  1. To maintain my body wisely, I must respond properly to the universal reality of all things being to the eternal glory of God. Apart from such a response, I cannot maintain my body wisely.
  2. The glory of God consists of His unique identity, character, and works. The glory of God is the absolute perfection of His unique identity, character, and works. I maintain my body wisely only as I show forth the praises of His glory in my body.
  3. Scripture repeatedly emphasizes the mercy of God in connection with Him being glorified. To respond properly to the universal reality of all things, especially His mercies, being to the eternal glory of God, I must properly present my body to God. Only as I properly yield myself and all of the members of my body to God will I maintain my body wisely.
  4. Then, I must not allow myself to be conformed to the world in any respect. I must not in any way fashion myself “according to the former lusts in [my] ignorance.” I must “abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” To maintain my body wisely is that I “no longer should live the rest of [my] time in my [body] to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.”
  5. I must also be being transformed “day by day” by the renewing of my mind. Such renewing requires that I give the Word of God its proper place in me. Whatever God has said concerning my body must be delighted in and meditated upon for me to prosper in all things concerning my body, that is, to maintain my body wisely.
  6. Having properly presented my body to God, putting an end to all worldly conformity in my life, and continually being changed into the image of Christ, I must fully participate in the will of God for my life. Maintaining my body wisely is an essential facet of full participation in His will for my life.
  7. Full participation in the will of God for my life is to eat, drink, and do all else in my life to the glory of God. I must maintain my body wisely in order to be able to eat, drink, and do all else in my life to the glory of God.
  8. Maintaining my body wisely is an essential part of my having my identity, character, and works in proper correspondence to the glorious identity, character, and works of God. Having that proper correspondence is how I glorify God in my life in all that I do. To do so is to have the abundant life that Christ has come to give us.
  9. Maintaining my body wisely requires that I understand properly what my body is and what I therefore must do with it. My body is the greatest divine masterpiece in the material universe. I must glorify God by praising Him for my body and by maintaining it wisely.
  10. To maintain my body wisely, I must understand that God has made me an inhabitant of both the material realm and the immaterial realm. All the “laws of nature” that have been properly understood are in reality God’s laws of nature, and they are expressions of His will for my life. I must be in proper submission to God in the material realm by heeding properly His laws that govern the material universe.
  11. My body is a member of Christ. My body is the inner sanctuary of the Holy Ghost. My body is the blood-bought possession of God. Therefore, I must “glorify God in [my] body,” which is His, by maintaining it wisely.
  12. Maintaining my body wisely requires that I understand that because I belong to God, both by creation and by redemption, I am not my own. I am only a steward of my body. I must be a good steward of my body for the glory of God.
  13. Christ must have the preeminence in all things in my life. I maintain my body wisely only as He has the preeminence in all things concerning my body.
  14. Scripture reveals that God desires continual proclamation that He be magnified as the God who delights in the comprehensive prosperity of His servants. God delights in the prosperity of my body; therefore, I am to maintain it wisely in accord with that truth.
  15. Maintaining my body wisely requires that I present all the members of my body to God. Every part of my body and all of its capabilities must ever be “on the altar” as my “reasonable service” to Christ.
  16. My “reasonable service” to Christ requires that I maintain my body wisely so that I fulfill the role that the Lord has for me in my lifetime in His Great Commission. I must be taught to obey carefully all that Christ has commanded me, including what He has commanded me about all things concerning my body. Moreover, when I am ready to do so, I must teach others to do the same.
  17. Maintaining my body wisely requires that I understand and respond properly to the truth of the statement, “The kingdom of God is not meat and drink.” Rather than being “meat and drink,” the kingdom of God is that I serve Christ acceptably to God in fulfilling the Great Commission by eating, drinking, and doing all else in life “in righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”
  18. Full participation in the will of God for my life requires that I manifest proper love for God and others in all that I do, including in maintaining my body wisely. To maintain my body wisely, I must lay down my life for the brethren. I must not seek my own nor give anyone offense in anything that I do, including in maintaining my body wisely.
  19. Maintaining my body wisely requires that I pray properly concerning my body. I am to pray for my total sanctification and that God would preserve my spirit, soul, and body blameless until Christ returns. I am to pray that I would have physical health that matches the prosperity of my soul. I am to pray that God would keep me from all that would unnecessarily bring pain, etc., to my life.
  20. Maintaining my body wisely requires that I “remember now [my] Creator in the days of [my] youth.” I must put away in youth all things that unnecessarily are presently bringing or at some future point will bring harm, calamity, or ruin to my body. I must put away in youth unhealthy eating habits and slothful living. I will only do so as I put on “the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” I must flee “youthful lusts,” including gluttony and sloth!
  21. Maintaining my body wisely requires that I eat my food “in the sweat of [my] face.” To maintain my body wisely, I must properly labor in every realm of my life. In the will of God, I must be regularly physically active.
  22. Maintaining my body wisely requires that I not be intemperate in any of my bodily appetites. I must not be gluttonous, slothful, drunken, or immoral. I must be blamelessly temperate!
  23. Maintaining my body wisely requires that I “keep under my body, and bring it into subjection.” I must be “temperate in all things.” Doing so is immensely profitable for both this life and for the life to come.
  24. Maintaining my body wisely requires that I “bridle [my] whole body.” I can only do so if I sin not in what I say. If I do anything with “murmurings or disputings,” including anything I do concerning any facet of my body, I will “come short of the glory of God” of bridling my “whole body.” Only those who “do all things without murmurings and disputings” are able to glorify God in maintaining their bodies wisely by bridling their whole body.
  25. Maintaining my body wisely requires that I accept full responsibility for my failures to glorify God in my body. I must not cover my sins. I must not shift the blame to anyone or anything else. I must confess and forsake my failures to maintain my body wisely if I am to have mercy from God to be faithful in maintaining my body wisely.
  26. Maintaining my body wisely requires that I refrain from all unnecessary fellowship with vessels “to dishonour,” including those who grossly fail to maintain their bodies wisely. Unnecessarily companying with those who do not maintain their bodies wisely “corrupt[s] good manners.”
  27. Maintaining my body wisely requires that I be a good, faithful, and wise steward of all that the Lord has entrusted to me, including my body. To be such a steward, I must have the proper conception of the imminent return of the Lord who will judge me concerning my stewardship of all things, including my body. To be the godly steward that I should be of all that He has entrusted to me, including my wondrous body, I must “love His appearing”!
  28. Maintaining my body wisely consists of Christ being magnified always in my body, “whether it be by life, or by death.” The love of Christ will constrain me always to magnify Christ in my body, if I allow it to.
  29. I can maintain my body wisely through Christ who is strengthening me. I must maintain my body wisely by faith in Christ. I can maintain my body wisely only as I give the word of Christ its proper place in me.
  30. Maintaining my body wisely is only possible as the fruit of the Spirit, as I am filled with the Spirit, as I am led by the Spirit, as I walk in the Spirit.
  31. Maintaining my body wisely is essential to my doing the work of Christ for my life, including faithful obedience in solemnly testifying to everyone that God has appointed Christ to be the Judge of the living and the dead.
  32. Christ will one day judge me concerning all that I have done in the body. All that has not been done with love and to please Him will be burned up at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Whatever I do in maintaining my body wisely must be done with love or it will profit me nothing (no eternal reward).
  33. Not that I would be in good health, but that I would do the work of Christ is to be my highest priority in life. For the work of Christ, I must be willing to sacrifice all, including my health and even my life, if God should will that I do so. I maintain my body wisely only as I have good health in the will of God.
  34. Maintaining my body wisely is to “not lose heart” when my physical well-being deteriorates in the will of God. Rather, I must ”keep [my] heart with all diligence,” looking eagerly for the redemption of my body at the return of Christ. Christ will one day change my body “that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body”!
  35. Maintaining my body wisely is necessary for me to glorify God in my days on the earth, having finished the work that God has for me to do, even as Christ did.

Let us all maintain our bodies wisely that we may glorify God by serving our generation by the will of God!

For more information, please see Stress Management Truths from Scripture; Christian Health/Fitness Quotes I; Does God Care How Healthy Your Lifestyle Is?

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Health, Theology
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Guitar Music for Four More Spanish Hymns!

March 6, 2014

I just added free guitar music for four more Spanish hymns: Dame la fe de mi Jesús; Oh Dios, sé mi visiόn; Oh, Padre de la humanidad; and Sol de mi ser! Each PDF provides the melody notes, chords, and at least the first stanza of the hymn.

For Sol de mi ser, I provide all three stanzas, with the first two in the key of Fa and the third in the key of Sol. You can download these PDFs and much more from my Guitar for Spanish Ministry page.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Guitar Music, Spanish
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Live a Redeemed Life of Fearing Our Impartial Father to Whom We Pray!

March 3, 2014

I wrote this article for the men’s ministry at my church. It highlights a vital matter in the life of every man of God.

Writing to dispersed believers in many places in Asia Minor (1 Pet. 1:1), Peter began by emphasizing vital realities for them to consider as born-again children of God the Father (1 Pet. 1:3, 14, 23; 2:2). Among these, he highly stressed the glorious consummation of their salvation that they would experience at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 1:5, 7, 9, 10, 13).

In view of these things, he challenged them with multiple commands (1 Pet. 1:13, 15, 17, 22). His third command charged them to live in a way (1 Pet. 1:17-21) that needs more attention in our day.

As obedient children of God (1 Pet. 1:14) who pray (1 Pet. 1:17) to our Holy Father (1 Pet. 1:15-16), it is vital that we keep in mind that we “address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work” (1 Pet. 1:17). Being children of God does not exempt us from His holy scrutiny and assessment of all our ways!

We who pray to our Father do so to the One who knows all our secrets (Rom. 2:16; 1 Cor. 4:5) and shows no favoritism in His dealings with any of us (1 Pet. 1:17a). His dealing with us in this way necessitates that we live our entire Christian lives fearing Him and His perfectly fair assessment of us as His children (1 Pet. 1:17b).

We must live in such fear of our impartial Father because of the glorious redemption that He has granted us (1 Pet. 1:18-19). He has not redeemed us from our formerly futile living with the things that man values most, such as silver and gold (1 Pet. 1:18). Instead, we have been redeemed with what God values infinitely more than any material thing that fallen man values—the precious blood of Christ, the unblemished and spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (1 Pet. 1:19; John 1:29)!

We must live a redeemed life of fearing our impartial Father to whom we pray because the priceless blood with which He redeemed us was the blood of the Christ whom on the one hand He foreknew in eternity past (1 Pet. 1:20a). We must also live such lives because on the other hand that Christ “has appeared in these last times” for our sake (1 Pet. 1:20b).

Through the eternally foreknown Christ who has appeared to redeem us, we are believers in God (1 Pet. 1:21a). Through that Christ, we are believers in our Father who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory so that our faith and hope are in God (1 Pet. 1:21b).

We have learned from 1 Peter 1:17-21 that God demands that we live a redeemed life of fearing our impartial Father to whom we pray. To learn some specific truths about what such a life looks like, we need to consider some related teaching (1 Pet. 3:7-12).

Based on the example that Christ has left for us (1 Pet. 2:21-25), husbands must live properly with their wives: (1) living with her in an understanding way that takes into consideration that she is weaker because she is a woman; and (2) showing her honor because she is “a fellow heir of the grace of life”(1 Pet. 3:7a-d). Living in this way with them is necessary for husbands so that their “prayers will not be hindered (1 Pet. 3:7e).

Comparing the teaching of 1 Peter 3:7 with 1 Peter 1:17-21, we learn that one specific aspect of living a redeemed life of fearing our impartial Father to whom we pray involves husbands relating with their wives in a way that shows that they fear God. God knows everything about how each husband is treating his wife, and every husband must fear displeasing the Father to whom he prays by mistreating his wife!

In 1 Peter 3:8-12, Peter then provides related teaching about Christian conduct that not just husbands but also all other believers must heed. A close examination of this passage shows that it ties directly with what we learned from 1 Peter 1:17-21.

Summing up what he has been saying, Peter challenges all believers about being “harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit” (1 Pet. 3:8). Being such believers includes “not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead” because we have been called “for the very purpose that [we] might inherit a blessing” (1 Pet. 3:9).

He explains our calling to that purpose further by citing Psalm 34:12-16. Because the teaching of that passage is an inspired explanation to children of how they are to fear the Lord (Ps. 34:11), Peter’s use of it here to explain our calling shows that we have been called to be children who fear the Lord in certain specific ways (1 Pet. 3:10-11).

From the citation of Psalm 34:12-16 in 1 Peter 3:10-12, we learn that we who would lead a blessed life of fearing God must keep our tongues from evil and our lips from speaking deceit (1 Pet. 3:10). We must turn away from evil, do good, seek peace, and pursue it (1 Pet. 3:11).

Peter then explains these directives by inserting for at the beginning of 1 Peter 3:12, which is not in Psalm 34:15. By doing so, however, he does not change the original meaning; he brings out the logical connection that was there all along but was unstated. We are thus called to inherit a blessing (1 Pet. 3:9) through heeding certain directives about fearing God (1 Pet. 3:10-11) because His eyes “are toward the righteous, and His ears attend to their prayer” (1 Pet. 3:12a-b), but His face “is against those who do evil” (1 Pet. 3:12c).

Because Peter’s teaching here (1 Pet. 3:8-9) is about fearing God (1 Pet. 3:10-11) in view of His differing responses to the prayers of people according to His assessment of their lives (1 Pet. 3:12), we see that what he teaches us here parallels his earlier teaching about fearing our Father who impartially judges those who pray to Him (1 Pet. 1:17). The comparison of 1 Peter 3:8-12 with 1 Pet. 1:71-21, therefore, teaches us some specific aspects of fearing our impartial Father to whom we pray.

As men of the Word, let us live such (1 Pet. 3:7-12) redeemed lives of fearing our impartial Father to whom we pray (1 Pet. 1:17-21)!

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Exhortation, Exposition, Theology
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Has a Flawed Emphasis on Grace Fostered Abuse among Believers?

February 28, 2014

The recent controversy about the dealings of BJU with GRACE concerning the ongoing investigation of abuse has resulted in many voicing their viewpoints about problems with how cases involving abuse are handled in our day. For me, the intense recent attention to this problem has stirred my mind in a different direction to an issue that I believe is just as important to address.

The Contemporary Overemphasis on Certain Aspects of the Grace of God

For many years now, Christians in many circles have been highly focused on emphasizing the grace of God in salvation and justification. These believers frequently decry what they deem as “legalism” among other believers whom they consider to have deficient perspectives about the grace of God.

This intense emphasis on grace in reality has been an overemphasis on only certain aspects of the grace of God, namely, how God’s grace spares repentant sinners from the eternal judgment that they deserve for their sinfulness and provides complete acceptance with God for believers apart from their good works as a believer. Far too often, this emphasis has been accompanied by a serious lack of emphasis on other facets of what God’s grace to repentant sinners means for their subsequent lives as believers.

What Paul’s Emphasis on Grace Included in His Teaching to Believers

Certainly, Paul emphasized the grace of God in salvation to the lost people that he evangelized (Acts 20:24). He similarly stressed the importance of grace for believers by highlighting it in his teaching to them, both in person (Acts 13:43; 20:32) and in his Epistles (e.g., Eph. 2:8).

Notwithstanding this vital Pauline emphasis on these aspects of God’s grace to both sinners and believers, Paul’s ministry to believers about God’s grace in their lives also included an emphasis in his teaching to them that is sorely lacking in many churches today. In his teaching that emphasized the grace of God to new believers in Thessalonica (cf. 1 Thess. 1:1; 5:28; 2 Thess. 1:2, 12; 2:16; 3:18), Paul also stressed their susceptibility to divine judgment even as believers should they engage in immorality:

1Th 4:1 Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.

 2 For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.

 3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:

 4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

 5 Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:

 6 That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.

 7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

 8 He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.

Paul here reminded the Thessalonians that he (and Silvanus and Timothy) had previously forewarned them and testified to them about Jesus as the Lord who is the avenger of all who are defrauded among believers by the immorality of their brethren (1 Thess. 4:6).1 Not only did he remind them that they had emphasized this truth to them previously, but also he warned them anew with that same truth by including this teaching in this epistle that he wrote to them.

Based on Paul’s emphasis to new believers that the Lord would avenge all believers who are defrauded by the immorality of other believers, we know with certainty that Paul’s stress on the grace of God in the lives of believers did not mean that he focused his teaching to them about grace only on its so-called “positive” aspects. Rather, Paul solemnly testified to believers of the fearful accountability that they would have to the Lord if they engaged in fornication.2

Jesus’ Emphasis to His Churches about His Judgment of Immorality among Believers

As Paul did with the Thessalonians, so the glorified Jesus warned believers in His churches about His fierce judgment of immorality among believers:

Rev 2:14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

 15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.

 16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

Rev 2:20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

 21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.

 22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

 23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

These passages make clear that the glorified Jesus wants His role as the avenger of all immorality among believers to be emphasized greatly in His churches.

A Desperate Need in Churches Today 

For some time now, the preaching and teaching in many churches has had an overemphasis on the grace of God that saves sinners and grants them full acceptance with God as believers. This overemphasis has been at the expense of the necessary repeated solemn warning of believers about Jesus’ judgment of all immorality among believers.

Such a flawed emphasis on certain aspects of the grace of God has undoubtedly fostered abuse among believers because many of those who have abused others have not received the proper warnings that they should have received. Regardless of whatever else that is good that will come about through the ultimate resolution of the BJU-GRACE matter, churches everywhere need to be warned repeatedly by their leaders that living in the enjoyment of the grace of God does not exempt any believer of fierce divine judging of him should he remain unrepentant of abusing others through immorality.

 

1 Hiebert explains,

This duty of chastity is vital because “the Lord will punish men for all such sins.” . . . He satisfies justice by inflicting the due punishment upon the wrongdoer. . . . Christ will be the sure and just judge “for all such sins,” all the different forms of carnal impurity.

—D. Edmond Hiebert, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 187

2 Some may object to the idea that God judges believers. David testifies to the intensity of God’s chastening on him (Ps. 32:3-4) for his great sinfulness, which included adultery and murder. Moreover, David experienced profound consequences for his sins (2 Sam. 12:10-12; 14), including the death of his newborn child (2 Sam. 12:18).

Paul also makes clear that God does chasten believers with judgment in this life if they refuse to repent of their sinful deeds as a believer:

1 Corinthians 11:30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

This clear Pauline teaching about the Lord’s chastening judgment on believers should serve as a profound warning to all believers against abusing other believers in any way, including sexually.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Discipleship, Exposition, Theology
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Isn’t Doing Aerobics Enough?

February 26, 2014

Neglecting proper stretching exercises and proper resistance training is a common error in the exercise programs of many people. They believe that doing aerobic exercise regularly is all they need to do to care properly for their bodies. This dangerous misconception needs to be corrected.

For too long, aerobic exercise has been overemphasized. Doing only regular aerobic exercise is not sufficient in caring properly for your body.

Yes, aerobics is a vital component of any sensible exercise program, and it should not be neglected. To care properly for your body, however, you must also do some regular stretching and some regular resistance training.

Without engaging in some regular resistance training, the average adult will lose more than a half a pound of muscle each year. If he does not account for this muscle loss, he will grow fatter and less fit, even while he may be maintaining a constant body weight and a good level of aerobic fitness.

In a similar manner, those who do not stretch regularly will lose a substantial amount of flexibility as they age. This loss of flexibility is not normal, and will contribute adversely to many health problems.

For example, 80% of back problems are musculoskeletal in origin. Very often, they are the result of lack of strength and flexibility in key muscle groups of the body.

To take good care of our bodies, we should engage in a well-rounded, sensible exercise program, consisting of aerobics, resistance training, and stretching.

Please note: This article is only for general informational and motivational purposes. It is not intended to give specific advice to anyone concerning his specific health needs. You should see your doctor for a proper exam before beginning any regular exercise program. You should also consult with appropriately qualified people for specific information about how to exercise and design your program.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Health
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Jonathan Edwards and the Sovereignty of God

February 24, 2014

Edwards now saw that the universe was essentially personal, an emanation of the love and beauty of God, so that everything, even inanimate matter, was a personal communication from God. So in contrast to many contemporaries, such as Franklin, who saw Newton’s laws of motion as providing the model for understanding an essentially impersonal universe, Edwards started with a personal and sovereign God who expressed himself even in the ever-changing relationships of every atom to each other. This dramatic insight would be the key to every other aspect of his thought. Like a mathematician who had discovered an elegant solution to an immense problem, Edwards was captivated by the beauty of the insight. He now found the doctrine of God’s sovereignty “a delightful conviction.”

—George M. Marsden, A Short Life of Jonathan Edwards, 21-22

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Quotes
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Two Biblical Greetings That Are Worth Using

February 22, 2014

I wonder if the importance of greeting someone graciously has much to do with the value of acknowledging his fundamental worth as a human being. If this view is correct, to fail to greet someone may well be to dehumanize him in a grievous way.

Scripture emphasizes highly the necessity of our greeting one another. Ruth 2:4 presents an instance where people greeted one another with two greetings that we would do well to consider and use more.

Boaz’s Greeting to His Reapers

Although Boaz was “a mighty man of wealth” (Ruth 2:2), he did not consider himself to be above greeting those who labored for him in his fields: “And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The Lord be with you” (Ruth 2:4a). His greeting points to some truths worth noting.

First, Boaz displayed the fundamentally spiritual orientation of his thinking by focusing on the Lord even in greeting common laborers whom he encountered. Boaz thus made good use of his freedom and opportunity to speak of the Lord in the workplace!

Second, Boaz did not just speak impersonally about the Lord; he openly related the benevolence of his heart for his workers by declaring his desire that the Lord would be with them. Such a greeting from him as their employer no doubt would go a long way toward boosting their morale in the workplace and increasing good will between him and all these who labored together for him in a common cause.

The Reapers’ Greeting to Boaz

The reapers of Boaz responded to his greeting by answering him, “The Lord bless thee” (Ruth 2:4b). Their greeting to him shows some important truths as well.

First, like Boaz, they showed their spiritual mindset by making the Lord the focus of their greeting. Even though they were common laborers, they apparently knew of the Lord at least to the extent of freely invoking His name in their greeting.

Second, as Boaz did for them, so they communicated their desire for his welfare by expressing their wish that the Lord would bless him. Their response seems to have revealed their good relationship with him and their longing for him to prosper in the ways of the Lord.

The Value of Our Greeting One Another with These Two Greetings

Our genuine use of Boaz’s greeting, “The Lord be with you,” when we encounter other believers would help to sanctify all of our interactions with one another. We would thereby display our spiritual mindedness, focus on the Lord, and benevolent desire for our brethren.

Greeting one another with these words would also serve to remind us to be spiritually minded believers who make much of Jesus’ glorious promise to all His disciples: “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matt. 28:20). We would thus richly edify one another even in what we say in greeting one another!

As with our use of Boaz’s greeting, so there is great value to our using the greeting with which his reapers responded to him, “The Lord bless you.” By our using this greeting with believers who greet us, we further edify one another spiritually by communicating our focus on the Lord and our desire that He would prosper them in His ways.

Let us continually edify one another with these two biblical greetings that are worth using!

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Discipleship, Exhortation, Exposition
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