Through the Bible in 2013!

October 22, 2013

Yesterday, I finished reading through the Bible in 2013. I praise God for giving me the opportunity to read all of His Word one more time!

Although I had hoped to read the entire Bible in Spanish in 2013, I did not have end up doing so. I also did not end up having any other special Bible reading project this year that concerned going through the Bible or some major section of it in some unusual way.

Having immersed myself in Psalms last year, I actually found it difficult for the first half of this year to read much in the Psalms. Thankfully, in recent months, I was able to read the book and again be ministered to greatly by doing so.

Although I did not have any special project, I did intensively study many passages about music this year. I continue to have a strong desire to address the CCM issue as thoroughly as possible from a biblical standpoint.

More than any other passage, I have focused on Exodus 32 this year and have profited immensely from doing so. I am still studying the passages about the Golden Calf incident and anticipate writing some more articles on that subject (my six previous articles about the incident are listed in point 11 in this post).

As the Lord leads, I think that I may try again in 2014 to read the entire Bible in Spanish and English.

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

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Secular Instrumental Music in Scripture: Part I

October 18, 2013

For more than two years now, I have been intensively studying what the Bible teaches about music. As part of that study, I recently have been pondering the references in Scripture to secular instrumental music.

Secular Instrumental Music

Scripture has at least 20 references about music in settings that do not pertain to instances of worshiping the true and living God. These references speak of the secular music of both the heathen peoples and God’s people.

Secular Music of Heathen Peoples

Gen 4:21 And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. [Reference found in the ungodly line of Cain]

Gen 31:27 Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp? [Statement by Laban, who was an idolater (cf. Gen 31:30f.)]

Isa 23:16 Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered. [In an oracle against Tyre]

Isa 24:8 The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth. [In a passage about judgment on all the earth]

Eze 26:13 And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard. [Part of God’s judgment on Tyre]

Dan 3:5 That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:a

7 Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.a

10 Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image:a

15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?a

Dan 6:18 Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.

Rev 18:22 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; [Part of God’s end-time judgment of Babylon]

Secular Music of God’s People

Jdg 11:34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.

Eze 33:32 And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not. [General reference that does not specify the nationality of the musician or the precise nature of his music; I have included it here because it is in teaching about how God’s people were receiving Ezekiel’s ministry to them]

Lam 5:14 The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their musick.b

Amo 6:5 That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David;

Mat 11:17 And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.

Luk 7:32 They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept.

Luk 15:25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.b

1Co 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. [Identity of the musician unspecified]c

1Co 14:7 And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? [Identity of the musician unspecified]c

Observations about Secular Instrumental Music in Scripture

These 20 references to secular music reveal the following truths:

  1. Heathen people may have invented instrumental music (Gen. 4:21).
  2. Instrumental music has been important in the secular lives of human beings from very early in human history (Gen. 4:21) and will continue to be so until the end of human history prior to the Millennium (Rev. 18:22).
  3. Scripture speaks about the secular music of both heathen peoples and God’s people.
  4. The varied nature of the references to secular instrumental music shows that the inspired authors of Scripture were not ignorant about such music.
  5. Instrumental music played a vital role in the preeminent occasion of heathen worship recorded in Scripture (Dan. 3:5, 7, 10, 15).
  6. Daniel 3, the passage that emphasizes the use of instrumental music in worship more than any other passage in Scripture does, does not refer to the music of the people of God; instead, it highlights the role that instrumental music played in the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar, the greatest heathen king in human history.

In future articles, I hope to bring out the relevance of this study to the ongoing dispute about the propriety of using CCM in corporate worship.

a Strictly speaking, these verses do not refer to secular music because they speak of music in a religious context. I have included them here, however, because they are in a context of false worship, which means that they do have bearing upon our understanding of the secular music of the Babylonians, a heathen people.

b These references do not specify the use of instruments, but they likely signify their use.

c These references may refer also to music used in Christian worship, but the statements do not specify that they do.

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

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The New Testament Tower

October 17, 2013

An important part of reading the Bible is to know the books of the Bible in order so that you can quickly find the book(s) from which you would like to read. Here is a novel way to learn in order the names of the books of the New Testament.

A. Learn the names of the books in groups

I have put the books of the NT into 8 groups of books and pictured them as rooms on 8 floors in a tower.

1. The four guys of the Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

2. The A.R.C.C. books (pronounced “ark”) – Acts, Romans, First Corinthians, and Second Corinthians

3. The G.E.P.C. books (General Electric personal computer) – Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians

4. The 4T network – First Thessalonians, Second Thessalonians, First Timothy, and Second Timothy

5. The TPHJ (teepee full of Hebrew’s jam) – Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, and James

6. The 2P books – First Peter and Second Peter

7. The 4J books – First John, Second John, Third John, and Jude

8. Revelation

B. Learn these two sentences to memorize these groups in order

1. The four guys of the Gospels in an ARCC used a GE PC to connect to the 4T network.

2. They saw a TP full of Hebrews’ jam made from 2 P’s, 4 J’s, and an R.

To help you solidify your learning of the order of the books in this way, say the sentences while you look at the New Testament Tower, which has the 8 groups in order from the bottom of the tower to the top.

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

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Understanding Key Signatures

October 14, 2013

Learning how to understand key signatures is an important skill for a guitar player because it enables him to better understand the music that he plays. Here are the basic rules for determining what keys are represented by each key signature:

1. The major and minor keys represented by two key signatures should be memorized: (1) no sharps or flats: C major and A minor; (2) one flat: F major and D minor.

2. For all the other key signatures, follow these steps to find the key:

If the key signature has one or more sharps, go to the last sharp. Going up to the next note will give you the major key and going down a third from that note will give you the minor key.

If the key signature has more than one flat, go to the next-to-last flat. That flatted note is the major key for that key signature. Going down a third gives you the minor key for that key signature

This PDF illustrates how to follow these rules for all the major and minor keys represented by all 15 possible key signatures.

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

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Six Prayer Requests for Persecuted Believers

October 11, 2013

In several recent messages on Wednesday nights, Pastor Mark Minnick has instructed us to pray six prayer requests for persecuted believers:

1. Deliverance from Persecutors 

2Th 3:1 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: 2 And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.

 —Sometimes believers wonder whether they should pray for deliverance for persecuted brethren. This passage makes clear that it is right to pray for them to be delivered.

2. Unfailing Faith in the Midst of Sufferings

Luk 22:31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

—Satan is the ultimate source of all persecution that believers experience. Jesus prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail when he would be tried; we should pray for unfailing faith for persecuted believers.

3. Boldness to Give the Gospel to Persecutors

Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; 19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. 

—Although Paul was in prison when he wrote these words, Paul asked that believers would pray for him to have boldness in his bonds so that he would continue to be a faithful witness in spite of his sufferings for the faith. We need to hold up persecuted brethren in prayer that they would be bold to give the gospel to their persecutors in spite of their suffering.

4. Patient Endurance of Suffering for Doing Well

1Pe 2:19 For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. 20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. 

 21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:

 —Peter teaches us that God desires that believers would patiently endure the sufferings that they experience for doing what is right, even as Jesus did. Through praying that persecuted brethren would be like Christ in suffering (without reviling or threatening), we can help suffering brethren endure persecution in a way that is acceptable to God (see also 2 Thess. 1:4-5). 

5. Joy in the Midst of Suffering

Mat 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. 

—Jesus taught that believers must rejoice and be exceedingly glad when they suffer persecution for His sake. We can help them do so by praying for them to have the joy of the Holy Spirit even in the midst of much affliction (cf. 1 Thess. 1:6). 

6. Love for Enemies Who Persecute Us

Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 

—Jesus proclaimed that we must love our enemies and relate to them in loving ways in keeping with our being true children of our Heavenly Father. We should pray that suffering brethren would have a proper love in the Spirit for those who afflict them. 

Learn more by listening to Prayer For The Persecuted Part I (September 4, 2013, Mark Minnick, 2013 Sermons); Prayer For The Persecuted Part II (September 18, 2013, Mark Minnick, 2013 Sermons).

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

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Should Christians Pray That Suffering Would Come?

October 10, 2013

Someone told me recently that he had heard that some Chinese Christians pray that persecution would come to the Church in the U.S. I also saw a presentation that includes a statement from a prominent American Christian leader that communicates that he has prayed fervently that suffering would come. Should Christians pray along these lines?

No Biblical Teaching Supports Praying That Suffering Would Come

Those who pray that suffering would come to believers may typically do so out of a desire for the Church to be purified and for believers to grow spiritually. Some may think that David’s prayer in Psalm 139 supports such praying:

Psa 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

These verses, however, do not support praying that believers would suffer; at best, they would only support a believer’s praying that he himself would be tried.

Although desiring the purification of the Church and spiritual growth of believers is commendable, I am unaware of any teaching in Scripture that supports believers praying that believers would be persecuted or that suffering would come.

Explicit Biblical Teaching That Teaches Us to Pray for the Opposite Experience for Believers

Not only does Scripture not support praying that suffering would come, but also it clearly teaches that what we should pray for is exactly the opposite experience for believers:

1Ti 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 

Paul informs all believers that they should pray for all authorities with the aim that believers would lead quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty—it is impossible for believers to do so when they are suffering persecution!

Furthermore, Paul also teaches us that we should pray for deliverance for believers who are already being persecuted:

2Th 3:1 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: 2 And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.

Clear apostolic teaching in both of these passages, therefore, teaches us that we should not pray that suffering would come on believers

Other Considerations That Argue Against Praying That Suffering Would Come

Moreover, persecution does not bring about spiritual growth for any of the believers who lose their lives through it. Nor does persecution necessarily lead to the purification of the Church—it sometimes leads instead to the eradication of believers in a specific area because of the unrelenting actions of wicked authorities.

Conclusion

Explicit biblical teaching and other relevant considerations, therefore, teach us that we should not pray that suffering would come. Praying for suffering and persecution to come is not biblical.

We should pray instead for the Church everywhere to be able to lead quiet and peaceable lives that are fully sanctified and dedicated to God. We should also pray for deliverance for brethren who are being persecuted.

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

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Six Key Points about the Character and Chronology of the New Heavens and the New Earth

October 6, 2013

In a message on Isaiah 65:17-19 this morning, Pastor Mark Minnick presented six key points about the character and chronology of the new heavens and the new earth. These points provide clarity of understanding about this glorious subject.

The new heavens and the new earth will endure eternally, as will Israel as well (Is. 65; 66:22).

The character of that whole domain [the new heavens and the new earth] will be righteousness (2 Pet. 3:13).

The new heavens and the new earth will follow the destruction of the present heavens and earth (2 Pet. 3:10-13). They will not be a renovation of the present heavens and earth.

The new heavens and the new earth follow the Tribulation, the Millennium, and the Great White Throne judgment (based on the sequence of Revelation 20 and Revelation 21:1).

There will be no death in the new heavens and the new earth (Rev. 21:4). You cannot have new heavens and the new earth without the death of death.

The new heavens and the new earth will feature the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven (Rev. 21:10ff.).

He also clarified that “Isaiah 65:18-25 tell us that He is creating and will create a New Jerusalem in the present earth.”

For more information, listen to the message Created for Joy here.

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

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Was the Philippian Jailor Saved by Hearing a One-Sentence Gospel Message?

October 5, 2013

Was the Philippian jailor saved by hearing a one-sentence gospel message (Acts 16:31)? A sound handling of the passage answers this question definitively.

The Evangelistic Record (Up to Acts 16:31) of the Jailor’s Salvation

Following the miraculous events that took place (Acts 16:26), the Philippian jailor asked Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (16:30). They responded, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (16:31).

Some believe that the jailor was saved by hearing only this one sentence. Many more seem to reflect this same view by using this one verse as if it was a one-sentence gospel message.

For example, a person argued with me years ago that the jailor was saved without testimony to the resurrection to the Jesus. He based his view on the fact that the passage does not say anything about Paul and Silas’ bearing testimony to the resurrection.

Biblical considerations from the rest of the passage as well as from other passages show that these views are unsound. These considerations become clear from various indications in Acts 16 and 26.

Indications from the Rest of Acts 16 of Additional Testimony beyond Acts 16:31

Following Acts 16:31, Luke writes, “And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house” (16:32). We know therefore that Paul and Silas testified more from the word of the Lord than just what verse 31 records.

Because Luke does not tell us what that additional testimony was, some may still argue that whatever else they said was additional testimony that was not necessary for him to hear to be saved. We can be certain, however, that this is a wrong handling of the passage because Acts 16:31 itself does not testify to either the crucifixion or the Resurrection of Jesus—truths that are essential parts of the gospel message (Cf. 1 Cor. 15:3-5).

The following verses implicitly confirm the interpretation that verse 32 signifies the communication of vital truths. Luke tells us that the jailor was baptized (16:33), but he does not tell us how it came about that he knew that he was to be baptized and consented to doing so. Plainly, we are to understand that Paul and Silas bore testimony to him to do so.

Furthermore, Luke concludes his record of this evangelistic encounter by saying, “And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house” (16:34). Although it is possible that Luke intends for us from this statement to believe that these people believed in Jesus as God, it is far more likely that this statement reflects their salvation through belief in testimony about God the Father’s raising Jesus from the dead and through their subsequent confession of Jesus as Lord (cf. Rom. 10:9-10).

Indications from Acts 26 of Additional Testimony to the Jailor beyond Acts 16:31

In addition to the additional considerations present in Acts 16, Paul’s testimony in Acts 26 about his evangelistic practice throughout his Christian life points conclusively to additional testimony given to the jailor beyond what Acts 16:31 records. Paul told King Agrippa that his obedience to his heavenly vision of the glorified Jesus (Acts 26:12-18) comprised his testifying to key truths to everyone everywhere from the beginning of his evangelistic ministry up to that very day:

Act 26:19 Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: 

 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. 

 21 For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me. 

 22 Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: 

 23 That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles. 

These verses make clear that Paul certainly challenged the jailor to “repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance” (26:20). We also can be certain that Paul testified to the jailor about both the suffering and the resurrection of Christ (26:23). 

Because Acts 16:31 does not specify that Paul told the jailor to repent, we know that Acts 16:31 is not an exhaustive record of the gospel testimony that he received. Similarly, because Acts 16:31 does not specify that Paul testified to the jailor about the crucifixion and resurrection, we can be certain that it does not tell us all that he heard to be saved. 

Conclusion

Because we know conclusively from several considerations that Acts 16:31 is not an exhaustive record of the gospel testimony that the jailor received, it is illegitimate to say that he was saved by hearing only the statement recorded in Acts 16:31. Moreover, based on essential biblical teaching about the gospel message, we can be certain that Acts 16:31 is not a one-sentence gospel message that by itself communicates all the truth that a sinner needs to hear to be saved.

A sound handling of Acts 16:31 shows conclusively that the Philippian jailor was not saved by hearing a one-sentence gospel message.

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

In Evangelism, Gospel, Interpretation
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God’s Rebuke of Sensuality among Those Who Worship Him

October 2, 2013

Scripture is our only infallible source of information about God’s perspectives concerning people who engage in worship and the actual nature of that worship. In Ezekiel 33, He reveals to us vital principles about how He should be worshiped through His assessment of the presence and nature of the sensuality among those who worshipped Him at that time.

Among the Jews who were exiled in Babylon, there were those whose worship was not what it appeared to be (33:30-33):

Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD. 

 31 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. 

 32 And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not. 

 33 And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them. 

God made known to Ezekiel that his fellow Jews were maligning him even while they were exhorting one another to come hear his ministry of the Word of the Lord that he was proclaiming (Ezekiel 33:30).

These seeming worshipers were intermingled with true worshipers and mimicked the worship of the latter. They came as the others did and sat before him as the rest of God’s people did (Ezekiel 33:31).

They listened intently to Ezekiel’s proclamation of God’s words (Ezekiel 33:31a-c), but the true nature of their supposed worship of God was revealed by their failure to heed God’s words (Ezekiel 33:31d). God exposed them as hypocritical worshipers who did not do what He said because although they professed great love for Him, they were actually motivated by their lustful hearts and their pursuit of personal gain (Ezekiel 33:31e-f).

God then called Ezekiel to perceive what was taking place in the hearts and minds of such people: “And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument.” (33:32). The Hebrew word rendered as “very lovely” (that modifies the word song) uses a word (‘Əgavah) that is used in a negative sense in Scripture for “sensual desire” that is “condemned” (Holladay, 264).

Ezekiel thus was to them like a song characterized by sensuality that was ministered by a person having a beautiful voice and playing a stringed instrument skillfully (33:32a-b). Implicit thus in this statement is these people’s appetite for sensual songs and God’s condemnation of that fleshly proclivity.

This statement revealed the essential problematic sensuality of these supposed worshipers of God. Because of that sensuality, God’s words did not profit them in bringing about obedience to Him in their lives, just as hearing a sensual love song sung by one with a pleasant voice accompanied well on an instrument does not.

Through this comparison, God was not condemning those who have lovely voices or can play stringed instruments with great skill–He is the One who gifts people with these priceless gifts. His statement indicts the people who were hearing Ezekiel’s ministry of the Word with the same fleshly orientation of heart as they would hear sensual songs.

Unquestionably, Ezekiel was not preaching a sensual message to them; he apparently then had an appealing, pleasant speaking voice, good vocal production, and great skillfulness in his speaking for God. These sensuality-oriented worshipers were drawn to these elements of his ministry, but they did not have a heart for hearing from God to do what He was saying through Ezekiel.

This account warns us that we must come to hear the ministry of God’s Word with a true and sincere heart to obey Him. To have such a heart to hear from God, we through the Spirit must mortify all manifestations of the sensuality that our flesh is irredeemably bent toward. Otherwise, even hearing a true prophet of God preach His words in His house will not profit us, and our worship will be spoiled by the same sensuality for which God rebuked those among His people who came with that ungodly orientation to hear Ezekiel’s prophetic ministry.

 

For help with issues concerning CCM, please see the many resources that I have compiled: Resources That Provide Answers to Key Issues Concerning CCM 

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

In Exhortation, Exposition, Music
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The NT Key to a Fuller Understanding of the Golden Calf Incident

September 29, 2013

The NT provides fuller understanding about many key OT people and events, including Creation, the Exodus, and the ministry of Enoch. In a striking way not specifically revealed in the OT, First Corinthians 10 gives believers the key to a fuller understanding of the Golden Calf incident and its contemporary relevance.*

Prior Revelation about the Golden Calf Incident

Prior to First Corinthians 10, at least five passages give us explicit revelation about the Golden Calf incident: Exodus 32; Deuteronomy 9; Nehemiah 9; Psalm 106; Acts 7. A thorough analysis of these passages shows that the incident was a profoundly important event in sacred history (see the previous articles in this series, which are listed below, for more information).

Fittingly, this prior revelation, however, does not reveal a key facet about the event that is necessary to know in order to understand it fully. God gives us that key through vital Pauline teaching in First Corinthians 10.

First Corinthians 10 and the Golden Calf Incident

Of the two NT references to the Golden Calf incident, Acts 7:39-41 only indirectly pertains to believers today because it is part of Stephen’s defense before the high priest and other Jewish people who accosted and persecuted him (Acts 6:9-7:60). The reference in First Corinthians 10:7, however, is in epistolary teaching specifically directed to Christians.

Because Paul explicitly cites the Golden Calf incident in important epistolary teaching to believers, we know that properly understanding it and its application to us is vital. Moreover, Paul states both before (1 Cor. 10:6) and after (1 Cor. 10:11) his reference to the incident (1 Cor. 10:7) that the account is exemplary for us and was recorded for our instruction.

We must take pains, therefore, to study all the passages about the incident carefully and thoroughly. When we do so with First Corinthians 10, we discover at least three key aspects of the incident that pertain to believers today and need more attention.

Christian Liberty and the Golden Calf Incident

Paul wrote First Corinthians to believers who were facing many problems in the church at Corinth. First Corinthians 10 is part of three chapters (1 Cor. 8:1-11:1) that he wrote to address problems that the Church was facing with issues concerning Christian liberty.

A key feature of the Golden Calf incident was its essential character as an instance of religious syncretism. Paul’s use of that account in First Corinthians 10 to warn Christians must alert us to the profound potential dangers posed by some disputed practices among believers that many regard as involving similar religious syncretism.

Invoking Christian liberty as justification for such practices without bringing to bear pertinent truths from the Golden Calf incident puts contemporary believers at profound spiritual risk. No discussion of such issues about Christian liberty is legitimate if it does not account fully for Paul’s teaching in First Corinthians 10 concerning the relevance of the incident for Christians.

Meat Offered to Idols and the Golden Calf Incident

In First Corinthians 10:7, Paul commands all believers not to be idolaters. He cites Exodus 32:6 as a Scriptural record of some highly privileged people (cf. 1 Cor. 10:1-4) who became idolaters in the Golden Calf incident:

Exo 32:6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. 

1Co 10:7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 

By citing this aspect of the incident in his command, Paul made clear that their eating, drinking, and playing on this occasion were all part of their idolatry.

Moreover, the reference to their eating and drinking in Exodus 32:6 is not pointing to ordinary eating and drinking that took place after they worshiped the calf. Rather, it refers to their eating and drinking food and drink that they had offered to the idol.

Based on First Corinthians 10:7, we understand that the Israelites’ eating and drinking what was offered to the idol and their playing afterwards are all key information that must warn us to flee from idolatry (1 Cor. 10:14). We must accept, therefore, that the profound danger that idolatry poses for believers involves much more than a believer’s personally doing homage to an idol by bowing to it or engaging in some other related actions that involve only the believer’s body and no other external objects.

What Paul then explains in the rest of First Corinthians 10 reveals just how this is the case with a believer’s partaking of meat offered to idols. In this concluding material, he gives us the profound revelation that is the key to a fuller understanding of the Golden Calf incident.

Fallen Spirits and the Golden Calf Incident

Paul teaches that believers “know that an idol is nothing in the world” (1 Cor. 8:4) and that food in and of itself does not commend us to God (1 Cor. 8:8). He later reiterates both truths through two questions (“What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?” [1 Cor. 10:19]).

What Paul says next brings out the horrific spiritual reality of what takes place when people offer sacrifices to idols:

But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils (1 Cor. 10:20). 

Paul reveals that Gentiles who sacrifice to idols in reality offer sacrifices to fallen spirits and not to God! Although neither an idol nor what is offered to it has any innate spiritual qualities to it individually, people who combine the two in a worship context in reality worship fallen spirits—regardless of whether they intend to or not.

Worse yet, not only do they worship the fallen spirits, but they also have fellowship with them! Eating meat offered to an idol in a worship context thus puts those who eat that meat into direct contact with demons.

Moreover, Paul teaches that it is not possible to partake of both the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils (1 Cor. 10:21a). Nor is it possible to partake both of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons (1 Cor. 10:21b).

These statements make clear that believers who engage in worship that features any such religious syncretism are incapable of worshiping the Lord aright. True believers who do engage in such actions must fear provoking the Lord to jealousy (1 Cor. 10:22) because they are not stronger than He is, and He will surely chasten them for doing so.

When these considerations are brought to bear on our understanding of what happened in the Golden Calf incident, we learn that all that the passages record of their shameful debauched behavior after they had eaten and drunk what was offered to the idol was not merely human deviancy on display. Rather, their playing (Exod. 32:6; 1 Cor. 10:7), singing (Exod. 32:18; Acts 7:41), and dancing (Exod. 32:19; Acts 7:41) in unrestrained ways that brought them into shame with their enemies (Exod. 32:25) was the deviant behavior of people who had come into direct contact with fallen spirits and been influenced by them to engage in that shameful debauched behavior! 

Moreover, we understand better God’s profound anger with the people on that occasion—they had provoked Him to wrath because their religious syncretism brought them into direct fellowship with demons. Because His people had become profoundly “contaminated” in that manner, He ordered that many of them be executed (Exod. 32:26-29) and would have destroyed them all had not Moses interceded for them (Exod. 32:11-14).

Conclusion

Based on the points covered above, any sound treatment of the Golden Calf incident and its relevance for believers today must account for its being a record of demon-influenced immoral behavior by spiritually privileged people that resulted from their engaging in purported worship of the Lord that included religious syncretism. We must allow God’s profound displeasure with His people on that occasion to underscore Paul’s use of that incident in First Corinthians 10 to warn us to take heed that we not fall similarly in matters concerning Christian liberty because we think that we stand (1 Cor. 10:12).

As I hope to show in future articles, this fuller understanding of the incident has profound relevance for contemporary debates about the propriety of incorporating debauched pagan elements into worship of the Lord.

 *If you have not done so, please read the previous articles in this series before reading this article:

1. Toward Fully Understanding the Golden Calf Incident

2. More Insights about the Golden Calf Incident

3. Leadership Failure and the Golden Calf Incident

4. Religious Syncretism and the Golden Calf Incident

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

In Discipleship, Exposition, Music, Theology
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