A People for His Name

Vocabulary Analysis of the New Testament of the Reina-Valera Revised 1960 Spanish Bible

August 25, 2012

Because I have been recently teaching Guitar for Spanish Ministry classes in two local Spanish churches, I have been intensely studying Spanish for the past few months. In recent weeks, God has given me a growing desire to be able someday to witness, preach, and teach effectively in Spanish.

Learning to speak the language has been the most challenging aspect in my work so far, but I am making some progress. My much more rapid acquisition of a considerable amount of Spanish vocabulary and grammar, however, has been quite encouraging!

Using the Word List Manager in BibleWorks 7, I created today a word list for all the words that occur in the New Testament of the Spanish Reina-Valera Revised 1960 Bible (R60NT). There are 11,018 different words in the R60NT, and they occur 164,932 times.

The following listing gives the number of occurrences for each of the 376 words that occur 50 or more times. I have grouped them by the frequencies specified (in bold headings; from the highest to the lowest):

1000 or more occurrences in the R60NT

y (8645); de (7811); que (6290); a (4946); la (4347); el (4207); en (3788); los (3623); no (2566); por (2000); se (1664); para (1484); dios (1371); le (1353); con (1317); del (1290); porque (1288); es (1266); lo (1147); al (1109); las (1100); él (1085); su (1082);

500-999

dijo (959); pero (868); vosotros (866); jesús (842); os (825); como (769); señor (731); si (688); también (672); un (630); ellos (607); les (603); sus (603); yo (595); me (565); entonces (562); pues (541); cuando (525); todos (519); sino (517);

400-499

todo (456); ha (453); una (445); esto (444); mi (439); hijo (432); he (430); qué (410); cosas (408); ni (403);

300-399

mas (391); padre (381); hombre (378); cristo (374); así (367); cual (360); está (353); había (352); espíritu (350); te (347); nosotros (343); diciendo (337); sobre (336); fue (332); tu (332); más (324); día (323); mí (304);

200-299

o (298); uno (294); tierra (280); entre (278); son (259); toda (258); fe (250); hombres (250); nos (249); aquí (244); mismo (243); discípulos (241); era (236); sea (235); todas (233); hermanos (232); palabra (228); ser (223); ley (222); casa (221); este (220); éste (219); estaba (218); tú (216); hasta (210); digo (209); gran (207); contra (205); aquel (200); será (200);

150-199

mundo (199); otro (199); estas (195); sí (195); vino (195); jesucristo (193); después (192); ya (192); delante (190); ahora (189); cielo (189); nuestro (189); otros (186); vida (186); quien (183); sin (182); sido (180); esta (178); muchos (178); tiene (178); mujer (174); ella (173); dijeron (171); judíos (170); nombre (170); allí (169); hecho (169); verdad (169); días (166); gloria (165); pablo (165); tiempo (164); pedro (163); hijos (159); pueblo (159); ti (159); reino (158); soy (155); bien (154); han (154); otra (153); hay (151); dos (150);

100-149

ciudad (149); manera (149); quién (148); estaban (147); desde (145); jerusalén (144); cuerpo (142); habéis (142); antes (140); amor (139); causa (139); santo (138); tanto (138); vuestro (138); gracia (137); juan (137); están (136); muerte (136); alguno (134); habían (134); cierto (133); dio (131); cómo (129); testimonio (129); vuestra (129); aun (128); carne (128); fuera (128); nada (128); unos (128); nadie (126); cada (125); según (125); muertos (124); vez (124); habiendo (123); hermano (122); voz (122); donde (120); dice (119); dicho (119); medio (119); cuales (117); corazón (115); mis (115); templo (115); fueron (113); lugar (113); mano (113); obras (113); palabras (113); pecado (112); evangelio (111); vuestros (109); poder (107); hace (104); eres (103); dado (102); escrito (102); has (102); sangre (102); algunos (101); cuanto (101); gentiles (101); hacer (101); justicia (101); respondiendo (101); respondió (100);

90-99

ángel (99); luz (99); multitud (99); mar (98); cielos (97); paz (97); hora (96); camino (95); fin (95); hizo (94); siete (94); mucho (93); tenía (93); tus (93); rey (92); decía (91); hemos (91); manos (91); conforme (90); ojos (90); pies (90); siempre (90);

80-89

llamado (89); sois (88); venido (88); éstos (87); fariseos (87); e (86); oído (86); profetas (86); madre (85); primero (85); sacerdotes (85); aún (84); luego (83); pecados (82); tres (82); fuego (81); moisés (81); muchas (81); visto (81); ángeles (80); vinieron (80);

70-79

puede (79); santos (79); acerca (78); aquellos (78); padres (78); vio (78); decir (77); reposo (77); simón (77); voluntad (77); ninguno (76); parte (76); abraham (75); doce (75); mismos (75); necesario (75); envió (74); noche (74); pan (74); profeta (74); dónde (73); principales (73); siendo (73); conmigo (72); iglesia (72); siervo (72); tengo (72); decían (71); haya (71); sacerdote (71); sean (71); gente (70); israel (70); sabéis (70);

60-69

misericordia (69); nuestros (69); viene (69); boca (68); buena (68); gozo (68); salió (68); somos (68); tienen (68); agua (67); venir (67); eran (66); fruto (66); maestro (66); tal (66); nuestra (65); aunque (64); estando (64); ancianos (63); cosa (63); da (63); escribas (63); bueno (62); galilea (62); gracias (62); obra (62); aquella (61); cabeza (61); nuevo (61); serán (61); siglos (60);

50-59

apóstoles (59); comer (59); david (59); juicio (59); ver (59); ante (58); hubo (58); justo (58); sumo (57); años (56); corazones (56); dar (56); esperanza (56); levantó (56); pilato (56); tenemos (56); puesto (55); cerca (54); maría (54); mayor (54); mirad (54); misma (54); muerto (54); piedra (54); grande (53); mandó (53); ninguna (53); recibido (53); semejante (53); trono (53); aconteció (52); ellas (52); entró (52); estos (52); eterna (52); monte (52); oír (52); tenéis (52); tomó (52); ve (52); mientras (51); poco (51); sentado (51); sólo (51); teniendo (51); varón (51); veces (51); vi (51); amén (50); autoridad (50); mal (50); mil (50); sabiduría (50); sé (50); solamente (50); viendo (50);

Using this resource along with my study of an intermediate Spanish grammar as well other resources, I plan to work steadily towards reading fluently in the R60NT!

As God directs, I am also thinking of creating a Reader’s Lexicon of the R60NT as I translate through each book, starting probably with 1 John.

In Spanish

Have You Fallen on Your Face and Worshiped God?

August 21, 2012

In many passages, Scripture records instances when people fell on their faces in encounters directly with God or in settings where He manifested Himself to them in various ways. In a couple of cases, we even read of God’s judgment on a pagan object of worship that resulted in that object’s falling on its face before the ark of the Lord.

Moreover, Scripture reveals that Jesus fell on His face in prayer to the Father, and that all the angels in heaven as well as other beings in heaven fall on their faces and worship God.

I have grouped these passages into categories that I hope will be of value in challenging you to fall on your face and worship God, which is the only proper thing for all of us sinners to do in the presence of God.

Personal encounter with Deity

Gen 17:3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,

Jos 5:14 And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?

Jdg 13:20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.

Mat 17:5-6 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.

Earthly worship

Lev 9:24 And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

2Ch 20:18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.

Encounter with the glory of God

Eze 1:28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

Eze 3:23 Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face.

Eze 43:3 And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face.

Eze 44:4 Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD: and I fell upon my face.

God’s glory in judgment of sinners

Num 16:22 And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?

Num 16:45 Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.

Num 20:6 And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them.

Num 22:31 Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.

Jos 7:6 And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.

1Sa 5:3 And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.

1Sa 5:4 And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.

1Ki 18:39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.

1Ch 21:16 And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.

Eze 9:8 And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem?

Eze 11:13 And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?

1Co 14:25 And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.

Angelic messenger sent from God

Dan 8:17 So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.

Prayer

Mat 26:39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

Luk 5:12 And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

Luk 17:16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

Heavenly worship

Rev 7:11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,

Rev 11:16 And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,

Given that Scripture provides us with so much revelation about falling on one’s face and worshiping God, may God help us all to do so as well.

Have you fallen on your face and worshiped God?

In Exhortation

Learning from David's Last Words

August 18, 2012

Second Samuel 23 begins with a poem that informs us about the heart of David in a special way: “Now these be the last words of David” (23:1a). In his last words, David highlights a number of important truths that instruct us in various ways about our own lives.

First, he testifies to God’s exalting him to be a man of unique importance in two ways: (a) he was chosen to be God’s anointed one (“the anointed of the God of Jacob” [23:1b]); and (b) he became a special singer among God’s people (“the sweet psalmist of Israel” [23:1c]). In his last words, David thus first highlights his ministry of music among God’s people as a chosen agent of God.

As God’s people, we must esteem highly those whom God chooses to be His special ministers of music to us. Moreover, those of us whom God calls to be such ministers must highlight that calling in our minds throughout our lives.

Second, David makes known that he was an agent of God through whom the Spirit of God spoke verbally to communicate vital truths pertaining to a second key aspect of his being God’s anointed one:

The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God (23:2-3).

In this teaching, David underscores the importance of the just character that he had to have in his role as God’s chosen ruler over His people and of the necessity for him to fear God as he rules.

These words instruct and challenge us that we must emphasize justness in the exercise of any and all authority that God entrusts us with among His people. We will only be such authorities by our fearing God properly.

Third, he speaks strikingly of the immense value of a just ruler who fears God:

And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain (23:4).

MacArthur helpfully explains verses 3-4:

These words begin the record of direct speech from God, whose ideal king must exercise His authority with justice, in complete submission to divine sovereignty. Such a king is like the helpful rays of sun at dawn and the life-giving showers which nourish the earth. This ideal king was identified in the OT as the coming Messiah (cf. Is. 9:6, 7).—The MacArthur Study Bible [MSB], 462

Our dark world desperately needs governmental authorities who are just and exercise their authority in the fear of God. In our political perspectives and activities, we must maintain foremost that the righteous character of leaders, and not their economic success, prowess, and policies, is the chief indispensable qualification that they must have in order to be fit to be put in governmental authority over us.

Fourth, David communicates his trust in the special covenant that God had made with him:

Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow (23:5).

From this teaching, we learn that we should put all our hope throughout our days until the end in the covenants that God has made with us. Our only hope of ultimate salvation is the surety of God’s faithfulness to keep His word to us with whom He has entered into a special covenantal relationship.

Fifth and perhaps most strikingly considering that these words are “David’s final literary legacy to Israel” (MSB, 462), he concludes his final testimony with teaching about the fearful fate of wicked men:

But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands: But the man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear; and they shall be utterly burned with fire in the same place (23:6-7).

He thus had in mind this solemn reality and testified of it to others. Moreover, he did so as a Spirit-inspired special agent of God’s revelation.

David’s ending his last words with a statement about the fiery utter destruction of the wicked should challenge us to keep this reality as an important part of our lifelong consciousness of the world in which we live. What’s more, we need to remind ourselves continually that testifying to this truth is a vital obligation that we have throughout our lifetimes as witnesses for God.

In Interpretation

The Remarkable Ending of Psalm 104

August 15, 2012

In Psalm 104, the Psalmist exults in the glories of God for the first 34 of the 35 verses in the psalm:

¹ Bless the LORD, O my soul.

O LORD my God, thou art very great;
thou art clothed with honour and majesty.

² Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment:

who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:

³ Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters:
who maketh the clouds his chariot:
who walketh upon the wings of the wind:

⁴ Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:

⁵ Who laid the foundations of the earth,
that it should not be removed for ever.

⁶ Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment:
the waters stood above the mountains.

⁷ At thy rebuke they fled;
at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.
⁸ They go up by the mountains;
they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.

⁹ Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over;
that they turn not again to cover the earth.

¹⁰ He sendeth the springs into the valleys,
which run among the hills.
¹¹ They give drink to every beast of the field:
the wild asses quench their thirst.

¹² By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation,
which sing among the branches.

¹³ He watereth the hills from his chambers:
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.

¹⁴ He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle,
and herb for the service of man:
that he may bring forth food out of the earth;
¹⁵ And wine that maketh glad the heart of man,
and oil to make his face to shine,
and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart.

¹⁶ The trees of the LORD are full of sap;
the cedars of Lebanon,
which he hath planted;
¹⁷ Where the birds make their nests:
as for the stork,
the fir trees are her house.
¹⁸ The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats;
and the rocks for the conies.

¹⁹ He appointed the moon for seasons:
the sun knoweth his going down.
²⁰ Thou makest darkness,
and it is night:

wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.
²¹ The young lions roar after their prey,
and seek their meat from God.
²² The sun ariseth,
they gather themselves together,
and lay them down in their dens.

²³ Man goeth forth unto his work
and to his labour until the evening.

²⁴ O LORD, how manifold are thy works!
in wisdom hast thou made them all:
the earth is full of thy riches.

²⁵ So is this great and wide sea,
wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.
²⁶ There go the ships:
there is that leviathan,
whom thou hast made to play therein.

²⁷ These wait all upon thee;
that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.
²⁸ That thou givest them they gather:
thou openest thine hand,
they are filled with good.

²⁹ Thou hidest thy face,

they are troubled:
thou takest away their breath,
they die,
and return to their dust.

³⁰ Thou sendest forth thy spirit,
they are created:
and thou renewest the face of the earth.

³¹ The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever:
the LORD shall rejoice in his works.

³² He looketh on the earth,
and it trembleth:
he toucheth the hills,
and they smoke.

³³ I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live:
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

³⁴ My meditation of him shall be sweet:
I will be glad in the LORD.

He concludes the psalm by exhorting himself to bless the Lord and then praising the Lord:

Bless thou the LORD, O my soul.
Praise ye the LORD (35c-d).

He thus begins and ends the psalm by exhorting himself in the same way (to bless the Lord).

In the first half of his concluding statement, however, the psalmist expresses his longing for something that at first glance seems remarkably contrary to the tenor of virtually everything else in the Psalm:

Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth,
and let the wicked be no more (35a-b).

What are we to make of these remarkable statements in the ending of the psalm? How do we explain that this one who was so taken with the greatness of God and His goodness to all His creation should end this glorious meditation about God with an intense longing for the annihilation of all the wicked from the earth?

Because these words are not just the words of the psalmist but also words inspired by the Holy Spirit, we are to learn from them that having such a longing and praying for God to do so is not inconsistent with having a heart that loves and glorifies God supremely; rather, it is only supreme love for God that elicits such sentiments from the heart of man.

Let’s allow God to renew our minds so that our longing and desire fully reflect His glory of being the One who destroys the wicked out of His earth so that unrepentant sinners are no more (cf. Ps. 119:119).

In Interpretation, Theology

Learning from the Salvation Experience of Rahab

August 11, 2012

Scripture includes Rahab among those whose faith God highlights for our profit: “By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace” (Heb. 11:31). The inspired account about Rahab and her dealings with the Israelites (Josh. 2:1-24; cf. 6:25) illustrates several aspects of how a sinner is saved.

First, her faith resulted from her hearing about what the Lord had done in delivering His people and in destroying others (through His chosen judicial agents, the Israelites):

⁹ And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. ¹⁰ For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.

Rahab was not saved by hearing a message only about the Lord as the One who saves those who are His; she heard a message that also informed her of the Lord as the One who judges those who are wicked. Every sinner should be given clear teaching that solemnly testifies to both truths (cf. Acts 10:42-43; 17:30-31).

Second, her faith included her believing that what the Lord and His chosen judicial agents (the Israelites) had done was righteous. This point is clear from her willingness to receive the Israelites in peace instead of informing the authorities of their presence and turning them over to them.

To be saved, a sinner must be persuaded that God has been and always will be just in everything He has done and will do. In particular, he must be prepared to acknowledge the righteousness of God in how He saves repentant sinners and destroys the unrepentant wicked.

Third, her faith evidenced her turning from whatever her former religious beliefs had been to believing in and confessing the Lord as the God of heaven and earth:

¹¹ And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.

Such acknowledgement of the uniqueness of the Lord as the only true God is essential for the forgiveness of one’s sins (Rom. 10:9-10).

Fourth, having publicly confessed who the Lord was, she asked for mercy from His judicial agents:

¹² Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token: ¹³ And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.

With the exception of those who cannot knowledgeably pray to Him, God grants mercy only to those who ask Him for it.

Fifth, they covenanted with her to grant her mercy in the future judgment that would come on the sinners among whom she lived—provided she continued to act in keeping with her initial proper acceptance of God’s message and of His agents:

¹⁴ And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.

¹⁵ Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall.

¹⁶ And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way.

¹⁷ And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear.

¹⁸ Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee.

¹⁹ And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him.

²⁰ And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear.

²¹ And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.

Her salvation experience thus included repentance and faith (cf. Acts 20:21), public confession of the Lord (cf. Rom. 10:9-10), a request for mercy from God (mediated through His judicial agents; cf. Acts 10:42-43; Rom. 10:13), and doing works fitting for saving repentance and faith (cf. Acts 2:38; 26:20).

These same elements will characterize the salvation experience of every sinner who repents toward God, believes in Jesus Christ, and manifests the genuineness of his salvation by persevering in the faith to the end. Those who do so will, like Rahab, not perish eternally with those who do not believe.

In Evangelism, Theology

Honor Christ by Honoring Your Pastor!

August 7, 2012

In God’s final revelation that is specifically directed to His churches (the book of Revelation), we learn at least four distinctive aspects about the pastor of a church in relation to Christ.

1. He is a special representative of Christ

John wrote “to the seven churches which are in Asia” (Rev. 1:4). He informed them that the glorified Christ declared to him: “The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches” (1:20).

This statement compared with Paul’s teaching many years prior that ministers are “the messengers of the churches, and the glory of Christ” (2 Cor. 8:23) reveals that because a pastor is one of the stars who are the glory of Christ, he must be one who furnishes people with a right opinion of the unique excellence of Christ. He is thus a special representative of Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 5:20-21).

2. He has a special relationship with Christ

In his description of the glorified Christ, John writes that “He had in His right hand seven stars” (1:16). He later reports that Christ Himself spoke of that same fact three times (1:20; 2:1; cf. 3:1).

Although every believer is in Christ’s hand (John 10:28), these four statements suggest that the pastor, the “angel” of a church, is in some special sense in Christ’s right hand. He, therefore, has a special relationship to Christ.

3. He has a special responsibility to Christ

The glorified Christ directed John to write letters to the pastors of seven literal churches in Asia Minor in the first century (Rev. 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14). In those letters, He confronts those pastors in pointed ways about their relationship to Him and their service to Him (e.g., “for my name’s sake hast labored” [2:3]). He demands faithfulness of them (e.g., 2:10, 25) and warns of dire consequences for them and their churches if they fail Him (e.g., 2:5, 16; 3:3).

4. He has a special reward from Christ

The glorified Christ speaks of a crown belonging to the pastor: “Behold I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown” (3:11; cf. 1 Cor. 3:5-17 and Peter’s instruction to elders: “When the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not way” [1 Pet. 5:4]). In view of this special reward, the pastor must persevere in his faithful service to Christ.

Because of these special characteristics of pastors in relation to Christ, we need to continually be mindful that we honor Christ by honoring these who are His special servants whom He has graciously gifted us with (Eph. 4:11ff.). Let us, therefore, diligently honor Christ by honoring our pastors!

In Exhortation, Theology

Let’s Profit Fully from Jesus’ Remarkable Dealings with This Very Needy Woman!

August 3, 2012

All the Synoptics record how a woman with an incurable hemorrhage received miraculous healing through her “impersonal” touching of Jesus (Matt. 9; Mk. 5; Luke 8). Jesus’ subsequent remarkable dealings with this very needy woman pertain vitally to an aspect of Christian worship in churches today that many more believers need to profit from fully:

²⁴ And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.

²⁵ And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, ²⁶ And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,

²⁷ When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. ²⁸ For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. ²⁹ And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.

³⁰ And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? ³¹ And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? ³² And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.

³³ But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. ³⁴ And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague (Mark 5).

In manifestation of her genuine but not well-developed faith in Jesus, this woman came from behind Him and furtively touched Him in order to be healed of her terrible affliction. Knowing immediately what had happened, Jesus acted in a forceful but gracious manner that compelled her to fall down before Him and acknowledge everything to Him “before all the people” (Luke 8:47).

Jesus thus did not allow her merely to receive her healing in an impersonal transaction that did not require public personal interaction with Him and public acknowledgement of her neediness and testimony to what He had done for her. Only when she had honored Jesus with a public confession of all the truth about what had happened did He give her assurance of her faith and instruction to leave in peace and wholeness.

Jesus’ dealings with this woman to bring about a fitting public response from her supports the proper use of “come forward” style invitations that exhort sinners to come forward and testify publicly if God has ministered graciously and specifically to them in an unmistakable manner to confront them with their sinfulness and minister to them to bring them to Himself.

A number of commentators expound about Jesus’ remarkable dealing with this very needy woman in ways that are consistent with this application:

There is nothing better for those that fear and tremble, than to throw themselves at the feet of the Lord Jesus, to humble themselves before Him, and refer themselves to Him. . . . We must not be ashamed to own the secret transactions between Christ and our souls; but, when called to it, mention, to His praise, and the encouragement of others, what he has done for our souls, and the experience we have had of healing virtue derived from Him. And the consideration of this, that nothing can be hid from Christ, should engage us to confess all to Him (Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1787; bold text is in italics in original).

Dumb [in the sense of not speaking] debtors to healing mercy, be rebuked by the narrative of the Lord’s procedure towards this healed woman. He suffered her not, as doubtless she would have preferred, to depart in silence, to pour out her secret thanksgivings, or at some private meeting to testify her love to Jesus. He would have her, in spite of her shrinking modesty, to come forward before all and declare what she had done and how she had sped. Thus, in her own way, was she a preacher of Christ. And such witness will He have from all His saved ones. “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (David Brown, JFB, 3:155; bold text is in italics in the original).

She desired secrecy, because an open appeal to Jesus for healing, involving a public disclosure of her condition, would be too embarrassing. . . . The whole ordeal naturally was embarrassing to her, but Jesus knew that it was necessary to give her the assurance that she needed. . . . He required her confession to perfect [her] faith and to give her its full reward” (D. Edmond Heibert, The Gospel of Mark: An Expostional Commentary, 142, 145).

It was not enough to believe in her heart: she must as well confess with her mouth (Rom. 10:9). In front of all the crowd, she must confess, first her great need of healing, and then, the glad fact of her salvation. That it was a costly confession, we can tell from the words in fear and trembling (33). For a woman to speak in public before an Asian crowd, and above all to speak of such personal matters, would be very humbling for her, but humility is an essential within the kingdom of God (R. Alan Cole, Mark in TNTC, 161-62; bold text is in italics in original).

It turns out that the healing does not come free. Jesus forces her to step out on faith and be identified. It will not bankrupt her as the physicians had done, but she must publicly acknowledge her debt to Jesus, that he is the source of her healing. When she does, he blesses her and announces that her faith has made her well (David E. Garland, Mark in NIVAC, 221).

She wants a cure, however, a something, whereas Jesus desires a personal encounter with someone. He is not content to dispatch a miracle; he wants to encounter a person (James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark in PNTC, 165; bold text is in italics in original).

God has inscripturated the accounts of Jesus’ remarkable dealings with this very needy woman for our profit that we might learn better how to honor Jesus in public worship settings. Let’s profit fully from them in this respect by employing and participating in “come forward” style invitations in a proper manner.

In Exhortation, Interpretation

On Guiding Couples in Saying Wedding Vows versus Guiding a Sinner in Praying “The Sinner’s Prayer”

July 30, 2012

As far as I can remember, almost every wedding that I have attended has included the couple’s saying wedding vows to one another. In the vast majority of cases, they were led in those vows by someone else who directed them to repeat the vows after him.

I do not recall anyone objecting to this practice, which has, as far as I can think at this time, little to no explicit biblical support. Yet, a seemingly increasing number of people today object to a minister’s leading sinners to pray “the sinner’s prayer” and cite the supposed lack of any biblical evidence for doing so as an important aspect of their justification for objecting to the practice.

As I have argued elsewhere, there is biblical data that in principle supports a gospel minister’s appropriately guiding someone in praying a sinner’s prayer. Those who object to the a minister’s doing so, therefore, would do well to examine their perspectives about both practices and determine if there is a lack of consistency in their thinking that warrants a reassessment of their perspectives about guiding a sinner in praying “the sinner’s prayer.”

In Evangelism

Evangelism Testimony 7.26.12

July 26, 2012

This week, I had a great opportunity with a friend to witness to a middle-aged Spanish man. When we first started to talk to this man, he said that he did not want to talk about religion. He said that he respects other religions, and that he was a Catholic, and that he did not want to argue about religion.

I thought this witness was not going to go anywhere after hearing him say these things to us. My partner and I kept talking with him, however, and he opened up to us and shared much about his life.

Hearing how God had spared him on one occasion from being shot point-blank in the head by a rifle, I challenged him that God in His goodness had spared His life for a reason. As we continued to talk, he became friendlier and more open.

I asked him if he knew where he would go when he would die and shared with him a Spanish tract that has that question as it title. I even tried witnessing some to him in Spanish. Even the few points at which I was able to share something with him in Spanish seemed to help reach him, which was an encouragement to me in multiple ways.

A turning point came when I asked him if he had ever sinned. He replied that he had not. I was surprised to hear him answer that way, so I asked him if he had ever lied. He said that he had not.

Undeterred, I then asked him if he had ever looked inappropriately at a woman whom he was not married to and engaged in unrighteous thoughts in relation to her. God used that query to set him back, but he still tried to avoid acknowledging fully his sinfulness.

As our conversation continued, I challenged him about what happened on the Cross and testified to him about the Resurrection. I warned him that he would one day stand before Jesus, the God-appointed Judge, and give an account to Him for his sins.

We spent nearly our entire visitation time witnessing to this one man. We left with him assuring us that he would read the tracts that we gave him.

What started out seeming to be a very unpromising contact turned out to be an excellent witnessing opportunity! Please pray that this man will yet be saved.

I praise God for giving us another opportunity to share His glorious truth at length with another needy person!

In Evangelism, Testimony

Praying to God is Necessary for Obtaining Salvation through the Forgiveness of One’s Sins

July 24, 2012

It is very disturbing to read recently the statements that some Christians are making that either directly assert or clearly imply that praying to God is not necessary for salvation. According to these believers, people only need to repent and believe to be saved—they do not have to pray.

In order to be saved, a person must have his sins forgiven, and many passages in Scripture make clear either explicitly or implicitly that praying to God is necessary for obtaining forgiveness of sins:

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land (2 Chron. 7:14).
I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah (Ps. 32:5).
For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee (Ps. 86:5).
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy (Prov. 28:13).
So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? (Jon. 3:5-9)
And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted (Luke 18:13-14).
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise (Luke 23:42-43).
Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee (Acts 8:22).
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. . . . For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Rom. 10:9-10; 13).
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

With the exception of babies, small children, and some others who lack the mental capacity to pray knowledgeably to God, praying to Him (either silently or aloud) is clearly necessary for the forgiveness of sins. Scripture does not support teaching that asserts that a person can be saved without praying to God.

Furthermore, a wrong handling of various salvation accounts in Scripture has resulted in the erroneous view that people are saved by repenting and believing without praying. The lack of explicit mention of a sinner’s praying to God in a condensed summary of how that person was saved is not evidence that they were saved without praying (see my post Learning Interpretation from an Examination of Jonah 3 for an example of an account that lacks such explicit mention but still makes clear that the people did pray to God).

Moreover, an unwillingness to pray to God for forgiveness shows a lack of genuine repentance (Acts 8:20-24; see my post Forgiveness of Sin through a Directive Both to Repent and to Pray for a detailed explanation of this point). A genuine belief in God includes “crying mightily unto God” (Jon. 3:5-9 [see Learning Interpretation from an Examination of Jonah 3]; Rom. 10:9-10; 13).

Saving repentance and faith includes praying to God for the forgiveness of one’s sins. Praying to Him is necessary for obtaining salvation through the forgiveness of one’s sins.

In Evangelism, Prayer, Theology

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