THE SEEKER OF THE RIGHT: 2005

Friday, October 21, 2005

WEBSITE

I don't know what's going on with Blogger but my blog doesn't seem to open properly. I just wanted to put a link to my webpage here. Here:

http://www.freewebs.com/seeker_of_the_right/

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

THE TRILEMMA LORD, LIAR OR LUNATIC?

(From Josh McDowell's book: A Ready Defense)
http://www.greatcom.org/resources/areadydefense/default.htm

Jesus' distinct claims of being God eliminate the popular ploy of skeptics Who regard Him as just a good moral man or a prophet who said a lot Of profound things. So often that conclusion is passed off as the only one acceptable to scholars or as the obvious result of the intellectual process. The trouble is, many people nod their heads in agreement and never see the fallacy of such reasoning.

C. S. Lewis, who was a professor at Cambridge University and once an agnostic, understood this issue clearly. He writes:

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God." That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic ‑on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg‑ or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the son of God: or else a madman or something worse.

Then Lewis adds:

You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.

In the words of Kenneth Scott Latourette, historian of Christianity at Yale University: "It is not His teachings which make Jesus so remarkable, although these would be enough to give Him distinction. It is a combination of the teachings with the man Himself. The two cannot be separated."

Jesus claimed to be God. He didn't leave any other option open. His claim must be either true or false, so it is something that should be given serious consideration. Jesus' question to His disciples, "But who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:15) has several alternatives.

First, suppose that His claim to be God was false. If it was false, then we have only two alternatives. He either knew it was false or He didn't know it was false. We will consider each one separately and examine the evidence.

>> Was He a Liar?

If, when Jesus made His claims, He knew that He was not God, then He was lying and deliberately deceiving His followers. But if He was a liar, then He was also a hypocrite because He told others to be honest, whatever the cost, while He himself taught and lived a colossal lie. More than that, He was a demon, because He told others to trust Him for their eternal destiny. If He couldn't back up His claims and knew it, then He was unspeakably evil. Last, He would also be a fool because it was His claims to being God that led to His crucifixion.

Many will say that Jesus was a good moral teacher. Let's be realistic. How could He be a great moral teacher and knowingly mislead people at the most important point of His teaching ‑His own identity?

You would have to conclude logically that He was a deliberate liar. This view of Jesus, however doesn't coincide with what we know either of Him or the results of His life and teachings. Wherever Jesus has been proclaimed, lives have been changed for the good, nations have changed for the better, thieves are made honest, alcoholics are cured, hateful individuals become channels of love, unjust persons become just.

William Lecky, one of Great Britain's most noted historians and a dedicated opponent of organized Christianity, writes:

It was reserved for Christianity to present to the world an ideal character which through all the changes of eighteen centuries has inspired the hearts of men with an impassioned love; has shown itself capable of acting on all ages, nations, temperaments and conditions; has been not only the highest pattern of virtue, but the strongest incentive to its practice.... The simple record of these three short years of active life has done more to regenerate and soften mankind than all the disquisitions of philosophers and all the exhortations of moralists.

Historian Philip Schaff says:

How, in the name of logic, common sense, and experience, could an imposter‑that is a deceitful, selfish, depraved man‑have invented, and consistently maintained from the beginning to end, the purest and noblest character known in history with the most perfect air of truth and reality? How could He have conceived and successfully carried out a plan of unparalleled beneficence, moral magnitude, and sublimity, and sacrificed His own life for it, in the face of the strongest prejudices of His people and age? 70/9495

If Jesus wanted to get people to follow Him and believe in Him as God, why did He go to the Jewish nation? Why go as a Nazarene carpenter to a country so small in size and population and so thoroughly adhering the undivided unity of God? Why didn't He go to Egypt or, even more, to Greece, where they believed in various gods and various manifestations of them?

Someone who lived as Jesus lived, taught as Jesus taught, and died as Jesus died could not have been a liar. What other alternatives are there?

>> Was He a Lunatic?

If it is inconceivable for Jesus to be a liar, then couldn't He actually have thought Himself to be God, but been mistaken? After all, it's possible to be both sincere and wrong. But we must remember that for someone to think himself God, especially in a fiercely monotheistic culture, and then to tell others that their eternal destiny depended on believing in him, is no light flight of fantasy but the thoughts of a lunatic in the fullest sense. Was Jesus Christ such a person?

Someone who believes he is God sounds like someone today believing himself Napoleon. He would be deluded and self‑deceived, and probably he would be locked up so he wouldn't hurt himself or anyone else. Yet in Jesus we don't observe the abnormalities and imbalance that usually go along with being deranged. His poise and composure would certainly be amazing if He were insane.

Noyes and Kolb, in a medical text, describe the schizophrenic as a person who is more autistic than realistic. The schizophrenic desires to escape from the world of reality. Let's face it; claiming to be God would certainly be a retreat from reality.

In light of the other things we know about Jesus, it's hard to imagine that He was mentally disturbed. Here is a man who spoke some of the most profound sayings ever recorded. His instructions have liberated many individuals from mental bondage.

Clark H. Pinnock asks:

Was He deluded about His greatness, a paranoid, an unintentional deceiver, a schizophrenic? Again, the skill and depth of His teachings support the case only for His total mental soundness. If only we were as sane as He!

A student at a California university told me that his psychology professor had said in class that "all he has to do is pick up the Bible and read portions of Christ's teaching to many of his patients. That's all the counseling they need."

Psychiatrist J. T. Fisher states:

If you were to take the sum total of all authoritative articles ever written by the most qualified of psychologists and psychiatrists on the subject of mental hygiene ‑if you were to combine them and refine them, and cleave out the excess verbiage ‑ if you were to take the whole of the meat and none of the parsley, and if you were to have these unadulterated bits of pure scientific knowledge concisely expressed by the most capable of living poets, you would have an awkward and incomplete summation of the Sermon on the Mount. And it would suffer immeasurably through comparison. For nearly two thousand years the Christian world has been holding in its hands the complete answer to its restless and fruitless yearnings. Here ... rests the blueprint for successful human life with optimism, mental health, and contentment.

C. S. Lewis writes:

The historical difficulty of giving for the life, sayings and influence of Jesus any explanation that is not harder than the Christian explanation is very great. The discrepancy between the depth and sanity ... of His moral teaching and the rampant megalomania which must lie behind His theological teaching unless He is indeed God has never been satisfactorily explained. Hence the non‑Christian hypotheses succeed one another with the restless fertility of bewilderment.

Philip Schaff reasons:

Is such an intellect ‑clear as the sky, bracing as the mountain air, sharp and penetrating as a sword, thoroughly healthy and vigorous, always ready and always self‑possessed ‑liable to a radical and most serious delusion concerning His own character and mission? Preposterous imagination!

>> Was He Lord?

I cannot personally conclude that Jesus was a liar or a lunatic. The only other alternative is that He was the Christ, the Son of God, as He claimed.

When I discuss this with most Jewish people, it's interesting how they respond. They usually tell me that Jesus was a moral, upright, religious leader, a good man, or some kind of prophet. I then share with them the claims Jesus made about Himself and then the material in this chapter on the trilemma (liar, lunatic, or Lord). When I ask if they believe Jesus was a liar, there is a sharp "No!"

Then I ask, "Do you believe He was a lunatic?"

The reply is, "Of course not."

"Do you believe He is God?"

Before I can get a breath in edgewise, there is a resounding, "Absolutely not."

Yet one has only so many choices.
The issue with these three alternatives is not which is possible, for it is obvious that all three are possible. Rather, the question is, "Which is more probable?" Who you decide Jesus Christ is must not be an idle intellectual exercise. You cannot put Him on the shelf as a great moral teacher. That is not a valid option. He is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord and God. You must make a choice. "But," as the apostle John wrote, "these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and" ‑more important‑ "that believing you might have life in His name" (John 20:31).

The evidence is clearly in favor of Jesus as Lord. Some people, however, reject this clear evidence because of moral implications involved. They don't want to face up to the responsibility or implications of calling Him Lord.

FREE BIBLES & NEW TESTAMENTS

FREE BIBLES (International):

http://www.jesuswillcome.com/modules.php?name=free_bible

http://www.bible4free.com/index.asp

http://www.thegodofisrael.org/

http://www.survivalforum.com/modules.php?name=Bible_Request

http://www.lesea.com/index.cfm/fa/spreadTheWord

http://www.justbibles.org/freebible.htm
http://www.geocities.com/woodierow/freebible.html

http://www.powerofgospel.org/freegift.asp

http://www.wordoflifechurch.info/free-bibles/

http://website.lineone.net/~datchetchapel/FreeBible.htm

http://www.gofreebibles.com/

freebible_ministries@hotmail.com

FREE BIBLES (United States Only):

http://www.soulwinners.com/main.cfm?ID=13

http://usa-bibles.com/?id=6764

http://www.mission2america.org/

http://www.good-news-for-you.org/LBC/missions/freebibles.html

http://www.victorynetwork.org/FreeBibles.html

http://www.angelfire.com/me/NCM98/bible.html

http://freebible.basedonthebible.com/request.html

FREE NEW TESTAMENT (International):

http://www.answers2prayer.org/bible_request.html

http://www.jesusfreak.com/needabible.asp

FREE NEW TESTAMENT (United States only):

http://www.freenewtestament.com/order_php.html

http://www.biblesforamerica.org/products/RequestRcV.aspx

http://www.harvest.org/knowgod/index.php/25.html

http://freebibleministry.com/

The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. (Isaiah 12:5)

PREAMBLE

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is news, good news: the best and most important news that any human being ever hears.

This Gospel declares the only way to know God in peace, love, and joy is through the reconciling death of Jesus Christ the risen Lord.

This Gospel is the central message of the Holy Scriptures, and is the true key to understanding them.
This Gospel identifies Jesus Christ, the Messiah of Israel, as the Son of God and God the Son, the second Person of the Holy Trinity, whose incarnation, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension fulfilled the Father’s saving will. His death for sins and his resurrection from the dead were promised beforehand by the prophets and attested by eyewitnesses. In God’s own time and in God’s own way, Jesus Christ shall return as glorious Lord and Judge of all (1 Thess. 4:13-18; Mt. 25:31,32). He is now giving the Holy Spirit from the Father to all those who are truly his. The three Persons of the Trinity thus combine in the work of saving sinners.

This Gospel sets forth Jesus Christ as the living Savior, Master, Life, and Hope of all who put their trust in him. It tells us that the eternal destiny of all people depends on whether they are savingly related to Jesus Christ.

This Gospel is the only Gospel: there is no other; and to change its substance is to pervert and indeed destroy it.

This Gospel is so simple that small children can understand it, and it is so profound that studies by the wisest theologians will never exhaust its riches.

All Christians are called to unity in love and unity in truth. As Evangelicals who derive our very name from the Gospel, we celebrate this great good news of God’s saving work in Jesus Christ as the true bond of Christian unity, whether among organized churches and denominations or in the many trans-denominational cooperative enterprises of Christians together.

The Bible declares that all who truly trust in Christ and his Gospel are sons and daughters of God through grace, and hence are our brothers and sisters in Christ.

All who are justified experience reconciliation with the Father, full remission of sins, transition from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, the reality of being a new creature in Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. They enjoy access to the Father with all the peace and joy that this brings.

The Gospel requires of all believers worship, which means constant praise and giving of thanks to God, submission to all that he has revealed in his written word, prayerful dependence on him, and vigilance lest his truth be even inadvertently compromised or obscured.

To share the joy and hope of this Gospel is a supreme privilege. It is also an abiding obligation, for the "Great Commission" of Jesus Christ still stands: proclaim the Gospel everywhere, he said, teaching, baptizing, and making disciples.

By embracing the following declaration we affirm our commitment to this task, and with it our allegiance to Christ himself, to the Gospel itself, and to each other as fellow Evangelical believers.

THE GOSPEL

This Gospel of Jesus Christ which God sets forth in the infallible Scriptures combines Jesus’ own declaration of the present reality of the Kingdom of God with the apostles’ account of the person, place, and work of Christ, and how sinful humans benefit from it. The Patristic Rule of Faith, the historic Creeds, the Reformation confessions, and the doctrinal bases of later Evangelical bodies, all witness to the substance of this biblical message.

The heart of the Gospel is that our holy, loving Creator, confronted with human hostility and rebellion, has chosen in his own freedom and faithfulness to become our holy, loving Redeemer and Restorer. The Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world (1 John 4:14): it is through his one and only Son that God’s one and only plan of salvation is implemented. So Peter announced: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). And Christ himself taught: "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).

Through the Gospel we learn that we human beings, who were made for fellowship with God, are by nature – that is, "in Adam" (1 Cor. 15:22) – dead in sin, unresponsive to and separated from our Maker. We are constantly twisting his truth, breaking his law, belittling his goals and standards, and offending his holiness by our unholiness, so that we truly are "without hope and without God in the world" (Rom. 1:18-32, 3:9-20; Eph. 2:1-3, 12). Yet God in grace took the initiative to reconcile us to himself through the sinless life and vicarious death of his beloved Son (Eph. 2:4-10; Rom. 3:21-24).
The Father sent the Son to free us from the dominion of sin and Satan, and to make us God’s children and friends. Jesus paid our penalty in our place on his cross, satisfying the retributive demands of divine justice by shedding his blood in sacrifice and so making possible justification for all who trust in him (Rom. 3:25-26). The Bible describes this mighty substitutionary transaction as the achieving of ransom, reconciliation, redemption, propitiation, and conquest of evil powers (Mt. 20:28; 2 Cor. 5:18-21; Rom. 3:23-25; John 12:31; Col. 2:15). It secures for us a restored relationship with God that brings pardon and peace, acceptance and access, and adoption into God’s family (Col. 1:20, 2:13-14; Rom. 5:1-2; Gal. 4:4-7; 1 Pet. 3:18). The faith in God and in Christ to which the Gospel calls us is a trustful outgoing of our hearts to lay hold of these promised and proffered benefits.

This Gospel further proclaims the bodily resurrection, ascension, and enthronement of Jesus as evidence of the efficacy of his once-for-all sacrifice for us, of the reality of his present personal ministry to us, and of the certainty of his future return to glorify us (1 Cor.15; Heb. 1:1-4, 2:1-18, 4:14-16, 7:1-10:25). In the life of faith as the Gospel presents it, believers are united with their risen Lord, communing with him, and looking to him in repentance and hope for empowering through the Holy Spirit, so that henceforth they may not sin but serve him truly.

God’s justification of those who trust him, according to the Gospel, is a decisive transition, here and now, from a state of condemnation and wrath because of their sins to one of acceptance and favor by virtue of Jesus’ flawless obedience culminating in his voluntary sin-bearing death. God "justifies the wicked" (ungodly: Rom. 4:5) by imputing (reckoning, crediting, counting, accounting) righteousness to them and ceasing to count their sins against them (Rom. 4:1-8). Sinners receive through faith in Christ alone "the gift of righteousness" (Rom. 1:17, 5:17; Phil. 3:9) and thus become "the righteousness of God" in him who was "made sin" for them (2 Cor. 5:21).

As our sins were reckoned to Christ, so Christ’s righteousness is reckoned to us. This is justification by the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. All we bring to the transaction is our need of it. Our faith in the God who bestows it, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is itself the fruit of God’s grace. Faith links us savingly to Jesus, but inasmuch as it involves an acknowledgment that we have no merit of our own, it is confessedly not a meritorious work.

The Gospel assures us that all who have entrusted their lives to Jesus Christ are born-again children of God (John 1:12), indwelt, empowered, and assured of their status and hope by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 7:6, 8:9-17). The moment we truly believe in Christ, the Father declares us righteous in him and begins conforming us to his likeness. Genuine faith acknowledges and depends upon Jesus as Lord and shows itself in growing obedience to the divine commands, though this contributes nothing to the ground of our justification (James 2:14-26; Heb. 6:1-12).

By his sanctifying grace Christ works within us through faith, renewing our fallen nature and leading us to real maturity – that measure of development which is meant by "the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13). The Gospel calls us to live as obedient servants of Christ and as his emissaries in the world, doing justice, loving mercy, and helping all in need, thus seeking to bear witness to the Kingdom of Christ. At death Christ takes the believer to himself (Phil. 1:21) for unimaginable joy in the ceaseless worship of God (Rev. 22:1-5).

Salvation in its full sense is from the guilt of sin in the past, the power of sin in the present, and the presence of sin in the future. Thus, while in foretaste believers enjoy salvation now, they still await its fullness (Mark 14: 61-62; Heb. 9:28). Salvation is a trinitarian reality, initiated by the Father, implemented by the Son, and applied by the Holy Spirit. It has a global dimension, for God’s plan is to save believers out of every tribe and tongue (Rev. 5:9) to be his Church, a new humanity, the people of God, the Body and Bride of Christ, and the community of the Holy Spirit. All the heirs of final salvation are called here and now to serve their Lord and each other in love, to share in the fellowship of Jesus’ sufferings, and to work together to make Christ known to the whole world.

We learn from the Gospel that as all have sinned, so all who do not receive Christ will be judged according to their just deserts as measured by God’s holy law, and face eternal retributive punishment.

UNITY IN THE GOSPEL

Christians are commanded to love each other despite differences of race, gender, privilege, and social, political, and economic background (John 13:34-35; Gal. 3:28-29), and to be of one mind wherever possible (John 17:20-21; Phil. 2:2; Rom. 14:1-15:13). We know that divisions among Christians hinder our witness in the world, and we desire greater mutual understanding and truth-speaking in love. We know too that as trustees of God’s revealed truth we cannot embrace any form of doctrinal indifferentism, or relativism, or pluralism by which God’s truth is sacrificed for a false peace.

Doctrinal disagreements call for debate. Dialogue for mutual understanding and, if possible, narrowing of the differences is valuable, doubly so when the avowed goal is unity in primary things, with liberty in secondary things, and charity in all things.

In the foregoing paragraphs an attempt has been made to state what is primary and essential in the Gospel as Evangelicals understand it. Useful dialogue, however, requires not only charity in our attitudes, but also clarity in our utterances. Our extended analysis of justification by faith alone through Christ alone reflects our belief that Gospel truth is of crucial importance and is not always well understood and correctly affirmed. For added clarity, out of love for God’s truth and Christ’s Church, we now cast the key points of what has been said into specific affirmations and denials regarding the Gospel and our unity in it and in Christ.

Affirmations & Denials:

1. We affirm that the Gospel entrusted to the Church is, in the first instance, God’s Gospel (Mark 1:14; Rom. 1:1). God is its author and he reveals it to us in and by his Word. Its authority and truth rest on him alone.

We deny that the truth or authority of the Gospel derives from any human insight or invention (Gal. 1:1-11). We also deny that the truth or authority of the Gospel rests on the authority of any particular church or human institution.

2. We affirm that the Gospel is the saving power of God in that the Gospel effects salvation to everyone who believes, without distinction (Rom. 1:16). This efficacy of the Gospel is by the power of God himself (1 Cor. 1:18).

We deny that the power of the Gospel rests in the eloquence of the preacher, the technique of the evangelist, or the persuasion of rational argument (1 Cor. 1:21; 2:1-5).

3. We affirm that the Gospel diagnoses the universal human condition as one of sinful rebellion against God, which if unchanged will lead each person to eternal loss under God’s condemnation.

We deny any rejection of the fallenness of human nature or any assertion of the natural goodness, or divinity, of the human race.

4. We affirm that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation, the only mediator between God and humanity (John 14:6; 1 Tim. 2:5).

We deny that anyone is saved in any other way than by Jesus Christ and his Gospel. The Bible offers no hope that sincere worshippers of other religions will be saved without personal faith in Jesus Christ.

5. We affirm that the Church is commanded by God and is therefore under divine obligation to preach the Gospel to every living person (Luke 24:47; Mt. 28:18-19).

We deny that any particular class or group of persons, whatever their ethnic or cultural identity, may be ignored or passed over in the preaching of the Gospel (1 Cor. 9:19-22). God purposes a global Church made up from people of every tribe, language and nation (Rev. 7:9).

6. We affirm that faith in Jesus Christ as the divine Word (or Logos, John 1:1), the second Person of the Trinity, co-eternal and co-essential with the Father and the Holy Spirit (Heb. 1:3), is foundational to faith in the Gospel.

We deny that any view of Jesus Christ which reduces or rejects his full deity is Gospel faith or will avail to salvation.

7. We affirm that Jesus Christ is God incarnate (John 1:14). The virgin-born descendant of David (Rom. 1:3), he had a true human nature, was subject to the Law of God (Gal. 4:5), and was like us at all points, except without sin (Heb. 2:17, 7:26-28). We affirm that faith in the true humanity of Christ is essential to faith in the Gospel.

We deny that anyone who rejects the humanity of Christ, his incarnation, or his sinlessness, or who maintains that these truths are not essential to the Gospel, will be saved (1 John 4:2-3).

8. We affirm that the atonement of Christ by which, in his obedience, he offered a perfect sacrifice, propitiating the Father by paying for our sins and satisfying divine justice on our behalf according to God’s eternal plan, is an essential element of the Gospel.

We deny that any view of the atonement that rejects the substitutionary satisfaction of divine justice, accomplished vicariously for believers, is compatible with the teaching of the Gospel.

9. We affirm that Christ’s saving work included both his life and his death on our behalf (Gal. 3:13). We declare that faith in the perfect obedience of Christ by which he fulfilled all the demands of the Law of God in our behalf is essential to the Gospel.

We deny that our salvation was achieved merely or exclusively by the death of Christ without reference to his life of perfect righteousness.

10. We affirm that the bodily resurrection of Christ from the dead is essential to the biblical Gospel (1 Cor. 15:14).

We deny the validity of any so-called gospel that denies the historical reality of the bodily resurrection of Christ.

11. We affirm that the biblical doctrine of justification by faith alone in Christ alone is essential to the Gospel (Rom. 3:28; 4:5; Gal. 2:16).

We deny that any person can believe the biblical Gospel and at the same time reject the apostolic teaching of justification by faith alone in Christ alone. We also deny that there is more than one true Gospel (Gal. 1:6-9).

12. We affirm that the doctrine of the imputation (reckoning or counting) both of our sins to Christ and of his righteousness to us, whereby our sins are fully forgiven and we are fully accepted, is essential to the biblical Gospel (2 Cor. 5:19-21).

We deny that we are justified by the righteousness of Christ infused into us or by any righteousness that is thought to inhere within us.

13. We affirm that the righteousness of Christ by which we are justified is properly his own, which he achieved apart from us, in and by his perfect obedience. This righteousness is counted, reckoned, or imputed to us by the forensic (that is, legal) declaration of God, as the sole ground of our justification.

We deny that any works we perform at any stage of our existence add to the merit of Christ or earn for us any merit that contributes in any way to the ground of our justification (Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:8,9; Titus 3:5).

14. We affirm that while all believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and are in the process of being made holy and conformed to the image of Christ, those consequences of justification are not its ground. God declares us just, remits our sins, and adopts us as his children, by his grace alone, and through faith alone, because of Christ alone, while we are still sinners (Rom. 4:5).

We deny that believers must be inherently righteous by virtue of their cooperation with God’s life-transforming grace before God will declare them justified in Christ. We are justified while we are still sinners.

15. We affirm that saving faith results in sanctification, the transformation of life in growing conformity to Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Sanctification means ongoing repentance, a life of turning from sin to serve Jesus Christ in grateful reliance on him as one’s Lord and Master (Gal. 5:22-25; Rom. 8:4, 13-14).

We reject any view of justification which divorces it from our sanctifying union with Christ and our increasing conformity to his image through prayer, repentance, cross-bearing, and life in the Spirit.

16. We affirm that saving faith includes mental assent to the content of the Gospel, acknowledgment of our own sin and need, and personal trust and reliance upon Christ and his work.

We deny that saving faith includes only mental acceptance of the Gospel, and that justification is secured by a mere outward profession of faith. We further deny that any element of saving faith is a meritorious work or earns salvation for us.

17. We affirm that although true doctrine is vital for spiritual health and well-being, we are not saved by doctrine. Doctrine is necessary to inform us how we may be saved by Christ, but it is Christ who saves.

We deny that the doctrines of the Gospel can be rejected without harm. Denial of the Gospel brings spiritual ruin and exposes us to God’s judgment.

18. We affirm that Jesus Christ commands his followers to proclaim the Gospel to all living persons, evangelizing everyone everywhere, and discipling believers within the fellowship of the Church. A full and faithful witness to Christ includes the witness of personal testimony, godly living, and acts of mercy and charity to our neighbor, without which the preaching of the Gospel appears barren.

We deny that the witness of personal testimony, godly living, and acts of mercy and charity to our neighbors constitute evangelism apart from the proclamation of the Gospel.

OUR COMMITMENT

As Evangelicals united in the Gospel, we promise to watch over and care for one another, to pray for and forgive one another, and to reach out in love and truth to God’s people everywhere, for we are one family, one in the Holy Spirit, and one in Christ.

Centuries ago it was truly said that in things necessary there must be unity, in things less than necessary there must be liberty, and in all things there must be charity. We see all these Gospel truths as necessary.

Now to God, the Author of the truth and grace of this Gospel, through Jesus Christ, its subject and our Lord, be praise and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Monday, August 29, 2005

A few thoughts on the American Civil War

POSTED COMMENT:

the dixies fought for slavery. Christ freed us from it. that's why I found it ironic that the source of that beautiful prayer was from the side of the confederacy….

ANSWER:

On the American South

Actually, on one level, yes, they did fight to “keep slavery.” But on another level, they were fighting for certain principles:

1. The right of a state to govern itself apart from the interference of the federal government. This stems from the concept federalism, wherein the entry of a state into the union is voluntary, thus implying the “voluntary” right to secede. The state also has certain autonomous rights and can exercise a degree of self-governance. That was one of the issues resolved by the war.

2. The southern states also fought for their “way of life”. Many considered the culturally liberal (and industrial) North to be a threat to their culture, lifestyle and even religion. In everyday parlance, that's "the right to be left alone".

3. The rank-and-file soldiers of the Confederacy were ordinary draftees: farmers, small landowners etc. who believed that a loss for the South would enable the northerners to sequester their land, steal their property, rape their wives, etc. (To a certain extent, some of their fears were realized in the post-Civil War South)

On another level, the North, while propagandizing that they were fighting to “free the slaves”, did not officially make it a reason for the Civil War until the Emancipation Proclamation of Lincoln in 1863.

“During the early part of the war, Lincoln, to hold together his war coalition of Republicans and War Democrats, emphasized preservation of the Union as the sole Union objective of the war, but with the Emancipation Proclamation, announced in September 1862 and put into effect four months later, Lincoln adopted the abolition of slavery as a second mission. The Emancipation Proclamation declared all slaves held in territory then under Confederate control to be "then, thenceforth, and forever free", but did not affect slaves in areas under Union control.” (WIKIPEDIA)

The war was long underway then. What they fought for, among others, was for the principle of the unity of the United States, since allowing secession would set a bad precedent, affect the national economy, etc.

The decision to “free the slaves” was thought to result in several advantages for the North (I am not questioning Lincoln’s motives, though), such as:

Encourage resistance in the South by disrupting the support of the black slaves against their masters, hopefully leading to a 5th column revolution.

1. Give a “holy cause” to the war.

2. Encourage support from England (which was antislavery) and France (which was Republican).

3. Please the abolitionist political and military supporters of the Union.

Take note also of the following: the Whites of the Northern armies generally refused to allow Black volunteers to enlist in their companies, and eventually, all-Black companies were formed by some Union states (http://www.liunet.edu/cwis/cwp/library/aaffsfl.htm#CIVIL). Discrimination against Blacks in the U.S. uniformed service continued until the Korean War (1950s) were Blacks were kept in menial, support functions, rather than in frontline combat duty.

More on the Civil War:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Americans_in_the_Civil_War
http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/warweb.html (LOTS HERE!)

I was surprised myself, because I once thought in black-and-white, good-versus-evil paradigms when reading about the American Civil War, until I tried to probe for the deeper reasons behind the conflict.

Furthermore, Gen. Lee of the army of Virginia was a deeply religious man, and it is said that there were many religious revivals among the Southern soldiers. They fought for what they believed in, and many in their ranks sincerely thought that the Bible allowed slavery.

“Christ freed us from it.”

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery”. (Galatians 5:1, NIV)

Christ freed us from the slavery of sin in order for us to serve God as “slaves to righteousness” (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans%206:15-22;&version=31;) but this does not necessarily entail freedom from physical slavery. Note that during the New testament period, slavery was the norm, and yet the Bible never speaks of slaves being liberated from their physical masters. There was no physical emancipation here or a call to abolish slavery, only spiritual. Thus, the Biblical references to being “set free” pertains primarily to spiritual freedom: the freedom to obey Christ as one’s Lord after one has received Him as Savior. Can this be applied to physical freedom? Of course, but contextually and hermeneutically, this was not the original meaning.

“Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” 1 PETER 2:18-21

“Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.” EPHESIANS 6:5-9

There is also a letter written by Paul to Philemon, a Christian slave-owner about his runaway slave who became a Christian, Onesimus. It’s in the New Testament:
(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=PHILEMON%201;&version=31;)

Does that mean that the Bible approves of slavery?

No. But that’s a tricky question. Here is one good study on the issue:

http://www.rbc.org/ds/q1109/q1109.html

This is one kind of slavery that the Bible approves:
http://www.bible.org/page.asp?page_id=1614

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

FORTY OBJECTIONS TO CHRISTIANITY:
http://www.carm.org/objections.htm

RELATIVISM ANSWERED:
http://www.carm.org/relativism.htm

ATHEISM ANSWERED:
http://www.carm.org/atheism.htm

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

SOCIOLOGIST ANGST

There is a vast difference between a “student of sociology” and a “sociology student.”

The student of sociology is one who has committed himself or herself to the discipline of studying and understanding human behavior, particularly in the context of society. As such, a student of sociology recognizes the learning process to be continuous, and sees the manifold applications of the sociological imagination in understanding man. He or she is not quick to judge, but rather, is committed to analyzing and observing things within their respective contexts, striving to apply the scientific principles of sociological research with objectivity, verstehen and value-free examination. He or she seeks to bridge the realm of sociological theory and practical or applied sociology.

The sociology student is simply a student taking up subjects in Sociology, or is seeking a college degree in Sociology. He or she is a pitiable and mediocre creature – seeking only to pass, he or she barely understands sociology as at is. With little appreciation for both sociological theory and application, this person is at a loss of how to apply what he or she has learned in life and work.

_____

Sunday, July 31, 2005

PRAYER OF AN UNKNOWN CONFEDERATE SOLDIER

I asked God for strength that I might achieve;
I was made weak that I might learn to obey.

I asked for health that I might do great things;
I was given infirmity that I might do better things.

I asked for riches that I might be happy;
I was given poverty that I might be wise.

I asked for power that I might have the praise of men;
I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life;
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing that I had asked for,
but everything that I had hoped for.

Almost despite myself my unspoken prayers were answered;

I am, among all men, most richly blessed.

TRUST HIS HEART

All things work for our good
Though sometimes we can't see how they could

Troubles that break our hearts into two
Sometimes blind us to the truth

Our Father knows what's best for us
His ways are not our own

So when your pathway goes dim
And you just can't see Him

Remember you're not alone

God is too wise to be mistaken

God is too good to be unkind

So when you don't understand

When you don't see His plan

When you can't trace His hand

Trust His heart

He sees the master plan
He holds the future in His hand
Don't live as those who have no hope
All our hope is found in Him
We see the present clearly
He sees the first and the last
And like a tapestry
He's weaving you and me
To someday be just like Him

He alone is faithful and true
He alone knows what's best for you
He whose heart is kind beyond measure
Gives unto each day what he deems best
Lovingly, it's part of pain and pleasure
Mingling toil with peace and rest.
When you can't trace His hand

Trust His Heart

THE PRODIGAL SON COMES HOME...MY TESTIMONY

BEFORE CHRIST

I grew up in a Protestant family setting, and at the beginning, church attendance and Sunday School were somehow part of my life. We were not a religious family, so these, as well as family prayer, were not very much emphasized, and, eventually, even churchgoing ceased altogether. The only verse I memorized from childhood, John 3:16, was the closest thing to the gospel that I ever heard.

CONVERSION

In high school, a classmate of mine took time to share the gospel with me. I was told that we were all sinners (Romans 3:23) and are destined for judgment as payment for sin (Romans 6:23), but God loved me and sent Jesus Christ to die in my place. John 3:16 took on a completely different meaning: I understood what it REALLY meant this time, and it all “made sense”. I was told that I should have a personal relationship with Christ and that I should receive Christ by faith. Sometime in September 1989 (I believe it was September 16), I received Christ as Savior and Lord.

I began to attend a local church in Cubao and participated in a Bible study at school. Most of my “barkada” professed Christ, and so we met together for fellowship and study. In college (UP Diliman), I also became part of the ministry of the University Gospel Fellowship, a campus church composed mostly of student members. I was also involved in different Christian organizations in school, and participated in Bible studies, retreats and other activities.

BACKSLIDING

Around 1993, I drifted away from the Lord. I sought to “make my own mark” in the world, and "to be myself." I looked at people, and people disappointed me. My prayer life slowly deteriorated, as did my Bible reading.

I sought belonging, and I thought I would find it in a "brotherhood of men." As a result, I joined a fraternity in college. From that point, whatever semblance of my Christian life rapidly eroded. I smoked 1-2 packs a day, drank until I could barely stand, tried drugs, prostitutes, got involved in violent fights with other fraternities.

At first, I still sort of attended church, but eventually, around the mid-90S, I stopped that too. I became disillusioned with "Christianity" and sought to eradicate whatever marks it may have left in my life. I openly professed atheism and LaVeyan Satanism. I read heavily on the occult and practiced witchcraft. I distanced myself from God as overtly as possible, but there were times when alone, I would remember the Christian song “When God Ran” (based on the story of the Prodigal Son) and I would uncontrollably break down into tears.

The song begins with a description of God’s attributes, His greatness and omnipotence, and that the only time He ever ran …

“Was when He ran to me,

Took me in His arms,

Held my head to His chest,

Said, ‘My son's come home again’

Looked in my face

Wiped the tears from my eyes

With forgiveness in His voice

He said, ‘Son, Do you know I still love you?’

He caught me my surprise

When God ran”

It spoke of love, forgiveness and unconditional acceptance: in fact, all that I truly longed for in the world. At these times, my heart felt pricked, but most of the time, I felt so very far away: it was as if there was this emptiness in me and I desperately tried to fill it up with just about anything. I did not want to admit that I was wrong in my defiance, that I was mistaken to reject God.

I became an angry, bitter, and proud person. I kept up the facade that I was always "in control', even in the face of contrary facts. I lived a lie, claiming one thing but being another. I pretended that everything was "ok" and bragged about how intelligent I was. I openly boasted that I had no need for God, but deep inside, in my innermost being, I was miserable and inside, I felt empty. The thought of killing myself came often. To console myself, I preoccupied myself with the proverbial “wine, women and song.”

They say that what you are inside eventually comes out - it radiates. I found this true. I was, in the words of an officemate, a "perfect --shole", with a big chip on my shoulder: angry at the world, angry at the God I denied, angry at my family, and above all, angry at myself. I became a violent person. At the slightest provocation, I would not hesitate to lash out at others with tongue or fist - even against my closest friends and relatives.

My world was falling apart, and the things I held on to were eluding my grasp, did not escape me. People I trusted, people I considered my "brothers" failed and betrayed my trust. Still, I clung on, grasping at straws and shards of my so-called life, stubborn in my rebellion. I was a wreck, and I was too proud to admit what deep inside, I knew it.

THE ROAD BACK TO GOD

In 2003, while in Iligan, I met a childhood friend, and renewed our friendship. She became my girlfriend, and, in January 2004, she became my wife.

In April 2004, we moved to Manila and stayed there for a while, looking for employment, to no avail. My wife was eventually forced to go back to her job in Iligan. I stayed in Manila, still looking for a job, virtually penniless save for some cash from my mom and from some well-meaning fraternity brothers. I also attended a Bible study begun by some of our alumni fraternity brothers and I was quite surprised at the changes I saw in their lives.

At this time, I was also jobless and far from my wife. I was miserable and penniless, and in despair, I cried out to God. This was the beginning of my “homecoming”. I started to pray again and read my Bible. I slowly, and a bit inconsistently, started going to church again.

I finally found employment in the Cebu office of PhilHealth, and I reported for work in August 2004. My wife joined me 2 months later. While in Cebu, I tried to "clean up my act" but I kept my smoking habit. I did try to quit in July 2004, but only made it for 3 days. Even my wife gave up hoping that I would quit. I struggled long and hard, and was often disappointed by my dismal failure to quit. I made excuses for smoking, claiming that it "improved my temper, helped me relax, helped me think/work, removed the aftertaste of my food, etc...” The fact that my initial attempt to quit was a dismal failure rankled my mind.

THE MAN IN THE MIRROR

In December 2004, an officemate gave me a copy of “The Man In The Mirror” by Patrick Morley. The book challenged me to examine my life, since “an unexamined life is not worth living” (Plato). This confronted me about my Christianity that my life should be consistent with who I am and what I am in Christ.

I ran out of excuses. I saw that I was, again, starting to live another double-life. At this point, my main struggle was my dependency on nicotine. On the night of January 15, 2005, I made the decision to surrender this struggle to God. I admitted my inability to quit on my own strength, and asked Him to take away the craving. And praise God, He did! I haven’t smoked since then, a remarkable feat, considering that I’ve been smoking since 1993.

With this act, I surrendered my life to my Lord and recommitted myself to Him. I asked God to take control of my life, and to give me the strength to stand for Him, no matter what the consequences may be. I told him that I didn't want to run away again, or make any excuses before Him: I asked him to do what He would with my life. I told Him that I was tired of running away from His stubborn pursuit...

God has been faithful all throughout the years, yes, even in my lowest and worst points.

God, in my experience, is a garbage collector - He sifts through the refuse of human life...broken lives, ruined relationships, bodies wracked by drugs, AIDS, alcohol - no garbage pit is too dirty, too smelly, or to hopeless for Him - and He takes the broken pieces of our lives and repairs them. He is able to change lives - if we let Him. I know that personally: He changed me. He is still changing me. He is still in the business of transforming ruined, broken and seemingly hopeless lives from all walks of life. I have found my peace, my rest, my belonging and my acceptance where they’ve always been right from the start: In Christ alone.

Oh gaze of love so melt my pride

That I may in Your house but kneel

And in my brokenness to cry

Spring worship unto Thee.

...It isn't about what I could do, but what He has done.

It's not about my promises but about His promises.

It's not about what I see but what He knows.

It's all about HIM....

THE CRUCIFIXION OF THE CHRIST

A Physician Analyzes the CrucifixionA medical explanation of what Jesus endured on the day He died

Dr. C. Truman Davis

Several years ago I became interested in the physical aspects of the passion, or suffering, of Jesus Christ when I read an account of the crucifixion in Jim Bishop's book, The Day Christ Died. I suddenly realized that I had taken the crucifixion more or less for granted all these years - that I had grown callous to its horror by a too-easy familiarity with the grim details. It finally occurred to me that, as a physician, I did not even know the actual immediate cause of Christ's death. The gospel writers do not help much on this point. Since crucifixion and scourging were so common during their lifetimes, they undoubtedly considered a detailed description superfluous. For that reason we have only the concise words of the evangelists: "Pilate, having scourged Jesus, delivered Him to them to be crucified ... and they crucified Him."

Despite the gospel accounts' silence on the details of Christ's crucifixion, many have looked into this subject in the past. In my personal study of the event from a medical viewpoint, I am indebted especially to Dr. Pierre Barbet, a French surgeon who did exhaustive historical and experimental research and wrote extensively on the topic.

An attempt to examine the infinite psychic and spiritual suffering of the Incarnate1 God in atonement 2 for the sins of fallen man is beyond the scope of this article. However, the physiological and anatomical aspects of our Lord's passion we can examine in some detail. What did the body of Jesus of Nazareth actually endure during those hours of torture?

Gethsemane

The physical passion of Christ began in Gethsemane. Of the many aspects of His initial suffering, the one which is of particular physiological interest is the bloody sweat. Interestingly enough, the physician, St. Luke, is the only evangelist to mention this occurrence. He says, "And being in an agony, he prayed the longer. And his sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground" (Luke 22:44 KJV).

Every attempt imaginable has been used by modern scholars to explain away the phenomenon of bloody sweat, apparently under the mistaken impression that it simply does not occur. A great deal of effort could be saved by consulting the medical literature. Though very rare, the phenomenon of hematidrosis, or bloody sweat, is well documented. Under great emotional stress, tiny capillaries in the sweat glands can break, thus mixing blood with sweat. This process alone could have produced marked weakness and possible shock.

Although Jesus' betrayal and arrest are important portions of the passion story, the next event in the account which is significant from a medical perspective is His trial before the Sanhedrin and Caiaphas, the High Priest. Here the first physical trauma was inflicted. A soldier struck Jesus across the face for remaining silent when questioned by Caiaphas. The palace guards then blindfolded Him, mockingly taunted Him to identify them as each passed by, spat on Him, and struck Him in the face.

Before Pilate

In the early morning, battered and bruised, dehydrated, and worn out from a sleepless night, Jesus was taken across Jerusalem to the Praetorium of the Fortress Antonia, the seat of government of the Procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate. We are familiar with Pilate's action in attempting to shift responsibility to Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Judea. Jesus apparently suffered no physical mistreatment at the hands of Herod and was returned to Pilate. It was then, in response to the outcry of the mob, that Pilate ordered Barabbas released and condemned Jesus to scourging and crucifixion.

Preparations for Jesus' scourging were carried out at Caesar's orders. The prisoner was stripped of His clothing and His hands tied to a post above His head. The Roman legionnaire stepped forward with the flagrum, or flagellum, in his hand. This was a short whip consisting of several heavy, leather thongs with two small balls of lead attached near the ends of each. The heavy whip was brought down with full force again and again across Jesus' shoulders, back and legs. At first the weighted thongs cut through the skin only. Then, as the blows continued, they cut deeper into the subcutaneous tissues, producing first an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin and finally spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles.

The small balls of lead first produced large deep bruises that were broken open by subsequent blows. Finally, the skin of the back was hanging in long ribbons, and the entire area was an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. When it was determined by the centurion in charge that the prisoner was near death, the beating was finally stopped.

Mockery

The half-fainting Jesus was then untied and allowed to slump to the stone pavement, wet with his own blood. The Roman soldiers saw a great joke in this provincial Jew claiming to be a king. They threw a robe across His shoulders and placed a stick in His hand for a scepter. They still needed a crown to make their travesty complete. Small flexible branches covered with long thorns, commonly used for kindling fires in the charcoal braziers in the courtyard, were plaited in the shape of a crude crown. The crown was pressed into his scalp and again there was copious bleeding as the thorns pierced the very vascular tissue. After mocking Him and striking Him across the face, the soldiers took the stick from His hand and struck Him across the head, driving the thorns deeper in His scalp. Finally, they tired of their sadistic sport and tore the robe from His back. The robe had already become adherent to the clots of blood and serum in the wounds, and its removal, just as in the careless removal of a surgical bandage, caused excruciating pain. The wounds again began to bleed.

Golgotha

In deference to Jewish custom, the Romans apparently returned His garments. The heavy patibulum3 of the cross was tied across His shoulders. The procession of the condemned Christ, two thieves, and the execution detail of Roman soldiers headed by a centurion began its slow journey along the route which we know today as the Via Dolorosa.

In spite of Jesus' efforts to walk erect, the weight of the heavy wooden beam, together with the shock produced by copious loss of blood, was too much. He stumbled and fell. The rough wood of the beam gouged into the lacerated skin and muscles of the shoulders. He tried to rise, but human muscles had been pushed beyond their endurance. The centurion, anxious to proceed with the crucifixion, selected a stalwart North African onlooker, Simon of Cyrene, to carry the cross. Jesus followed, still bleeding and sweating the cold, clammy sweat of shock. The 650-yard journey from the Fortress Antonia to Golgotha was finally completed. The prisoner was again stripped of His clothing except for a loin cloth which was allowed the Jews.

The crucifixion began. Jesus was offered wine mixed with myrrh, a mild analgesic, pain-reliving mixture. He refused the drink. Simon was ordered to place the patibulum on the ground, and Jesus was quickly thrown backward, with His shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire felt for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drove a heavy, square wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly, he moved to the other side and repeated the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flexion and movement. The patibulum was then lifted into place at the top of the stipes, and the titulus reading "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" was nailed into place.

The left foot was pressed backward against the right foot. With both feet extended, toes down, a nail was driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees moderately flexed. The victim was now crucified.

On the Cross

As Jesus slowly sagged down with more weight on the nails in the wrist, excruciating, fiery pain shot along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain. The nails in the wrists were putting pressure on the median nerve, large nerve trunks which traverse the mid-wrist and hand. As He pushed himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, He placed His full weight on the nail through His feet. Again there was searing agony as the nail tore through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of his feet.

At this point, another phenomenon occurred. As the arms fatigued, great waves of cramps swept over the muscles, knotting them in deep relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps came the inability to push Himself upward. Hanging by the arm, the pectoral muscles, the large muscles of the chest, were paralyzed and the intercostal muscles, the small muscles between the ribs, were unable to act. Air could be drawn into the lungs, but could not be exhaled. Jesus fought to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath. Finally, the carbon dioxide level increased in the lungs and in the blood stream, and the cramps partially subsided.

The Last Words

Spasmodically, He was able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring in life-giving oxygen. It was undoubtedly during these periods that He uttered the seven short sentences that are recorded.

The first - looking down at the Roman soldiers throwing dice for His seamless garment: "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do."

The second - to the penitent thief: "Today, thou shalt be with me in Paradise."

The third - looking down at Mary His mother, He said: "Woman, behold your son." Then turning to the terrified, grief-stricken adolescent John, the beloved apostle, He said: "Behold your mother."

The fourth cry is from the beginning of Psalm 22: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

He suffered hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, and searing pain as tissue was torn from His lacerated back from His movement up and down against the rough timbers of the cross. Then another agony began: a deep crushing pain in the chest as the pericardium, the sac surrounding the heart, slowly filled with serum and began to compress the heart.

The prophecy in Psalm 22:14 was being fulfilled: "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint, my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels."

The end was rapidly approaching. The loss of tissue fluids had reached a critical level; the compressed heart was struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood to the tissues, and the tortured lungs were making a frantic effort to inhale small gulps of air. The markedly dehydrated tissues sent their flood of stimuli to the brain. Jesus gasped His fifth cry: "I thirst." Again we read in the prophetic psalm: "My strength is dried up like a potsherd; my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou has brought me into the dust of death" (Psalm 22:15 KJV).

A sponge soaked in posca, the cheap, sour wine that was the staple drink of the Roman legionnaires, was lifted to Jesus' lips. His body was now in extremis, and He could feel the chill of death creeping through His tissues. This realization brought forth His sixth word, possibly little more than a tortured whisper: "It is finished." His mission of atonement9 had completed. Finally, He could allow His body to die. With one last surge of strength, He once again pressed His torn feet against the nail, straightened His legs, took a deeper breath, and uttered His seventh and last cry: "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit."

Death

The common method of ending a crucifixion was by crurifracture, the breaking of the bones of the leg. This prevented the victim from pushing himself upward; the tension could not be relieved from the muscles of the chest, and rapid suffocation occurred. The legs of the two thieves were broken, but when the soldiers approached Jesus, they saw that this was unnecessary.

Apparently, the make doubly sure of death, the legionnaire drove his lance between the ribs, upward through the pericardium and into the heart. John 19:34 states, "And immediately there came out blood and water." Thus there was an escape of watery fluid from the sac surrounding the heart and the blood of the interior of the heart. This is rather conclusive post-mortem evidence that Jesus died, not the usual crucifixion death by suffocation, but of heart failure due to shock and constriction of the heart by fluid in the pericardium.
Resurrection

In these events, we have seen a glimpse of the epitome of evil that man can exhibit toward is fellowman and toward God. This is an ugly sight and is likely to leave us despondent and depressed.

But the crucifixion was not the end of the story. How grateful we can be that we have a sequel: a glimpse of the infinite mercy of God toward man - - the gift of atonement, the miracle of the resurrection, and the expectation of Easter morning.

Monday, June 27, 2005

THE UNEXAMINED LIFE IS NOT WORTH LIVING - PLATO

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

THE MEANING OF FATHERHOOD

Our lesson for the evening was about certain traits and characteristics we all want to see in our biological fathers and using the acronym F-A-T-H-E-R. We have a perfect, heavenly Father and all the attributes, traits and characteristics we want to see in an ideal father are already being manifested by Him in how He has related with humankind since the foundation of the world.

The F is for faithful.

Fathers must be faithful husbands. They lose the moral ground in leading or attempting to lead their children to righteousness if their lives are characterized by unfaithfulness and infidelity. And sadly, most societies today have found both to be acceptable. In a gathering of men, nary an eyebrow is raised when talk goes around to or about someone having an affair with this and that woman. Whether it was a one night stand, anaffair or an open secret, nobody seems to be surprised anymore. What's even more surprising is that men who are prone to such escapades seem to be more admired and even idolized by their peers and other fellowmen.

Fathers must be faithful to their families. As husbands, they must always be faithful and devoted to their wives. There are certain companies now which are adopting certain policies in the hiring of applicants and other key personnel. They want to see if the people they want to get for certain positions are faithful to their wives. If they're not, they would likely be unfaithful to the company as well. The government bureaucracy should adopt the same policies.

The A stands for affectionate.

Today's fathers are probably more affectionate than those of the previous generations. Fathers from whatever generation are known not be demonstrative in showing affection to those they love. Hugging, crying, holding hands (whether with their wives or their children), and other similargestures and behavior are supposedly unmanly. Virile, macho fathers aren't supposed to show their feelings. They're supposed to be invincible and inscrutable. This mindset has alienated many children from their fathers and has caused countless problems in many families. Everyone needs to love and be loved. That's human nature and we were certainly made that way. So there's nothing wrong about fathers being more demonstrative and expressive about their feelings to those they dearly love. If you're a son and you feel so dumb, down and discouraged and your world seems to be crumbling and falling apart and the solution to your woes and grief is neither in cash or kind, wouldn't it be such a wonderful feeling if all of a sudden your dad comes along, puts his arm around you and gently tells you, "Don't worry son, whatever is your problem, I will always be your dad and I will always love you."

Wow! Wouldn't that be great? You're in a mess, in crisis, in the gutter and here's your dad telling you that? That's how the prodigal son must have felt when his own dad ran to him and embraced him when he went back home after going away to spend in wild abandon his own inheritance. If you're this kind of a father who will not hesitate to show affection to his loved ones especially in their hour of need, then blessed and happy are your children indeed!
Affection is not something you can buy or earn whether you graduatedsumma cum laude from UP or Harvard. It's what you are deep inside.Often we learn the hard way that it's always better to be kind thanto be right.

The T stands for trusting.

If teen-aged kids today were asked what one trait they would like to see more in their fathers, I think trust would rank high in the list. Many fathers, myself included, don't seem to trust their children too much in so manyareas of concern from the food they eat, (why McDonald's?) the clothes they wear (do they have to expose their navels?), the friends they choose (I should know them all) to the careers they will pursue. We tend to be critical and judgmental often thinking they're not old enough to know what they're doing. Often we forget that our children have feelings and are distinct human individuals with unique personalities of their own.

The bible tells us in Colossians 3:21 (NIV) "Fathers, do not embitter your children or they will be discouraged." Also in Ephesians 6:4 (NIV), "Fathers, do not exasperate your children…" is a clear command addressed to fathers. And there are many instances whereby us fathers exasperate and discourage our children, from our double standards in modeling and teaching the right examples, over and under discipline, insensitivity, bad or negative attitudes to lack of quality time spent with them. One pastor and author saidthat the term quality time is misleading. You need quantity time in order to have quality time with your kids. I agree. As I often say, no amount of success can compensate for failure in the home.

The H is for honorable.

Fathers are supposed to be men of honor, men of integrity. Their word is their bond. They keep their promises. They honor their wedding vows. Alas, more and more fathers today are honorable only on paper or in their eyes…an ocean of difference lies between what they say and what they do. Dying if not gone are the days when honor was most valued by men. They would choose death rather than lie or dishonor their names.

One Hebrew word for man is "zakar" which means covenant-keeper. The word is closely related to the Arabic word "dakar" which refers to the male sex organ. The verb form of zakar means "to remember". Hence, if you combine the meaning of the verb and the noun forms, what you get is the "man remembering the covenant". When God told Abraham that He was making a covenant between Him and Abraham's seed, circumcision was the sign God instituted to seal the covenant, requiring hence that every male Israelite be circumcised on the 8th day after birth.

If we look at it closely, a considerable amount of the Old Testament revolves around the theme "to remember". This means that clearly and in no uncertain terms, God wants His people to remember…His covenant, the commandments, His decrees. He keeps telling us to remember because we keep forgetting. It was true then, even more so now. And marriages, families and societies today are breaking apart because men are forgetting or worse, ignoring to keep the covenant.

During the old days, men used to carry salt in pouches (he forgot to locate the bible passage) as this was not only a precious commodity but a form of money as well. (In fact, there were times the Roman legionnaires were paid salt instead of coins.) When two men entered into a covenant, they would seal the agreement by getting some salt from their own pouches andmix it with the salt on the other's pouch. The contracting party that breaks the covenant is usually required to take away and separate the pieces or grains of salt that was mixed in his pouch to symbolize the breach of contract. What a pathetic sight that should be!

The E stands for energetic.

Fathers cannot afford to be lazy or slothful. Since they are divinely mandated to be the breadwinners and providers in the family, they have to work diligently in their chosen professions. Fathers have to be responsible providers especially when there are mouths to feed and bodies to clothe. Children feel secure, encouraged and inspired when they see their fathers consistently providing and looking after their needs.

They have to be more emphatic and energetic in performing this particular role and function considering that more and more wives today are earning a lot more than their husbands. When this is the situation in a particular family, problems (emotional, relational or otherwise) will not be far behind. When a wife earns more than the husband, she will directly or indirectly challenge or undermine his authority and leadership as head of the family. The consequences are often disastrous.

The R stands for Rewarder.

Fathers ought to be more affirming and rewarding when it comes to relating with their children. We are quick to point out their mistakes, impose the necessary disciplinary measures etc etc yet hardly ever give them praise when they do something good no matter how petty or trivial the deed may be. Dorothy Law Nolte wrote in one of her literary pieces that if children live with criticism, they learn to condemn. If they live with hostility, they learn to fight. If they live with ridicule, they learn to be shy. If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence. If they live with tolerance, they learn to be patient. If they live with praise, they learn to appreciate. If they live with acceptance, they learn to love. If they live with approval, they learn to like themselves. If they live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.

R can also stand for Rewarded. When fathers perform according to their God-given roles and functions, it is certain they will be rewarded.

Success in fatherhood lies not in the strength of your arms or in the volume of your cash but in the closeness of your heart to the heart of God.

I thus exhort all fathers reading this now to seriously consider the foregoing. In our hands and under our care is a tremendous trust and responsibility. There are certain roles and functions that God has clearly ordained for us to assume and perform. For His glory and for His honor. For our sakes and those of our children, there is no choice but to obey.

Disobedience breeds nothing but tears and sorrow. We will always reap what we sow.

Be good and faithful fathers. Be happy and content with what you have. Whatever your situation and circumstance, be grateful and thankful to God. He is always in control. May you all have a good and godly day! May God bless us all!

(From the June 16 meeting of the Sigma Rho Bible Study. Posted by Pastor Aloysius Cezar)

Monday, June 20, 2005

FOUNDATIONS OF BIBLICAL CHRISTIANITY

THE CAMBRIDGE DECLARATION
of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals
April 20, 1996

Evangelical churches today are increasingly dominated by the spirit of this age rather than by the Spirit of Christ. As evangelicals, we call ourselves to repent of this sin and to recover the historic Christian faith.

In the course of history words change. In our day this has happened to the word "evangelical." In the past it served as a bond of unity between Christians from a wide diversity of church traditions. Historic evangelicalism was confessional. It embraced the essential truths of Christianity as those were defined by the great ecumenical councils of the church. In addition, evangelicals also shared a common heritage in the "solas" of the sixteenth century Protestant Reformation.

Today the light of the Reformation has been significantly dimmed. The consequence is that the word "evangelical" has become so inclusive as to have lost its meaning. We face the peril of losing the unity it has taken centuries to achieve. Because of this crisis and because of our love of Christ, his gospel and his church, we endeavor to assert anew our commitment to the central truths of the Reformation and of historic evangelicalism. These truths we affirm not because of their role in our traditions, but because we believe that they are central to the Bible.

Sola Scriptura: The Erosion Of Authority

Scripture alone is the inerrant rule of the church's life, but the evangelical church today has separated Scripture from its authoritative function. In practice, the church is guided, far too often, by the culture. Therapeutic technique, marketing strategies, and the beat of the entertainment world often have far more to say about what the church wants, how it functions and what it offers, than does the Word of God. Pastors have neglected their rightful oversight of worship, including the doctrinal content of the music. As biblical authority has been abandoned in practice, as its truths have faded from Christian consciousness, and as its doctrines have lost their saliency, the church has been increasingly emptied of its integrity, moral authority and direction.

Rather than adapting Christian faith to satisfy the felt needs of consumers, we must proclaim the law as the only measure of true righteousness and the gospel as the only announcement of saving truth. Biblical truth is indispensable to the church's understanding, nurture and discipline.

Scripture must take us beyond our perceived needs to our real needs and liberate us from seeing ourselves through the seductive images, cliche's, promises. and priorities of mass culture. It is only in the light of God's truth that we understand ourselves aright and see God's provision for our need. The Bible, therefore, must be taught and preached in the church. Sermons must be expositions of the Bible and its teachings, not expressions of the preachers opinions or the ideas of the age. We must settle for nothing less than what God has given.

The work of the Holy Spirit in personal experience cannot be disengaged from Scripture. The Spirit does not speak in ways that are independent of Scripture. Apart from Scripture we would never have known of God's grace in Christ. The biblical Word, rather than spiritual experience, is the test of truth.

Thesis One: Sola Scriptura

We reaffirm the inerrant Scripture to be the sole source of written divine revelation, which alone can bind the conscience. The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured. We deny that any creed, council or individual may bind a Christian's conscience, that the Holy Spirit speaks independently of or contrary to what is set forth in the Bible, or that personal spiritual experience can ever be a vehicle of revelation.

Solus Christus: The Erosion Of Christ-Centered Faith

As evangelical faith becomes secularized, its interests have been blurred with those of the culture. The result is a loss of absolute values, permissive individualism, and a substitution of wholeness for holiness, recovery for repentance, intuition for truth, feeling for belief, chance for providence, and immediate gratification for enduring hope. Christ and his cross have moved from the center of our vision.

Thesis Two: Solus Christus

We reaffirm that our salvation is accomplished by the mediatorial work of the historical Christ alone. His sinless life and substitutionary atonement alone are sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to the Father. We deny that the gospel is preached if Christ's substitutionary work is not declared and faith in Christ and his work is not solicited.

Sola Gratia: The Erosion Of The Gospel

Unwarranted confidence in human ability is a product of fallen human nature. This false confidence now fills the evangelical world; from the self-esteem gospel, to the health and wealth gospel, from those who have transformed the gospel into a product to be sold and sinners into consumers who want to buy, to others who treat Christian faith as being true simply because it works. This silences the doctrine of justification regardless of the official commitments of our churches.

God's grace in Christ is not merely necessary but is the sole efficient cause of salvation. We confess that human beings are born spiritually dead and are incapable even of cooperating with regenerating grace.

Thesis Three: Sola Gratia

We reaffirm that in salvation we are rescued from God's wrath by his grace alone. It is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that brings us to Christ by releasing us from our bondage to sin and raising us from spiritual death to spiritual life. We deny that salvation is in any sense a human work. Human methods, techniques or strategies by themselves cannot accomplish this transformation. Faith is not produced by our unregenerated human nature.

Sola Fide: The Erosion Of The Chief Article

Justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. This is the article by which the church stands or falls. Today this article is often ignored, distorted or sometimes even denied by leaders, scholars and pastors who claim to be evangelical. Although fallen human nature has always recoiled from recognizing its need for Christ's imputed righteousness, modernity greatly fuels the fires of this discontent with the biblical Gospel. We have allowed this discontent to dictate the nature of our ministry and what it is we are preaching.

Many in the church growth movement believe that sociological understanding of those in the pew is as important to the success of the gospel as is the biblical truth which is proclaimed. As a result, theological convictions are frequently divorced from the work of the ministry. The marketing orientation in many churches takes this even further, erasing the distinction between the biblical Word and the world, robbing Christ's cross of its offense, and reducing Christian faith to the principles and methods which bring success to secular corporations.

While the theology of the cross may be believed, these movements are actually emptying it of its meaning. There is no gospel except that of Christ's substitution in our place whereby God imputed to him our sin and imputed to us his righteousness. Because he bore our judgment, we now walk in his grace as those who are forever pardoned, accepted and adopted as God's children. There is no basis for our acceptance before God except in Christ's saving work, not in our patriotism, churchly devotion or moral decency. The gospel declares what God has done for us in Christ. It is not about what we can do to reach him.

Thesis Four: Sola Fide

We reaffirm that justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. In justification Christ's righteousness is imputed to us as the only possible satisfaction of God's perfect justice. We deny that justification rests on any merit to be found in us, or upon the grounds of an infusion of Christ's righteousness in us, or that an institution claiming to be a church that denies or condemns sola fide can be recognized as a legitimate church.

Soli Deo Gloria: The Erosion Of God-Centered Worship

Wherever in the church biblical authority has been lost, Christ has been displaced, the gospel has been distorted, or faith has been perverted, it has always been for one reason: our interests have displaced God's and we are doing his work in our way. The loss of God's centrality in the life of today's church is common and lamentable. It is this loss that allows us to transform worship into entertainment, gospel preaching into marketing, believing into technique, being good into feeling good about ourselves, and faithfulness into being successful. As a result, God, Christ and the Bible have come to mean too little to us and rest too inconsequentially upon us.

God does not exist to satisfy human ambitions, cravings, the appetite for consumption, or our own private spiritual interests. We must focus on God in our worship, rather than the satisfaction of our personal needs. God is sovereign in worship; we are not. Our concern must be for God's kingdom, not our own empires, popularity or success.

Thesis Five: Soli Deo Gloria

We reaffirm that because salvation is of God and has been accomplished by God, it is for God's glory and that we must glorify him always. We must live our entire lives before the face of God, under the authority of God and for his glory alone. We deny that we can properly glorify God if our worship is confused with entertainment, if we neglect either Law or Gospel in our preaching, or if self-improvement, self-esteem or self- fulfillment are allowed to become alternatives to the gospel.

Call To Repentance And Reformation

The faithfulness of the evangelical church in the past contrasts sharply with its unfaithfulness in the present. Earlier in this century, evangelical churches sustained a remarkable missionary endeavor, and built many religious institutions to serve the cause of biblical truth and Christ's kingdom. That was a time when Christian behavior and expectations were markedly different from those in the culture. Today they often are not. The evangelical world today is losing its biblical fidelity, moral compass and missionary zeal.

We repent of our worldliness. We have been influenced by the "gospels" of our secular culture, which are no gospels. We have weakened the church by our own lack of serious repentance, our blindness to the sins in ourselves which we see so clearly in others, and our inexcusable failure adequately to tell others about God's saving work in Jesus Christ.

We also earnestly call back erring professing evangelicals who have deviated from God's Word in the matters discussed in this Declaration. This includes those who declare that there is hope of eternal life apart from explicit faith in Jesus Christ, who claim that those who reject Christ in this life will be annihilated rather than endure the just judgment of God through eternal suffering, or who claim that evangelicals and Roman Catholics are one in Jesus Christ even where the biblical doctrine of justification is not believed.

The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals asks all Christians to give consideration to implementing this Declaration in the church's worship, ministry, policies, life and evangelism. For Christ's sake. Amen.

ACE Council Members:

Dr. John ArmstrongRev. Alistair BeggDr. James M. BoiceDr. W. Robert GodfreyDr. John D. HannahDr. Michael S. HortonMrs. Rosemary JensenDr. R. Albert Mohler Jr.Dr. Robert M. NorrisDr. R. C. SproulDr. G. Edward VeithDr. David WellsDr. Luder WhitlockDr. J. A. O. Preus, III

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