The pit bull has a mixed reputation among dog breeds. Many owners insist that they are gentle by nature and angered only when provoked. But many pit bulls are bred to be fighting dogs. In the first five months of 2013, pit bulls were responsible for 93 percent of all dog bite fatalities that occurred.
Just as pit bulls have their own particular reputation, the Bible also has its own reputation regarding the supernatural.
Out of the Enlightenment Period in the 18th Century came this assertion: "The God hypothesis is no longer necessary to explain the origin of the universe or the development of human life." God's existence was seen as no longer necessary because He had been supplanted by the "science" of that period that explained the universe in terms of spontaneous generation.
Added to this, came agnosticism by the philosopher Immanuel Kant, who argued that it is impossible for science or philosophy to acquire knowledge of the metaphysical realm of God. It was declared that all knowledge must be restricted to the realm of the natural. With the combination of Kant's agnosticism and the hypothesis of the Enlightenment, the door was open wide to a thoroughgoing philosophy of naturalism that left no imagination for the miraculous.
Out of this came nineteenth-century liberalism with its militant anti-supernatural perspective. The liberalism of that era denied all of the supernatural elements of the Christian faith, including the virgin birth of Jesus, His miracles, His atoning death, and His resurrection. These are at the core of the Christian faith.
The impact of liberalism on the church left it basically as a worldly, nature-bound religion that sought refuge in a humanitarian social agenda. The church was content with preaching a social gospel and embraced liberation theology. This is the approach to Christianity that has all but completely captured many of today's mainline denominations throughout the world.
Thankfully, in the last few decades, we have witnessed a comeback of the supernatural. Yet this increasing interest in the supernatural has been driven in large measure by a fascination with the occult. People are now interested in demons, witches, spiritualists, and other occultic phenomena.
The Christianity of the Bible is a religion that is uncompromisingly supernatural. If we take away the supernatural, we take away Christianity. At the heart of the worldview of both the Old and New Testament is the idea that the realm of nature is created by the God who transcends that nature.
With the renewed interest in the supernatural that comes with the occult, we must be ever vigilant to make sure that whatever understanding we have of the supernatural is an understanding that is informed by the Bible and not by paganism, liberalism or materialism.
What we need is an understanding of the supernatural that comes to us from the supernatural -- from the God of the supernatural, who reveals to us in His Word the content of the supernatural realm — so that our understanding of angels, or demons, or of spiritual beings comes from biblical revelation and not from human speculation, or other forms of pagan intrusions.
Therefore, we must insist that without the supernatural, Christianity loses its very heart and soul. We pastors must teach our people to live, not merely normal lives, but supernatural lives expecting supernatural encounters with the God of the Bible.
When Jesus entered the world for the first time through what is known as the incarnation (Philip. 2:6-8), it was through a supernatural process -- a virgin conception with no aid from a man whatsoever (Luke 1:34-35).
Nevertheless, we must also teach people to not accept all supernatural encounters as those being legit and of God. Satan is quite clever and has used signs and wonders to lead many people astray. Walking with God will have supernatural encounters – and such we should not fear to embrace.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Two Lessons We Can Learn From the Elliot Rodgers Retribution
A
young twenty-two year old man goes ballistic and kills seven people in
California, taking his frustrations out on innocent women whom he projects his
anger and frustrations on. I watched and listened to his Youtube message and
was disturbed by the wrong inference people can take away from it.
Here
are two lessons we must never forget:
First,
People Can Become Easily Offended at God When Their Expectations Are Not Met.
Elliot
had a warp view of life. He expected to be like everyone else he knew –
sexually active with the ladies. He
wanted to be loved and sought love in the wrong areas.
Some
Christians have an idea that if they give their life to Jesus, only good things
will come after. During the earthly ministry of Jesus, He had just fed 5000
with a couple of fish and a few loaves of bread and lots of people are
following Him. So, having given a
physical miracle, Jesus does what He normally does afterwards – He gives a spiritual
meaning to it.
John
6:54ff -- Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life,
and I will raise them up at the last day.55 For my flesh
is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and
I in them. He was speaking to the Jews. This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live
forever.” 59 He said this while teaching in the
synagogue in Capernaum.
60 On hearing it, many
of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
61 Aware that his
disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend
you?
Some
were following Jesus for political, material and social reasons. When their
expectations were not being met by Him, they got offended and left angry. These
same people later took out their frustrations on the One they were offended
with and shouted, “Crucify Him!” (John 19:6).
The
wrong expectations will lead a person down the wrong path. Imagine if you will,
if Elliot’s expectation was to be a virgin until he got married? Imagine if he made it his goal to save
himself for the woman he married? I know, sounds bizarre, right? That’s exactly
my point.
“Since
everyone is having premarital sex, so should I!”
“Since
all my friends have girlfriends giving them sex and love, what about me?”
Thus,
having the opportunity to lose one’s virginity is considered a right and
virtue. When such is not achieved, one’s expectation of this perceived “right”
and “virtue” is experienced as frustration. Anger then sets in and builds up.
It now becomes someone else’s fault for my right to have sex not be actualized.
Yet,
when you think about it, Elliot was in the best possible place to be in. He was
a virgin at the age of 22. He survived college.
He has a successful father as a Hollywood director. He was driving
around in a BMW. The best gift he could give to his wife to be would be himself
in all purity. “I saved myself just for you.
While everyone else around me are giving themselves away to whomever
wants it, I kept myself just for you!”
Where
do we find this taking place? Only in rare instances! It is the norm to enter a
marriage experienced in sex. Yet, when
you sleep with your spouse, all the other people you have slept with also
become part of the experience.
People
will listen to Elliot’s Youtube video and go away thinking that all this person
wanted was the fulfillment of his expectation which was his right to have sex.
By not having his right fulfilled, he took it as personal rejection by others
and became angry with them. Little did he realize that he was in a place and
situation that many would love to have been in, but because of poor personal
choices, the opportunity has been lost forever.
Some
people become offended at God when their expectations are not met.
Second,
Some are Offended at God for the Blessings He Gives to Others.
Make
a mental note of this - Don’t get offended when God blesses someone with
something he has not given to you.
Mark
6:1-3 - Jesus
left there and went to his hometown, accompanied
by his disciples. 2 When
the Sabbath came, he
began to teach in the synagogue, and
many who heard him were amazed.
“Where did this man get these things?” they
asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable
miracles he is performing? 3 Isn’t
this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas
and Simon? Aren’t
his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
These
are people who knew the family of Jesus. When Jesus began to teach and heal,
they ask, “Who gave to Him such things? Where did that authority come from?
We know him. Who does he think he is for
telling us these things?”
You
know what’s going to cause you to stumble? When you come across someone who
is blessed more than you. Listen, you will not be offended at God
for the blessings of Billy Graham. You know why? You cannot relate to him, because you do not
know him. But when God blesses someone you know and can relate to, it will move
you to be offended at God and your perception of the person will change.
You
will be tempted to think in some way, their blessing is your curse.
Your
kids will be happy opening up their Christmas gifts until they run
outside and see what the neighborhood kids got. You will be happy with the car
and house you’re living in until you ride in someone else’s car or visit
someone else’s home. You think, “Good
nite, doesn’t her husband work at the same place my husband works? I attend
church more than she does. I have a ministry, she doesn’t. What’s going on here?”
Learn this: God’s blessing on others is not your lost. But watch this: Your offense at God’s
blessing on others will be your lost.
With
Elliot Rodgers, we see how having the wrong values will lead down the wrong
path.
Two
important lessons, I leave with you:
First,
adopt biblical values to govern your life, so that your expectations in life
will be sound and normal and not develop into a warp sense of “personal rights.”
Second,
don’t live a day offended at God over something or someone you struggle with.
There are three kinds of people in this world: The Elliot Rodgers, the people
watching the news and those who died.
Today, we may be the ones watching the news. Tomorrow, we may be in it. Make sure today you and God are tight. Your
only legitimate right is the right to lay aside your right and enter into a
personal relationship with Jesus your Lord!
Sunday, May 11, 2014
A Critique of Open Theism: A god with the open mind, Part 7
“Great is the Lord, and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:5).
“There were false prophets among the people even as there shall be false teachers among you” (2 Pet. 2:1).
Some will be quite concerned that I would suggest that Open Theists are categorized as “false teachers.” This is because being labeled as a false teacher also carries the idea of being unsaved and without God.
I do not want to dogmatically proclaim the latter part, because I do not know, only God does. Judging the person’s heart is all up to the Lord. But He allows us to use His Word to discern the teachings that are being proclaimed behind many pulpits and books which Christians are listening to and reading.
One leading proponent of Open Theism said:
“God Himself risks a great deal in creating the world. The biblical perspective on God reveals a God who throughout history has suffered from the ill choices of human beings, and He suffers because He loves” – Boyd
“But to assume He knows ahead of time how every person is going to freely act assumes that each person’s free activity is already there to know—even before he freely does it! But
it’s not.”
To the Open Theists, God’s greatness is that God knows what God does not know.
“God does not know every detail about what will come to pass. . . The future is, to some degree at least, open ended and God knows it as such.”
Read again the passage above. God’s understanding is what? “Infinite!” God’s knowledge and understanding knows no end. It is boundless and limitless.
God knows and has even ordained for there to be a belief called “Open Theism” which would be man’s attempt to limit God in order to preserve the notion of man’s having free will.
Never mind the Bible says that we are born and “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1). Never mind that at the time Jesus died and paid the penalty for sin, man was “helpless,” “ungodly,” “sinners,” and “enemies” of God (Rom. 5:6-10).
Never mind that the Scriptures teach that “there is no one who understands. . .no one who seeks after God. . .no one who is good” (Rom. 3:10-12), “not even one.”
In other words, man has no free will. The only one who has free will is God. Our will is bound by our nature. We cannot choose beyond what we are. Sinners choose what? Sin. Saints choose what? Righteousness. But how does one go from being a sinner to a saint? It is God who chooses – foreknows, predestines, calls, justifies and glorifies (Rom. 8:29-30). Man responds in faith -- a faith that is provided by God alone (Eph. 2:8-9).
Listen. This is not going to sit well, but it’s nevertheless true. Life is one BIG PLAN and PURPOSE. It is all God’s plan and purpose from great and awesome events to the smallest details.
“But why doesn’t others see it this way,” you ask? Because it is God who reveals the profound and hidden things. He knows what is in the darkness” (Dan. 2:22).
Some truths are not learned in the traditional manner, they are revealed by God. When these truths are revealed, it is important that we first receive them by faith. If you seek to understand and make sense of it to your own personal satisfaction, you will elevate man and reduce God in the process.
Hey, Psalm 147 makes it clear: GOD IS NOT LEARNING ANYTHING NEW! His knowledge is infinite and so is His understanding.
Since life is one Big Plan of God, get on board and become part of the Big Plan. You do know (I hope you do) that this big plan of God not only encompasses the END, but also the MEANS. Your choice to submit to God and cooperate with Him is the means, even though the means of your cooperation, to whatever extent it may be, is all planned by God.
We have spend so much of our time reducing God to the level of human understanding so we can relate better and feel comfortable with Him. When we do talk about God as being God, it makes us uncomfortable and it forces us to really think. God forbid that we should think!
But unless we recapture the biblical view of God’s infinite greatness over all of life’s events, even our most smallest choices in life, we will not come to fear and reverence Him the way we should.
End of Part 7
“There were false prophets among the people even as there shall be false teachers among you” (2 Pet. 2:1).
Some will be quite concerned that I would suggest that Open Theists are categorized as “false teachers.” This is because being labeled as a false teacher also carries the idea of being unsaved and without God.
I do not want to dogmatically proclaim the latter part, because I do not know, only God does. Judging the person’s heart is all up to the Lord. But He allows us to use His Word to discern the teachings that are being proclaimed behind many pulpits and books which Christians are listening to and reading.
One leading proponent of Open Theism said:
“God Himself risks a great deal in creating the world. The biblical perspective on God reveals a God who throughout history has suffered from the ill choices of human beings, and He suffers because He loves” – Boyd
“But to assume He knows ahead of time how every person is going to freely act assumes that each person’s free activity is already there to know—even before he freely does it! But
it’s not.”
To the Open Theists, God’s greatness is that God knows what God does not know.
“God does not know every detail about what will come to pass. . . The future is, to some degree at least, open ended and God knows it as such.”
Read again the passage above. God’s understanding is what? “Infinite!” God’s knowledge and understanding knows no end. It is boundless and limitless.
God knows and has even ordained for there to be a belief called “Open Theism” which would be man’s attempt to limit God in order to preserve the notion of man’s having free will.
Never mind the Bible says that we are born and “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1). Never mind that at the time Jesus died and paid the penalty for sin, man was “helpless,” “ungodly,” “sinners,” and “enemies” of God (Rom. 5:6-10).
Never mind that the Scriptures teach that “there is no one who understands. . .no one who seeks after God. . .no one who is good” (Rom. 3:10-12), “not even one.”
In other words, man has no free will. The only one who has free will is God. Our will is bound by our nature. We cannot choose beyond what we are. Sinners choose what? Sin. Saints choose what? Righteousness. But how does one go from being a sinner to a saint? It is God who chooses – foreknows, predestines, calls, justifies and glorifies (Rom. 8:29-30). Man responds in faith -- a faith that is provided by God alone (Eph. 2:8-9).
Listen. This is not going to sit well, but it’s nevertheless true. Life is one BIG PLAN and PURPOSE. It is all God’s plan and purpose from great and awesome events to the smallest details.
“But why doesn’t others see it this way,” you ask? Because it is God who reveals the profound and hidden things. He knows what is in the darkness” (Dan. 2:22).
Some truths are not learned in the traditional manner, they are revealed by God. When these truths are revealed, it is important that we first receive them by faith. If you seek to understand and make sense of it to your own personal satisfaction, you will elevate man and reduce God in the process.
Hey, Psalm 147 makes it clear: GOD IS NOT LEARNING ANYTHING NEW! His knowledge is infinite and so is His understanding.
Since life is one Big Plan of God, get on board and become part of the Big Plan. You do know (I hope you do) that this big plan of God not only encompasses the END, but also the MEANS. Your choice to submit to God and cooperate with Him is the means, even though the means of your cooperation, to whatever extent it may be, is all planned by God.
We have spend so much of our time reducing God to the level of human understanding so we can relate better and feel comfortable with Him. When we do talk about God as being God, it makes us uncomfortable and it forces us to really think. God forbid that we should think!
But unless we recapture the biblical view of God’s infinite greatness over all of life’s events, even our most smallest choices in life, we will not come to fear and reverence Him the way we should.
End of Part 7
Friday, May 9, 2014
What Does It Mean To Be God, Part 2
God Purposes All Things.
God is not a fortuneteller, a soothsayer, a mere predictor of events. He doesn’t have a crystal ball. He knows what’s coming because He plans and creates what’s coming and He performs what He plans. Verse 10b: "My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose." He does not form purposes and wonder if someone else will take responsibility to make them happen. God plans every detail and He executes all His plans - “I will accomplish all my purpose.”
So, what does it mean to be God?
God has the rightful authority, the freedom, the wisdom, and the power to bring about everything that He intends to happen. Therefore, everything He intends to come about does come about. Which means: God plans and governs everything! He is God!
When God says, “I will accomplish all My purpose,” He means, “Nothing happens except what is My purpose.” This includes sin and evil. Nothing comes about apart from God’s purpose and plan.
If something happened that God did not purpose to happen, He would say, “That’s not what I purposed to happen.” And we would then ask, “What did You purpose to happen?” And He would say, “I purposed this other thing to happen which didn’t happen.” To which we would all say, “But You said in Isaiah 46:10, ‘I will accomplish all my purpose.’” And He would say, "That's right. Therefore, what happens is what I purpose to happen and what didn't happen is not what I purpose to happen!"
Therefore, what God means in Isaiah 46:10 is that nothing has ever happened, or will ever happen that God did not purpose to happen. Or to put it positively: Everything that happened or will happen is purposed by God to happen. This is what it means to be God!
But wait, there’s more.
End of Part 2
God is not a fortuneteller, a soothsayer, a mere predictor of events. He doesn’t have a crystal ball. He knows what’s coming because He plans and creates what’s coming and He performs what He plans. Verse 10b: "My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose." He does not form purposes and wonder if someone else will take responsibility to make them happen. God plans every detail and He executes all His plans - “I will accomplish all my purpose.”
So, what does it mean to be God?
God has the rightful authority, the freedom, the wisdom, and the power to bring about everything that He intends to happen. Therefore, everything He intends to come about does come about. Which means: God plans and governs everything! He is God!
When God says, “I will accomplish all My purpose,” He means, “Nothing happens except what is My purpose.” This includes sin and evil. Nothing comes about apart from God’s purpose and plan.
If something happened that God did not purpose to happen, He would say, “That’s not what I purposed to happen.” And we would then ask, “What did You purpose to happen?” And He would say, “I purposed this other thing to happen which didn’t happen.” To which we would all say, “But You said in Isaiah 46:10, ‘I will accomplish all my purpose.’” And He would say, "That's right. Therefore, what happens is what I purpose to happen and what didn't happen is not what I purpose to happen!"
Therefore, what God means in Isaiah 46:10 is that nothing has ever happened, or will ever happen that God did not purpose to happen. Or to put it positively: Everything that happened or will happen is purposed by God to happen. This is what it means to be God!
But wait, there’s more.
End of Part 2
Thursday, May 8, 2014
What Does It Mean To Be God? Part 1
“Remember this, keep it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels.
9 Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.
10 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’
11 From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do. (Isaiah 46:8–11)
If you want to stretch your mind and expand your heart, there is no better way than to fill your mind with biblical thoughts about God. Theology Proper, or the study of God will leave you in a much better state than you’re in now.
I am thrilled when I come across people or churches that believe and teach on the priceless truth about the sovereignty of God. I love it when pastors or bible teachers are not afraid to talk about God’s sovereignty. Sure, there will be those who disagree or hold to a lesser view of God. Some will get angry and even believe you’re mad in your thinking. But the facts bear repeating: God is sovereign! To hold to and to teach a view that elevates man and the expense of devaluing God is nothing short of idolatry.
This matter of God’s sovereignty is far too serious to leave alone. God’s sovereignty touches on many painful realities. It behooves us to get all we can from a Book that God Himself has authored through the instrumentality of human agency.
Let’s get right to it.
Point #1: God is Sovereignly Unique
In Isaiah 46:9 God says, “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me.”
So the issue in this text is the uniqueness of God among all the beings of the universe. He is in a class by Himself. No other is like Him.
What does it mean to be God? We will personally not know ourselves, but we can know to some extent by listening to God describe Himself.
When something is happening, or something is being said or thought, and God responds, “I am God!” (which is what he does in verse 9), the point is: You’re acting like you don’t know what it means for Me to be God.
What is at the heart of God’s God-ness?
Verse 10 tells us: “I declare the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done.”
Two supreme statements are made here:
First, God says, “I declare how things turn out long before they ever happen.”
Second, I declare not just natural events, but also human events — Verse 10: “I declare from ancient times things not yet done.” I know what these doings will be long before they are done.
God’s foreknowledge of all events – big and small are based on His absolute supreme sovereignty. The last part of verse 10, God tells us how He foreknows the end and how He foreknows the things not yet done.
Verse 10b: “I declare the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all My purpose.’”
When He declares ahead of time what will be, here’s how He expresses it, saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all My purpose.”
In other words, the way God declares His foreknowledge is by declaring His fore-counsel and His fore-purposing.
You see, God declares the end long before it happens, so He says, “My counsel shall stand.” When God declares things not yet done long before they are done, He then states: “I will accomplish all My purpose.”
Which means that the reason God knows the future is because He CREATES the future and accomplishes all He creates. The future is the counsel of God being established. The future is the purpose of God being accomplished by God.
If you doubt this, then go to verse 11b: God says, “I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.” In other words, the reason my predictions come true is because they are My purposes, My creations, and I Myself perform all of them.
End of Part 1
9 Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.
10 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’
11 From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do. (Isaiah 46:8–11)
If you want to stretch your mind and expand your heart, there is no better way than to fill your mind with biblical thoughts about God. Theology Proper, or the study of God will leave you in a much better state than you’re in now.
I am thrilled when I come across people or churches that believe and teach on the priceless truth about the sovereignty of God. I love it when pastors or bible teachers are not afraid to talk about God’s sovereignty. Sure, there will be those who disagree or hold to a lesser view of God. Some will get angry and even believe you’re mad in your thinking. But the facts bear repeating: God is sovereign! To hold to and to teach a view that elevates man and the expense of devaluing God is nothing short of idolatry.
This matter of God’s sovereignty is far too serious to leave alone. God’s sovereignty touches on many painful realities. It behooves us to get all we can from a Book that God Himself has authored through the instrumentality of human agency.
Let’s get right to it.
Point #1: God is Sovereignly Unique
In Isaiah 46:9 God says, “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me.”
So the issue in this text is the uniqueness of God among all the beings of the universe. He is in a class by Himself. No other is like Him.
What does it mean to be God? We will personally not know ourselves, but we can know to some extent by listening to God describe Himself.
When something is happening, or something is being said or thought, and God responds, “I am God!” (which is what he does in verse 9), the point is: You’re acting like you don’t know what it means for Me to be God.
What is at the heart of God’s God-ness?
Verse 10 tells us: “I declare the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done.”
Two supreme statements are made here:
First, God says, “I declare how things turn out long before they ever happen.”
Second, I declare not just natural events, but also human events — Verse 10: “I declare from ancient times things not yet done.” I know what these doings will be long before they are done.
God’s foreknowledge of all events – big and small are based on His absolute supreme sovereignty. The last part of verse 10, God tells us how He foreknows the end and how He foreknows the things not yet done.
Verse 10b: “I declare the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all My purpose.’”
When He declares ahead of time what will be, here’s how He expresses it, saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all My purpose.”
In other words, the way God declares His foreknowledge is by declaring His fore-counsel and His fore-purposing.
You see, God declares the end long before it happens, so He says, “My counsel shall stand.” When God declares things not yet done long before they are done, He then states: “I will accomplish all My purpose.”
Which means that the reason God knows the future is because He CREATES the future and accomplishes all He creates. The future is the counsel of God being established. The future is the purpose of God being accomplished by God.
If you doubt this, then go to verse 11b: God says, “I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.” In other words, the reason my predictions come true is because they are My purposes, My creations, and I Myself perform all of them.
End of Part 1
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