This is another post in the series of emails between my friend and his dad. In one of my friend's dad's emails he says the following sentence:
"I hope that God sees me fit for mercy and on the appointed day welcomes me into the Holy Presence."
How can God see him as fit? If its by works, not by grace, of which he would have some part in, then he's not going to get in. (Eph. 2:1-10). How do we teach him how often in scripture God points to His salvation of the people instead of their work? How about showing him these examples?
Genesis 3 (in particular vs 7 & 21): Man tries to cover his sin ineffectively with a fig leaf. God instead covers it effectively with an animal skin. God kills the animal and makes the clothes, not man!
Genesis 7 (in particular vs 16): God destroys the world b/c of people's sin, but saves Noah. He tells Noah how to build the ark, and then when Noah is inside, God shuts the door for him. The ark is an illustration of Jesus that protects us from God's wrath. And God was the source of all of it.
Genesis 22 (in particular vs 13-14 ): Abraham is to kill his son Issac. Abe logically believes that God will raise him from the dead. Instead God provides a ram to be sacrificed instead. God provides, not man. And the son of the promise is effectively slain but raised from the dead. I know this one is a little harder to see.
Genesis 28 (in particular vs 12): Jacob (soon to be renamed Israel) sees a ladder between heaven and earth with angels ascending and descending. This ladder is Jesus. He connects earth and heaven as only God can. Man doesn't create this ladder. Jesus even refers t this incident in John 1:50-51.
Genesis 37,41-45: Joseph is the son of promise who is hated by his brothers and sold into slavery, aka death. The son rises out of prison and rules all of Egypt and is able to provide for his family. Just like Jesus who was hated by His Jewish brothers, slain, and who raised on the 3rd day and now provides mediation and salvation to us who repent and believe in Him. And by the way in both cases man does nothing. God makes it all happen.
I can keep going to include Moses leading the people across the red sea, something in possible that man couldn't do. Or Joshua who rolls back the Jordan to a town called Adam so that we can clearly see that sin is rolled back to Adam in Christ. Or Ruth, a foreigner, who is granted a kinsman redeemer and welcomed into the true people of God. All of these happen b/c God does the work not man. God won't see us fit on the final judgment day. Only by claiming Christ and His work will we get in.
By the way if you think he's struggling with the veracity of the Bible and he'd listen to a lecture on it. This is my favorite one. If you haven't listened to this before, its well worth your time.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Hebrews 1:7-9 Jesus saves better than angels
Hebrews 1:7-9 7Of the angels he says, "He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire." 8But of the Son he says,"Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. 9You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions."
Observation/Interpretation:
Observation/Interpretation:
- Jesus is better than angels because He is more permanent than they are.
- Angels are temporary compared to winds and fire, but Jesus (aka God) is forever and ever.
- Jesus is God by the way. Yup that's right God is Triune. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all God and are distinct persons at the same time. Yup its also a mystery. I kind of like this mystery frankly b/c it means God is more than I can completely grasp. Which is a good quality of a real God. If I could grasp Him completely then I might as well be God.
- Jesus' kingdom is ruled in righteousness. Not like kings on earth where we know they have all used some amount of 'greasing the palms' to get into power.
- Jesus is in heaven and accepted by God b/c He hates wickedness and loved righteousness. He alone was able to completely represent man and still be deity. Thereby offering up a perfect representative sacrifice for us.
- Note too that God & Jesus hate wickedness. This means that those who do wickedness are included in that hate. Later on in Hebrews we'll see that its a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
- Jesus is more highly anointed than His companions b/c He alone is perfectly righteous.
- I must worship Jesus and not angels
- I must trust in Jesus b/c He lasts forever unlike other things/people
- I want to be like Jesus and hate wickedness in my life, and love righteousness instead
- I want to share how great Jesus is with others b/c I want them to know of their danger, and know that God has a solution for them
Monday, June 14, 2010
Email Apologetics 4
I wrote this response:
On Mon, Jun 14, 2010 at 08:59 PM, Doug wrote:
Friend's dad,
This is a very good question: "What then would allow me, a sinner, to think that I have a "complete" picture?"
The short answer is that the Holy Spirit makes the picture complete for you, and me. He is the one that draws us to Him and helps us understand the scriptures.
Just some examples to illustrate my point.
1) You're completely right that the disciples didn't understand half (maybe 3/4's ;) of what Jesus said to them while He was alive. The main reason for which was because they hadn't been given the Holy Spirit yet. Once God was living in them and through them in the Spirit, they could recall all that Jesus had taught them and apply it.
2) John 6 and 10 (and Romans 8, Ephesians 1, etc...) teach that the Spirit draws us and changes our hearts to understand. Ezekiel 36:24-27 is a great OT passage that describes how the Lord changes our hearts and makes it possible for us to understand the mercy of God that we can attain if we confess our sins via repentance and believe in Him.
I don't quite get your meaning when you say: "Our perception(revelation) Of the Old Testament is different than the New." Are you saying that the OT and the NT teach different stories or represent different concepts of God? If so, I think this is a common misconception. One that my own uncle and I were discussing just this weekend as a matter of fact.
There are lots of ways to address this concern. Perhaps the easiest is when Jesus says in John 5 that '...Moses wrote about me...'. Jesus is making clear here that the intent of the OT was to be the womb or the incubator to explain the death and resurrection of Jesus. When Moses wrote the law, including the sacrificial system, he did it to illustrate Jesus because the ancient Hebrews (and us for that matter) wouldn't have understood Jesus' sacrifice without a picture of animal sacrifices to set the stage. The passover lamb is the best example of this. The lamb was without blemish and was sacrificed to protect the people, Just like Jesus 1500 years later. Romans 3 clarifies that God never intended for sins to be absolved by the lamb, but that its death pointed to Jesus.
So anyway, long story short, the best way to find out if what the Bible says is true, is it test it. I do this every day. I look at my life and I see the sin and desire to be selfish within me. I know that this causes a problem with me and God because it shows my betrayal of His rightful kingship. The Bible teaches me that the only solution to that sin problem is Jesus' death and my acceptance of it's power to save me, not through my efforts to get right with God.
Can I challenge you to read through the book of Romans and shoot some questions out to this email group as you go? I think it will cover many of your questions and perhaps raise some new ones.
Its a pleasure talking with you. I am continuing to pray for you.
--doug ><>
On Mon, Jun 14, 2010 at 08:59 PM, Doug wrote:
Friend's dad,
This is a very good question: "What then would allow me, a sinner, to think that I have a "complete" picture?"
The short answer is that the Holy Spirit makes the picture complete for you, and me. He is the one that draws us to Him and helps us understand the scriptures.
Just some examples to illustrate my point.
1) You're completely right that the disciples didn't understand half (maybe 3/4's ;) of what Jesus said to them while He was alive. The main reason for which was because they hadn't been given the Holy Spirit yet. Once God was living in them and through them in the Spirit, they could recall all that Jesus had taught them and apply it.
2) John 6 and 10 (and Romans 8, Ephesians 1, etc...) teach that the Spirit draws us and changes our hearts to understand. Ezekiel 36:24-27 is a great OT passage that describes how the Lord changes our hearts and makes it possible for us to understand the mercy of God that we can attain if we confess our sins via repentance and believe in Him.
I don't quite get your meaning when you say: "Our perception(revelation) Of the Old Testament is different than the New." Are you saying that the OT and the NT teach different stories or represent different concepts of God? If so, I think this is a common misconception. One that my own uncle and I were discussing just this weekend as a matter of fact.
There are lots of ways to address this concern. Perhaps the easiest is when Jesus says in John 5 that '...Moses wrote about me...'. Jesus is making clear here that the intent of the OT was to be the womb or the incubator to explain the death and resurrection of Jesus. When Moses wrote the law, including the sacrificial system, he did it to illustrate Jesus because the ancient Hebrews (and us for that matter) wouldn't have understood Jesus' sacrifice without a picture of animal sacrifices to set the stage. The passover lamb is the best example of this. The lamb was without blemish and was sacrificed to protect the people, Just like Jesus 1500 years later. Romans 3 clarifies that God never intended for sins to be absolved by the lamb, but that its death pointed to Jesus.
So anyway, long story short, the best way to find out if what the Bible says is true, is it test it. I do this every day. I look at my life and I see the sin and desire to be selfish within me. I know that this causes a problem with me and God because it shows my betrayal of His rightful kingship. The Bible teaches me that the only solution to that sin problem is Jesus' death and my acceptance of it's power to save me, not through my efforts to get right with God.
Can I challenge you to read through the book of Romans and shoot some questions out to this email group as you go? I think it will cover many of your questions and perhaps raise some new ones.
Its a pleasure talking with you. I am continuing to pray for you.
--doug ><>
Email Apologetics 3
My friend's dad sent this one.
On Mon, Jun 14, 2010 at 11:59 AM, Friend's Dad wrote:
Doug,
It is good to see that my son has friends in the “Spirit”. Since your study is in Hebrews, my question is, I think, fitting. I believe that Our God is unchanging and that God exists outside the boundary of time, but we are not. The latter I know. Therefore, it must be our perception of God that is subject to change. Our perception(revelation) Of the Old Testament is different than the New. God came to us in person. Jesus is the only Son. He clearly new his mission. However, even with Jesus as personal teacher, His disciples still misinterpreted His meaning. What then would allow me, a sinner, to think that I have a “complete” picture? This is what my reason compels me to think. My faith must do the rest.
Friend's Dad
On Mon, Jun 14, 2010 at 11:59 AM, Friend's Dad wrote:
Doug,
It is good to see that my son has friends in the “Spirit”. Since your study is in Hebrews, my question is, I think, fitting. I believe that Our God is unchanging and that God exists outside the boundary of time, but we are not. The latter I know. Therefore, it must be our perception of God that is subject to change. Our perception(revelation) Of the Old Testament is different than the New. God came to us in person. Jesus is the only Son. He clearly new his mission. However, even with Jesus as personal teacher, His disciples still misinterpreted His meaning. What then would allow me, a sinner, to think that I have a “complete” picture? This is what my reason compels me to think. My faith must do the rest.
Friend's Dad
Email Apologetics 2
Email number two is from me.
On Sun, Jun 13, 2010 at 10:55 PM, Doug wrote:
I haven't heard of open theism before.
I'm in Hebrews right now, so a lot of my thinking about who God is, is affected by that book at the moment. Heb. 1:1-4 is the author's way to grab our attention and get us to see that Jesus, not only is God, but that He is also the provider of purification for our sins. And let me tell you, I need that.
See for me, a lot of who God is, makes sense to me in the context of His promises to save us from our sins if we repent and believe in Him. God repeatedly promises to save us to the uttermost, to be the anchor of our soul, to never leave us nor forsake us, etc... He can only make those promises if He is completely in control and has full knowledge of the past, present, and future.
One way its been explained to me is that God is outside of time. He exists in eternity, which means that finite time is like a filmstrip that He is standing back and looking at. He can see all points on the time line all at once. And this is no problem for Him because He is infinite. Our little minds would just be blown by the thought of such an experience. But being the creator of all, even time, it's no big deal for Him.
Anyway all that to illustrate that when God makes a promise, He's actually able to keep it because He has existed before, during and after time. And since God cannot lie, then I can trust His promises and know that He will save me forever.
Let me know if this doesn't make sense.
--doug ><>
On Sun, Jun 13, 2010 at 10:55 PM, Doug wrote:
I haven't heard of open theism before.
I'm in Hebrews right now, so a lot of my thinking about who God is, is affected by that book at the moment. Heb. 1:1-4 is the author's way to grab our attention and get us to see that Jesus, not only is God, but that He is also the provider of purification for our sins. And let me tell you, I need that.
See for me, a lot of who God is, makes sense to me in the context of His promises to save us from our sins if we repent and believe in Him. God repeatedly promises to save us to the uttermost, to be the anchor of our soul, to never leave us nor forsake us, etc... He can only make those promises if He is completely in control and has full knowledge of the past, present, and future.
One way its been explained to me is that God is outside of time. He exists in eternity, which means that finite time is like a filmstrip that He is standing back and looking at. He can see all points on the time line all at once. And this is no problem for Him because He is infinite. Our little minds would just be blown by the thought of such an experience. But being the creator of all, even time, it's no big deal for Him.
Anyway all that to illustrate that when God makes a promise, He's actually able to keep it because He has existed before, during and after time. And since God cannot lie, then I can trust His promises and know that He will save me forever.
Let me know if this doesn't make sense.
--doug ><>
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Email Apologetics 1
This starts a series of posts where I'm interacting with a friend of mine's dad. Its a great exchange. I hope you can benefit from this exchange as I have. I'll post the emails one at a time. I'm sanitizing the names. The first is from my friend.
From: Doug's Friend
Sent: Sunday, June 13, 2010 8:33:40 PM
Subject: new question from Dad
Hi Doug (and Dad),
Just spoke with Dad on his way home from a weekend down the shore. I let him know that he has some e-mail waiting in his inbox. Dad asked another question:
"Does God know the future?"
This is clearly the leading question that an open theist (like Greg Boyd) would ask. My Dad remarked that if God does not know the future then "it gets Him off the hook" for alot of stuff.
I'll say this now: it's absolutely unorthodox. It is aberrant teaching in my opinion.
From: Doug's Friend
Sent: Sunday, June 13, 2010 8:33:40 PM
Subject: new question from Dad
Hi Doug (and Dad),
Just spoke with Dad on his way home from a weekend down the shore. I let him know that he has some e-mail waiting in his inbox. Dad asked another question:
"Does God know the future?"
This is clearly the leading question that an open theist (like Greg Boyd) would ask. My Dad remarked that if God does not know the future then "it gets Him off the hook" for alot of stuff.
I'll say this now: it's absolutely unorthodox. It is aberrant teaching in my opinion.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Hebrews 1:4-6 Jesus is greater than the angels
Hebrews 1:4-6 "4having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 5For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you"? Or again, "I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son"? 6And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God’s angels worship him.""
Observation/Interpretation:
Observation/Interpretation:
- Jesus is greater than all others. The author of Hebrews will start comparing/contrasting Jesus with Angels, and then move on to Moses and the Law.
- In this passage Jesus is better than angels because:
- Jesus has a better name. His name means "the Lord saves" This is a better name than Angel which is the word for messenger. If you're in deep trouble, wouldn't you rather have someone who can actually save you than someone who just tells you a message about it?
- Jesus is God's son. That's way better than an angel. Angels are not in the family of God, but are mere servants. Jesus is both God and the Son in the Trinity. This position is far higher than the angels
- Lastly Jesus is worshiped by the angels. Clearly the greater is worshiped by the lesser.
- Jesus is the greatest! I must worship Him.
- Jesus saves! I want to tell others about Him, and I want to know that I am saved. By the way what am I needing saving from? The wrath of God that I've earned by treasonously sinning against God the King (Luke 13). I can attain that salvation by repenting and believing. (Rom 10)
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