Q & A Apologetics
Biblical Reliability
Reliability – Bibliographical Evidence
Author Date Written Earliest Copy Time Copies
Plato 427-347 B.C. A.D. 900 1,200 yrs 7
Tacitus A.D. 100 A.D. 1100 1,000 yrs 20
Pliny (history) A.D. 61-113 A.D. 850 750 yrs 7
Thucydidies 460-400 B.C. A.D. 900 1,300 yrs 8
Heroditus 480-425 B.C. A.D. 900 1,300 yrs 8
Sophocles 496-406 B.C. A.D. 1000 1,400 yrs 193
Aristotle 384-322 B.C. A.D. 1100 1,400 yrs 49
Homer (Iliad) 900 B.C. 400 B.C. 500 yrs 643
New Testament A.D. 40-100 A.D. 125 25 yrs 24,000
For the NT that is 192 manuscripts per year.
That works out to .52 manuscripts per day.
When one takes into account that this is done by hand, letter to letter, on papyrus with stylus and ink this is amazing.
This tradition of copying the scriptures to preserve them was not done just because. It was done because what was recorded was fact and had to be preserved so that the mission could be accomplished.
Patrick in Ireland had his people copy the text to preserve the text from the Viking invaders and that is why we have the text today.
Variants are minimal and noted very carefully and even printed in your modern bibles as variants so the reader knows what sections have some questions not of validity but when they appear in certain manuscripts and they are not doctrinal in nature but encounters of Jesus with people or what the church began to do when Jesus ascended to the Father (John 7 and Mark 16).
The discovery of the Dead See Scrolls places our earliest manuscripts of the Old Testament 1,000 years closer to the originals and there are no doctrinally significant variations in the text from copying as well. Variations add up to the omission of certain letters in a misspelled word based upon language changes and grammar rules.
The point is clear. The texts are historically reliable!
Reliability – Internal Evidence
On the Dating of the Kings:
Thiele, Edwin (1983). The mysterious numbers of the Hebrew kings. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications (1994 ed.).
Luke 1:1-4
2 Peter 1:16
1 John 1:3
John 19:35
Reliability – External Evidence
Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis (A.D. 130) as Recorded by Eusebius
“The Elder (Apostle John) used to say this also: ‘Mark, having been the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately all that he (Peter) mentioned, whether sayings or doing of Christ, not, however, in order. For he was neither a hearer nor a companion of the Lord; but afterwards, as I said, he accompanied Peter, who adapted his teachings as necessity required, not as though he were making compilations of the sayings of the Lord. So then Mark made no mistake, writing down in this way some things as he mentioned them; for he paid attention this one thing, not to omit anything that he had heard, nor to include any false statement among them.
Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons in A.D. 180, who was a student of Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna (who had been a Christian for 86 years and was a disciple of John the Apostle), wrote:
“Matthew published his gospel among the Hebrews in their own tongue, when Peter and Paul were preaching the gospel in Rome and founding the church there. After their departure (death around 64 at the hands of the Neronian persecution), Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, himself handed down to us in writing the substance of Peter’s preaching. Luke, the follower of Paul, set down in a book the gospel preached by his teacher. Then, John, the disciple of the Lord, who also leaned on this breast (reference to John 13:25 and 21:20), himself produced his gospel, while he was living at Ephesus in Asia.”
Dr. Clark H. Pinnock
“There exists no document from the ancient world witnessed by so excellent a set of textual and historical testimonies and offering so superb an array of historical data on which an intelligent decision may be made. An honest person cannot dismiss a source of this kind. Skepticism regarding the historical credentials of Christianity is based upon an irrational (i.e., antisupernatural) bias.
Conclusions
1. The Scriptures are accurate and without error (do not affirm anything contrary to fact)
2. Read them incessantly as if your life depended on it because your vitality in Christ does
3. Read them to lose sight of and affection for our fallen world and to gain sight of and affection for the coming Kingdom
22 Resolved, To endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness in the other world as I possibly can, with all the power, might, vigor, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that can be thought of.
25 Resolved, To examine carefully and constantly, what that one thing in me is, which causes me in the least to doubt of the love of God; and so direct all my forces against it.
4. Read them to become the best possible gospel preacher you can be
a. Evangelism informed by the Scriptures disciples while they convince
5. Read them to and teach them to our children
6. The Scriptures are trustworthy and you have not been led astray by believing what they say.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Q & A Apologetics Theology
Theology - [Greek: theos (God) + logos (word)]: The study of the existence (or non-existence), nature, and attributes of God.
1. God is and it is reasonable to conclude that he is
Psalm 14; 53
Cosmological Argument – the fact that every known thing in the universe has a cause is evidence that that the universe itself has a cause and the cause of such a universe can only be God
A. Two Great Questions
1. Why is there something rather than nothing?
Carl Sagan: “The Cosmos is all there ever was, all there is and all there ever will be.”
2. If the second law of thermodynamics is true, and Carl Sagan’s belief
is true, why are we still here and alive?
2nd Law of Thermodynamics – energy is converted to less useful forms (steam engine uses some of the created heat produce motion, but all of it is not harness and is not recycled to continual use, but goes away in other forms)
Teleological Argument – focuses on harmony, order and design in the universe and argues that the order and design of the universe is evidence of an intelligent purpose and intelligent designer (telos – end, goal or purpose)
1. RNA Replication – evidence of irreducible complexity and the fact of
complex information at a level that cannot be broken down to a simple cell.
2. God has revealed himself in Jesus and Jesus claimed to be Yahweh
John 8
“I am trying 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 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 – 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.”
“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.”
3. God is not hidden, and he can be known and desires to make himself known
John 1:1-3, 14
Consequences
1. Our faith is not some blind belief but a hope constructed on the conviction that what we have heard and seen and tasted is truth
- We don’t have faith in faith or hope in hope. We have our hope constructed
on the historical Jesus as presented in the historical bible who said, and
demonstrated, that he is God.
2. We have a message to tell
3. Our message has global implications that all Jesus’ followers are called to
- Our global punch springs from our local engagement
4. Our hope is sure and we will not be put to shame in our hope!
Psalm 119:116 “Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live, and let me not be put to shame in my hope!”
1. God is and it is reasonable to conclude that he is
Psalm 14; 53
Cosmological Argument – the fact that every known thing in the universe has a cause is evidence that that the universe itself has a cause and the cause of such a universe can only be God
A. Two Great Questions
1. Why is there something rather than nothing?
Carl Sagan: “The Cosmos is all there ever was, all there is and all there ever will be.”
2. If the second law of thermodynamics is true, and Carl Sagan’s belief
is true, why are we still here and alive?
2nd Law of Thermodynamics – energy is converted to less useful forms (steam engine uses some of the created heat produce motion, but all of it is not harness and is not recycled to continual use, but goes away in other forms)
Teleological Argument – focuses on harmony, order and design in the universe and argues that the order and design of the universe is evidence of an intelligent purpose and intelligent designer (telos – end, goal or purpose)
1. RNA Replication – evidence of irreducible complexity and the fact of
complex information at a level that cannot be broken down to a simple cell.
2. God has revealed himself in Jesus and Jesus claimed to be Yahweh
John 8
“I am trying 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 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 – 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.”
“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.”
3. God is not hidden, and he can be known and desires to make himself known
John 1:1-3, 14
Consequences
1. Our faith is not some blind belief but a hope constructed on the conviction that what we have heard and seen and tasted is truth
- We don’t have faith in faith or hope in hope. We have our hope constructed
on the historical Jesus as presented in the historical bible who said, and
demonstrated, that he is God.
2. We have a message to tell
3. Our message has global implications that all Jesus’ followers are called to
- Our global punch springs from our local engagement
4. Our hope is sure and we will not be put to shame in our hope!
Psalm 119:116 “Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live, and let me not be put to shame in my hope!”
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Q & A Apologetics Introduction
Q & A Apologetics
1 Peter 3:15; Colossians 4:5-6
“Apologetics, the teaching of defense (apology) or defensive scholarship, is the thoughtful interaction of Christian faith with contemporary teachings and ideologies that are opposed to the gospel.”
1. Apologetics should be birthed from doctrinal stability, humble submission to Christ Jesus and the text of Scripture v. 15a
2. Apologetics presuppose the engagement of unreached peoples 1 Peter 3:6-13; Colossians 4:5
“The picture is as far as we can imagine from that of the Christian who has no interest in affairs outside those of faith or church and so no “small talk,” no ability to maintain an interesting conversation. In contrast, it envisages opportunities for lively interchanges with non-Christians on topics and in a style which could be expected to find a positive resonance with the conversation partners. It would not be conversation that has “gone bad,” but conversation that reflects the attractiveness of character displayed above all by Christ. Moreover, such advice envisages a group of Christians in a sufficiently positive relation with the surrounding community for such conversations to be natural, a group not fearful or threatened, but open to and in positive relationship with its neighbors.”
3. Apologetics presupposes that there are “outsiders” thus claiming we know truth and they do not Colossians 4:5a
4. Apologetics requires preparation to answer EACH objection and/or equal truth claim v. 15b; Colossians 4:6
a. Apologetics gained and applied is work and requires applying the faculty of
analytical thinking to the doctrines of the faith and understanding the why
and how.
5. Apologetics must be done with gentleness, respect and a gracious attitude v. 15c; Colossians 4:6
a. Apologetics can lend itself to pride in the puffing up of human intellect
because it takes work. And when one works hard enough and achieves some
level of understanding it appeals to pride and that leads to becoming
a Pharisee that can defend the faith rather than a Pharisee that can’t.
6. Apologetics wisely appropriates time to speak the Gospel indigenously Colossians 4:5
a. The suggestion of this text is that one must be among the outsider but must
allow ample time for the Gospel not just interaction
7. Apologetics must be interesting, stimulating and wise Colossians 4:6
a. The use of the metaphor salt echoes Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5:13. When
applied to conversation, the metaphor suggests speaking in a way that is
interesting, stimulating and wise.
Application
1. Make sure we are thoroughly Christian!
a. Make sure all of your life’s ends and means are birthed out of the person of
God revealed as Father, Son, Holy Spirit
Illustration: Poston wedding: Brad going to get Rachel and bringing her to the front.
Illustration: Community: Unity: Distinction (not segregation by race or demographic): Peace
2. Make sure you are engaged with (friends with regardless of their response to the Gospel) people who do not believe Jesus to be the only God and the only way man can be saved
a. Engagement with “outsiders” must be intentional because of our nature to
stay among our own kind.
3. Observe the ends (ultimates or goals) of the culture and world around you and be able to articulate them
a. Be able to critique the ends of your world in comparison to the stated ends
of Scripture
Illustration: Ownership: Leviticus 25:8 – 50 years Jubilee land returns to original owner at a price equal to, lower than or greater than based on number of crops: Psalm 24 – the earth is the Lord’s: Luke 16 & 19 – master entrusts his possessions to managers for a season and returns to take account
4. Observe the means (methods of getting to the ends or goals) of the culture and world around you and be able to articulate them
a. Be able to critique the ends of your world in comparison to the stated ends
of Scripture
Illustration: Ownership: Debt (massive) – as a means to getting what we want to own feeding our lust for ownership of property that is not ours unveiling man’s fallen desire to have what is God’s and be as God and be owner not manager
5. Always keep an eye on your own heart’s object of affection to make sure it is Jesus and not apologetics
a. Apologetics can be as ugly as anything else when it becomes an end and
not a means to the end of Jesus exalted, Father glorified and Holy Spirit
unified
7. Make sure you are engaging and interesting as a friend not an evangelistic gunslinger
a. Community as the missing piece of evangelism
1 Peter 3:15; Colossians 4:5-6
“Apologetics, the teaching of defense (apology) or defensive scholarship, is the thoughtful interaction of Christian faith with contemporary teachings and ideologies that are opposed to the gospel.”
1. Apologetics should be birthed from doctrinal stability, humble submission to Christ Jesus and the text of Scripture v. 15a
2. Apologetics presuppose the engagement of unreached peoples 1 Peter 3:6-13; Colossians 4:5
“The picture is as far as we can imagine from that of the Christian who has no interest in affairs outside those of faith or church and so no “small talk,” no ability to maintain an interesting conversation. In contrast, it envisages opportunities for lively interchanges with non-Christians on topics and in a style which could be expected to find a positive resonance with the conversation partners. It would not be conversation that has “gone bad,” but conversation that reflects the attractiveness of character displayed above all by Christ. Moreover, such advice envisages a group of Christians in a sufficiently positive relation with the surrounding community for such conversations to be natural, a group not fearful or threatened, but open to and in positive relationship with its neighbors.”
3. Apologetics presupposes that there are “outsiders” thus claiming we know truth and they do not Colossians 4:5a
4. Apologetics requires preparation to answer EACH objection and/or equal truth claim v. 15b; Colossians 4:6
a. Apologetics gained and applied is work and requires applying the faculty of
analytical thinking to the doctrines of the faith and understanding the why
and how.
5. Apologetics must be done with gentleness, respect and a gracious attitude v. 15c; Colossians 4:6
a. Apologetics can lend itself to pride in the puffing up of human intellect
because it takes work. And when one works hard enough and achieves some
level of understanding it appeals to pride and that leads to becoming
a Pharisee that can defend the faith rather than a Pharisee that can’t.
6. Apologetics wisely appropriates time to speak the Gospel indigenously Colossians 4:5
a. The suggestion of this text is that one must be among the outsider but must
allow ample time for the Gospel not just interaction
7. Apologetics must be interesting, stimulating and wise Colossians 4:6
a. The use of the metaphor salt echoes Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5:13. When
applied to conversation, the metaphor suggests speaking in a way that is
interesting, stimulating and wise.
Application
1. Make sure we are thoroughly Christian!
a. Make sure all of your life’s ends and means are birthed out of the person of
God revealed as Father, Son, Holy Spirit
Illustration: Poston wedding: Brad going to get Rachel and bringing her to the front.
Illustration: Community: Unity: Distinction (not segregation by race or demographic): Peace
2. Make sure you are engaged with (friends with regardless of their response to the Gospel) people who do not believe Jesus to be the only God and the only way man can be saved
a. Engagement with “outsiders” must be intentional because of our nature to
stay among our own kind.
3. Observe the ends (ultimates or goals) of the culture and world around you and be able to articulate them
a. Be able to critique the ends of your world in comparison to the stated ends
of Scripture
Illustration: Ownership: Leviticus 25:8 – 50 years Jubilee land returns to original owner at a price equal to, lower than or greater than based on number of crops: Psalm 24 – the earth is the Lord’s: Luke 16 & 19 – master entrusts his possessions to managers for a season and returns to take account
4. Observe the means (methods of getting to the ends or goals) of the culture and world around you and be able to articulate them
a. Be able to critique the ends of your world in comparison to the stated ends
of Scripture
Illustration: Ownership: Debt (massive) – as a means to getting what we want to own feeding our lust for ownership of property that is not ours unveiling man’s fallen desire to have what is God’s and be as God and be owner not manager
5. Always keep an eye on your own heart’s object of affection to make sure it is Jesus and not apologetics
a. Apologetics can be as ugly as anything else when it becomes an end and
not a means to the end of Jesus exalted, Father glorified and Holy Spirit
unified
7. Make sure you are engaging and interesting as a friend not an evangelistic gunslinger
a. Community as the missing piece of evangelism
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Q & A The Teaching Ministry of the Church
Q & A The teaching ministry of the church
Ephesians 4:1-16
Ignorance is never a good thing. Not knowing leads to error in thought. Error in thought leads to error in action. Error in action leads to results that are off target.
Illustration: Beth and Alex’s response to the question “what is the Gospel and how has it affected your life?” The response: “I don’t know what the Gospel is.”
This begs the question: Can one be saved without knowing what the Gospel is? How did the idea of “being saved” become separated from the Gospel?
Without recapping the history of Christianity in North America, the preaching of the cross was replaced with the preaching of salvation for heaven as an escape from hell with Jesus being the means to that end. In other words heaven is preached as the deity and hell is preached as the enemy and Jesus is the tool by which presence to the deity is gained.
That is harsh and, perhaps a bit oversimplified, but the point becomes clear. Even with the best of intentions and the purest motives, a slight departure from the narrow path of truth, no matter how slight, ends up miles off course just a generation into the diversion.
Teaching should obliterate ignorance and replace it with knowledge of the truth, thus leading to right thinking, thus leading to right acting and rightly ending on target, life. “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few (Matthew 7:13-14).”
Ephesians 4:1-16
Paul here outlines to the Ephesians the goal of Unity in the church. However, inside of that Unity, God has graciously freed us from our bondage to the enemy and taken us to himself through the work of the cross and given a diversity of gifts to his people for the purpose of growing up into the image of Christ as the restoration of the image of God in us that was marred at the fall.
4:1-6 Paul exhorts the church to Unity
4:7-11 God has graciously given the unified church various gifts
4:12-16 God has given these gifts that the church may grow up into Christ (the image of God restored from the Fall)
1. Gifts are given to build unity in the mission so that the church grows into Christ who is the ground of what it means to be in unity (to grow into Christ is to come into the Kingdom that is here and is continuing to come until the fullness of the Kingdom comes at the completion of the Great Commission). v. 1-11
2. Pastor / Teacher functions to Equip Gifted Saints to do the ministry v. 11, 12a
A. Pastor – shepherd
Teacher – instructor
1. These two are predicate nominatives and both modified by the
“and”
2. This means that the functions of Pastor / Teacher are one and the
same by the same person
- In other words the pastor should be a teacher
- This function of teaching is the substantive difference
between the deacon and the elder
B. A pastor must be a teacher
C. The teaching ministry of the church must equip the church
1. Equip – in Greek there is the purpose clause and an article (for
the...)
- The ESV combines these two into the word “to” to denote
purpose
D. Equipping is for doing the work of ministry
1. There is no room in the church for people doing nothing
2. There is no such thing as learning that leads to doing nothing
3. The church doing the ministry results in the building of the church v. 12b-16
A. Building up the body of Christ v. 12b
1. Preaching the Gospel
2. Encouraging each other
3. Exhorting/motivating each other
4. Church Discipline for unrepentant sin
5. Discipleship in Community
6. Global Engagement
7. Community Development
8. Corporate Worship
B. Unity in Imitating Jesus v. 13
1. Unity
2. Knowledge of Jesus the Son of God
3. Growing into maturity whose standard is Jesus
C. Being Doctrinally Stable (v. 14
1. No longer doctrinal children
2. No longer unclear on truth and waffling about it
3. Not deceived by the cunning of men who “teach”
a. Hagee, Osteen,
D. Joining truth and love v. 15
1. We are to combine truth and love inside the community
E. Collaborating within and without v. 16
1. Collaboration is the functioning of every member
2. Collaboration begins within community
3. Community reveals giftedness
4. Giftedness leads to more ministry
5. Ministry leads to spiritual maturation and the preaching of the
Gospel
6. Maturing Christians preaching the Gospel leads to the advance of
the Great Commission
Ephesians 4:1-16
Ignorance is never a good thing. Not knowing leads to error in thought. Error in thought leads to error in action. Error in action leads to results that are off target.
Illustration: Beth and Alex’s response to the question “what is the Gospel and how has it affected your life?” The response: “I don’t know what the Gospel is.”
This begs the question: Can one be saved without knowing what the Gospel is? How did the idea of “being saved” become separated from the Gospel?
Without recapping the history of Christianity in North America, the preaching of the cross was replaced with the preaching of salvation for heaven as an escape from hell with Jesus being the means to that end. In other words heaven is preached as the deity and hell is preached as the enemy and Jesus is the tool by which presence to the deity is gained.
That is harsh and, perhaps a bit oversimplified, but the point becomes clear. Even with the best of intentions and the purest motives, a slight departure from the narrow path of truth, no matter how slight, ends up miles off course just a generation into the diversion.
Teaching should obliterate ignorance and replace it with knowledge of the truth, thus leading to right thinking, thus leading to right acting and rightly ending on target, life. “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few (Matthew 7:13-14).”
Ephesians 4:1-16
Paul here outlines to the Ephesians the goal of Unity in the church. However, inside of that Unity, God has graciously freed us from our bondage to the enemy and taken us to himself through the work of the cross and given a diversity of gifts to his people for the purpose of growing up into the image of Christ as the restoration of the image of God in us that was marred at the fall.
4:1-6 Paul exhorts the church to Unity
4:7-11 God has graciously given the unified church various gifts
4:12-16 God has given these gifts that the church may grow up into Christ (the image of God restored from the Fall)
1. Gifts are given to build unity in the mission so that the church grows into Christ who is the ground of what it means to be in unity (to grow into Christ is to come into the Kingdom that is here and is continuing to come until the fullness of the Kingdom comes at the completion of the Great Commission). v. 1-11
2. Pastor / Teacher functions to Equip Gifted Saints to do the ministry v. 11, 12a
A. Pastor – shepherd
Teacher – instructor
1. These two are predicate nominatives and both modified by the
“and”
2. This means that the functions of Pastor / Teacher are one and the
same by the same person
- In other words the pastor should be a teacher
- This function of teaching is the substantive difference
between the deacon and the elder
B. A pastor must be a teacher
C. The teaching ministry of the church must equip the church
1. Equip – in Greek there is the purpose clause and an article (for
the...)
- The ESV combines these two into the word “to” to denote
purpose
D. Equipping is for doing the work of ministry
1. There is no room in the church for people doing nothing
2. There is no such thing as learning that leads to doing nothing
3. The church doing the ministry results in the building of the church v. 12b-16
A. Building up the body of Christ v. 12b
1. Preaching the Gospel
2. Encouraging each other
3. Exhorting/motivating each other
4. Church Discipline for unrepentant sin
5. Discipleship in Community
6. Global Engagement
7. Community Development
8. Corporate Worship
B. Unity in Imitating Jesus v. 13
1. Unity
2. Knowledge of Jesus the Son of God
3. Growing into maturity whose standard is Jesus
C. Being Doctrinally Stable (v. 14
1. No longer doctrinal children
2. No longer unclear on truth and waffling about it
3. Not deceived by the cunning of men who “teach”
a. Hagee, Osteen,
D. Joining truth and love v. 15
1. We are to combine truth and love inside the community
E. Collaborating within and without v. 16
1. Collaboration is the functioning of every member
2. Collaboration begins within community
3. Community reveals giftedness
4. Giftedness leads to more ministry
5. Ministry leads to spiritual maturation and the preaching of the
Gospel
6. Maturing Christians preaching the Gospel leads to the advance of
the Great Commission
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Q & A Why is preaching necessary?
Q & A Why is preaching necessary?
Acts 8:4 εὐαγγέλιον - denoting the act of proclamation; as denoting the work of evangelization; as denoting the content of the message as an offer of salvation
Romans 10:14 κηρύσσω - official acitivy of a herald; make known extensively, tell everywhere; in a religious sense, denoting proclamation of a sacred message
If a person calls on the name of the Lord they are saved.
How can a person call on one they have not believed in?
How can a person believe in one thy have not heard of?
How can a person hear unless someone preaches to them?
How can a person be preached to unless the preacher is sent?
Faith comes from hearing and hearing only comes by the word of Christ.
Luke 4:43
Here Jesus has been teaching in Galilee and now he was in Judea. The geographical change indicating a coponent of preaching that the other word we will look at captures. That is the idea of an extensive covering of every territory.
Acts 6:2
In this passage the twelve have to make some qualitative decisions about the use of their time. There is a mandate to proclaim the good news, and the twelve’s time is being taken up with the day to day routine of feeding the widows.
They do not diminish the importance of serving the widows, in fact they highlight the importance of that ministry by appointing the first deacons to minister to those needs so that the preaching of the good news would not stop but continue on.
Acts 16:10
On the second missionary journey, Paul, Timothy and Silas receive Holy Spirit direction on the location in which they are to make a proclamation of the good news. They encounter Lydia, a merchant and thus influential person in Philippi, and the Lord opens her heart to pay attention to what is said and she believed, he whole house believes and is baptized.
Romans 15:20
Once again the concept of proclamation is to make known a message as an ambassador of a royal figure to the territories belonging to the royal leader.
It is interesting to note the tone of this command to preach, proclaim, to a king’s people his message to them when these people do not yet know they are under his rule.
In essence, Jesus is saying through the command to preach that these peoples are already his. And they are, for he is their creator and savior whether they know it yet or not, and thus the need to tell them.
Matthew 12:41
Here Jesus shows us some of the intended meaning of this call to preach. Jonah told of the Lord’s intention and the offer to repent. And the people responded to the message.
Titus 1:1-3
Paul says here that the preaching he does is resulting from the command of God to go and proclaim what has been show from his word (Scriptures). It is this preaching that brings that message to light.
2 Timothy 4:2
Here Paul instructs Timothy, the pastor/teacher at Ephesus, to preach the word in all seasons. This is a mandate to not neglect the proclamation of the gospel among his own people and, when needed, correct patiently while teaching them.
His reason is that the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching and will go and bring to themselves teachers that will suit their still fallen passions and will wander off into myths.
So, what is preaching?
1. Preaching is an act of boldly announcing royal news
a. Preaching is a divine mandate resulting from Jesus command to make
disciples. Therefore, people must have this message communicated to them
because they do not know.
b. Preaching is a bold act because it requires us to inform people of something
they do not yet know or understand.
1. Preaching is a strategic work. In our context this is a much harder work
because our activity includes much clarifying in order to bring
understanding to ingrained vocabulary.
a. In Rome, GA preach by defining terms using the biblical text
b. In Rome, GA preach by knowing the various beliefs of Romans
2. Preaching requires intentionality and that is bold
2. Preaching is an activity that must be contextualized
a. The message never changes
b. The message needs to be communicated in the terms of the hearers so
that there are no barriers, humanly speaking, to the message.
3. Preaching is a super natural activity
a. Preaching is an activity that all Christians can engage in that has the dynamic
component of Holy Spirit activity to open blind eyes, resurrect cold and dead
hearts and remove centuries of idolatrous behavior.
4. Preaching is an activity that requires a response
a. Preaching produces either faith or hardness (passively or actively)
b. It is the preachers job to understand what the hearers response is
c. It is the preachers job to treat each person they way they need to be
treated because each person is different and will not always respond the
way others do.
5. Preaching is an officially licensed activity of the church
a. Preaching is not reserved for church leadership only.
b. Preaching is mandated for all Christians.
c. Preaching is not a special call to ministry, but a privilege of all Christians
inside their vocations thus making their vocations holy.
6. Preaching is exhaustive in it’s scope
a. Preaching must not be contained to the preacher’s immediate context only.
b. Preaching must have urgency to it.
1. Preachers must seek audiences that have not heard now not later. The
call is global and local.
a. Thus, our vision:
For the glory of God we will build the church, both local and global, by being and producing radial followers of Jesus Christ.
Acts 8:4 εὐαγγέλιον - denoting the act of proclamation; as denoting the work of evangelization; as denoting the content of the message as an offer of salvation
Romans 10:14 κηρύσσω - official acitivy of a herald; make known extensively, tell everywhere; in a religious sense, denoting proclamation of a sacred message
If a person calls on the name of the Lord they are saved.
How can a person call on one they have not believed in?
How can a person believe in one thy have not heard of?
How can a person hear unless someone preaches to them?
How can a person be preached to unless the preacher is sent?
Faith comes from hearing and hearing only comes by the word of Christ.
Luke 4:43
Here Jesus has been teaching in Galilee and now he was in Judea. The geographical change indicating a coponent of preaching that the other word we will look at captures. That is the idea of an extensive covering of every territory.
Acts 6:2
In this passage the twelve have to make some qualitative decisions about the use of their time. There is a mandate to proclaim the good news, and the twelve’s time is being taken up with the day to day routine of feeding the widows.
They do not diminish the importance of serving the widows, in fact they highlight the importance of that ministry by appointing the first deacons to minister to those needs so that the preaching of the good news would not stop but continue on.
Acts 16:10
On the second missionary journey, Paul, Timothy and Silas receive Holy Spirit direction on the location in which they are to make a proclamation of the good news. They encounter Lydia, a merchant and thus influential person in Philippi, and the Lord opens her heart to pay attention to what is said and she believed, he whole house believes and is baptized.
Romans 15:20
Once again the concept of proclamation is to make known a message as an ambassador of a royal figure to the territories belonging to the royal leader.
It is interesting to note the tone of this command to preach, proclaim, to a king’s people his message to them when these people do not yet know they are under his rule.
In essence, Jesus is saying through the command to preach that these peoples are already his. And they are, for he is their creator and savior whether they know it yet or not, and thus the need to tell them.
Matthew 12:41
Here Jesus shows us some of the intended meaning of this call to preach. Jonah told of the Lord’s intention and the offer to repent. And the people responded to the message.
Titus 1:1-3
Paul says here that the preaching he does is resulting from the command of God to go and proclaim what has been show from his word (Scriptures). It is this preaching that brings that message to light.
2 Timothy 4:2
Here Paul instructs Timothy, the pastor/teacher at Ephesus, to preach the word in all seasons. This is a mandate to not neglect the proclamation of the gospel among his own people and, when needed, correct patiently while teaching them.
His reason is that the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching and will go and bring to themselves teachers that will suit their still fallen passions and will wander off into myths.
So, what is preaching?
1. Preaching is an act of boldly announcing royal news
a. Preaching is a divine mandate resulting from Jesus command to make
disciples. Therefore, people must have this message communicated to them
because they do not know.
b. Preaching is a bold act because it requires us to inform people of something
they do not yet know or understand.
1. Preaching is a strategic work. In our context this is a much harder work
because our activity includes much clarifying in order to bring
understanding to ingrained vocabulary.
a. In Rome, GA preach by defining terms using the biblical text
b. In Rome, GA preach by knowing the various beliefs of Romans
2. Preaching requires intentionality and that is bold
2. Preaching is an activity that must be contextualized
a. The message never changes
b. The message needs to be communicated in the terms of the hearers so
that there are no barriers, humanly speaking, to the message.
3. Preaching is a super natural activity
a. Preaching is an activity that all Christians can engage in that has the dynamic
component of Holy Spirit activity to open blind eyes, resurrect cold and dead
hearts and remove centuries of idolatrous behavior.
4. Preaching is an activity that requires a response
a. Preaching produces either faith or hardness (passively or actively)
b. It is the preachers job to understand what the hearers response is
c. It is the preachers job to treat each person they way they need to be
treated because each person is different and will not always respond the
way others do.
5. Preaching is an officially licensed activity of the church
a. Preaching is not reserved for church leadership only.
b. Preaching is mandated for all Christians.
c. Preaching is not a special call to ministry, but a privilege of all Christians
inside their vocations thus making their vocations holy.
6. Preaching is exhaustive in it’s scope
a. Preaching must not be contained to the preacher’s immediate context only.
b. Preaching must have urgency to it.
1. Preachers must seek audiences that have not heard now not later. The
call is global and local.
a. Thus, our vision:
For the glory of God we will build the church, both local and global, by being and producing radial followers of Jesus Christ.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Is Man's Will Free?
Is Man’s Will Free?
Resources:
Bondage of the Will, Martin Luther
Willing to Believe, R.C. Sproul
Freedom of the Will, Jonathan Edwards
John Locke
John Wesley
Clarification
1. Whenever this issue is handled terms need to defined
A. Freedom
B. Will
C. Heart
A. Freedom - the quality or state of being free; as the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action; liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another: independence; the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous; freedom from care
B. Definition of the will – “That by which the mind chooses any thing. The faculty of the will, is that power, or principle of mind, by which it is capable of choosing: an act of the will is the same as an act of choosing or choice.”
C. Definition of the heart –
A. לֵב, לֵבָב in the OT.
The use of לֵב and לֵבָב1 is not promiscue. C. A. Briggs2 has shown that “the earliest documents use לב.לבב ״ ״ appears first in Isaiah.” For details cf. Briggs and Holzinger.3
1. “Heart” in the literal sense, a. in men and animals, the “neighbourhood of the heart,” “breast,” passim; סְג֥ר לֵב the “caul of the heart,” Hos. 13:8. b. “Seat of physical vitality,” vitalising (סעד) by nourishment, e.g., Gn. 18:5; “physical brokenness,” כָּל־לֵבָב דַּוָּי Is. 1:5.
2. Fig. the “innermost part of man.” Men look on the outward appearance, God looks on the heart,” 1 S. 16:7; par. to קֶרֶב Jer. 31:33; to talk to oneself, to think (אמר, דבר passim, חשׁב Zech. 7:10, ברך Dt. 29:18; Job 1:5). The heart is the seat of mental or spiritual powers and capacities.
a. The heart stands firm in bravery and courage (עמד Ez. 22:14): לֵבָך. par. כֹּחַ Da. 11:25, מָצָא אֶת־לִבּוֹ to find the heart, 2 S. 7:27, יִגְבַּהּ לִבּוֹ his courage arose, 2 Ch. 17:6, אַבִּירֵי לֵב the stouthearted, Ps. 76:5. The failure of courage רכך ׃(לֵב) e.g., Dt. 20:3, מסס e.g., Dt. 20:8, חרד e.g., 1 S. 4:13, יצא Gn. 42:28, עוב Ps. 40:12, נפל 1 S. 17:32, מוג Ez. 21:20, דִּבֶּר עַל־לֵב to encourage, e.g., Gn. 34:3. Joy: שִׂמְחַת לֵב e.g., Dt. 28:47. Of merriness of heart: βφψ e.g., Ju. 19:9, טֹוד e.g., 2 S. 13:28, שׂמח e.g., Zech. 10:7. רנן Job 29:13, רחשׁ Ps. 45:1, עלץ 1 S. 2:1. Trouble and sorrow (כְּאֵב לֵב Is. 65:14) lurk in the sides of the heart (קִירֹת לֵב Jer. 4:19). Of sorrow of heart: רעע Dt. 15:10 (רֹעַ לֵב Neh. 2:2), שׁבר ni e.g., Ps. 34:18, חיל Ps. 55:4, הפך ni Lam. 1:20, חמץ hitp. Ps. 73:21, כאב Prv. 14:13, סְחַרְחַר Ps. 38:10, זעק Is. 15:5. Pride: זְדוֹן לֵב Jer. 49:16, רֻם לֵב Jer. 48:29, גֹּבַהּ לֵב 2 Ch. 32:26. Of arrogance of heart, רום e.g., Dt. 8:14, גבהּ e.g., Ez. 28:17, נשׂא 2 K. 14:10. Inclination of heart, הָיָה לֵב אַחֲרֵי 2 S. 15:13, הִטָּה (הֵסֵב) לֵב e. g., 1 K. 8:58; Ezr. 6:22, הֵשִׁיב לֵד לֵב עֵל Mal. 3:24, נָטָה לֵב מֵעִם 1 K. 11:9. Anxious concern: אֶל or שִׁים אֶת־לֵב לְ. 1 S. 9:20; 1 S. 25:25. Sympathy: נֶהְפַּךְ לִדִּי Hos. 11:8. Incitement: חמם e.g., Dt. 19:6, קנא pi Prv. 23:17; dereliction: לֵב מַרְפֵּא Prv. 14:30. Desire: תַּאֲוַת לִבּוֹ Ps. 21:2; lusts: לֵב par. to עֵינַיִם e.g., Nu. 15:39, אַחַר עֵינַי הָלַךְ לִבִּי Job 31:7.
b. The heart as the seat of rational functions. The heart is given by God לָדַעַת Dt. 29:3. Those who have won understanding (קנה לב Prv. 19:8) are אַנְשֵׁי לֵבָב Job 34:10 or חַכְמֵי לֵב e.g., Job 37:24, with far-reaching insight (רֹחַב לֵב 1 K. 5:9). To them belongs לֵב חָכָם וְנָבוֹן 1 K. 3:12; of them may be said לֵב נָבוֹן יִקְנֶה־דַּעַת Prv. 18:15; they speak out of the treasures of their knowledge (מִלִּבּם Job 8:10). Accordingly לִבּוֹ חָסֵר: his understanding fails him, Qoh. 10:3, חֶסֶר־לֵב (or חֹסֶר־לֵב, cf. BHK2, 3) folly, Prv. 10:21, חֲסַר־לֵב: lacking in understanding, e.g., Prv. 6:22, אֵין לֵב without understanding, e,g., Hos. 7:11, גָּנַב אֶת־לֵב: to deceive someone, e.g., Gn. 31:20, wine takes away understanding יִקַּח לֵב Hos. 4:11, תִּמְהיֹן לֵבָב confusion of mind, Dt. 28:28. Thoughts dwell in the heart רַעְיוֹנֵי לֵבָב Da. 2:30; חִקְרֵי־לֵב Ju. 5:16, including evil thoughts מַשְׂכִּיּוֹת לֵבָב Ps. 73:7, fantasies תַּרְמִית לֵב e.g., Jer. 14:14, self-invented visions חֲווֹן לֵב Jer. 23:16, artistic sense חָכְמַת־לֵב Ex. 35:35 (חֲכַם־לֵב artist, e.g., Ex. 28:3). עָלָה עַל־לֵב to come into the mind, e.g., Is. 65:17, הֵשִׁיב אֶל־לֵב to remember, e.g., Lam. 3:21, שִׂים (שִׁית) לֵב to direct attention to, e.g., Hag. 1:5; Jer. 31:21.
c. From the heart comes planning and volition (תְזִמּוֹת לֵב e.g., Jer. 23:20): בִּלְבָבוֹ it is in his purpose, Is. 10:7, הָיָה עִם־לֵבָב to have a purpose, e.g., 1 K. 8:17, עָשָׂה בִלְבַב וּבְנֶפֶשׁ to act according to the will, 1 S. 2:35 (כְּלֵב 1 S. 13:14 etc.), נָתַן לֵבָב לְ 1 Ch. 22:19 or הֵכִין לֵבָב לְ Ezr. 7:10, to direct one’s purpose to, שִׂים עַל־לֵב to purpose, Da. 1:8, עָלְתָה עַל־לִבִּי it has been my purpose, e.g., Jer. 7:31. Inner impulse comes from the heart: כָּל־אִישׂ אֲשֶׂר נְשָׂאוֹ לִבּוֹ each whose heart moved him thereto, e.g., Ex. 36:2 (with מלא Est. 7:5), נְדִיב לֵב one who is willing, e.g., Ex. 35:5. לאֹ מִלִּבִּי not of one’s own impulse, e.g., Nu. 16:28. Attitude of will, or character, is rooted in the heart (comprehensively כְּלָיוֹת וָלֵב Jer. 11:20). If the will (דֶּרֶךְ לֵב Is. 57:17; יֵצֶר מַחְשְׁבֹת לֵב Gn. 6:5) is inclined in the right direction (הִטָּה לֵב Ps. 119:36, הֵכִין לֵב e.g., Job 11:13), this is renewal of heart (לֵב חָדָשׁ e.g., Ez. 18:31). The whole man with his inner being and willing is comprised in לֵב: full committal בְּכָל־לֵב (par. to בְּכָל־נֶפֶשׁ e.g., Jos. 22:5, בֶּאֱמֶת 1 S. 12:24, בְּכָל־רָצוֹן 2 Ch. 15:15, בְּכָל־מְאֹד Dt. 6:5) or בְּלֵב שָׁלֵם e.g., 1 Ch. 29:9 (par. to בְּנֶפֶשׁ חֲפֵצָה 1 Ch. 28:9, בֶּאֱמֶת 2 K. 20:3). Thus לֵב can be used for “person,” e.g., Ps. 22:26 (along with כְּלָיוֹת Prv. 23:15 f., כָּבֵד Ps. 16:9,4 שְׁאֵר Ps. 73:26, בָּשָׂר Ps. 84:2), though with a slightly different nuance.
d. Religious and moral conduct is rooted in the heart. With the heart one serves God (1 S. 12:20; par. to בֶּאֱמְת 1 S. 12:24; “with the whole heart” passim). In it dwells the fear of God, Jer. 32:40. The heart (לוּחַ לֵב) accepts the divine teachings, Prv. 7:3 (תּוֹרָתִי בְלִבָּם Is. 51:7). The heart of the righteous (יִשְׁרֵי־לֵב e.g., Ps. 7:10) trusts in God. Prv. 3:5, is faithful to Him לֵבָב נֶאֱמָן (Neh. 9:8), and is without fear אמץ hi, Ps. 27:14. We read of the defection of the heart: רחק pi, Is. 29:13, סור e.g., Dt. 17:17, סוג e.g., Ps. 44:18, פנה e.g., Dt. 29:17, פתה Dt. 11:16, זנה Ez. 6:9; of the hardening of the heart, חזק q and pi, e.g., Ex. 4:21; 7:13, כבד and hi, e.g., Ex. 9:7, 8:11, קשׁה hi, e.g., Ex. 7:3, אמץ pi, e.g., Dt. 2:30; the hardened: חִזְקֵי לֵב. 2:4 (par. to קְשֵׁי פָנִים), אַבִּירֵי לֵב Is. 46:12; obduracy: שְׁרִירוּת לֵב e.g., Dt. 29:18, מְגִנַּת לֵב Lam. 3:65. The heart of the sinner (sin is written עַל לוּחַ לִבָּם Jer. 17:1) is uncircumcised: עָרְלַת לֵבָב e.g., Dt. 10:16, עַרְלֵי לֵב Jer. 9:25. Circumcision of the heart (מול e.g., Dt. 10:16) comes with conversion of heart: שׁוב Jl 2:12, הֵשִיב אֶל־לֵב 1 K. 8:47, לֵב נִשְׁבָּר Ps. 51:17. וַיַּךְ לֵב is used for conscience smiting us at 1 S. 24:5, and מִכְשׁוֹל לֵב for a scruple of conscience at 1 S. 25:31. The righteous is pure in heart, בַּר־לֵבָב Ps. 24:4, אֹהֵב טְהָור־לֵב Prv. 22:11; cf. ישֶׁר לֵבָב Dt. 9:5, תָּם־לֵבָב Gn. 20:5, יִשְׁרַת לֵבָב 1 K. 3:6, לֵב טהוֹר Ps. 51:10. He speaks the whole truth, אֶת־כָּל־לִבּוֹ Ju. 16:17. The ungodly man has a corrupt heart, עִקְּשֵׁי־לֵב Prv. 11:20, חַנְפֵי לֵב Job 36:13; he speaks with a double tongue, בְּלֵב וָלֵב Ps. 12:3.
What does the Bible Say?
Genesis 6:5; Genesis 8:21; Numbers 15:39; Ecclesiastes 9:3; Jeremiah 11:8; Jeremiah 17:1, 5-9; Mark 7:21; Mark 10:5; Ephesians 2:1-10
What Do We Conclude?
1. Mankind is in desperate need of liberation from the bondage of sin
a. Man is under the just wrath of God
b. God does not have to save man at all
c. The flood in Genesis reminds of God’s right condemnation on fallen man
but also his great mercy to provide salvation for those he shows mercy to
2. There is nothing the fall has not touched
a. All of mankind is fallen and his best only ends in idolatry and death
3. Sin is radically evil
a. We must not be ok with our sin
b. We must not be ok with sin’s work of death in our culture
c. We must work to alleviate sin’s consequences in our culture while
preaching the Good News
4. The Gospel has never been more relevant to mankind
a. The preaching of the Gospel is the only way that a sin coerced heart can
be transformed (Romans 10:11-17)
1. The gospel is preached
2. The hearing is quickened by the preached gospel
3. Faith springs from this hearing quickened by this good news
4. Thus the inextricable link between Ephesians 2:8, 9 and Romans
10:17
5. The “Good News” is viewed as really good not just a good option on a shelf at Wal-Mart
a. Man’s evil heart cannot be awakened by any other means
b. God has not given this message to be scoffed at by evil men, but to conquer
the rebellion and restore all things through the advance of the Great
Commission
5. If we are in Christ, we have been made alive
a. We have Holy Spirit in us leading us into truth
b. We have Holy Spirit healing taking place to unchain our volition to begin
making holy decisions (sanctification)
6. In Christ, we can begin executing the sinful nature Romans 8:12-14
7. We can sell out to the preaching of the Gospel to the nation knowing that the Gospel does the work of convincing and all we have to do is preach indigenously.
a. Adoniram Judson believed this
b. William Carey believed this
c. Charles Spurgeon believed this
d. Martin Luther believed this
e. George Muller believed this
f. David Brainerd believed this
g. George Whitfield believed this
1. This belief fueled their mission fire to make sure the nations had
access to the only thing that could awaken them from their dead state.
8. We must come and rejoice in worship that we, who were incapable, have been made alive.
a. We come with Paul in Romans 11:33 at the end of his expounding on the justifying work of God in the Gospel to overcome man’s condition with this:
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who as given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Resources:
Bondage of the Will, Martin Luther
Willing to Believe, R.C. Sproul
Freedom of the Will, Jonathan Edwards
John Locke
John Wesley
Clarification
1. Whenever this issue is handled terms need to defined
A. Freedom
B. Will
C. Heart
A. Freedom - the quality or state of being free; as the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action; liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another: independence; the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous; freedom from care
B. Definition of the will – “That by which the mind chooses any thing. The faculty of the will, is that power, or principle of mind, by which it is capable of choosing: an act of the will is the same as an act of choosing or choice.”
C. Definition of the heart –
A. לֵב, לֵבָב in the OT.
The use of לֵב and לֵבָב1 is not promiscue. C. A. Briggs2 has shown that “the earliest documents use לב.לבב ״ ״ appears first in Isaiah.” For details cf. Briggs and Holzinger.3
1. “Heart” in the literal sense, a. in men and animals, the “neighbourhood of the heart,” “breast,” passim; סְג֥ר לֵב the “caul of the heart,” Hos. 13:8. b. “Seat of physical vitality,” vitalising (סעד) by nourishment, e.g., Gn. 18:5; “physical brokenness,” כָּל־לֵבָב דַּוָּי Is. 1:5.
2. Fig. the “innermost part of man.” Men look on the outward appearance, God looks on the heart,” 1 S. 16:7; par. to קֶרֶב Jer. 31:33; to talk to oneself, to think (אמר, דבר passim, חשׁב Zech. 7:10, ברך Dt. 29:18; Job 1:5). The heart is the seat of mental or spiritual powers and capacities.
a. The heart stands firm in bravery and courage (עמד Ez. 22:14): לֵבָך. par. כֹּחַ Da. 11:25, מָצָא אֶת־לִבּוֹ to find the heart, 2 S. 7:27, יִגְבַּהּ לִבּוֹ his courage arose, 2 Ch. 17:6, אַבִּירֵי לֵב the stouthearted, Ps. 76:5. The failure of courage רכך ׃(לֵב) e.g., Dt. 20:3, מסס e.g., Dt. 20:8, חרד e.g., 1 S. 4:13, יצא Gn. 42:28, עוב Ps. 40:12, נפל 1 S. 17:32, מוג Ez. 21:20, דִּבֶּר עַל־לֵב to encourage, e.g., Gn. 34:3. Joy: שִׂמְחַת לֵב e.g., Dt. 28:47. Of merriness of heart: βφψ e.g., Ju. 19:9, טֹוד e.g., 2 S. 13:28, שׂמח e.g., Zech. 10:7. רנן Job 29:13, רחשׁ Ps. 45:1, עלץ 1 S. 2:1. Trouble and sorrow (כְּאֵב לֵב Is. 65:14) lurk in the sides of the heart (קִירֹת לֵב Jer. 4:19). Of sorrow of heart: רעע Dt. 15:10 (רֹעַ לֵב Neh. 2:2), שׁבר ni e.g., Ps. 34:18, חיל Ps. 55:4, הפך ni Lam. 1:20, חמץ hitp. Ps. 73:21, כאב Prv. 14:13, סְחַרְחַר Ps. 38:10, זעק Is. 15:5. Pride: זְדוֹן לֵב Jer. 49:16, רֻם לֵב Jer. 48:29, גֹּבַהּ לֵב 2 Ch. 32:26. Of arrogance of heart, רום e.g., Dt. 8:14, גבהּ e.g., Ez. 28:17, נשׂא 2 K. 14:10. Inclination of heart, הָיָה לֵב אַחֲרֵי 2 S. 15:13, הִטָּה (הֵסֵב) לֵב e. g., 1 K. 8:58; Ezr. 6:22, הֵשִׁיב לֵד לֵב עֵל Mal. 3:24, נָטָה לֵב מֵעִם 1 K. 11:9. Anxious concern: אֶל or שִׁים אֶת־לֵב לְ. 1 S. 9:20; 1 S. 25:25. Sympathy: נֶהְפַּךְ לִדִּי Hos. 11:8. Incitement: חמם e.g., Dt. 19:6, קנא pi Prv. 23:17; dereliction: לֵב מַרְפֵּא Prv. 14:30. Desire: תַּאֲוַת לִבּוֹ Ps. 21:2; lusts: לֵב par. to עֵינַיִם e.g., Nu. 15:39, אַחַר עֵינַי הָלַךְ לִבִּי Job 31:7.
b. The heart as the seat of rational functions. The heart is given by God לָדַעַת Dt. 29:3. Those who have won understanding (קנה לב Prv. 19:8) are אַנְשֵׁי לֵבָב Job 34:10 or חַכְמֵי לֵב e.g., Job 37:24, with far-reaching insight (רֹחַב לֵב 1 K. 5:9). To them belongs לֵב חָכָם וְנָבוֹן 1 K. 3:12; of them may be said לֵב נָבוֹן יִקְנֶה־דַּעַת Prv. 18:15; they speak out of the treasures of their knowledge (מִלִּבּם Job 8:10). Accordingly לִבּוֹ חָסֵר: his understanding fails him, Qoh. 10:3, חֶסֶר־לֵב (or חֹסֶר־לֵב, cf. BHK2, 3) folly, Prv. 10:21, חֲסַר־לֵב: lacking in understanding, e.g., Prv. 6:22, אֵין לֵב without understanding, e,g., Hos. 7:11, גָּנַב אֶת־לֵב: to deceive someone, e.g., Gn. 31:20, wine takes away understanding יִקַּח לֵב Hos. 4:11, תִּמְהיֹן לֵבָב confusion of mind, Dt. 28:28. Thoughts dwell in the heart רַעְיוֹנֵי לֵבָב Da. 2:30; חִקְרֵי־לֵב Ju. 5:16, including evil thoughts מַשְׂכִּיּוֹת לֵבָב Ps. 73:7, fantasies תַּרְמִית לֵב e.g., Jer. 14:14, self-invented visions חֲווֹן לֵב Jer. 23:16, artistic sense חָכְמַת־לֵב Ex. 35:35 (חֲכַם־לֵב artist, e.g., Ex. 28:3). עָלָה עַל־לֵב to come into the mind, e.g., Is. 65:17, הֵשִׁיב אֶל־לֵב to remember, e.g., Lam. 3:21, שִׂים (שִׁית) לֵב to direct attention to, e.g., Hag. 1:5; Jer. 31:21.
c. From the heart comes planning and volition (תְזִמּוֹת לֵב e.g., Jer. 23:20): בִּלְבָבוֹ it is in his purpose, Is. 10:7, הָיָה עִם־לֵבָב to have a purpose, e.g., 1 K. 8:17, עָשָׂה בִלְבַב וּבְנֶפֶשׁ to act according to the will, 1 S. 2:35 (כְּלֵב 1 S. 13:14 etc.), נָתַן לֵבָב לְ 1 Ch. 22:19 or הֵכִין לֵבָב לְ Ezr. 7:10, to direct one’s purpose to, שִׂים עַל־לֵב to purpose, Da. 1:8, עָלְתָה עַל־לִבִּי it has been my purpose, e.g., Jer. 7:31. Inner impulse comes from the heart: כָּל־אִישׂ אֲשֶׂר נְשָׂאוֹ לִבּוֹ each whose heart moved him thereto, e.g., Ex. 36:2 (with מלא Est. 7:5), נְדִיב לֵב one who is willing, e.g., Ex. 35:5. לאֹ מִלִּבִּי not of one’s own impulse, e.g., Nu. 16:28. Attitude of will, or character, is rooted in the heart (comprehensively כְּלָיוֹת וָלֵב Jer. 11:20). If the will (דֶּרֶךְ לֵב Is. 57:17; יֵצֶר מַחְשְׁבֹת לֵב Gn. 6:5) is inclined in the right direction (הִטָּה לֵב Ps. 119:36, הֵכִין לֵב e.g., Job 11:13), this is renewal of heart (לֵב חָדָשׁ e.g., Ez. 18:31). The whole man with his inner being and willing is comprised in לֵב: full committal בְּכָל־לֵב (par. to בְּכָל־נֶפֶשׁ e.g., Jos. 22:5, בֶּאֱמֶת 1 S. 12:24, בְּכָל־רָצוֹן 2 Ch. 15:15, בְּכָל־מְאֹד Dt. 6:5) or בְּלֵב שָׁלֵם e.g., 1 Ch. 29:9 (par. to בְּנֶפֶשׁ חֲפֵצָה 1 Ch. 28:9, בֶּאֱמֶת 2 K. 20:3). Thus לֵב can be used for “person,” e.g., Ps. 22:26 (along with כְּלָיוֹת Prv. 23:15 f., כָּבֵד Ps. 16:9,4 שְׁאֵר Ps. 73:26, בָּשָׂר Ps. 84:2), though with a slightly different nuance.
d. Religious and moral conduct is rooted in the heart. With the heart one serves God (1 S. 12:20; par. to בֶּאֱמְת 1 S. 12:24; “with the whole heart” passim). In it dwells the fear of God, Jer. 32:40. The heart (לוּחַ לֵב) accepts the divine teachings, Prv. 7:3 (תּוֹרָתִי בְלִבָּם Is. 51:7). The heart of the righteous (יִשְׁרֵי־לֵב e.g., Ps. 7:10) trusts in God. Prv. 3:5, is faithful to Him לֵבָב נֶאֱמָן (Neh. 9:8), and is without fear אמץ hi, Ps. 27:14. We read of the defection of the heart: רחק pi, Is. 29:13, סור e.g., Dt. 17:17, סוג e.g., Ps. 44:18, פנה e.g., Dt. 29:17, פתה Dt. 11:16, זנה Ez. 6:9; of the hardening of the heart, חזק q and pi, e.g., Ex. 4:21; 7:13, כבד and hi, e.g., Ex. 9:7, 8:11, קשׁה hi, e.g., Ex. 7:3, אמץ pi, e.g., Dt. 2:30; the hardened: חִזְקֵי לֵב. 2:4 (par. to קְשֵׁי פָנִים), אַבִּירֵי לֵב Is. 46:12; obduracy: שְׁרִירוּת לֵב e.g., Dt. 29:18, מְגִנַּת לֵב Lam. 3:65. The heart of the sinner (sin is written עַל לוּחַ לִבָּם Jer. 17:1) is uncircumcised: עָרְלַת לֵבָב e.g., Dt. 10:16, עַרְלֵי לֵב Jer. 9:25. Circumcision of the heart (מול e.g., Dt. 10:16) comes with conversion of heart: שׁוב Jl 2:12, הֵשִיב אֶל־לֵב 1 K. 8:47, לֵב נִשְׁבָּר Ps. 51:17. וַיַּךְ לֵב is used for conscience smiting us at 1 S. 24:5, and מִכְשׁוֹל לֵב for a scruple of conscience at 1 S. 25:31. The righteous is pure in heart, בַּר־לֵבָב Ps. 24:4, אֹהֵב טְהָור־לֵב Prv. 22:11; cf. ישֶׁר לֵבָב Dt. 9:5, תָּם־לֵבָב Gn. 20:5, יִשְׁרַת לֵבָב 1 K. 3:6, לֵב טהוֹר Ps. 51:10. He speaks the whole truth, אֶת־כָּל־לִבּוֹ Ju. 16:17. The ungodly man has a corrupt heart, עִקְּשֵׁי־לֵב Prv. 11:20, חַנְפֵי לֵב Job 36:13; he speaks with a double tongue, בְּלֵב וָלֵב Ps. 12:3.
What does the Bible Say?
Genesis 6:5; Genesis 8:21; Numbers 15:39; Ecclesiastes 9:3; Jeremiah 11:8; Jeremiah 17:1, 5-9; Mark 7:21; Mark 10:5; Ephesians 2:1-10
What Do We Conclude?
1. Mankind is in desperate need of liberation from the bondage of sin
a. Man is under the just wrath of God
b. God does not have to save man at all
c. The flood in Genesis reminds of God’s right condemnation on fallen man
but also his great mercy to provide salvation for those he shows mercy to
2. There is nothing the fall has not touched
a. All of mankind is fallen and his best only ends in idolatry and death
3. Sin is radically evil
a. We must not be ok with our sin
b. We must not be ok with sin’s work of death in our culture
c. We must work to alleviate sin’s consequences in our culture while
preaching the Good News
4. The Gospel has never been more relevant to mankind
a. The preaching of the Gospel is the only way that a sin coerced heart can
be transformed (Romans 10:11-17)
1. The gospel is preached
2. The hearing is quickened by the preached gospel
3. Faith springs from this hearing quickened by this good news
4. Thus the inextricable link between Ephesians 2:8, 9 and Romans
10:17
5. The “Good News” is viewed as really good not just a good option on a shelf at Wal-Mart
a. Man’s evil heart cannot be awakened by any other means
b. God has not given this message to be scoffed at by evil men, but to conquer
the rebellion and restore all things through the advance of the Great
Commission
5. If we are in Christ, we have been made alive
a. We have Holy Spirit in us leading us into truth
b. We have Holy Spirit healing taking place to unchain our volition to begin
making holy decisions (sanctification)
6. In Christ, we can begin executing the sinful nature Romans 8:12-14
7. We can sell out to the preaching of the Gospel to the nation knowing that the Gospel does the work of convincing and all we have to do is preach indigenously.
a. Adoniram Judson believed this
b. William Carey believed this
c. Charles Spurgeon believed this
d. Martin Luther believed this
e. George Muller believed this
f. David Brainerd believed this
g. George Whitfield believed this
1. This belief fueled their mission fire to make sure the nations had
access to the only thing that could awaken them from their dead state.
8. We must come and rejoice in worship that we, who were incapable, have been made alive.
a. We come with Paul in Romans 11:33 at the end of his expounding on the justifying work of God in the Gospel to overcome man’s condition with this:
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who as given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Q & A How do we read the Old Testament (Part 5)
Q & A. How do we read the Old Testament
Jeremiah 31:27-40
1. All Scripture Predicts (prophecies, Messianic Psalms, etc.) Christ’s person and/or work.
In Jeremiah 31 there is the prediction of a coming change in how God is going to relate to his people.
The Lord has spoken to Jeremiah in a dream reassuring him that he would restore his people.
This is a comfort to Jeremiah because he has been preaching a message of repent or else from the Lord and has been persecuted for it.
Jeremiah believes the Lord, but he does not take joy in the message to the point of great distress (Jeremiah 15).
The Lord promises Jeremiah he will preserve him and keep him only be faithful to proclaim what he is given.
So, the Lord relieves some of Jeremiah’s distress and shows Jeremiah what his coming work is going to be in his people by establishing a “new” covenant.
The Abrahamic and the Davidic covenants are clearly a continued extension of the “new” covenant and is key in understanding the Person and work of Christ and the implications on the church and it’s mission (of which we have dealt with earlier).
With this “new” covenant, however, the Mosaic covenant is no longer the operating manual for how God interacts with his people.
Even though it is very clear in the texts we have looked at that Father saved by grace through faith, there was a “veil” so to speak that kept the heart and mind from assimilating the meaning of the law into inner transformation.
What was missing was the work of God to place his Holy Spirit permanently inside of his people, person by person, and so mark them as his children, transform their very make up as people and give them the light of understanding who God is and his righteousness.
What God was promising to do in the coming Messiah was not another covenant renewal ceremony that was skin deep and did not turn away the right wrath of God.
What God was going to bring about for the people was an internal transformation of the being of the person and as a whole, his church, in which they would be made righteous forever and he would forever be their God.
Because of changing circumstances, especially occasioned by Israel’s sin, the religious history of Israel had been dotted with covenant renewals under Moses (Exod 34; Deuteronomy), Joshua (Josh 23–24), Samuel (1 Sam 12), and Hezekiah (2 Chr 29–31). When King Josiah led Judah in the greatest of all covenant renewals to remove idolatry and to reinstitute true worship in Judah in accordance with the Mosaic covenant (2 Chr 34:3–7), it may have looked to many (perhaps even Jeremiah at first) like the dawn of a new spiritual day for God’s people. Discovery of the Book of Law (2 Kgs 22:8–10; 2 Chr 34:8–18) led to the celebration of the greatest Passover feast since Samuel (2 Kgs 23:1–25; 2 Chr 34:19–35:19). Nevertheless, even such great revivals could not turn the tide of sins committed and wrath deserved because of the extensiveness of sin and the greatness of wrath (2 Kgs 23:26–27) and because of the superficiality of the revivals (2 Kgs 23:9; 2 Chr 34:24–25; 36:15–16; Jer 3:10; 25:1–3; 37:1–2).
“What was needed, as God revealed through Jeremiah in this passage,49 was not another covenant renewal but an internal transformation of the people based upon the divine provision of complete forgiveness. These would be the provisions of what the Lord referred to here as a “new covenant,” which he promised to institute with Israel and Judah in days to come to replace the one made at Sinai (11:1–17).50 This new covenant relationship would not be “skin-deep” and subject to the waywardness of the people but “heart-deep” and permanently enduring.”51
1. The New Covenant is based on the work of the Messiah, Jesus
Hebrews 8:1-7
A. This is going to be a growing debate as the Muslim world clashes with the
church.
2. Fallen Humanity is the Culprit for the Failure of the First Covenant
Jeremiah 31:32; Hebrews 8:7-8
3. Man is Incapable of Continuing in the Righteousness of God
Jeremiah 31:32; Hebrews 8:9
4. God, Being Rich in Mercy, Places his Spirit into His People Who is the Inspirer of the Law, Communicator of Truth, Reminder of What Messiah Jesus Said, the Guarantee of our Inheritance as Children of God and our Wonderful Counselor (2 Timothy 3:16; John 14-16; Ephesians 1)
Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10
A. New Covenant people have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them from salvation on
at full strength.
B. We must learn to listen to him and obey him as he leads us according to what
Messiah Jesus has said
C. We must respond to his Fatherly rebukes to correct our behavior as we grow
in sanctification
5. All of the New Covenant People (church) Will Know God
Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrews 8:11
There will no longer be a need for a faithful “remnant” within the covenant people toe teach the unfaithful majority to know God.
All covenant partners will know him.
To know God means that one has been made aware of their sin problem and their alienation from God. They have responded to the invitation of the Gospel to repent and believe Jesus. They have begun pursuing Jesus and his mission and walk in constant fellowship with God via the work of Jesus and the indwelling Holy Spirit.
A. Each of God’s people have the same capacity to know and enjoy God
1. Each person may experience Father differently and have different gifts
but they each have the capacity to know and enjoy God in their pursuit of
him
2. Jeremiah 29:13
B. Pastors do not have a corner on the market of knowing God
1. Pastors are to teach to equip those who know God to do his work
C. If it is in the text, God gave it to be pursued and understood to know him
better.
6. People of the New Covenant have NO sin record with Father anymore
Jeremiah 31:34: Hebrews 8:12
A. My sin, past, present and future is forgotten
B. We must imitate that in our relationships with each other
1. We do not hold each other’s faults against each other
2. We forgive as we have been forgiven
3. We treat each other as if each is without the guilt of sin
Jeremiah 31:27-40
1. All Scripture Predicts (prophecies, Messianic Psalms, etc.) Christ’s person and/or work.
In Jeremiah 31 there is the prediction of a coming change in how God is going to relate to his people.
The Lord has spoken to Jeremiah in a dream reassuring him that he would restore his people.
This is a comfort to Jeremiah because he has been preaching a message of repent or else from the Lord and has been persecuted for it.
Jeremiah believes the Lord, but he does not take joy in the message to the point of great distress (Jeremiah 15).
The Lord promises Jeremiah he will preserve him and keep him only be faithful to proclaim what he is given.
So, the Lord relieves some of Jeremiah’s distress and shows Jeremiah what his coming work is going to be in his people by establishing a “new” covenant.
The Abrahamic and the Davidic covenants are clearly a continued extension of the “new” covenant and is key in understanding the Person and work of Christ and the implications on the church and it’s mission (of which we have dealt with earlier).
With this “new” covenant, however, the Mosaic covenant is no longer the operating manual for how God interacts with his people.
Even though it is very clear in the texts we have looked at that Father saved by grace through faith, there was a “veil” so to speak that kept the heart and mind from assimilating the meaning of the law into inner transformation.
What was missing was the work of God to place his Holy Spirit permanently inside of his people, person by person, and so mark them as his children, transform their very make up as people and give them the light of understanding who God is and his righteousness.
What God was promising to do in the coming Messiah was not another covenant renewal ceremony that was skin deep and did not turn away the right wrath of God.
What God was going to bring about for the people was an internal transformation of the being of the person and as a whole, his church, in which they would be made righteous forever and he would forever be their God.
Because of changing circumstances, especially occasioned by Israel’s sin, the religious history of Israel had been dotted with covenant renewals under Moses (Exod 34; Deuteronomy), Joshua (Josh 23–24), Samuel (1 Sam 12), and Hezekiah (2 Chr 29–31). When King Josiah led Judah in the greatest of all covenant renewals to remove idolatry and to reinstitute true worship in Judah in accordance with the Mosaic covenant (2 Chr 34:3–7), it may have looked to many (perhaps even Jeremiah at first) like the dawn of a new spiritual day for God’s people. Discovery of the Book of Law (2 Kgs 22:8–10; 2 Chr 34:8–18) led to the celebration of the greatest Passover feast since Samuel (2 Kgs 23:1–25; 2 Chr 34:19–35:19). Nevertheless, even such great revivals could not turn the tide of sins committed and wrath deserved because of the extensiveness of sin and the greatness of wrath (2 Kgs 23:26–27) and because of the superficiality of the revivals (2 Kgs 23:9; 2 Chr 34:24–25; 36:15–16; Jer 3:10; 25:1–3; 37:1–2).
“What was needed, as God revealed through Jeremiah in this passage,49 was not another covenant renewal but an internal transformation of the people based upon the divine provision of complete forgiveness. These would be the provisions of what the Lord referred to here as a “new covenant,” which he promised to institute with Israel and Judah in days to come to replace the one made at Sinai (11:1–17).50 This new covenant relationship would not be “skin-deep” and subject to the waywardness of the people but “heart-deep” and permanently enduring.”51
1. The New Covenant is based on the work of the Messiah, Jesus
Hebrews 8:1-7
A. This is going to be a growing debate as the Muslim world clashes with the
church.
2. Fallen Humanity is the Culprit for the Failure of the First Covenant
Jeremiah 31:32; Hebrews 8:7-8
3. Man is Incapable of Continuing in the Righteousness of God
Jeremiah 31:32; Hebrews 8:9
4. God, Being Rich in Mercy, Places his Spirit into His People Who is the Inspirer of the Law, Communicator of Truth, Reminder of What Messiah Jesus Said, the Guarantee of our Inheritance as Children of God and our Wonderful Counselor (2 Timothy 3:16; John 14-16; Ephesians 1)
Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10
A. New Covenant people have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them from salvation on
at full strength.
B. We must learn to listen to him and obey him as he leads us according to what
Messiah Jesus has said
C. We must respond to his Fatherly rebukes to correct our behavior as we grow
in sanctification
5. All of the New Covenant People (church) Will Know God
Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrews 8:11
There will no longer be a need for a faithful “remnant” within the covenant people toe teach the unfaithful majority to know God.
All covenant partners will know him.
To know God means that one has been made aware of their sin problem and their alienation from God. They have responded to the invitation of the Gospel to repent and believe Jesus. They have begun pursuing Jesus and his mission and walk in constant fellowship with God via the work of Jesus and the indwelling Holy Spirit.
A. Each of God’s people have the same capacity to know and enjoy God
1. Each person may experience Father differently and have different gifts
but they each have the capacity to know and enjoy God in their pursuit of
him
2. Jeremiah 29:13
B. Pastors do not have a corner on the market of knowing God
1. Pastors are to teach to equip those who know God to do his work
C. If it is in the text, God gave it to be pursued and understood to know him
better.
6. People of the New Covenant have NO sin record with Father anymore
Jeremiah 31:34: Hebrews 8:12
A. My sin, past, present and future is forgotten
B. We must imitate that in our relationships with each other
1. We do not hold each other’s faults against each other
2. We forgive as we have been forgiven
3. We treat each other as if each is without the guilt of sin
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