This goes in line with my last post: “I Know Whom I Have Believed.” Please note that Rabbi Cahn is not setting dates and he continues to affirm that “the times” are ultimately in the sovereign hands of God. At the same time, we are instructed by God’s Word to “watch.”
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Filed under Christianity, End Times, Evangelism, Gospel, Salvation, Second Coming of Christ
Image borrowed from: http://www.westernseminary.edu/transformedblog/2015/06/19/1-john-19-and-conditional-forgiveness/
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
This verse is often (wrongly) used when witnessing to unbelievers to show them that God will indeed forgive their sins, but that was not John’s intention; he was addressing Christians. We understand this because in verse three he says, “That which we [referring to the Apostles that walked with Jesus] have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” An unbeliever cannot have fellowship with believers much less with the Father and the Son. The implication of our beginning verse is that “Christians” do sin. This is further emphasized in the next verse that says, “If we [John includes himself] say that we have not sinned, we make him [God] a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:10). You may have heard the saying that “Christians are not perfect just forgiven.” We do sin. It is hard not to sin because, while our souls/spirits have been “reborn,” they still inhabit our sinful flesh. We can improve that condition by learning to yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us, but that is an ongoing process (known as “sanctification”) while we remain in our physical bodies.
If we are truly “born again,” the Holy Spirit (the presence of God within us) works with our spirit to keep us from sin. He also helps us identify the areas of our lives where we do sin. When that happens, John teaches us that we should “confess” our sin (to God), and He will forgive us of that sin. The Greek word translated “confess” is homologeō. It is a compound word: homo meaning “same” and logeō meaning “to say.” Together it means “to say the same” (thing), or “to agree.” In other words when we “confess” our sins, we “agree” with God that we have sinned, and God “is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This is important because while we may be “saved” our continual sin strains the relationship that we have with God. When we fail to confess our sins, we tend to keep on sinning, and at some point we will sense a separation from God. We might even feel abandoned by God. In order to maintain our fellowship (or closeness) with God, we need to keep our sin in check and the way we do that is by agreeing with God that we have sinned when we do sin.
Jesus death on the cross did pay for all of our sins – past, present and future – but in order for His sacrifice to be “effective” for us individually, we must first “believe.” “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:14-16, emphasis mine). That word “believe” is not simply a matter of saying, “Okay, I know that’s true.” It means that we are willing to put our lives into His hands. It means we are willing to “repent” – i.e., turn away from – our sins, but in order to do that, we must first be in agreement with Him (confess) that we are sinners. If we have truly done that, there should be evidence of a changed life in us. We cannot just repeat a prayer and continue to live a sinful life thinking that it’s okay because Jesus already paid for all of our sins. That would be presumptuous! “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17, emphasis mine). In his letter to the Romans, Paul says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:1-2, emphasis mine). That transformation may be dramatic, or it may come about gradually; but there must be a change. That transformation is aided as we submit to the Holy Spirit’s leading in our life, and as we continue to agree with Him (confess) concerning the sin in our lives. Gradually, those sins that used to plague us will become a thing of the past. But John reminds us that, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). That “cleansing” is what maintains our fellowship with Him.
One added note of assurance: We can do nothing to earn our salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9); it is God’s free gift to us who believe. And just as we can do nothing to earn it, we can do nothing to lose it. “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). While we can feel secure in our salvation, unconfessed sin will keep us from enjoying complete fellowship with God. He wants to forgive our sin because He enjoys fellowship with us just as much as we enjoy fellowship with Him.
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment (Hebrews 9:27)
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Genesis 2:17)
This week a young man, who labeled himself an agnostic, wrote in with a very good question concerning the curse of death. His question was posed as follows:
Genesis 2:17 says, “in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.” Assuming that day equals 24 hours (big assumption, but Gen 2 is still part of the creation account) then the death must be spiritual or non-literal, since Adam lived to be 930 years – Gen 5:5. If the death resulting from sin is not literal, what is the relationship between sin and physical death? Is there any relation at all? Could physical death have occurred before sin? If sin and physical death are not related, why would Jesus have to rise from the dead? Is a bodily resurrection necessary for salvation? Why? Does any of the apostle Paul’s teaching of Christ conflict with a spiritual interpretation of death and sin? (I Cor 15:12-22)
Alternately, if the term “day” in Genesis 2:17 is not 24 hours, but instead an unspecified length of time equalling [sic] at least 930 years, most of the same questions about the relationship between sin and physical death would still apply.
His question is a very good one, and one of the key points in our biblical apologetics. The “death” described in Genesis 2:17 must be taken in context with the entire account of creation and the Fall, and in light of the rest of Scripture. Genesis 1 and 2 both narrate the creation account. Genesis 1:1-2:4 is God’s account of creation, and it gives a broad overview of the creation week. (For more details, see the notes on Genesis 1 and Genesis 2:1-4). Genesis 2:5 begins Adam’s account, and the focus is on Day Six and the creation of man. Allow me to regress and point out that chapter and verse divisions are not inspired. The original text was a continual reading with no breaks. This can sometimes be an obstacle, if one does not recognize that fact.
Another point that needs to be clarified is that the 24-hour day is not an “assumption” as he suggests. The Hebrew word used is yom, and it almost always means a normal 24-hour day in the Bible. When it is not a 24-hour day, such as in the “day of the Lord” (yom laYahweh) it is referring to a specific time, but never an extended period of time. Furthermore, God clearly defines the meaning of “day” with the phrase “evening and morning were the nth day” (Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23).
At the end of the sixth day, God declared His creation not only “good” as in the previous five days, but “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Keep in mind that this assessment comes from an ultimately perfect being. So, if death existed before the fall, can death be considered a very good thing? If we say death is good, then how can death be a curse? And if death cannot be a curse, then why should Jesus die to pay the curse (the wages) of sin? If death was just a “spiritual” death, then, again, why should Jesus die a “physical” death to atone for a “spiritual” death? That really does throw a huge wrench in the works of the Gospel.
But “physical” death is NOT good. The Bible calls death the “enemy” (1 Corinthians 15:26). In the end, “death and hell (Greek hades “the grave”)” are cast into “the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14). So, physical death cannot be part of a “very good” creation, if the Creator counts it as an enemy and something to be abolished. When God issued the command “thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:17), He was speaking of physical death. “Spiritual” death, i.e., separation from God, was a necessary consequence of that disobedience because He is the source of life (Job 33:4; Psalm 36:9; John 1:4; 5:26; 6:48; 10:28; 11:25; 14:6, et al). So, the death was both physical and spiritual. To further emphasize the point, Adam and Eve, since they had never experienced or observed death (keeping in mind that this all occurred shortly after creation – probably within a week or so), God (in the form of the pre-incarnate Christ – my opinion) sacrificed two (or more) innocent animals (probably sheep) in order to “cover” (atone for) their sin (Genesis 3:21). This was the first physical death of anything to this point, but on the spiritual side, man had already lost that intimate relationship with their Creator (Genesis 3:8).
This young man observed that Adam lived 930 years and concludes that the death curse must not have been physical but only spiritual, because they did not die immediately. One needs only to read Chapter 5 of Genesis and count how often the phrase “and he died” is repeated. Adam and Eve did not die instantly when they ate of the fruit, but they initiated the dying process. The phrase “you shall surely die” (Hebrew: mot tamot) would be better translated “dying you shall die.” Furthermore, the couple was denied access to the “tree of life” (Genesis 3:22) because apparently it had properties that would extend their life forever. The fact that they lived the long ages that they did is attributable to near perfect DNA (with the exception of the death mutation), and a near perfect environment. You may want to note the steady decline in longevity following the Global flood (Genesis 11:11-32).
Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians 15:12-22 confirms that the curse of death is both physical and spiritual – physical in that our bodies degenerate to the point that they cease to function (we die), and spiritual in that our sin separates us from God (as physical death separates our spirit from our body). Jesus was sinless, like the first lambs sacrificed for Adam and Eve. Paul tells us that the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23); here we are speaking of that spiritual death that separates us from God. Jesus’ death on the cross was the only sacrifice suitable to pay that debt of sin that separates us from God for all of mankind. “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4). Then when He rose again, He conquered the curse of physical death so that we can have eternal life. The choice, however, remains with us. From beginning to end, God has provided the way to restore that broken relationship and to enjoy eternal life with our Creator. We can either accept His offer, or reject it. “He came unto his own [not only the Jews, but mankind in general], and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:11-12).
Filed under Apologetics, Bible, Christianity, Creation, Death, Evangelism, Gospel, Origins, Religion, Salvation, Theology
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)
Critics of the Bible abound even among so-called mainline “Christian” denominations, but when examined closely, the criticisms always fail to stand up to the truth of God’s Word. As the Apostle Paul said, “let God be true, but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4). So it is.
Perhaps the greatest testament to the veracity of the Bible is the unifying theme that it carries throughout its pages. There exists no other so-called “holy” writing that compares with the Bible in clarity and unity of thought, even though it was penned by over 40 different authors (most of which did not know one another so that they could collaborate) over a period of about 1500 to 2000 years. Compare that to the Qur’an which was written by one man over a period of about 22 years (610-632 AD) and compiled over a period of only three years (653-656 AD). Or compare the Book of Mormon written by John Smith. It was produced in only two years between 1827 and 1829. Neither of the “holy” books compares to the Bible in unity of thought even though they were composed by one man each. Yet the Bible, with all of its various human writers over a very long period of time maintains a consistent theme. What is that theme?
The God of the Bible is unique among all other gods. All the gods devised by man demand that man lay down his life for them. The God of the Bible laid down His life for man. The gods devised by man demand that man earn their favor. The God of the Bible completed all the work of redemption, offers it as a free gift, and “asks” man to accept His gift. Let us examine how that plays out.
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). From the very start, we are introduced to God as Creator. The verses that follow detail His work of creation and we are awestruck at His omniscience and omnipotence. So great is He that one must immediately decide whether to believe or reject the account of His creation, and therein lie the trappings of disbelief. As we continue in our reading we discover that God’s final and most cherished creation is man. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness … So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:26, 27). Man bears the image of God. It is no wonder that God’s first command for human government was “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man” (Genesis 9:6). The creation of man was the cherry on top of God’s cake, “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). “Very good” in God’s economy is flawless.
So far, so good, but then all that fell apart when man disobeyed God’s only command, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:17). Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s only command (Genesis 3). They sinned. Some attempt to blunt the edge of the word “sin” by suggesting that it means to “miss the mark.” They arrive at this by quoting a passage from the book of Judges describing the accuracy of the Benjamites with a sling. “Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss” (Judges 20:16). The Hebrew word translated “miss” is châṭâ’, which is often translated “sin.” It could be said that the Benjamites sling a stone without “sinning.” But sin is not so much like taking aim at a target, and missing the bull’s eye. Accurately hitting a target is a product of our own efforts. Sometimes we hit; sometimes we miss. Oh, well! “Sin” cannot be taken so lightly. Paul, quoting Psalm 14:1-3, tells us that, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God” (Romans 3:10-11). To suggest that sin is “missing the mark” implies that the sinner is trying to “hit the mark,” Scripture suggests otherwise – there is none that seek to “hit the mark,” at least not the mark that God has set. No, sin is more egregious than, “Oops! I missed!”
Sin is outright rebellion against God. More than that, it is man’s attempt to usurp God’s rightful place. Note Satan’s threefold assault on Eve. First, he cast doubt on the Word of God: “Yea, hath God said …?” (Genesis 3:1). Second, he denies the truth of God’s Word: “Ye shall not surely die” (3:4). Finally, he accuses God of keeping something better from them: “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (3:5, emphasis mine). And that, boys and girls, is the basis for all sin. Man desires to be his own god and determine good and evil for himself. This truth repeats itself over and over in a variety of different scenarios throughout Scripture. But look what God does.
After Adam and Eve sinned, God gave opportunity for redemption. Notice Who looks for who. “And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?” (Genesis 3:9). Does anyone really think that the omniscient and omnipresent God did not know where they were hiding? God gave Adam and Eve the opportunity to confess their sin and ask forgiveness. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). But rather than confess, they started making excuses and refusing to take responsibility for their own actions – much like people do today. In His patience, God continued to probe, “And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” (Genesis 3:11). Again, rather than accept responsibility and confess their sin, the couple made excuses. You can read the results for yourself. I want to highlight what God did.
The couple did not die instantly, but their sin set in motion the physical dying process. It has been said that from the moment of our birth, we all start dying. That is so true, but more than that, their sin disconnected them from their source of eternal life. “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life” (Job 33:4). The penalty of their sin was death, “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Someone or something had to die to pay the penalty for their sin, but it could not be the man or the woman, for they were now corrupt, and their death could not satisfy Holy God. So God Himself intervened. “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21). In order to make “coats of skins,” innocent, perfect animals, probably sheep, were slaughtered to make coverings (atonement) for the naked pair. I believe that the preincarnate Christ performed the sacrifice before them to set the pattern that they would follow from then on. On an altar of stone the Lamb of God, shed innocent blood to atone for the sin of man.
That set the pattern for millions of similar blood sacrifices to follow. In the succeeding chapter we find righteous Abel continuing the practice handed down from God Himself (Genesis 4:4). Older brother Cain chose to sacrifice in a way not prescribed by God; he chose to do things his own way and bring the fruits of his own labor (Genesis 4:3). His offering may seem more “humane” in that no blood was shed, but it was what God demanded. “And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell” (Genesis 4:4-5). Like many people today, Cain thought his own efforts done in his own way should be acceptable to God, but God does not see it that way. Like people today, Cain thought that all ways lead to God, but for God, there is only one way and that is through the blood. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:11).
From the beginning, it has always been the shedding of innocent blood that made atonement (a covering) for sin. The sacrificial system was codified in the Mosaic Law and practiced throughout Old Testament history. But, “it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4). Something more permanent needed to be put in place. “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). “Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5-8).
In short, the unifying theme of the Bible is that Holy God created man in His image. Man sinned against God and earned the penalty of sin which is death, both physical and spiritual. God intervened on man’s behalf initially by substituting innocent animal blood to atone for sin, but ultimately He took on human form and as a sinless (innocent) man, shed His own blood on the cross for our sin. “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). There is no other “holy” book that makes such a claim. There is no other God that does for His creation, what the God of the Bible did for us.
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Filed under Apologetics, Bible, Christianity, Creation, Death, Evangelism, Gospel, Religion, Salvation, Theology
Elena Enriquez Carrasco
(1928 – 2001)
Her children arise up, and call her blessed (Proverbs 31:28)
She was not yet 22 years old when she gave birth to me just a little over 64 years ago. I was not the first. By this time she had given birth to two older brothers who died in infancy, so by default, I was the oldest.
Mom was not well educated having only completed the seventh grade, but she was intelligent and wise. Later in life, after all us kids were grown and gone, she earned her GED which enabled her to secure a position with the State of Texas as a social counselor. She always encouraged us in our education and praised us for every passing grade we earned – a “C” was a passing grade, although “Bs” and “As” earned extra attention, but never money. Mom liked to brag on our achievements no matter how mediocre. I was usually embarrassed by the attention, but deep inside, I liked it. Mom knew the importance of education and she always encouraged us in that endeavor. I still remember her waking us for school every morning to the clarion call of Isaiah 60:1 – “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee”! And she always had something warm for us for breakfast. Life circumstances prevented me from completing my college education at the age of 21 or 22, but when I earned my bachelors degree at the age of 50, she was there to celebrate the occasion; and she beamed with as much pride as any parent of a 20-year old that just graduated college.
Mom loved to sing! Her favorite part was “segunda” which included both alto and tenor depending on what note best fit her ear. We sang all the time. When we went on road trips, we sang every hymn we could think of, and when we were out of hymns, we would start in on choruses both in Spanish and in English. Then when we had exhausted our repertoire, we would begin again until we reached our destination. After I left home, the songs stopped for me. It was Mom that raised the song in me, I guess, and without her, there was no reason to sing. One hymn that to this day I cannot sing without thinking of Mom and without getting an enormous lump in my throat along with leaky eyes is “God Will Take Care of You.” She must have sung it to me in the cradle a million times. I know I heard her sing it to my two younger brothers and my baby sister. Although, she sang it in Spanish: “Dios Cuidara de Tí.” The words and the tune haunt me to this day – even in English – and I always think of her:
Be not dismayed whate’er betide God will take care of you; Beneath His wings of love abide, God will take care of you. God will take care of you Thru every day, o’re all the way; He will take care of you, God will take care of you.Those words have never failed. I suppose she continues to sing them in heaven because I continue to experience them here on earth.
We were a “low-income” family growing up, but we were never “poor.” Dad earned meager wages as a pastor of small Spanish-speaking churches. During the week he worked behind a cotton stripper shoveling dusty cotton bolls to the back of cotton trailers. Mom worked part time at grocery store or as a waitress, but she was always there when we got home from school. She always made sure we had what we needed. Before our sister came along, Mom liked to dress us all alike, and at Christmastime, we all got the same toys. There was enough sibling rivalry without battles over toys.
Mom was a strict disciplinarian too. He had a six-inch wide hand-tooled leather belt with MEXICO embossed in two-inch letters on the back, and she used it on all of us at least once at one time or another. Anytime we misbehaved, she just needed to mention MEXICO, and we straightened right up. Mom was all of 4’11”, but she commanded a huge amount of respect. The last time my mother attempted to use MEXICO on me, I was 10 years old. By this time, I was about a head taller than her. I don’t remember what I did, but it incited her ire, and she came after me. I took off running, but before I got too far out of her reach, wisdom took a strong hold on me, and I realized that the outcome would be worse, if I persisted in my escape effort. I knew it would go better, if I just faced her. So, I stopped dead in my tracks and turned and faced her. As she raised MEXICO high for the crushing blow, I wrapped my arms around her and started kissing her neck and telling her how much I loved her. She melted into tears and told me that I was too big for her to have to spank me. She never did again. Her tears accomplished more than any spanking could.
Mom spent the last year of her life with June and me. She was in and out of hospitals all that year. It was a hard year for all of us. When she wasn’t in the hospital, we spent a lot of time talking. June was impressed at Mom’s ability to listen and quietly take in what we said. When she finally spoke, her words were few but laden with years of wisdom. One thing that she made clear to us that final year was that she was ready to be with Jesus, and that was her greatest desire. Just before Christmas of 2001, we had just come home from another stent in the hospital. Mom looked at June and said, “No more pills. No more hospitals.” Mom made it past Christmas day, but before the New Year, Jesus granted her greatest desire, and she went to be with Him. Before her departure, while still coherent, her concern was for us. I assured her that everything would be alright. I told her, “Don’t worry, Mom. When you meet Jesus, you are going to look back, and we will be right behind you.” I truly believe that. I don’t think there is a sense of time in heaven like there is here on earth. For me, Mom has been gone so long – almost 13 years. I miss her still, but for her it’s been no time at all.
Some reading this can probably relate similar stories. Our mothers are so precious to us, and often, we do not appreciate them until after they are gone. If you still have your mother, “arise and call her blessed” while she can still hear your voice. Let her know how much she means to you. If your mother is in heaven, as I know mine is, you need to make sure you are on the Only Way to be with her. Happy Mother’s Day.
Filed under Christianity, Current Events, Heaven, Religion, Salvation
Ernie's Musings 