Tag Archives: Sin

January 18, 2015 · 10:30

No Time Like the Present

timeflies

… behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2)

We understand time in three phases: past, present, and future. We receive wise counsel not to live in the past while at the same time we are advised to plan for the future. Indeed, even the Apostle Paul exhorts, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). Our minds help us in regard to the past by minimizing bad memories and enhancing the good ones. This is healthy for when we latch on to bitter memories, the effects degrade both our physical and mental health. If we focus too much on the future, we can set ourselves up for disappointment, if we fail to accomplish unrealistic goals.

Either dwelling too much on the past or focusing too much on the future can both have negative effects on our lives, so we are encouraged to live in the present. “Take time to smell the roses,” we are told. Recently, this has given me cause to ponder. Just how long is the present that we should dwell therein? A minute? A second? A millisecond? A nanosecond? Time constantly moves forward with no stops. In the blink of an eye, the present becomes the past, while in the same instant we arrive in the future and then that is gone. The question is really an existential one since it deals with our existence and experience. We experience life through our senses: touch, sight, taste, hearing, and smell. These all employ our nervous system with the brain and all of its complex network of nerves. So I thought perhaps the present has to do with the speed of nerve impulses. “Scientists have an idea how fast nerves send signals. It varies among different animals and humans, but in general, one can say it is very fast, on the order of 115197 ft/sec (3560 m/sec).”[1] That is amazingly fast, but even at that the nerve impulse itself has a start and stop time, so it too moves from the past into the future with no hesitation.

So, how long is the present? Apparently, the present cannot be measured by time, so this must be a philosophical question. I asked a coworker, whose opinion I value highly, how long he thought the present could be. He said the present does not exist. Similarly, I asked an astrophysicist friend, and he said suggested that it was zero. Both of these answers make sense to me because time is constantly moving forward. I envision standing on the zero point on a line graph that continually moves beneath me from positive to negative-positive being the future and negative being the past. I operate from the zero point as time whizzes by me, but what I do at the zero point – the present – influences the future that comes at me.

I posed the same question to my oldest son. He’s pretty smart in his own right, and he gave me the most provocative response of all. He said, “The present is eternal.” I do not know if he fully understood the ramifications of such a profound statement. For starters, God is eternal, and He identifies Himself to Moses as “I AM THAT I AM” (Exodus 3:14). He is ever-present. We understand that God is unfettered by time, so He is present at every point in time. He is present in the past and in the future simultaneously. That is why He could say to the Prophet Jeremiah, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). God can accurately foretell the future because He exists in the future. He is eternally present.

Unlike God, we are confined by time. We can only experience time at point zero, and that only for the briefest of moments. We experience the future as it passes us by, but our actions in that brief moment affect the unseen consequences that lie ahead. God created us in His image (Genesis 1:26), and as such we are eternal beings. Unlike God, we have a beginning and no end, and again, we exist at point zero. Our actions, therefore, incur eternal consequences. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3), they caused an eternal rift between God and mankind (Genesis 3:22) that affected all of their posterity – you and me. Their offense and our subsequent sins offend an eternal and holy God, and the offense is eternal. Since the offense is eternal, the consequence is also eternal, and therefore must be atoned for eternally. Hell is eternal because the offense is eternal, therefore the punishment must be eternal.

The good news is that God granted a way of escape from the eternal punishment that we all deserve. I AM is present in all of time from creation to re-creation; so that

Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. (1 Peter 1:18-21, emphasis mine)

At the perfect time (Galatians 4:4), God stepped out of eternity into our present time in the form of the first, sinless Adam, to offer up Himself as the perfect atoning sacrifice for all of mankind. That sacrifice had the eternal effect of mending the eternal rift between God and mankind.

But the remedy is not universal, and it is not automatic. Each individual must make the choice for himself. Making the right or wrong decision in the present will settle your fate for all eternity. “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: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13).

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)

The present is eternal after all. There is no time like the present to change the course of your eternity.

 Notes:

[1] From http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=1950, accessed January 16, 2015.

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November 30, 2014 · 10:30

Clothing In Heaven

King Jesus 2

And white robes were given unto every one of them; (Revelation 6:11)

Recently we were reading our daily devotional Days of Praise. The devotional for that day was entitled “Clothing.” In that article, the author, John D. Morris, Ph.D., points out the fact that Adam and Eve were naked when they were created, and only after they sinned did their nakedness become apparent to them. The last book of the Bible informs us that we will be clothed with white robes in heaven – that is, those of us who go to heaven. So the question came up, why are we not naked in heaven the way God created us in the beginning? The Bible tells us that we will be clothed “in fine linen, clean and white,” but it makes no comment about why we are clothed rather than naked. That made me think.

When Adam and Eve sinned, God had to clothe them in skins to cover their nakedness (Genesis 3:21). Someone suggested that before they sinned, Adam and Eve were “clothed” in light. The Hebrew word for light is ‘ôr (אור). This reminds me of the time when Moses was in the presence of God for forty days, and his face shone with a light so that the people were afraid of him. He had to veil his face (Exodus 34:29-35) so that the people would not fear him. Then there was the time at the Mount of Transfiguration when Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus, and all of them glowed (Matthew 17:1-2). Adam and Eve may have had a similar glow about them. Then when they sinned, they lost that glow so that their nakedness became apparent to them (Genesis 3:7). God then covered them with skins. The Hebrew word for skin is ‛ôr (עור). There may be a play on words here. Note that both Hebrew words are pronounced “or,” but they have different spellings in Hebrew. Before they sinned, they were clothed in אור (light), but after they sinned, God clothed them in עור (skin).

That may be a part of it, but what is of greater importance is that the skins were a covering for their nakedness which represented their sin. The idea of covering conveys the meaning of “atonement.” Throughout Scripture the shedding of innocent blood has always been the requirement for making atonement or the covering of sin.

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, emphasis mine)

The robes given to the saints in heaven are made “white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14). Once again, the innocent blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God (John 1:29), was shed, once for all, to cover our sin.

For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:13-14, emphasis mine)

Perhaps this is why we wear robes in heaven. The robes will remind us for eternity that Jesus shed His blood to cover (atone for) our sin. Our clothing in heaven is His righteousness, not our own. “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I [Jesus] will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels” (Revelation 3:5, emphasis mine). “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked” (2 Corinthians 5:2-3).

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November 16, 2014 · 10:30

It’s All Good!

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And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.  (Romans 8:28)

 There are many passages of Scripture that I count as favorites like Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,” and with it John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” Both are foundational verses that identify who God is. Wrapped up in those words is the reason why we, as creatures, owe our allegiance to God as our Creator. Without Him, nothing that we enjoy, including life itself, would exist. Another favorite is John 3:16, “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.” In light of His creative power that brought the universe into existence simply with His spoken word, it is incomprehensible to imagine that the all-powerful Creator could love His creation so much that He would condescend to the point of death on a cross to keep us from “perishing”! Then, as we trust Him, He promises to strengthen and to sustain us. “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:21). And Jesus invites, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Then there are the promises of eternal life like, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:2-3).

But perhaps my all-time favorite verse is the one above, Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” This verse is often misunderstood because it is quoted out of context. The verse does not imply that everything will work out to our liking or that because we trust in God that nothing will ever go wrong in our lives – no loss of income, no loss of health, no broken relationships, etc. Quite to the contrary, the Bible teaches that we will face trouble and trials. In fact, Jesus said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Paul confirms this fact at the end of this chapter: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter” (Romans 8:35-36). The list of trials and persecution given here are as certain as Christ’s love for His children. So, Romans 8:28 is not my favorite because it paints a rosy picture. Indeed, it goes beyond a bed of roses.

What does Romans 8:28 really say? First of all it says that we “see” or “perceive” – the Greek word eidō translated “know.” In other words, this is something that we can observe; it is not a matter of “blind faith.” This is a fact that we can experience. “All things” – the Greek word panta is all-inclusive. All things “work together” – the Greek word sunergeō means to “cooperate” – for “good” – Greek agathon meaning “benefit.” So all things – good or bad – cooperate to the benefit – and here is the qualifier – “to them that love God.” In the Greek syntax priority is given to the qualifier. A strict rendering of the Greek to English would read “And we perceive that to them that love God, all things cooperate to their benefit.” So this verse is not universally applicable to all people – only those that love God. “Love” is the Greek word agapaō which is an unconditional love, the kind of love that God expressed to the world in sending His Son Jesus to die for our sins (John 3:16). To further focus the qualification, all things cooperate together for the benefit of “those who are the called according to His purpose.”

What is “His purpose”? That is explained in the verse that follows: “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29, emphasis mine). God determined, before time began that man would be made in His image (Genesis 1:26). That image was marred by sin, but God’s purpose has never changed. He has determined that His “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17) will be “conformed to the image of his Son.” It should be of no surprise that Paul later exhorts, “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 12:2, emphasis mine).

So what have we learned? Those that are called by God “according to His purpose,” and who love God unconditionally, will experience (will see/know) the blessings of God even in the face of abject adversity. These are they that can say, even in the worst of circumstances, “It’s all good!”

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November 2, 2014 · 10:30

Why Satan?

And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.  (Luke 10:18)

Since God is omniscient and knows all things including the future, why would He create Satan knowing full well that he would rebel against Him and bring about the Fall of man? That question does not have a simple answer. I covered much of this in my article “How Thou Hast Fallen,” but perhaps this will answer some questions I did not address there.

To begin with, we cannot fully understand the ways of God or His thoughts. God says:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: (Isaiah 46:9-10)

One of the first things we need to understand about God is that He is omniscient; that is, His knowledge is absolute. God does not “learn;” He innately knows all that there is to know. That’s why evolution is such a stupid idea. First of all it attempts to explain all that there is as having come about by natural causes without God. Even many Christians try to compromise by suggesting that God used evolution to create. Why would God have to use evolution to create, as if He is some kind of mad scientist experimenting in order to get everything to work just right? No, God did not have to “think” about His creation; He knew exactly how to make all things perfectly without needing a blueprint. Not only that, but as expressed in Isaiah 46:10 above, He knows “the end from the beginning” and everything will be accomplished according to His pleasure. Everything God does is for His pleasure and for His glory.

I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. (Isaiah 42:8)

Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him. (Isaiah 43:7)

In context, in Isaiah 43:7, God is referring to His bringing back all the Israelites that have been scattered all over the earth to the land of Israel; but notice why He is doing it. It is because He has created them all for His “glory.” In a larger sense, that is true for all of God’s creation; it is all to bring Him glory.

Now, if you have a good handle on that, we can talk about why God created Satan. When God created angels and humans, He gave them a free will so that they are able to choose for themselves whether they want to obey or disobey God. Humans, unlike the angels, were created in the “image of God,” and God gave humans dominion over all of His creation (Genesis 1:26). He did not give angels that kind of authority. In fact, of the angels, the Bible says, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14). So God created humans superior to the angels even though, for now, angels have supernatural powers which humans do not possess.

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. (Psalm 8:4-5)

Back to Satan: God did not create Satan as “the evil one” in the beginning. How do we know this? We know this because at the end of creation, God declared everything – all of His creation including all the angels and Satan – as “very good” (Genesis 1:31). We cannot have a “very good” creation, if evil exists. So, at this point, Satan – his name is actually Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12) – had not yet sinned. By sin I mean that he had not yet rebelled against God. Sin is rebellion against God, and it manifests in many different forms, but the root is rebellion against God’s authority. When Satan tempted Eve in the Garden, he told her “ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). We still deal with that same temptation. We want to be gods. We want to decide for ourselves what is good and what is evil, rather than let God be God.

I believe that this is the point where Satan sinned. It started with his pride:

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. (Isaiah 14:12-14)

You can see that he had an “I” problem. All of this he “said in his heart,” but it was not sin until he actually acted upon it:

But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. (James 1:14-15)

The Greek word translated as “lust” is epithumia and it means “a longing” or “desire” especially for something that is forbidden. “Conceived” is the Greek word sullambanō which means “to grasp” or “to seize.” So, it begins in the mind with a strong desire for something that is forbidden and once that desire is seized upon or acted upon, then there is sin, and then sin brings death. Death, in this case is speaking of “spiritual” death, i.e., separation from God. It happens this way for humans just as it happens for angels.

You can see the same pattern in Satan (Lucifer). He started with the desire in his mind to ascend above God. The way he planned to do it was to take God’s most prized creation, man, and cause them to disobey God. Knowing that God would “disown” them, he could then become their god. In many ways, he has accomplished that. When you think of all those pagan gods that people worship, Muslims worship Allah who is none other than Satan himself, and if they don’t worship idols, they worship themselves. Think about the attitude that people are encouraged to have today – “It’s all about ME!”

So, what have we learned? Satan was good in the beginning. Shortly after the creation was complete, he rebelled and was sentenced to “death,” but the sentence has not been carried out yet. Satan still has access to the throne of God (Read Job 1-2). So, since God knows the end from the beginning, why did He allow this? As stated earlier, humans and angels have a free will to obey or disobey God. If God removed that option from us, if He removed our will to love Him or reject Him, there would be no love in that. The Bible says that “God is Love” (1 John 4:8). For love to be love, it cannot be coerced for forced. It must be given willingly of our own volition and choice. Without giving us that option, God could not enjoy the love returned from His creation. He had to allow for, not create, evil.

Knowing “the end from the beginning,” God provided the “tree of Life” – the Lamb of God, “slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8) “that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The option remains, choose the Advocate (Jesus Christ), or choose the Accuser (Satan). Why Satan? Without Satan, there would be no choice. Without a choice, there would be no love. Without love, God could not be glorified

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October 26, 2014 · 10:30

A Time to Speak

If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. (Daniel 3:17-18)

Recently the homosexual lesbian mayor of the city of Houston, Texas, Annise Parker instigated the Equal Rights Ordinance[1] dubbed “HERO[2],” which, in part, removed gender restrictions from public restrooms.[3] Needless to say, many are highly incensed over the local government overreach in abolishing longstanding social norms of etiquette in maintaining gender specific restroom facilities.

Having ramrodded the ordinance through the city council despite public protests and outcries, the public was allowed 30 days to collect 17,000 petition signatures to appeal the decision. On July 3, 2014 over 50,000 signatures were submitted to the city of Houston to repeal the ordinance, but the city rejected the petitions claiming the petitioners were 2000 “valid” signatures short of the required 17,000. The opponents of the ordinance filed a lawsuit against the city of Houston with the help of the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) group. Shortly thereafter, the city subpoenaed five local Houston pastors who were leading the petition drive, and demanded “all speeches, presentations, or sermons related to HERO, the Petition, Mayor Annise Parker, homosexuality, or gender identity prepared by, delivered by, revised by, or approved by you or in your possession.”[4] To date, the battle rages.

The five Houston pastors remain in steadfast opposition to local government overreach that attempts to chip away at the rights derived directly from God and supported by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. It is not so much that they have anything to hide. Their sermons or speeches are open to the public. Anyone, including the Mayor, is welcome to sit in and listen. The problem comes from the intimidation tactics employed by the city designed to silence pastors from teaching what the Bible has to say about homosexuality or other deviant behavior. The Preacher once said, “[There is] a time to keep silence, and a time to speak” (Ecclesiastes 3:7). Now is the time to speak.

The Bible teaches: “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God” (Romans 13:1). The Greek word translated “powers” is exousia, and it refers to a magistrate or potentate, i.e., a governmental authority. As Christians, we are encouraged to pray “For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (1 Timothy 2:2), but at the same time “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). This is such a time. We should pray for the Mayor of Houston; she is lost and she has a reprobate mind (Romans 1:28) that prevents her from seeing the error of her ways. At the same time, she is attempting to enforce a law that, in the first place, violates the Supreme Law of the Land, but ultimately it violates the law of God.

This is the time for Christians to speak, and to speak loudly. And not only about this, but about other laws that have been passed that violate the Law of God. This resulted because we Christians have been too timid or too politically correct to actively voice our objection.

Now is the time to speak and to speak loudly!  Expect the message to be unpopular. In fact, there will even be “Christians” that will rise up in opposition to the message, but the truth must be spoken in spite of the offence that will be taken. The old adage, “the truth hurts” applies, and those who are offended will retaliate, perhaps even with violence. Regardless, this is not the time for timidity or political correctness, but a time for courage and boldness. Jesus said, “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad” (Matthew 12:30). He also said, “Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38). It is about time that we stand with Jesus against abortion, same-sex unions, divorce, adultery, premarital sex, cohabitation, and all sorts of perversion. There are those that say, “live and let live,” and that would be fine were it not for those that would force their perversion on the rest of us. We can no longer sit quietly by and take the abuse. Slowly, piece by piece, the perverts have been tearing away at our social fiber. It has to end, and it will not end while Christians roll over and play dead.

Seriously, I do not anticipate that any of this will go away, but we should not give up without a fight. It is a time to speak; it is a time for war (Ecclesiastes 3:7, 8). Keep those brave Houston pastors in your prayers. Beyond prayer, support them in any way you can. Pray also for Houston’s mayor, that God will penetrate her heart.

Notes:

[1] http://www.click2houston.com/news/houston-city-council-passes-controversial-equal-rights-ordinance/26208968

[2] http://www.aleteia.org/en/politics/article/houston-pastors-dig-in-5836411638906880

[3] http://www.truthandaction.org/houston-eliminates-gender-based-restrooms/

[4] http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/houston.asp

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