SOMEONE CALLED FOR YOU

Of all of the Bible’s forty or so writers, Luke is the only one who literally spells out the fact that repentance is connected with the application of forgiveness, or with the remission of sins.  “Repentance,” or “to repent,” is from the Greek μετανοέω (metanoeō), meaning to change one's mind, i.e. to change one's mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence one's past sins.  “Remission,” from the Greek ἄφεσις (aphesis), means the release from bondage or imprisonment; the forgiveness or pardon of sins (letting them go as if they had never been committed, as in expunging one’s record).  ἄφεσις is actually translated “forgiveness” four times in the KJV (Acts 13:38; 28:18; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14).   

Luke’s first such connection says, “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Lk. 24:47).  Jesus, in John 16:7-11, tells us that the Holy Spirit will bring conviction of one’s sin, of Christ’s righteousness, and of God’s certain judgment.  When the Gospel is preached, the power of the message produces repentance in those who believe Jesus died for them, that is, He forgave or remitted their sins (Rom. 1:16; 1 Cor. 15:1-4).

Luke also uses the two together in Acts 20:21, but this time, he replaces the word “remission” with the word “faith.”  One might suggest that since the two words are different, they do not teach the same truth.  The verse says, “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”  However, it is clear throughout the New Testament that one’s faith is in the finished work of Christ on one’s behalf; faith is in His remission of one’s sins.  We do not simply have faith that Jesus existed; we have faith that His sacrifice paid for our sins (1 Cor. 15:3)!  Jesus traded His righteousness to us for our sins, and for the last three hours He spent upon the cross, He became sin (Matt. 27:45-50; 2 Cor. 5:21).  That was the only time between the eternities, Jesus experienced a total separation from the Father.  It was that separation that caused Him to cry out, “My God, My God, Why hast Thou forsaken Me? (Matt. 27:46)!  It was at that time, that Jesus, the Creator (Jn. 1:1-3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:1-2), was totally like His creation, totally separated from God by sin!

Acts 5:31 says, “Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.”  Notice that repentance is a gift!  It is not a work that the individual does; it is the natural reaction to the gift of faith (Eph. 2:8)!  Some might say, “Sure, He gave repentance to Israel, but what about the rest of us?”  My answer to that challenge is, the same message was preached to both the Jews and the Gentiles (Acts 20:21), and in Acts 5:31, Peter is preaching to Israelites.  If one doubts the message of Christ is to both Jews and Gentiles, one need only to look up the ninety-three times the word “whosoever” is used in the New Testament.  Paul said, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13).  We call because we believe He paid for our sins, and we call because we want to be cleansed from them; we have repented!

Jesus is calling you; why not return His call?

HE LOVES TO HEAR HIS NAME

Let’s say that today is the day you will draw your last breath on this earth; your number’s up; your time has run out; the grim reaper has come calling; etc.   You are standing before the throne of God, and He asks you, “Why should I let you into My heaven?”  Then He adds, you are only allowed to use one word in your answer.  What would you say?  Would you say, “Sorry?”  How about “Religious?”  Maybe you would say, “Please!”  Or perhaps, you would say, “Baptist,” or “Catholic,” or whatever religion of which you were a member.  You might even say “Loved,” or “Sacrificed,” or “Tried,” or “Worked.” 

Most of those are good answers.  I am sure God would be pleased that you were a member of a church, that you were repentant, that you were polite, that you religiously demonstrated your faith by your love, sacrifice, effort, and works.  But unfortunately, none of those answers are correct; none of them will “open the door to heaven.”  There is just one word that is “our key” to eternity with God:  Jesus.

The Apostle John quoted Jesus as saying, “. . . I am The Way, The Truth, and The Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (Jn. 14:6).

The Apostle Peter, speaking of Jesus, preached, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Stephen, in his defense before the high priest, had this to say about Jesus:  “. . . the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers” (Acts 7:52).

“. . . Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them” (Acts 8:5).

Upon receiving his sight back, and filled with the Holy Spirit, Luke writes of the Apostle Paul “And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20).

The writer of the Book of Hebrews had this to say, “Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2).

James called himself  “a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ (Jam. 1:1).

Jude also called himself  “. . . the servant of Jesus Christ. . .” (Jude 1:1).

With all these risking their very lives to proclaim Jesus as the Christ, as the resurrected Lord, is it any wonder that the Father wants us to offer His name as our answer?  But, there is a warning in Scripture to those who profess Christ and yet live as though He has no say in their lives.  Jesus said, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Lk. 6:46).  Matthew wrote, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matt. 7:21-23).  Jesus said, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him (Jesus) whom He (The Father) hath sent” (Jn. 6:29).

      When you meet God, tell Him the name He wants to hear?  Jesus!e will of my Father which

THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT

The final judgment mentioned in the Bible is the Great White Throne Judgment (GWTJ) of Revelation 20:11-15.  Chapter twenty begins with a description of the Millennial Kingdom of Christ (Rev. 20:1-6).  The Millennium is followed by a “little season” (Rev. 20:3, 7) during which Satan gathers the armies of the world against Christ in Jerusalem (Rev. 20:7-8).  They are all killed by fire from heaven (Rev. 20:9).  Satan is then cast into the Lake of Fire to join the Antichrist and the False Prophet; thus ends the satanic trinity’s influence upon mankind (Rev. 19:20; 20:10).  The GWTJ is then described by the Apostle John: 

“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:11-15).   

In other words, those whose names were not found in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Rev. 13:8), spend eternity tormented by fire and with the awareness that they deserve to be there (Matt. 22:12; Rev. 20:12).

The GWTJ has three factors in determining the fate of each individual.  The “books” from which man will be judged are possibly the Scriptures, or they may be the record of the individual’s sins.  Either way, the actions (sins of commission) and the inactions (sins of omission) of the individual declare him guilty and worthy of death (Rom. 6:23a; Rev. 20:14).  Once found guilty, the Lamb’s Book of Life will be opened to see if his name is written there.  If it is not, that means he did not accept the gift of eternal life based upon the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ on his behalf (Rom. 6:23b).  Therefore, he will pay for his own sins, and be sentenced to an eternity in the Lake of Fire.  However, there are apparently varying degrees of torment, because Jesus taught that those who rejected Him were going to suffer more than those who had not seen Him work His miracles (Matt. 11:20-24).  I do not know how that will work, but I picture it as the Lake of Fire being “neck deep” in the middle, and “ankle deep” near the edges.  If a person rejected the preaching of Noah, they may be “ankle deep.”  If they rejected the preaching of John, the Baptizer, they may be “knee deep.”  But if they rejected Jesus, Himself, they will be “neck deep” in torment forever.

We all deserve to be in the Lake of Fire, but by the grace of God, the sacrifice of Jesus, and the conviction of the Holy Spirit, those of us who have trusted in Jesus as Lord of our lives, will be forever grateful in His presence!

    

WHAT DOES GOD LOOK LIKE?

In Genesis 1:26, God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion . . . over all the earth. . . .”  God wanted man to be a reflection of Himself.  We might say that He wanted us to be made in the “spittin’ image” of Himself.  And in Genesis 1:27, God declared that He did just that; both male and female are made in His image. 

After the fall of Adam, He and Eve “. . . heard the voice of the LORD God (Jehovah Elohim) walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God (Jehovah Elohim) amongst the trees of the garden” (Gen. 3:8).  Jehovah Elohim refers to the Son of God, and not to the Father (see www.skipslighthouse.blogspot.com 02/07/12 JESUS IS JEHOVAH LORD GOD!).  The Word of God is clear; no man has ever seen the Father (Jn. 1:18; 6:46; 1 Cor. 2:29; 1 Tim. 6:16).  The Person Adam and Eve saw was the Pre-Incarnate Christ.  

Following their expulsion from the garden, lost human beings have been obsessed with knowing what God looks like.  From Genesis 31:19 through Revelation 20:4, mankind has repeatedly attempted to come up with an “image” to worship.  The Apostle Paul wrote that man has worshipped just about everything God created instead of worshipping the Creator Himself (Rom. 1:21-23).  Because we live and experience life through our senses, we want to see God.  Some say that if they could only see God, they would believe.  Unfortunately, that which could be seen of God was manifest, and man killed Him (Jn. 1:1, 14; 14:9; 1 Tim. 3:16; etc.).      

It is that desire in the heart of man which drives him to imagine what God looks like.  And, using his imagination, he “creates his own Creator” in the form of an idol.  God, of course knew this, and so the made His feelings known by forbidding the making of idols as part of His number one Commandment (Exod. 20:3-6):  “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth” (Exod. 20:4). 

A good example of how even the saved heart desires to comprehend God, is the song, “I Can Only Imagine” by Mercyme.  One stanza says, “I can only imagine / What my eyes will see / When Your face / Is before me.”  Unlike the lost who cannot worship without seeing, the saved who worship God without seeing, are worthy of the praise of Jesus (Jn. 20:29)!

Seeing is believing, but believing does not always require seeing!

MARY, THE HOLY SPIRIT, AND EVE

Matthew's strange genealogy of Jesus:  "{1} The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. {2} Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; {3} And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; . . . {5} And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; {6} And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; . . . {16} And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. {17} So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations" (Matt. 1:1-17).

While it is extraordinary that a Jewish “historian,” such as Matthew, would include four women in Christ’s genealogy in his Gospel account, it is even more amazing that he included those four.  Tamar “played the harlot” in order to get her father-in-law to get her pregnant (Gen. 38:6-30).  Rahab was not only a Gentile, she actually was a harlot (Josh. 2:1-21; 6:17-25).  Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, committed adultery with King David, and it not only resulted in the murder of her husband, and the death of her child, she ended up being just one of David’s many wives and concubines (2 Sam. 3:2-5; 5:13-15; 11:2 – 12:12). 

And finally, there is Mary who gave birth to Jesus (Matt. 1:16; Lk. 3:23).  She has been the subject of much scorn from those who do not believe she was a virgin when she conceived of the Holy Spirit; even Joseph did not believe her (Matt. 1:18-20).  And yet, the virgin birth of the Messiah was prophesied over 600 years earlier (Isa. 7:14; 9:6).

Had Matthew’s genealogy been like Luke’s, having gone all the way back to Adam (Lk. 3:38), he would have had to included Eve, not exactly the poster girl of spirituality.  And, he would have had to say something similar about Eve as he had about Mary.  You see, just as Joseph was not the father of Jesus, technically, neither was Adam part of the Lord’s lineage, unless of course, we include the “rib thingy” (Gen. 2:21-23).  Of course, Luke included Adam, so perhaps I am in error on this one (Lk. 3:38).  Nevertheless, Genesis 3:15 says, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.”  In other words, all those “begats,” from Adam to Joseph, did not apply to Jesus; He was the only begotten Son of God (Jn. 3:16)!

When you think about it, no one in Christ’s genealogy is worthy, man or woman!

COVENANTS AND DISPENSATIONS

Believers are told to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).  There are two approaches to “rightly dividing” God’s Word:  by studying either the Covenants or the Dispensations.  Covenants are agreements or verbal contracts between two entities.  It is my understanding that there are seven covenants between God and man:  The Edenic Covenant, The Adamic Covenant, The Noahic Covenant, The Abrahamic Covenant, The Mosaic Covenant, The Davidic Covenant, and The New Covenant. 

Another way to “rightly divide God’s Word is by studying its Dispensations (specific periods of time in which God reveals man’s responsibility as stewards of new revelation).  Unlike the seven Dispensations, some of the Covenants overlap, and some are eternal in nature.  And, with Dispensations, man is accountable for knowing the “light” revealed in previous Dispensations as well as the one in which he is living.  The main difference between studying Covenants verses studying Dispensations is that the former focuses upon God’s role, and the latter addresses man’s responsibilities.     

Covenants are divided into two categories:  Conditional, and Unconditional.  A Conditional Covenant is a bilateral Covenant in which a proposal of God to man is characterized by the formula:  IF you will…, THEN I will….  An Unconditional Covenant is a unilateral Covenant, and it is a sovereign act of God whereby He unconditionally obligates Himself to bring to pass definite blessings for His people.

There are two Conditional Covenants between God and man:  The Edenic Covenant (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15-17), and The Mosaic Covenant (Ex. 20:1 – Deut. 28:68).  The Edenic Covenant is also the Dispensation of The Age of Innocence (#1).  The Mosaic Covenant is also The Dispensation of The Age of the Law (#5).

The other five Covenants are unconditional; they are promises made by God which do not take into account man’s response.  They are:  The Adamic Covenant (Gen. 3:14-19); The Noahic Covenant (Gen. 9:1-17); The Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 12:1-3, 7; 13:14-17; 15:1-21; 17:1-21; 22:15-18; The Davidic Covenant (2 Sam. 7:11-16); and The New Covenant (Jer. 31:31-34; etc.).  These covenants relate to the dispensations thusly:  The Adamic Covenant with The Age of Conscience (#2); The Noahic Covenant with The Age of Nations (#3);  The Abrahamic Covenant with The Age of Promise (#4); The New Covenant with The Age of Grace (#6); and The Davidic Covenant with The Millennium Age (#7).

Regardless of which approach one takes to studying the Scriptures,

Studying will always be rewarded by giving the

Holy Spirit something to bring to your remembrance!

THE TRINITY IS A CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE

Of the thousands of religions in our world today, only three are monotheistic (believe there is only one God):  Judaism (2000 B.C.), Christianity (A.D. 30), and Islam (A.D. 600).  Of these three, only one believes God is a Trinity (a Tri-unity):  mainline Christianity.  Three groups, who claim to be Christian, do not believe in the Trinity as being three manifestations of one God:  Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and Unitarians. 

A Jehovah's Witness brochure entitled "Beliefs and Customs that God Hates" includes the Trinity, saying:  “Is Jehovah a Trinity - three persons in one God?  No!  Jehovah, the Father, is "the only true God." (Jn. 17:3; Mk. 12:29) Jesus is His firstborn Son, and He is subject to God. (1 Cor. 11:3)  The Father is greater than the Son. (Jn. 14:28) The Holy Spirit is not a person; it is God's active force. Gen. 1:2; Acts 2:18.”  Without taking the time in this post to correct their obvious interpretive errors, I will just say that it is interesting that they have chosen to claim “Jehovah” as the one true God, when the name, Jehovah, appears only four times by itself in all of the Old Testament (Ex. 6:3; Ps. 83:18; Isa. 12:2; 26:4).  In the KJV, the same Hebrew word, יְהֹוָה (Yhvh), is translated “I AM” in Exodus 3:14, and “LORD” nearly 8000 times, where it refers to the pre-incarnate Jesus (see my blog dated February 7 – “JESUS IS JEHOVAH / LORD / GOD!”).

While Mormons say they believe in the Trinity, their definition of the Trinity differs from mainline Christianity.  Mormons believe that the Godhead is made up of three distinct beings who are "one in purpose" but not in being.  Jesus is affirmed as Son of God, but not God himself.  He is a created spirit.  In the Mormon Doctrines and Covenants, Section 130 states:  “22 The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Was it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.”  LDS Apostle Bruce McConkie wrote:  “Although it is not found in any of Mormonism's Standard Works, an expression which precisely defines the LDS teaching that men can become Gods was coined by fifth LDS President Lorenzo Snow.  In June of 1840, Snow declared, "As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become.  Thus those who gain eternal life receive exaltation…. They are gods.”  (Mormon Doctrine, p. 237)

“Joseph Priestley, one of the founders of the Unitarian movement, defined Unitarianism as the belief of primitive Christianity before later corruptions set in.  Among these corruptions, he included not only the doctrine of the Trinity, but also various other orthodox doctrines and usages (Earl Morse Wilbur, A History of Unitarianism, Harvard University Press 1952, pp. 302-303).”  While not officially included under the heading of Unitarianism, Oneness Pentecostalism (also known as Apostolic Pentecostalism or One God Pentecostalism) refers to a grouping of denominations and believers within Pentecostal Christianity, all of whom subscribe to the non-Trinitarian theological doctrine of Oneness.

Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God (Elohim – noun, masculine, plural – which in Hebrew means three or more) created the heaven and the earth.”  Deuteronomy 6:4 says, “Hear O Israel:  The LORD (Jehovah – noun, masculine, singular) our God (Elohim – noun, masculine, plural – which in Hebrew means three or more) is one LORD (Jehovah – noun, masculine, singular).”  New Testament references to the Trinity:  Matt. 3:16-17; 28:19; Jn. 14:16-17; 2 Cor. 13:14; etc.  The Father is God (Rom. 1:7).  The Son is God (Rom. 9:5).  The Holy Spirit is God (1 Cor. 5:3-4). 

“For in Him (Jesus) dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9)!