Separation… What’s that? May/June 2008

Separation… what’s that?

Separation? What’s that? It is something that is too infrequently talked about in the church. When it does surface in conversation from time to time, it is misunderstood or misinterpreted. Separation is not a synonym for isolation or division, both of which, as far as the members of the church are concerned, are condemned. Separation, on the other hand, is commanded and should be the automatic result of being led by the Spirit of God.
Isolation would describe the hermit who has removed himself from society and, for whatever reason, shuns the company or fellowship of others. An isolation ward is a room or section of a hospital where extremely contagious patients are placed to keep them from contact with anyone else. A prisoner in solitary confinement is isolated from all other human company to keep him from communication or from communicating. Isolation for the saints is unhealthy because it violates the injunction to “forsake not the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is.” 1 We have the example in Scripture of the intimate and almost constant social and spiritual intercourse of the saints. They are members of one body. Isolated body parts are subject to predators and decay.
Division describes a force that causes tension between parties that should be united, as when you break a whole into parts. Divorce, for example, divides a family, especially if it is acrimonious and the family members take sides. That is division. “Divide and conquer” is a strategy of the enemy. Division in the church is a reality that is unpleasing to the Lord and against which the Apostle Paul inveighed strongly, especially to the Corinthian church. But the same Apostle Paul spoke just as strongly in his promotion of separation.
The ignorance and misunderstanding in the church of what separation is all about is revealed by some of the arguments with which the doctrine is opposed. People argue, “Jesus certainly didn’t teach that. He was with sinners all the time. Because he was with the publicans and sinners, he was even accused of being one of them.”
Even of Paul––the apostle who taught us to be separate––they say, “He didn’t believe that. He became all things to all men that by all means he might win some.2 You can’t win sinners if you’re not with them doing what they do. You’ve got to understand where they are coming from; you can’t be a goody two-shoes.” Of course there are variations of these arguments; but they are out there, and may be, in some cases, sincere.
What should we make of this statement about Jesus: “He is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens?” 3 Look at the words used to describe him:
“Holy.” That word means “sanctified, set apart from everything else for a specific and singular sacred purpose.” God is the ultimate in holiness because in his perfection he is distinct and “separate” from all of his creation. Jesus is holy, and we are commanded to be holy also. Jesus, in his holiness, was sanctified to do only his Father’s will.
“Harmless”—without any offense toward morality or the conscience of another; nothing that could give rise to a negative result.
“Undefiled”—nothing in thought or deed that would tarnish his perfect holiness.
“Separate from sinners.” This separation was not geographical—he came to save sinners. He put himself in their hands, and they eagerly punished him not for his sin but for his holiness. He was not isolated from them, but he was separate from them. He was resented and hated for it.
And what about Paul, who became all things to all men—did he become a thief to the thief, a fornicator to the fornicator? Or did he become a Jew to the Jew and a Gentile to the Gentile; to the poor as a poor man and to the aristocrat as aristocratic; to the ignorant as simple and to the educated as scholarly? I think he made it clear in his writing that it was the latter meaning. But for all of this, Paul was separate. For this reason, he also was hated, persecuted, imprisoned, and finally executed.
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who are in Adam and those who are in Christ. They are, in effect, two species: the old man, who is dead in trespasses and sins, and the new creature, made alive by the renewing of the Holy Ghost.4 The Scriptures teach, “Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature; old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new.” 5 These two species have distinctly separate natures: one carnal, the other spiritual. Both have separate citizenships: one earthly, the other heavenly. They are separate in their purpose: the one to satisfy self, the other to please the Lord; the one to live for self, the other to die to self. For this reason both Jesus and the apostles gave serious instruction to the saints about how to conduct their lives and where to place their attention. Jesus taught that “no man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” 6 The Apostle Paul taught, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” 7 Over the course of a few recent years, the perspective of many believers concerning Christian values has changed—but not necessarily for the better. In the name of liberty, the door has been opened for licentiousness. Many behavioral limits that were considered “propitious” have now been labeled “restrictive.” What was once considered “obedience” has been branded “legalism.” As a consequence, the lines that once clearly existed between the lifestyle of Christians and that of the world have been erased or, at best, signifi cantly blurred. Today a person is recognized as an evangelical believer solely on a verbal confession, whereas a person’s testimony once included a lifestyle commensurate with his confession, one that was evidently separate from that of the surrounding world’s society. When confronted about conduct unbecoming to a believer, the common defense is, “What’s wrong with it?” That is sometimes a diffi cult question to answer because, as Paul wrote, “There is nothing unclean of itself.” 8 To the Corinthians, he wrote, “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” 9 So, obviously, there were things with which, in themselves, there was nothing wrong but that were not expedient. Some of those “lawful” things even had power to captivate. Paul rejected them. In another place, to the same people he wrote, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth [well being].” 10 The fl esh loves entertainment; the spirit requires edification. Some things entertain; some things edify. The Scriptures exhort us to do all things to edification. That which entertains is done for the delight of our own flesh; that which edifies is done for the good of others as well as for our own spiritual increase. So “What’s wrong with it?” is not the question. The real questions are, “How does this edify the church? Does this constitute setting my affection on things above? How does this make me more heavenly minded or contribute to holiness?” “Fun” has become enormously important to contemporary Christians. They have come to believe that it is in that atmosphere that sinners are attracted to the church where they will hopefully hear the gospel, give mental assent to its facts, and thereby be “saved.” That is not the case. The “fun” atmosphere that is supposed to attract the sinners is a distraction to the saints. It mutes the voice of the Spirit, quenches the inclination to prayer, appeals to the flesh, and draws the saints away from the church with a force equal to that which draws the sinners in. Entertainment is fashioned for the flesh and is rarely edifying. Edification is fashioned for the spirit; and, to those in the spirit, it is entertaining.

These are perilous times. Men have become “lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters,proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy…lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” From such we are commanded to “turn away.” 11 Our response is to be, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” 12 That time has come. Now is not the time for fun; it is a time of war. What goes on in the camp of the saints should be distinctly different from what goes on in the world. If we walk in the spirit, we will not fulfill the lusts of the fl esh.13 “Come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters saith the Lord Almighty.” 14 The Corinthians complained, “You’re trying to put us in a straitjacket.” Paul’s response was, “Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels.” 15 What seemed to them a very narrow-minded attitude on Paul’s part was really a manifestation of the attitude of their own heart. Their focus was on what pleased their flesh. They needed to adjust their vision to set their affection on things above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God 16 and realize that “ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” You are still looking at life the way the “old man” Adam does, but you are a new creature now. “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature, old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new.” 5 “Beloved, now are we the sons of God” 17—not any longer sons of Adam, that we should think or act as he did. As Christ is, so are we in this world.” 18 In the church, there is no need for that which entertains the flesh. It can only defile to some degree. Let all things be done unto edifying.


Endnotes
1 Hebrews 10:25
2 1 Corinthians 9:19-22
3 Hebrews 7:26
4 Titus 3:5
5 2 Corinthians 5:17
6 Matthew 6:24
7 Colossians 3:1-3
8 Romans 14:14
9 1Corinthians 6:12
10 1Corinthians 10:23,24
11 2 Timothy 3:1-5
12 2 Timothy 4:2-4
13 Galatians 5:16
14 2 Corinthians 6:17,18
15 2 Corinthians 6:12
16 Colossians 3:1-3
17 1 John 3:2
18 1 John 4:17

The Fewer the Lights, the Brighter the Stars July/August 2007

Had we reached the day in which we live more suddenly, we might be less casual about the abnormalities that persist within our society.
But we live with the perspective of those who have been acclimated to each regressive stage that has brought us gradually to a place in history that clearly resembles what Paul described as perilous times. Many recognize this of course, but it is hard to be shocked by something one has become used to and even identified with. We look around us and see a world ready for judgment; we look in the Word and see the glorious hope of a church that is in the world, but not of it. It makes us wonder, Lord, as part of the church, should I not feel differently than I do? Shouldn’t I feel less attached to all that is not eternal, is perishing and is soon to pass away? It seems that I should have a sense of concern for people that I know are about to perish. I know that I read words in Ezekiel’s prophecy that seem to be applicable to us today:“Her priests have violated my law, and profaned my holy things; they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain. And her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord, when the Lord hath not spoken. The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God.” 1The conviction grows that today’s “norm” is not normal. Things will soon change. God is once again looking for those who will make up the hedge and will stand in the gap before Him lest He should pour out His indignation. That is not a word of pessimism, but of hope.There are promises in the word of God that don’t seem much like promises to some folks. For instance this one. “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” 2 That means all whose purpose of heart it is to live godly lives in this present world shall (certainly) suffer persecution, as did their Lord. Maybe we contemplate such verses and think they should say something different: perhaps something like, “And all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall be appreciated for their goodness and rewarded with approval, good health and fortune.” There is Paul’s statement to the Philippians that declares, “For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.” 3 Perhaps we would be more comfortable if that were to read, “For unto you it is given…not only to believe on him, but also to be blessed with health, wealth and prosperity.” But it doesn’t say that; it says what it says.And what does it mean when it says about Jesus, “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered?” 4Perhaps we can answer that with a question or two. When have we obeyed; when we have done 50% of the requirement? When we have done 75% or even perhaps 95%? The answer, of course, is, not until the project is finished! To learn obedience, one must finish what has been assigned him to do. Obedience is acknowledged when the work is done.What would be the deterrent to one’s obedience? No doubt the greatest deterrent would be the prospect of suffering through doing whatever it is that would be obedience to the current requirement. That perceived suffering may be very light, perhaps as insignificant as some small inconvenience––anything that would interfere with my own will at the moment. Defection occurs when the prospect of suffering, no matter how slight, outweighs the anticipation of the reward.Why would we elect to suffer if we perceive the reward of our suffering to be less significant or of lesser value than that which our present pursuits will produce? No doubt this is the reason Paul told us to “set your affections on things above, not on the things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” 5 Jesus told us to “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth…but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal: for where your treasure is there will your heart be also.” 6Concerning Jesus’ suffering the scriptures say, “…Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…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.” 7 The joy He anticipated was indeed enormous considering the suffering he was willing to endure. He understood the Father’s will and foresaw the end result of His obedience to it. He saw this corrupted world in the light of eternity: a trap full of deceitful glitter mesmerizing the multitudes who have been blinded by the god of this world lest the light of the glorious gospel should shine unto them. His enduring of the cross was the price he was willing to pay to ransom the many beloved sons that he would bring into glory. By that same sacrifice he has done all to assure their conformity to his image. And that is the process that is being worked out by the fact that he has left his redeemed ones, for a time, in this doomed world.He has not left his redeemed ones in this world that they might simply bask in all the counterfeit glory it has to offer. No! Rather, “As he is so are we in this world.” 8 We must therefore, have a clearer view of heaven; we must anticipate the joy that is set before us. It is that alone that will inspire obedience to the Father’s purpose. However, our present view is much like looking at the stars while immersed in the brilliance of city lights. The glory of the heavenly bodies is obscured by the brightness of our surroundings. But if we look up from the dark desolation of an unlighted desert, surrounded only by the blackness of the night, the stars stand out in all their magnificent brilliance; and we are captivated by their glory.All over the world today there are saints that dearly love the Lord who are suffering in desperate circumstances because of their faith. For them, it is as though the lights have gone out. They have been deprived of all the “good” things this world offers. They live in abject poverty or severe persecution or both. In many cases, they have known nothing else. Many of them have taken heroic stands simply to maintain their testimonies. They have been willing to lose the only thing they have left, their lives. But in the blackness of their circumstances they have received insights into the glory and character of their Lord that the mere study of theology and the enjoyment and blessings of the good life could never have afforded them.In our country we are seeing our blessings begin to gradually dissipate. We watch as foreign religions proliferate and true Christianity becomes more despised every day. Evangelicals are considered purveyors of “fundamentalism” and are compared to religious extremists who practice terror and destroy lives. Christ is banned from our schools and our courtrooms. It is as though righteousness is a curse, the practice of it is dangerous and the preaching of it is offensive, even disgusting. Has God lost control? Will he bless us no longer?Rest assured, God is in control. He is turning down the lights. The glare of this world’s brilliance that has long held the gaze of the saints is being removed from our affections. As the darkness deepens, many of us will panic, will struggle to hold on to familiar but toxic pleasures. But if we will look up, we will see the lights of glory growing brighter, more alluring. Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face; and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. Not only so, but the world will see our dim lights shining more brightly in the world’s dark night of sin. God is no respecter of persons. The American church is not his favorite. It is not his intention that the Philippians should suffer for his sake, but not the churches of America. It is not his will that the churches in China, North Korea, Myanmar, Sudan and Eritrea should be deprived of comfort and encouragement while the churches of America are deprived of what will most effectively conform them to the image of Christ. No, God is in control, and He has promised that all things work together for good to them that love God; to them who are the called according to his purpose. As we near the end, we must understand that we cannot just talk about the end times and speculate on how long in the future these things will be or upon which future generation these things will fall. We must be prepared to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God which is our reasonable service. We must no longer be conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of our minds that we may prove (demonstrate to an alien world) what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. That’s what Jesus did: for the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. That’s where we belong, saints, sitting together with Jesus in heavenly places. “To him that overcometh,” Jesus said, “will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne.” 9

(Endnotes) 1 Ezekiel 22: 26-31
2 2 Timothy 3: 12
3 Philippians 3: 29
4 Hebrews 5: 8
5 Colossians 3: 2,3
6 Matthew 6: 19,20
7 Hebrews 12: 2
8 1 John 4: 17
9 Revelation 3: 21

The Battle for the Church May/June 2007

There has always been a conflict between the church and the world. But, as is made evident in scripture, that conflict will increase in the last days.
We understand that fact from the many warnings issued by the apostles and by Jesus himself. Paul told us that in the last days evil men and seducers would wax worse and worse. He made it clear that professing believers would no longer endure sound doctrine but, having itching ears, would heap to themselves teachers who would tell them what they want to hear.
The apostle John prophesied of a day when the whole world would run after the Antichrist, blaspheming God and those who worship him.1 Peter told us that there would be false prophets that, through covetousness, would make merchandise of the saints.2 Jesus himself told us the same things before any of these men had spoken anything––before Paul was even converted. Why would we not believe it and be warned by it? Well, we may claim to believe it, but the evidence is that many of us fail to take the warning seriously; therefore we do not apply it to what we experience on a day-to-day basis. It seems that we are still relegating to the future those warnings that apply to what is happening today. So subtle has been the encroachment that it is like the boiling of the proverbial frog or termite damage that isn’t obvious until the structure begins to sag.
Observing recently the presence of several teen-aged youth in the assembly, I was impressed by a sudden realization: here is a generation that has never seen the “norm.” On the secular side, they have never seen an America that was not “socialist” and multi-cultural. So, in essence, they have never experienced the America that the framers envisioned. On the spiritual side, they have never seen a church that revered the authority of one Bible. They have never known a time when adultery, fornication and homosexuality were not considered acceptable behavior by the society around them or when the Bible was read in public schools and the United States was considered a “Christian” nation. None of these things are in their memory banks. The things that their grandparents’ and great grandparents’ generation remember, and of which they lament the passing, were never in their foundations. Outside of the Scriptures there is nothing in our present society to anchor them to any of these stable foundations; and relatively few in this modern age, even within the church, spend much time reading or studying the Bible, much less applying its message to their daily lives.
One of the reasons for that is because the authority of scripture has been seriously undermined by constant revision and challenged by intellectual compromise with “science,” falsely so called.3 Consequently, the Bible has been relegated to a place of questionable significance; it now competes with opposing literature of “comparable authority.”
A further realization startled me. Humanly speaking, I and others approaching the octogenarian mark are the last connection between the present benighted genera¬tion and the spark of normalcy that still existed before 1950. Anyone that is 60-years-old or younger is on the other side of the mountain – the mountain being a great divide that rose up between the generations.
Where does that leave the present generation? It is as though they were in a canoe in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a dark and starless night. There are no visual reference points, nothing to indicate direction or location. With secular history rewritten and the authority of the Bible diminished and questioned, it is a dark time indeed. Where would one go for the truth?
None of this implies that there was no challenge to the truth before 1950; the battle has been raging for centuries, but in modern history it has escalated at an astonishing rate.
In 1946 the Revised Standard Version New Testa¬ment was published, followed by the whole Bible in 1952. Of course there had been many versions before that: The Berkley version, Williams translation, Phillips, The Amplified Bible and numerous others, including the English revised version in 1885 and the American Standard Edition in 1901. But none of them were serious contenders to replace the Authorized Version in Evangelical and Fundamental churches. But with the coming of the RSV, a serious campaign began to displace the time-honored version. From that point on, congregational reading and the memorizing of scripture began to suffer. The Bible began to lose its authority among professing believers. Arguments about “which Bible” began to undermine the credibility of its message.
Other things began to surface in the evangelical community. Ministers of the Word, great and small, began to sound alarms as the atmosphere of “worship” and the attitude within the church began to change. The church began to be an evangelistic tool that needed to adjust in order to be more attractive and entertaining in order to get uninterested sinners into the church.
One of the prominent men that began to sound the alarm was A.W. Tozer, editor of the Alliance Weekly and “pastor” of the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church in Toronto, Canada––a man esteemed by many in evangelical circles as a prophet of his time. He died May 12, 1963.
“All unannounced and mostly undetected,” Tozer wrote, “there has come in modern times a new cross into popular evangelical churches. It is like the old cross, but different; the likenesses are superficial; the differences fundamental.
“From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life, and from that new philosophy has come a new evangelical technique––a new type of meet¬ing and a new kind of preaching. This new evangelism employs the same language as the old, but its content is not the same and its emphasis not as before.
“The old cross would have no truck with the world. For Adam’s proud flesh it meant the end of the journey. It carried into effect the sentence imposed by the law of Sinai. The new cross is not opposed to the human race; rather it is a friendly pal, and if understood aright, it is the source of oceans of good clean fun and innocent enjoyment. It lets Adam live without interference. His life motivation is unchanged; he still lives for his own pleasure, only now he takes delight in singing choruses and watching religious movies instead of singing bawdy songs and drinking hard liquor. The accent is still on enjoyment, though the fun is now on a higher plane mor¬ally if not intellectually.” 4
Tozer wrote those words before there were rock bands in the church, before there was an inordinate amount of preaching about how to succeed in the world and become wealthy. He and many others saw it coming, and they sounded the alarm before Bible stores became paraphernalia markets and evangelistic events became theatrical productions entertaining the flesh, rather than calling sinners to repentance.
Those men alerted us as to the times that have come upon us––the times of which Jesus warned us and about which Paul preached. The church is the body of Christ. It is, as one preacher aptly said, the clothes God wears to work. He made that statement because “It is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”5 God promised that he would be our God and that we would be his people, that he would dwell in us and walk in us 6 so that the principalities and powers would see in us the wisdom of God.7 What is the practical outworking of that if the church embraces the world’s philosophies, shares its values and aspires to the same goals? If vows are to be sacrosanct, why, when Christian marriages encounter rough times, do believers, who have vowed “until death do us part,” escape through divorce in even greater numbers than the world when they know, or should know, that God hates divorce? How can they find Christian “pastors” to remarry them to other Christians’ divorced spouses when Jesus himself clearly stated, “Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery?” 8 Why should this not be preached from the pulpits of evangelical churches as it once was?
Sin of all sorts is tolerated in perhaps a majority of evangelical churches today where people can come and be lost in the crowd with no questions asked even when they practice obvious disregard for the teachings of scripture.
Paul instructed Timothy that in the last days––our days––perilous times should come. It is the attitude of professing believers that would make those times perilous. Self-love, covetousness, pride, disobedience to parents, unthankfulness, and unholiness were some of the earmarks of our age of which he warned us. He said there would be a form of godliness that would deny the power thereof. 9
In his instructions to Timothy Paul said, “I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuf¬fering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts will they heap to themselves teachers [because they] have itching ears. And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” 10
The church is to prepare the saints for heaven, not simply to live successfully and comfortably here. But heaven seems a secondary goal to many of those who profess to know God; living well here seems to be the priority. Jesus asked the question, “What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” 11 It is not wisdom when men, who profess to be believ¬ers of God’s word, spend their lives and their energy pursuing that which God has already promised them if they would simply seek first the kingdom of God.12 In their pursuit they have little time for the kingdom of God; and, in many cases, the churches they attend do not see the importance of steering them aright accord¬ing to God’s word in order that their priorities might be adjusted.
Very often our children are confused because of the discrepancy between what we say we believe and the way we live our lives. We confess to believe the scrip¬tures to be the word of God; but we seem only mildly upset, if at all, when our children are taught by those to whom we send them for education that atheism is true science and the Bible is myth. In some cases, even their “pastors” give credence to “the¬istic evolution.”
There was a time, in the 1400s, when “science” said that the world was flat. The Bible has always said it is round. Those who went along with “science” were the “flat earth” crowd that was esteemed to be learned. Even some professing Christians capitulated to that belief in spite of what the scriptures declared to the contrary. Eventually science could no longer deny that the Bible was right. Now the flat earth crowd is back; this time declaring that the earth created itself, that everything upon it evolved and that there is no God to whom we must give account. Many professing believers are ready to capitulate by finding ways to compromise the word of God with the postulations of “science,” falsely so called.13 But the word of God is forever settled in heaven.14 Those who stand upon it will find themselves on a firm foundation when the stream beats upon their house.
But believing the word is more than just believing the facts that it proclaims about the creation; it means believing God’s word about everything and obeying it in the way we live our daily lives. It is agreeing with the Psalmist who wrote, “Therefore I esteem all of thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.” 15
What was Jesus teaching us when he said, “Not everyone 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.” 16 He said, “And why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? He that heareth my sayings and doeth them not is like a man that, without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.” 17
The battle for the church is hot and getting hotter. The future, referred to by the prophets and the apostles, is upon us.

(Endnotes)

1 Revelation 13: 3-8

2 2 Peter 2: 1,2

3 1 Timothy 6: 20

4 The Old Cross and the New (from Man: The Dwelling Place of God.)

5 Philippians 2:13

6 2 Corinthians 6: 16

7 Ephesians 3:10

8 Mark 10: 11,12

9 2 Timothy 3: 1-5

10 2 Timothy 4:1-4

11 Mark 8: 36

12 Matthew 6:33

13 1 Timothy 6: 20

14 Psalm 119: 89

15 Psalm 119: 128

16 Matthew 7: 21

17 Luke 6: 46-49

Three Couplets of Gospel Truth March/April 2007

A conversation with a couple of "evangelists" from Brookly (The Watchtower Society) was a reminder of how much religion is based on works, and how natural it is for people to relate salvation to something they can do to make points with God. According to most religions, salvation is something one earns. This is definitely an example of one's house upon sand.
Unfortunately, many Christians who, in theory, subscribe to the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith, reveal by their conversation or by questions they ask that their understanding of the basis of salvation is a little fuzzy (too much subjectivity, and not enough objective consideration of the exclusive, finished work of the Lord Jesus himself). It is hard, even for some believers, to escape the natural logic that a certain standard of performance is required to earn salvation by faith. T his is not exactly building on the rock; more like sandstone.
Let’s discuss what I am going to call the three couplets of Gospel T ruth.
What Is a Couplet?
According to the dictionary, a couplet is two rhyming lines of poetry in the same meter; or, a pair of similar things. For our purpose, a couplet is a pair of facts so related that one without the other is relatively meaningless.
The first couplet: Death and Resurrection
“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures ; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”
According to the Scriptures: This phrase, as used in this verse, could be misunderstood. There is a difference between, “according to the Scriptures Christ died,” and “ Christ died according to the Scriptures.” The first simply asserts that the Scriptures inform us that Chris t died; the latter tells us that in dying he fulfilled something forecast in the Scriptures.
His Death
The whole Bible is the revelation of God’s plan of redemption. It begins with creation, including that of man; then describes Adam's plunge into sin and death; and before the end of the third short chapter informs us that “the seed of the woman” would crush the serpent’s head, and in so doing he himself would be bruised. Though not always obvious to the first time reader, that is the first prophecy of the coming Savior, and of his atoning death.
Reading on, we discover who Jesus was, his lineage, and his place of birth. We learn also the carefully chronicled details of his death. Isaiah 53 tells us why he died. Zechariah 12 and 13 tell us how he died. Psalm 22 gives details of his death, even to the words he would utter on the cross. And Jesus, in his death, fulfilled every detail of those prophecies. There is no doubt that this Jesus is the Messiah, and that his death was no accident. Even though he died at the hands of wicked men, he was delivered by the determinate council and foreknowledge of God. He died exactly according to the Scriptures.
Paul notes also, in I Corinthians 15: 4, that Jesus was buried––a detail we may be inclined to take for granted. But the Holy Spirit, who inspired Paul to write, deemed it important.
One fifth of the world’s people claim Islam as their religion, which also teaches about Jesus. To Muslims he is a prophet. However, because, according to the teaching of Mohammed, no man can die for another man’s sins, Jesus did not die on the cross. He was rescued by his friends and nurtured back to strength. His disciples, subsequently, invented the story of Jesus' resurrection to give credibility to their claim that he was the Son of God. God then took him to heaven from whence he will come again to take vengeance upon Christians who have blasphemed Allah by making Jesus his Son. This, Muslims consider blasphemy.
Paul , however, emphasizes the death and the burial of the Lord Jesus as essential to the gospel message. If Jesus did not die the sin penalty has not been paid. And if indeed he was not buried, perhaps he did not die. But Jesus himself declared that he would die and be buried for three days and three nights in the bowels of the earth just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale.
His Resurrection
There are those who speak of spiritual resurrection, as though there were such a thing. In fact resurrection means the returning to life of that which died. The physical body died, therefore resurrection refers to the physical body. In the Scriptures Job prophesied the resurrection of his redeemer. In Psalm 49: 15, as in Psalm 16: 9,10, David wrote of God not leaving Christ in the grave. In Acts 2: 29-32 the Apostle Paul confirms that David’s prophecies refer to the Lord Jesus and not to himself. In Isaiah 53: 10-12, after describing Jesus’ death, Isaiah tells us, "...he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see the travail of his soul and be satisfied...he shall divide the spoil with the strong...” This is a reference to Jesus living again in victory after his death.
Lest to some, these Old T estament prophecies seem oblique, Jesus himself clarified them prior to his death. “Destroy this temple,” he said, “and in three days I will raise it up...but he spake of the temple of his body.”
Our first couplet, then, is the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The death of Chris t without his resurrection is not theGospel, (in a moment we shall see why) and resurrection without death is an impossibility.
The Second couplet: The First man, The Second man
“For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”
The First and Last Man Adam
“...the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.”
How important is it that we recognize the deity of the Lord Jesus? Extremely so. The Scriptures identify him as The Word by whom all things were created. It is by his authority that all things exist, and by which his redemptive plan was initiated.
How important is it that we recognize his 100% humanity? Equally important. In the outworking of God’s plan, it is upon the humanity of Jesus that our salvation rests. There was a reason why the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. As God he could not die for us because he is immortal. As the Savior of Adam’s race he must of necessity identify with Adam––indeed he must partake of Adam’s very nature. Jesus was born into the earth to be the last (terminal) Adam. He was born of a woman, in the likeness of sinful flesh, in a mortal, natural body, to be tempted as we are tempted. He came as the same kind of man that Adam had been created to be. Indeed, he came to join Adam’s race and endure Adam’s temptations. When it was over, he stood as an Adam without sin. All of Adam’s descen dan ts stood bracketed between the first Adam who was the beginning of the race, and the last Adam who was the end of it.
Jesus, in his identity as the terminal member of Adam’s race, took upon himself all the sin of every generation and pleaded guilty before God. With that gross curse upon him he gave his hands and feet to the nails, and his head to the thorns, and yielded his soul to the stern judgment of God. Like a lightning rod in a thunderstorm, he absorbed the full force of God’s judgment against Adam’s race and died. The quarrel with Adam was over. The last Adam was dead.
That’s how God reads history. The Apostle Paul said it this way, “...we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead.” Therefore, if a death certificate had been issued in heaven when Christ died it would have had your name on it, and mine, and, in fact every member of Adam’s race. Jesus, in God’s view, was the last (terminal) Adam.
No more dealings with Adam’s race
There are no more expectations for Adam’s race on God’s part. No remorse, no tears, no altered behavior, no good works on the part of individuals can ever change their state because the whole race has been declared dead. Judgment is settled, sure and final, fully accomplished at Calvary . In Adam all die.
T he Second Man
“ The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.”
In I Corinthians 15: 45 we read of the first man Adam, and the last Adam. It is unmistakable that the first man Adam is a reference to Adam himself; the last Adam is a reference to Jesus. The first man Adam was made a living soul. Having a potential to sin and die, he soon fulfilled it and was, as a consequence, unable to pass spiritual life on to his children. T he last Adam (Jesus) was made a life-giving spirit.
“Howbeit, that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; afterward that which is spiritual.” So Jesus, in this sequence, must first be, in a physical sense, a natural man in order to taste death for every man.
When asked to compare verses 45 and 47, most readers agree that the first man Adam, in verse 45, and the first man in verse 47, are a reference to the same person, namely Adam. They would also agree that the last Adam in verse 45 and the second man in verse 47 are a reference to the same person, namely Jesus. But although the last Adam and the second man are the same person, they are definitely not the same thing. The last Adam bore Adam’s name, was related to Adam’s race, and was born to die according to the Scriptures. The second man does not bear Adam’s name. He is the first begotten from the dead; the beginning of a new creation, the firstfruits of the resurrection harvest, and is alive forever more.
Beginning of a New Race
“ Therefore, if any man be in Christ he is a new creature, old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.” This is not a reference merely to a changed lifestyle, a new mind-set, or a renovated behavior pattern. It is a reference to the execution of Adam’s fallen race and every member of it. The only escape from Adam’s eternal demise is to be born again into the new creation, the second race of men, regenerated through the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. This is a new creation not bearing Adam’s name, but that of its progenitor, Jesus Christ. Old things are passed away; behold all things are become new. No longer are we sons of Adam trying our best to behave as sons of God: now, in Chris t, we are sons of God. That is not the result of our behavior. On the contrary, our new behavior is the result of who we have become.
As in Adam all die, In Chris t shall al l b e made alive
In Adam all die. That is the best we could hope for as sons of Adam. It was our heritage. By one man’s disobedience many were made sinners. Just as we received that distinction by no merit or effort of our own, but by “virtue” of the first man Adam; so we were made righteous by the obedience of one man, not by any merit of our own. That man, of course, was the Lord Jesus Christ, the second man, whose resurrection life we share.
T he T hird Couplet: Reconciliation, Salvation
In the minds of many, reconciliation and salvation are synonyms, but in reality that is not the case. According to Scripture, God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. Throughout the Old Testament, the priests of Israel made sacrifices for the reconciliation of the nation to God. The people had nothing personally to do with it, but they were reconciled as part of the nation. The apostle John tells us that Jesus is the propitiation (sacrifice that makes reconciliation) for the sins of the whole world; but we know that the whole world is not saved.
Reconciliation
The dictionary definition of reconciliation is 1. To bring back to friendship after estrangement 2. To settle or adjust, as a quarrel.
That is the meaning of what transpired at Calvary . There, on the cross, Jesus made the conciliatory sacrifice that brought God’s grievance to an end. Justice was fully satisfied; and the offender, from God’s perspective, was dead. Nothing else can be demanded, nothing else can be expected. The quarrel is over. This is precisely the point of the first half of each of our couplets, the dying of the Lord Jesus according to the Scriptures, the putting to death of the last Adam, thereby bringing reconciliation of the sin problem. God has reconciled the world to himself by the death of his Son.
Salvation
“If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” Reconciliation is not salvation. Reconciliation was effected by Jesus’ death while we were still enemies of God. We, along with the whole world, without our consent or understanding, were reconciled to God, not by what we did, or even desired, but by what God himself did by exacting what justice demanded from someone representative of all who were in Adam –the final Adam.
By this act, the impenetrable barrier that stood between God and the human race was dissolved. Salvation, then, became possible for as many as would receive the life-giving Spirit of Christ. In that case, though they died in Adam, they would be born again in Christ; and all that are in Christ have eternal life. Delivered from the condemnation of death, which is the eternal lot of all who are in Adam, good and bad, those who are in Christ, by virtue of his righteousness, are declared justified.
Performance
Is not the uncertainty that some Chris tians feel about their eternal salvation based upon the inconsistency of their performance––their doubt that the quality of their righteousness is adequate?
Performance is not a factor that determines our eternal pedigree. Everything in the Gospel speaks of what He has done. There is no suggestion that God is expecting our ability to match his required perfection. That’s precisely why he put us to death as Adam’s children, and raised us up in Christ. There is no reformation here, but a substitution. More than that, he has promised that in the final act of resurrection all who are in Christ will be as he is, even to the point of having a body like his glorious body. Every bit of this work is totally beyond our ability even to contribute to it’s conclusion.
So while religious folks are struggling to produce their own righteousness in order to be rewarded with salvation, the true believer is resting and rejoicing in that which Chris t alone has done to reclaim him from the condemnation of Adam’s judgment. With the impartation of the nature of Christ comes the ever increasing manifestation of his character, and the growing evidence of his righteousness, until, at the end we shall be like him.Only by faith is one established on the Rock. Salvation is of the Lord.
I Corinthians 15: 3,4
Genesis 3: 15
Acts 2: 23
Matthew 12: 40
Job 19: 25,26
John 2: 19,21
I Corinthians 15: 21,22
I Corinthians 15: 45
Galatians 4: 4
Romans 8: 3
I Corinthians 15: 46
Hebrews 2: 17,18; 4:15; James 1: 13
II Corinthians 5: 14
I Corinthians 15: 47
I Corinthians 15: 46
II Corinthians 5: 17
Romans 5: 19
II Corinthians 5: 19
Romans 5: 10
Philippians 3: 21

The history of hatred and its antidote January 2007

The question has been asked, “Why does the whole world hate America so much? After all, there is no country in the world that has given more aid to other nations, contributed more to alleviate poverty and disease, and has even contributed to the modernization and prosperity of nations it has defeated in war.” That seems to be the truth. Some have joked about it saying, “If you want to establish a prosperous country, declare war on the U.S.A. , surrender, and the U.S. will set you up with a prosperous economy.” It happens all the time. Take, for example, Germany and Japan after World War 2.

But this article is not about the U.S.A. ; it is about the history of hatred. Hatred and evil, it seems evident, are woven into the very fabric of the world system; and they cannot be avoided by being good, benevolent or kind. One of the problems of American policy is that she hopes to change her enemies’ attitudes by being nice to them, by capitulation and compromise, by trying to demonstrate that we are really nice people. The enemy gloats because he interprets this as weakness and is encouraged to strike another blow––hopefully the deathblow––against his weakening adversary.
Our national leaders keep repeating that they believe Islam to be a religion of peace in spite of the brutality, genocide and mass murder they are seeing around the world. T hey tell us that aberrant, violent extremists have hijacked this “peaceful” religion and do not seem to notice that the “moderate victims” of their hijackers do not denounce the violence of the “extremists” among them. Why is that? It is because the so-called moderates know that the violent ones are practicing their religion as it is taught in their “holy book,” the Koran. If they were to denounce the violence of the “faithful” in the execution of Jihad, they would be denying the will of Allah. T he jihadists are encouraged by the naiveté of our Western leaders.
In the West, because our religious experience has been mostly with Chris tianity, we believe that all religion teaches what Jesus taught. We must be disabused of this error. No one taught in the past or teaches today what Jesus taught. Jesus himself said, “ All that ever came before me are thieves an d r obbers.” 1 T hat is true of all the ancient religions that were established many generations before the birth of Chris t. And it is equally true of all that have been more recent, such as Islam, established six centuries after Chris t. It could also be said of many religions designating themselves as “ Chris tian.” T he history of Catholicism and even of some of the reformers includes the inquisitions, both Catholic and Protestant, during which time unspeakable cruelty was exercised against their perceived enemies. Hatred ruled.
Jesus taught not only with his words, but also with his life. T he apostle John , too, taught, as Jesus did, “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” 2 Jesus taught us even to love our enemies and demonstrated it as he hung on the cross petitioning the Father to forgive them even while he was dying at their hand. Religion has never had the capacity to teach as Jesus taught. He was the personification of righteousness and of love. He loved as his Father loves. T he history of religions disproves either their ability or inclination to teach what Jesus taught or in the way that he taught it.
To see the character of time-honore d r eligions one needs only to go to nations where those religions prevail and dictate the atmosphere of the society. T ake a trip to Myanmar ( Burma ) where Buddhism controls the people or India where Hinduism dictates the societal norm. T hese are a couple of the religions that came before Jesus, which he called thieves an d r obbers. If you were to travel there, you woul d r eadily understand why he said that. And as for those religions that have come since Chris t, try some of the countries where Islam dominates or aspires to dominate: Somalia , Su dan , or Saudi Arabia . It is evident that hate, not love, is the dominant trait.
The history of hatred begins in the heavenlies before time began. Lucifer, the initiator of iniquity, in his opposition to God said, “I wil l b e like the Most High.” 3 Ever since, he who is now called “the god of this world” 4 has loved and promoted evil and iniquity while hating and opposing righteousness on every hand. Nowhere is this more evident than in religion.
In the record of human history, it is first noted in Genesis 4: 1-8 in the story of Cain and Abel. Until that time, there was no record of religion in the world. T he norm until Adam’s fall was man and God in fellowship with one another. Religion, until then, was neither necessary nor known. After the fall, however, man became aware of his fallen state and began to try to please God––or perhaps flatter him––in order to cultivate his favor. Cain’s action fits this description; Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the Lord. T his was a religious act initiated by his personal perceived need to do something for God. It may have been sincere, but it was neither required nor directed by the Lord, as evidenced by the fact that God did not respect it.
Meanwhile, Abel, Cain’s younger brother, also brought an offering of “the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof.” T his was apparently initiated by the Lord because it had all the earmarks of the offerings that the Lord later ordained at the hands of the Levitical priesthood wherein they were to offer the blood and the fat of their sacrificed animals. “And the Lord ha d r espect unto Abel and to his offering.” 5 What happened next defines the conflict and sets the tone for all the recorded history that was to follow. Even today, it is the expl ana tion for the seemingly irrational hatred that fills our world and dominates the news. “ But unto Cain and to his offering [God] had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell .” 6 T he bitterness and hatred of Cain’s unrepentant religious heart was revealed by the anger that ensued. He became so angry that a murderous rage filled his heart, “ And Cain talked with Abel, his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him .” 7

When the apostle John , in the New T estament, explained this action he said, “ And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil and his brother’s righteous. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you .” 8
All through history, right thinking people have probably wondered the same thing: why did they hate and kill the prophets? Weren’t they telling the truth and looking out for the wel l b eing of Israel ? Why did
they hate Jesus? He did nothing but good things. He healed the sick, fed the multitudes, and gave sight to the blind. He met the needs of people, and even the people who benefited by his goodness hated him; it is so irrational. It all started in the heavenlies with Lucifer’s rebellion.
It is a fact of life: darkness hates light; evil hates righteousness; the god of this world is at war with the God of heaven and earth. “But,” many would ask, “isn’t religion supposed to be good and promote righteousness?”
There may have been a time in which the words “religion” and “religious” were used in the English language to denote true worship of the Lord, but in fact religion has been an enemy of righteousness throughout history. It was the priests of Baal that opposed Elijah. T he priests of Israel opposed Jeremiah. T he Pharisees and Saducees persecuted Jesus and finally demanded his crucifixion. Religiosity is a counterfeit for and the enemy of righteousness. T herefore, from the perspective of the world, righteousness is the enemy.
For this reason the true Church, that is the body of Chris t, throughout the world and in every generation has been persecuted in some measure; and it is also the reason that believers in our present age should be prepared to experience the same. Jesus said, “ If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you . 9 …But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, T hey hated me without a cause. ” 10
We opened this piece, in the first paragraph, by referring to the U.S.A. Was that meant to imply that, as a nation, we are godly an d r ighteous followers of Jesus Chris t? Not at all, but many of the principles that guide this nation are the result of godly men of the past that honored God’s word and guided our founders to embrace its teachings in the establishing of our national character. Wherever and to what degree those principles are still evident, they wil l b e reminders to the enemy that they were authored by God. In the mind of the enemy, that is sufficient reason to hate. We who are in Chris t should not be naïve and therefore surprised by the world’s irrationality. Nor should we forget that the apostle
Paul said, “ Yea, and all that will live godly in Chris t Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them. ” 11 Remember also Paul ’s victorious proclamation, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Chris t , and maketh manifest the savor of his knowle dg e by us in every place.” 12
T he world will continue to hate because Satan, the god of this world, is the author of hatred. Jesus said of him, “ He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him .” 13 T his is true also of the world’s religions that he has spawned. But Jesus did not offer us another religion. On the contrary, he inspired these words, “ In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteousness. Marvel not my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” 14
(Endnotes)
1 John 10: 8
2 1 John 3: 18
3 Isaiah 14: 14
4 2 Corinthians 4: 4
5 Genesis 4: 4
6 Genesis 4: 5
7 Genesis 4: 8
8 1 John 3: 12 ,13
9 John 15: 18
10 John 15: 25
11 2 T imothy 3: 12 -14
12 2 Corinthians 2: 14

The Revelation of Jesus Christ November/December 2006

The Revelation is the last book of the Bible and, for many, the most fascinating. Readers go there to learn, they hope, all the details of the last days. It is much like going to a fortuneteller to learn what tomorrow will hold. But when they have read, they understand as little about the details as they did before. So they go to the experts and read what the commentators are saying. To their chagrin, the commentators fail to agree, so they are left with the choice of siding with a commentator of their choice or waiting for God to reveal the Revelation to them.
Are we saying that the Revelation cannot be understood? Not at all. We are saying that the Revelation is not for the purpose of satisfying our curiosity about the end time but rather to make end time events recognizable as they unfold. The vicious evil of the adversary is unmistakable; equally obvious is the ultimate triumph of the lamb. The big picture is clear; the details are more difficult to interpret. But I do not need to understand what all the details mean in order that the message accomplish its purpose in me. I can understand that no matter how severe the trials are that may come or how apparent the seeming defeat, I can rest with assurance in the ultimate victory of God’s purpose––in my life and in the world.
Paul prayed that the Ephesians would have a spirit of wisdom an d r evelation in the knowle dg e of God. Although it is good for us to know what other men think, to know God and His purposes only through the eyes of other men is not the same as hearing from the Lord. I do not want to know prematurely, to the point of seeking out other men’s wisdom, what God is planning to teach me in His time by revelation. T his is especially true when reputable, godly men, whom I, with goo d r eason, trust, disagree with each other on matters of interpretation. So if you came to this article with an expectation to gain some unique insight into the mysteries of the future, you may be disappointed. But the Revelation includes many unmistakable admonitions and exhortations to enhance our “today” and equip us more perfectly for the tomorrow that we will assuredly understand as it unfolds.
T he apostle John , victim of Nero’s infamous persecution and banished to the barren, isolated island of Patmos because of his teaching the word of God, was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day. Did his tormentors suppose that punishment would discourage John , curb his appetite for fellowship with the Lord and dissuade him from his purpose? Here is perhaps the first great lesson of this book. T he Lord has promised, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” How would one know that experientially if there were not a time when all other companionship and comfort were stripped away?
It was there in that desolate circumstance that John , a faithful witness, received his revelation of Jesus Chris t, who is the faithful witness. T his was more than a vision of the end times. It was a vision of the Lord Jesus Chris t. It is not in the elegance of the lighted halls of learning or in the sunshine of our most carefree moments that we understand and appreciate most the blessedness of fellowship with our risen Lord. It is in the barren wastelands of our experience––in the dark dungeons of despair––when all other joys have been stripped away that we see, starkly outlined against the dark backdrop of our circumstances, the glorious brilliance of the one who shares them with us.
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending," saith the Lord, "which is and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."
John could understand that. T he presence of the Lord Jesus transcends whatever else might be imposed upon us. T hough Nero was the greatest human authority on earth and also, in his time, the greatest opponent of the Gospel, he was as nothing before the one whom the Gospel proclaimed. He had arrested also the apostle Paul and tried to silence his voice by, according to history, cutting off his head. By this act, Nero had simply ushered him into the presence of the Lord. Paul 's ministry continued on, and does to this very day. Nero's life was a vapor that was here for a little time and then vanished away. And John , for a little time, was his prisoner.
But the quietness of John 's lonely exile was broken by a great voice, as a trumpet, saying, "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last" and "What thou seest, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia ."
"And I turned," John writes, "to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks. And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters."
Whatever occupied John 's thoughts before was interrupted when he heard that trumpet-like voice that caused him to turn and see. Perhaps the bit of information contained in that tiny phrase, "being turned, I saw," has something to say to us who read it. It seems that when we hear God speak, it invariably causes us to turn––to think differently, or to change direction, perhaps even to repent of what we were––and focus upon Him. T hat was the beginning of John 's revelation.
What John saw was amazing: seven lampstands of pure gold with Jesus in the midst of them. T hese were the seven churches to which John was instructed to write. T he material from which they were fashioned informs us of their value as well as their nature. T hese represented the Church as God sees it. Gold speaks to us of God's glory. It was what covered the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies; it covered the boards of the T abernacle, the altar of incense and the table of Shewbread; and it formed the candlestick in the Holy place. T he Church, as God sees it, is the fullness of Him that filleth all in all. T he Church is the body of Chris t, and He is to be revealed in it. T hat is exactly what John saw in the midst of the churches, a revelation of Jesus.
If he had turned and had seen only seven golden candlesticks, no matter how impressive their obvious costliness, there would have been no revelation. This was a revelation of Jesus. T he churches were the context in which he was to be revealed.
But this was not the effeminate Jesus of Solman's painting or the cuddly Jesus of the Chris tmas crèche or the sin-tolerant Jesus of many a modern church; nor was it the bejeweled Jesus of a religious crucifix. T his was Jesus clothed with a garment of righteousness––Jesus who is girt about with truth and glory. T his was Jesus, the resurrected ju dg e of the whole earth whose judicial hair revealed him as the ancient of days, the supreme court ju dg e of the universe. His flaming eyes portray the fact that nothing is hid from His judicial scrutiny, and those brazen feet are they which will trample the grapes of his wrath in final ju dg ment.
So awesome was this revelation of Jesus as he is––in all of his majestic judicial glory––that John fell at his feet as a dead man. Who of us, seeing Jesus in such awesome magnificence could do otherwise? T his, perhaps, is the vision of him that is lacking among his people. We see him as a friend, and indeed we should. We also see him as our Savior because that’s who he is; we even see him as our Lord, although we may lack a clear understanding of what that really means. But if we see our friend, our Savior and our Lord, as John did in this glorious incident on Patmos , there is no doubt that self, which fills us an d r obs us so mercilessly of the riches of Chris t, would fal l b efore him as dead.
As John lay prostrate before this terrifyingly powerful figure who was so obviously endowed with judicial authority and the one whose last words to John and the other disciples had been, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth,” he felt the gentle pressure of Jesus’ hand and heard his voice say, “Fear not.” T hat right hand already held seven stars, which were the angels, or messengers, of the seven churches. What a remarkable hand that is! It holds his servants. It wasn’t too full to include his servant John . And it isn’t too full to include___________(insert your name). But we need a revelation of who Jesus really is.
T hat awesome Jesus that John saw as the ju dg e of the whole church, as well as of the whole earth, was also the comforter and encourager of his servants. “Fear not;” John heard him say, “I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth and was dead; and behold, I am alive forever more, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” Jesus is the last word in every situation. He has overcome the ultimate trial, the most fearsome ordeal and even the Devil himself. He has the keys to unlock every prison cell, even death itself.
Imagine John , captive of Nero and the solitary exile on a barren rock, hearing the ju dg e of the Roman emperor, creator of the barren rock, deliverer of captives an d r escuer of exiles saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last.” And then God gave him the assignment that would instruct the church for every generation to come. T here is no captor, no exile and no circumstance that can render us inaccessible to God or unusable to him. If we will hear Jesus’ voice and turn to see him as he is, he can be glorified in us yet.

Ignorance and Knowledge; Darkness and Light September/Oct 2006

God's Sovereignty: Does that negate free will?by Dick York - September/October 2007
Probably the most significant thing in the unfolding of day-today events is the revelation that comes as a result. Of course there is a certain segment of the population that seems to grasp little of the meaning of what goes on around them, so, regardless of what they experience, they seem no more enlightened than if it had never happened. However, that is not the normal case. God created man with an astuteness that is not common in the rest of his creation. Man is able to observe, to analyze, to evaluate, to consider and to decide according to his rational deliberation. All of this relates to the fact that God created man in his own image.
Being the creator, and possessing in himself all power and authority in heaven and in earth, could it be otherwise than that he is sovereign over all that he has generated? Of course there can be no question as to his sovereignty; why then is there a controversy about this matter?Disagreement among men about the sovereignty of God revolves around what those men perceive that word to mean. If God is indeed sovereign in the universe he has made, does that mean the elimination of a free will for men; or did God, in his sovereign wisdom see that such a freedom of will must, of necessity, be a factor in the making of man in the image of God? Had man not been given a free will, several attitudes essential to his reason for existing could not possibly be realized.The greatest commandment is “love God.”1 That is a choice that must be made. Obviously it is a choice or it would be meaningless to issue a commandment. Without the option to hate, there could be no such thing as love. The most important demonstration of love is obedience, which also is a choice; but without the option to disobey, the whole concept of obedience would be ludicrous. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep (obey) my commandments.”2 It is because God is sovereign that he has the prerogative to issue commandments and design the consequences of disobedience, but if sovereignty means that he alone decides, then both the commandments and the consequences are without meaning.All of history is the unfolding of events and circumstances that are either designed or allowed by God to reveal the nature of man and the attributes of God. In every event, we are able to observe God’s working, man’s reaction and the resulting consequences. History is progressive: we are always pursuing the future; God is not trying to recover the past as some would suggest.God’s purpose for his creation had a beginning (“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”3); and it has an end (“But the end of all things is at hand.”4).The preaching of the apostles was “to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning has been hid in God who created all things by Jesus Christ.”5
It seems obvious, then, that there has been an unfolding of what is called here “a mystery.”The intent of that revelation is that the wisdom of God might be demonstrated to the principalities and powers (the entire angelic host, fallen and unfallen, as well as all this world’s luminaries and authorities) through the redemption and perfecting of the church. All of this “according to the eternal purpose which he (God) has purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”6God’s eternal purpose is to reveal himself––his power, his glory and his wisdom––to and through his creation; and specifically through the man that was created to bear his image.There are those who believe that God is trying to restore man to what he was at the beginning. But is that the case; is it God’s plan to restore Eden? Does he intend to make man as Adam once was? If that were indeed the case, the revelation up to the present would be that God, who created all things, is not sovereign. There are powers that can wrest his kingdom from his control, causing thousands of years of purposeless suffering and chaos, and making all of history a struggle to regain what once was.As was stated in the first paragraph, the most significant thing in the unfolding of history is the revelation of God that is manifested thereby. The great drama of God’s unfolding plan begins at the beginning and, chapter by chapter, expands to reveal, not his incompetence, but his unsearchable wisdom. We know from the reading of scripture the history of the declension of the human race. We know about sin’s origin in the heart of Lucifer, an angelic being. We can read in the early chapters of Genesis, the first book in the Bible, how this sin was introduced into Adam’s race, causing the first man to fall and corrupting the nature of every succeeding generation.God did not cause man to sin, but he did of necessity endow him with a free will which, unavoidably, gave him the potential to do so. Satan, the fallen angel Lucifer, through tempting Adam and Eve to disobey God in the matter of the eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, provided the element of choice. So man in choosing to disobey declared his independence from God whose image he was to be, and sin was the result. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”7Did sin then wreck God’s plan, or even derail it for a while? Has God spent the past six thousand years trying to recover from Satan’s attack? Or has God’s plan been on track from the beginning? History, as we have already noted, does not work in reverse; it is a progression toward the future; and every moment of it brings us that much closer to the culmination of God’s ultimate purpose.Adam was not the finished product of God’s determination to create man in the image of God; he was the beginning of that project. There were seemingly insurmountable technical problems to overcome to cause a creation to be like its creator in nature and character, the greatest being how to instigate a “love” relationship. That can only be possible if there is freedom to choose. Adam, then, must, of necessity, choose of his own free-will to be in fellowship with God. Such a choice can only be made from without. Therefore that which Satan meant to frustrate God’s purpose only facilitated it. Had Adam not sinned in the beginning of history, that potential would have hung over every generation, none of them would have experienced the finished work of redemption, and the full revelation of God’s character would not have been realized.It would seem that it is God’s good pleasure to reveal himself and display his glorious attributes to mankind whom he loves so much, and with whom he has identified himself in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son…” How could he love us more? How could such a degree of love be revealed in anything less than the redemptive sacrifice?We often hear the question asked, “Why did God allow sin?” It was unavoidable if man were to have freedom of his will. A better question would be, “What if God had not allowed sin?” Then there would have been a bondage of man’s will that would have left him without the ability to love. All of the doing of the will of the creator would have been a matter of bondage, not of obedience. His submission to God’s authority would have been nothing less than robotics; no love would be experienced or demonstrated.It was God’s purpose that in the relationship between God and man he should be revealed and that his glory should be praised.8 The Psalmists, in writing their music and penning their poems of praise exalted the attributes of the Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Omnipresent God. How did they know that’s who he is? It was made evident to them by the revelation of his Spirit, through the word and their observation of unfolding history. They extolled his mercy and his forgiveness. They lauded his power, his provision, his compassion and his grace. These are all aspects of his character, attributes that are revealed against the background of the needs of fallen humanity. How would God show forth his mercy if it were not for man’s failure? How would we experience his forgiveness if we had not sinned against him? What would reveal his grace if it were not for man’s helplessness? His power is manifested through our weakness; his provision through our poverty; his compassion through our need. He meets us every day, ministering to us out of his enduring love, giving and forgiving over and over again even when we are so far beyond undeserving.He is also a righteous God, dispensing justice to nations and to men. But he is slow to anger, showing patience, longsuffering and mercy because his kindness is equal to his justice. It was for this reason he clothed himself with flesh, took upon him the form of a man and went to Calvary, enduring the cross, despising the shame that his righteous judgment against sin might be satisfied so that he could show compassion on the guilty and those who are out of the way. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.9 [He] can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.10Nothing is out of God’s sovereign control. Even though he grieves over the circumstances man has brought upon his world by bowing down to this world’s god [Satan], Apollyon, the great destroyer, God offers his solution to all. He continues to offer life through the Lord Jesus to all who will repent toward God and call upon his name. Meanwhile he sustains his saints in the warfare they endure, using it to perfect them and conform them to the image of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are not perfected by lavish ease any more than a football player would develop his physique and stamina by lying on the couch; he does it by exercise, sometimes uncomfortable to the extreme, but always effectual in reaching his goal.God’s sovereign purpose still stands. He is not frustrated by man’s rebellion or by the presence of sin in the world. Satan has derailed nothing. God is not trying to regain the “perfection” of the Garden of Eden; he has something much greater than that for his redeemed man. Eden was a brief incident in God’s incredible plan for the perfection of his church. We are moving on. The end will be more glorious than the beginning. Therefore be encouraged, “be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” 11 “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.12 For God is still sovereign.

(Endnotes)
1 Matthew 22:37,38
2 John 14:15
3 Genesis 1:1
4 1 Peter 4:7
5 Ephesians 3:9
6 Ephesians 3:10,11
7 Romans 5:12
8 Ephesians 1:6,12,14
9 Romans 3:12
10 Hebrews 5:2
11 1 Corinthians 15:58
12 Hebrews 10:35-37