Category Archives: Truth

Pulpit Freedom

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10 years ago, if I said marriage is between a man and woman, few would disagree.

30 years ago if I said that homosexuality is not acceptable before God, few would disagree.

40 years ago if I said that abortion is wrong, few would disagree.  But now people will say I’m too political.

It was on July 2, 1945 that Lyndon Johnson faced a tough campaign against a couple individuals who used 501(c) 3 secular organizations.  Johnson authored the Johnson amendment to congress that imposed restrictions on 501(c) 3 organizations from making political speeches, comments and commentary.  It was not intended to restrict churches, but the devil used it to hinder and stifle churches from speaking their conscience. 

I have always considered you wise enough to make solid biblical decisions, so I have not from the pulpit made significant appeals, proclamations or exhortations regarding how you should vote.  I still believe you are wise enough to understand biblical mandates and truth, however, I speak today as an encouragement for you to realize your  Christian responsibility to vote.

The present administration did inherit a mess, but the mess is even greater now in several areas.  Morality is spinning out of control, economics are sliding off the chart, infrastructure is failing, and the family is becoming weaker.  The US security is weaker across the world, the flag is disdained by most countries and the US is targeted by radicals by a three point plan to dismember our strength to bring us under Sharia law.  The reason for all of this is because we as a nation are turning from our spiritual moorings and worship of Jesus Christ.   We saw this in our study of Chronicles time and time again when God raised up enemy forces to cause Israel’s attention to return to the Lord.

I have read most of the GOP and DNC platforms. 

Let me give you four issues for you to consider:

1)      I believe Scripture teaches that life begins in the womb and any party or person promoting ending that life at the choice of a person, even the mother, shows a complete disregard for our Creator God.  The Republican platform only demands that the 75 million tax payer portion of the Planned Parenthood 1.1 billion budget not be provided by the government or the taxpayers.  The DNC “strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman’s right to make decisions regarding her pregnancy, including a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay,” i.e. Abortion on demand supported by the government

2)      The DNC platform promotes same sex marriage – and will not enforce the DOMA – Defense of Marriage Act, which is a union between one man and one woman.  The DNC platform “support marriage equality and support the movement to secure equal treatment under law for same-sex couples.”  This is completely incompatible with the Word of God.

3)      The GOP platform emphasizes a handle on fiscal responsibility.  The DNC wants the government to continue funding help to the allegedly disadvantaged.  I’m not sure what to do about 47 million on food stamps, but that number is beyond my understanding.  The recent QE3 to infinity will not only increase the national debt, but hamstring seniors who depend on a fixed income and destroy a solid monetary based for the poor who will suffer as prices increase, and they will increase.  There have been more “Acts”, whether the Recovery Act, the American Jobs Acts, Affordable Care Act, Lilly ledbetter fair pay act, paycheck fairness Act, and many others, that have been written in the last four years.  Each one brings more people under the economic handout of the government and therefore control of the government.  People are not working toward freedom, they are sliding into slave dependency on the government rather than the Lord.  I don’t condemn people who are caught in very difficult situations.  Use the situation to provide for your family so that you can get out and become independent of the government as soon as possible.  If someone is caught in a lifetime dependency on the government, I don’t condemn them.  We must understand, the government has never produced anything.  It only takes money from people in order to buy things from enterprise.  The President has stated before his presidency that he is for redistribution of wealth, a socialistic mechanism.  The DNC asks people to pay their fair share.  Fair share would seem like an equal percentage.  I do agree with both parties that loop holes should be closed so that no person in a higher income bracket can have enough loop holes to not pay taxes.  Simplify everything to a few taxes and you’ll shut down all the loopholes.  If someone controlled the present government waste, like the 500 Million that went to a company like Solyndra that shuts down within months, we would have fewer problems.  Someone must return the money to the tax payers.  Few of the recent administrations have done well in this.

4)      The right to bear arms.  The DNC platform states, “We believe that the right to own firearms is subject to reasonable regulation.”  This may lead to Judicial expediency vs. the constitution.  I am very concerned about where the DNC might take this in the future.  You have the right to protect yourself, not with bow and arrows, but with protection that you can afford and not cause harm on other innocent people.    


I won’t even bring up the problem that the DNC wanted God removed from the platform and the voice vote, while said by the chair that it was clear, seemed clear that a majority were louder in keeping God off the platform.

It’s not about politics; it’s about principle.  It’s not about race, it’s about righteousness.

Is the answer with the Republican party?  I don’t believe they have the answers in total either.  I don’t see how they will bring our economic problems under control any time soon.  My problem is I saw the previous Republican administration expand the national debt, grow the government and cause more people to become dependent on the government subsidies.  That’s all about power and control.  The government has just a few responsibilities and they are outlined in Romans 13.  The citizens have responsibility to feed themselves.  So what do you do about the greed inherent in free enterprise?  I despise that.  There is greed there, but also in power politics and control. That is there because we Christians, for 150 years, are not discipling our children and neighbors before God.  We are too comfortable and we are content with growing problems in our neighborhoods and communities, as long as it doesn’t affect us. 

There are other issues with the platforms. Let each one decide by his/her own conscience how they should vote. There are complicated issues. The main issue is America is walking away from her spiritual moorings. The answer is found in the gospel of Jesus Christ, not in a particular party. Unless the country returns to its foundation it will spin down the spiral into a third rate country.

Vote for the candidate who endorses the constitution and amendments as they were originally written.

 

 

 

Explaining Divine History – Part 6

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The previous five parts have established a foundation for understanding Divine History.   Part one noted a consistent means of salvation throughout history. Secondly, Scripture must be interpreted by a literal historico-grammatical interpretation approach. Thirdly, God’s promises to Israel in the Old Testament were unconditional and are yet to be fulfilled. Fourthly, the church began on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 and not before.  Fifthly, the only way to understand God’s plan is to know the completed canon of Scripture.  This sixth segment identifies that man is born spiritually dead and how he is able to receive salvation.

Man is born separated from God in a helpless and hopeless condition (Rom. 3:23; 6:23).  He is spiritually dead.  There is nothing he can do to gain acceptance before God unless God reveals Himself to man and man chooses to trust in God’s revealed will for salvation.  Note the following principles:

·         Man is born in sin and he possesses his body of sin until death or the rapture Rom. 6:6, 12;  7:24; 1 Cor. 15:51-57.  The body of the unbeliever will control his life in sin, because the unbeliever cannot please God in any way.  Even the body of the believer retains the sin nature and causes a battle in the soul of the believer who trusts in Jesus Christ. That body of sin will tempt him to sin unless he is totally dependent on God’s Spirit, which Scripture calls the filling of the Spirit (Eph. 5:18).

·         Spiritually, he is not able to please, to satisfy, or to approach God in any way because of his sin and God cannot look upon sin Gen. 2:16,17; Rom. 3:9-10; Eph. 2:1-3.  Man is spiritually dead.  The unbeliever cannot understand the things of God (1 Cor. 2:14) and cannot satisfy the righteousness of God from his works (Is. 64:6).

·         The unbeliever does have faith, because many trust in other gods, themselves or some system of doing to gain an afterlife Acts 17:18-23.   The unbeliever does not trust by faith in the right object of salvation. The unbeliever trusts in many things just like a believer, like flying in an airplane, but rejects trusting in the divine provision of Christ’s shed blood for atonement.

·         The unbeliever cannot understand the things of God apart from God’s convicting ministry John 16:8-11; 1 Cor. 2:14.  The unbeliever’s spirit is dead, therefore it will reject any revelation from or conviction of God’s revelation.

·         God provides the way of salvation through Christ’s death Rom. 5:8.  Even in the rejection of man, God provides that way because of His love.  God’s love is not dependent on a proper response.  God’s love acts regardless of the response.  Our godly love is only in response to His love for us (1 John 4:19).

·         God the Holy Spirit convicts of the whole world of sin, righteousness and judgment John 16:8-11.  The conviction is made to the entire world.  Conviction is necessary for man to see his lost state and separation from God.  Conviction allows for rejection.  God is bigger than some people think.  God handles the rejection of some people, likely a majority of people, because His love is infinite and He gives regardless of whether man responds to the conviction, or not.  God’s conviction shows that God’s grace provision is sufficient, but not necessarily efficient.  God allows man to reject God’s provision.  Rejection requires the Justice of God to leave man in condemnation and the ultimate consequence of the Lake of Fire.

·         Man can be saved by faith alone in Christ alone by God’s grace Eph. 2:8-9.  God provides the way of salvation through Christ’s death on the cross for the sins of the world.  Man must exercise faith in Jesus Christ.  God the Holy Spirit then takes that spark of faith and regenerates the  human spirit so it can relate with the infinite God (Titus 3:5). 

·         Man is redeemed from sin by the precious blood of Jesus Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:18-19.  Man can do nothing for salvation.  Faith becomes the spark, choice, or decision God then takes to carry the man from spiritual deadness to spiritual life.

·         When man exercises faith in Christ, he is only saved when the Holy Spirit regenerates him, not because of the decision made John 1:12-13; Tit. 3:5.  Man’s faith does not save him, but without faith man is not saved.  God does not force the issue.  God could force the issue, but then free will would not be involved.  God allows the human response to be the point where God sovereignly regenerates man to spiritual life.

·         God is not obligated to man regardless of what man does; God is only obligated to Himself and His Word Rom. 9:14-16.  God is no respecter of persons.  He does respect His own perfect character.

Man is born spiritually dead.  Through God’s conviction, which is the only way man could understand that he needs salvation and is the only way man could understand what he needs to do for salvation, man chooses to reject or accept God’s plan.  Man could not be saved unless God draws Him.  He could not understand unless God revealed Himself.  When man understands and humbles himself in totally dependence on the mercy of God, God obligates Himself to His character and regenerates man according to divine will.

Explaining Divine History – Part 5

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 We human beings are pretty proud of ourselves.  We have been able to take a little two inch by five inch by one quarter inch box and communicate with each other and websites all over the world.  We have at our fingertips information, relationships, and resources never before available.  We’re pretty proud of ourselves!  Yet none of that compares to the miracle that God performs for us.

The miracle of God is that He communicates to us.  We, His creatures, rejected God in the Garden of Eden, prior to the flood, at the Tower of Babel, at the incarnation of Christ and we will reveal our rejection of Him prior to His return and even at the end of the Millennial Kingdom.  It’s a miracle of God’s mercy that He communicates to us from His holiness.

There is no way that we could ever understand God unless He revealed Himself to us.  Because He is infinite and we are finite, He had to reveal Himself to us in ways and language that we could understand.  It would be impossible for man to understand the infinity of God’s person and purpose.  So God revealed Himself in nature we call General Revelation and He revealed Himself in Jesus and Scripture we call Special Revelation.  We can only learn about some aspects of God in General Revelation (Romans 1:18-20).  We needed Special Revelation to understand God’s plan for man.

Here’s the key to understanding God’s plan:

God’s divine plan can only be fully understood by the completed canon of Scripture.  It is from progressive revelation over a period of 1500 years by 40 authors that God’s Administration of History can be fully understood.

As was stated under “Explaining Divine History – Part 2” the Bible must be interpreted with a literal  historico-grammatical approach to interpretation.  Some people develop their theology and then use various forms of interpretation to make Scripture fit that theology.  Please refer back to that segment for a clarification of biblical interpretation.  What we need to understand is that God’s plan and history will only be understood by the completed canon of Scripture and then only when it is harmonized in, through and by means of all Scripture.  Leave the world behind and study God’s Word and you’ll understand Divine History.

 

 

 

Can You Trust What You Believe?

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Life is about trust.  Trust in God’s character and word. Trust in relationships.  Trust in family. Trust in the food we eat.  We often take trust for granted, because what we hear seems plausible, the person who said it seems reliable, all things being equal, there seems to be no need to question it.

Who do you trust in politics?  The spin machines are in overtime mode spinning the most twisted lies.  There are a whole lot of people who believe them, so what’s the deal?  Yet, there are a whole lot of people who don’t believe the twisted lies.  Can you trust what you hear?

Sometimes people who have been trustworthy will say something.  And it’s possible to believe what they say, so we take it at face value and believe it.  We don’t hear a rebuttal or defense, so it must be true.  Can you trust what you believe?

I’m not talking about biblical theology.  I’m addressing what people say that causes problems in relationships. Can you trust what you believe?

Then we read Proverbs 18:17.  That says we should be careful about what we hear.  It says we might not be able to trust what we believe. It reads, “The first one to plead his cause seems right, until his neighbor comes and examines him.”  Funny, how something can seem right, but when it’s examined, it’s not right.  Why then do we believe the first account?

There are a multitude of reasons why we don’t examine what we hear or believe.  We’re comfortable believing it.  We’re not diligent to examine what is said.  We have an agenda and want to believe what we hear.  We don’t realize the first person has an agenda, so we don’t examine it.  We think the person is normally trustworthy, so why examine him on this issue?  We don’t want to face conflict, so we don’t examine.  We don’t want to stir up conflict.  We think the problem will just go away.  We think people will forget and people will just get along.  Shall I continue?

If Satan moved David to sin, is it possible for godly people today to do sinful things (cf. 1 Chron. 21:1)?  If Jesus called Peter – “Satan” – is it possible for people to speak with a wrong motivation or to provide half truths to fit their agenda (cf. Matt. 16:21-23?  If Peter questioned Ananias, “Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?” is it possible for Christians to also lie for their own purposes?  If believers fall away from the truth and believe deceiving spirits can believers today believe what is not true (cf.  1 Tim. 4:1-3)? Did you ever twist the truth before your parents to get out of a jam?  Have your children ever twisted the truth to a lie in order to escape punishment?

Let us flee from evil!  Let us examine words that are spoken.  Let us find out the reason why things happened for the sake of the holiness of God.  THAT will honor the Lord.  Can you trust what you believe?

Straight Shooting Arrows

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Of course it had to happen.  Two days after the message on “Straight Shooting Arrows” or how to raise godly children, the newspaper reported exactly when a child must disobey his parents – the mom directed her son to sin.  The boy was in a very difficult situation.  In Lynnwood, WA a ten-year-old boy was directed by his mom to burglarize a home.  Unfortunately, the homeowner was home and the whole thing was caught on security cameras. The child is now under the father’s custody and the mother held on $25,000 bail.
Friends this is not just academic stuff.  It’s easy to understand the biblical principles of teaching Children, obey your parents, and Father’s do not provoke your children.  But the reality is there are two HUGE hurdles.

First is the application of making all of it work.  All things being equal if there are normal children and  parents who want to do the right thing, you have a chance of seeing hearts melted and homes repaired to godliness.  It’s difficult enough when both parents and children are “normal.”  Yet, they both have sin natures fighting against the Spirit to do the right thing.  Paul writes, “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. (Gal. 5:17)  Furthermore, Paul writes, “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. (Rom. 7:19)  There’s a battle in normal people.

However, and secondly, there is not an ice cube’s chance in Hades, if the parents are not in tune with Jesus and no one outside the home is willing to work with the children.  Our communities are filled with broken homes where parents don’t care about Jesus, right and wrong, or morality.  What is going on in the heart of the children, do you suppose?  They want to respond to Jesus, but no is leading them to the Savior and discipling them beyond their fleshly desires.  Who is teaching that boy in Lynnwood, WA how to say, “Mom, I want to obey you.  I want to honor you.  I want to do the right thing in life and that means I can’t burglarize someone else’s home.”  If we in the church don’t come along side of him, how will he learn?  Many of these young people are orphans, living at home.  James writes, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. (Jam. 1:27)

Friends, we Christians have job security.  There are so many discipling opportunities if we will open our eyes and set aside our own desires to love on the youth of America.  We are beginning to have an explosion of youth at church.  If you want an eternal opportunity, you can meet with Justin to see if you have the heart to minister to them.  Most of you do.  Just let the Lord work through you. 

A Bible Contradiction?

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I was reading today about David’s numbering of Israel and how there seemed to be a contradiction.  A contradiction in the Bible?  How can that be? 

First let me set the stage. Look at 2 Samuel 24:1, “Again the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.”  It’s very clear that the Lord moved David to number the people AND then David confesses his sin of numbering the people a few verses later in 2 Sam. 24:10, “And David’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done.”   How can this be a sin, if the text says that the Lord moved David? ……

Now look at 1 Chronicles 21:1.  The Chronicler writes, “Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.”  This passage says that Satan moved David.  How can one passage say that God moved David and another passage says that Satan moved David?

That’s relatively easy to understand.  God is sovereign over all things and in His Permissive Will, God allows sinful things to happen, but God can never be accused of tempting someone, nor can He sin (James 1:13).  Satan must gain permission from God to tempt and do harm as when God allowed Satan to tempt Job (Job 1:12).  So, God may even allow the enemy to move persons to sin (in David’s case, not in Job’s case), yet because it is within God’s sovereign control it is recorded as God doing the action.  In reality, it is really God Who allowed Satan to move David to number the people.

But also notice, David was a believer.  Satan moved a believer to sin and do foolishness. Can Satan cause that kind of problem today?  Luke records in Acts 5:3 that Satan filled Ananias’ heart to lie. The same can happen today.  God can allow good people to be moved by Satan to do sinful things, even toward other people in God’s family.  Why?  Ultimately for God’s glory.  It reveals God’s sovereignty.  It reveals those who are approved by God in a faction of people. It reveals those who do not react, but respond with grace.  It reveals that the creature who acts independent of God, even believers, can be moved by Satan to do sinful things.

May our hearts be broken, purified and never used by the enemy, especially to bring harm to God’s people.

Explaining Divine History – Part 4

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            There is no way I can fully explain divine history.  God is infinite and He transcends both time and space.  Our finite minds will never fully comprehend divine history.  But I can seek to explain human history from God’s perspective.  That is the purpose of this series.

            We’ve looked at 1) salvation is the same throughout history; 2) Scripture must be interpreted by a literal historico-grammatical approach and 3) God’s promises given to Israel in the Old Testament were unconditional and yet to be fulfilled.  This segment briefly explains the beginning and time of the church.

            The church began after the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit described in Acts 2.  God’s organization of the church in Acts 2 established the beginning of the Bride of Christ, which will be raptured to heaven for the wedding supper of the Lamb.  The first usage of the word “church” is found in Matt 16:18 where Jesus promises that He will [future] build His church.  It is future tense meaning that the church had not yet started.

            Some people say the church began in Abraham’s tent.  The Jewish nation began with Abraham, but not the church.  The Jewish nation began with God’s covenant to Abraham called the Abrahamic Covenant.  This has yet to be fulfilled and will be fulfilled when the Lord returns at the Second Advent.

            Some people say the church replaces Israel.  Any person who trusts in the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ on the cross becomes a part of the Body of Christ.  There is no difference of race in the Body of Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Gentile (Gal. 3:28).  But racial Jews will continue to live scattered around the world during the Church Age.  They were broken off from the root (Rom. 11:19).  However, sometime in the future, at the conclusion of the Church Age, the nation of Israel will be grafted back in (Rom. 11: 24-26).  The grafting process begins shortly after the rapture of the church, during the Tribulation and will be seen in its healing fullness at the Second Advent.

            It’s interesting that the last mention of the word “church” is in Revelation 3.  That is because the church is raptured to heaven (1 Thes. 4:13-17) for the wedding supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:6-9).  The church, the Bride of Christ, will be joined to Jesus and the Lord ushers in the Millennial rule at the Second Advent (Zech. 14:4-11; Rev. 20:1-6). 

            The church is a royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9).  Israel was family of God; the church is  royal family of God, because it is the Bride of the King of Kings. 

            How then should we live?  Holy, with fervency and always seeking to depend solely on the Lord’s Word by His Spirit.  We should live with a focus on eternity rather than any kind of attachment to the world.  We should live as royal ambassadors trying to reach others with the gospel of Jesus Christ.  This is the church.

            The fifth segment addresses the background of the completed canon of Scripture.

Explaining Divine History – Part 3

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            I used to consider history dull and boring.  When I grew up, I realized how fascinating it is.  I also learned that the more I learn from history, I just MIGHT not repeat it.  How do you look at history?

            This short series, called “Explaining Divine History,” is seeking to establish fundamental truths in order to understand Divine History.  Part one stated that Salvation was, is and will always be the same.  Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved (Acts 16:31).  For those who lived prior to Jesus Christ, it was the same, although they did not have the same revelation as we have in the completed canon of Scripture, so they trusted God in His revealed provision for redemption. 

Part two briefly described the biblical method of interpretation.  If you follow a “Literal Historico-grammatical” approach to biblical interpretation, you’ll establish one correct interpretation in the context of the entire Bible to harmonize all of Scripture.

      Part three isolates God’s promises to Israel.  In brief, we need to understand, “God’s promises to Israel were not merely nice words to make His people feel special, but unconditional, eternal and literal promises to the nation of Israel that have yet to be fulfilled.”  These promises were 1) unconditional covenants that depend on the integrity of God, not the fickleness of people.  What God said, He meant and He will ensure the covenants are fulfilled.  They are 2) eternal in that they are not subject to “the Old Testament period,” but now do not apply.  And they are 3) literal in that they will be literally fulfilled and we don’t need to spiritualize them to satisfy some narrow theological perspective.

When God promised Abraham a land, a seed and a blessing in Genesis 12:1-3, He wasn’t joking.  That Covenant called the Abrahamic Covenant was amplified in the Palestinian Covenant (Deut. 30:1-10) for the land, the Davidic Covenant (2 Sam. 7:12-16) for the seed and the New Covenant (Jer. 31:31-34) for the blessing.  If Israel is now scattered and God has formed a new spiritual species in the church (2 Cor. 5:17), then how do we know covenant fulfillment must still take place?  Ezekiel explains this.

Ezekiel explains what has happened to Israel and what God will do for Israel.  This should not be symbolically interpreted.  A good student should ask, “What is the natural interpretation of the Scripture?”  Ezekiel 36:17-19 explains that God “scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries.”  That didn’t happen when the Northern Kingdom was taken captive in B.C. 722 (2 Kings 17:23) or when the Southern Kingdom was taken into exile in B.C. 586 (2 Kings 25).  Israel was scattered among the nations after 70 A.D. when the temple of Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans.  The Jews continue to be scattered among the nations to this day.

God continues to demonstrate great concern for His people.  Jewish nonbelievers are greatly blessed, except when they come under persecution (Ezek 36:20-21).  Israel is not preserved as a nation or race because of how great she is, but for His name’s sake (Ezek 36:22-23).  God promises to take the Jews out of the countries (Ezek 36:24).  He declares He will cleanse them from their sin (of rebellion, independence and indifference) (Ezek 36:25).  He will regenerate them and put His Spirit in them to walk in His ways (Ezek. 36:26-27).  That has not been done yet in Israel’s history.  Furthermore, they will dwell in the land that God gave their fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Ezek 36:28).  That is the fulfillment of the Palestinian Covenant. 

God didn’t record these verses to be symbolically interpreted.  God didn’t promise this to Israel to give them some warm fluffy promise that wouldn’t happen.  God wrote these words for a purpose and it explains divine history.  God is not done with the nation of Israel.

The next installment will deal with the beginning and organization of the church.

Explaining Divine History – Part 2

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             In Part one of Explaining Divine History, one must realize there was one way of salvation.  That way of salvation was understood according to what God revealed to man at his point in history.  To Adam and Eve, God revealed the first gospel message in Genesis 3:15.  The seed of the woman would crush the seed of Satan and all rebellion would be paid for satisfying the righteousness of God.  Later, Abraham believed God would provide through His promise that a seed (child) would be born that would remove the penalty for sin.  Salvation by faith is the consistent requirement and is found only in God’s provision through Jesus Christ.  It was fully revealed and explained in the completed canon of Scripture.

            So how do you interpret that canon of Scripture to get one clear interpretation?  There is one interpretation and many applications.  In order to understand that one clear interpretation, the student of Scripture must follow a “Literal Historico-grammatical” approach to interpreting.  That means he looks at the literal or natural view of what the passage is saying. Secondly, he looks at the history surrounding the Scripture as it was written in that culture by that author to that audience.  And thirdly, he looks at the words and the arrangement of the words to get the correct interpretation.  A correct interpretation must be done from the Hebrew and Chaldean in the Old Testament and Greek from the New Testament.  Another word used to describe interpretation is “hermeneutics.” 

Why is this important?  Please note the following principles. The divinely inspired Bible must be interpreted based on a “literal historico-grammatical” approach (2 Tim. 3:16-17)

·         God means what He says and says what He means.  Any apparent problem merely needs careful study to understand God’s unity of truth so that there are no contradictions.

·         God speaks through different authors using their education, personality and background. You can tell by their letters that many different personalities, educational training and backgrounds were used in the writings.

·         God speaks through different forms of literature that must be interpreted based on that type of literature.

o   Narrative literature must have consistency in historical accounts.

o   Poetry must consider rules of symmetry, parallelism, creativity and contrast.

o   Epistles must be considered regarding the audience and application.

o   Eschatology must be considered related to other eschatological passages.

·         The literal interpretation is made unless the context dictates that the words or phrases are used as a metaphor or another figure of speech Dan. 9:26; Zech 6:12.

·         The Bible must be interpreted as a united whole, because it has one divine author 2 Pet. 1:20-21

·         Scripture must be interpreted to include both the Sovereign purposes of God and the free will of Man  John 3:16

            Because God is the author of Scripture, there can be no contradictions in the original manuscripts recorded by the human authors.  Those human authors were “carried along” (2 Peter. 1:20-21), so that God’s complete thought toward man was recorded for man without destroying the literary style, vocabulary or background of the human authors in the original manuscripts.  Where there seems to be a contradiction, it is necessary to compare Scripture with Scripture.  Where difficult passages are found, the natural reading of Scripture is used in that genre of literature.  Too many theological systems impose their theology on the Scripture rather than taking the natural or normal reading of the Scripture.

The next installment will describe that God’s promises to Israel were not nice words, but literal promises to the nation of Israel and have yet to be fulfilled.

Explaining Divine History – Part 1

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            The greatest adventure in life is submitting to God in order to understand His Word to us.  There is really nothing more exciting than reading what our Divine Holy God gave to us recorded in Scripture.  It is everything God wants us to know about life, salvation and our walk with Him.   There are many things we do to search for excitement, entertainment and outside interests.  But nothing – nothing – compares to the eternal significance of God’s holy Word to us!

            This is an eleven part series to explain how God administrates human history.  God did far more than orchestrate a perfect creation, watch the fall of man in the Garden of Eden and then try to redeem His people throughout the rest of Scripture.  There is far more going on.  There are several principles that must be understood.  The first is related to God’s mechanism for deliverance from His wrath or what we call salvation.  Notice the principles below:

        There is, and always was, one way of salvation  John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Gen. 3:15; 15:6

·         Salvation was never achieved through keeping the Mosaic or any other law. Rom. 3:28; 5:1; Gal. 2:16; 3:11,24

      ·         God does all the work at salvation and man does not do anything John 1:12-13

·         There is nothing man can do for the salvation gift Eph. 2:8-9

·         Man’s part is to believe, accept what Jesus has done for him on the cross, then God simultaneously regenerates the human spirit for salvation John 3:16; Titus 3:5.

          There is only one way of salvation and that is through Jesus Christ – what He did for man on the cross.  There is no other name under heaven that has been given to man than Jesus Christ.  For in the reality of His name – that He was both God and man – He satisfied the perfect righteousness of God and by dying on the cross, He paid the penalty for our sins and He removed the barrier that existed between God and man.  From the beginning, man believed in the revelation that was given to Him that God’s promise of salvation was all sufficient and by trusting in that all sufficient payment, man would have redemption.  That redemption is found only in the shed blood of Christ – His death on the cross.

             The next installment will describe the hermeneutic, or method of interpretation, for understanding God’s Word in order to understand God’s so great plan of salvation.