“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
Are you ready to answer the tough questions about Today's Churches?
/It's time for Christians to stop sticking their heads in the sand and pretending like everything is okay in the church today. Things are not okay and if you're brave enough to answer these questions straight on, then you'll see that for yourself.
I originally posed these questions on Facebook & Twitter. I've collected them all here for easy reference.
What are your answers to these questions?
Do you find yourself attempting to justify the Biblically unjustifiable rather than repenting for staying silent?
What should you do now?
χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη σοι,
Translation of Kenneth Copeland's "Tongues" Prayer for Pope Francis
/For my full review of Bishop Palmer's & Pope Francis' messages calling for unity between Roman Catholics and Word of Faith Heretics, click this link http://bit.ly/1fD18C3
Are Christians Required to Tithe?
/Does Malachi 3 Teach that Your Money Is Under
a Curse Until You Redeem It With A Tithe?
In this document I reproduce two solid resources regarding tithing and how to properly understand Malachi 3:7-12. The first resource was written by the great Lutheran dogmatician, Francis Pieper and is taken from Vol. 3 of his Christian Dogmatics. The second comes from the New American Commentary on Haggai and Malachi by Richard A. Taylor and E. Ray Clendenen. Each of these resources rightly handles God’s Word and accurately distinguishes between the obligations of the Old Covenant (Mosaic Covenant), which Christians are not bound to, and the New Covenant. As you will see, the tithing obligations of the Old Covenant do not apply to Christians and the pastor or mega-church leader who would appeal to Malachi 3:7-12 in order to bind men’s consciences to the tithe and claim that their money is under a curse until they redeem it by tithing is grossly mishandling God’s Word and not teaching what accords with sound Christian doctrine.
χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη σοι,
A word on tithing by Francis Pieper
A booklet bearing the title The Tithe deplores the fact that Christians in “wealthy America” contribute less than two dollars per person annually for missions at home and abroad, puts the blame for this miserly giving primarily on the theological professors who teach the future pastors “that we laymen and lay women owe everything to God in general, but nothing in particular, nothing definite; that the time of payment, manner of payment, and even the amount of payment of whatever we owe, or think we owe, or somebody else tells us we owe, is left entirely to our natural disposition to benevolence or stinginess, or to our moods and caprices”; and the layman who wrote the preface of the booklet argues with the best of intentions for the introduction of the tithe, meaning “that the tithe is—not was—God’s Law for the human race and that the obligation to pay it is as binding now as it ever was.”
Our answer to this: We Lutheran professors deplore and reprove as sin the undeniable fact that New Testament Christians make use of their deliverance from the Old Testament tithe to excuse their indolence in contributing for the purposes of the Church, particularly for missions. Also Luther reproved this sin.
But we also know that the Christian Church never commands where Scripture does not command. The obligation to pay the tithe has been abolished in the New Testament. While the New Testament Scripture inculcates the obligation of generous and untiring giving, it leaves the exact amount and the details of the contributions to Christian insight and freedom. Scripture says: “He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly or of necessity.” (2 Cor. 9:6–7.) Again: “See that ye abound in this grace also. I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others and to prove the sincerity of your love. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich. And herein I give my advice” (γνώμην, opinion; opposite of ἐπιταγή, v. 8), 2 Cor. 8:7–10. This “general” admonition will do the work. “In the Old Testament,” says Luther, “it was prescribed that in addition to the annual tithe due the Levites the people had to contribute a special tithe every third year for the poor, the widows, and orphans, etc. Now, such amounts are not expressly fixed by specific laws in the New Testament, for it is an era of grace, in which everyone is admonished to do this willingly, as Paul says Gal. 6:6: ‘Let him that is taught in the Word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.’” (St. L. XII:337.)
We also know the reason why in the New Testament the Christians themselves are to determine the amount of their giving. We read in Gal. 4:1–3: “Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world.” In the New Testament the sun of God’s grace in Christ is shining in full splendor. And it is God’s will that Christians be no more children but full-grown men who, prompted by the willing spirit of sonship, will also in financial respects do all and more than was prescribed to the people of the Old Covenant by an express command. If we, then, confine ourselves to persuading and urging Christians unto diligent and untiring giving for the Gospel by presenting to them the wonderful love of God in Christ, we are not employing impotent “generalities,” but are urging upon our people the strong divine motives which will always awaken responsive love and fan it to a bright flame. The contemplation of the thorn-crowned head of the Savior (2 Cor. 8:9) will produce the right quality and the right quantity of their gifts for the Gospel.
It is, of course, no legalism when we reprove slothful contributing to the support of the Gospel as earnestly as the Apostle, who addressed these sharp words to his congregations: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked” (Gal. 6:7). We address these words to the old man of the Christians, who must be coerced to outward obedience by the threats of the Law (Formula of Concord, 969, Sol. Decl., VI, 24). But we expect the good works from Christians according to their new man, who, harassed by the flesh, must be strengthened by the message of divine love.
Nor do we practice Old Testament legalism when we voluntarily obligate ourselves to pay the tithe or the quint or, according to the advice of the Apostle in 1 Cor. 16:1–2, adopt the method of systematic giving. This advice of the Apostle is not a command (2 Cor. 8:8).
Tithing in the Church?
By Richard Taylor & E. Ray Clendenen
How do these verses apply to the Christian today? That the Old Testament law continues to instruct the church is indicated by the apostles’ continued delight in it and use of it to reveal sin (Rom. 7:7, 22; 1 Tim. 1:5–11; 2 Tim 3:16–17). A continuity between new covenant and old covenant instructions is shown both explicitly (Rom 13:8–10; Gal 5:14) and implicitly in citing old covenant law to confirm instructions under the new covenant (1 Cor. 9:8–10; Eph. 6:1–3; 1 Tim. 5:18; 1 Pet. 1:15–16). The New Testament writers taught, however, that the believer’s relationship to the old covenant law is different since the coming of Christ. This is shown, for example, by the instruction Peter received from God to “kill and eat” and not to “call anything impure that God has made clean” (Acts 10:13–15) and by the apostolic church’s rejection of the proposal that “the Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses” (Acts 15:5). Furthermore, Paul asserted that the Christian is “not under law but under grace” (Rom. 6:14; also Gal. 5:18; 1 Cor 9:20), that he has “died to the law” and been “released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code” (Rom. 7:4, 6; also Gal. 2:19). He declared that the law was added to the promises “because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come” (Gal. 3:19; also 1 Tim. 1:9) and that before this faith [in Jesus Christ] came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (Gal. 3:23–26, HCSB)
He also declared that Christ has made peace and created “one new man” of Jew and Gentile by “destroy[ing] the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations” (Eph. 2:14–16).
Furthermore, the church believed they were under a new covenant (1 Cor. 11:25; 2 Cor. 3:6–11) and worshiped on the first rather than the last day of the week (1 Cor. 16:2). And finally, the author of Hebrews declared that Christ’s death on the cross instituted a new priestly order and that “when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law” (Heb. 7:12). He also described the new covenant as “superior to the old one” and pointed out from Jer. 31:31–34 that “by calling this covenant ‘new,’ [God] has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear” (Heb. 8:6, 13). More specifically, the “gifts and offerings” under the old covenant “are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order” (Heb. 9:9–10). In this context we may understand Jesus’ teaching (see Matthew 5) as “a new law that at once fulfills and surpasses the law of Moses,” a law that Paul would call “the law of Christ” (1 Cor. 9:21; Gal. 6:2).
How to reconcile the New Testament teaching on the continuity and discontinuity between new covenant and old covenant instructions has been debated for centuries, and the literature is voluminous.
The evidence is clear enough, however, that one cannot simply apply directly to new covenant believers the laws, directives, warnings, and incentives given to Israel under the old covenant. D. Dorsey has argued, for example, that “the collection of 613 regulations comprising God’s covenant with ancient Israel is not intended to legally govern the Church.”
The Sinaitic law code was very specifically designed by God to regulate the lives of the West Semitic inhabitants of the southern Levant. Nearly all the regulations of the corpus—over 95%—are so culturally specific, geographically limited, and so forth that they would be completely inapplicable, and in fact unfulfillable, to Christians living throughout the world today.
The difficulty with trying to apply part of the Old Testament law to Christians is the lack of any biblical substantiation for such a division on the one hand and the biblical teaching regarding the unity of the law on the other hand.
Paul in Gal. 5:3, for example, declares “to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law” (also Jas. 2:10–11). God’s moral absolutes are eternal because they arise from his own character. But how those absolutes are manifest and administered in the different economies of old and new covenants will likely differ. An obvious example is that under the old covenant adultery was not only wrong but was punishable by execution (Lev. 20:10). Under the new covenant the absolute prohibition remains, but the penalty apparently does not (Heb. 13:4). What can be learned from the Old Testament prohibition is the seriousness and destructiveness of the sin.
On the positive side, the Old Testament included instruction to care for the landless poor, especially those whose responsibility was to minister in teaching the law and in maintaining the temple and its worship. This is matched by New Testament instructions regarding God’s ownership of all we have (Matt. 6:25–32; Acts 17:24–25; Col. 1:16; Jas. 1:17) and the Christian’s responsibility for acts of mercy, kindness, care for the needy and for respect, love, and care for church leaders (1 Tim. 5:17–18; 1 Thess. 5:12). In response to the Spirit’s warning of a coming famine, for example, “The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea” (Acts 11:27–30; cf. 24:17). Paul speaks in Rom. 15:26–27 of the obligation of Gentile Christians to meet the needs of the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem based on the principle that “they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.” The basic principle of caring for the poor is repeatedly taught in the New Testament (Acts 4:34–35; Rom. 12:13; Gal. 2:10; Eph. 4:28; Jas. 2:16; 1 John 3:17). And similar to the Old Testament law of the tithe, one’s gifts are to be in accordance with his financial resources. Paul’s instruction to the Corinthians as well as others was that “each of you is to set something aside and save to the extent that he prospers” (1 Cor. 16:1–2; also “according to your means” in 2 Cor. 8:11–12).
Nevertheless, even though in Romans 15 Paul described these collections as spiritual obligations, he spoke of them in 1 Cor. 16:3 as “gifts” (charis, rendered “act of grace” in 2 Cor. 8:6 and “grace of giving” in 8:7), and in the major New Testament passage on giving, in 2 Cor. 8:2, he described it in terms of “generosity” (ἁπλότης; also εὐλογία, “generous gift” in 2 Cor. 9:5). He praised the Macedonians for giving “even beyond their ability” (8:3; see Mark 12:44). Paul offers a clue in 2 Cor. 8:8 that giving under the new covenant follows different principles than under the old covenant when he says, “I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others.” Whereas the law of the tithe was an external obligation commanded of every member of the covenant community of Israel, giving under the new covenant is to be an expression of joy (2 Cor. 8:2) and love (cf. 8:24; 9:7) produced by God’s Spirit and giving evidence of the presence of the One “who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Phil. 2:13; see Jer. 31:33; Ezek. 36:26–27; Rom. 12:8). In 2 Cor 8:1 Paul had said that the Macedonians’ giving was the result of the grace that God had given them (also 2 Cor. 9:14–15). So the acceptability of one’s offering was determined by it being proportional to one’s means and the product of a willing and even “cheerful” heart (2 Cor. 8:12; 9:7).
The question remains whether under the new covenant obedience to biblical principles of kindness and generosity carried motivations of material blessing (or deprivation) as under the old covenant.
One must recognize that the assurances of material blessing found in Mal. 3:7–12 are based on the blessings and curses attached to the Mosaic covenant in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. If the new covenant has replaced the Mosaic covenant in some sense, these blessings and curses are no longer in effect, at least not in a direct and literal sense. Yet one must ask if a similar motivation might be attached to New Testament guidelines for giving. At first glance 2 Cor. 9:6–11 seems to echo Mal. 3:7–12.
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: “He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
Closer examination, however, shows that the principles at work here are very different. Paul is not advocating giving that will result in blessing but rather blessing that will result in giving. The purpose of “having all that you need,” he says (v. 8), is that you may “abound in every good work,” not vice versa. The abundance of God’s supply of seed and bread (quoting Isa. 55:10) that makes “rich in every way” (v. 11) is for the purpose of being “generous on every occasion.” What then is the harvest one reaps from the generosity that is sown, “the harvest of your righteousness”? It is not material blessings one may enjoy as the reward for righteousness and obedience. The harvest of generosity is rather “thanksgiving to God” (v. 11).
Paul elaborates in the next two verses: This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. (2 Cor 9:12–13)
The motivation of material blessing in the New Testament, therefore, has a different emphasis from that found in Malachi and the Old Testament. God blesses the Christian for giving not because of giving. Also different is the apparent lack of guidance about the amount to be given. Nowhere in the New Testament, even in these two chapters of 2 Corinthians dedicated to the issue, is the Christian instructed to give a “tithe” or “tenth.” Since the giving requirement is no longer an external obligation required as “dues” from every member of the covenant community but rather is to be the expression of love from a regenerated and redeemed heart, the amount is also not specified. How much, then, should the Christian give? Since the New Testament lacks specific instruction on the amount one should give, though on the other hand continuing the principle of giving as one has prospered and according to one’s means, and since the giving of a tenth is the pattern used in the Old Testament, even before the founding of the Mosaic covenant (Gen 14:20), the use of the tenth should be considered an initial guideline for New Testament giving.
The Greatest Biblical Expert Who Ever Lived And His View of the Bible
/Modern and Postmodern Liberals (Emergents) and their higher-critic and deconstructionist co-belligerents have an almost obsessive preoccupation with undermining, impugning, and maligning God’s Word. They incessantly attack the inerrancy, historicity and sufficiency of scripture and their attacks are getting bolder by the day. These people appear driven to reduce the Bible into a mere human product that is nothing more than man-made mythological narratives. Stories of pristine gardens, Adam and Eve, forbidden fruit, a world-wide flood, the ark, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorra, and a prophet being swallowed by a big fish are too silly and childish to be believed as actual historical events by this growing Liberal resurgence.
Before you fall for these so-called progressives and their post-modern re-imaginations of the scriptures you should consider Jesus’ opinion and views of the Bible. As you will see, Jesus had much to say about the scriptures and His statements reveal his assumptions regarding the Old Testament texts as well as the veracity of the stories recording in them.
Jesus’ Credentials
Before we look at Jesus’ opinion of the scriptures it would be prudent for us to first be reminded of Jesus’ credentials and His authority regarding the scriptures.
When we examine the eyewitness testimony concerning Jesus that is recorded for us in the contents of the four biographies (Gospels) of the New Testament we learn that Jesus Christ claimed to be none other than the One True God in human flesh. Any nut or lunatic can claim to be God but proving such a claim is a whole other issue. Fact is, Jesus proved His claims to deity by raising Himself from the dead three days after He was crucified under Pontius Pilate.[1] The men who authored the New Testament documents were also eyewitnesses of Jesus’ life, teachings, miracles and His bodily resurrection from the dead.
Since Jesus proved His claim to being the One True God in human flesh by raising Himself from the dead, there is no greater authority, living or dead on the subject of the Bible than Jesus. There is no scientist, modern scholar or Biblical critic, regardless of the number of degrees that he or she may hold who can speak with greater authority on the subject of the Word of God than Jesus Christ. Therefore, if you call yourself a Christian or a Christ-Follower then you would do well to pay close attention to what Jesus believed and taught regarding both the Old and New Testament Scriptures and bring your thinking and convictions in line with His.
Jesus’ View of the Old Testament, Creation, Adam and Eve
What exactly did Jesus believe and teach regarding the Old Testament stories? Did Jesus consider them to be mere man-made mythological stories or did He believe them to be accurate accounts of real events that took place in real history? We’ll answer these questions by first reviewing Jesus’ thoughts regarding the stories concerning Adam and Eve.
In Matthew 19:3-6, the eyewitness biographer records this exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees:
Matt. 19:3-6: And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” He [Jesus] answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
The topic that the Pharisees were testing Jesus on was marriage and divorce and Jesus’ answer tells us a lot about His view of the book of Genesis. First, Jesus points the Pharisees to Genesis as if it alone provides the authoritative answer to their trick question. Then Jesus quotes Genesis 1:27 as if it literally meant what it said, “God created him; male and female he created them”. Then Jesus quotes Genesis 2:24 as if it literally meant what it said, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh...”
There was no equivocation on Jesus’ part and no hint that He secretly believed that the opening pages of Genesis contained a man-made poetic creation myth or that it was historically inaccurate. In fact, Jesus’ answer makes it perfectly clear that He was a creationist (this should come as no surprise to anyone because Jesus is the God who is revealed in the Old Testament). Furthermore, Jesus' answer also reveals that He believed that Adam and Eve were literally the first two people that He created.
Challenge Questions: If you call yourself a Christian or a Christ-Follower yet don’t believe that the story of Adam and Eve is historically true or accurate, what authority are you basing this belief on? Is it right for you to call yourself a Christian or a Christ-Follower when your view of the scriptures is at odds with Jesus’ views?
Adam and Eve are not the only people that Jesus believed were real historical people and whose stories were accurately documented in the Book of Genesis. In Matthew 23:34-35 Jesus affirms the historicity of Abel and his murder at the hand of his brother Cain.
Matt. 23:34-35: Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.
If the story of Cain and Abel were mere man-made myth then Jesus’ claim that he would hold the Pharisees accountable for the blood of the righteous from Cain to Zechariah would be simply meaningless. After all, how do you hold someone accountable for mythological blood that was never actually shed because the person who supposedly bled it never historically existed?
Challenge Point: Having a lesser view of scripture and denying that Adam and Eve were the literal first human beings created by God, denying that Cain and Abel existed and that their stories are accurately recorded in Genesis turns Jesus into a moronic buffoon. After all, according to the eyewitnesses, Jesus actually believed the Genesis accounts to be historically accurate and true. If they are not true then Jesus is not God in human flesh. Instead, Jesus was nothing more than a tragically stupid and deceived religious nut job. The same can be said about Jesus’ view of Noah and the worldwide flood, Sodom and Gomorra, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and Jonah and the big fish.
What Did Jesus Believe About Noah and the Flood?
Matt. 24:36-39: “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
This passage makes it unmistakably clear that Jesus believed that Noah was an actual historical person who built an ark according to Jesus’ instructions and that the world was destroyed by the flood just as it is recorded for us in Genesis. Jesus even likens His imminent second coming to the worldwide flood that deluged the world in the time of Noah. The implications of this logic are impossible to miss. If the flood story is just a myth instead of an actual historical event as Jesus clearly believed it to be then Jesus is a liar instead of God in human flesh and you might as well believe in the Easter Bunny because Jesus isn’t really coming back to judge the living and the dead.
What Did Jesus Believe About Sodom & Gomorra?
Matt 11:23-24: And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom (Genesis 19), it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”
In this passage Jesus confirms the historicity of the Genesis story regarding the destruction of Sodom and Gomorra and tells the people of Capernaum that the day of judgement will be more tolerable for Sodom than it will be for them. These are empty words that Jesus spoke if Sodom and Gomorra never existed and were not destroyed by God because of their wickedness.
What Did Jesus Believe About Abraham, Issac and Jacob?
Matt. 22:29-33: But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.
In this passage Jesus not only affirms the historicity of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, He even claims that they are still living. To deny the historicity of any these men is to make Jesus out to be a liar!
What Did Jesus Believe About Jonah and the Great Fish?
Certainly Jesus was smart enough and progressive enough to know that the absurd story of Jonah and the great fish was nothing more than a mythological fish story and cautionary tale. NOT ON YOUR LIFE! According to the eyewitnesses to Jesus’ life, Jesus actually believed the story of Jonah and the great fish was a literal, historical event.
Matt. 12:39-41: But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
Not only did Jesus believe that Jonah was literally three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, He ties His own resurrection from the dead to this event. Furthermore, Jesus said that the men of Ninevah, who repented at the preaching of Jonah will rise up to condemn the people of Jesus’ generation because they didn’t repent despite the fact that someone greater than Jonah was calling them to repentance. Again these would be rather silly and empty words if the Jonah story was a mere man-made mythological narrative.
What can we conclude then about Jesus’ view of the Old Testament scriptures? Plain and simple, Jesus believed the Old Testament to be the inspired, inerrant, historically accurate, literal Word of God. But what about the New Testament scriptures? Thankfully, Jesus had something to say about them as well.
Jesus Said That God is Commanding Us Through His Written Word
Not only did Jesus affirm the historicity of the Old Testament historical narratives but He also affirmed that what is written in the Old Testament was given by God. Jesus makes it unambiguously clear that through the scriptures God Himself is speaking to us and He expects us recognize the fact that God is the one speaking in the Biblical texts. In the following passage, note who Jesus says is the authority behind the written texts of scripture.
Mark 7:1–13: “Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.
And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)— then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of Godby your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.””
Jesus makes it very clear in this passage that God expects people to recognize that He is the authority behind all of scripture. Despite the fact that Moses was the man who wrote down the text Jesus cites, Jesus makes it clear that God was the one speaking and commanding men through the text that Moses wrote.
Challenge Point: Why would anyone who calls themselves a Christian hold or entertain a view of scripture that is different than Jesus' view regarding the ultimate authority behind the Biblical texts?
Jesus’ Stamp of Approval for the New Testament
The Apostle John, in his eyewitness biography records Jesus as promising His disciples that the Holy Spirit will bring to mind (miraculous total recall) all the things that Jesus said and taught them.
John 14:25-26: “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
Jesus literally promised the disciples that they would receive miraculous memory recall in their teaching ministries. This miraculous memory recall applied not only to the words that they spoke about Jesus but also the words that they wrote about Jesus. In fact, in Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer which is recorded for us by the eyewitness John, Jesus prays not only for His disciples but for all who will believe in Jesus through their word.
John 17:17-21 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
Notice that these verses make it clear that Jesus put His miraculous stamp of divine approval on the words of the Apostles. Therefore, Jesus believes that the New Testament (this is the only place where we find the words of the Apostles today) is as inspired and every bit as much the miraculously inerrant and authoritative Word of God as the Old Testament. This is why the primary criterion for a document to be included in the New Testament was whether or not it was Apostolic. If you’re unsure about this then read the writings of the early church fathers. They quote the New Testament documents extensively and authoritatively. In fact, if we had no extant copies of the New Testament we could still reproduce it with the exception of 11 verses from the writings of the early church fathers that pre-date 212 AD. (This is long before the Council of Nicaea and is only a little over a century from the completion of the New Testament)
Jesus Christ is the greatest expert on the Word of God and the scriptures who ever lived. Jesus is none other than the One True God in human flesh and proved this by raising Himself from the dead only three days after he was crucified for our sins under Pontius Pilate. Jesus had the highest view of scripture that anyone could have and because of His credentials as God, He has the unique position of being able to speak on this subject with an authority that no one else could ever hope to possess. If you call yourself a Christian or a Christ-Follower it is spiritually dangerous and perilous for you to hold a lesser view of scripture than Jesus Christ. Furthermore, Jesus himself warns us that holding a lesser view of scripture is out of character for anyone who claims to be a Christian. Jesus said:
John 14:23-24: “If anyone loves me, he will keep [guard] my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep [guard] my words.
In other words, if you claim to love Jesus and be a follower of Jesus and you do not keep or guard his word then you are deceiving yourself because only those who hate Jesus do not keep and guard His word. Furthermore, Jesus says that it is the children of the devil who do not hear and believe His word.
John 8:43-47: Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
Who will you believe, trust and follow? Will you follow the so-called progressives and the Post-Modern Liberals (Emergents) or will you trust and believe Jesus and refuse to have an opinion of the scriptures that is lesser than His?
To end this article, I will let Jesus have the last word.
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” - Matt 24:35
χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη σοι,
---
"1 If you do not believe that Jesus Christ is the One True God in human flesh and that he rose bodily from the grave three days after he was crucified for your sins then you are not a Christian even if you attend a church that prays to Jesus, feeds the poor or recycles religiously in order to save the planet.
Benny Hinn: Authentic Fire or Authentic Con?
/I post this video without commentary and would simply like Dr. Michael Brown to explain to the world how Benny Hinn represents the Authentic Fire of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Why would the Third person of the Holy Trinity anoint Hinn and by doing so authentic Hinn's greed, false doctrine, Bible twisting and rank heresy?
[vimeo 86615126 w=560 h=340]
Bible Secrets DEBUNKED: Was Adam a Historical Person?
/In this episode Chris Rosebrough debunks the argument put forward in the History Channel's series, Bible Secrets Revealed, that the belief that Adam was a historical individual is the result of a mistranslation of the Hebrew word, Adam.
For a list of resources that will help you understand how to defend the historical reliability of scripture, click this link http://bit.ly/1b84ish
To visit the website for Dr. Mullins' archaeological excavation, click this link http://www.abel-beth-maacah.org
Thank you for watching!
How Many of Jesus' Parables Are REALLY about Money Management?
/I'm soliciting the comments and observations of my listeners for an upcoming segment on Fighting for the Faith.
Here's the question I'd like to get your answers to, "How many of Jesus' parables are REALLY about Money?"
Please note: I am NOT asking how many of Jesus' parables use money illustrations to make a point about the kingdom of God. What I AM asking is this, "in your, opinion how many of Jesus' parables are making the point that we need to manage and steward money well?"
In the upcoming segment I am going to be testing the claims made by popular megachurch pastors that say that:
1) Jesus talked about money more than He did Heaven and Hell combined.
2) Jesus talked about money more than anything else except the Kingdom of God.
3) 11 of 39 parables talk about money.
4) 1 of every 7 verses in the Gospel of Luke talk about money.
Here is a list of Jesus' parables, along with the chapters and verses in which they appear in the Gospels. Which of these, do you believe are about the proper management of money and why do you believe that? You can email your responses to talkback@fightingforthefaith.com
1. The Growing Seed Mark 4:26–29
2. The Two Debtors Luke 7:41–43
3. The Lamp under a Bushel Matthew 5:14–15 Mark 4:21–25 Luke 8:16–18
4. Parable of the Good Samaritan Luke 10:25–37
5. The Friend at Night Luke 11:5–8
6. The Rich Fool Luke 12:16–21
7. The Wise and the Foolish Builders Matthew 7:24–27 Luke 6:46–49
8. New Wine into Old Wineskins Matthew 9:17–17 Mark 2:21–22 Luke 5:37–39
9. Parable of the strong man Matthew 12:29–29 Mark 3:27–27 Luke 11:21–22
10. Parable of the Sower Matthew 13:3–9 Mark 4:3–9 Luke 8:5–8
11. The Tares Matthew 13:24–30
12. The Barren Fig Tree Luke 13:6–9
13. Parable of the Mustard Seed Matthew 13:31–32 Mark 4:30–32 Luke 13:18–19
14. The Leaven Matthew 13:33–33 Luke 13:20–21
15. Parable of the Pearl Matthew 13:45–46
16. Drawing in the Net Matthew 13:47–50
17. The Hidden Treasure Matthew 13:44–44
18. Counting the Cost Luke 14:28–33
19. The Lost Sheep frequently called The Good Shepherd Matthew 18:10–14 Luke 15:4–6
20. The Unforgiving Servant Matthew 18:23–35
21. The Lost Coin Luke 15:8–9
22. Parable of the Prodigal Son Luke 15:11–32
23. The Unjust Steward Luke 16:1–13
24. Rich man and Lazarus Luke 16:19–31
25. The Master and Servant Luke 17:7–10
26. The Unjust Judge Luke 18:1–9
27. Pharisees and the Publican Luke 18:10–14
28. The Workers in the Vineyard Matthew 20:1–16
29. The Two Sons Matthew 21:28–32
30. The Wicked Husbandmen Matthew 21:33–41 Mark 12:1–9 Luke 20:9–16
31. The Great Banquet Matthew 22:1–14 Luke 14:15–24
32. The Budding Fig Tree Matthew 24:32–35 Mark 13:28–31 Luke 21:29–33
33. The Faithful Servant Matthew 24:42–51 Mark 13:34–37 Luke 12:35–48
34. The Ten Virgins Matthew 25:1–13
35. The Talents or Minas Matthew 25:14–30 Luke 19:12–27
36. The Sheep and the Goats Matthew 25:31–46
37. Parable of the Wedding Feast Luke 14:7–14
38. The Good Shepherd John 10: 11-18
39. The Vine John 15: 1-5
I'm looking forward to your responses and reasoning. Again, email your response to talkback@fightingforthefaith.com
χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη σοι,
Carl Lentz: Image vs. Substance
/Episode 1 of the Fighting for the Faith video blog. This episode deals with Carl Lentz and the bigger problem of image vs. substance in the celebrity pastor culture of much of the Body of Christ.
For more information about Brian Houston's bible twisting & the Word of Faith Heresy, click this link http://bit.ly/1gAQ1Zz
For more and deeper information about good Christology, click this link http://bit.ly/1bKD8XO
Going Deeper: Sound Christology
/Here are some good resources to help you gain a deeper understanding of sound Biblical Christology.
1) A Segment from the Fighting for the Faith radio program where Chris Rosebrough answers an listener email that asks the question, "Is Jesus Christ God and where does it say it in the Bible?"
2) A PDF Walking through the primary Biblical passages pertaining to a proper understanding of the Doctrine of Christ written by the great A.L. Graebner
3) A series of lectures delivered by Dr. Rod Rosenbladt that walks through one of the most comprehensive theological works written on the Doctrine of Christ entitled, The Two Natures In Christ written by Martin Chemnitz.
— Click Here to watch the lectures.
— Click Here to purchase The Two Natures In Christ by Martin Chemnitz.
I pray that these resources help you grow in your understanding of Jesus Christ and sound Biblical Christology.
Will you please share this resource using the social media buttons below.
χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη σοι,
Berean Advisory: Brian Houston
/“The Bereans, “were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”
We've issued a Berean Advisory to warn people about the dangers of Brian Houston of Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia. Below you will find resources that will help you understand why we believe Houston's teaching is dangerous and should be avoided by all Christians. Mature believers should also take the time to understand the nature of Houston's false teaching so that they may be ready to explain to less mature believers why Houston should be avoided.
Your assignment, as a good Berean, is to listen to, watch and read the resources below with an open Bible.
The resources are as follows: Three sermon reviews from the Fighting for the Faith Radio program analyzing the content of Houston's preaching and the way in which he twists the scriptures, Two videos by Justin Peters that explain the Word of Faith Heresy and provide an in depth Biblical refutation of it, Recommended books that will help you better understand the dangers of the Word of Faith Heresy and how to Biblically refute it.
Radio Sermon Reviews of Brian Houston's Sermons
Justin Peters Explains & Biblically Refutes the Word of Faith Heresy
Book Recommendations for Further Study
"A Different Gospel," a book for the heart and the mind, is must reading for those who seek reliable information about the "Word of Faith" movement.
Every Christian should read this book in order to be aware of the dangerous implications of the widespread and cultic "Word of Faith" movement preaching what is popularly known as ""Name It and Claim It"" theology. "A Different Gospel" is a bold and revealing examination of the biblical and historical basis of this movement. This new and revised edition is complete with a foreword by Hank Hanegraaff, author of "Christianity in Crisis," and a new afterward by D. R. McConnell.
The author knows the movement first hand and has a heart for those snared by it. He is also an academically trained observer who has based his work on careful historical and biblical analysis. McConnell warns of the movement's cultic nature in its doctrine of healing and its understanding of the atonement and demonstrates how far the movement's doctrine of prosperity is from Scripture's true teaching. Click here to purchase A Different Gospel
Does God will that the true believer in Christ be in good physical health? Is a Christian promised good financial health by virtue of his or her faith in Christ? If the Christian does not experience these blessings, must we assume that he or she is outside the will of God? Gordon Fee provides a provocative discussion and a direct challenge to all who struggle with these issues. Perhaps no other issues more directly affect the lives of professing Christians as do the issues of health and wealth and their relationship to the will of God. In Disease of the Health & Wealth Gospels, Dr. Gordon Fee looks at the treatment of these two themes as frequently found in popular Christian teaching. Based on solid exegesis of the Scriptures, looking at each theme separately, this books suggests that there may be yet a "more excellent way" in viewing these emotionally charged issues. Gordon D. Fee is Professor Emeritus of New Testament Studies at Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia, and an ordained minister of the Assemblies of God. Considered to be one of the foremost experts in textual criticism of the New Testament of the Bible, Dr. Fee was a member of the editorial board that composed both the New International Version (NIV) and Today's New International Version (TNIV) translations of the Bible. He is also the author of numerous commentaries and books on biblical interpretation, including the popular introductory work How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth (co-authored with Douglas Stuart). Click here to purchase The Disease of the Health and Wealth Gospels.
I pray that these resources help you or help you help someone who has been snared by the false teaching of Brian Houston.
Will you please share this resource using the social media buttons below.
χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη σοι,
Coming in January 2014!
/Coming January 2014! The All New Fighting for the Faith Video Blog!
Calling Out The Blatant Hypocrisy in the War On Christmas
/The Christmas Holiday Season is here again. That means we'll all have the heart warming joy of watching the renewal of hostilities in the ongoing perennial Christmas Culture Wars. Once again, valiant and brave defenders of Christmas will make their lists and check them twice in order to warn the unwary public about those naughty retailers and municipalities who’ve joined with the devil and her conspiracy to remove Christ from Christmas.
What boggles my mind about a growing number of "Christmas Culture Warriors" is their blatant hypocrisy. These are people who will call for a boycott of a local drugstore if they are not greeted with the words “Merry Christmas” at the check out counter. Yet, these same folks attend and tithe at churches where Jesus is rarely if ever preached and proclaimed. These same folks will threaten to hold a recall election for any local city council member who would dare suggest removing the town’s nativity scene from the court house lawn. YET, these same Christmas defenders attend and tithe at churches that will be closed on Christmas if it inconveniently falls on a Sunday.
This is madness!
Why is it that so many church people threaten to punish non-Christians for allegedly removing Christ from Christmas, YET these same church people give their “pastor” a complete pass when he removes Christ from Christianity Sunday after Sunday?
Shouldn’t Christians instead clean house and boycott all the churches and mega churches that are guilty of removing Christ from Christianity week in and week out?
Fact is, many who call themselves Christians have no moral authority to fault people in the world for saying “Happy Holidays” because they’re hypocrites. Those same church people surround themselves with feel good, ear tickling, self-esteem boosting, narcissistic, find your destiny, dream the impossible dream “pastors”. They brag about how much they love Jesus but prove that they hate Him by financially supporting those who incessantly twist and warp His word.
Think about it.
Do you really believe that on the Last Day that Jesus is going to throw people into hell for saying “Happy Holidays”? Or will He instead say, “Depart from me, I never knew you” to those who claimed to be Christians but attended churches where Christ was not proclaimed and sinners were not driven to sorrow for their sins and where the message of the free forgiveness of sins won by Christ’s death on the cross was not preached?
The Apostle Peter said it best when he said, “it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God” (1 Peter 4:17)
χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη σοι,
Virgin Birth: No Credibility Among the Religious Academic Community
/“Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” — (Matthew 1:18–23)
Virgins don't get pregnant and you don't have to take Human Reproduction 101 to know this simple biological fact. The whole idea of a virgin conceiving a child is scandalous! It was scandalous to Joseph 2000 years ago and it's scandalous today among so called "religious scholars" who assure their savvy 21st century followers that they need not believe what this text says. Instead, they offer their learned 'insights' in order to buttress today's popular pious unbelief (that's what they are, pious unbelievers, spiritual skeptics and mystical scoffers). But God is not interested in doing things in a way that would earn him credibility in the Religious Academic Community. His ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts. The LORD spoke the universe and all of creation into existence in six days and this text tells us that the Holy Spirit overshadowed the virgin Mary and she conceived the Son of God in her womb. All of this was to fulfill the word's spoken centuries earlier through the prophet Isaiah that "the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel."
Am I saying that a literal virgin, literally conceived the literal Son of God in her literal womb via the miraculous power of Almighty God? Yes. And if you call yourself a Christian and do not believe what this text says then you're not displaying the marks of a believer (because Christians are believers). Instead, you're bearing the marks of an unbeliever, a skeptic and a scoffer. Christians do not waste their time with people who are trying to convince them to believe the exact opposite of what God's word says. Christians believe what it says knowing that God is the common author of all of scripture and that He doesn't lie.
This same text which so clearly says that Jesus was conceived in the womb of the virgin Mary also tells us that Jesus is Immanuel (God with us) and he was born to "save his people from their sins." If you want to persist in unbelief regarding who Jesus is and how he was conceived then you sound nothing like "His people" who trust in Immanuel's death on the cross for the forgiveness of their sins. Instead, you sound exactly like an unbeliever who is still in bondage to sin death and the devil. Your "Jesus" sounds like an idol that you concocted in your heart to conform with what you have determined is reasonable to believe and by doing so you've stripped Jesus of His divinity.
Repent you wicked scoffer! Your false Jesus, who wasn't born of a virgin, cannot save you from your sins! Your false Jesus, whom the skeptical religious scholars soothingly assure you is more credible and reasonable to believe in than the virgin born Jesus will not be there on the day of judgement to welcome you into his kingdom. Your false Jesus doesn't exist!
The only Jesus who truly exists is the virgin born Jesus and His people believe His Word and He grants them eternal life.
"But," you say, "if I believe in the virgin born Jesus then I will lose credibility among my peers and they will jeer and scoff at me. If I believe in the virgin born Jesus then I will not be invited to the important Christmas parties hosted by the socially respected religious elite. What you're asking me to do is to sacrifice MY reputation and MY influence and MY career path and MY, MY, MY,"
Exactly.
Hear the words of the virgin born Jesus!
“Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne...And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” — (Matthew 19:28–30)
Repent of YOUR reputation!
Repent of YOUR influence!
Repent of YOUR career path!
Forsake it all!
The virgin born Jesus is God With Us and He has come to save His people from their sins!
Who are his people?
Listen again to the virgin born Jesus!
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”” (John 3:14–21)
The reason you hate the virgin born Jesus and love your false Jesus is because you hate the light.
Repent! You and your false "Jesus" stand condemned by the virgin born Jesus.
Repent! Because the virgin born Jesus has come to save you from your sins.
The virgin born Jesus is the only real Jesus and only the real Jesus can save you from your sins and give you eternal life.
χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη σοι,
Small Stories that Point to the Big Story
/There are many short videos posted on the internet that pull on our heart strings during the Christmas season. Oftentimes these stories have us sitting at our computer screens silently shedding tears and hoping that our family members or coworkers don't walk in and see us. Yet, we can't help but watch them over and over again and share them with other people.
The video below is one of those videos. It will be five minutes of your time that you will find well spent. But as you watch it keep in mind that the reason why this story is so compelling is because it, in some small way, points us to the unexpected and gratuitous grace and mercy of God for us.
If you found yourself saying to yourself, "things like that never happen to me." You're wrong. Something not only like that has happened to you, what has happened is even greater and more generous and more valuable than what happened to the people on that flight.
Below are some vignettes taken from scripture that tell you the real story about the unexpected and gratuitous grace and mercy of God's gift to you and for you. That gift is exceedingly and abundantly greater than receiving a 50 inch television, a tablet devise or new underwear.
Enjoy.
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
“In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.
Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.
And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”” (Luke 1:5–79)
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”