If someone claims to have a message from God, on
basis would God expect us to believe such a person? Mohammed claims to
have had a message from God, why not believe him? Is simply the claim
that one has a message from God sufficient? What is proposed in the
Bible is counter-culture with regards to this issue. There's an
expression,
"Let's raise s flag and see if someone salutes it!"
In fact many will pledge allegiance to ideas, whether they be religious
ideas or otherwise, with little more basis than that. Many pledge
allegiance to religious ideas based upon their culture, what their
parents believed, how they were raised and such. In contrast the Bible
gives reasons to believe which have nothing to do with such things. It
gives reasons like those given in a court of law; Forensic evidence
upon which one can base their faith. We'll see that Biblical faith is
not blind faith. It doesn't cater to the gullible nor to the
indoctrinated, but rather to the reasonable mind. The message in the
Bible is about what is actually, factually true and requires us to
think about it and to consider the implications.
Now how do we know that Jesus is a teacher who has come from God?
Nicodemus
tells us the answer in
John 3:2. He said to Jesus,
"Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from
God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God
were not with him." Likewise Jesus himself said,
"Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does.
But if I do it,
even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may
know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father."
John 10:37,38 Jesus tells us not to believe someone who
claims to speak for God, but has no miracles to show for it. Mohammed
is disqualified as a prophet. Miracles are necessary to affirm such a
person is speaking for God, though not alone sufficient. Peter
said,
"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus
of Nazareth was a man
accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did
among you through him, as you yourselves know." Acts 2:22 John
records some of Jesus' miracles in his gospel saying,
"Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the
presence of his
disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written
that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that
by believing you may have life in his name." John 20:30,31
The eyewitness testimony of the miracles of Christ recorded in
gospels
are presented as the rational basis for faith in Christ. The
miracles
of Christ
including his resurrection from the dead are almost always included in
the examples we find of the gospel being preached throughout the New
Testament. Much of the New "Testament" is devoted to eyewitness
testimonies of Jesus' miracles and of his resurrection from the dead
which validate his message.
Jesus' Credentials
As mentioned previously, Peter spoke of miracles in his first sermon as
Jesus' credentials. Jesus' miracles are his credentials. We need to
present Jesus' credentials when we present the gospel of Christ, so
that people have a rational basis for believing in him. In his second
sermon in Acts chapter 3, having healed a lame man, Peter says among
other things,
"You killed the author of life, but
God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of
this."
Acts 3:15 Jesus' resurrection from the dead provides
forensic evidence validating his claims. And it was this claim that got
them into trouble. For just after this it says,
"As
they spoke to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and
the Sadducees came to them, being upset because they taught the
people and proclaimed in Jesus the resurrection from the dead." Acts
4:1,2 So Peter preaches his third sermon and says among other
things,
"know this, you and all the people of
Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you
crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man
stands before you healed." Acts 4:10 The basis for faith
was miracles. Indeed even their enemies admitted,
"Everybody
living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we
cannot deny it." Acts 4:16 People believed on the basis
of miracles, and for those who didn't believe, it was not due to the
lack of such evidence.
And it is appropriate to demand such evidence, such credentials, from
those who claim to speak for God. When
the Jews
demanded of him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to
prove your authority to do all this?" Jesus answered them, "Destroy
this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." John
2:18,19 Jesus
gave them the necessary evidence. Shouldn't we?
And again Peter preaches in Acts 10, this time to a Gentile and among
other things says,
you know "how God
anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he
went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the
devil, because God was with him.We are witnesses of everything he did
in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging
him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and
caused him to be seen." Acts 10:38-40 And these things
were apparently common knowledge, even to Gentiles. These things were
not done in secret.
Did people come to faith in Christ back then on the same basis as many
do today? Is the resurrection of Christ and the miracles he did
included in gospel presentations today, or if so are they utilized in
the same sense as when the gospel is preached in the New Testament?
A Proven Gospel
What of Paul's presentation of the gospel? In Acts 13 in Pisidian
Antioch on Paul's first missionary journey to Asia Minor Paul preaches
in a Synagogue and says among other things,
"Brothers, children of Abraham, and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to
us that this message of salvation has been sent. The people of
Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning
him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every
Sabbath. Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they
asked Pilate to have him executed. When they had carried out all that
was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in
a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he was
seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They
are now his witnesses to our people." Acts 13:26-31 And later in preaching to the Athenians he
says among other things that
"he has set a day
when he will judge the world with justice by the man
he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by
raising him
from the dead." Acts 17:31 Shouldn't we give proof? And
what was of first importance to Paul in his presentation of the gospel?
He says to the Corinthinans,
"Now, brothers, I
want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received
and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved,
if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have
believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first
importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to
the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at
the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen
asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last
of all he appeared to me also" 1Cor 15:1-8
How to be certain of the gospel
Luke mentions proofs of Jesus' credentials, not only in his gospel but
in the book of Acts.
"After his suffering, he
showed himself to these men and gave many
convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period
of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God." Acts 1:3 And
both Acts and the gospel of Luke were letters written to a man called
"Theophilus". Why? Luke tell us why at the beginning of his gospel
saying,
"Many have undertaken to draw up an
account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they
were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses
and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully
investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me
to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so
that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught."
Luke 1:1-4 It was to impart a sense of certainty.
The reason why faith comes from hearing the message is because the
message itself provides forensic evidence, evidence in the form of
eyewitness testimony of miracles, evidence which gives a sure
foundation for faith, evidence of validating Jesus' testimony, evidence
constituting Jesus' credentials.
"Believe me when I say that I am in the Father
and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the
miracles themselves." John 14:11
"if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is
Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you
will be saved." Rom 10:9
Miracles Alone Not Sufficient
However, as I mentioned, while miracles are necessary to establish the
credentials of a prophet, they of themselves are not sufficient. And
this in fact was the basis for why the religious elite rejected Jesus
despite being well aware of his miracles. For it is written in the Law,
"If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer
of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the
wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go
after other gods’ —which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’
you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of
dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love
the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul." Deut
13:1-3 Jesus' enemies reckoned him a false prophet not due to the
lack of evidence of a miraculous nature, but because they viewed his
teachings as heresy. Conversely even the anti-Christ performs what
appear to be miracles.
"The coming of the lawless
one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds
of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of
evil that deceives those who are perishing." 2Th 2:9,10
So miracles are necessary, but secondly what is also necessary is for
the prophet's teachings to be consistent with what God had already said
through prophets prior to him. (Which is yet another reason to conclude
Mohammed, among others, is a false prophet)
However today, as we can read through the whole Bible free from the
prejudices which blinded the religious elite of Jesus' day, while it's
easy enough to view Christ's teachings as being consistent with the
rest of the Bible, does the miraculous nature of Jesus credentials hold
the same weight today? Though the evidence is old, it appears we are to
treat it as not any less valid. In fact Jesus said to his disciples,
"Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed
are those who have not seen and yet have believed." John
20:29 We believe not because we see, but because we hear. The
written eyewitness testimony of the apostles is apparently sufficient
such that on the judgement day people cannot excuse themselves claiming
that it was not sufficient. This means also that to become a Christian
a person must not only believe in Christ, but even prior to believing
in Christ, they have to believe the apostles. They have to come to the
conviction that the gospel accounts are reliable historical accounts.
Rational Faith versus Wishful Thinking
If one is expected to come to faith as the Bible appears to
indicate, through a forensic analysis of the evidence, reasonable
doubt should come into play. Faith in Christ is not to be a
presumptuous thing, like wishful thinking. It is reasonable in the
process of considering such claims, to think through how difficult it
would have been to fabricate such accounts. As in any court of law one
neither presumes an eyewitness claim to be true on the basis of the
claim itself, nor does one simply discard it outright. But I think if
one were to subject the eyewitness claims contained in the Bible to
such scrutiny as one would in determining the factual nature of any
testimony in a court of law, one would conclude that it is beyond
reasonable doubt that these were in fact true. Few actually need help
in thinking these things through. Reasonable people who read the
accounts will come to see that they are convincingly historical. While
for skeptics, nothing is ever sufficient because they're blinded by the
implications of what Jesus said.
But unbelief is not limited to such skeptics. For why don't Christians
include the testimony of Jesus's miracles and of his resurrection from
the dead in their presentation of the gospel? It's one thing to present
God's plan. But making historical claims of miracles is a different
matter. Unbelievers may be entertained at your presentation of God's
plan. Oh what an interesting idea! But if you claim that such ideas are
validated by Jesus's miracles and by his historic resurrection from the
dead as testified by eyewitnesses, they'll think you're just plain
nuts. Consider Paul's speech to the Athenian intellectuals. They liked
hearing about new ideas.
"(All the Athenians and
the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but
talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)" Acts 17:21 So he began to tell them the
gospel. But when he said,
"He has given proof of
this to all men by raising him from the dead." When they heard about
the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered. Acts
17:31,32 And perhaps this is why many Christians, indeed even
preachers today, avoid including Jesus' miracles and his resurrection
in their presentation of the gospel. One wonders if such people
actually believe the accounts themselves.
The Lordship of Christ
Again it says,
"If you confess with your
mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised
him from the dead, you will be saved." Rom 10:9 What
does it mean by "Jesus is Lord"? What are the implications? And what
constitutes confession?
To be saved one must accept Jesus as more than just a prophet. No
prophet refers to themselves as Lord. One will not be saved by
accepting Jesus merely as a good teacher or prophet. One must accept
him as Lord. There are two aspects of Jesus being Lord, and I would
argue that one follows from the other. The first is that
to
confess Jesus as Lord is to pledge our intention to obey him.
Jesus said,
"Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
and do not do what I say?" Luke 6:46 So what is
Jesus saying here about the implications of calling him Lord? And
likewise he says,
"Not everyone who says to me,
‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does
the will of my Father who is in heaven." Mt 7:21 There's
an obedience that comes from faith. Paul writes,
"Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship
to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that
comes from faith." Rom 1:5 And
"He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel
of our Lord Jesus." 2Th 1:8 And Peter writes,
"For it is time for judgment to begin with the family
of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those
who do not obey the gospel of God?" 1Pe
4:17 So believing in Christ involves obedience to him, which
is why we call him "Lord".
However there is a subtle difference between pledging our allegiance to
Christ as Lord and our intention to reform our lives. For a person,
entrenched in habitual sin, may desire escape from the corruption the
world has had on them, and may reform their lives to a degree. But
while those who pledge to follow Christ do likewise, the former may not
have the same attitude, viewing Christ only as a savior not really as
Lord. Peter writes of such people,
"If they have
escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse
off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been
better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to
have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that
was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: 'A dog returns to
its vomit,' and, 'A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in
the mud.'" 2Peter 2:20,21
Likewise there are those who have no intention of repenting from sin,
but view Jesus simply as a savior who gives them a license to sin. Jude
writes of them saying,
"Certain men whose
condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among
you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a
license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and
Lord." Jude 1:4
Paul writes,
"The acts of the sinful
nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage,
selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies,
and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like
this will not inherit the kingdom of God." Gal 5:19-21 And
"of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or
greedy person— such a man is an idolater— has any inheritance in the
kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words,
for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient."
Eph 5:5,6 For a person to be saved they must pledge their
intention to obey Jesus as Lord.
The Deity of Christ
Jesus' Deity: New Testament Propositions
Now a second aspect of the Lordship of Christ is the very foundation of
the first. Jesus is to be obeyed as Lord because he is the LORD
. "Through him all things were made; without him
nothing was made that has been made." John 1:3 For
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God." John 1:1 Of Jesus it says,
"Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor
than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the
house
itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the
builder
of everything." Heb 3:3,4
You see,
"in the past God spoke to our
forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but
in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed
heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is
the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being,
sustaining all things by his powerful word." Heb 1:1-3
This same passage also goes on to say of Jesus,
"In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the
earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands." Heb 1:10
Jesus' Deity: Old Testament References
In fact consider the context of the verse we've been looking at
Romans
10:9 "That if you confess with your
mouth, 'Jesus is LORD,' and believe in
your heart that God
raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Just a couple of
verses later he says,
"For there is no difference
between Jew and Gentile-- the same LORD is LORD of all
and
richly blesses all who call on him, for, 'Everyone who
calls on the
name of the LORD will be saved.'" Romans 10:12,13 That phrase, which Peter also uses in
Acts
2:21 in preaching the gospel, comes from the prophet Joel.
Consider
Joel 2:27-32 "Then you will
know that I am in Israel, that I am the LORD your God,
and that
there is no other; never again will my people be shamed. 'And
afterward,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people ... And everyone
who
calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and
in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the
survivors whom the LORD calls." In quoting from this
passage in Joel, Paul is saying the Jesus is the LORD your God.
Likewise consider what John says of Jesus in
John 12:40,41
First he quotes
Isaiah
6:10 "He has blinded their
eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their
eyes,
nor understand with their hearts, nor turn--and I would heal them."
Then he says,
"Isaiah
said this because he saw Jesus'
glory and spoke about him." What he's saying is that prior
to Isaiah 6:10 Isaiah saw Jesus' glory and spoke of him. Look at Isaiah
6:10 and then go back from there. What do we find? This is what Isaiah
saw in
Isaiah 6:1-3 In
the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a
throne,
high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.
Above
him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered
their
faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were
flying.
And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD
Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." That
was the LORD Jesus he saw and spoke of. Jesus is the LORD Almighty
according to the New Testament.
Jesus' Deity: Analogies
Now granted that Jesus is not God the Father. The two are as distinct
as one's body is from one's soul.
"Do not be
afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul." Mt
10:28a One can suffer death, the other cannot. And likewise
one is subordinate to the other - the body being subordinate to the
soul. And yet the body is considered essential as to what constitutes
the person, as is the soul.
Or Jesus is as
distinct from the Father as the light that comes from the sun is as
distinct from the sun. And
"He is the radiance
of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being" Heb
1:3 And Jesus said,
"He who has seen Me has
seen the Father" John 14:9 For just as one refers to the
light that comes from the sun "the sun" and yet the light is not the
sun, so we call Jesus "God" though Jesus is not God the Father. For he
is like unto God's body - what can be manifest of God in exactness. Nor
is Jesus the Holy Spirit. The two are distinct as one's body from one's
spirit. Even after his resurrection Jesus said,
"Behold
My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a
spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have." Luke
24:39 Nonetheless, just as a person has a spirit, soul and
body, so does God.
"May your whole spirit, soul
and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1Th
5:23b
Jesus' Deity: Evidence from the Greek
More evidence is found in examining verses
in the orginal language that contain phrases like "
our Lord Jesus Christ
Himself, and our God and Father ", that is "A and B"
and then followed by a verb. One difference between Greek and English
is that in Greek, the person
and number of the verbs are specified by the greek endings. So if I say
"He went to the store", in greek I'd have to use a singular ending for
"went". But if I said "They went to the store", I'd have to use a
plural
ending. Whereas in English I use the same word "went". Thus when we
read
the Bible in English, there are some details clearly showing in the
Greek
which we can't see in English. Now consider this verse from
2Thess
2:16,17
"Now may our Lord Jesus Christ
Himself, and
our God and Father, (who has loved us and given us everlasting
consolation
and good hope by grace,) comfort your hearts and establish
you in every good word and work."
In Greek would you expect the word "comfort" to use the singular or
plural
ending? Well since he's referring to person A AND person B you would
expect
it to be plural. But it's singular as is "
establish"! For to
Paul the
apostle
"our Lord Jesus Christ Himself AND our God and Father"
are one
person.
Here is another example where this is true:
1Thess 3:11 Now may our
God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct
(singular) our
way to you.
Counter examples:
1Tim 3:8 Now as Jannes and
Jambres resisted (plural) Moses,
Rom 16:21 Timothy, my fellow
worker, and
Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my countrymen, greet
(plural) you.
Jesus' Deity: Essential to the Gospel
Now getting back to
Rom 10:9 which says that it is necessary to
acknowledge that Jesus is Lord to be saved
. Yet as we have seen
both from the context of that verse and from other verses, its is
apparently that by "Lord" it is saying that Jesus is the LORD God. Must
a person believe in and acknowledge that Jesus is the LORD to be saved?
Yes, in order for a person to be
saved they must accept the diety of Christ. And it's also logically
necessary in order to understand the value of his blood. If a person
doesn't accept the diety of Christ then neither will they really accept
his atoning work on the cross. For even the scriptures argue that if
Jesus were merely a man his sacrifice would not be of saving value.
"No man can redeem the life of another or give to God
a ransom for him— the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is
ever enough" Ps 49:7,8 Thus you will find that those
who reject the deity of Christ also reject the value of his atoning
work on the cross.
The Essential Attributes of God
For a person to be saved, they must first realize that they are lost.
But they can't realize that in the sense the Bible speaks of it unless
they first accept that God exists and that he has certain attributes.
When Paul preached to the Athenians in
Acts chapter 17 he first
brought up these
attributes of God.
- vs 24 God made the world and
everthing in it
- this in contrast to their polytheistic ideas. God's existence itself
is self-evident as Paul also wrote in Romans 1:20 "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible
qualities— his eternal power and divine nature— have been clearly seen,
being understood from what has been made, so that men are without
excuse." People are without excuse because God's existence
is self-evident.
- vs 24 God is Lord of heaven and
earth -
"Lord" means that he demands our obedience and compliance and
consequently we will be held accountable for our actions.
- vs 24,25 God does not live in
man-made temples or in
need of human assistance - This in contrast to the Greek gods
and such idols as are contained in temples in need of human assistance.
And perhaps Catholics also need to know that God does not live in
ornate church buildings built by human hands.
- vs 26 God is sovereign, involved in
human affairs
- like when each individual would be born and where they would live.
Paul's elaboration on this point is very significant. vs 27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps
reach
out for him and find him. This is in contrast to the
fatalistic philosophies such as what some Christians preach today in
conformity to the fatalistic aspects of Reformed Theology in which men
are viewed as incapable of seeking God, let alone reaching out for Him,
but rather are viewed as mere puppets. Why is it that God had you born
at such a time and at such a place? It was so that you would seek God
and maybe reach out and find him. "Seek the LORD
while he may be found; call on him while he is near." Is 55:6
The significant point is that God wants you to seek him. But if you
seek God it doesn't necessary mean that you will find him. "You will find Him if you seek Him with all your
heart and with all your soul." Deut 4:29, but not
necessarily
otherwise. Thus if we go back to Paul's sermon, the word in the
NIV used in Acts 17:27 is
"perhaps". In the NKJV more literally it's "in the hope that". God in
his sovereignty limits his sovereignty on this point. (And who are
those Calvinists to say that God is not allowed to do that?) God's
sovereignty
grants people free will to seek after Him and to reach out for Him.
Reach out and you will find Him.
- vs 27 God is not far away -
Realize of
course the sense in which Paul is speaking. Afterall even Jesus
addressed his Father as being in heaven. But Paul's point is that
unlike the Greek gods who were more like glorified humans, they
couldn't be everywhere at the same time, whereas God is omnipresent.
Furthermore, yes God is transcendent in a sense, but he is also
knowable to the degree to which he allows himself to be known. For God
has given us His Word so that we would know him.
- vs 27-29 God is personal -
that is God's
nature is reflected more in human nature than that in material objects
- Paul alluding to idols. This is of course somewhat an understatement
in that God's nature is much more than even super-human, let alone
human. But Paul was merely trying to show them the folly of idolatry.
These are some aspects of God which Paul found to be necessary to
grasp, but somewhat foreign to his Greek audience. These attributes of
God are likewise foreign to many today. But they are necessary to grasp
to be saved. Paul goes on to propose another essential attribute of
God, namely
God is Lord God
Acts 17:30b-31a "Now he commands all
people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge
the world with justice"
There's a difference between believing in God simply as a Creator than
believing in him as one who will judge us. For there are many who
believe in a Creator who places no demands on us and to whom there is
no accountability. The Lord God as portrayed in the Bible is not simply
the Creator. A person cannot be saved if they only acknowledge God as
Creator. For what would they even have to be saved from if that were
the case? Such a person may only think of salvation with regards the
corrupting effect of sin, but not consider the judicial guilt that sin
incurs and thus disqualify themselves from accepting the gospel.
God will Judge and God is Just
"You have come to God, the judge of all men" Heb
12:23 And
"everyone must die once, and after
that comes judgement" Heb 9:27 For a person to realize
that they are in need of salvation, it is logically necessary for one
to accept the idea that God will hold them accountable for their
actions. But unlike the viewpoint of some Christians, God is not
arbitrary or whimsical in his judgement.
"God is
just:" 2Th 1:6a And since God is just, he will hold
people acccountable only for those things over which the person has
control. For to do otherwise would be unjust. As such this disqualifies
some historically popular heresies from a legitimate presentation of
the gospel. For example to say that God hold's people accountable for
Adam's sin presents God as unjust, and as such is contrary to the
gospel. Likewise to say that God has made us in such a way that we have
no choice but to sin, again portrays God as unjust. For in these cases
he would be condemning those who had no control over what they are
being judged for.
Besides being contrary to the Bible, to present God as unjust makes the
atoning work of Christ irrelevant. For in such a case Christ's death
would not be appeasing God's judicial nature, since in this case God
would have no judicial nature to appease. Like many concepts of God
today, God could just whimsically forgive sin without require any
compensation, which is contrary to the gospel. The Bible says,
"God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,
through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice,
because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand
unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present
time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have
faith in Jesus." Rom 3:25,26 Otherwise God would be
unjust according to the Bible.
It is an essential part of saving faith for a person to accept the
idea of God being just and as such acting judiciously, and that we are
to be held accountable to him.
God's Wrath - Hell
Eternal Suffering is hell is clearly preached in the Bible, especially
by Jesus.
Luke 12:5 But I will show you whom
you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power
to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.
Mt 13:41,42 The Son of Man will send out
his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that
causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery
furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mt 18:34,35 In anger his master turned
him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he
owed. "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you
forgive your brother from your heart."
Jude 1:7 In a similar way, Sodom
and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual
immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer
the punishment of eternal fire.
Despite the fact that eternal suffering would seem contrary both the
God's judicial nature and his mercy and would seem to portray God the
Father as the God Father, Jesus didn't shy away from portraying his
Father in this manner. Because first of all this is the way God
actually is. And secondly, from God's perspective, this a just
sentence. True that it's difficult to see how eternal punishment is a
just sentence for temporal sins, especially in consideration of the
circumstances in which we live. It's difficult to see how it meets the
standards of the law of Moses - an eye for an eye. But it apparently
is. And fear and intimidation in light of hell is part of how the
gospel is preached in the Bible.
Now there are those who would say that it's ineffective preaching hell.
It turns people off. And so we hear little of hell today. But this is
not an issue of effectiveness. This is an issue of what constitutes the
essential elements of the gospel. To remove the wrath of God from the
gospel is to preach a different gospel. If people won't accept the idea
that God sends people to hell, if people can't accept that such
judgment is condoned by the Lord Jesus Christ, then they have yet to
believe the gospel of Christ.
"Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart
from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the
devil and his angels." Mt 25:41
People are Guilty
It may not be necessary
to belay this point as it is rather self-evident to most who grasp the
character of God. In fact most people recognize that they fail to live
up to their own standards, let alone God's. However this is where the
Law is effective. The Law is a necessary part of the gospel in this
sense. "through the law we become conscious of
sin." Rom 3:20b In this sense "the
law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified
by faith." Gal 3:24 For even if a person is aware that
God exists and that God will judge them and that God is just, they may
not feel they need to be saved if they have no conviction of sin. The
fact is, "all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God" Rom 3:23
And the gospel teaches us that when people sin, they incur guilt. So
when the gospel is preached, one of the first points concerning
salvation is to convict people of sin. For this reason John the Baptist
came before Christ. He came preaching repentance from sin. The angel
described John's purpose quoting Malachi 4:6 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to their
children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous-- to make
ready a people prepared for the Lord.' This is how to prepare people for the Lord - by
convicting them of sin.
Make no mistake about it, "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual
immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred,
discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions,
factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I
did before, that those who live like this will not inherit
the kingdom of God." Gal 5:19-21
But there are also allegedly "good" people who feel they
don't need to be saved. If a person is indeed "good" he need not be
concerned. Jesus said,
"It is not the healthy
who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance." Luke
5:31,32 But then again there are many who deceive themselves about
their "goodness". Jesus spoke to such a man in
Luke 18 where
A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what
must I do to inherit eternal life?" "Why do you call me good?" Jesus
answered. "No one is good— except God alone. You know the commandments:
‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false
testimony, honor your father and mother.’" "All these I have kept since
I was a boy," he said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You
still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When he
heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. Allegedly
"good" people need to be humiliated to show them they are sinners so
that they may see that they need to be saved. It is for this reason
Jesus speaks of the hypocrisy of religious elite of his day in places
like
Matthew
chapter 23 so that they may be saved.
However God has so orchestrated the way to salvation as to bar the
proud from the kingdom of God. This is the primary hinderance to being
saved - one's pride. The Lord says,
"This is the
one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at
my word." Is 66:2 And as we read how the proud are
spoken to, both
in the New Testament by Jesus and his apostles and in the Old through
the prophets, little if any concession is made to accomodate the proud.
Consequently I would argue that
in our preaching of the gospel, we
should make little concession to accomodate people's pride.
Entering into salvation in an undignified manner is really the only
legitimate way to enter.
Luke 18:17
"Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God
as a little child will by no means enter it." One enters lowly
in fear of condemnation, shamefully placing the guilt of their sin at
the cross. This is no place for proud dignitaries but for humble
sinners in need of salvation from the wrath of God in view of the guilt
they have incurred due to personal misbehavior. This is not a place for
those who blame their sin on someone else, like Adam.
The foot of
the cross is for those who have taken personal responsibility for their
sins and seek reconciliation with God in accordance with God's plan for
salvation revealed in the gospel.
God's Plan for Salvation
Preaching God's plan for salvation is an essential part of the message
for people to be saved. However it tends to be the only thing which is
shared today by Evangelical Christians, as if the audience were
pre-churched. While that may have been the case more in the past,
today's audience needs a more comprehensive presentation. In fact even
in the New Testament times you ask John to share his gospel and he
would go on for 21 chapters.
God's plan for salvation would seem to be very simple to understand.
But there are implications which may be difficult to grasp for those
who weren't brought up in a Christian environment. As I had mentioned
earlier Paul summarized his gospel by saying,
"that
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was
buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the
Scriptures" 1Cor 15:3,4 He then goes on to mention
eyewitness of Christ's resurrection. The eyewitness accounts of Jesus'
miracles culminating in his resurrection from the dead constitute the
forensic proof validating the message. And what is the message in a
nutshell but that Christ died for our sins.
What does it mean that Christ died for our sins?
Very simply, God's judicial nature demanded sin be penalized and as
such sin had to be paid for. It would be contrary to God's nature to
simply forgive sin without satisfying His sense of justice. Even among
human judicial systems there is the common expression, "Justice must be
satisfied." Christ paid for the sins of the world on the cross so as to
allow God to forgive sin, having satisfied the demands of justice.
"For God so loved the world that
he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life." John 3:14-16 God
sent his Son on what may be classified in a military sense as a suicide
mission in order to save people.
"Christ died
for sins once
for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was
put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit" 1Peter
3:18 For
"All have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as
a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to
demonstrate his justice" Rom 3:23-25a And
"since we have now been justified by his blood, how
much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!" Rom
5:9 "In him we have redemption through his
blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s
grace" Eph 1:7
"Grace" is an important concept here. We see the word used
abundantly in the New Testament.
"Grace" is that virtue whereby one
shows mercy to the undeserving.
"Because of
his great love for us, God, who is
rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in
transgressions— it is by grace you have been saved." Eph
2:4,5 In the gospel we learn that God is gracious to his enemies
by providing them a way to be saved from his wrath.
"God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While
we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Rom 5:8 "For if,
when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death
of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved
through his life!" Rom 5:10 One implication
here is, as I said, to be saved one must first recognize that they are
God's enemy, a sinner in need of reconciliation with God.
How Christ's Death Justifies
Now there are those who may want to go deeper into the issue as to how
Christ's death atoned for sin, in view of certain implications. And in
fact it is helpful to understand
why God needed to do it that way.
Of course God was under no obligation to save people. God implemented
his plan out of a sense of grace and not out of a sense of obligation.
However seeing as in order to save people he had to satisfy the demands
of his judicial nature, he was limited to working within the bounds of
justice. This is important to understand because God cannot arbitrarily
violate his judicial nature.
God could not simply create some being and use that being as a sort of
substitutionary sacrifice on behalf of sinners.
"No
man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him— the
ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough" Ps
49:7,8 But Jesus was more than just a man. He was the Lord
Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth. Born but not created. As
such his value was of infinite worth compared to created beings.
Salvation could only be accomplished through Jesus Christ.
Secondly, because God is just, he is not going to condemn the innocent.
Jesus was innocent. Even his enemies, Pilate and Judas, admitted that.
And Peter writes of Christ being
"a lamb without
blemish or defect" 1Peter 1:19, analogous to a
sacrificial lamb. What God did was to orchestrate the circumstances
such that out of their own free will Jesus was murdered by evil men. So
Jesus died as an innocent victim of a crime committed against him. It
was God's will to cause him to suffer in order to pay for sin. As I
said, he was essentially sent on a suicide mission. But actually
"wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the
cross." Acts 2:23 This occurred in accordance with God's
set purpose and foreknowledge. And Jesus knew this. He said,
"The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands
of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise."
Mark 9:31 Jesus was a willing sacrifice. He had the option of
opting out. But he prayed,
"Now my heart is
troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No,
it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your
name!" John 12:27,28
But how did his death actually atone for sin? When the Bible speaks of
Jesus dying for sin or paying for sin, it's talking about the end
result. The judicial process I believe to be the following. When the
innocent suffer they are entitled to compensation. This is understood
in human judicial systems. Justice demands that victims of crime be
compensated. Now consider this. On the one hand God's judicial nature
demands that people's sins be paid for. On the other hand God's
judicial nature demands that Jesus, being an innocent victim of a crime
committed against him, be compensated. So you can see how this goes.
These two demands of God's judicial nature cancel each other out. And
thus in essence we can say that Jesus' death paid for the sins of the
world. This is how God's judicial nature was satisfied.
What must we do to be saved?
What is the necessary and essential response which qualifies us for
salvation. Jesus paid for sin. He could have made salvation automatic
and universal, having satisfied God's judicial nature. But the gospel
tells us that he made salvation conditioned upon our response to it. In
fact
someone asked him, "Lord, are only a few
people going to be saved?" He said to them, "Make every effort to enter
through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter
and will not be able to." Luke 13:23,24 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate
and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through
it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and
only a few find it." Mt 7:13,14
The Philippian
jailer asked,
"Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
and Paul and Silas
answered,
"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you
will be saved." Acts 16:30,31 There is volition involved
in being saved, but more than just one's volition. One cannot simply
will oneself to believe something. They have be convinced of it. They
first have to hear. For
"faith comes from hearing
the message". Rom 10:17 The message itself contains the
forensic evidence validating its legitimacy, as I mentioned previously.
One has to hear; one has to reason; one has to embrace the message with
conviction. And also
one has to consider the implications of the
message.
Peter preached the gospel in Acts chapter 2.
When
the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and
the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter replied,
"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ
for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit." Acts 2:37,38 And Peter went on
with many other words he testified and exhorted them,
saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation." Acts 2:40
Evidences of Saving Faith
The requirement to be saved is faith in Christ. But what kind of faith?
The faith that saves is application oriented. It takes the message to
heart and considers the implications. Thus repentance and baptism are
natural outworkings or expressions of such faith. As is a lifestyle
geared towards devotion to Christ as LORD. For
"he
died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves
but for him who died for them and was raised again." 2Cor
5:15 Paul noted the effect the gospel had on the Thessalonians
saying,
"We continually remember before our God
and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by
love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus
Christ." 1Th 1:3 Notice he mentions "endurance". This
is another attribute of saving faith. Paul said,
"By
this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to
you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain." 1Cor 15:2
Vain belief does not save.
Concerning perseverance in faith, Jesus likewise said,
"he who endures to the end shall be saved."
Mt 24:13 and he was speaking of enduring in faith in the midst of
severe trials, severe opposition. Persevering in the faith is so
characteristic of saving faith that John writes of those who fall away,
"They went out from us, but they did not really
belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained
with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us." 1John
2:19 Thus
"we have come to share in Christ
if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first." Heb 3:14
Repentance
"Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon." Is 55:6,7
Paul preached to the Athenians saying, "God commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice" Acts 17:30b-31a In describing his ministry to King Agrippa Paul says, "First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds." Acts 26:20 A call to repentance is an essential part of the gospel. But in terms of a condition for salvation, it is the INTENTION to conform one's deeds to God 's which is a part of saving faith. The actual deeds, the carrying out of one's intentions, is not the condition for salvation, but rather the evidence that one has been saved. Thus changing one's behavior is as a saved person. Doing good works is as a saved person. This in contrast to those who view deeds as a precondition for salvation. Salvation is not by works, but intention is not a work. It's an attitude. And it is an attitude which is inherent in saving faith.
What are examples of deeds indicative of repentance? Jesus visited a tax collector named Zacchaeus. It is written that "Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house" Luke 19:8-9a Well there you go! John the Baptist also commanded, as the apostle Paul did, "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance." Luke 3:8 "What should we do then?" the crowd asked. John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same." Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?" "Don’t collect any more than you are required to," he told them. Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He replied, "Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely— be content with your pay." Luke 3:10-14 And again - there you go! These are examples of proving ones repentance by their deeds.
Public Confession and Baptism
Paul writes, "If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Rom 10:9,10 If a person has an alleged faith in Christ, but is not willing to make a public confession of that faith, such faith is not saving faith. "And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore speak," 2Cor 4:13 The faith that saves is the faith that leads one to publicly confess Christ. And this is also largely the purpose of water baptism.
When the gospel was preach, baptism was included as a sign of one's new allegiance and as a pledge of a good conscience of one's intention to treat Jesus as Lord.
When Peter preached the first Christian sermon in Acts 2, he ended saying, "Repent and be baptized ..." Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day." Acts 2:38,41 Philip preached to the Ethiopian starting with the prophet Isaiah, it is recorded, Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?" Acts 8:35,36 How would the man have known about baptism? It was included in Philip's presentation of the gospel. So if you are preaching the gospel and the person comes to believe, and then happens to see some water, they should respond just as the Ethiopian. And for those who claim to believe in Christ, but have yet to get baptized, what hinders you? Likewise after Peter preached to Cornelius, a Gentile, and he and his family became believers, they were baptized. After Paul preached to the Philippian jailer and he and his family believed, they were baptized. When a person comes to believe in Christ, they are to be baptized.
Those who get baptized are pledging to have a good conscience before God. Peter writes that "the baptism that now saves you also— is not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God." 1Peter 3:16 Baptism is symbolic of our being buried with Christ. "Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?" Rom 6:3 So if you've come to believe in Christ, get baptized.
What Salvation Incorporates
Forgiveness of Sins
This is the most essential aspect of salvation. And it is guaranteed.
Eph
1:7 "In him we have redemption through his
blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s
grace." Sin is not only forgiven but forgotten as God has
promised,
"Their sins and lawless acts I will
remember no more." Heb 10:17 And yes this forgiveness
comes apart from any works, for
"to the man who
does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is
credited as righteousness.David says the same thing when he speaks of
the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from
works: 'Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins
are covered.'" Rom 4:5-7 For while good works are an
outworking of faith, the Christian is forgiven even prior to taking any
actions, though of course the intention to repent is inherent in saving
faith.
Consequently we are saved from God's wrath.
"Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we
be saved from God’s wrath through him!" Rom 5:9 Jesus said, "I tell you the
truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal
life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to
life." John 5:24
Adoption into God's Family
Having believed in Christ, one is given the right to become a child of
God.
John 1:12,13 "Yet to all who
received
him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become
children
of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or
a husband’s will, but born of God." and
"Everyone
who believes
that Jesus is the Christ is born of God" 1John 5:1a
Citizens of Heaven
"Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and
aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of
God’s household" Eph 2:19
A Promised Inheritance
One aspect of this sonship is the promise of an eternal inheritance:
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus
Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance
that can never perish, spoil or fade— kept in heaven for you,
who
through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the
salvation
that is ready to be revealed in the last time." 1Peter 1:3,4
Rewards for Services Rendered
God would not have been obligated to hand out rewards seeing as we
pledge allegiance to Jesus as Lord and therefore reckon ourselves
slaves of God. And this is what Jesus spoke of in Luke 17:7-10
of parable of the unworthy servants. However out of his graciousnes God
has promised rewards nonetheless for services rendered. For example
Jesus said, "if anyone gives even a cup of cold
water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you
the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." Matt 10:42
And he said, "Sell your possessions and
give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out,
a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes
near and no moth destroys." Lk 12:33 And "love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them
without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great"
Luke 6:35a
The Reception of the Holy Spirit
Gal 4:6 "Because you are sons, God sent
the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out,
<"Abba>, Father." Peter declares,
"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the
name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 2:38 When a
person comes to faith in Christ, they receive the Holy Spirit.
"And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he
does not belong to Christ." Rom 8:9b And all have been
baptized by the Spirit.
"For we were all
baptized by one Spirit into one body— whether Jews or Greeks, slave or
free— and we were all given the one Spirit to drink." 1Cor
12:13
By the Holy Spirit we are regenerate, which affects our behavior. This
is part of the New Covenant.
"This is the
covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will
put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds." Heb
10:16 Consequently,
"No one who is born of
God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot
go on sinning, because he has been born of God." 1John 3:9 The
Holy Spirit works in concert with the Word of God.
"For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of
imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God." 1Peter
1:23
There are many roles the Holy Spirit plays in the Christian's life.
Among other things, He helps us to pray,
"We do
not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes
for us" Rom 8:26b He gives us spiritual gifts to serve
God effectively.
"Now to each one the
manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good." 1Cor
12:7 And he sanctifies us to become better Christians.
"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you
will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." Gal 5:16
