Inspired Words
November 28, 2010
"Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away." (Luke 21:33)
The doctrine of plenary verbal inspiration, wrongly considered antiquated by many modern neo-evangelicals, is actually essential to the Christian faith. "All scripture |that is every word written down or inscribed| is given by inspiration |literally 'breathed in'| of God," not man! (2 Timothy 3:16).
We acknowledge, of course, that problems of transmission and translation exist, but these are relatively trivial in the entire context. We also acknowledge that the process of inspiration may have varied, but the end result is as if the entire Bible had been dictated and transcribed word by word.
This is the way Jesus Christ--the Creator, the Living Word, the Author of Scripture--viewed the Scriptures. "The scripture cannot be broken," He said (John 10:35). "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled" (Matthew 5:18). "Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: . . . And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself" (Luke 24:25, 27). The Bible therefore, every word of it, is divinely inspired, verbally without error, infallibly true, and of absolute authority in every area of our lives. The words of Christ who taught these truths are forever "settled in heaven" (Psalm 119:89) and "shall not pass away."
It is mortally dangerous, therefore, "unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book" to "add unto these things" as the cultists do, or to "take away from the words of the book of this prophecy" as the liberals do (Revelation 22:18-19). Would it not be much better to say with the psalmist, "Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors" (Psalm 119:24)? HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Sunday Sermonette
Those Who Pass By
November 21, 2010
"Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger." (Lamentations 1:12)
This heartbroken lament, uttered by Jeremiah, the "weeping prophet," personifies the devastated city of Jerusalem after the Babylonian invasion. She who had been "beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, . . . the city of the great King" (Psalm 48:2), now lay in ruins, and neither the triumphant armies who had ravished her nor the careless peoples living around her cared at all that this was the city of God being chastised for her unfaithfulness.
Many Christians have, at times, felt alone and confused, longing for someone who would care, saying with the psalmist: "There was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul" (Psalm 142:4). But no one has ever been so alone or has suffered so intensely and so unjustly as the one who was the very "man of sorrows" (Isaiah 53:3). He was "smitten of God, and afflicted" in the day of God’s fierce anger, for "the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:4, 6).
Just as there were those who passed by suffering Jerusalem, some gloating and others unconcerned, so there were those who passed by and viewed the suffering Savior as He hung on the cross. "And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads" (Matthew 27:39).
There are multitudes who still pass Him by today. Some revile Him; many ignore Him, altogether uncaring that He loved them and even died to save them. Soon, however, "every eye shall see him, . . . and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him" (Revelation 1:7). Their indifference will be turned quickly into mourning in that day. "Is it nothing to you?" the Lord would ask. HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
November 21, 2010
"Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger." (Lamentations 1:12)
This heartbroken lament, uttered by Jeremiah, the "weeping prophet," personifies the devastated city of Jerusalem after the Babylonian invasion. She who had been "beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, . . . the city of the great King" (Psalm 48:2), now lay in ruins, and neither the triumphant armies who had ravished her nor the careless peoples living around her cared at all that this was the city of God being chastised for her unfaithfulness.
Many Christians have, at times, felt alone and confused, longing for someone who would care, saying with the psalmist: "There was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul" (Psalm 142:4). But no one has ever been so alone or has suffered so intensely and so unjustly as the one who was the very "man of sorrows" (Isaiah 53:3). He was "smitten of God, and afflicted" in the day of God’s fierce anger, for "the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:4, 6).
Just as there were those who passed by suffering Jerusalem, some gloating and others unconcerned, so there were those who passed by and viewed the suffering Savior as He hung on the cross. "And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads" (Matthew 27:39).
There are multitudes who still pass Him by today. Some revile Him; many ignore Him, altogether uncaring that He loved them and even died to save them. Soon, however, "every eye shall see him, . . . and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him" (Revelation 1:7). Their indifference will be turned quickly into mourning in that day. "Is it nothing to you?" the Lord would ask. HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Sunday Sermonette
This Grace Also
November 14, 2010
"Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also." (2 Corinthians 8:7)
The "grace" of which Paul was writing in our text is the grace of giving! Many Christians may show diligence and love in their Christian life, but are still very reluctant to give sacrificially to the work of the Lord.
Many follow what they consider the "law of tithing" (most Christians don’t even do that!) and consider this to be meritorious. The fact is, however, that giving for the Christian is not a law to be obeyed, but a grace to be cultivated.
The motivation cited by Paul for abounding in this grace was not the Old Testament ordinance, but the New Testament example in the church at Philippi. Consider, he said, "the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality . . . beyond their power they were willing of themselves." And the real secret of their motivation was that they "first gave their own selves to the Lord" (2 Corinthians 8:1-3, 5). An even greater motive for abounding in this grace is the example of Christ: "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" (2 Corinthian s 8:9).
This grace of giving is thus displayed when one gives liberally (even in times of affliction and poverty) out of wholehearted devotion to the Lord and for the spiritual enrichment of those who are spiritually impoverished.
"God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8). HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
November 14, 2010
"Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also." (2 Corinthians 8:7)
The "grace" of which Paul was writing in our text is the grace of giving! Many Christians may show diligence and love in their Christian life, but are still very reluctant to give sacrificially to the work of the Lord.
Many follow what they consider the "law of tithing" (most Christians don’t even do that!) and consider this to be meritorious. The fact is, however, that giving for the Christian is not a law to be obeyed, but a grace to be cultivated.
The motivation cited by Paul for abounding in this grace was not the Old Testament ordinance, but the New Testament example in the church at Philippi. Consider, he said, "the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality . . . beyond their power they were willing of themselves." And the real secret of their motivation was that they "first gave their own selves to the Lord" (2 Corinthians 8:1-3, 5). An even greater motive for abounding in this grace is the example of Christ: "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" (2 Corinthian s 8:9).
This grace of giving is thus displayed when one gives liberally (even in times of affliction and poverty) out of wholehearted devotion to the Lord and for the spiritual enrichment of those who are spiritually impoverished.
"God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8). HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Sunday Sermonette
Biblical Sarcasm
November 7, 2010
"And Job answered and said, No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you." (Job 12:1-2)
It is remarkable that the Bible, with its great variety of literary forms and numerous personal conversations and discourses, contains very few examples of sarcasm or satire.
Nevertheless, the few examples of biblical irony are well worth noting, with one of the most notable being Job's response as above to the self-righteous platitudes of his three philosophizing "friends." In their intellectual and moral arrogance and with no real understanding of God's purposes, these critics were far out of line and well deserved Job's cutting sarcasm. Examples of such combined spiritual ignorance and intellectual arrogance are not hard to find today and, occasionally perhaps, a satirical commentary may be effective in changing them or preventing their effect.
One other well-known case of biblical sarcasm is Elijah's taunting monologue to the prophets of Baal: "Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked" (1 Kings 18:27). Jeremiah also had a word to say about the ineptitude of false gods and the foolishness of those who put their faith in them, and who were "saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: . . . But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble" (Jeremiah 2:27-28).
Much more foolish than those who believe that sticks and stones can generate living beings, however, are those modernday idolaters who worship "Mother Nature," believing that her "natural processes" can evolve hydrogen atoms, over billions of years, into human beings. The examples of Elijah and Jeremiah as well as Job may warrant an occasional touch of sarcasm when discussing such notions! HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
November 7, 2010
"And Job answered and said, No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you." (Job 12:1-2)
It is remarkable that the Bible, with its great variety of literary forms and numerous personal conversations and discourses, contains very few examples of sarcasm or satire.
Nevertheless, the few examples of biblical irony are well worth noting, with one of the most notable being Job's response as above to the self-righteous platitudes of his three philosophizing "friends." In their intellectual and moral arrogance and with no real understanding of God's purposes, these critics were far out of line and well deserved Job's cutting sarcasm. Examples of such combined spiritual ignorance and intellectual arrogance are not hard to find today and, occasionally perhaps, a satirical commentary may be effective in changing them or preventing their effect.
One other well-known case of biblical sarcasm is Elijah's taunting monologue to the prophets of Baal: "Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked" (1 Kings 18:27). Jeremiah also had a word to say about the ineptitude of false gods and the foolishness of those who put their faith in them, and who were "saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: . . . But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble" (Jeremiah 2:27-28).
Much more foolish than those who believe that sticks and stones can generate living beings, however, are those modernday idolaters who worship "Mother Nature," believing that her "natural processes" can evolve hydrogen atoms, over billions of years, into human beings. The examples of Elijah and Jeremiah as well as Job may warrant an occasional touch of sarcasm when discussing such notions! HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Sunday Sermonette
Seducing Spirits
October 31, 2010
"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." (1 Timothy 4:1)
This very cogent warning by the Holy Spirit, spoken "expressly" (or "with special clarity") for those living in the latter days, predicts an unusual outbreak of seductive demonism--not just in pagan, idol-worshipping, or animistic cultures, but in "Christian" nations, where they can lead many to "depart from the faith" which their forefathers once professed. Christians, therefore, should not be taken by surprise at the vast eruption of witchcraft, New-Age mysticism, Eastern occultism, rock-music demonism, drug-induced fantasies, altered states of consciousness, and even overt Satan-worshipping cults that have suddenly proliferated in our supposedly scientific and naturalistic society. Behind it all are the "seducing spirits" and "the rulers of the darkness of this world" (Ephesians 6:12).
It should be obvious that Christians must completely avoid all such beliefs and practices. "I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils" (1 Corinthians 10:20). "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing" (2 Corinthians 6:17). Even "innocent" fun (Halloween parties, ouija boards, dungeons-and-dragons games, etc.) and well-intentioned (but many times superficial) exorcism of apparent demon-possession by Christian workers have often led to dangerous demonic influences in the lives of Christian people, as well as in Christians who have sought supernatural experiences or revelations. In anything that even touches on occultism or demonic influence, the advice of Peter is relevant. "Be sober, be vigilant; becau se your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith" (1 Peter 5:8-9). HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS: INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
October 31, 2010
"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." (1 Timothy 4:1)
This very cogent warning by the Holy Spirit, spoken "expressly" (or "with special clarity") for those living in the latter days, predicts an unusual outbreak of seductive demonism--not just in pagan, idol-worshipping, or animistic cultures, but in "Christian" nations, where they can lead many to "depart from the faith" which their forefathers once professed. Christians, therefore, should not be taken by surprise at the vast eruption of witchcraft, New-Age mysticism, Eastern occultism, rock-music demonism, drug-induced fantasies, altered states of consciousness, and even overt Satan-worshipping cults that have suddenly proliferated in our supposedly scientific and naturalistic society. Behind it all are the "seducing spirits" and "the rulers of the darkness of this world" (Ephesians 6:12).
It should be obvious that Christians must completely avoid all such beliefs and practices. "I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils" (1 Corinthians 10:20). "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing" (2 Corinthians 6:17). Even "innocent" fun (Halloween parties, ouija boards, dungeons-and-dragons games, etc.) and well-intentioned (but many times superficial) exorcism of apparent demon-possession by Christian workers have often led to dangerous demonic influences in the lives of Christian people, as well as in Christians who have sought supernatural experiences or revelations. In anything that even touches on occultism or demonic influence, the advice of Peter is relevant. "Be sober, be vigilant; becau se your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith" (1 Peter 5:8-9). HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS: INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Sunday Sermonette
The Wisdom Mine
October 24, 2010
"Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?" (Job 28:20)
In one of his monologues, the patriarch Job compares his search for spiritual understanding to man's explorations for metals and precious stones. "There is a vein for the silver," he said, "and a place for gold. . . . Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone" (vv. 1-2).
These all are easier to find than true wisdom. "It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold" (vv. 16-19).
Neither have animals discovered it. "The fierce lion passed by it. . . it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air" (vv. 8, 21). "The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me" (v. 14).
"But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?" (v. 12). Job is driven to ask: "Where must one go to find and mine the vein of true wisdom?"
It is certainly "not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought" (1 Corinthians 2:6). The mine of evolutionary humanism which dominates modern education and scholarship will yield only the fool's gold of "science falsely so called" (1 Timothy 6:20).
Job found true wisdom only through God, and so must we, for only "God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof . . . unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding" (Job 28:23, 28). The Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the ever-productive mine, "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3). HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
October 24, 2010
"Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?" (Job 28:20)
In one of his monologues, the patriarch Job compares his search for spiritual understanding to man's explorations for metals and precious stones. "There is a vein for the silver," he said, "and a place for gold. . . . Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone" (vv. 1-2).
These all are easier to find than true wisdom. "It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold" (vv. 16-19).
Neither have animals discovered it. "The fierce lion passed by it. . . it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air" (vv. 8, 21). "The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me" (v. 14).
"But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?" (v. 12). Job is driven to ask: "Where must one go to find and mine the vein of true wisdom?"
It is certainly "not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought" (1 Corinthians 2:6). The mine of evolutionary humanism which dominates modern education and scholarship will yield only the fool's gold of "science falsely so called" (1 Timothy 6:20).
Job found true wisdom only through God, and so must we, for only "God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof . . . unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding" (Job 28:23, 28). The Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the ever-productive mine, "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3). HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Sunday Sermonette
The Third Firmament
October 17, 2010
"And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above." (Ezekiel 1:22)
The English word "firmament" in the Bible is a translation of the Hebrew raqia, meaning "expanse." Its meaning is not "firm boundary" as biblical critics have alleged, but might be better paraphrased as "stretched-out thinness" or simply "space."
Its first occurrence in the Bible relates it to heaven: "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. . . . And God called the firmament Heaven" (Genesis 1:6, 8). This firmament obviously could not be a solid boundary above the sky, but is essentially the atmosphere, the "first heaven," the "space" where the birds were to "fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven" (Genesis 1:20).
There is also a second firmament, or second heaven, where God placed the sun, moon, and stars, stretching out into the infinite reaches of space. "And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth" (Genesis 1:17).
The firmament in our text, however, is beneath the very throne of God, and above the mighty cherubim (Ezekiel 1:23) who seem always in Scripture to indicate the near presence of God. This glorious firmament, brilliantly crystalline in appearance, must be "the third heaven" to which the apostle Paul was once "caught up" in a special manifestation of God's presence and power, to hear "unspeakable words" from God in "paradise" (2 Corinthians 12:2-4).
All three heavens "declare the glory of God" and all three firmaments "sheweth his handiwork" (Psalm 19:1). Therefore, we should "praise God in his sanctuary" and also "praise him in the firmament of his power" (Psalm 150:1). HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
October 17, 2010
"And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above." (Ezekiel 1:22)
The English word "firmament" in the Bible is a translation of the Hebrew raqia, meaning "expanse." Its meaning is not "firm boundary" as biblical critics have alleged, but might be better paraphrased as "stretched-out thinness" or simply "space."
Its first occurrence in the Bible relates it to heaven: "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. . . . And God called the firmament Heaven" (Genesis 1:6, 8). This firmament obviously could not be a solid boundary above the sky, but is essentially the atmosphere, the "first heaven," the "space" where the birds were to "fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven" (Genesis 1:20).
There is also a second firmament, or second heaven, where God placed the sun, moon, and stars, stretching out into the infinite reaches of space. "And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth" (Genesis 1:17).
The firmament in our text, however, is beneath the very throne of God, and above the mighty cherubim (Ezekiel 1:23) who seem always in Scripture to indicate the near presence of God. This glorious firmament, brilliantly crystalline in appearance, must be "the third heaven" to which the apostle Paul was once "caught up" in a special manifestation of God's presence and power, to hear "unspeakable words" from God in "paradise" (2 Corinthians 12:2-4).
All three heavens "declare the glory of God" and all three firmaments "sheweth his handiwork" (Psalm 19:1). Therefore, we should "praise God in his sanctuary" and also "praise him in the firmament of his power" (Psalm 150:1). HMM
h/t: HENRY M MORRIS, INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH
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