A Boomer in the Pew

Thessaloniki, Timothy McVeigh, the Man of Lawlessness, the Dead in Christ, and the End of the Age

Bible in a Year Series - Day #331 -  This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.  

Today's text from the ESV Study Bible: 1 & 2 Thessalonians.

The Thessalonians lived in Thessalonica, which, by its Greek name, is modern day Thessaloniki named for Alexander the Great's sister-in-law.

The Apostle Paul was in Thessaloniki but was forced to quickly leave when he was charged with sedition against Caesar.

Paul was unable to finish all that he wished to say to the Thessalonians, and therefore, a few months later, sent Timothy back to encourage them.

Timothy reported good things but shared a few primary concerns:

• there was persecution in the church.
• the young church was afraid that those who died might miss the second coming of Christ and therefore miss out on eternal life.
• there were some who were living off the good graces of the wealthy and not working.

Paul assured them that the dead in Christ will rise,

"But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words." (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

and that Christ's second coming would not take place until "the man of lawlessness" (Antichrist) appears:

"Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12)

Just as no one believed Jeremiah, and a whole slew of prophets concerning the 587 BC destruction of Jerusalem, so too, this prophesied final world destruction is balderdash to a great many in our post-modern world.

Furthermore, a great many lie on their beds at night hopeless of what might become of them after their physical death.

Sadly, a great many live their lives ignorant of the world's recorded history, thumb their noses at the claims of Messiah, and subsequently put themselves in a head-on collision with God-almighty at the end of the age.

Timothy McVeigh, the terrorist bomber of the Oklahoma City Federal Building, made no final remarks before he was executed for his horrible deeds.

However, he did leave behind, in his cell, the words of atheist William Ernest Henley's famous poem, Invictus: I am the captain of my soul.

I suspect that Timothy is now certain that his god claim was a very bad decision.

Dear reader, don't put your head in the sand on these matters.  Spend your life in study to find life's answers for yourself.

The greatest fool is the one standing before God claiming, "I didn't know".

God's answer will be, "yes you did, you ignored me, now depart from me you cursed one".

The Apostle Paul: the Quintessential Apologist

 

Bible in a Year Series - Day #330 -  This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.  

Today's text from the ESV Study Bible: Acts 17 & 18:1-18.

We now find ourselves quickly moving through Paul's second missionary journey.  My head is spinning at our pace, and we are going to find ourselves also in a number of Paul's letters as we continue Luke's chronology in Acts.

The picture above is a modern-day peek at Areopagus (Mars Hill).  It looks nothing like I would have pictured it, and certainly nothing like we find from the imaginations of history's painters (left).

As I was reading through Paul's Mars Hill address to the Corinthians, I found myself wondering what Paul might say if he were to address the people of Sedona, Arizona.

We are visiting Sedona, Arizona for our The Roaming Boomers™ online travel magazine in a few days, and this area is a hotbed for New Age mysticism.

I then recalled Peter's instruction to be ready to give a defense for our faith, "always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15), and find Paul to be an excellent example to us.

Paul quotes contemporary poets who point to a belief in a God, "for we are indeed his offspring", and then drives their thinking down a different path containing the truth of the gospel and away from their contemporary belief in idols.

The relationship between a man's testimony and the miracle of God's regeneration remains a mystery to me, but it is certainly clear that apologetics is one of the arrows in Paul's quiver.

Therefore, the question of the day is this:  am I (are you) perpared to share what Messiah called 'the way, the truth, and the light"?  Can we make a reasonable defense of our faith, with gentleness and respect, to those who might inquire?

Galatians: True Faith + Nothing = Salvation

Bible in a Year Series - Day #328 & #329 -  This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

Today's text from the ESV Study Bible: Book of Galatians.

The book of Galatians was written by Paul somewhere around A.D. 48.

Paul's missionary journeys produced a growing church in Galatia a few short years earlier. However,  a sect of "Judaizers" had infiltrated this budding church and had convinced them that salvation required faith + obedience to the Mosaic Law. 

In particular, they  were claiming that salvation required circumcision.

The book of Galatians has been a very important one throughout the history of the church.  For example, it was the book of Galatians that prompted Martin Luther's Reformation as he argued that the Roman Catholic Church was insisting that salvation required faith + works.

From the IVP New Bible Commentary:

"Whatever else Galatians teaches, it certainly tells us in clear and vigorous language that our right standing before God can only be an act of grace received through faith in Christ. No church rituals and no human efforts can establish our justification. On the contrary, ‘The righteous will live by faith’ (Galatians 3:11)."

Here's the heart of Galatians from the ESV Study Bible:

"Christ's death has brought in the age of the new covenant (3:23–26; 4:4–5, 24), in which believers do not have to become Jews or follow the outward ceremonies of the Mosaic law (2:3, 11–12, 14; 4:10). To require these things is to deny the heart of the gospel, which is justification by faith alone, not by obedience to the law (2:16; cf. 1:6–7). In this new age, Christians are to live in the guidance and power of the Spirit (chs. 5–6)."

Ask 100 people why they think they are going to heaven and most will talk about something that they have done.  For example, someone might say, "I believe in God and I live a good life, therefore heaven is mine."

Paul, however, argues that faith + nothing = justification (salvation).

"Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” (Galatians 3:11).

The Messiah told us that he came to fulfill the law, and if we look back to the prophet Habakkuk we can see where Paul is finding fulfillment in his claim to salvation by faith alone:

“Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
but the righteous shall live by his faith." (Habakkuk 2:4)

Our "religions" and our fallen minds gravitate towards a works based salvation, but the Bible is clear:  true faith + nothing = salvation.

If we fail to wrestle with and accept this important doctrine then we significantly cheapen the gospel and the substitutionary death of Messiah.

 

Paul and Silas in a Macedonian Jail

Bible in a Year Series - Day #327 -  This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

"About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God." (Acts 16:25-34)

When reading the Bible we must be careful not to pull individual sentences out of context with the whole of scripture's council.

For example, Satan certainly believes in Jesus Christ.  Does this mean that he will be saved?

Further, some have taken the phrase "you and your household" and believe that if the father of the house becomes "saved" then his whole family is now saved.  However, this would contradict the significant other testimony that each of us is responsible alone for placing our faith and trust in Messiah.

A few years ago I was doing a study of the book of Acts following along with Dr. Mark Dever.  You might also enjoy his series.  Here's a link to his message on Acts 16-20.

The Book of James: Owners' Manual for the Christian Life

Bible in a Year Series - Day #326 -  This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

The book of James was written by "James the Just" as he was called.  He was the brother of Jesus and the leader of the Jerusalem church.

Jesus Christ rocked the world with his death, resurrection, and announced new covenant. The people of God's growing church were being attacked on all sides as there were growing factions in the new church, the political authorities were trying to stamp out the church, as well as the pressure of just daily living and feeding your family.

James, in his short but much needed book, comes along and gives a very healthy dose of practical behaviors and responses that if followed might bring glory to God.

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:2-4)

Joy, testing of my faith, steadfastness?  When I am in the middle of one of life's storms, these are not generally things I desire.  I want out of my troubles.

Yet, as we have seen over, and over, and over again in our year-long journey, God is sovereign.  Paul is going to tell us in coming days that all things work together for good to those whose belong to God.

As we all know, it one thing to make a profession of faith, but it is another thing all together to live this faith we profess.

I created and maintain a very simple website for a men's Bible study here in Scottsdale, Arizona.  Back in October of 2009, while we were all still reeling in the throws of this great recession, Pastor Jamie Rasmussen (Sr. Pastor, Scottsdale Bible Church) started a series on the book of James called "Get Real".

If you would like to launch into a study of the book of James, you will find this series very practical and a friend in times of trouble.

Here's the link to the first session.

God's Irresistible Grace at Antioch in Pisidia

Bible in a Year Series - Day #325 -  This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

"The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. 46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,

“‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. 49 And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region." (Acts 13:44-49)

As we travel through the early history of the building of God's church, I have continually noticed little side notes from Luke that it is God's divine effective calling that is in play here.

Do you see that?

...and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.

Two things are continually happening:  appointing and believing.

Here's this from the ESV Study Bible:

"Throughout Acts, Luke affirms the sovereignty of God over all of life while at the same time affirming the significance of human activity, as evidenced by the remarkable human effort and sacrifice involved in proclaiming the gospel. Thus Luke, without contradiction, maintains a dual emphasis on divine election (“appointed”) and on human response (“believed”). The emphasis here in 13:48 is on the way in which divine sovereignty (appointment) results in the belief of the Gentiles, demonstrating that their belief was due to God's grace alone."

Our job, in sharing God's new covenant plan of redemption, is merely to cast the net.  God alone fills the net. And mysteriously, once God's grace comes calling -- it is irresistible.

Here's Dr. Wayne Grudem from his Systematic Theology:

"Sometimes the term irresistible grace is used in this connection [regeneration is totally a work of God]. It refers to the fact that God effectively calls people and also gives them regeneration [new birth/born again], and both actions guarantee that we will respond in saving faith.  The term irresistible grace is subject to misunderstanding, however, since it seems to imply that people do not make a voluntary, willing choice in responding to the gospel -- a wrong idea, and a wrong understanding of the term irresistible grace.  The term does preserve something valuable, however, because it indicates that God's work reaches into our hearts to bring about a response that is absolutely certain -- even though we respond voluntarily."

As my father used to say, "put that in your pipe and smoke it".

Question: Why Does God Today Seemingly Require Faith Without Sight?

Bible in a Year Series - Day #323 -  This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

"Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. 37 In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. 40 But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord." (Acts 9:36-42)

If one thoughtfully considers the testimony found in the gospels, the record of the miracles of Jesus staggers the mind, let alone his claim to be the Messiah.

Now here, in the Acts of the Apostles, we find that the Holy Spirit is now active in the disciples and they are raising people from the dead!

We are witnessing the building of the church through many miraculous things seen.

I wonder, why don't these things happen today?  Wouldn't it be easier for people to believe if they witnessed such things?

Do You Believe the Testimony of the Four Evangelists?

Bible in a Year Series - Day #320 -  This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

Today I am back home in the saddle after a quick trip to Michigan for my mother's wedding.

While there, our journey through the four gospels was finished and ended with a most remarkable claim:  this Jesus, who was also God in the flesh, was crucified and resurrected from the dead.

The whole of the Christian faith rests on the authenticity of these facts.  If Christ did not raise from the dead, then we are but fools.

It doesn't take a tremendous amount of research to find that these books are authentic documents and contain the eye-witness accounts of these four men.

The question that remains is do you believe it?  If Jesus Christ was the Messiah, God incarnate, then what does that mean to you and I?

Here's John at the end of his testimony:

"Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so 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)

"This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true. Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." (John 21:24-25)

There are a great many worldviews and faith-claims in this world.  For me, however, when you consider the whole of history's record this is the only belief that is both plausible and live-able. 

The poor Darwinist has no reason to live, and a great many other beliefs rest upon the testimony of someone's dreams in the night.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of nut-balls who claim to have the same belief as I and who would add to the testimony of this book.  Clearly they have not read the last chapter of Revelation.

My testimony to you is this:  If you are a serious seeker of truth, then give this book an honest read.  Ask lots of questions, and see if you don't find it's claims to be true. 

Jesus said, in Luke's testimony, that he "came to seek and to save the lost".  If you honestly approach God, have the courage to get your concerns out on the table, then God will certainly not leave you lost and alone.

If you do, it is highly unlikely that a great miracle will come over your life.  You will likely not magically become a different person who no longer has evil desires.

But, you will find a new path and as you travel down that new path, change will begin to occur.

I invite and welcome you to the journey.

Leonardo da Vinci, the Last Supper, and the World's Greatest Sin

Bible in a Year Series - Day #314 -  This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

Today's text from the ESV Study Bible: Luke 22 and John 13.

When I was growing up, my mother had a copy of this painting on the wall of our living room.  Later, when I was a junior in college, I had the opportunity to stand in front of the original in Milan and Leonardo da Vinci had become one who I admired.

I don't know that I will ever understand the relationship between Jesus and Judas Iscariot.  Was he of another substance than you and me?  Was he completely without conscience?  When he became one of the disciples, was he knowingly a betrayer then?  Did he think, particularly after seeing all that Jesus had done, that he could escape Messiah's purview?  Satan cannot possess that which belongs to God; didn't the disciples see that this man was not on the team?

Nonetheless, his betrayal and kiss set into motion a series of events that the Hebrew prophets had long ago predicted, and in just a few days God will put into place the new covenant promised by the prophets and told of Christ at his last supper.

I enjoyed watching Dr. John Piper's video explaining this scene in: Judas Iscariot, the Suicide of Satan, and the Salvation of the World.

Who can comprehend all that took place at this table?

Unfathomable Love Displayed on Gethsemane's Holy Ground

Bible in a Year Series - Day #313 -  This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

Today's text from the ESV Study Bible: Matthew 26 & Mark 14.

It is 3:13 in the morning.  There seems to be of late a stirring of my soul that finds me awake each night mulling over this and that.

Having awakened at 2:30, I temporarily gave up on sleep and decided to rise and read today's narrative in our year-long, chronological journey through the Bible.

It is now Thursday of Holy Week in our study, and today we stand before the last supper, Gethsemane, Judas' betrayal, Christ's arrest, and Peter's denial.

As I play the movie of this chapter in my mind, and again see and understand the horror of what we are about to witness, I find myself stricken to the core.

In the last 312 days we have witnessed creation, the fall of man, and here, many thousands of years later we find Immanuel in Gethesemane (the olive press), with no human companionship, likely sparring with Satan, standing before the realization that Yaweh is about to abandon him, make him to become sin, and unleash his holy wrath upon him.

We can not begin to plumb the depths of this.  C.H. Spurgeon states that "few are sufficiently advanced in grace to be admited to behold the mysteries of "the agony"".

I implore you, take some time and read this sermon from the late C.H. Spurgeon on Gethsemane's Agony.  Pray that God will admit you to a fuller understanding, and be prepared to be melted with the beauty of infinite love.

Jesus taught that love was the greatest of the commandments; love of God and love of others.  Never before has love been so demonstrated as we witness our Savior in Gethsemane's garden.

Read "Gethsemane's Agony" and weep with me as you view and understand perfect love.