136. Christmas. The Time When God Sent Forth His Son. For Us. Galatians 4:1-7

Posted on December 15, 2013 by Jim Holbeck

Hugely significant incidents in life sometimes are described in very simple language. I am old enough to remember the shock in our household upon hearing the words on the radio, “The King is dead!” when King George VI passed away in 1952.   However there was another very significant king whose birth was referred to in very simple terms in Galatians 4:4. In this verse St Paul is looking back to the Christmas event. But simple language is enveloped by majestic language as he writes, But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son… .  As we approach another Christmas season we should look at those majestic words to see what we can learn about the King who was described in these terms as He came at that first Christmas.

1.         Jesus came at just the right time (in God’s timetable). “when the fullness of time had come”, verse 4.  We may give human reasons why the time was right for Jesus to come.  For example there were these factors. There was a common language at that time. Koine Greek was the lingua franca and the language in which the New Testament was written. There had been a spreading of Jewish people throughout the known world and many synagogues had been built in various places. These were places where Jesus and Paul and other missionaries exercised part of their ministries. There was also the pax romana, a peace throughout the world of that time so that it was possible for people to travel safely. Roads had been built which made travel both easy and safe.

But only God knows why He chose that time. Human timetables do not always correspond with God’s timetable, something we need to remember as we pray.  As Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3:8  But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.   The birth of Jesus came at exactly the right time, in His plan and purpose.   

2.         God the Father sent His Son into the world. “God sent forth his Son”. It shows that the initiative for the salvation of humankind comes from God Himself. The magnitude of the Christmas event is that God sent His only Son. Not an angel. Not a robot especially built for the occasion, but His beloved Son.

3.         His birth was unique.  born of woman. His birth was both natural and supernatural. Natural in the sense that He was born like other humans, of a human mother, Mary.   Supernatural in the sense that the conception leading to the birth was from the Holy Spirit and not from a man. It means that He became a real human person, not a ghost or an apparition. He became flesh and blood like other humans.

4.         He came to belong to the people of God.  born under the law. His birth in this way had been planned from eternity. God’s people throughout the ages had been prepared for His coming. They were a people “under the law”. They were to obey it and to live by it. But they failed to live as they should. But He as the TRUE JEW did live by it. Perfectly. By His life He fulfilled the law of God in perfection. It meant that no one can ever get right with a God by attempting to obey the law. A man had done it! Jesus! Now there was a new way of getting right with God. It was through faith in what He had done in His life, death and resurrection and the benefits deriving from that ministry.

5.         The purpose of His coming. (5)  to redeem those who were under the law. The word for “redeem” is  εξαγοράζω (exagorázō) which means to set free, to release. It is found only 4 times in the NT. Twice it means to buy back (redeem) time, Eph 5:16 and Col 4:5. But the other 2 references have a much deeper meaning. In Gal 3:13, the expression is “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us–for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’.” It means that Jesus came to set people free from the law’s curse. The law pronounced judgement on those who broke it. Jesus as the innocent One bore the penalty that was due to all of us as He died on the cross for sinners.  He died in our place as the Robertson’s Word Pictures Dictionary puts it, “We were under (hupo) a curse, Christ became a curse over (huper) us and so between us and the overhanging curse which fell on him instead of on us. Thus he bought us out (ek) and we are free from the curse which he took on himself. This use of huper for substitution is common in the papyri and in ancient Greek as in the N.T. (Joh_11:50; 2Co_5:14.)”.

The word here in Gal 4:5 is used simply as “to redeem those under the law.” The emphasis in this passage is to place the focus on the result of that redeeming, that is, the possibility of adoption into the family of God.

6.         The result of His coming. Our adoption into the family of God.  so that we might receive adoption as sons. The term “adoption as sons” is just one word in the Greek, (υιοθεσία or huiothesia). It is only used in the Bible on 5 occasions. The other references are in Romans, in 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” and in 8:23, And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies,  and in 9:4  They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises.

The other reference is in Eph 1:5 which helps give meaning to these references in Romans  and to our text in Gal 4:5. Eph 1:5 reads he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will. What this verse tells us is that God had chosen people to belong to Himself from all eternity. It was always His will. That will was fulfilled when Jesus redeemed His people through His death on the cross, through His resurrection and His ascension to heaven. There He received the gift of the Holy Spirit which He poured out on His believing people.

7.         The Privilege we can enjoy. Personal Intimacy with God. (6)  And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” The gift of the Holy Spirit was not just an objective truth to take hold of. Rather it was an experienced reality in which the recipients of the Spirit were inwardly motivated by the Spirit to cry out in personal intimate terms to God. The experience gave one the sense of belonging. To a Heavenly Father. To One whom they could trust like a young child trusts his or her earthly father.   

8.         Our new status before God. (7)  So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. Paul wants His readers to take hold of the freedom Christ has won for them. They weren’t meant to serve God with the mentality they were slaves. Rather as they lived for God they were to have the mentality that they belonged to God as His children. Indeed heirs of God. As Paul wrote elsewhere, they were fellow heirs with Christ, Rom 8:17  and if children, then heirs–heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.

SUMMING UP.  No wonder so many people, when they hear the words of Gal 4:4 being read out, when the time had fully come…, have a deep sense of excitement within them. They know they will be hearing in the words that follow, the gospel in a nutshell. That Christ came and died for them. That God adopted them into His family. That Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit to indwell them and to give them a deep sense of His grace and love for them. No wonder they feel like crying out, “Abba Father”! Not just at Christmas. But every moment of every day!

Simple words in Galatian 4:4. But what  depth of meaning is found in every phrase that follows!

May you and your loved ones this Christmas know the joy of belonging to Him and become the recipients of His amazing grace, love and His indwelling presence by His Spirit.

Blog No. 136. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Sunday 15th December 2013

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135. Bishop Peter Chiswell, 1934-2013. A Former Bishop of Armidale NSW. A Tribute

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Jim Holbeck

Peter served the Lord in the Diocese of Armidale for virtually his entire ministry. His influence was wide-spread throughout the diocese over several decades. Together with his close friend the late John (Chappo) Chapman he helped open the diocese to “gospel men”. Certainly, as a Bishop, he encouraged Bible believing ministers to come into the diocese. At the same time he was willing to allow parishes to have the type of ministry they desired when that was possible.

My wife Carole and I were warmly welcomed into the Diocese when I accepted his invitation to become the Dean of the Cathedral in 1978. As a result, our family was privileged to be able to live in the beautiful city of Armidale for 10 years and to minister to the godly people in the widely spread out Cathedral parish. He wanted to be a ‘hands-on” Bishop and introduced a “Bishop’s Deacon” system which allowed him to personally encourage and help train individual new Deacons in the Diocese. Many of them have since had significant ministries in the Australian church.

He was concerned to see the diocese grow numerically, but even more so, spiritually. He tried to come to grips with the charismatic renewal that was moving in many Australian dioceses including his own diocese and tried to ensure that those involved did not depart from Biblical truths. He felt a real responsibility for the Diocese to be Bible based in its theology and in its practice. He was also a very experienced administrator throughout his ministry.

The requirements for a Bishop are found in Titus 1:6-9.   if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. His wife Betty shared his love for the gospel and together they encouraged their children to walk in the ways of the Lord. As a result they committed their lives to the Lord at an early age and all of them have gone on to serve the Lord in full-time service. He also fulfilled another requirement in that passage in being faithful to the word of God in his own life and in the life of the diocese, verse 9  He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. He was very careful in his preaching and teaching to base what he said on the word of God. He was also vigilant as a Bishop to ensure that all the ministry in the diocese was Bible based.

God has His purpose in raising up individuals to serve Him in His church. Peter was one such individual. He was single-minded in his commitment to serve his Lord with all his being. Many through the decades were blessed through his ministry and later through his oversight as Bishop in the diocese of Armidale.

We join with many others in the Australian church in extending our sympathy to his wife Betty and to their children Graham, Margaret and Rodney and their families in their very sad loss.

Blog No.135.   Jim Holbeck.   Posted on Tuesday 10th December 2013

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134. Jesus Appeared (at Christmas) And Will Appear Again. The Need To Be Ready. Titus 3:1-7

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Jim Holbeck

One of the terms used to describe the coming of Jesus into the world at the first Christmas was the term “appearing”. St Paul used it in Titus 3 to give the significance of that appearance for humankind. He wrote, Tit 3:4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Saviour appeared, 5  he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.  It’s interesting to see the significance of the word “but” in this context.

Earlier in chapter 3 Paul had been warning his readers about the dangers of lawlessness and encouraging them to be submissive to authority, Tit 3:1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarrelling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. It’s not that he took a “holier than thou” attitude in his writing. Instead he admits that he and all other humans were guilty of wrong attitudes and behaviour, 3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. (Sounds like our 20-21st century failures to live as we should).

But Jesus’ “appearance” brought a change

The word “but” here in Titus 3:4 is highly significant.  It introduces a contrast. The contrast between two entirely different ways of living. What caused the difference? Paul tells us. God did something. There was an appearance. The appearance of His Son at that first Christmas. An entry into the world that would change individuals in the world. Changed individuals would help to change the world. Paul describes this entry into the world as an “appearing”, Tit 3:4 “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Saviour appeared.” The word Paul used was the verb (επιφαίνω) epiphaínō. It has the meanings to shine, to come forth, to become manifest. At that first Christmas, God’s goodness and love were revealed to the world in human form in His Son.

It was a change that could affect humans

Those inner qualities of goodness and loving kindness mentioned in verse 4 had always characterised God. But they were manifest, they appeared in the coming of Jesus. It’s interesting to note also that though these qualities of “goodness” (χρηστότης = chrēstótēs) and loving kindness (φιλανθρωπία = philanthrōpía) were existent in God, they could also characterise the lives of those who would become His followers. That would happen through the ministry of His Holy Spirit within them. (See for example, “kindness” is used of God in Rom 2:4, 11:22, Eph 2:7 and used of humans in  2 Cor 6:6, Gal 5:22 as part of the fruit of the Spirit and in Col 3:12). As Peter reminds us in 2 Pet 1:4 believers are “partakers of the divine nature”.  God’s Holy Spirit imparts His characteristics to the people of God. If they remain open to His grace, love and power!

How could that change in humans take place? Through being “saved”

It was through the salvation Jesus came to bring as the Saviour of the world. As Paul wrote in our passage in Titus 3, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, (6) whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Here is the gospel message in a nutshell. It contains these elements. a. The author of salvation is God Himself. It was His initiative.  b.  His motivation for saving us was His merciful nature. It had nothing to do with our works. We could never deserve or earn His acceptance.  c. He saved us by working in us to cleanse us of our sins as we were born again (regeneration) and experienced an inner transformation (as His Spirit renewed us). In His love He poured out His Spirit upon us “richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.”

 At that first Christmas God put in place the final stage of His plan for the salvation of the world. He sent His Son to live as a human so that He might eventually die as a human, for humans. Not only that but He could renew humans as they later responded to the gospel message by giving them the gift of the Holy Spirit. He could also enable them to love with His love. As Paul wrote in Romans 5:5, … God’s love (agape) has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. He enables us to more readily fulfil the two great commands He gave us. Mar 12:30  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31  The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” We can love people with God’s agape love because His Spirit indwells us as His people and releases His love through us.

Jesus is to “appear” again. At His Second Coming

There are two references to “appearing” in the same passage in Titus. The first (a verb) refers to His coming at that first Christmas.  The second is the noun two verses later which refers to His second coming, Tit 2:11  For the grace of God has appeared (the verb επιφαίνω = epiphaínō) bringing salvation for all people, 12  training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13  waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing (the noun επιφάνεια = epipháneia) of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

At His first Coming at that first Christmas Jesus appeared in weakness as a human babe. When He appears next time He will appear in power, might and glory. That is the sure Christian hope. Paul urges His readers to prepare for that coming by renouncing everything in their lives that was not pleasing to God.  He reminds them that the Jesus who is to appear at His second coming was the One who had previously come into the world and who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Titus 2:14

As we celebrate another Christmas our minds naturally return to the Christ-child. We praise God that He, as the eternal Son Of God, Creator of the world,  came so humbly to live in His creation and eventually die for us.  But our minds and hearts also need to focus on Him who is the Kings of Kings, the Lord of glory. And we need to prepare for His appearing by asking Him to fill us with His Holy Spirit so that we might be motivated and empowered to live for Him for every remaining moment of our lives. For His sake. For our sakes. For the sake of the world which so urgently needs His transforming love and power.

Blog No.134. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Monday 9th December 2013

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133. The Danger Of Rejecting The Person Of Christ. (Not just at Christmas!)

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Jim Holbeck

What is the focus of the New Testament? Is it faith? Is it justification by faith? Is it the New Covenant? Is it the Kingdom of God? Is it the church? Is it faith? Is it the gospel? Or is it something or someone else?  

There are many people today who stress that the New Testament is all about “the gospel”. Indeed one could think so when we realise that there are over 90 references to “gospel” in the ESV version of the New Testament. But the noun ευαγγέλιον (euaggelion) is not found in some books such as the Gospel of John, and the Epistles, Titus, Hebrews, James, 1,2,3 John and Jude. Neither is the verb to “preach the good news” ευαγγελίζω (euaggelizō) found in these books except for 2 occurrences in Hebrews. So one can’t really say that the gospel is at the centre of the New Testament when the word is absent from these books.

Well what is the answer? It is the Person of Christ Himself.  He is referred to in every New Testament book except for the book 3 John comprising just 14 verses. But even here there is an emphasis on “truth” as there is in John’s 2 other epistles where truth is another form of describing the way of Christ.

It seems that some preachers in their desire to share the good news of Christ are focussed on the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ rather than on the gospel of JESUS CHRIST. In other words their emphasis is on the need to respond to the truths about Jesus rather than on the need to respond to the Person of Jesus Himself. Christianity is not just a doctrine to be believed. It is about a Person to be received. Many years ago I was struck by the title of the book by WH Griffith Thomas, “Christianity is Christ”.  The title summed it all up. It’s all about Him. As others have said, “History is HIS story.” I was also struck by a phrase written by Dr James Packer many years ago which read something like this, “We preach Christ Jesus Who embodies in Himself all the saving efficacy of His work on the cross.” In other words the Christian message is not just about a plan of salvation accomplished by Jesus. Rather it is calling people to respond to the person of Christ  whose work it was to bring about the salvation of humans by His sacrificial death on the cross.  (Unfortunately I can’t remember which book the quote was in). But I do remember thinking at the time as a Christian minister that my message must be about Jesus as a Person, and that I should be trying to introduce people to Him as a living Saviour in my teaching and preaching.

Looking at the truths about Jesus in the Bible shows us His significance. In brief, He is the Creator of this universe and the One who now upholds it by His word of power. He is Lord of this universe and ultimately He will be the judge of all peoples. In the meantime He offers to be the friend of all those who put their trust in Him. That’s where the significance of the gospel of Jesus Christ comes in. The gospel is good news about Jesus as the Son of God who gave Himself on the cross to bring us back to God. The gospel offers Him to hearts ready to receive Him. So the gospel is extremely important but it gains its significance from the Person it proclaims. St Paul loved the gospel and longed to share the good news about Christ with other people. As he wrote in Romans 1:15-16, So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. 16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. The gospel brings us face to face with Christ who is able to save all those who open their hearts to Him.

There are many in the world today who reject the gospel of Jesus Christ. They have no desire to follow Christian teaching or to adopt Christian morality. In fact some seem to be intent on destroying Christianity (and Christian people too unfortunately) and rubbishing and rejecting Christian morality. Others see Christianity as totally irrelevant, as of no significance to their lives. But they all need to understand that their rejection is not just rejection of a preached or read message about Christ. It is rejection of a PERSON, the PERSON of Jesus Christ. At the end of time they will not stand before Moses or Elijah or John the Baptist or Mohammed or Billy Graham or the Pope, or before Barak Obama or David Cameron or any other world leader. Indeed all these people and we ourselves will stand before Him.

The words that God used in changing my life from someone running away from God to becoming a Christian believer and minister were these words from this Jesus Himself. They are recorded in Revelation 3:20, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.  I remember well the night I opened the door of my life to Jesus as I knelt down and asked this Jesus to come into my life to be my Lord and Saviour. I remember too the ongoing transformation in my life since that time. It’s still going on, praise God! I long for everyone to know that exciting and life-changing experience as well.

There was a saying some time ago, “Put Christ back into Christmas”. I would change that to, “Allow Christ to come into your heart this Christmas to be your Saviour and Lord.” Then, and then only, will you begin to live!

Blog No.133. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Monday 25th November 2013

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132. Feeling Guilty? Is It Conviction By The Holy Spirit Or Condemnation By The Devil?

Posted on November 23, 2013 by Jim Holbeck

A friend remarked recently that the motivating factor in the incredible change in his life came through a deep conviction by the Holy Spirit. The experience  gave him a sense of his lost-ness and a feeling of guilt from deliberately living life without God. He also shared that when he first started going to church, a sense of guilt remained for some time. But it raises the question as to whether new believers (or sometimes more mature believers) are suffering from unnecessary guilt.

We need to remember that we live in a fallen world and that none of us are, or ever will be, perfect. One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit of God whom we received at our conversion to Christ, is to convict us of our sin. Jesus said in John 16:8, And when he (the Holy Spirit) comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. The word for “convict” here is  ελέγχω (elegchō). It has meanings in the New Testament such as these, to convict, expose, reprove, rebuke, show fault, to prove to be wrong. It is used in a similar sense in Jn 3:19-20, where it is said that light “exposes” darkness,  Jn 3:19  And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20  For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. “Exposed” here is our word (elegchō).

As many have discovered, the Holy Spirit exposes the sinfulness of sin to human hearts. However humans by and large have no great desire to change. That is why light is so threatening to many people. They believe that if they get close to the light, their sins might be exposed and they don’t want to be unmasked in that manner.  By contrast believers are not afraid of the light because they want to walk in the light, in ways that honour God.  They welcome the light that exposes any sin in their lives, so that they can repent of it and then can ask and receive God’s forgiveness and cleansing.

It raises the question however whether believers should have feelings of guilt? Of course they should if they are guilty in any way. But the Christian life is meant to be an ongoing growth in maturity and in holiness. The Holy Spirit can and does convict believers of their guilt when they transgress or step out of the will of God for them. In spite of our growing likeness to Christ, there will never be a time when we can go it alone. We will always need the transforming power of the Holy Spirit to bring about that transformation. He shows us our faults (convicts us). But He also empowers us to overcome those faults by His grace, love and power.

Throughout my ministry I have come across many believers who were weighed down with guilt. Why? Because they had failed to recognise the difference between the ministry of the Holy Spirit in convicting us of sin and the strategy of the devil in seeking to make us feel guilty. I once put in a diagram to show the difference.

What is the difference between:-  Conviction by the Holy Spirit?  Condemnation by the accuser? (Reading across the columns from left to right). 

The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin  so that we might repent of our guilt and sin So that we turn to God to ask for and receive God’s forgiveness The end result. So that we might walk in freedom from guilt by the grace of God
The Devil (as Diabolos the accuser) accuses us and condemns us of our sin so that we might feel guilt and remorse (but not repentance) So that he may entice us to turn away from God in our guilt, feeling worthless and useless and “dirty” The end result. So that we might be held captive in our “guilt” to the Devil.

It was quite amazing when I taught this truth in large seminars that so many attendees suddenly realised what was going on in their minds and in their lives.  Some of them later admitted that they had been having troubling thoughts. They were rejoicing in their salvation, but were often plagued with condemning thoughts. Sometimes this had led to thoughts of self-condemnation. Other times they had felt that they were too unworthy to keep on serving God. Many of these folk realised that there was a battle going on in their minds.

We need to remember that our thoughts come from various sources. The Bible teaches something that many of us have come to realise. That is, the Satan, the Devil (Diabolos)  is able to plant thoughts in our minds. He can do that in the realm of temptation as he sows tempting possibilities in our minds. But he is also known as the “accuser” which is the meaning of  the word “diabolos”. As the diagram above shows he accuses us so that we begin to feel condemned and guilty, so that we come more under his power. That is why we need to take stock of what is going on in our thinking.  We need to learn to recognise the origin of the thoughts that form in our minds. Are they from God, from Satan or just our own reflections? Is God trying to convict us of something in our lives that is not according to His will for us? As we respond to Him, we learn to walk in greater freedom. Or is it Satan having a go at us to lead us away from God.

Well, how do we discern what is going on in our minds? St Paul shows us the answer in 2 Corinthians 10:5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. It means not allowing our thoughts to get out of control. Rather we are to take every thought to Jesus to let Him rule on it so that we continue to live in obedience to Him. If we continue to dwell on our thoughts  we can begin to “own” them as the product of our minds, when in fact they may have been thoughts planted by Satan. The German reformer Martin Luther  saw the danger of dwelling on our thoughts. He said regarding temptation, “You can’t stop the birds flying over your heads, but you can stop them building nests in your hair.”  In other words, temptations are sure to come to all of us. It is inevitable in a fallen world where the Devil is opposed to God and to His children. But what we can and must do is to stop those tempting thoughts from taking root in our minds. Otherwise we give them power by feeding them by dwelling on those thoughts.

If you have a troubling thought in your mind you are able to do something about it. You don’t have to remain a “victim”of a diabolical attack. You can take the thought to Jesus for Him to deal with. You could pray a prayer like this one.

“Dear Lord Jesus. I thank You that You know everything about me. You know every thought I have. I confess that I have been focussing on this particular thought ….. . I want to obey you in all that I do. If this thought is from You then give me peace about it and the grace to act on it. If this thought is not from You, I ask that You break the power of that thought in my mind so that I don’t continue to focus on it. Please renew my mind so that You become the Lord of my mind. I ask this so that I might bring glory to your name in all I think, say and do. AMEN.” 

Blog No. 132.  Jim Holbeck. Posted on Saturday 23rd November 2013

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131. Our Identity. Becoming What We Were Meant To Be In Life. 2 Corinthians 3:17-end.

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Jim Holbeck

How does one “find oneself”? How do we become the people we were meant to be? How can we fulfil our eternal destiny? How can we find real fulfilment in life? How can I discover and become the “real me? They are all different expressions of the longing we all have for significance. We are familiar with terms such as “To thine own self be true” taken from Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’. There are other well-known sayings which express the need to focus on oneself as supposedly a means of gaining more significance for oneself in life.

However there is another focus in life that all humans are meant to have. It is not a focus on oneself as a means of growing in significance. In fact it had a different focus. It is to turn one’s eyes from oneself and from the things of the world to another object more worthy of our gaze. In the words of the hymn, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.” To focus on Him is to bring everything into its true perspective. With that gaze we come to recognise that we are not number one in the universe, He is. Our true significance in life comes through coming into a right relationship with Him.

St Paul wrote about that true focus in 2 Corinthians 3:17-18, Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18  And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. We take a closer look at these verses.

 1).        Focussing On The Lord Brings Us Personal Freedom.  2 Cor 3:17.  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. What sort of freedom is Paul writing about here? Freedom to become what we want to become in life. Freedom to do what we want to do in life. In reality this freedom is freedom to be what God wants us to be and freedom to do what He wants us to do. How can our will be God’s will for us? Because He changes us from within to be what He wants us to be. He also motivates and empowers us to do what He wants us to do, by the power of His Holy Spirit within us.

2).        Focussing On The Lord Changes Us. Beholding Him And Reflecting Him.  3:18,  And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. Paul uses the term “unveiled faces”. We see the significance of that in verses 14 to 16. He explained that the Jews could not understand the Old Testament because it could only be explained with reference to Jesus Christ to whom it pointed as the Messiah. It was as though a veil lay over their eyes so that they could not see. But when they turn to the Lord, says Paul, the veil is taken away. They at last understand.  

 Paul paints the picture of those with unveiled faces beholding the Lord. He means all believers. As they continue to focus on the Lord in adoration, praise and thanksgiving, something happens. They begin to reflect what they are looking at. In fact the word katoptrizo can have both meanings as indicated in the different translations. The ESV has “beholding” and the HCSB (Holman Christian Study Bible) has “reflecting”. The word comes from  katoptron = a mirror.  How can both translations be correct? You can actually see why when you think about people sitting around a camp fire looking at the flames burning the wooden logs. If you look at the faces of those sitting around the fire with you, you notice that the light shines on their faces. As the glow of the fire lessens, the reflected light on their faces dims as well. When a log is put on the fire, it lights up again. A quick glance at those around us shows that the light has brightened on their faces as well. It is a simple truth. We become like the object we are focussed on. The more we gaze on Christ in love and adoration, the more we begin to reflect Him in our lives.  God begins to change us so that we become more like the object of our adoration, the Lord Jesus.

3).       Focussing On The Lord Brings An Inner Transformation. 3:18

Paul isn’t finished with the message of this change. He now uses another expression “transformation” (metamorphoō = to change or transform. This is the root of the English word metamorphosis) to drive home the same truth. He speaks about an inner transformation, “are being transformed”.  As students of NT Greek would remind us, the verb is in the present continuous sense to show it is ongoing. It is also in the passive voice meaning that this transformation is something that is happening to us rather than something we are doing. It is the same word used for the transfiguration of Jesus as He was transfigured before them, Mat 17:2, Mk 9:2. It is twice used of Christian believers. Here and also in Romans 12:2, Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind… . In this latter verse it speaks of the process of transformation as being through the “renewing of the mind”. In our 2 Cor 3:18 reference it refers to the object or goal of this transformation. It is “into the likeness of Christ Himself”. Becoming more like Him.

4).        Focussing On The Lord Restores The Likeness Of God In Us.  3:18

“are being transformed into the same image”. Humans were made in the image of God. (Gen 1:27)  “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him. However that image was defaced through the sin of Adam and through all consequent human sin. The good news is this, the image of God can be restored in God’s people. When they trust in God, He imparts to them His own divine nature, 2Pet 1:4  by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature. See also Col 3:10 and Rom 8:29.

Some may say, “Surely that transformation can’t happen all at once.” Of course it can’t. Paul goes on to say that this transformation is an ongoing process for those who have received His nature.

 5).        Focussing On The Lord Enables Ongoing Spiritual Growth To Take Place.

“From one degree of glory to another”.  The word “glory” (doxa) has a variety of meanings including idea, appearance, reputation, majesty among many others. As I thought about a short phrase that might sum up these meanings my mind went to “the REALITY of God”.  In this context in verse 3:18 it could mean that the transformation in believers grows as they focus on the REALITY of God. His glory (His REALITY, the reality of His presence) increases in them. They become more increasingly REAL like Him. They begin to show forth increasingly the REALITY of the character of God. This is what is called the process of sanctification. Being more and more set apart from the things of the world and becoming more and more set apart to the REALITY of God in one’s life. It is an on-going process towards wholeness, until we are glorified with Him in the REALITY of His presence in glory,  Col 3:4  When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

 6).        Focusing On The Lord Enables God’s Holy Spirit To Do His Work In Us.

“This (inner transformation) comes from the Lord, the Spirit.” We do the beholding of the Lord.  This is through focussing on Him in God’s word and in expressing adoration and praise and thanksgiving to Him as a living Person, indeed our Lord and Master. As we do so, His Spirit does the transforming into His likeness within us because we are open to the work of His Spirit in our lives. St Paul prayed for this transformation to come to completion in the lives of those to whom he wrote in Ephesus. This is what He prayed for them, Eph 3:14  For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15  from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16  that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith–that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18  may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19  and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

How important then to get our focus right in life. To be on Him! So that He can transform us. Into His likeness! To become more like Him!

Blog No. 131. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Tuesday 1st October 2013

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130. A Tribute. Bishop Dudley Foord. 1923-2013. (Double E, Double E) Evangelism

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Jim Holbeck

The name of Dudley Foord will be remembered by many with the introduction of Evangelism Explosion to Australia. Many of us came from long distances to the Conferences he held in Sydney as he promoted  this form of Evangelism. Evangelism Explosion (shortened  to EE) made a big impact with Christians around Australia. We were certainly encouraged by Dudley’s enthusiasm in promoting EE, but even more by his natural warmth in sharing Jesus with others.  

In the hands of Dudley Foord, (EE) was enriched to what I call (Double E, Double E) Evangelism. The first Double E stands for Dudley’s desire to Engage people. When some of us went out into the streets to put into practice what we had been learning, we found that we didn’t have the same courage to engage people as he had. When we did engage other folk in conversation, it didn’t come as naturally to us as it did to him. There was a reason for that, I discovered.  This was the second E, for Envelop.   He “enveloped” people with love. To have a conversation with Dudley made you feel  that you were really important to him. You got his undivided attention. He was interested in “lesser” people and especially in anyone who wanted to share Jesus with others. I found that when I came to minister in Sydney Diocese many years later that he remembered me from those earlier conferences. Not only that but he expressed a deep interest in what was happening in my ministry as the Leader of the Healing Ministry at the Cathedral.  We met on a couple of occasions at other conferences on Evangelism run by non-Anglicans (he was always willing to learn from others), and the warmth of his welcome was quite humbling and encouraging.

The other Double E of course refers to the theme of Evangelism Explosion.  It was his desire to Explain the gospel to others. He wanted people to respond to a Person, the person of Jesus. But he wanted people to meet with the Jesus of the gospels and he was well qualified to help them do so. He knew so much about Him from the Bible and knew Him intimately and personally as His Saviour and Lord. The final E was his ability to Encourage folk to receive Jesus as Saviour. I’m sure many were encouraged to do so as his love for Jesus and for people was infectious.  It may be that some of us who were introduced to EE through Dudley were never as effective in using the programme because we majored on the Explain and Encourage double whereas he had the whole gambit of Engaging people,  Enveloping them in love, as well as Explaining the gospel clearly and Encouraging such people to receive Jesus as Saviour and Lord.

I was deeply saddened to read on my phone about Dudley’s death, as my wife Carole and I were travelling by car between Sydney and  Melbourne. I thought about the impact he had had for the Kingdom of God. I wondered how many people must have come into the Kingdom as a result of his ministry.  I thought too that he would never have known about many of the people who came into the kingdom because of his loving witness. I was still pondering this as we arrived at our motel.

As we entered our motel room there was a ping on my phone indicating that a new email had arrived.  I read it.  It was a tribute to folk in the Healing Ministry in the Cathedral. It read in part, “This is a long overdue thank you. 9 years overdue. We think of you often.  Praise God for your loving kindness towards my Dad who was saved through your faithful ministry as a fellow believer and as leader of the Healing Service. From the moment he met you, he really connected with you. Likewise, Carole and others in the congregation were really warm towards him, and a great encouragement. You had said that after he had prayed the prayer of repentance and accepted Jesus, he seemed to be at peace. Indeed, he trusted in the promises of our LORD Jesus Christ that you faithfully presented to him week after week, and he met death without fear. My whole family is indebted to your Christian service. They were some of the best days of my life amidst the saddest days of my life.”

I was deeply moved.  I was amazed at the timing. But the thing that immediately came to my mind was the number of letters and emails that might have been written to Dudley Foord that were never penned or sent. They would have been in their thousands! Perhaps in the goodness and grace of God the words that Dudley will hear in heaven will be not only “Well done thou good and faithful servant”, but also “Thank you brother for sharing the gospel faithfully so that we came to love and accept Jesus too.”

The prayers of many of us will continue to be with Elizabeth and the family.

Blog 130. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Monday 16th September 2013

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129. Summary of Romans 1:17-32. Human Rebellion against God

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Jim Holbeck

What has got into some of the world leaders in recent months? Some have taken gigantic strides in directions that were not expected. Some seem intent on changing the world as we know it, into an image they have created in their own minds. Now they want to see this vision reproduced in their own countries and even in other nations. Are we looking at world-changing visionaries in our midst? Or are we seeing the results of human wisdom gone mad? Humans out of control?

Once again chapter 1 of St Paul’s letter to the Romans has some answers for us. Recently I wrote some material on this chapter where I showed that three of the major factors in today’s world can be explained from its message. It is a description of human rebellion against God in three main facets of life.

1).  In Rom 1:17-23, we saw that human rebellion against God leads to idolatry in which God is replaced by aspects of His creation. It means that Jesus, His agent in creation, is also not accorded His God-given position as Creator and Lord of His universe.  One of the factors I noted in the articles was this. If folk reject God, they also reject His declaration that humans are made in His image. If people are merely different bits of this world structure then they (particularly the foetus or near-born or newly-born) can be disposed of at will because they are expendable “bits” with little present significance. There are many national leaders actively supporting almost unlimited abortion on demand. But some of them are not content with that. Now they want to have that particular concept of abortion on demand extended to other countries as well. There is talk that some of these leaders might want to make the acceptance of wide-spread abortion a qualification for receiving aid from the “richer” country! To stop “populution”? Or to extend their longed-for “power”?

God (YHWH) doesn’t see this “option” as wise management of human resources. He has a name for abortion done purely for the convenience of the person or the family or the nation. It’s called “murder”. Jesus once warned about putting stumbling blocks in the way of the young, Luke 17:1 “He said to His disciples, “Offenses will certainly come, but woe to the one they come through! 2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to stumble.” If causing the young to stumble brings such condemnation, then what does the supporting of the extinguishing of the young, merit?

We need to wake up! Humans in rebellion against God are destroying fellow humans who are made in the image of God. He says they are! As such they are to be protected and valued! Not destroyed!

 2). In Rom 1:23-25 we read that this rebellion takes on a sinister turn. Humans created by God reject their Creator AND begin to worship and serve “something created”. This is what false religion is all about, when humans begin to take their eyes off God as the pre-eminent One in the universe and begin to exchange the truth about Him for a lie. The lie is this; that something or someone can take His place. Such people put their focus onto something or someone else, a part of God’s creation.  Instead of following God’s commandments and His revelation of His will in the Scriptures, they place their allegiance in things or people.

We noted in a previous article that Jesus as the Creator-Redeemer of humans was called “the truth” and that His teaching is to be followed and not rejected nor added to. He was called also the “wisdom of God” for His words were the Father’s words.  His wisdom was obvious to all who heard Him. We read in Mat 13:54, He went to His hometown and began to teach them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “How did this wisdom and these miracles come to Him? Paul called Him the “wisdom of God” in 1Cor 1:23-24,   but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  Similarly in 1Cor 1:30  And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption

True religion is based on the wisdom of God rather than the wisdom of the world.  One way of assessing all the present day religious movements is to look at how they operate and what are the ideologies and the motivations behind their actions. The wisdom of God (YHWH) in James 3:17 is described like this, … the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without favouritism and hypocrisy. What a wonderful peaceful world it would be if we lived by the wisdom of God! As we examine all the current religious movements are they marked by these qualities? If they are, then they appear to be elements of true religion operating with God’s wisdom especially when they exhibit true love knowing “God is love” (1John 4:16  So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.)

If the religious bodies today are not characterised by these qualities, they may not be of God. Religions or ideologies operating from a human source of wisdom rather than a divine source have these features seen in James 3:14-16, bitter envy, selfish ambition, bragging, defying the truth. James writes here that this “wisdom” it is not from above, from God. It has to do only with the dimension of the human senses. It may be demonic, influenced by the powers of darkness. The outward expression of worldly wisdom is disorder and every kind of evil. A quick glance at our daily papers sees the evidence throughout the world of disorder, murder, the absence of love and utter evil in some of the religious movements. It would seem that false religion is alive and expanding on planet earth. It is false religion that brooks no rivals. True religion looks to God for wisdom on how to behave and to live in the peace of God that passes human understanding.

We need to wake up! Humans in rebellion against God are worshipping and serving the lie that you can replace Him with something or someone! He brooks no rivals. However He offers all people a relationship of peace with Himself through His Son Jesus Christ.

3).  In Romans 1:26-27. We saw in the previous article that this passage speaks quite openly about same sexual activity and God’s attitude to it.  In Leviticus chapters 18 and 20 He declared His repugnance. “Abomination” and “detestable” are never pretty words. How much more when they come from the mind of God Himself! If He used such words to describe these activities, it is sad that His people today are being labelled as homophobic for simply expressing what He said. But people in rebellion against God will reject His words especially when they come through fellow humans.

Recently we have seen that some national leaders are not only in favour of same sex practice, but are pushing for same-sex marriage. One leader even wants to send expert teams out to other countries to help facilitate the acceptance and legalisation of same-sex marriage in those countries. Foreign aid with a twist! Again is it a case of such leaders being world-leading-visionaries who are taking the world into whole new expressions of freedom and liberty? Or something quite different!

But what  if? What if there is a God who has revealed Himself in the Bible and through Jesus, and whose revelation we have in the Holy Bible, the Scriptures?  What if He told us almost 2000 years ago that He had dealt with people in rebellion against Him and delivered them over to “do their own thing”. What if people presume He doesn’t exist or isn’t concerned when they do things He had forbidden and are not struck down dead as a result? What if the words of 2Peter 3:9 are true, “The Lord is not slow to fulfil his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” What if His apparent failure to deal with human sin is not a sign of His pathetic weakness, but of His incredible patience and amazing grace and astonishing love in giving them time to turn from their rebellion against Him, to seek His forgiveness and to find true peace with Him as the true God?

We need to wake up! Humans in rebellion against God are encouraging practices that God has strongly condemned in unmistakeable terms! He isn’t going to change His mind! He isn’t going to adapt to cultural changes! He isn’t going to water down His word to gain more acceptance or to elicit a greater following! He has spoken! Clearly! Definitively!

A realistic appraisal of the whole human situation. Romans 1:29-32

God’s appraisal! We have seen in a previous article that these verses apply to every human ever born who has been rebellious against God. That’s all of us except for Jesus. We may look at these verses and pat ourselves on the back that we are pretty good in comparison with some notorious sinners in this world. But when we come to words such as greed, envy, disputes, deceit, gossips arrogant, proud, boastful, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful, we realise that we ourselves have failed to get a perfect score in those areas of life.  It means that we are sinners just like the ones we have judged as being guilty of sin.

Only one way for all of us

There is only one way out of our predicament for all of us because we are all sinners in the sight of God. And that is by accepting His offer of forgiveness and salvation in Christ. It is a free gift to us in Him. It is an offer coming from His grace and love. But it is not cheap grace! It meant that Jesus the Son of God, the Messiah, had to die for the sins of all the peoples of the world throughout the ages. His death brought the possibility of forgiveness and new life for every person who would receive them in Christ. But “receive them” is the operative phrase. What is happening in today’s world is that people are making their choice. To seek truth in the God of truth, or to turn their backs on Him and to continue on in their rebellion.

Perhaps when St Paul wrote Romans chapter 1 at the inspiration of the Spirit of God he did not envisage a world as rebellious as it is now. But God did!  In His love He has warned us through St Paul in this chapter that human rebellion would always take the form of idolatry, false religion and sexual inappropriateness. In His love He has warned those rebelling against Him in this way. However He also warns each and every one of us in the latter verses of the same chapter that we can’t criticise others, for we too are guilty before Him. The fact that we seem to be free to do whatever we wish without punishment may be an indication that the words of 2 Peter 3:9 are true, “The Lord … is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” Repentance from all of us! No exceptions!

 A Prayer for someone to pray who feels they are not right with God

Dear Lord. You have shown us so clearly in Your word that none of us can stand before You, trusting in who we are or in what we have done. We have all rebelled against You in many and various ways. I confess that I am guilty before You and I need Your forgiveness and love.

I have learned that Jesus, the Son of God, died on the cross so that I might have forgiveness. I have learned too that He rose from the dead and is alive today.

I invite You Lord Jesus to be my Saviour from sin and to be the Lord and Master of my life. Come into my life to make me a new creature and to guide and strengthen me to live as I should, from this day forward.

I thank You by faith for the victories I shall experience in life with Your help. Please accept my thanks in Your precious name of Jesus. AMEN

Blog No.129.  Jim Holbeck. Posted on Wednesday 3rd September 2013

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128. Praying For Healing For A World In Rebellion Against God. Through Its False Sexual Practices.

Posted on August 25, 2013 by Jim Holbeck

In Romans 1, St Paul wrote of the rebellion of humans against their Creator. We saw that the first area of rebellion was in the area of humans replacing God with idols. The second area was human rebellion against God as Creator and their worshipping and serving the creation rather than the Creator. In this third section we now look at human rebellion against God’s purposes for sexual activity in His world.

In Romans 1:24-27 Paul declared that God had delivered or handed humans over to do what they wanted to do in the sexual sphere.  The following is the translation from the Holman Christian Study Bible (HCSB). Notice the underlined words which we look at more closely later. (Rom 1:24)  Therefore God delivered them over in the cravings of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. 25)  They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served something created instead of the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26)  This is why God delivered them over to degrading passions. For even their females exchanged natural sexual intercourse for what is unnatural. 27)  The males in the same way also left natural sexual intercourse with females and were inflamed in their lust for one another. Males committed shameless acts with males and received in their own persons the appropriate penalty for their perversion.

We notice in this passage a number of God-given value judgments placed on those who had rebelled against Him in this way.

God’s judgments on false sexual behaviour in verses 24-27

The first term used in verse 24 was that God had delivered them over to “sexual impurity” (akatharsia). The word is used in many places to denote sexual sin such as is underlined in the following verses.  Rom 6:19 “just as you offered the parts of yourselves as slaves to moral impurity”; Gal 5:19, Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity; Eph 5:3  But sexual immorality and any impurity or greed should not even be heard of among you, as is proper for saints; Col 3:5  Therefore, put to death whatever in you is worldly: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. Such impurity had to be repented of and not seen among believers. Paul recognised the need for the people in Corinth to repent of such behaviour, 2 Cor 12:21  I fear that … I will grieve for many who sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, sexual immorality, and promiscuity they practiced. Paul wrote that God desired a growing holiness or sanctification among His people, for He had not called them to impurity, I Thess 4:7, For God has not called us to impurity, but to sanctification. God’s purpose was purity in relationships, not uncleanness in His sight.

 The second term was “degraded”  in 1:24. “… so that their bodies were degraded among themselves.” This word, (atimazō)  means to treat with contempt, to dishonour  or to abuse.  In this passage it refers to homosexual activity as treating the body with contempt or as an abuse of the God-given privilege of being sexual beings.  Some understanding of the depth of the meaning of the word is seen in how Jesus described abhorrent behaviour towards Himself, as seen in John 8:48.   The Jews said to Jesus, “Aren’t we right in saying that You’re a Samaritan and have a demon?”  Jesus saw that as a dishonouring of Himself, “I do not have a demon, on the contrary, I honour My Father and you dishonour Me.” John 8:49. Dishonour is refusing to give someone or something its God-given value or using it for a wrong purpose.

 The third termis “degrading passions” in verse 26, This is why God delivered them over to degrading passions.  “Degrading” (atimia) is the noun version of the previous term (atimazo). It has the same meaning of dishonour or shame. The other part of the phrase “passions” (from pathos) is used only 3 times in the New Testament and always in a bad sense eg., Paul wrote about the things that needed to be put to death in believers for they were to have no place in the lives of the people of God.  In Col 3:5 he used this word (pathos), translated here as “lust”, “Therefore, put to death whatever in you is worldly: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. The seriousness of these sinful attitudes or practices in the sight of God is seen in the following verse Col 3:6  Because of these, God’s wrath comes on the disobedient. The latter reference to God’s wrath has a familiar connection in Romans 1 where Paul stated that God’s wrath has been revealed, Rom 1:18  For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. The remainder of Romans 1 continues on with this theme of the revelation of the wrath of God leading Him in judgment to hand over people to do their own will rather than doing His.  (One of the dangers we will see with this “freedom” is that God will give us all the help we need to do His will. However if we choose to ignore His will and to seek to do our own, we will be “out on our own” until we come back to Him.)

The fourth term is in the same verse 27, “The males in the same way also left natural sexual intercourse with females and were inflamed in their ‘lust’ for one another”. This word (orexis) for “lust” is found only here in the New Testament. It implies strong desire out of control as the “inflamed” here (or the “burned” or “consumed” in other translations) indicates.

The fifth term is in verse 27, “The males in the same way also left natural sexual intercourse with females and were inflamed in their lust for one another. Males committed shameless acts with males.”  The word for “shameless acts” is (aschēmosunē). It can refer to that which is uncomely, indecent or obscene (in the sight of God). It can also refer to the shame of nakedness as seen in Rev 16:15, “Look, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who is alert and remains clothed so that he may not go naked, and they see his shame.” Nakedness is appropriate for some relationships, but not for others in the sight of God.

 The sixth term is also in verse 27, . …Males committed shameless acts with males and received in their own persons the appropriate penalty for their perversion, (planē). This word can mean a wandering around, an error, a deceit or a false way of acting. It is translated as “deceit” in Eph 4:14  Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit.” Also in 2Thess 2:3  “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. In 2Thess 2:11, it is rendered “delusion”, For this reason God sends them a strong delusion so that they will believe what is false.” The remaining occurrences in the New Testament in Jas 5:20, 2 Pet 2:8, 3:17, 1Jn 4:6 and Jude 1:11 are translated as “error”. Some folk are deceived into thinking that they are right when in fact they are error-ridden and deluded.

Summing up God’s value judgments on human sin. Romans 1:24-27

What is it that causes God (YHWH) to have such negative value judgments on humans in these verses? In simple terms it can be summarised as the following where the six terms we looked at above, are underlined below.

The general statement of God’s attitude in Rom 1:18. For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. God in His word then spelt out the implications of human sin in His sight in verses 24-27.  

  • God in His wrath delivered them over to do what they craved to do = sexual impurity = bodies were degraded. 1:24.
  • God in His wrath delivered them over to degrading passions = their females exchanged natural sexual intercourse for what is unnatural. 1:25.
  • God in His wrath delivered them over to degrading passions = the males in the same way also left natural sexual intercourse with females and were inflamed in their lust for one another = shameless acts with males = perversion.

God has revealed His attitudes to sexuality. He created humans to behave sexually in the way He purposed for them. These words in Genesis have stood for thousands of years as the Creator’s explanation for the origin and foundation of families. Marriage and families was God’s idea, Gen 1:27  So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female. 28  God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.” And in Gen 5:2 “He created them male and female. When they were created, He blessed them and called them man. “ And in Gen 2:24  Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh.

 However when humans rebelled against their Creator (as every individual human has), many also rebelled against His God-given provision for sex. Instead of keeping it within the male-female relationship as He purposed in marriage, they extended it beyond that to male-male and female-female. The summary above shows God’s attitude to this departure.  It is very difficult therefore to understand how people can call same-sex relations equal to (or some would say, preferable to ) male-female marriage when He uses such terms in His word as sexual impurity,  degradation, degrading passions, lust, shameless acts,  perversion to describe homosexual activity. It shows His consistency, for in the Old Testament as we have seen in Leviticus chapters 18 and 20, He described homosexual activity as an “abomination” and as “detestable” in His sight. In the New Testament we would expect no less from Him.

In the next article we will sum up this whole passage in Romans 1:17-32. It will bring some uncomfortable truths to us. It will show us that none of us can stand in judgment of others. All of us need to ask for His forgiveness for any and every sin we have ever committed. Not only that, but true repentance demands that we not only ask His forgiveness, but we also need to ask Him for the grace and help to never do those things again. Otherwise it is not true repentance. If there is no true repentance there can be no forgiveness at all. A challenging time awaits us as we deal with these things!

A PRAYER FOR HELP

Heavenly Father, we pray that we will come to know Your will through Your word, the Bible, so that we can live in a way pleasing to You. Show us what You dislike about our thinking and our behaviour so that we can turn to You for forgiveness and for help to be different.  Help us to understand Your plan and purpose for the world regarding relationships, so that every relationship we have, may be according to Your will. We ask these things in Jesus’ name. AMEN.

Blog No.128. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Sunday 25th August 2013 

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127. Praying For Healing For A World In Rebellion Against God. Through Its False Religion

Posted on August 23, 2013 by Jim Holbeck

What a horrible mess! The world! How did it happen? We have an answer! The Almighty God Himself gave us the reason in Romans 1. It was due to human rebellion against the Creator-God. The first description of rebellion Paul described was this. The Creator was exchanged for, or substituted by, created things, leading to idolatry. 1:21-23. In the previous article based on these verses we saw that this has had disastrous moral consequences including the modern-day prevalence of abortion as an option for deliberate birth control.  

Paul then went on to describe the second aspect of human rebellion against God in Romans 1:25 as replacing the revealed truth about God for a lie as seen in false religion, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. We now look at bit more deeply at this second exchange or substitution.

What is the “lie” that humans in rebellion chose in God’s place?  In Romans 1 Paul showed that God had revealed Himself through His creation and through the revelation enshrined in the Judea-Christian tradition. But humans had rejected that revelation. For what? A “lie”! Yes, a lie! What was the lie that Paul wrote about here? The word for “lie” is (pseudos). As we look at its use in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament we notice the following in the underlined words. It can refer to idols and the false worship associated with those idols, for example in Jeremiah 10:14, Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them. It is also used in the following examples where God (YHWH) rebukes the people of Jerusalem for rejecting Him for lies, Jeremiah 13:25, This is your lot, the portion I have measured out to you, declares the LORD, because you have forgotten me and trusted in lies. And again in Isaiah 28, 14  Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers, who rule this people in Jerusalem! 15  Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have an agreement, when the overwhelming whip passes through it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter”. “Pseudos” is also used by David to denote the proud who turn away from God, Psa 40:4  Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! We will see that the danger of “lies” in both Old and New Testaments is they are not just “non-truth”.  Rather they are anti-God, the product of human rebellion.

Jesus is the truth, not the lie. When we turn to the New Testament we find that a contrast is made between a lie and the truth in Jesus. Humans in their rebellion have rejected the truth about God. They have exchanged it for a lie. Paul goes on in verse 23 to describe the outworking of that exchange,  they … worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. The word for “worshipped” is sebazomai which is found only here in the New Testament. It means to venerate or worship, to be in awe of someone or something. The object of their veneration was the “creature” rather than the Creator Himself. “Creature” can mean the whole of creation, animate and inanimate. To ignore the Creator and to venerate the creation or any part of it was to engage in idolatry. The creation had been substituted in people’s hearts and minds by aspects of the creation He had made.

Not only did they replace the Creator by the creation He had made, they also “served” this creation. “Served” is from latreuō. The word combines the twin meanings of veneration and service to what is venerated. The veneration had its practical outworking. Those of faith like Paul could serve the Creator God “with a clear conscience”, 2Tim 1:3, and could “serve by the Spirit of God”  Php 3:3.   But those in rebellion against God chose to reject the Maker and to focus on what He had made.

Jesus Himself was tempted by Satan to throw in His lot with Satan by worshipping him instead of God. However Jesus replied,  “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'” Mat 4:1. Those who replace the Creator by His creation do so as they yield to Satan’s seductions and temptations.

Jesus is not the “lie”. He is THE TRUTH. In John 1:14 John declared of Jesus the Creator who became human, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. And in John 1:17  For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Truth became incarnate in the incarnation of Jesus. Jesus also described Himself as being “THE” truth in John 14:6, where He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” He was making a claim to uniqueness. He was claiming that He alone is the only way to God. He was claiming that He alone is the truth about God. He alone reflected the Father perfectly in His life on earth. As He said in John 14:9, … Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” He alone is the life because only He can bestow eternal life, God’s life, to those who trust in Him.

The danger of worshipping and serving the lie. Jesus taught that those who opposed Him were walking in the darkness of error and not in the light of truth. He saw them as being deceived by Satan, the Devil, who had nothing to do with the truth. He saw them as doing the devil’s will rather than the will of God,  Joh_8:44  You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.

 To put it succinctly. Jesus is the truth because He is the truth about God and the way to God. He is the truth about man because we see in Jesus how mankind was meant to live, as He lived in total dependence on His Heavenly Father. He is the truth about the eternal life which exists in Him. He alone has the power to bestow it to those who trust in Him. Paul summed up the truth about Jesus when he described Him in the loftiest of terms in (Col 1:11-22). He recognised Him as being the following:- the image of God; the creator of everything (which exists for Him as well as through Him); the sustainer of the universe; the pre-eminent one in all creation; the dwelling place of the fullness of God; the only one who can reconcile humans to God. In other words the Bible says that there is no one to compare to Him. He embodies the truth. Those who are opposed to Him and do not recognise His uniqueness are described as being deceived, in darkness, blinded by Satan and under his power. In other words they are not of the truth and have, as Paul expressed it in Romans 1:25, … exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. The creatures in their rebellion have rebelled against their creator! The consequences are enormous. But Jesus, and He alone, can do something about it.

When we look at the words associated with word (pseudo) “lie” of Rom 1:25, we see that they have reference to Jesus as the truth. If the gospel message did not contain the truth about Jesus Christ then it was a “false” gospel. Much of the content of the New Testament epistles was focussed on correcting “false” views of Jesus that were being spread by “false” teachers. The list of words includes the following. (False) – brother, apostle, witnesses, prophets, teachers, words, Christs and many others. One cannot countenance anything as truth if it does not give Jesus His rightful place in His universe. Anything that contradicts His teaching can never be truth.

We live in a world of rebellious humans. We have all been among them! But coming to know and receive Jesus as Saviour and Lord meant coming from darkness into the light of Christ. It meant being set free from Satan’s deception and from doing Satan’s will. Paul wrote of the Christian minister as needing to be “able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25  correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”   2 Tim 2:24-26.

If the Bible is correct in saying that Jesus is the Creator and Redeemer of the world, the embodiment of truth and ultimately the judge of  its peoples, then nothing can be added to what He taught. If any teaching is different from what He taught, it is a lie. It means that the many so-called prophets which have arisen since Jesus lived and died and rose again are false prophets if their teaching is different to His. We need to pray for all those whom Satan has blinded and deceived that their eyes might be opened to the truth in Jesus. Only then will they recognise that they have been worshipping and serving a lie and not Jesus as the truth.  Human rebellion in replacing the creator with anyone or anything else is based on a lie because it leaves Christ out of His rightful place as the pre-eminent One in this universe.

A Prayer

Heavenly Father, we pray for all those who remain in the darkness and ignorance of sin. Especially the sin of not making You the Lord and Master of their lives. Open their eyes to see that they have exchanged the truth in Jesus for a lie and are caught up in false worship. Touch them in the power of your Holy Spirit so that they might be brought from darkness into light, from bondage to Satan into the freedom which is in Christ, and from death into life. May they open their hearts to receive Jesus as their Saviour, to worship Him as their Lord, and to serve Him in the fellowship of His church. We ask these things in Jesus’ name and for His sake, AMEN. 

Blog No.127. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Friday 23rd August 2013

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