086. Jesus and Sexuality and Marriage

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Jim Holbeck

We are often told today that Jesus would have approved of homosexual or same-sex marriage. Because He emphasised “love” in His teachings. So we need to see if that is really so.  In the previous article we saw that in the Old Testament, God is seen to be opposed to homosexual acts. It raised the question as to whether Jesus or the New Testament writers took a softer approach. We now look at how Jesus would have looked at the issue. In an earlier article I looked at the question “Would Jesus Be In Favour Of Gay Marriage? What Does The Bible Say?” The conclusion in the article was that Jesus would not have been in favour of gay or same-sex marriages. However it may help to look at the New Testament material in another form. We look first of all at the text in Matthew 19 to see more clearly what Jesus had to say about sex, marriage and divorce.

In the left hand column I have put the text outlining the events and how Jesus responded to questions. In the right hand column I have made comments on each passage.

What Jesus said The implications of His teaching
Matthew 19.  The Pharisees question Jesus regarding divorce (3)  And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?”  Jesus’ answer. (4)  He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female,(5)  and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?(6)  So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” Jesus went back to the Genesis creation story. God made two sexes, male and female.Marriage takes place when a man (a male) leaves his God-given pattern of family (a male father and a female mother) and holds fast to his wife (a female) and they become one flesh in a sexual union.  (The beginning of a new family with the possibility of reproduction).No other person is meant to enter into that relationship. So marriage is between a male and a female who become one flesh in an inseparable union.
The second question from the Pharisees.(7)  They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?”  Jesus’ answer.(8)  He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.(9)  And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” Divorce was allowed because of the hardness of Israelite hearts. But Jesus again took his hearers back to the creation ordinance (from the beginning it was not so). The inseparable union of marriage could only be dissolved if the wife had committed adultery against her husband. She had severed the marriage relationship by involving another person. The husband could divorce his wife in that case. However to divorce his wife on any other grounds and to marry another woman would be seen to be adultery.
The question from the disciples about the benefit of marriage.(10)  The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”       Jesus’ answer.(11)  But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given.(12)  For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.” Jesus spelt out the possibilities for males.   i). There were eunuchs who were so from birth. They were not physically equipped to enter into a one flesh relationship in marriage.  ii). There were those who had been made eunuchs by men. They too were not equipped to enter into the one flesh relationship of marriage, possibly due to castration.   iii). The remainder had a choice whether to enter into a marriage relationship or not.Jesus recognised that there were going to be some men who would choose not to enter into a married relationship for some legitimate reason (such as wanting to serve God in helping advance the kingdom of God.) Such males would remain celibate unless they later chose to be married.

We can see by looking at the table above that there is no ground for saying that Jesus would have approved of homosexual relationships or homosexual activity. In fact it shows just the opposite.  We can see why that is so when we look at Jesus’ attitude to the Old Testament scriptures and especially to the Law.

 JESUS AND THE LAW OF GOD

Jesus didn’t abolish the commandments in the Law.  It is obvious from the above that Jesus had the highest regard for God’s revelation of Himself and His will through the Old Testament writings. His attitude is seen in Matthew 5 where He spoke about His own teaching as a fulfilment (not an abolition) of the Law and the Prophets, the two major parts of the Old Testament Scriptures. Mat 5:17  “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.”

Jesus didn’t cancel any of the commandments or prohibitions in the Law.  Not only that but all the commandments, instructions and teaching in the Law are applicable until Jesus has fulfilled them. Mat 5:18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. That included all the laws and commandments and prohibitions. It included the prohibitions found in Leviticus chapters 18 and 20 prohibiting males lying with males (or homosexual activity). These words were for eternity as they came from the eternal God’s revelation of Himself and His purposes in the Law or Pentateuch, the five books of Moses. He is the God who is unchanging and His values never change throughout the generations.

Jesus warned against encouraging others to relax the Law.  Jesus spoke of the danger of tampering with God’s revelation in the Law. The commands could not be watered down. The prohibitions could not be relaxed. Mat 5:19  Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. There is in these verses mention of the danger of encouraging others to relax the laws, commandments and prohibitions God gave us.

Jesus linked the Two Great commandments He taught with the Law and Prophets.  Loving God with all one is and all one has, and loving one’s neighbour as oneself were not commandments Jesus just plucked out of the air. They were a summary of the Law and the Prophets, not a replacement or substitute for them.  Mat 22:37And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38  This is the great and first commandment. 39  And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. 40  On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”  Loving one’s neighbour means not doing anything to a neighbour (or suggesting  to a neighbour) what would be contrary to what God has declared in His word.

Jesus lived by obedience to the Law.  Jesus’ teaching was largely based on the Law and the Prophets.  He accepted them as the word of God to His people.  He lived by them as we see in the temptation narratives in Matthew 4.  When he was tempted by the devil to turn stones into bread, He replied, (4)  “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ (Quoted from Deuteronomy 8:3). When He was tempted to throw Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple and to allow angels to catch Him, He replied, (7) , “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” (Quoted from Deut 6:16). When He was tempted to fall down and worship the devil, He replied, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'”  (Quoted from Deut 6:16).

If Jesus patterned His life according to God’s revelation of Himself and His will in the Law and Prophets, it is most unlikely that He would ignore the declaration of God in His attitude to homosexual practice in the same Law in Leviticus chapters 18 and 20.

He also lived with the recognition He was fulfilling the words of the Prophets. For example His justification for cleansing the Temple was seen in His words from Isaiah 56:7 “… for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”  He saw what was happening in His ministry as more and more people came to Him, as a fulfilment of the Prophets, John 6:45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me–. He saw His coming death as a fulfilment of the words of the prophets, The Son of Man goes as it is written of him Mat 26:24 , perhaps the Messiah passages in Isaiah 53. When He spoke to His disciples after His rising from the dead He pointed them to the Law and Prophets to have them understand the significance of His death and resurrection in fulfilment of the Law and Prophets, Luke 24:44, Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”(45) Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, (46) and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead. His disciples had to take seriously the Scriptures as he had done throughout His life.  Even as the Risen Christ He was still pointing His disciples to the authoritative Scriptures in the Law, the Prophets and the Writings =the Psalms).

Jesus was a “Bible man”. He accepted the authority of the Old Testament Law and Prophets  as determinative for His life and teaching.  He expected His followers to have the same commitment to His Father’s revealed will in the Scriptures. There was no way that Jesus would ever contradict what His Father had expressed about homosexual activity in Leviticus.

Thus to say as some have said that we need to accept to accept homosexual practice as an expression of loving one’s neighbour as oneself, is quite contrary to what the Law expressed and Jesus taught.  Christian love never acts contrary to the expressed will of God.

Putting all this together we have to say the following:-.

  • The Old Testament forbids homosexual activity.
  • Jesus by His teaching showed His reliance on the Old Testament scriptures as the word of God and saw marriage as the one flesh relationship between one male and one female according to the Creation ordinance.

Well how about the New Testament writers? Did they have the same attitude to homosexual behaviour as seen in Leviticus 18 and 20 and in Jesus’ teaching? Or did they see the need to relax the commandments and lessen the prohibitions to make their teaching more acceptable to those who did not have the same view of Scripture. Did they seen the necessity to adapt their teaching to fit in with the prevailing culture of the day?  We will look at that in future articles.

Blog No.086.   Jim Holbeck..  Posted on Friday 24th August 2012  

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085. Sodom. Any Relevance For Sexuality Today?

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Jim Holbeck

Paul was very upset. He had begun to share some aspects of his life with me as his minister.  He was a handsome young man but shy and a bit of a loner. What he shared with me gave me an initial reaction of disgust. It seems that when he was in his late teens he was walking at night through a deserted part of the country town where he lived. As he did so he was attacked from behind by a small group of youths. They held him down and some anally raped him. Homosexual gang or pack-rape is perhaps the term to describe this horrible crime. It certainly had affected him greatly. He didn’t feel free to initiate any close relationship with any woman because he felt he was a “defiled” person, “damaged goods”.  I prayed with him that he might be healed of the damage done through that unexpected and unwanted encounter.  Young men burning with lust forced themselves on an unsuspecting victim, in this case a male.

Perhaps that occurrence is similar to the scene we read about in the story in Genesis 19. In that chapter Lot offered hospitality to two angelic beings. However they must have seemed in appearance to be like young men. Soon after, the men of Sodom of all ages surrounded the house, and called out to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” What did they mean by saying that they wanted to “know them?”

 The word for “know” is (yada). It has many meanings but it can mean knowing a person sexually such as in Gen 4:1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.” It is also used in the same way in 1Kings 1:4, where David’s servants try to keep David warm by selecting a young woman to lie in his arms. Abishag was found and brought to the king. Even though she was very beautiful and attended to the king, he “knew” her not. In other words he did not know her sexually. Another reference to (yada) being used to describe sexual relations is in the story of Rebekah where she is described as a virgin in these words, Gen 24:16  The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden whom no man had known.

In the story in Genesis 19:8 Lot knew what the men were after, namely sexual relations with his guests. He offers his virgin daughters (who have not known [yada] any man) to the men so that the men of Sodom might do to them as they pleased. Rather a despicable attitude but he wanted to save face with his guests at the cost of his daughters’ well-being. However the men of Sodom lusted for the men and would not accept the offer of the daughters. Judgment followed upon those men.

Many modern versions of the Bible spell out the meaning of “know” referring to sexual relations. For example the Holman Christian Study Bible puts it, Gen 19:5  They called out to Lot and said, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so we can have sex with them!” Lot’s offer of his daughters is translated as, Gen 19:8  Look, I’ve got two daughters who haven’t had sexual relations with a man. I’ll bring them out to you, and you can do whatever you want to them. The NET Bible also puts it starkly, “Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!” The daughters are described in this version as those, who have never had sexual relations with a man.

It is obvious why the term “sodomy” came into use. It described the sexual activity between males as seen in the city of Sodom. At the very least then, homosexual gang or pack-rape is repugnant to God. But how about homosexual relations between consenting males. Is that wrong too?

Homosexual practice forbidden in Leviticus 18. (See my previous article on this chapter here).

The context in Lev 18:1-30 is the Lord addressing Moses and instructing him to charge His people not to adopt the customs of the nations around them, or the customs of the nations through whose land they would travel. Rather they were to follow God’s rules and statutes and walk in them. Thus many things were forbidden. Among the instructions was this command, (22) You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. This would obviously include homosexual gang or pack rape which is always wrong in any context. But the words are more general than that. It seems to include consensual male homosexuality.

The seriousness of the charge God gave to Moses is seen in the words that follow in verses 24 to 30, “Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, (25)  and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. (26)  But you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you (27)  (for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), (28)  lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. (29)  For everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among their people. (30)  So keep my charge never to practice any of these abominable customs that were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God.”

 We notice in this passage the references to God’s people not doing “any”, or “all” of the things forbidden. There was also the charge for His people to do “none of the abominations” mentioned in the passage. That would include the situation of a man “lying with another male.” At first sight it seems that in this passage that any form of male homosexual practice is forbidden by God. We therefore need to look more closely at the passage. The term to “ lie” is (shakab). It is often used in the Old Testament to denote sexual intercourse. For example, in addition to the passage in Genesis 19, it is used in Numbers 5:13, if a man lies with her sexually and in 5:19, ‘If no man has lain with you.  Another reference is the rape of Tamar by Amnon in 2 Samuel 13:14, But he would not listen to her, and being stronger than she, he violated her and lay with her.

 There is no doubt that homosexual practice, a man lying with another male (sexual intercourse) is forbidden in this passage. In fact the verse adds the comment that such practice is an abomination to God. “Abomination” is (toebah) meaning something repugnant to God or detestable in His sight. It is used 5 times in this chapter to express God’s abhorrence at any of the practices mentioned. The chapter closes with an expression of God’s hatred  towards such practices, Lev 18:30  ‘So keep my charge never to practice any of these abominable customs that were practised before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God.”.

Homosexual practice forbidden in Leviticus 20

The context again is God charging His people not to be like the surrounding nations. He told them, consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God. 8 Keep my statutes and do them; I am the LORD who sanctifies you. Lev 20:7, 8. In consecrating themselves to God it meant that they could not follow the customs in the surrounding nations. Homosexual practice was forbidden among God’s people, Lev 20:13  If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. The word for “lies” here is the same word (shakab) which as we have seen above refers to sexual intercourse.

This verse is even stronger in tone than the corresponding verse in Lev 18:22. The additional words are, they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. In chapter 18 it is the act which is seen as an abomination to God. In chapter 20, the people are seen as guilty before Him for disobeying His commandments to them and rebelling against His rightful rule over them. The act is said to be repugnant to God. The people involved in the act are totally accountable to Him for their behaviour.  It sounds pretty tough until you remember that this is God’s world. He sets the rules. He judges  by His own standard, not ours. He is the Creator  and we are the creatures and He is not accountable to us in any way. To do what the Creator commanded us not to do is really an act of rebellion by creatures against their Creator.

Our predicament

Well that leaves us in a predicament. There are so many folk around the world saying that that homosexual activity is to be accepted and approved of.  Perhaps even suggesting that there could be same-sex marriages which have the same status as heterosexual marriages. Perhaps even inferring that those in such same-sex relationships are to be seen to be in a “family” relationship. Perhaps suggesting that those who don’t agree with homosexual activity or homosexual marriage are homophobic and guilty of hate towards them. Of course the great majority of people are not but the accusation is still being made. As I have written previously (see here)  it is really surprising who is guilty of homophobia and who is not.

But if God has revealed to His people in the Old Testament that He sees homosexual activity as an abomination in His sight, then that puts a different slant on accepting it. Perhaps Jesus had a softer, more up to date,  a more “with it” thinking? Or did He have the same attitude to these things that God the Father had? We leave the Old Testament with the knowledge that God has declared His opinion in the Old Testament on homosexual practice. His opinion is obviously vastly different from the opinions of many people in our world today.  What light might Jesus and the New Testament shed on this issue? We will look at that in future articles.

Blog No.085. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Thursday 23rd August 2012 

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084. Galatians 2. Paul’s Message Of Salvation Through Faith In Christ Alone

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Jim Holbeck

In Chapter 2 Paul continues his attempt to show that He was a true apostle raised up by God to preach His gospel, and that his message was authentic.  He uses 2 incidents to demonstrate that.

i). 2:1-10.  Paul’s trip to Jerusalem to see the other apostles. The conclusion will be that Paul is recognised as an authentic apostle sent from God. Also Paul’s message (gospel) is seen as authentic as well.

ii). 2:11-14. Paul’s correction of the wrong action of Peter when he came to Antioch.

Paul concludes the chapter by writing of his own experience of the Gospel. 2:15-21

(I sometimes find it helpful in trying to understand passages of the Bible to begin with the text and look at how it all fits together. Sometimes a table seems to be the best way of classifying the information. I found this helpful in looking at Galatians 2 with its accumulation of facts. On the left side of the table is normally the narrative detailing the action of the characters in the passage. In this case on the right hand side I looked at the result of some action, or the reason for the action or the purpose of the action. It seemed to be easier for me to understand the overall message of the passage in that way. It certainly helped in teaching from it yesterday as I tried to share the message with others. My comments are in blue print for convenience)

ACTIONS OF THE PEOPLE IN GALATIANS 2

 THE RESULT, REASON OR PURPOSE

PAUL GOES TO JERUSALEM TO SEE PETER AND OTHERS 2:1-10
Gal 2:1  Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. Reason. 2:2  I went up because of a revelation  (The revelation was that this was the time for Paul to connect with the other apostles) 
2:2  (I went up because of a revelation) and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles Purpose.  in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. (We see the humility of Paul. He knew his message was authentic but was humble enough to have his message tested out by others.) 
2:3  But even Titus, who was with me, Result. was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. (This meant that the wider church did not see the necessity of circumcision for acceptance with God. Faith in Christ was sufficient. The false teachers were indeed wrong.) 
2:4  Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in–who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, Reason. so that they might bring us into slavery–. (Faith in Christ brings freedom. To impose anything else as necessary for salvation brings people into bondage to error.)
2:5  to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, Purpose. so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. (That is why Paul rebuked Peter later in this passage for yielding to the temptation to please the false teachers by withdrawing from the Gentile believers. It was hypocrisy). 
2:6  And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)–those, I say, who seemed influential Result. added nothing to me.  (The authenticity of Paul as a messenger and the authencity of Paul’s message had now been publicly established. He was the “real deal”.) 
2:7  On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised  (Same gospel message about Jesus as Saviour but to different audiences.)
2:8  (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), (God at work through His messengers by His Spirit) 

 

 

2:9  and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me,
Result. they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me,     
Purpose. that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. (Paul described his ministry as from God, Rom 15:18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience–by word and deed)
 
Result. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the Jews. (This showed that the other apostles recognised the legitimacy of Paul’s message as coming from God.)
2:10  Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.  

PETER (CEPHAS) COMES TO SEE PAUL IN ANTIOCH
2:11  But when Cephas came to Antioch, Result. I opposed him to his face, Reason. because he stood condemned.
2:12  For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles Result. but when they came he drew back and separated himself, (A hypocritical action)Reason. fearing the circumcision party. (Men-pleasing rather than God-pleasing)
2:13  And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, Result. so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. (Our hypocrisy can cause others to stumble. Sin always has consequences.)
2:14  But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel Result. I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

PAUL’S GOSPEL. HUMANS ARE MADE RIGHT WITH GOD BY FAITH and not by works of the law
2:15  We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners;
2:16  yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus Purpose.  in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, Reason. because by works of the law no one will be justified.
2:17  But if, in our endeavour to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not!
2:18  For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor.
2:19  For through the law I died to the law, Result. so that I might live to God. (Paul had ceased to rely on observance of the law as a means of getting right with God. He died to the law in that sense as He entered into a living relationship with a living Saviour).
2:20  I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. Result. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Total commitment means we make Jesus to be the Lord of our lives.)
2:21  I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, Result would be. then Christ died for no purpose. (The law could not save anyone. Jesus did in His grace). 

The phrase “with Christ” in Galatians 2:20 is significant.  (Hopefully there may be time in future articles to deal with this more closely.) However for the present  we look at how many of the verses using the term “with Christ” show the identification of the believer with Christ in His death, resurrection, ascension, sitting at the right hand of God etc.  The following do not include similar concepts like “with Him” or “in Him” or “in Christ”.

Dying and living with Christ. Rom_6:8  Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

Fellow heirs with Christ and having to suffer with Him. Rom_8:17  and if children, then heirs–heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

In this passage in Galatians 2, our identification with Christ in His death and in His risen life. Gal_2:20  I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Being made alive with Christ.Eph_2:5  even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved–

Death opening the way to a deeper life with Christ. Php_1:23  I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

We died with Christ in His death.  Col_2:20  If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations–

We were raised with Christ in His resurrection. Col_3:1  If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Our lives were linked to Christ in His death and resurrected life. Col_3:3  For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Saints will reign with Him in glory. Rev_20:4  Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

 Paul could not see his life apart from Christ. God had revealed Him to Paul. Paul had responded to Him with a total commitment that involved every aspect of his life. It was as though his old life ended with Christ in His death. He came alive with Christ as a new creature. He would live for him for ever. His words in 2:20 are challenging to us today. To what extent have our old lives come to an end? To what extent have we come alive to Christ so that He has full access in and through our lives?  Worth pondering as we come to the end of chapter 2.

Blog No.084.  Jim Holbeck. Posted on Wednesday 21st August 2012

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083. Galatians 1. It Can Never Be “Christ AND” For Salvation

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Jim Holbeck

“God is good! You are being very, very silly!” That could be a very quick summary of the early part of Paul’s letter to the Galatians. He wrote in verse 4 that Jesus in His love had given Himself over to suffer death to release the people in Galatia from the present evil age. They had responded to His love by listening to the words of false teachers and rejecting Him in their sin, rebellion and stupidity. Unlike most of the other epistles where Paul praised his readers for their faith and love, in this epistle he does not do so. Rather He gets straight to the point in saying, (6) I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel–.

The Galatians has been seduced by false teachers who had come into the church. They brought with them false teaching which insisted that believers had to become real Jews first before they could be seen as true Christian believers. That meant that they had to undergo circumcision, observe Jewish rites and ceremonies and also observe various seasons. Paul saw that as a desertion of Christ. The false teachers were insisting on “Christ AND” by adding the necessity of observing aspects of the Jewish religion. Paul saw that Christ alone (who He was and what He had done) was sufficient for the salvation of any person who put their trust in Him.

These false teachers tried to lead the people away from Paul and from the gospel message he had brought to them. Thus in this first chapter Paul affirms his God-given authority as the apostle to the Gentiles (non-Jews) and also affirms that the message he preached to the Galatians was the message God Himself gave him to preach to them.

We could summarise Chapter 1 in the following way:-

1).        THERE IS ONLY ONE AUTHENTIC GOSPEL MESSAGE

It was the message Paul had already brought them.

  • Paul could not change it. Nor could any supposed angel from heaven. Verse 8.
  • To change it would bring a curse from God. Verses 8 and 9.
  • The gospel Paul preached came directly from a revelation from Christ Himself. Verses 10 to 12.

2).        PAUL WAS AN AUTHENTIC MESSENGER OF THE GOSPEL MESSAGE

i).         The Persecutor Had Become The Preacher.

  • He had persecuted the church and tried to destroy it. Verse 13.
  • He had been extremely zealous in his quest to advance in Judaism. Verse 14.
  • But something happened. (On the road to Damascus when he met the risen Christ). Verse 15,  But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, (16)  was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles,

 ii).        The Preacher Had To Get His Message First–Hand From God And Not Second Hand From Others.  I did not immediately consult with anyone;

  • He didn’t immediately confer with the apostles. Verse 17.
  • He spent time with God in Arabia and Damascus. Verse 17.
  • He eventually went to Jerusalem but spent time only with Peter and James the Lord’s brother. Verse 18-19.
  • He went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. Verse 21.
  • He remained unknown to the churches of Judea. Verse 22.

iii).       The Persecutor Now Become A Preacher Was Recognised As A True Messenger Of The Gospel  By The Churches In Judea. (23)  They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” (24)  And they glorified God because of me.

We will see in later chapters that Paul continued to stress his credentials as an apostle and as a messenger from God. But we leave that for future studies.

What we do note however is that Paul’s words are relevant for today. There is always a tendency among humans to fail to grasp the meaning of grace (God’s unmerited favour towards His creatures). Many try to add some other condition necessary for people to become “real” Christians”.

For some, anyone who does not speak in tongues has not been baptised with the Holy Spirit and therefore is not a real Christian. So for them it is Christ AND tongues. For others it is necessary to have the correct form of baptism. This it becomes Christ AND believer’s baptism with total immersion, or some other form of baptism.

For a small group it is Christ AND using the right translation of the Bible such as the King James Authorised Version which some adherents assure us was the Bible used by St Paul. (Pity though that Paul died around 67-68AD and the King James AV was put together in 1661!)

There are numerous other conditions that people try to place on folk so that they can become “real” Christians, such as having the right brand of theology or following a particular teacher. But as Paul showed here in this chapter, if one’s religion becomes “Christ AND” anyone or anything else, it ceases to be Christian. He is the one and only Saviour and His death made salvation, forgiveness and eternal life available for the people of God in every generation. Paul will go on to emphasise that in the later chapters of Galatians. As one hymn puts it in describing the person and work of Jesus, “Halleluiah, what a Saviour!”

Blog No.083. Posted on Monday 20th August 2012

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082. John 6:35-58 Could Be John 3:16 Writ Large!

Posted on August 15, 2012 by Jim Holbeck

The passage from John 6:35-58 has been called “John 3:16 Writ Large!” Who called it that? Well no recognised Bible Scholar has ever called it that to my knowledge. I just made up the term at this moment having preached on this passage in the last few days. In John 3:16, which has been called “the Gospel in a nutshell”, John records Jesus’ words in this verse which make 3 basic points. i). There is God’s loving initiative towards His people, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.  ii). There is a response of people towards God’s love, that whoever believes in Him.  iii). There is the result of their responding to God’s love, might not perish but have eternal life.

 The more involved I got in trying to understand (and then preach on) the difficult passage in John 6:35-58 the more it seemed that John was stating the same basic message of the Gospel seen in John 3:16 in different words. There is the description of God’s loving initiative in several verses. Then there is the response from the people as they respond Him in faith. Then there are the blessings resulting from their response to His love. I tried to represent these truths in the table below to see if it made it easier for folk to understand.  Because some kindly said it helped, I share it with you now.

God’s Loving Initiative Towards Us
Our Human Response To God’s Love And The Results That Follow
Jn 6:35)  Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
(37)  All that the Father gives me will come to me,
(37)  ….  whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
(39)  And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
(40)  For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
44  No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.
And I will raise him up on the last day.
 
(45)  It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.
(45)  … Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me–
(47)
He who believes has eternal life
(50)  This is the bread that comes down from heaven,
so that one may eat of it and not die.
(51)  I am the living bread that came down from heaven.
If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.
(53)  unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood      
you have no life in you. (Meaning that if you do eat and drink you will not have life)
 
 (54)  Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
 
(56)  Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.
(57)  As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father,
so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.
(58)  This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died.
Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
 

I tried to sum up the passage in a shorter summary. It could be expressed like this.

Our Human Response To God’s Love
The Results That Follow
v.35. Coming to Jesus and believing in Him 
= spiritual hunger and thirst satisfied
(37)  ….  whoever comes to me 
= God will never cast us out.
(40)  everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him
= has eternal life (also v 47), and will be raised upon the last day.” (Also v 44)
(50)  so that one may eat of it (the bread from heaven)
= and not die. (Also v 51)
(51) if anyone eats of this bread
= he will live for ever
(53)  unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood
=  you have no life in you. (Meaning that if you do eat and drink you will have life)
(54)  Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood
= has eternal life and will be raised up on the last day.
 (56)  Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood
= abides in me, and I in him.
(57) so whoever feeds on me
= he also will live because of me.
(58) Whoever feeds on this bread
= will live forever.”

It becomes apparent that many of the terms Jesus used are synonymous.

  • “Coming” to Jesus is coming to Him in faith and thus believing in Him. He and He alone brings spiritual satisfaction. Not only that but there is an assurance of salvation because Jesus said that God will never cast out those who come to Him.
  • To “look on the Son” is obviously to look on Him with the eyes of faith. The word for “look” is (theōreō) which means to look intently, to focus on. It is a similar concept to that in John 3:14, 15  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 3:15  that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. In the story of the bronze serpent in Numbers 21: 8, the people are told to look at the bronze serpent on the pole if they were bitten by serpents. 21:9 says, So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would” look” at the bronze serpent and live. “Look” in this verse in the Hebrew is (nabat) meaning to gaze upon and the Old Testament Greek word is (epiblepō) which has much the same meaning. The hymn “Turn your eyes upon Jesus” gives the true meaning, There’s light for a look at the Savior, And life more abundant and free.  There is the gift of eternal life for the present and the future, and the promise of being raised on the day of Resurrection on the last day.
  • The references in these verses to eating of Jesus’ flesh and drinking of His blood  are not here referring to receiving the elements at Holy Communion. They refer to coming to Jesus in faith and appropriating into one’s being, all that He is and all He offers in Himself, such as forgiveness, eternal life (see Ephesians 1:7) etc. Of course the best way of having people understand Jesus as the Bread of life is to use the analogy of eating and drinking in appropriating what God offers us in Him. Through this appropriation believers learn to abide in Him and to allow Him to abide in them by His indwelling presence.
  • What we do in receiving the elements of bread and wine at Holy Communion is to focus not on the elements themselves but on what the elements point to. The focus is not on the bread and wine but on the living Jesus and on what He accomplished for believers on the cross.  At the Last Supper Jesus said as He took the bread, “Take, eat; this is my body.”  As He took the cup He added, “Drink of it, all of you.” He explained His actions by saying, Mat 26:28  for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. He was referring to His death as he shed His blood so that forgiveness might become available for the people of God through Him. His death though would not be the end. As He added, Mat 26:29  I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” He would rise from the dead.
  • St Paul in his discussion of the Lord’s Supper in1Corinthians 11, also showed that the death of Jesus was paramount in every observance of the Lord’s Supper, 1Cor 11:26  For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. “Proclaim”is (kataggellō). It can also mean to announce, to set forth, to point to Jesus’s death with a view to focussing on its significance. The words and actions of the Lord’s Supper point away from themselves to instead highlight the victory of Christ over evil as He hung on the cross. They also highlight His victorious resurrection from the dead. There is the reminder in this verse that He will be coming again. Death has not conquered Him. He is alive, a Living Saviour..

The passage John 6:35-58 is not an easy passage to understand. It is even harder for a preacher to preach on these verses. How could one shorten the passage to just one sentence? We could pretty well sum up the whole passage in John 6:35-58 by saying, ”For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 6:35-58 is John 3:16 writ large!

Blog No.082.  Jim Holbeck. Posted on Wednesday 15th August 2012

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081. Healing Through Forgiving Others. Ephesians 4:17-5:2

Posted on August 12, 2012 by Jim Holbeck

There was a simple song sung many years ago which echoed how many of us felt coming from a background in which we had no time for God at all. It was like walking from the darkness into the light. It was like at last understanding the meaning and purpose of life. It was finding a new dimension for living.  It was a brand new radical change in which Christ became more important than anything or anyone. The simple words were,

What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought, Since Jesus came into my heart!  I have light in my soul for which long I had sought, Since Jesus came into my heart!

God has made us as believers to be different from what we were before. That’s what Paul is writing about to the Ephesian believers in 4:20-24.   4:20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. He tells them how the new self is meant to behave.

1).   LIVING THE NEW LIFE GOD WANTS US TO LIVE. 4:25-28. Here St Paul gives a series of contrasts between the old life and the new life in Christ.

  • Speaking truth instead of falsehood. 4:25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbour, for we are members one of another. They may have been “loose with the truth” in their former days but now they had an obligation to speak the truth to one another. Why? Because they belonged to one another in the body of Christ. They had an obligation to be real and honest with one another as fellow members of the body of Christ.
  • Maintaining self-control and not giving room for the devil. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. Anger arises naturally when people become aware of fellow humans hurting one another by their words or deeds. There is a such a thing as “righteous anger”.  That’s what one wit said about his own anger, “I’m a righteous person so that means when I am angry it must be righteous anger!”  It is not as simple as that! Anyone can let their anger get out of control so that they do or say things that God has declared in His word to be sin in His sight. As Paul says in this verse, we are not to let our anger bubble away below the surface and not deal with it (letting the sun go down on our anger). Such an attitude is a recipe for disaster. It opens such people to Satanic attack because they have given him a foothold or an opening in their lives.
  • Becoming a Giver instead of a Taker.  28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labour, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. What a turn-around for some of those new converts in Ephesus! Many of them had formerly been used to acquiring their needs through taking the property of others through stealth. Paul now tells than that instead of taking, they should work for their own living and contribute to the needs of others.

In many parts of the world today there are those who feel that society owes them. They have a strong sense of entitlement. They may feel they are entitled to more money from the government or from their employer even though what they want may be completely unrealistic. Or it may be more recognition that they crave,  “I demand more recognition for myself (or my relationship)” etc.  The new attitude for the Christian believers is not focussed on what the world can do for them. Rather it is on what Christ wants us to do through them as individuals in His world. It’s about doing the will of God rather than our own human will. It’s about making our own personal contribution to this world under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It’s not “about me”, it’s “about Him” and fulfilling His will for us in His world.

2).   TALKING THE NEW TALK GOD WANTS US TO TALK.  4: 29-31.  Here is another series of contrasts for the new person in Christ.

i).         Once corrupting talk, now appropriate talk. 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. What are the marks of appropriate speech? 

  • It builds up. The word here (oikodomeō) means to edify or strengthen.
  • It is appropriate for the occasion.
  • It helps those who hear it. (It gives grace to those who hear the words)

Rotary has a Four-Way Test which asks the following questions of the things we think, say or do. i. Is it the TRUTH?  ii. Is it FAIR to all concerned? iii. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? iv. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned? These could have come straight from this passage in Ephesians 4. 

ii).        Once saying what you wanted to say, but now pleasing the Holy Spirit by what we say and do. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. The Person of the Holy Spirit lives within each believer. He is able to make the believer to be appropriate in word and action on every occasion.

I can understand what it means to grieve the Spirit of God by inappropriate speech. Over the years I have counselled hundreds of people who were deeply wounded by what others said to them. Wounding words always wound. Poisonous lips poison the lives of others. Destructive utterances help destroy the physical or mental health of those they are directed towards.  Praise God He can bring healing of the effects of all these damaging words.

iii).       Once harbouring unhealthy attitudes but now letting them go. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. “Bitterness” in the Greek  is (pikria). We were told when we were studying Chemistry that picric acid was named after its acute bitter taste. Bitterness is like some vile evil acid that eats away inside you. The other characteristic of picric aid is that it highly unstable and explosive. It was used in explosives early last century. Many of us have had the misfortune of seeing people filled with bitterness almost explode in anger as they vented their bitterness against other people.

The writer to the Hebrews knew of the destructive power of bitterness and wrote, Heb 12:14  Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 15  See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and through it many become defiled. If you are harbouring bitter thoughts towards anyone and expressing them you are a menace to yourself, your family and the places where you live and work. If you express bitterness you are actually defiling others as well. That’s why Paul writes about bitterness, Put it away. Get rid of it before it destroys you and others contaminated by you.

The other trouble with bitterness is that it destroys our sense of reality. As Psalm 73:21-22 puts it, “When I became embittered and my innermost being was wounded, 22 I was a fool and didn’t understand; I was an unthinking animal toward You.” Bitterness prevents us from seeing people as they really are. It also badly affects our perception of God Himself.

The other attitudes to go are wrath and anger and clamour and slander and malice. What Paul is saying is that they are inappropriate for the children of God. They don’t have to live that way. They can be like God in His forgiving grace. They are all breaches of love and have to come to an end. They can go, as we repent of them and ask God to help us to become different. There is nothing more pathetic than a miserable, bitter person who spends his or her time going around mouthing things that are slanderous and malicious. Neither is there anything more dangerous than listening to such people and repeating what they said. Bitter people are deceived in their perceptions without knowing it.

3).   BECOMING MORE LIKE CHRIST IN OUR EVERYDAY ATTITUDES. 4:32. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave. Now that we are free of bitterness and all those other awful characteristics, how do we behave? Like God and like Jesus who showed us what God is like.

i).         A Kind Attitude. The word for “kind” (chrestos) is used in Mat 11:30 to describe the kind or gracious or easy yoke that unites us to Christ,  11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  Jesus taught that His followers were to love their enemies and to be kind to them because as He said, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. (The word is also found in Romans 2:4, 1 Cor 15:33, 1 Pet 2:3.)

ii).        A Tender-hearted Attitude. Here is this wonderful word (splagchnos) or in this case (eusplagchnos). The (splagchnos) was seen as the seat of the deepest emotions eg., the liver etc,  or as we might say the heart. This word (eusplagchnos) means that which comes from a good heart. We often use it like that, eg., they have a good heart as a way of saying what a kind, gracious person they are. What they are saying or doing is from the heart, from a tender-heart.  The only other references is in the context of loving each other, 1 Pet 3:8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do we have a tender heart or a hard heart towards others? God says we need to love our neighbours and also to love our enemies and to be kind to them.

iii).       A Forgiving Attitude. Be forgiving like God was in forgiving us in Christ. 4:32 forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Here is the pattern for forgiving others. But how do we forgive those who hurt us? What does it mean to forgive?

Paul uses a different word here for “forgiving”. The usual word is (aphiemi) which mean to let go, to remit, to loose. But this word is even richer. It is (charizomai) which comes from (charis) meaning “grace”. It is used of cancelling the debt in forgiving sins. Eg., Col 2:13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses. It really means to grant freely, to bestow a favour, to give to those who don’t deserve the gift.

When God forgave us He did so because of what Jesus had done for us on the cross and because we asked Him to forgive us. There was nothing we could have done to deserve or earn our forgiveness. But God forgave us in His love and mercy because Jesus made forgiveness possible for you and me by bearing the penalty of our sin on the cross.

4:32 forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. If we are going to forgive in the same way that God has forgiven us then it means these things. We are giving those people who hurt us something they don’t deserve. They could never buy our forgiveness. They could never earn our forgiveness. But we forgive them freely as God forgave us freely in Christ. Following the pattern of forgiveness we see in Mat 18:27, we decide to show mercy to them, (They don’t deserve that.) We cancel the debt they owe us. (They could never pay back the debt they owe us.) We let them of the hook of our unforgiveness and set them free. (They don’t deserve that either but we choose to let it all go.)

The astonishing thing we discover is that when we forgive someone,  we ourselves become free. We are released from a wrong bonding to them. Forgiving others opens us up to more  healing. It frees us up to get on with the rest of our lives. Unforgiveness binds us in a negative way to the person we won’t forgive. Forgiveness brings incredible freedom to those who do it.

4).        Acting On What God Has Commanded Us. Forgiving Others.  

As Eph 4:32 and Col 3:13 remind us, forgiveness of others is not an option. It is a command from God. You may say “Well they don’t deserve it. It just makes it too easy for them. Surely they have to suffer for what they did.” Some years ago I was counselling a woman who was a full-time Christian worker. Years before as a teenager she had been assaulted by someone who should have been trustworthy but wasn’t. When I said “For your own healing you need to  forgive that man for what he did to you” she baulked and said “I can’t!” I said “Why not?” She said Because I don’t know if he has suffered enough yet for what he did.” 

I prayed a quick prayer “Lord what do I do here?’   The answer came as I said to her, “When you came before God and asked Him to forgive you of your sin,  did He say, ‘No I can’t forgive you because you haven’t suffered enough yet for what you have done’?” She replied, “No, He forgave me freely and completely because of what Jesus has done for me.”  Some time later she said, “I get the message. I’m now willing to forgive the man and to pray a blessing on him.” With many tears she did. But it brought a tremendous release and healing to her life as God set her free. She helped set herself free by forgiving someone she had to forgive for her own healing.

 

Whom do you need to forgive? Are you willing to follow the principles of forgiveness seen in Mat 18:27,  namely i. to decide to show mercy, ii, to cancel the debt they owe you and iii, to let them off the hook of your unforgiveness and to let them go free? That’s what God did for us. We need to forgive in the same way as St Paul has said in this verse.

Because it is often very difficult to forgive, or to know how to go about forgiving someone, I drew up a prayer that might help some people.

A PRAYER. FORGIVING PEOPLE OF THEIR SIN AGAINST US

Thanking God that He has forgiven us.

Dear Lord, I thank You that You chose to show mercy to me in Jesus. I thank You that You cancelled my sins through what Jesus did for me on the cross. I thank You that You make it possible for me to walk in freedom from guilt.

I receive Jesus into my life to be my Saviour from sin and to be the Lord of my life. I thank You for the forgiveness I now have in Him.

Forgiving the other person/people.

I come now before you to forgive that person/ those people who sinned against me.

I want to forgive them in the same way You forgave me.

  • I now choose to show mercy to ……………………….  and ……….
  • I forgive them of these sins……………. and ………. and ……….
  • I no longer hold those sins against them.
  • I let them off the hook of my unforgiveness as I release those sins and release them.

I pray that You would bless them by bringing them to Yourself so that they too can walk in  the freedom of forgiveness. 

Praying for God to heal the damage coming from the hurts we received through the sin of other people.

Lord You alone know the damage done in my life because of the sins of those people. I ask that You would heal me of that which You know needs healing, so that I can get on with doing Your will for me for the rest of my life.

Accept my grateful thanks for forgiving me, for healing me and for releasing me to forgive others. In Your mercy show me others whom I might need to forgive so that I can walk in a deeper degree of healing and freedom, and be the more equipped to love You and to do Your will.  I ask these things in the precious name of Jesus. AMEN.

Blog No.081.  Jim Holbeck. Posted on Sunday 12th August 2012

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080. Modern-Day Idolatry. Wrongly Adapting To Modern Culture. Leviticus 18

Posted on July 1, 2012 by Jim Holbeck

When some folk hear the word “idolatry” they begin to think of other people bowing down to statues of various gods or other man-made images. Perhaps even bowing down before objects in nature that are thought to have supernatural power. But we fail to realise just how close to idolatrous we can become. We do so when we allow ourselves to adapt to changes in our culture that Yahweh, the God of the Bible, declares to be contrary to His will.

It is happening in today’s world. It is happening with our attitude to God Himself. We are replacing the God who declared Himself to be Yahweh (YHWH), the source of all things (whom Jesus described as “… the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” Mat 22:32) with the god of our imagining. We are replacing Him in our minds and our affections with other gods with different values.

Take for example the passage in Leviticus 18. In this passage God declares His will to Moses, And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the LORD your God.” Here the “Lord” is (YHWH or Yahweh or Jehovah in older translations) and “God” is (elohim). The former is always used for the God of Israel whilst the latter is often used of Him but is also used for other so-called “gods”. In other words YHWH is the one true God, creator of all things. The same phrase “I am the LORD your God” occurs again at the end of chapter 18. What then does the chapter contain that is so important that Moses has to share it all with the people of Israel

As we read Leviticus 18 we see that God is giving warning to the people of Israel whom He has brought out of slavery in Egypt. He is leading them towards the Promised Land. He warns them that they must not adapt to the culture they left behind in Egypt. Nor must they adapt to the cultures they will meet as they journey through other nations on the way. He specified what those cultural No! No’s! were. They were in the area of the sexual behaviour. God required of His people behaviour which was in stark contrast to the behaviour prevalent in those other nations. The sexual behaviour of those nations was not to be adopted nor their culture absorbed by His people. Lev 18:3 You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. Rather they had to do His will as His people, Lev 18:4 You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the LORD your God. 5 You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD. He sets the rules for all humans of all times to obey as He is creator of all.

The wrong behaviours God warned about through Moses were very detailed and specific. These are to be found in verses 6 to 23. At the end of those verses God declares in Lev 18:24-30, (24) “Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, (25) and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.(26) But you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you (27) (for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean),(28) lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you.(29) For everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among their people.(30) So keep my charge never to practice any of these abominable customs that were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God.” It can be seen from the repetition of “all” or “any” or “none” outlined above, that every behaviour in the list was abhorrent to God and that His people should practise none of them.

For some people today to insist that some of those things declared there in Leviticus 18 to be evil in the sight of God, are “good” and to “welcomed” among the people of God and are “blessed” by God is contradictory to what He has said in His eternal word. He has declared His values on human sexuality. He does not change His values. He does not adapt His word to fit in with the prevailing culture. The reverse is true. Throughout His dealings with His people He wanted them to reflect His values by living lives that were different with His help. In this way there could be a transformation of the culture of the nations around them. He wanted His people to be light in human darkness. In words used of the nation of Israel (and more fully fulfilled in Jesus) Isa 60:1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. 2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. 3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

Modern-day idolatry consists of replacing the God of Israel (YHWH who has declared His values in His word in places like Leviticus 18) with a god who has different values altogether. Such a god exists only in the imagination of those who attempt to make ‘him” (or “it” or “her”) a god who is more acceptable to much of modern culture. Such a god can help nobody. Only the true God YHWH, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is able to do so, because He exists. He longs to help those who turn to Him for true direction and fulfilment in life. He is the God of whom St Paul wrote in Phil 2:13 For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to will and to act for His good purpose. He alone gives us the motivation and the empowering to live in the way He has eternally planned for humans to live. Idols don’t have any power. But our idolatrous thoughts about the god of our imagination do. They have the power to lead us into greater deception and behaviour that God has declared to be eternally abhorrent to Him. Such deception may eventually have us saying, “good” and “blessed” about certain activities when God has plainly said, “evil”.

Blog No.080. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Saturday 30th June 2012

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079. “Awe in the presence of an awesome God.” Matthew 22:37-40

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Jim Holbeck

Many years ago I was very challenged by the words of the late A. W. Tozer who described worship as the “missing jewel of the evangelical church”. I have often pondered his words and see now even more clearly how right he was. Evangelical religion has much to commend it especially in the way it takes the word of God seriously as inspired by Him. In fact it takes God seriously so that much missionary activity has come from those of evangelical background and conviction trying to bring the truth of God to those who have never heard it.

But it is possible for any of us to lose our primary focus which should be on obeying the commandment Jesus called the greatest and first commandment. That is, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40 ESV). One of the sadnesses of modern day religion is seeing how often people have ignored or neglected the first commandment in trying to obey the second commandment. But as I have shown previously, the first commandment sets the boundaries and guidelines for what is involved in loving one’s neighbour as oneself. Any action or word that God sees as unacceptable in His sight cannot be entertained as loving a neighbour if it is condemned by God Himself. It is total commitment to God that the first commandment envisages and anything that He declares as sinful or wrong can never be done by one person to another in so-called “love” or in “love for one’s neighbour”.

It is not only the wrong things that can be displeasing to God. It is anything that takes His place. Instead of having a sense of awe in the presence of God many act as though He was not present among His people. How the Spirit of God must be grieved when people act as though God were not there to hear their conversation or to witness their behaviour. It is as though they have no sense of the holiness and the majesty of God. They fail to be in awe of Him.

I remember hearing the words of the hymn “I exalt Thee” many years ago and finding a great release in expressing a sense of awe at the majesty of God as I sang the words. It was like “pure worship” as I expressed my desire to exalt Him in every area of my life. Many friends had the same experience. These were the challenging words of the song,

For Thou, O Lord, art high above all the earth
Thou art exalted far above all gods
For Thou, O Lord, art high above all the earth
Thou art exalted far above all gods
I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee
I exalt Thee, O Lord
I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee
I exalt Thee, O Lord

It was a surprise to me that many of my acquaintances at that time found such words uncomfortable to sing. They seemed to be threatened by the deep personal expression of reverence to God. However it is all so easy to get our focus wrong as we live in a world that doesn’t focus on God or stand in awe of Him. The world does “squeeze us into its mould” as JB Phillips famously translated Romans 12:2. The people of God need to break the mould and focus once again on the majesty of God as seen throughout His word. And to express their love and adoration to Him.

I recently read an article that I found challenging and helpful. The link here will take you to the article and I hope you find it as challenging as I did. http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/06/24/awe-puts-us-in-our-place/

It helped to explain why some believers don’t seem to have a sense of awe towards God. They have focussed on other things, often good things, and not on the Lord Himself. They seem to have lost their first love. This love returns as we re-commit ourselves to obey the first commandment to love God with all our being. Part of that is loving Him “with all our heart” in adoration, praise and thanksgiving for all He has done for us in Christ, and that can touch the emotions to say the very least.

Many people are seeking to love God with all their mind in trying to become as theologically sound as they possibly can be. That is marvellous and wonderful. But not if it squeezes out time or the desire to stand in the awesome presence of God. There is a difference after all in growing in knowledge about Him, and in coming to know Him more deeply and personally. Both are desperately needed in today’s world.

Blog No.079. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Thursday 28th June 2012

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078. Question:- “Would Jesus Be In Favour Of Gay Marriage? What Does The Bible Say?”

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Jim Holbeck

Answer: Jesus did not speak about gay marriage. It was not something He would have received from the Old Testament scriptures. He saw the Scriptures as being the word of God. He knew them. He obeyed them, He patterned His life on them. He encouraged His followers to do the same. Those scriptures gave the meaning to the concept of marriage in the opening chapters of Genesis. In chapter 1 the writer gives the God-given nature of marriage in His creation, Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Though men and women were both made in the image of God they were different from each other. But in their coming together there would be the continuation of the species through reproduction. They each had a part to play in the process but it was complementary. God had planned it so.

In Genesis 2 there is the more detailed account of the creation of humans. When God formed woman from the first man Adam, Adam recognised the difference but saw that they were complementary to each other, Gen 2:23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” The account continues with perhaps Moses as the writer used by God to make a statement about the nature of marriage. He wrote, Gen 2:24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. So marriage was the exclusive bond between a man and woman in a relationship that was deeply significant. A new family would come into being through this God-appointed relationship. This was God’s purpose.

This is important to realise as we look at how Jesus viewed marriage. On one occasion He was asked about marriage and divorce. It is interesting to note how Jesus answered His questioners. He went back to the beginning of human relationships. He asked His questioners, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female” Mat 19:4. Making two different sexes was God’s idea in creation. But it was necessary for the continuation of humans through physical encounter. Jesus continued His answer by saying, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”. Jesus took these verses from the Old Testament very seriously as He quoted them. He saw them as coming from God Himself. Marriage and subsequent family life was His Heavenly Father’s idea. He too held the Father’s view of marriage as seen in those Genesis passages.

That was emphasised even more when Jesus replied to their question, Mat 19:7 “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” He replied that God had allowed that as a concession to human weakness due to their hardness of heart. But Jesus emphasised again that this was not God’s original intention, but from the beginning it was not so. Mat 19:9 And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” Marriage in God’s purpose is one man united in love with one woman to the exclusion of all other people. Gay marriage is not, never has been , nor ever will be on God’s agenda for the humans He has created in His image.

Jesus’ attitude to the sins described in the Old Testament as “detestable” or “abominable” was the same as the Father’s, for He shared the Father’s view on human relationships and especially on the sanctity of marriage. There was no discord in the Godhead. As Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.”

There are those today who argue that Jesus commanded us to love one another. Surely, they say, that means that we should accept one another regardless of our sexuality or sexual preferences. Surely if two people love one another, they say, then they should be permitted to be married to each other regardless of their sex. However what such people fail to appreciate is that there is a prior greater commandment that gives guidance and boundaries to obeying the lesser commandment. Jesus was once asked by a scribe, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Mar 12:28. Jesus replied, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 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.”

If people are to obey the greatest commandment of loving God with all their being, then they have to accept and act on what God says about every aspect of His world. This includes human behaviour. If He has declared homosexual activity as detestable or abominable as He has in Leviticus 18 and 20, then it means His “lovers” have to have the same opinion as their Creator and God. To disobey this great commandment by entering into relationships forbidden by Him leaves one open to deception and to the powers of darkness. The same applies to any sin. If we deliberately do what God has forbidden, we place ourselves in spiritual jeopardy. His love is always there for those who seek it in Him. He can forgive sins of all kinds. But the sin that Jesus warned us about which He said could never be forgiven was the sin He called “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit”.

He spoke of that when He was being accused of being an agent of the devil as He went around bringing healing and deliverance to those who needed to be set free. God was working through Him but Jesus’ enemies saw God at work through Jesus’ ministry and called it “evil”. To deliberately keep on calling evil, “good”, and good, “evil” means that people have gone a long way down the track to never asking for forgiveness. Forgiveness for their rejection of God, for their rejection of His commandments and for their reversal of His values. If you never ask for forgiveness, you will never receive forgiveness. That’s why such people can never be forgiven. They close themselves off from the grace, love and mercy of God.

The sad news is that some people will miss out on being with God in heaven because of their failure to turn to Him in repentance. Paul describes such people in1Corinthians 6:9 Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be deceived: no sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals, 10 thieves, greedy people, drunkards, revilers, or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom. But Paul adds the comforting truth that God’s power can transform all of us if we realise we need to be changed. God had transformed the Corinthians to whom Paul was writing, 1Co 6:11 Some of you were like this; but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Praise God that He can work in our lives to set us free from all the things that would prevent us loving Him with all that we are and have. Praise God that He can free us to live for Him, basking in His love. Praise God that we can please Him by living in the dynamic power of His Holy Spirit in the way He has eternally planned for us to live.

Blog No.078. Jim Holbeck. Posted On Monday 18th June 2012

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077. Question. “What Does The Bible Say About ‘Gay Marriage’? Is There A Simple Answer?”

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Jim Holbeck

Answer:- The simple answer is that the Bible doesn’t mention gay marriage. Marriage in the Bible always refers to the union between a man and a woman.

However it’s an important topic to look at as there are many nations around the world exploring the concept of gay marriage at the moment. Though the Bible does not mention “gay marriage” it does have something to say about “gay” in terms of homosexual practice. The following are some of the references in the Old Testament. (We will look at New Testament passages in future articles).

Leviticus chapter 18. In this chapter, we read that the God of Israel (YHWH) gave commandments to Moses concerning the required behaviour to be adopted by His people. He had led them out of slavery in Egypt through the leadership of Moses. He instructed Moses to tell the people, Lev 18:3  You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. They were not to “do their own thing” either, but to do what was pleasing to God, Lev 18:4  You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the LORD your God. In other words God was telling His people what was pleasing to Him (which He demanded they do) and warning them about the things that were displeasing to Him (which He commanded them not to do). This was not a consensus between YHWH and His people. This was His law for them because He knew what was good for His people and what was not.

 Amongst the patterns of behaviour which YHWH commanded them not to engage in (characteristic of Egypt and Canaan of that time) were a number of sexual matters. One of them was homosexual practice. Lev 18:22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. So in simple terms God has made His view known. He expressed it in strong language. “Abomination” refers here to the act and not to the people involved in the act.  There were others things in the Old Testament that God declared to be “abominable” or “detestable” in His sight where the same Hebrew word toebah is used. For example in Pro 6:16-19,   There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17  haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18  a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19  a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community. The word is also used to describe God’s attitude to idolatry and to the sacrifice of children. So it is no light thing when God declares all these things to be abominable in His sight. God loves people and wants them all to love and obey Him for their own good. He wants them to live in the way He (as their Creator) created them to live. He hates sin of all kinds including all forms of sexual sin as shown in the prohibitions seen in Leviticus 18.

The chapter closes with the YHWH’s general command to the people of God, Lev 18:30  So keep my charge never to practice any of these abominable customs that were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God.” To practise any of the things He declared “abominable” in chapter 18 would render them guilty and unclean in His sight.

Leviticus chapter 20. In verses 7 and 8, YHWH commanded the people, Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God. 8 Keep my statutes and do them; I am the LORD who sanctifies you.  His people were to set themselves apart from the nations around them and to reflect His holy character. They would do that by keeping His statutes and living as His sanctified (set apart) people. The same prohibition on homosexual activity is seen in verse 13. But this time His judgment is pronounced not only on the action but on the people involved in the action.  Lev 20:13  If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. YHWH was concerned that His people live in the way He knew was best for them. He also wanted them to show forth His character among the peoples they would meet as they journeyed towards the Promised Land. He wanted His people to be different and not to adopt the culture of the peoples about them. They would be held accountable to YHWH for any deliberate rejection of His commandments. He gave His reason in verse 26 You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine. Unholy behaviour in His people was not permitted by a holy God.

 YHWH is the Creator of all peoples. He sets the rules for how people are to behave as His creatures in His creation. His people have a special responsibility to do so, as He can give them the grace to live as He wants them to live. Those who do not as yet belong to the people of God are accountable for their failure to seek His forgiveness for all their sin committed through not observing His laws. They are also accountable for their failure to seek His grace to be different.

As we see later in Romans 1 it is not just homosexual activity that is condemned by God but every activity that does not reflect His character. The list of sins condemned there includes “29 …all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30  slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31  foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32  Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” Every single person needs to repent before God of guilt in any of these areas. They need to seek His forgiveness. They also need to seek His grace and help to not do those things again. It is very disturbing however that there are some who say that homosexual activity is “good” and is pleasing to God. Some go further and argue that God would be pleased with “gay marriages”. Such folk imply that homosexual activity is not evil in the sight of God when in fact God has declared it an abomination in His sight. To tell people what God has declared about homosexual behaviour (and all forms of sin) is neither homophobic nor judgemental. It actually is a loving thing to do as it is seeking the best interests of all those involved. To actively encourage people to engage in homosexual activity is not love but is actually homophobic behaviour as I suggested before in a previous article.

Well if there is so much rejection of God in this world and some behaviours in the world are contrary to what God has commanded in Leviticus chapters 18 and 20, why does He tolerate it? The answer is the same for all peoples everywhere who sin against God in any way. In His love He is giving us all time to repent of all our sin and to seek His forgiveness. He revealed this through His apostle Peter 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. 9  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. 10  But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 11  Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness  … 14  Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.

God has declared in no uncertain terms that all sin including homosexual activity is contrary to His will. Thus the term “gay marriage” is an oxymoron because the words are incompatible in the sight of God who instituted marriage on a different premise. His intention has always been that a marriage is the relationship between a man and a woman who commit solely to each other in love.  Politicians and others may press for changes in definitions such as “marriage”, but the originator of the concept of marriage  is not going to change His mind about marriage. Ever!  Leviticus chapters 18 and 20 will still challenge humanity for eternity as will every part of the eternal word of God. But God is willing and able to help us to live in the way He wants us to live, if we ask for His forgiveness for all our sin and trust in His grace to live as He wants us to, to His glory.

Blog No.077.  Jim Holbeck.  Posted On Monday 18th June 2012 

 

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