A helpful overview of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society by Dr. James White here.
Understanding Jehovah’s Witnesses
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Monthly Archives: June 2011
Miscellaneous Quotes (17)
“The holiness of God is his glory and crown. It is the blessedness of his nature. It renders him glorious in himself, and glorious to his creatures. “Holy” is more fixed as an epithet to his name than any other. This is his greatest title of honor. He is pure and unmixed light, nature, and operations. He cannot be deformed by any evil. The notion of God cannot be entertained without separating from him whatever is impure and staining. Though he is majestic, eternal, almighty, wise, immutable, merciful, and whatsoever other prefections may dignify so sovereign a being, yet if we conceive him destitute of this excellent perfection, and imagine him possessed with the least contagion of evil, we make him but an infinite monster, and sully all those perfections we ascribed to him before.
It is a contradiction for him to be God and to have any darkness mixed with his light. To deny his purity, makes him no God. He that says God is not holy, speaks much worse than if he said there is no God at all. Where do we read of the angels crying out Eternal or Faithful Lord God of hosts? But we do hear them singing Holy, Holy, Holy. God swears by his holiness (Psa. 89:35). His holiness is a pledge for the assurance of his promises. Power is his hand, omniscience his eye, mercy his heart, eternity his duration, but holiness his beauty. It renders him lovely and gives beauty to all his attributes. Every action of his is free from all hints of evil. Holiness is the crown of all his attributes, the life of all his decrees, and the brightness of all his actions. Nothing is decreed by him and nothing is acted by him that is not consistent with the beauty of his holiness.” – Stephen Charnock, The Existence and Attributes of God. Quoted from Voices from the Past.
I will continue with the quotes below, but reading these words above causes me to stop in my tracks, lift my voice and simply worship this amazing holy God who has made me to stand in His presence through the cross of Christ. Sing with me, how great is our God!!!
“Here is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at My word.” – Isaiah 66:2
“True preaching is an acceptable adoration of God by the manifestation of His gracious attributes.” – C. H. Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, 53
“The gospel is not just the A-B-C’s but the A to Z of Christianity. The gospel is not just the minimum required doctrine necessary to enter the kingdom, but the way we all make progress in the kingdom.” – Tim Keller
“Jesus was guilty of nothing. Yet on the cross, the Father treated Him as if He had committed personally every sin ever committed by every individual who would ever believe. Though He was blameless, He faced the full fury of God’s wrath, enduring the penalty of sin on behalf of those He came to save. In this way, the sinless Son of God became the perfect substitute for the sinful sons of men. As a result of Christ’s sacrifice, the elect become the righteousness of God in Him. In the same way that the Father treated the Son as a sinner, even though the Son was sinless, the Father now treats believers as righteous, even though they were unrighteous. Jesus exchanged His life for sinners in order to fulfill the elective plan of God. And He did it so that, in the end, He might give back to the Father the love gift that the Father gave to Him.” – Dr. John MacArthur
“To return evil for evil is demonic. To return good for good is human. But to return good for evil is divine!” – unknown
“So what should we do in sharing the love of God, whose full enjoyment constitutes the happy life? It is God from whom all those who love him derive both their existence and their love; it is God who frees us from any fear that he can fail to satisfy anyone to whom he becomes known; it is God who wants himself to be loved, not in order to gain any reward for himself but to give to those who love him an eternal reward–namely himself, the object of their love.” – Augustine, On Christian Teaching (1.64) Continue reading
Understanding Romans 8:1
Pastor John, I am confused. Romans 8:1 tells me that the one in Christ Jesus is no longer under condemnation and yet when I read the King James Version, that is not the case. My heart sinks to think that I have to live a life pleasing to God “in the Spirit” before I can be certain of my standing with God. I can never look at my life for even a day and say I am fully walking “after the Spirit.” I have anxious thoughts and sin is sadly a daily reality in my life. I can really identify with Paul’s struggle against sin in Romans chapter 7. Yet it would seem that Paul’s whole message of justification by faith alone would be destroyed if the King James Version rendering of the Romans 8:1 verse is correct. What is going on? Can you provide any insight here?
Your question is a very important one. Yes, I do believe I can help.
You are right. If the King James Version rendering of Romans 8:1 is correct, then our standing with God is based upon our performance rather than by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. The King James Version is an excellent translation normally, but in this particular verse, it gets it wrong and the consequences can indeed be tragic.
One would have thought that his error would have been corrected when the New King James Bible was introduced some years back. However, this is not the case. A marginal note does explain the issue but the text itself remains unchanged from the King James’ rendering.
Without getting too technical, the King James Version and New King James Version are excellent translations of an inferior Greek text. Scholarship has advanced dramatically in the last 400 years (since the KJV was produced) and the newer translations such as the English Standard Version, the New American Standard Bible and the New International Version (and others) eliminate the problem by using a much more reliable Greek text as a source. Continue reading
Jesus wept!
Far too often, we as Christians are influenced by the culture around us and not by the word of God. It is exactly this tendency that is in view when Romans 12:2 exhorts us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…”
Do grown men cry? Should they?
Well there was only one perfect expression of manhood who walked this planet. It was not John Wayne, Tom Cruise or some other Hollywood superstar. The most perfect man was Jesus Christ, fully man as well as fully God.
“Jesus wept” (John 11:35) is the shortest verse in the entire Bible – short on words but long in what it reveals. It is all the more remarkable because Jesus knew He was about to raise Lazarus from death. Why cry when within minutes, grief would be banished and He would get glory from such an outstanding miracle? Yet such was His love, such was His compassion both for Lazarus himself and for his family’s grief, that Jesus wept real sincere tears. There was nothing fake about them.
Acts 8:2 tells us that when Stephen was martyred the Church made “loud lamentation” over him. They were not scolded by God for their tears and told to be more spiritual or to act more “grown up”. The Scripture’s complete silence of scorn and ridicule for the Church’s tears speaks volumes to us.
Even when Jesus knew deliverance was right around the corner and was just about to bring it, He cried… He wept. The fact that you cry does not mean you do not trust God or His promises. It means you are truly human and you feel real pain. God has designed our tears to be release valves for the strain, stress and pain we all feel in this world. Your tears are precious to God. So much so, that He even makes the promise to you that He will one day wipe all tears from your eyes. Continue reading
Sovereign, even over sin
God has ordained every event in time and space. Some people react to this clear biblical statement and say, “No, then God is not God. Certainly it is no surprise to Him that sin exists, and He will be glorified in His justice when He punishes it, either in Christ as the sin bearer for all who trust in Him, or in the sinner in hell for eternity. Without doubt the crucifixion of the Son of God was man’s greatest sin, yet the Bible is clear that Jesus was the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8). God ordained the cross before He ever made the world. If this event was ordained in this way, so was the sin that put Him there. God is Sovereign and “works all things according to the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11), “for from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36)
Calvin Quotes
“I offer thee my heart, Lord, promptly and sincerely.”
“Man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God’s majesty.”
“The blindness of unbelievers in no way detracts from the clarity of the gospel; the sun is no less bright because blind men do not perceive its light.”
“The Word is the instrument by which the illumination of the Spirit is dispensed.”
“Since the church is Christ’s Kingdom, and he reigns by his Word alone, will it not be clear to any man that those are lying words by which the Kingdom of Christ is imagined to exist apart from his scepter (that is, his most holy Word)?”
“True piety consists in a sincere feeling which loves God as Father as much as it fears and reverences God as Lord, embraces His righteousness in Christ, and dreads offending Him worse than death.”
“Men will never worship God with a sincere heart, or be roused to fear and obey Him with sufficient zeal, until they properly understand how much they are indebted to His mercy.”
“Let the pastors boldly dare all things by the word of God… Let them constrain all the power, glory, and excellence of the world to give place to and to obey the divine majesty of this word. Let them enjoin everyone by it, from the highest to the lowest. Let them edify the body of Christ. Let them devastate Satan’s reign. Let them pasture the sheep, kill the wolves, instruct and exhort the rebellious. Let them bind and loose thunder and lightning, if necessary, but let them do all according to the word of God.” – John Calvin, Sermons on the Epistle to the Ephesians, p. xii
The world says, the gospel says…
“Most Americans believe that their major problem is something that has happened to them, and that their solution is to be found within. In other words, they believe that they have an alien problem that is to be resolved with an inner solution. What they gospel says, however, is that we have an inner problem that demands an alien solution – a righteousness that is not our own.” – Al Mohler, ‘Preaching with the Culture in View,’ in Preaching the Cross (Crossway 2007), p. 81
That’s very clarifying.
The world says: the problem is outside you, the solution inside you.
The gospel says: the problem is inside you, the solution outside you.
The Danger of Over-Interpreting the Bible
A classic illustration from Moisés Silva:
It is approximately the year 2790. The most powerful nation on earth occupies a large territory in Central Africa, and its citizens speak Swahili. The United States and other English-speaking countries have long ceased to exist, and much of the literature prior to 2012 (the year of the Great Conflagration) is not extant. Some archaeologists digging in the western regions of North America discover a short but well-preserved text that can confidently be dated to the last quarter of the twentieth century. It reads thus:
Marilyn, tired of her glamorous image, embarked on a new project. She would now cultivate her mind, sharpen her verbal skills, pay attention to standards of etiquette. Most important of all, she would devote herself to charitable causes. Accordingly, she offered her services at the local hospital, which needed volunteers to cheer up terminal patients, many of whom had been in considerable pain for a long time. The weeks flew by. One day she was sitting at the cafeteria when her supervisor approached her and said, “I didn’t see you yesterday. What were you doing?” “I painted my apartment; it was my day off,” she responded.
The archaeologists know just enough English to realize that this fragment is a major literary find that deserves closer inspection, so they rush the piece to one of the finest philologists in their home country. This scholar dedicates his next sabbatical to a thorough study of the text and decides to publish an exegetical commentary on it, as follows:
We are unable to determine whether this text is an excerpt from a novel or from a historical biography. Almost surely, however, it was produced in a religious context, as is evident from the use of such words as “devoted,” “offered,” “charitable.” In any case, this passage illustrates the literary power of twentieth-century English, a language full of metaphors. The verb “embarked” calls to mind an ocean liner leaving for an adventuresome cruise, while “cultivate” possibly alerts the reader to Marilyn’s botanical interests. In those days North Americans compared time to a bird—probably the eagle—that flies.
The author of this piece, moreover, makes clever use of word associations. For example, the term “glamorous” is etymologically related to “grammar,” a concept no doubt reflected in the comment about Marilyn’s “verbal skills.” Consider also the subtleties implied by the statement that “her supervisor approached her.” The verb “approach” has a rich usage. It may indicate similar appearance or condition (this painting approaches the quality of a Picasso); it may have a sexual innuendo (the rapist approached his victim); it may reflect subservience (he approached his boss for a raise). The cognate noun can be used in contexts of engineering (e.g. access to a bridge), sports (of a golf stroke following the drive from the tee), and even war (a trench that protects troops besieging a fortress).
Society in the twentieth century is greatly illuminated by this text. The word “patient” (from patience, meaning “endurance”) indicates that sick people then underwent a great deal of suffering: they endured not only the affliction of their physical illness, but also the mediocre skills of their medical doctors, and even (to judge from other contemporary documents) the burden of increasing financial costs.
A few syntactical notes may be of interest to language students. The preposition “of” had different uses: casual (tired of), superlative (most important of all), and partitive (many of whom). The simple past tense had several aoristic functions: “embarked” clearly implies determination, while “offered” suggests Marilyn’s once-for-all, definitive intention. Quite noticeable is the tense variation at the end of the text. The supervisor in his question uses the imperfect tense, “were doing,” perhaps suggesting monotony, slowness, or even laziness. Offended, Marilyn retorts with a punctiliar and emphatic aorist, “I painted.”
Readers of Bible commentaries, as well as listeners of sermons, will recognize that my caricature is only mildly outrageous. . . .
Silva goes on to point out the obvious: not only does is the exegesis “overinterpretation,” but “it contributes virtually nothing to the reader’s understanding of what the passage actually says!”
He goes on:
Preachers who make appeals to “the original” may in some cases help their readers obtain a better insight into Scripture. More often than not, however such appeals serve one of two functions: (1) they merely furnish illustrations to heighten interest to that hearers think they have a better understanding of the passage (cf. the comment on embark above); (2) they provide the occasion to make a point that has little do to with the passage (cf. the comment on patient).
The parody is found in Silva’s excellent book, God, Language, and Scripture: Reading the Bible in the Light of General Linguistics, reprinted in the volume Foundations of Contemporary Interpretation (Zondervan, 1990), pp. 199-201. This book is profitably read in conjunction with D. A. Carson’s Exegetical Fallacies (2d ed., Baker Academic, 1996).
My comment: I think the application of this parody is obvious. We have excellent translations of the Bible available to us in our day. When an interpreter comes up with something so wild that it makes the text look like a 5 year old’s attempt at quantom physics, it is probably just wild speculation under the guise of scholarship.
HT: Justin Taylor, Rodney Decker
Luther on the “Five Solas”
THE NECESSITY v. THE SUFFICIENCY OF GRACE
Martin Luther and his Reformers had 5 main slogans, all using the word “Sola,” which is the Latin word for “alone.” It was this word “alone” that designated the true biblical Gospel and set it apart from all other pretenders.
Rome believed (then as it does now) that justification is by grace, through faith and because of Christ. What Rome does not believe is that justification is by faith alone, or by grace alone, or by Christ alone. For Rome, justification is by grace plus merit, through faith plus works; by Christ plus the sinner’s contribution of inherent righteousness. In contrast, the Reformers called the Church back to the one true Biblical Gospel: based on the assured foundation of Scripture alone, God declares a person “just” or right in His sight, by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone, to the Glory of God alone.
I would like to recommend some resources regarding the Five Solas. I do not believe I am over-stating the situation when I say that nothing is more vital to the health of today’s Church than a widespread return to these biblical doctrines.
(1) This excellent short article here discusses Luther’s own embracing and proclamation of the solas.
(2) I cannot speak more highly of Dr. James Montgomery Boice’s book “Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace?” It continues to have a profound effect on my life and ministry. If you do not have it yet, I would encourage you to do all you can to get it. You can do so here.
(3) Dr. Sproul’s series “God Alone” is an outstanding historical and biblical study of the five solas. For the next few days, Ligonier Ministries is making the entire 10 message series on CD available for any size gift here.
(4) I personally love to preach and teach on this theme. It is central in all I seek to communicate. You can hear my sermon on “The Five Solas of the Gospel” here.
(5) You can also read a short series of articles I wrote on this theme here, and about how it is entirely possible for five things to stand together alone here.
What do you think about this?
Its interesting to note the content of the apostle’s preaching in the New Testament. They did not preach “divine healing” as such, though they certainly were used mightily by God in healing. They preached Christ as the crucified and risen Lord and Savior and summoned people to turn to God in repentance and faith. Having said this, I believe healing can certainly be a means whereby God opens people’s hearts bringing attention to His reality, in order to draw people to Himself.
Signs are meant to point to something. A road sign is put up to point people in a certain direction. The sign is not something to be wondered at or marvelled at. Its whole purpose is to point people to something other than itself.
Not all signs should be followed. If someone in Dallas, Texas (in central southern USA) wishes to get to Los Angeles (to the west), he should avoid signs that point to Florida (to the east). There are false signs and lying wonders just as there are true signs that are ordained by God. Peter spoke of “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.” (Acts 10:38) God has often used signs, both in the Old Testament and the New, to point people to Himself as the one true God and to the Lord Jesus Christ, and especially to Christ’s substitutionary work on the cross for sinners.
The sign is never meant to take the place of the cross; just the opposite; its whole purpose is to point people to it. In the same way, Divine healing is a sign of God’s great heart of compassion for sinners and is meant to point people to the cross, where Christ crushed the powers of sin, death, hell and the grave.
Healing is not the gospel, but is meant to point people to it. The gospel is Christ Himself, His Person and His work, which includes His virgin birth, His sinless life pleasing the Father, fulfilling every requirement of the law of God in thought, word and deed, as well as His substitutionary death on behalf of sinners on the cross, as well as His triumphant resurrection. The Gospel includes all that He achieved because of this, and especially that although all of us have commited high and cosmic treason against God because of our sin, He has shown His great love for the world. Based on the God breathed Scriptures alone, sinners are brought into right standing with Himself (justified) by grace alone, through faith alone, in the Lord Jesus Christ alone, all to the glory of God alone. All those who put their trust in Christ as Lord will find Him to be the perfect Savior; He will save them completely for they will in no way perish but instead have everlasting life.
As wonderful as any testimony of healing is, unless it is accompanied by the gospel, it is like a sign without information; utterly useless. Jesus said, “what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?” I would also ask, “What does it profit a man if he gains healing for his entire body, if he then loses his soul? and what does it profit a man should he see even the dead raised to life, if he does not hear the only gospel that saves?”
Romans 10:14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Though I do not doubt God’s ability to raise even the dead, I do wish the Church at large would herald the one true biblical gospel and I very much wish it was present in this video clip (below).
After a massive heart attack took this man’s life, the cardiologist felt an overwhelming urge to pray over his body.