Controversial Issue Number One: Fire

Controversy Alert:

As some of you know I am not shy when it comes to Controversial issues. Especially when it comes to issues regarding theology or our worship to our God. Christians must care deeply about theology. If the true God is renewing our lives and calling us to worship Him "in spirit and truth" (Jn 4:23), then such worship includes our thoughts, words, affections and actions. Do we want to worship the true God or in our effort a false deity we have constructed in our own image(idolatry).

Hopefully, at the least, it will inspire a good dialog that will lead each to truth with the ultimate purpose to glorify our God!

Here we go:

Controversial issue number one:

There is a lot of Fire talk these days

You’ve heard it in evangelical lingo…. “We pray for Fire”, “We call down Fire”, We want to be on fire... Should be ever be praying, singing, worshiping, " Fire come down from Heaven"?

Theologically, do we want fire to come from heaven?

In the link below author Lyndon Unger does an exhaustive biblical word study on the word "Fire".


Burning away misconceptions about holy fire

Points from the article/research:

1.  The Spirit (who authored Scripture) never, ever, uses “fire” in a metaphorical sense describing passion/excitement/commitment/fervor etc.  The only metaphorical usages related to emotions are of anger and wrath.  That’s amazingly interesting, given the constant usage of the term in Charismatic circles.  I have rarely heard a Charismatic/Continuationist use the idea of “holy fire” in reference to God’s wrath or anger. I know what you’re thinking though… I know that getting “fired up/being on fire” is an English expression of speech, but that leads to the second point.

2.  The Spirit never, ever, uses “fire” in the context of cultivation of spiritual renewal/fervor/conviction.  There’s never talk of “Holy Fire” in the scriptures, at least in the sense that the phrase is regularly used in charismatic circles.  The phrase doesn’t even appear in the Scriptures at all.

Nowhere.

Write it down.

A Response: Baptism With Fire

I have been directed, in support of the concept or theology of the phrase “Holy Fire”, to the statements of John the baptizer in Matthew and Luke which mention the baptism with fire. Also keep in mind that "baptize” in the Greek is synonymous with “immerse" Just by reading the tough passages on baptism replacing the word baptize with immerse can really help clear up misconstructions.

So, what about these two passages in scripture that seem to indicate there is a baptism of Fire?

Well in context, those scriptures also refer to judgment. How can I make that claim? The immediate context of Matthew and Luke is judgment.

John the baptizer speaking to the Pharisees and Sadducees in Matthew 3:

11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

And Luke's account of the multitudes coming to see John the baptizer at work in Luke :
7 Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 9 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 So the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then?”

11 He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.”

12 Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”

13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.”

14 Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?”

So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.”

15 Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, 16 John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”

In the passages in Matthew and Luke above, it is communicated that of the people that gathered to see John’s work in baptism, out would come two groups of people. One will be immersed in the Holy Spirit(saved) and one will be immersed in fire (judgment). John who is preparing the people to receive the Messiah is contrasting believers with unbelievers. John says that Jesus will baptize you with the Holy Spirit (believers) and fire (non- believers). It does NOT mean the Holy Spirit and fire or the Holy Spirit that is the fire. John explains what is meant as he continues, saying that Jesus will gather His wheat into the barn BUT burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire, (which Jesus later describes as a fire that is never quenched Mk.9:43-). This concept of Good and Bad or True and False is expounded in Jesus’ ministry: Matthew 7:18-20 and Matthew 3:10-11 - Good fruit and Bad Fruit

So the Bible does teach of a baptism of fire, only it is for unbelievers.

A Response: Tongues of Fire - What are the tongues of fire?

Acts 2:1-4

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

The Holy Spirit in previous manifestations was as fire. Moses in the burning bush, and the priests that ministered in the Holy of Holies; above the Ark of the covenant, the shekinah glory.

When Jesus died the curtain of the Holy Place was torn in two. This was a sign to the Jews that the Old Covenant was no longer the way God dwells with man. Tongues of fire was the visible sign of glory, it resembled fire in its luminosity. The Holy Spirit was sent to dwell in the NEW Temple, the body of Christ.

1 Cor 3:16-17

¹⁶ Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? ¹⁷ If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.

The KJV renders "tongues of fire" as "cloven tongues like as of fire". 

cloven diamerizo; to partition thoroughly (literally in distribution, figuratively in dissension):

KJV-- cloven, divide, part. In other words the glory of God was distributed, spread and seen among each person. This was a unique one time event never to be repeated in the apostles ministry or church history since.

The glory, being filled with the Spirit prompted them to speak in tongues (languages they did not learn Acts 2:4) The Holy Spirit came upon them and entered into the Apostles, and the Apostles spoke in tongues to their Jewish brethren. They were baptized in the Holy Spirit (immersed). And the Body of Christ officially began with their preaching to their brethren.
 

To Trump or not to Trump this is the question....

As Christians, I hope as we engage in this election season, we are doing so with a theological filter not with a political filter. How do we think through these issues when we are confronted with a dog's breakfast of options for our presidential considerations. In this election season, I don’t know of many excited Christian voters. I will as many, go to the polls with a clothespin on my nose and with the same excitement and anticipation I have changing one of my twin boy’s dirty dippers. 

So, how do we biblically view this stinky decision we must make in November?

There are basically three schools of thought Within the Christian Evangelical Community.

• Vote the lesser of two evils (that has worked so well for us in the past).
• Don’t vote.
• Vote for a third party candidate.

I admit, as of this date, I have not sold out to one of these camps. As I will explain later, I have a hard time understanding how any Evangelical Christian has made a decision yet.

There are high-profile Christian leaders/theologians that are coming out with their view on this election season. I think it is their a attempt to help us wrangle with the terrible choices we have. Most recently, a high-profile Theologian, Wayne Grudem has stepped in the foray to give his opinion that voting for Donald Trump would be the moral option. He basically says that Donald Trump is a good candidate that has some flaws but voting for him is a morally good choice.

http://townhall.com/columnists/waynegrudem/2016/07/28/why-voting-for-donald-trump-is-a-morally-good-choice-n2199564

There have been a slew of other high-profile Evangelical leaders/theologians that have had the opposite view and in some cases have come out against Wayne Grudem’s View. Here is one of them from the Gospel Colaition:

https://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/evangelical-history/2016/08/02/wayne-grudem-evangelicals-and-the-trump-option/


Here are a couple of  others weighing in with their views this election season:

https://caffeinatedthoughts.com/2016/07/albert-mohler-russell-moore-donald-trump-christians-voting/

One thing that I see that is instructive for us a head line

As I was I reading while gathering my thoughts for this blog I found a head-line that was labeled: 

“Christian leaders blast Wayne Grudem for his defense of Donald Trump as a morally good choice.” 

I highlight the word blast because that is one thing in this political season with Evangelical Christians that appears to be going on more than anything... a lot of blasting!

Last time I checked on non-essential issues, Christians could come to different conclusions on some things. It doesn't mean that our debates aren't spirited, but we must move forward in dialogue with love for our brothers and sisters. This election decision is not an issue of separation or division. Quite simply this is just an issue of a difference of opinion. If we cannot disagree agreeably over this issue we are in big trouble! Let's get back to what this really is about. This is a presidential election, and while I understand the significance of politics, I also understand Christians have made politics more significant.

Is politics an issue we ignore as if there are no consequences involved in this realm?

The answer quite clearly is: No!

Does it mean that Christians isolate themselves and do not engage in the political sphere?

Again the answer should be: No!

Doesn't mean that we don't vote?

No!

But all of this does mean that Christians must realize that this is a government institution ordained by God for one purpose:

(Over-simplification warning...lol)

The protection of people. This is accomplished by punishing the bad guys so that we can go about our business as we see fit.

As Christians we recognize an out-of-control government can violate this biblical precept.

Are there consequences to a bad president? We recently have 8 years of proof! So Yes, there are consequences!

So back to the point I was trying to make with this blog...

If Donald Trump is elected, if Hillary Clinton is elected, or if Gary Johnson is elected: 

1.) There will be no change in anyone's Eternal destiny.
2.) It will not change whether your children will love Jesus
3.) it will not ultimately earn you more crowns!

To be clear... government is a temporal institution.

There is one King who has granted authority to governments, both good and bad, on this Earth until this King Jesus returns and conquers, crushes, consummates and then makes perfect again that which is totally corrupt... Forever!

We must not forget this perspective. But I fear too many of us have lost our balance on this issue as I read the posts on social media.

We need to ask ourselves the question; “Why would I get so upset when somebody disagrees with me?” I think the reason is... that I care a lot about the issue. When it comes to politics, Evangelical Christians, in particular, care-a-lot! 

If you're reading this blog now, you need to examine your heart, as I need to examine my heart. We need to figure out if we're getting overly worked up by other believers and their opinions about what to do in this election.

Let this guide us in regaining our perspective in the realm of government , its role, its limitations and it's value. 

Is our focus on eternal things? This is precisely what we are to be thinking about. As we refocus on eternal things this is where our treasure will be because that is where our heart is! If we are so worked up about an election and we lose our focus and energy towards souls, we are in big trouble. Doesn't matter who wins the election.

If and when as Christians we do this, we will get consternated about the right things!

Like...

False teaching ....people that pervert the gospel.

And...

Bad theology that permeates Evangelical Christianity largely as a result of the New Apostolic Reformation.

http://africannewsupdates.com/2016/07/13/prophet-sets-21-church-members-fire-trying-demonstrate-shadrach-meshach-abednego/

The one thing I will say to Evangelical Christians about this election:

If you have already made up your mind about this election, you are wrong. I firmly believe that we should be kicking and screaming all the way to the voting booth this election cycle. I don't believe Christians should have come to a firm conclusion already. And I am worried if they have.

As I have stated, I do believe that Christians can come to different conclusions on what to do, but if anything has manifested thus far... it is how much a rift there is within the Evangelical community over what we should do in this election. This is exactly why I think we need to take a step back, refocus, and not be so firm in our voting convictions that we are divisive on this issue.

And if you want to disregard everything I said in this blog, know one thing, if you are proselytizing Trump more than you are proselytizing the gospel, there is something wrong! Please repent and get back to the business the Lord has given us.

Many blessings in Christ Jesus,

The Systematic Maniac

Ramblings...Oh how I love the Election season! A Christian's Choice.

If you you have never read my Blog this is a warning that I post some things that are controversial, but I always want to be biblical. 

In the case of this particular blog post, it is mostly my thoughts and ramblings, but it still might be controversial or challenging to some. Read at your own risk! :-)

As evangelicals, in this election season, I wish we were as intense on the issue of theology as we are with whom one should vote for. I see many folks get angry or very pushy about the candidate they want us all to choose. But when somebody follows a false teacher, the response is: “oh let's not judge” “after all, they do good things”. 

I think we have our priorities just a bit confused. As evangelicals we judge other Christians for the candidate they like... to the point we “go to the mattresses” on it. But when it comes to someone following a bad, false or heretical teacher, we evangelicals are quick to say “lets all just get along... we should not judge” Yet, we are willing to fight over politics... which makes me wonder; which issue is of more concern to the average evangelical? 

If I asked most evangelicals what's more important: Discerning if N.T. Wright's understanding of the “new” justification model of the apostle Paul is more important then electing the right President. 

Ok... Ok... I know some of you don't know who N.T. Wright is much less what are his “new” thoughts on justification, but what if I said for instance: The theology of Bethel Church in Redding California. You know, the Church that has spawned “Jesus Culture” and who's songs have infiltrated evangelical worship.

Unfortunately, I know what most would say.

I know which one is more important. It's how we understand God and not who is in the White House.

I'm not saying it's not important to discern and pray for wisdom for our individual votes.

But...

What's more important to you Christian?

Apologetics and Evangelism

Evangelism, a Christian's account to an unbelieving world of the hope Christians have, as the the apostle Peter says,

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Pet. 3:15).

The Greek word translated "to give an answer" is the one from which we get the English word apologetics. Apologetics and Evangelism are therefore “tied at the hip”. Evangelism naturally brings one into apologetics.

In this blog I will attempt to help readers understand the different types and methods of apologetics and how apologetics relate to a Christian's call to evangelize. The types of apologetics listed in this blog do not constitute an exhaustive list of apologetic approaches. They do represent, however, the most well-known and popular argumentative strategies in the scholarly apologetics community.


Here we go...

Classical Apologetics (Rationalism)

There are two steps to this form of apologetics:

1. Prove the existence of God (broad theism) through rational argumentation using the cosmological (William Lane Craig, Thomas Aquinas), teleological (William Paley, Michael Behe), moral (C.S. Lewis, William Sorley), or ontological arguments (Anselm, Alvin Plantinga, W.L. Craig). 
2. Establish the truth of Christianity specifically by appealing to the historical evidence, particularly of the life of Jesus, his miracles, and his resurrection.

Most people, when they hear of apologetics, would immediately think of what is termed “Classical Apologetics”. Classical Apologetics is a very rigorous logical approach to presenting the truth of God in a philosophical manner. This is usually accomplished by critiquing the non-christian world-views in terms of the break down of logic. This break down of logic is accomplished because worldly world-views are not based on the truth of God. Examples of Classical Apologetics would be The Proofs of God made popular by Thomas Aquinas in his work “Five Ways” or five proofs for the existence of God. I have included the link below if you are not familiar with this work.

Five Proofs For The Existence of God

Classical Apologetics is how we typicality think of Apologetics. 

Evidential Apologetics (Evidentialism)

1. Present the evidence for the truth claims of Christianity.

More recently men like Josh McDowell use an Apologetics in the form of evidences that makes a very strong case for Christianity called, “Evidential Apologetics”. These evidences include archeology and higher criticism, etc. 

For example: There are some that claim that the bible is made up by men who wrote stories much later after the events. Recently, biblical scholars that have researched and acquired data and evidences for the early early writing of the scriptures. This data conforms and is confirmed by the data acquired by archeology. 

There are many evidences provided for the Christian today that can help present the truth to an unbeliever. The issue with this approach is an unbeliever can only conclude that Christianity is most probably true. Who would want to learn so much for the sake of setting forth a mere probability?

Both Classical and Evidential Apologetics are very helpful because they do take advantage of two specific sources of information. 

1. Rationalism – God is a rational God. People are made in His image as rational beings, so therefore we can communicate using reason. 
2. Evidentialism- We can provide evidences that are plain to see.

The Issue

Now the problem with rationalism and evidentialism is that they tend to elevate the role of reason or the role of evidences.  

The Rationalist can tend to say; because reason can be a common ground of communicating the Gospel between the believer and the unbeliever, I can rely heavily upon reason alone in order to convince the unbeliever about the truth of the gospel. 

Or likewise, the Evidentialist can say; we have data that seems to be clear and therefore we can bring the unbeliever to a neutral ground and they ought to be submissive to the data presented.

The problem with both Classical and Evidential Apologetics is they fail to deal with the root cause of the issue in an unbeliever, which is a depraved heart. Since man is fallen the fall effects his mind... it effects his reason.. it effects his will and his intention on how he will interpret the data that he sees. In my mind, these two types of apologetics put way too much emphasis on man's ability to think. Many Christians believe they can’t use the Bible to prove the Bible. They think they need some neutral starting place where both the unbeliever and the Christian agree, from which we can prove the Christian position. Such a neutral beginning point is impossible because of the disagreement with unbelievers over the nature of knowledge. Also, neutrality is ineffective, because it grants autonomy to the unbeliever by releasing him from the authority of the Bible, and is inconsistent, because the Bible makes clear that Christ is the source of all knowledge.  

I believe that any argument for the existence of God should start with God, not with the reasoning of man. As the church has slowly abandoned its commitment to the sufficiency of Scripture, nowhere has it been more evident than in the area of apologetics.

Presuppositional Apologetics

The point of this approach is that in the Bible the Christian has all that he needs and all that he will ever need for the doing of apologetics. Scripture is sufficient to train the man of God so that he may be fully equipped for every good work. Therefore when we come to presuppositional  apologetics, what we try to emphasize is the authority upon which conversation rests. It does not rest upon reason.  It does not rest upon evidences, in some neutral way that the unbeliever would acknowledge. But rather, it rests upon God and His revealed word. The presuppositionalist approach presupposes that Christianity is true without rational proof or any type of direct evidence. To paraphrase a popular book on Christian counseling, every Christian is competent to challenge any unbeliever because every Christian has access to the Word of God in the Spirit of God. God has created human beings with innate knowledge of him, which may be triggered by such things as, for example, the wonders of nature (Romans 1:20). This approach is sometimes called Reformed Epistemology. 

The other types of apologists tend to ignore the data of scripture. The presuppositional apologist starts with the data of scripture. A presuppositional apologist proclaims God, and then and only then, can the use of reason and evidences support the truth claims of the word of God. 

We know that everything owes its existence, and its rationale for existence, to God alone. We know, therefore, that no unbeliever can make sense of anything with which he is forced to live or which he tries to explain. We know that anything that the unbeliever discusses with us owes its explanation to those first powerful words of Scripture, "In the beginning, God ...." And how do we know this? From Scripture alone! Not from Aquinas's genius nor from an evidentialist's facts, but from the Bible, which alone, is sufficient to equip every Christian to be ready to give an answer for the hope that we have.

The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation and we want to make the proclamation of the truth the primary rock we stand on. We are called to preach the gospel.  When we meet an unbeliever we must lead with the general call to repentance and faith. We want to proclaim who Christ is, who they are in the presences of this Holy God, and how they need to be right with God. As you engage with an unbeliever through this conversation, we can gauge where the unbeliever is in this process. Classical and Evidential Apologetics have a place but we must lead and always come back to the data of scripture, communicated in such a way, that they understand that our authority rests on the scriptures and they need to submit to the scriptures. 

Evangelism in action, at it's root is, Message, Method and Means.  The Holy Spirit with His power, through a preacher establishes, confirms, proves and verifies the message of the Gospel to the heart of the unbeliever, so that he or she must respond to the truth they hear. If you spend any time at all in God's word, you will begin to see this pattern of “Message, Method and Means” everywhere. Here are a few examples:

Examples:

Colossians 1:28-29

28 We proclaim(Method) Him(Message), admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. 29 For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power(Means), which mightily works within me.

1 Peter 1:1212 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached(Method) the gospel(Message) to you by the Holy Spirit(Means) sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified(Message). 3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 4 and my message and my preaching(Method) were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power(Means), 5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

Then out of the mouth of Jesus as he reads from the book of Isaiah in the temple in Luke 4:

Luke 4:18-19

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed(Means) Me to preach(Method) the gospel(Message) to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

This pattern of “Message, Method and Means” in evangelism is repeated over and over again in God's word. If this pattern is displayed for us in the Old and the New testaments by men sanctified by God, and further by Jesus himself, then how much more is it needed by us?

Lets go back to 1 Corinthians and notice the purpose statement in verse 5...

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

So men's faith does not exist because of the wisdom of men, but as the consequence of God's power. This is why I believe the evangelism of the church should rest on the Holy Spirit's Power(Means). What is at stake here is the eternal well being of men, women, and children! It is possible for faith to be generated by a source other then God, but when this happens this faith will not stand the test of time. Sooner or later it's weakness will show in the same way a sick plant will reveal the quality of it's soil.

If a person's faith is drawn out by the sentimentalisms of a preacher, the emotional charged manipulations of a christian singer or church growth marketing techniques, it will prove to be vulnerable to anyone who comes along and is able to out think, out reason, out do the previous guy. And lets face it, everyone of us can be outdone by someone else! There are apologists for Islam that are much more articulate and intelligent then I could ever hope to be. There are advocates for the theory of evolution that are much more persuasive then I could ever hope to be. The fact is that if the advancement of Christianity is dependent on the intelligence of it's advocates, Christianity is doomed.

On the other hand, look at who God chooses:

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

26 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;

But what has God chosen to work with?

27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, 29 so that no man may boast before God. 30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, 31 so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

This is why I have issue with certain evangelistic methods that are built on an apologetic emphasis. There is a place for apologetics, but I have hesitation with approaches to evangelism that are built upon an apologetic emphasis that seek to show that Christianity is far more intellectually superior then any other religion or thought process. Often church or college Christian groups will sponsor debates between Christians and non-Christians in an attempt to convert unbelievers.

Here are two outcomes:

1. The Christian is blown away by a unbeliever that is more schooled or more charismatic.(This would be a terrible outcome!) 
2. The Christian wins the debate hands down and as an result draws some superficial interest with some unbelievers in the audience. 

Here is the problem with the #2: sooner or later that Christian debater will be mismatched, or even worse, defeated by someone with superior intelligence. Now, what is going to happen with the faith of the person that decided to check out Christianity because at the time it seemed to be more intellectually superior than anything else he has come across?

Archibald Thomas Robertson, a preacher and Greek scholar, once said: 

“What depends on a clever argument is at the mercy of a cleverer argument.”

In closing, Donald Bloesch in his book, God the Almighty, says it best:

"As messengers and ambassadors of our Lord Jesus Christ we do not so much persuade people of the truth or the gospel as call them to believe the gospel. We should not expend our efforts on arguments in support of the faith (though these are not to be disregarded altogether) but proclaim a message that creates the possibility of faith. We can persuade insiders of the viability of our theological interpretations, but we cannot persuade outsiders of the credibility of the gospel. Our task is not to argue the case for the gospel, as though it needed our defense, but to present the gospel as the life-giving message that alone can redeem from sin and death."

Soli Deo gloria

Ramblings to start the new year...

I thought I'd start out the new year with some ramblings on various issues and/or observations as I'm looking at this world through a spiritual lens. So here we go...

Donald Trump

There is something worth musing about Donald Trump. I hope we as Christians are trying to figure out the implications to his rise to a front running Republican candidate for president. Furthermore, why is Bernie Sanders capturing 41% of the Democratic vote? I don't care about it as much from a political standpoint, but much more from a theological standpoint. What's going on? What are the implications? Does this inform me about the way I ought to be evangelizing? I think we all have to agree that there is a shift going on in the culture, undoubtedly. We have a possible candidate for president on the Republican side that is frankly, uncouth. He has a lot of money, but that doesn't buy you class or manners or kindness. This man has been winning hands down since the start of the race. Why?

Then on the Democratic side we have a rank socialist. He's not even shy or subtle about it! And he is getting 41% of the Democratic vote. Most polls say he's tied in Iowa with Hillary and winning in New Hampshire. What does this mean?

Is there anything we can learn for preaching; for evangelism?

In the last debate Donald Trump was asked a question about Nikki Haley, the governor of South Carolina. She made a statement in her rebuttal to the State of the Union address that there are people who are running for president that are angry. No doubt in my mind she was referring to Donald Trump. So, about a week ago, Donald Trump was asked about it. He responded by saying... he likes her and we're still friends but here's the truth... "I am angry!" "I'm angry about what's going on in this country and I'm going to stay angry until these problems are fixed." In a way is this is a very refreshing answer. Yes I'm angry but I'm angry at things that need to change.

Is it possible that people are just yearning for firmness in an answer? In an age in which people have checked firmness out in favor of political correctness, we are constantly told it's not nice to be bold and direct. He's definitely not the most articulate or eloquent person on the stage. If you heard him debate he doesn't even finish sentences!

Donald Trump is tapping into something that has been missing for quite some time. Is it that people just want a declarative strong leader? Does this translate over to our evangelism or preaching are people in culture yearning for George Whitfield like preaching? Maybe people are tired of all the nuance and the pandering that has taken over our dialogue. Donald Trump, even if he's inarticulate, lacking any semblance of eloquence, is being loved by a majority of conservative constituents. Most likely because he is one that speaks with authority. Whether you agree with him or not, this appears to be why he is leading in polls.

Christians, is there perhaps an implication that this is what the world is yearning for? Firmness in dialogue... Authority in speech. Are people in this world yearning for declarative speech?

This is quite the opposite of what we're hearing in modern evangelical churches today.

The following link is funny but sadly true. The Church in America is seeking those who want to be entertained exactly as God's word puts it in 2nd Timothy 4:3.

Jon Bon Jovi Backstage Pass Sermon Series

http://media.mybayside.church/livin-prayer/


How are we as Christians articulating truth?

Maybe one of the reasons that an inarticulate, corse man is so popular is because people are just getting it straight from him. Right or wrong they're getting a firm answer with no apologies. They are getting no nuance... just yes and no answers.

I think Christians could take a page from Donald Trump's book:

Q: Don't Muslims worship the same God?

A: Muslims don't worship the same God as Christians. No they don't. This is why we evangelize them. This is why we pray for them.

Q: What about other denominations?

A: Depends... name it and I'll tell you where they stand in orthodoxy.

I think we are at a time in our culture where we are called to be Whitfield's in our preaching and evangelism. Firm, declarative, and unapologetic about the truth.

Ok since we talked about Donald Trump what about Bernie Sanders?

His world view is so anti God. Socialism is an anti God worldview. This is a worldview in which the state is the one who rules.

So what does this mean theologically for our country today? I think we're seeing that more and more people in this country are not interested in the things of God.  They're not even willing to call themselves a Christian Democrat. They're just flat out saying "nope not interested". I think we're seeing this lack of interest as well in our country.

Anyway we look at it there are implications, but figuring them out is no easy task. I think however, it is worth the effort to figure out how can I communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ to this lost and dying world.

I think a start would be just communicating it. Most Christians don't share their faith which is a travesty and makes one wonder if they are truly a Christian.

Let's take a page from Donald Trump's book and be bold with our faith and do not apologize for truth.



Sermons, worship music and Christian media structure.

Do you have any sort of structure when listening to a sermon, worship song or reading a christian book?

When the pastor opens up his Bible (hopefully he does in your church), do you have any didactic format that you go through, in your mind, when being taught by preaching or worship? That's right... worship should engage your mind in good theology!

Here are three questions when you are listening/reading to something Christian( sermon, book, song):

   1.) How am I saved according to this sermon, book, song?

This is a great question. In most Christian songs you'll never hear how you're saved because they never talk about such things.

   2.) From what am I saved?

My sad life? My depressed life? My troubled life? My poor life?

Or...

The wrath of God.

   3.) For what am I saved?

Ok...God saved me and he gave me works to do.  What does that song, what does this sermon, what does that book tell me?

Bottom line... in all these things we want to make sure we're hearing the basics of the gospel.

So often these days you will not hear the true gospel but you will hear a prosperity gospel, or therapeutic gospel, or a self-help gospel, or a self actualization gospel, a placebo gospel to make you feel better.

I am struck by the number of pastors who seem to be Orthodox. They even talk about the gospel and even will talk about how great Jesus is without giving anyone any details.  This is a huge trend in evangelical Christianity.

If I shared with you that "my wife is great!", you probably say "well, that's nice that you feel this way". Then I continue... "I'll tell you she's really great".  "She is so super duper great!". "I've got to tell you, my wife is really something!" "She is amazing!" "Terrific!" "My wife is just stupendous!!"

At some point wouldn't you question, "Are you going to give me some details on why you think she is so awesome?" "What makes her so great?"  if all you do is say she's great over and over again, the person listening to you has nothing to tap into. They have no details as to why she is this way.

We can hear this in sermons, worship songs and books...

"Jesus is everything we need!"

Why? Tell me about him... How good is He? How kind is He? How merciful is He? What has He done to show me these outstanding qualities?

Do our sermons, songs, books measure up?

They should. Take a look at these items with these three questions in mind and just maybe you'll start to see that you're not hearing some things that you should.

And Pastors, maybe it will remind you to preach those things.  Let me also encourage you to not forget the preaching of the law.  When I see evangelical pastors getting involved in ecumenism and preaching from a pulpit in a Mormon temple saying "we got some differences but I'm here today..." The little caveat is not enough. Or the pastor that refuses to call sin sin and beats around the bush calling it mistakes or life issues. Sir that is not enough!

Thanks for reading my new year rambling! I look forward to what God has for his Church this year. Lets strive to glorify him in all our ways!

The Expiation of our Sins (The Scapegoat)

Many pastors today do not help their parishioners to fully understand the word Atonement. I think this has led to many in the church, Christians, to live their Christian life with the weight of burdens and feelings of inadequacy and condemnation. This is also lead to depression being rampant within the Christian Church. I will take some time now to explain a concept that most pastors do not talk about it is the concept of Expiation.

Let’s start with a reading of The Old Testament as it relates to atonement specifically the Hebrew Day of Atonement.

Leviticus 16:6-10
6 “Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house. 7 He shall take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 8 Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat. 9 And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the LORD’s lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. 10 But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness.

Leviticus 16:20-22
20 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. 21 Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. 22 The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

In the New King James version the word “Scapegoat” is used. In the ESV, as well as some other translations, the original Hebrew word is used Azazel. A long long time ago a man named William Tyndale translated the phrase “for Azazel” to scapegoat.

In this blog we're going to focus on this second goat in this Leviticus 16 passage; “the scapegoat”. This is the banished goat.

Definitions:

Let’s start by defining a few theological terms before we dig in deep….

Atonement:

Atonement summarizes the total activity of offering both goats. After all, these goats were offered on the Day of Atonement. By definition atonement is something done to make amends. To restore a relationship. Even in our earthly relationships we offer up acts of atonement to win back the favor of those who we have hurt. We don't sacrifice goats to offer recompense to those we have hurt, but We do things to show that we are sorry.

So this “day of atonement” was to restore the relationship and the eternal condition of man as he stands before God.

This involves change on both sides of the equation. God's attitude and man's condition.

Now our next word is: 

Propitiation

This word we might be more familiar with because it shows up in the New Testament 4 times.

1 John 4:9-10
9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Propitiation is the turning away of wrath. 

If atonement summarizes the entire process of making amends, propitiation is what happens on God's side of the relationship. God's wrath is turned away. A blood sacrifice was offered as payment to make reparations for the punishment of sins, and that punishment of course is death. So, in propitiation, wrath and justice are satisfied and God's disposition is changed from anger to favor. 
Propitiation is an awesome word… as we worship we can think about this word and how it relates to God changing his disposition towards us.

But today we're going to focus on a word that you may not have heard of. 

Expiation

Expiation is what we see in the second goat; the scapegoat. Expiation is all about cleansing. It's the aspect of the atonement that affects man's condition and his experience. Through the transfer of our guilt to the scapegoat, man's sin is expiated... It's forgiven... It's covered... It's removed.

So…Propitiation involves appeasing God. Expiation involves cleansing our sins.

The Lords goat is slain. The people’s goat is banished. God's wrath is satisfied. And our banishment is banished. Welcoming outcasts back to a place of love and honor.

Propitiation happened in God's domain; the Holy Place. 

Expiation happened in man's domain; the banished realm.

Let's look back at the text... Leviticus 16:20

Leviticus 16
20 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. 

The phrase "made an end of atoning for the holy place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar” is getting at the one aspect of the atonement had been completed. That is propitiation… “made an end of” the atonement. That is the sacrifice of the first goat. 

But although God’s disposition has been changed, mankind was still unclean… full of guilt… full of sin… and full of brokenness. 

So then, the priest was to lay his hands on the live goat, confess iniquity ....transgressions.... and sins, every category of human guilt. This was all done over this “scapegoat”. This signified a transfer of guilt from the people onto the goat. The priest would lay his hands on both horns and confess; signifying our sin and guilt is transferred to the goat.

Now let's take a look at verse Leviticus 16:21-22...

Leviticus 16
21 Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. 22 The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

"And shall send it away into the wilderness"....
And it goes on to say.... “the goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land”..... or “a remote land”.

So once the goat got loaded up with the people's guilt, the goat became an outcast. It was shunned as a vile thing that could not remain in the presence of the Lord. It became unclean and it was sent into a barren desert to die in a remote mountain far away from civilization ... It was banished or it was cut off.

The goat’s fate was not just exclusion…. but death... It's not really that clear here in the text alone, but if we look at the tradition of how the goat was set free, it was not like it was set free in a nice green pasture to live out its rest of its days in a happy life. It was brought to a horrible desert wasteland and set free on a very steep rock face or cliff. The only thing that could really happen is the goat would fall and die. So in one sense it was set free, but it was not set free to live… It was set free in order to die on the side of a jagged cliff.

The scapegoat here is depicted as bearing the sins guilt and punishment of the people and being condemned to death in their place.

The last piece of text that I want to dig into right now is the location of where the goat was taken.

Leviticus 16:10
10 But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness (A remote place…. Azazel).

This term "Azazel" is really interesting but also really weird. Like a lot of the Old Testament, it's shrouded in mystery. It's probably important to understand that it was translated to “scapegoat”. The ESV does a better translation and leaves it as Azazel.

Leviticus 16:8
 8 And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel. (ESV)

And later on, in this chapter, Azazel is referred to as a place.

According to Jewish tradition Azazel is actually the name of a demon. He is usually depicted as goat like. In the Book of Enoch, which is part of the Apocrypha not part of the canon of Scripture, but still can be important to understanding Jewish tradition records God's supposed instructions to an angel. He was to bind Azazel and cast him under a particular mountain until the final judgment. It says “The whole earth has been corrupted by the works that were taught by Azazel. To him ascribe all sin.”  So in this Apocrypha book, Azazel bore the blame for corrupting all of mankind. Once more, the Hebrew book called the Mishnah actually refers to this place at this mountain as the house of his piercing.

So, mentioning Azazel here in Leviticus would have immediately reminded the Jews of the story of this demon and what happened at this particular mountain. Whether or not the story is true is really not that important, but what is important is this place became associated with this demon. It was the place that represented the source and embodiment of all evil.

Okay, I've spent all this time taking you through these details of the scapegoat’s journey so you might have a new vantage point from which to see and appreciate the significance of Jesus's life and his death.

So now I want to show you three ways in which we see Jesus symbolized in this second goat in Leviticus 16.

1. The biblical testimony that Jesus is the ultimate sin bearer. This is what the goat did…. it bore the sins of the people.
2. The way that Jesus lived his life reveals how Jesus functioned as a scapegoat.
3. The manner of Jesus's death reveals to us the true and ultimate scapegoat.

1. The biblical testimony that Jesus is the ultimate sin bearer.

Consider the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah. 

We're going to turn to one in Isaiah 53.

Isaiah 53:6
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

See those words “laid on him”. This should remind us of the goat. Transfer our guilt...

Isaiah 53:12
12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.

Again, “He bore the sin of many”.

The New Testament makes it clear that this sin bearer is Jesus.

John 1:29
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

2nd Corinthians 5:21
21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Galatians 3:13
13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”),

Hebrews 9:28
28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

1st Peter 2:24
24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.

Scripture makes it pretty clear that Jesus is the true and ultimate scapegoat.

2. The way that Jesus lived his life reveals how Jesus functioned as a scapegoat.

We see echoes of Jesus's role as the banished goat well before his crucifixion. Jesus seems to avoid all the holy places associated with Old Testament saints acting as one who was despised and rejected by men. He never went into the inner courts of the temple. He was not of the family of Levi. He was of Judah. This meant he did not have access to the holy places. He was more like the commoner not the elite. He became a banished man literally, he was born in Bethlehem but he fled to Egypt. After Egypt living then in the low brow town of Nazareth. Jesus went to mountains to pray instead of the temple. Ultimately he was put to death outside of the city. It seems as if Jesus seeks uncleanness out. He seems to look for lepers so that he can touch them. He heals the sick, he touches the dead. He associates with the lowlifes, the scum of society. As he headed to the cross, do you remember how he stood before the high priest, only to have accusations heaped upon him? Yet he remained silent, bearing the guilt for sin that was not his own.

3. The manner of Jesus's death reveals to us the true and ultimate scapegoat.

Jesus's death shows his role of a scapegoat perhaps more clearly than his life.

Hebrews 13:12
12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. 

Here suffered outside the gate, can be understood as a place of defilement. Being moved outside the city for crucifixion meant that you were impure, corrupt, dirty, filthy, contaminated, rejected, and full of reproach. Anyone that was banished outside of the city was excluded, isolated and ostracized.

Consider even the geography of Golgotha....
Golgotha was the name of the place that Jesus was crucified. The traditional location for where this place is in the middle of a quarry. With man-made cliffs of quarry stone surrounding it. And actually the part that they crucified Christ on was the part that they decided wasn't worth quarrying. So they kind of took away all the rock around it and it left this jagged mountain.

So, at this point, I hope you have gotten the understanding of these implications of Jesus being the ultimate scapegoat. I hope it warms your soul with the truth of all that Jesus has accomplished for you; removing the guilt and shame of sin and brokenness.

But I know that everyone of us still suffers from guilt, shame and feelings of being an outcast in various areas of our lives. I know because I feel it. It's part of our Adamic nature. Even though Jesus has accomplished this for us, we still feel shame and guilt. There is a disconnect here.
Maybe it's an abuse you've never gotten over. 

Or maybe it's a habitual sin that you keep on going back to. 
There seems to be a giant disconnect. If Jesus has removed all of our shame then why do we still feel shame?

Let me offer an attempt at an explanation...
The root of your ongoing struggle to experience the cleansing that Jesus has accomplished for you, is a failure to believe and rest in the truth that your guilt and shame has been removed as one that stands in Christ. You forget that Jesus was your scapegoat.

I don't mean that you literally forget what Jesus has done for you. But I do mean that your attitudes and actions betray a deeper, subtle disbelief in Jesus's cleansing power in particular areas of your life. At some level, you think it's your suffering, your shame or your defilement that so great that even Jesus's banishment is not enough to heal you. Maybe it's enough for others, maybe it's enough for most of the things in my life, but it’s not enough for that one thing. This is how unbelief functions. Unbelief in Jesus's cleansing power can be really subtle.

Sometimes it manifests itself by our tireless efforts to become insiders... You have to become accepted by certain circles of people and ultimately by God. Maybe you get angry and judgmental, jealous and insecure when you see people flaunt their friendships on Facebook for instance. Sometimes we see people who write how about how wonderful their friendships are and that can make us jealous.

Other times unbelief can manifest itself by punishing ourselves. Sometimes we load up the burdens of our guilt and our own failures and maybe even the guilt and failures of others onto our own backs and we start our own quest into the wilderness believing the lie that we can get ourselves out of guilt by becoming our own scapegoats. Let me encourage you to call it what it is. This is pride. It can look like depression, but so often depression is rooted in pride. Your depression might be functioning as a refusal to admit that you do not have the power to sufficiently punish yourself for your own sins. So let me encourage you to cast your burdens onto the back of the only true scapegoat. The only one who can release you from your self-made dilemma… and that's Jesus.

If Jesus's cleansing power is made available to us through faith, by believing that he has cleansed our sins, where do we start, if we want freedom from a particular struggle with guilt and shame? It's not like I'm saying work, and counseling, and therapy is not of use. Where do we start?
Well, I'd like to follow what first John1:9 says...

1 John 1
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

So why not start with confession? Whether it be your own sins or the sins of others; meaning, what has been done to you. Notice the two promises that we just read, the offer to us if we confess...
Forgiveness and Cleansing

It's not as if God does not forgive us positionally. We just read what Jesus accomplished for us. What this is getting to is our experience of forgiveness and of cleansing. Confession begins the process of experiencing the cleansing already won for us in Jesus. We can confess our sins and believe that he has taken it.

So talk to the Lord about your struggles. Even if it's all just a mess and you don't know if it's your sin, or the sins of others. Just bring it all to God and talk to him.
You can also talk to someone godly that you can confide in. James 5:16 says to confess our sins to one another.

I know that it is really scary to bring up these deep wells of shame.  It’s easy to bring up the things that don't go really deep, but for those issues that we have struggled with for years, to believe that we can be cleansed, can be really really hard.

The word propitiation, that we defined earlier, can be very encouraging to entice you to reveal yourself. We defined propitiation as the turning away of God's wrath. Remember before the scapegoat was ever sent God's wrath was propitiated meaning that now his only disposition towards us is love. His love is a powerful incentive to confess, to stop hiding. Even if other people have turned away from you or condemn you because of what you have done, God has nothing but pity and tenderness in his heart towards you and He wants to hear about your sins because he wants to heal you from their power. Love was the reason for the expiation in the first place. There was no reason that Jesus was to become an outcast for you other than pure and powerful love for you. The “Scapegoat” should remind us that in God's arms is safety. Assurance of acceptance... and not rejection... No matter how unclean you might think you are, no matter how many times you have been rejected by others for the secrets, the shame and the guilt you shared, God will not reject you if you come to him in Christ.

So the expiation of Christ calls us to come to God unashamed. As children who God has been waiting for. Not with a shameful distance in our hearts. 

So let us anchor our hearts in the expiation of Jesus.

Let me close by painting a mental picture…

As I studied the location of this mountain called Azazel and the geography of ancient Jerusalem. I ended up imagining Jesus on the Cross at Golgotha, and the mountains He could see because Golgotha was on the ridge of a hill. In fact, it was on the same ridge as the temple mount called Mount Moriah. Now the Mountains in the area are not like the jagged peaks like we think of Mountains here in the USA. They are more like ridges. So sometimes there is not a real defined peak like we might think when we hear Mountains and we compare in our minds to images we have of Mount Everest ect. So, Jesus was on a Mountain as he was crucified at Golgotha. This location was likely located just west of the temple mount at about the same elevation of the temple. It was high up above the city walls. From this point, Jesus must have had a panoramic view of the significant places of his people. As he hung on the cross, his head caught in thorn branches, bearing the burden of his people and banished to die as an outcast, He could see mount Moriah right in front of him. The same site that God provided Abraham with a ram, caught in the thicket by his horns, to sacrifice in place of his son Isaac. This was the same ridge on which the Temple was built, the place where God had come to dwell with his people. He could probably even see the pinnacle of the temple, at the southwest corner, where Satan urged Him to throw Himself down. Well that was not the time for the second goat to be cast down to die from a pinnacle. This was now the time. To Jesus' left stood the Mount of Olives, the place where Jesus wept over the plight of the city, and where he triumphantly entered as the Messiah just one week earlier. In the distance in front of Him and slightly to the left, He could probably see the mountain ridge of Azazel. I imagine as I was thinking, about all of this, that perhaps as Jesus was thinking of the weight of all that He was accomplishing...fulfilling, He formed his last view before symbolically being cast off the cliff to die as He proclaimed “It is Finished”.

Would you put your trust in Jesus as your Scapegoat today? He is the only one who can remove your guilt and shame. 

Would you put your trust in Jesus as the only Scapegoat in those areas of sin you hold on to, disbelieving that God can actually cleanse you? He is the only one who can remove your guilt and shame. 

Not a person, not a process, not a program, ultimately you have to put your trust in Jesus. Stop trying to bury your shame with man-made devices. Confess your sins, cry out for healing for the sins committed against you and believe they were transferred to Jesus as he stood before the high priest, banished back to the source of wickedness. Believe that they were finally and thoroughly defeated. 
As a Christian you don't need to live in shame anymore. By drawing near to God by Jesus as your substitute, you have been set free from shame, so live as you actually are. 

But if you are not in Christ your fate will be far worse that dealing with shame and guilt in this life you will end up walking the Scapegoat's road… perishing on the side of a desert mountain and buried under a mountain of your condemnation and cut off from all goodness forever.
What are you waiting for? Run to Jesus as your substitute. He is our only hope!