I have been going through some intense personal struggles in the lasr 12 months. I ask and covet your prayers as I make the transition to whatever the next season in my life is.
Until then, many blessings to each of you who read this.
In Him,
Theparacleteshammer
Author: theparacleteshammer
After the Election
I am just glad it is over. Now, a continuation of Bush’s domestic policy and worse.
Jim West Reviews “Against Calvinism” by Roger Olsen
Jim points out in an excellent review of Roger Olsen’s latest book:
“True enough, Scripture tells us to ‘always be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in us’ (1 Pe 3:15) but not once does it anywhere urge us to rise in defense of God.”
Whether you agree or disagree with Calvinism, there is a lucid point here. G-d needs no defense. Period.
Scripture does not teach us to correct or rebuke the lost, nor does it call us to defend and exhaustively explain G-d and His actions to the lost. Rather, it commands us to be ready to give an answer that points the unbeliever to our HOPE.
Now, defense of the faith and contention for the faith are matters reserved for when we encounter the proclamation of heresies by those who identify themselves as followers of Yeshua.
Put another way, it is not the lost and harassed sheep that we are to fight against, but the wolves who come among the sheep.
If Saul Had Obeyed, Benjamin Would Have been Established Forever
While I was reading 1 Samuel, the L-rd had me stop and ruminate through portions of chapters 9-13.
I came to the following conclusion. Had Saul obeyed, his house would have had a perpetual rule over Israel. Benjamin would have been blessed, which was the L-rd’s intent to begin with, in honor of Jacob’s love for the sons of Rachel. Redemption for Benjamin’s issues in Judges, and a more prominent place in the affairs of Israel. And the prophecies of Judah would in NO WAY have been affected by this blessing or rulership.
Below are seven places where we see the undeserved favor of G-d toward Saul, and by extension, Benjamin.
1)”He shall save my people from the hand of the Phillistines.” (1 Samuel 9:16)
Recall that 1 Saumel 8:13 said that “the hand of the L-rd was against the Phillistines all the days of Samuel’s life”. 9:16 above was the intended consummation of 8:13. Saul was meant to completely save Israel from the Phillistines, completing the work and continuing the blessing that was begun in Samuel’s life.
2)” He it is who shall restrain my people.” (1 Samuel 9:17)
Saul was meant, as the successor to Samuel, to restrain the people who constantly gave themselves over to their own depravity. He was intended as a sanctifying influence.
3) “For whom is all that is desirable in Israel? “Is it not for you and for all your father’s house?” (1 Samuel 9:20).
Fulfilling Samuel’s instructions, information, and warning regarding kings, the seer said that the best of Israel would belong to the king. The hand of the L-rd’s favor and blessing would be upon Saul’s house.
4) “What was kept is set before you.” “It was kept for you until the hour appointed.”
Samuel gave Saul the priest’s portion of the meat offering. Remember David’s interaction with the priestly portions later, when on the run from Saul, and David’s offerings in Second Samuel. David’s heart was different all his life, and G-d knew it, and thus gave him a special grace, which He began to also do for Saul, showing His favor in the transition from governance by seers and judges to the kingship.
5)”You will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.”
Had Saul allowed the transformation to fully consummate, and allowed himself to be changed, and humbled himself to the L-rd, he would have been turned into a man after G-d’s own heart. G-d would have allowed Saul to step into the priestly role with a proper grace-empowered heart, had Saul allowed G-d to move in and father his heart. This is what David did. He allowed G-d to father him and father his heart. Saul, unfortunately did not take advantage of this. Rather, he hardened his heart toward G-d and so the Spirit of G-d departed from him.
6) Saul was anointed and called of G-d (1 Sam 10:1).
The gifts and callings of G-d are irrevocable (Rom 11:29). This is something David understood, which is why he handled Saul the way he did, even when Saul was murderously chasing David. Had Saul walked and counducted himself as the anointed of the L-rd, he would have lived in a manner much different than he did. He walked as a defeated, fearful, fleshly individual, when he ought to have walked as a victorious individual who understood that “the battle belongs to the L-rd” (1 Sam 17:47).
7) Two Loaves intended for worship at Bethel were given to Saul.
This was a confirmation of the Word of the L-rd through Samuel. This, along with 4), was G-d’s way of showing his honor of the office of the king, and his honor of Saul’s place in that office, in place of Hophni, Phineas, Joel, Abijah. G-d seeks to honor his children, and he seeks to honor the men whom he selects. But the real question is whether they will honor him or not.
Yet, despite all these incentives lavished on Saul, and despite G-ds amazing love, Saul still acted like he was an orphan, and acted like a man impoverished of soul and spirit.
Saul’s Destiny and the House of Benjamin
Saul’s destiny:
“He it is who shall restrain my people.”
Saul’s response:
“He burned the offerings and sacrifices.”
Can G-d’s destiny for a person be thwarted?
Had Saul been obedeint, and the house of Benjamin ruled over Israel temporally, that would not have stopped the Messiah from coming through the line of Judah. G-d’s blessing would have flowed on another tribe, which, from the text of 1 Samuel 9-10, was His original intent, to bless both sons of Rachel.
G-d had a destiny for Saul, but instead of obeying, Saul rejected that destiny for his own fleshly pursuits and jealousy. This caused the downfall of his portion of the house of Benjamin. Saul’s obedience might have resulted in the redemption of the house of Benjamin. Following the book of Judges, it seems to me that this was the Father’s intent.
From Jim West-Stop Hijacking Jesus For Your Economic Theories
Jim writes:
“Jesus wasn’t a Liberal Catholic nor a Conservative Protestant when he walked the dusty roads of Galilee. He was a first century Jewish man who lived in a world where the very notion of ‘capitalism’ as presently practiced was unheard of. So stop hijacking Jesus and making him your poster boy for your liberal Catholicism or moribund conservative Protestantism.
“Leave Jesus out of your ridiculous debates. He doesn’t care! He says so!
Εἶπεν δέ τις ἐκ τοῦ ὄχλου αὐτῷ Διδάσκαλε, εἰπὲ τῷ ἀδελφῷ μου μερίσασθαι μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ τὴν κληρονομίαν. 14 ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Ἄνθρωπε, τίς με κατέστησεν κριτὴν ἢ μεριστὴν ἐφ᾽ ὑμᾶς; 15 εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς αὐτούς Ὁρᾶτε καὶ φυλάσσεσθε ἀπὸ πάσης πλεονεξίας, ὅτι οὐκ ἐν τῷ περισσεύειν τινὶ ἡ ζωὴ αὐτοῦ ἐστὶν ἐκ τῶν ὑπαρχόντων αὐτῷ. (Luke 12:13-15)
“So just stop making Jesus in your own image. It’s sickening.”
The above passage in English, says,
And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?
And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
Besides hijacking the Son of G-d for our economic theories, we hijack Him for our political and politically-backed social theories. Now I am all for justice (note I did not conflate the issue by calling it “social justice”-a needless adjective) and helping the poor, etc. However, we represent one who told Pilate “my kingdom is not of this world. Hmmm…He repeatedly refused to be drawn into the political conflict at hand, which in some cases was just as dire as our current political conflict in this nation today.
Not too long ago, I sat down to dinner with some very dear friends. One person at the table went on a tirade about how various candidates need to bow out of the current nomination race, so we can “unite the party and defeat Barack Obama”. I held my tongue at this the entire evening, something I don’t normally do. Not only that, but with the coverage of Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Falwell in the last several decades, much has been made of G-d’s conservative values
I have also read a litany of articles in the last several years, detailing how Yeshua was not a conservative but a liberal, or a Marxist, or a Communist, and that the Acts 2 community that had everything in common exemplified the ideals of socialism, and his social agenda matches the liberal social agenda, not the conservative social agenda, an ideology that was spoon-fed us in my undergraduate program.
When I then reached seminary, I asked my Biblical Theology professor about this idea. he replied with a question, “When was the advent of Marxism?” I replied, “early 20th century.” He answered, “so you wish to take a 20th century ideology and superimpose that on a 1st century society?” The point was made.
If the above passage is any indicator, in addition to numerous inferences littered throughout the New Testament, our L-rd came not to help us solve our political differences, nor is it our job as believers to participate in political conflicts to the end that we unknowingly place political affiliation above our loyalties to the Messiah. If anything, politicizing faith and spiritualizing politics is dangerous and creates the kind of bedfellows our L-rd never intended us to have.
I realized I was part of this mindset when a dear friend pointed out to me that his “citizenship was in heaven.” This statement made me realize that I had been banking too much on my American citizenship, and it caused me to repent for treating that citizenship as an idol.
Lest we forget, brothers and sisters, we do live in this world, but we are not of it. Our citizenship belongs to a cause much greater than any political cause, and we have been given a tremendous task apart from government to, of our own free will without compulsion from outside influence, advocate AND physically care for the poor, widow, orphan, fatherless, sick, hungry, thirsty, and prisoner (Matt 25:35-36, 42-43, Lev 19:34, John 12:8, Mark 14:7).
Are you hoping for a defeat of the President this election? Are you hoping for a victory of conservatism over liberalism? Or, to the socialist. Are you hoping for the Supreme Court to maintain the Affordable Care Act as it is? Are you hoping that our President gets four more years? Perhaps that is what G-d wants. But perhaps not. The real question you should be asking is, how successful are you at pushing your ideology over the kingdom, because you cannot serve two masters.
So let us stop not only hijacking Yeshua for our economic theories, but also our social and political poster child. He is not to be found anywhere near one side or the other of the aisle. He is seated above the aisle. And if you think he advocates (name your pet political issue here, liberal or conservative), then think again.
His priority in the kingdom are:
The Widow, the Orphan, the Alien, the Stranger, the Fatherless, the Poor, the Hungry, the Thirsty, the Naked, the Prisoner, and the Sick. Those who are most vulnerable to the social and political machine. Not who gets into office.
Concerning the Second Coming, Answers For a Friend, and Maybe Some For You, Too
No one can write all there is to write on the Second Coming in one sitting, but hopefully, this is some food for thought.
For those who do not know, “Second Coming” refers to the return of the L-rd Jesus Christ.
While posting about the Second Coming, a friend of mine posted the following
This actually reminds me of something I’ve been genuinely curious about. Before the first coming, the Jews were expecting a conquering Messiah. They had every reason to expect one, given the tone and content of their scriptures. Instead they got Jesus and thus, perhaps understandably, did not recognize what he was.
Now, Christians all seem to be waiting for Jesus to come back and kick some serious butt. In other words, they are once again expecting a conquering Messiah and have every reason to expect one, given the tone and content of their scriptures. But why should it be any different this time around? The last people who wanted a conqueror got something completely unexpected, so what makes Christians so sure they are going to actually get a conqueror this time? Why the need for a conquering Christ at all, unless the Cross was not enough?
What follows is an attempt to answer some of these particular questions to the best of my G-d-given ability.
On the first paragraph, I would respond in the following manner. The Jews did expect a conquering Messiah. Considering the issues they had with Egypt, Assyria, Persia, Greece, Rome, and most recently, Germany and the Middle East, it is understandable they would desire such a Messiah, and not just given the tone of their Scriptures, but also given the tone of their history. Theirs was a culture riddled with warfare and battle, destruction of idolatrous nations whose annihilation the L-rd explicitly commanded. Because of this history, the Hebrew language is one replete with battle and warfare terminology, unlike the more philosophically-oriented Greek language. The interesting thing is they were told by their prophets exactly where the Messiah would be born and the circumstances surrounding his birth. But by the way he acted the did not recognize him as the Messiah. They wanted one who would conquer Roman dominion, and He came to liberate them from an even deeper bondage, their own iniquities and bondages.
On the second paragraph, I would like to approach it in a little more inverse analysis.
First of all, the Cross was enough, if you have accepted and surrendered to the implications of its purpose.
The pre-redemptive implications are that (at the risk of sounding redundant):
1) All have sinned, period.
2) Jesus died on the cross.
3) Jesus died in order to liberate us from our sins, and then rose again from the dead in order to give us new life.
4) We can only be liberated from our sins and be thus transformed if we lay aside our pride, which prevents us from seing our sins and sinful state.
If we lay aside pride
and if we repent of our sins and sinfulness,
which means turn away from, leave, and forsake
and if we ask the L-rd to forgive us our sins,
then the redemptive implications of the Cross are applied to us
The Redemptive implications that follow are:
1) OUr sins are eradicated.
2) We are transformed. This is a loaded term, since many different things happen to us at once at this point. In fact, such a transformation takes place that we do not recognize the person we will become. The old person before Christ, and the new person after Christ are completely and totally indistiguishable, they are unique, singular, one-of-a-kinds.
3) A new creation comes into being.
4) We become aware of another voice within us that is different from all other voices. This is the voice of the Holy Spirit who indwells us.
5) We literally enter into a relationship with the L-rd, where He speaks to us and we are able to understand, and we speak with Him, and He readily listens to us and responds. It is a real relationship like that between brother and sister, or husband and wife, or between close friends, that involves back and forth communication and communion. However, this only can take place if we come ot the Cross He has provided and die to ourselves, or as the L-rd himself said, if we deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him. It is a realization of our need for his ability to meet needs we never even realized we had all along.
A Christ-follower does what Christ did. He emptied himself and submitted himself to death, and served, and lived, and by his example taught us how to live.
Beyond our acceptance of the implications of the Cross, the Cross itself is enough, if you are merely talking about getting into heaven and eternal life. I however, want more than eternal life, and I imagine most of my readers want the same. I want to make an impact on this world.
But the Cross at this point is only a beginning, for as we relate to G-d, the relationship, itself a living thing, has the capacity and tendency to grow, mature, and bear fruit. Beyond mere redemption comes immersion into His Spirit (we call this Spirit Baptism) among other things. From this fruit flows the byproduct of ministry to others, which occurs in His strength. Through this fruit of relationship, we heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out devils, cleanse the lepers, speak in new tongues, etc. These are the things the L-rd would have us do as part of our relationship with Him, and He is such a good teacher as to show us how to do each of these things.
Now, the first part of that sentence “why the need for a conquering Christ at all, unless the Cross was not enough?
Romans 8:19-25 gives us a good portion of the answer. It reads:
“For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of G-d. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of G-d. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, grown inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now, hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
The “whole creation” is everything that was from the creation of the world and is now is corrupted through the rebellion of humanity. That creation waits for the revealing of the sons of G-d, which is another term for the “heirs of the kingdom.” The creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the kingdom becauses its own eventual redemption follows the completion of the redemption of all who will come to the cro
ss. The cross brings the firstfruits of redemption out. The judgment brings that redemption of the rest of creation to its conclusion.
Next piece: “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it.” That is because of humanity’s rebellion, the L-rd caused the rest of creation to join humanity. Mankind was intended to rule and care for a perfect world, but his rebellion created for him an imperfected state and that state of being colored everything else. Sin fed into the rest of the system around it, and was subjected to utter futility, or unavailing actions, by the L-rd himself in Genesis 3:14-19. Nothing in creation could avail for itself or anything else.
Next piece: “in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of G-d.” The purpose of creation’s subjection to the same fate as humanity was HOPE. The hope was provided in Genesis 3:15-namely the Messiah who would eventually crush the head of the serpent. The Messiah was the hope of the entire creation. Not only was he to set free humanity (the “children of G-d”) by the cross, but he was also, in his judgment to set the earth free. I find it marvelous and awesome that He is able to liberate individual people in the midst of a crooked and perverse world. That was His first mission since His frist coming, liberation of people from their sinful bondages, instead of physical bondage to Roman Oppression.
The first crushing of the serpent’s head occurs when someone turns from their sin to Christ. When someone denies himself or herself, lays down their pride, pick up their cross, and follows Christ, the serpent’s head gets used for target practice int he life of that individual. Satan does not just get one loss, but he looses on a daily scale. G-d does not win once, but over and over and over and over, and this repeated victory is symbolized by His train which FILLS the temple in Isaiah 6. When rulers went to war in that culture, the winner’s king would take the ruler’s train and sew it to the end of his own. The L-rd’s victories are numberless and countless. Cocky and arrogant? We might think this, but the all-powerful G-d of the universe is not proud or arrogant, just capable.
The second and ultimate crushing of the serpent’s head and the ultimate fulfillment of Genesis 3:15 awaits the time and day when the whole earth and heavens will pass away and the new heavens and the new earth take their place, which is still on the L-rd’s task list. We will get to what is keeping the L-rd from doing this later.
Next piece: “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” Matthew 24 speak sof wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, meterological anomalies etc. These are the groanings of the creation, and these things are increasing in rate and intensity.
Next piece: “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, grown inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” Followers of Christ are the firstufruits of this redemption, and they also groan for the day when we will see our adoption takes place. They have a hope and a home that is not this strife-laden place.
So the earth waits for the revealing of the kingdom, for a liberation from bondage, and for an obtaining of the same freedom which believers already have.
The need for a conquering Christ is this. First of all, conquering and butt-kicking is not the point. Redemption is. His desire is full redemption. His nature as a just G-d demands redemption. Redemption of everything the canker worm and locust has eaten. The L-rd does not settle for peaceful coexistence with an entity whose chief and sole end is theft, murder and destruction, and who refuses to walk in deception and lies to obtain those ends. Permitting those to exist forever in the same plane as truth, light, honor, mercy, righteousness, and justice equals and absence of justice and the presence of perversion.
Ultimately, the L-rd who does not judge wickedness for any reason is a G-d of variance and weakness. That is a G-d who can be talked into making deals. Do we really want a G-d who is capable of bribery, usury, injustice, and the same perversions and wickedness as we are? No! Of course not. We want a G-d who is completely just, righteous, holy, and above all with deal with the wicked and the righteous accordingly.
But G-d does not use our standards for judgment. He uses his.
So, again, the question is begged. Why does G-d seem to stall in dispensing justice immediately on the wicked,and why does He seem to let evil go unabated?
It is the mercy and love of G-d that is prolonging the time that is left. If there is just one left who will come to the Cross and ditch his or her pride, then G-d permits the existence of the futility of the rest of this creation. For the sake of one person who will come the L-rd will postpone everything. That is His mercy and justice. And the L-rd in His omniscience knows when that is and who that is.
When He returns, redemption will again be the object. It should be different this time around because the heavens and the earth and the rest of creation are the object of that redemption. We have no idea what that redemption looks like, but my question to you, the reader, is do you want to be part of that redemption? It can happen for you right now. Now is the season, according to Romans 8, for each of us to answer whether or not the Cross is enough of a demonstration for us to know that He really does love us.
Q? Curious…My Thoughts On the Source of the Gospels
During my time in seminary, and before, when I read “The Case for Christ” in high school, I learned about a source for the Gospel narratives that attempted to explain where we got the Synoptic Gospels in their final and current written form. This document is called “Q” (from French “quelle”, meaning “source”). If memory serves correctly, the following is a description of what Q actually was.
Q was described as an oral tradition that developed over years after the events portrayed in the Gospels took place. Between the middle of the First Century AD and the middle of the Second Century, the Gospels began to take written form. Q’s material comes into final form around 60-65, Mark was written using Q around 75-80, Matthew using Q and Mark was written around 85-95, and then Luke-Acts, using Q , Mark, and Matthew was written between 115-130.
Now, having said that and seeing that it is a hypothesis put forward to explain what happened in the writing of the Gospels to account for similarities and differences that occur between the Synoptic Gospels, I would like to give my hypothesis.
Quite simply, I think Q violates Occam’s Razor, which says “do not multiply arguments beyond what is necessary.”
We first serve a G-d who revels in making possible the impossible. Given He desires to do the impossible on a regular basis precisely because it fosters faith in us, and Yeshua was a prophet par excellance, at least one of the Synoptics, if not more, could have been written before the destruction of the Temple.
Further, it seems to me that, Matthew, Mark, and Luke wrote their accounts, with a missiological purpose in mind, regardless of whether their accounts are chronological. That is, their purpose in writing these accounts was to evangelize the lost among their target auidences, Matthew to a Jewish audience, Mark to Peter’s audience, and Luke to Paul’s non-Jewish audience.
Further, I would say Mark could have been incorporated in the writing of both Matthew and Luke-Acts.
But the differences seem to me to be missiological. The authors home in on particular details that would have relevance to their given audience or leave aside details that would not. Hence all the attention to the fulfillment of prophecies in Matthew, for example.
Gyahh
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