Calling all Greek Nerds

OK, I revealed last Sunday that I am a bit of a grammar enthusiast, especially in my poorly maintained biblical languages. For those who need a continuing review, help is available. I was informed of a great resource called "Daily Dose of Greek" from Professor Rob Plummer of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Plummer teaches New Testament, but I'm especially grateful for his daily emails with a link to short video that takes you through one verse of the New Testament a day, and helps you remember what you once learned.  I do this most every day.

Here is his introductory video.




And here is a sample video for you to view:


1 John 1:2 from Daily Dose of Greek on Vimeo.

Go to the website and sign up for the daily emails if you are interested.

Listening to the Great Preachers of Old

I love the quotes that I find from old preachers, and none is more quotable than Charles Spurgeon [Of course when I say "old" preachers, I do not mean that they were old when they preached, only that they are from days gone by.] Here is one of the best I've seen on the difficulty in understanding how divine sovereignty and human responsibility should be considered.

"The system of truth is not one straight line, but two. No man will ever get a right view of the gospel until he knows how to look at the two lines at once.

I am taught in one book to believe that what I sow I shall reap: I am taught in another place, that “it is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.”

I see in one place, God presiding over all in providence; and yet I see, and I cannot help seeing, that man acts as he pleases, and that God has left his actions to his own will, in a great measure.

Now, if I were to declare that man was so free to act, that there was no presidence of God over his actions, I should be driven very near to Atheism; and if, on the other hand, I declare that God so overrules all things, as that man is not free enough to be responsible, I am driven at once into Antinomianism or fatalism.

That God predestines, and that man is responsible, are two things that few can see. They are believed to be inconsistent and contradictory; but they are not. It is just the fault of our weak judgment. Two truths cannot be contradictory to each other.

If, then, I find taught in one place that everything is fore-ordained, that is true; and if I find in another place that man is responsible for all his actions, that is true; and it is my folly that leads me to imagine that two truths can ever contradict each other.

These two truths, I do not believe, can ever be welded into one upon any human anvil, but one they shall be in eternity: they are two lines that are so nearly parallel, that the mind that shall pursue them farthest, will never discover that they converge; but they do converge, and they will meet somewhere in eternity, close to the throne of God, whence all truth doth spring."

- Charles Haddon Spurgeon from his sermon “Sovereign Grace and Man’s Responsibility,” originally delivered Sunday morning, August 1, 1858, at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens, London.

Read more: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/adrianwarnock/2010/12/giving-spurgeon-the-last-word-on-arminianism-and-calvinism/#ixzz3TG9bJHbU

Loving ISIS: Remembering Jesus' Words When I Don't Want To

As someone who scans my Twitter feed once or twice a day, I appreciate the many and varied links and headlines people share there. One of them bothered me, though, after the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians in Libya. It was from one of the more "progressive" evangelical voices, and I'm not usually a fan. He called on Christians to pray for the families of the 21 victims, and then he called on us to pray for their murderers.

My first reaction was anger--how could he equate the two? That diminished the martyrdom of these Christians! They should not be mentioned in the same sentence, breath, or prayer as the ISIS villains who killed them.

But a few seconds later (after that first wave of indignation), I realized that I was absolutely wrong, and this "tweeter" was reflecting only what Jesus would have said, and did say. He taught, "Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you," remember? If not, see Matthew 5:44. And when he was being crucified and mocked, he prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).

Yesterday, I joined with some others who were going to pray for the persecuted church, and I listened and joined in as prayers were offered for both the persecuted and the persecutors. I could agree, because I remembered my humbling reaction from a few days before.

But it became much more personal a few moments after our prayer time, when I was sent a link to a broadcast on a Christian TV station that blankets the Middle East. On a call-in show, the brother of two of the martyred Egyptian men shared his joy that his brothers had been faithful to the end. He thanked ISIS for not cutting out the audio on their broadcast so that his brothers could be heard calling out to Jesus as their Savior and Lord. When asked what his mother would do if her sons' murderer was to walk down her street, she answered that she would invite him in and ask God to open his eyes. This man then prayed for his brothers' killers, asking God to open their minds to the truth and free them from the lies that they have been taught. You can watch the video here. Or, watch it from the link on my Facebook page.

This living demonstration of faith and obedience in loving one's enemies was something that moved me powerfully. Not having these kinds of enemies, I can still find it hard to overlook slights and insults. Yet what Christ calls us to is so radical that it can and does look ridiculous to the world--and maybe to some Christians, too. 

ISIS represents evil in so many ways. I pray for their defeat. Yet, that does not mean that its adherents are beyond the saving grace and forgiveness of God. Remember, one of Christianity's chief spokesmen was complicit in the murder of Stephen. May God raise up dozens of Saul/Paul types through the martyrdom of Christians, even from among the murderers themselves.

Moving from Error to Apostasy? The Continuing Saga of Rob Bell

This may seem like simply repeating old criticisms, but new developments make me even more concerned about one man's downward journey. A while back,  I wrote about my serious concerns with Rob Bell's movements away from orthodox Christian belief as he left

Rob and Kristen Bell appeared with Oprah Winfrey on her
lastest "Super Soul Sunday" special. 

his pastoral ministry and entered into a working partnership with one of the world's most popular "spiritual" people--Oprah Winfrey. He has already taken many views with which I disagree, and which I believe are in conflict with what Christians have always believed based on the Scriptures. In this latest broadcast, Bell addresses the question of gay marriage and says that the church is moments away from embracing it (as he does). Again, this is no surprise.

But in what is the most troubling of statements in the interview, Bell says that the Church simply looks more and more irrelevant when its best defense against the arguments for gay marriage "is quoting letters written 2,000 years ago." Those "letters" are the books of the New Testament, and if his view is that they are simply outdated letters, then Bell has moved publicly away from submission to the authority of the Word. I can disagree with someone on interpretations but still admit that both of us seek to submit to Scriptural authority. But this is a dismissal of appealing to Scripture as authoritative.

I would hope that the church that ordained him would, upon hearing this, conclude that he is no longer orthodox in his view of Scripture and would revoke his ordination. I would hope that believers would realize that this makes Bell no longer a teacher of Christian faith, since that faith derives from the message of these letters (we would not know of Jesus without them).

Not only has Rob sacrificed his "evangelical credentials" (I don't think he cares about that); he has aligned himself with those who "went out from us" in 1 John 2:19 (one of those letters he now feels make the Church irrelevant when we quote them). My heart's prayer, right now, is that he will repent from the blindness that Oprah's aura seems to have stricken him with. I fear for his soul, especially as one who still has influence over other souls. He may not believe that the wrath of God is real and will still fall on those who reject God's truth, but I do.

Great words from a past master to today's teachers

Howard Hendricks was one of the great teacher/preachers of my life span so far. I just saw a link to one of his sermons on video on YouTube, and watched it. I'm glad I did. The sermon was entitled, "The Ultimate Final," and it was from 2 Timothy 2:15. He suggested three questions anyone who would be a person of influence in a broken world should ask themselves based on this passage:
1. Is the Lord well pleased? A passion for a Person.
2. Is the work well done? A passion for excellence.
3. Is the Word well used? A passion for truth.

Great and probing questions for me and for you. Another great quote: "When I try, I fail. When I trust, He succeeds."

Watch the message below.

Found: A Fragment of Mark's Gospel from the First Century!

Back in 2013, I worked alongside Dr. Scott Carroll in Chiang Mai, Thailand, whose labors were with ancient manuscripts. He shared in a seminar I attended how papyrus fragments that had been used to make Egyptian burial masks were yielding a treasure trove of documents, both biblical and non-biblical. He also indicated that I should be watching for an important announcement that would cause many who doubt the early dates we accept for biblical books to be forced to reconsider. For example, many reject the idea that Mark's gospel was written in the first century (Bart Ehrman, a well known atheist makes this claim).

Dr. Daniel Wallace (a very well respected biblical scholar and textual expert) alluded to the coming announcement in a debate with Ehrman, who challenged such a tactic without giving the proof. Wallace was not free to disclose the details at that time. Late last year, the announcement was made. Here is a video of Dr. Craig Evans describing what has been found. Keep in mind, that if we have manuscript pieces that were being discarded in the mid 80s, then the original had to be earlier!

Where Do Christians Go When We Die?

Recently someone in our Grace Family asked me a question that grew out of a conversation with a co-worker who was from a different Christian tradition. The question was whether Christians go to be with Jesus when we die, or whether we "fall asleep" and await the last trumpet/rapture/resurrection to revive and go to heaven.

You may think that's a strange question, but if you were Seventh Day Adventist, you would believe this teaching, called "soul sleep." And since Kettering Health Network reflects its founders Adventist faith in a number of ways, we shouldn't be surprised that some of our neighbors and co-workers might hold it.

The view is based on a straightforward acceptance of the passages in the Bible that speak of death as sleep, especially for believers. In the OT, kings who died were said to have "slept with their fathers." Jesus said Lazarus was "asleep" when he was actually dead in John 11. In Acts 7:60, Stephen's death is referred to as falling asleep. And Paul often refers to death as sleep--see examples in 1 Corinthians 11:30 (the Greek text says "sleep," although many modern language versions say "have died"), 15:51; 1 Thessalonians 4:13.

Is this correct? Have we misunderstood the Bible?

I don't think so, but before I go further, let me remind us all that while this is an issue of right interpretation, it is not an issue that would keep someone from Heaven. In short, while I believe that "soul sleep" is an incorrect understanding, it is not heresy that denies essential truth of our faith. Such believers may be wrong, but are not heretics.

Adventists teach that Christ is currently evaluating all people, from Adam onward, determining who will be raised to the resurrection of life, and who will not. Final judgment is completely future--awaiting Christ's return after he finishes this evaluative judgment in heaven. Therefore, they teach that no one can be in the presence of Christ yet, because that will only be revealed in the last day.

Here is how I would answer this teaching--knowing that more could be said, but this should suffice.

1. The Bible in many places speaks of death as a time of transition from one state of conscious existence to another--for example, the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16 has 2 men dying and becoming aware afterwards--Lazarus in "the bosom of Abraham" (the name given by Jewish people to the Paradise where the righteous dead await resurrection) and the rich man in "Hades"--a place of torment and flame. In the OT, both Enoch and Elijah go to God's presence without dying--an exception, but still a troubling case for the soul sleep view. Moses and Elijah were alive and well when they appeared with Jesus on the mount of Transfiguration. And Jesus told the thief on the cross "Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." The word "today," modifies the second half of the phrase, not the first, as Adventists try to explain.

2. The Bible says we are "away from the Lord while in this body, but to be absent from the body is to be "present with the Lord"--2 Corinthians 5:6-8. Clearly being "away" doesn't mean we are separated from God, but we are not in his presence.

3. Paul says in Philippians 1:23 that death is going to be with Christ, which is far better than living in this world. It is not falling asleep, which is a part of living here, but fully aware existence in Jesus' presence, which is superior to any nap!

4. Those who are "asleep" in Jesus--i.e., they died as believers, are those that are said to be with Jesus Jesus at the final trumpet--see 1 Thessalonians 4:14--why would the dead need to be brought with Jesus, by God, to the final trumpet and resurrection from the dead? If they are asleep in the grave, they don't need to be brought anywhere. See also Revelation 19:6-14 to see believers are with Jesus when he returns in final judgment.

5. "Sleep" as a euphemism for death is not just limited to the Bible in history. Other cultures used the same terminology without believing that the person was no longer consciously existing. People prefer softer terms for hard things, and we use many euphemisms for death, "passed," "went to the Great Beyond," "entered into rest" and so on as less jarring ways of saying, "he died." Because "rest" is a reward for believers, and death is most like sleep to the observer, it is not surprising the term would be used.

I believe that this is not only the correct understanding (and one that Christians have generally and universally held for 2,000 years), but it offers a much more concrete hope to believers as we face the deaths of loved ones who are Christians, and contemplate our own mortality. Falling asleep for decades, centuries, or millennia isn't awful, but it certainly doesn't rise to the "far better" level when compared to living here.