Category Archives: Apologetics

GOD’S WORD – ITS POWER – 1

Apologetics, ,

Since we have established the authority of Scripture by its own testimony, we must ask, “Is God’s Word powerful and, in what way is it powerful? How can the Bible directly affect our lives when we read and apply its teaching to ourselves?”

Unbelieving scientists have propagated the pernicious and pervasive belief that the universe came into being through a “big bang” and that its creatures began as slime in the sea. However, the Bible gives us the truth that God created the heavens and the earth through the power of His spoken word.

Psalms 33:6 NLT
[6] “The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born.”

To the honest observer, which makes more sense, the universe happened by chance or…the universe came into being by design?

How did both Moses, who wrote the first five books of the Bible…

Genesis 1:1 NLT
[1] “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

… and David, who write Psalm 33, know this?

Through the Holy Spirit by revelation. There is no other way that they could have written what they wrote with such authority and conviction.

The Word of God also says it is able to scrutinise us, to expose the innermost depths of our being. How does it do this?

First, by invitation. David was aware that God knew him intimately from his conception in the womb…

Psalms 139:13 NIV
[13] “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”

… to his thoughts and intentions before he spoke or acted.

Psalms 139:3-4 NIV
[3] “You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. [4] Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.”

Since he could not escape His scrutiny, David invited God into his heart to search and expose whatever offended Him.

Psalms 139:23-24 NIV
[23]”Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. [24] See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

How does God scrutinise us? The Holy Spirit, as the author of the Bible, is also in intimate partnership with the Scriptures to work through the Word in people’s hearts as they read and internalise what is written.

God promised His people, through the prophet Jeremiah, that there would be a radical change in the coming New Covenant from the Old, in its terms and application. The Holy Spirit would be in His people quickening their spirits, by the application of His Word, to respond to the truths He reveals. By His power, He would change their thinking and behaviour from rebels to sons.

Jeremiah 31:33 NLT
[33] “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people… “

It’s this new covenant which God made with Jesus and included us who believe in Him, the terms of which are recorded in the New Testament, that is able to save us from sin and transform our lives. The key is to read and apply…

Jesus made this startling claim…

John 6:63 NLT
[63] “The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”

The Bible doesn’t just tell us about what God has done and about His power to save and change us, it has the power to DO what it tells us. The Word of God is like a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting deep and exposing our inner thoughts, attitudes, and motives.

Hebrews 4:12 NLT
[12] “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”

The Word of God also has the power to heal our brokenness and lead us in God’s way of truth and life.

2 Timothy 3:16 NLT
[16]”All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.”

Again, it was David who recorded his personal experience in his magnificent psalm about the Word of God…

Psalms 119:105 NLT
[105]”Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”

It’s through the light of God’s Word that we can make our way safely through the maze of temptation and evil in the world. No other book has the power to provide accurate directions from earth to heaven. In fact, it’s by the power of the Word that we are raised from spiritual death to spiritual life, which Jesus said is essential if we are to enter God’s kingdom and live under His rule.

John 3:3, 5 NLT
[3] “Jesus replied (to Nicodemus), “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”…
[5] Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.”

Peter explains how this new birth happens.

1 Peter 1:23 NLT
[23]”For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.”

Faith in the truth of God’s Word is the means by which we both enter and live in God’s kingdom. This partnership between us and the Holy Spirit means that the Spirit activates the Word in us to do what it says it will do. To use an inadequate illustration, faith is like the cord which connects an appliance to the source of power. We plug into the Word by faith through which the power of the Holy Spirit flows.

In this brief examination of the power of God’s Word, we can only conclude that, without the Bible, we will never know how or why we are here, where we are going and how we get there. We will never understand the grace and mercy of the God who sent His Son to save us and how we can be saved. We will never experience the peace that God gives when we believe the Word, receive the salvation in Jesus the Word reveals, and enter into the new life that transforms our hearts and takes us to the Father.

Psalms 19:7-11 NLT
[7] “The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. [8] The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living. [9] Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair. [10] They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb. [11] They are a warning to your servant, a great reward for those who obey them.”

This, the power of the God’s Word!

To be continued…

GOD’S WORD – ITS AUTHORITY

Apologetics, ,

How do we know that the Bible has the authority of no other book? Let’s allow it to speak for itself.

“Sola Scriptura” was the rallying cry of the Protestant Reformation. For centuries the Roman Catholic Church had made its traditions superior in authority to the Bible. This resulted in many practices that were in fact contradictory to the Bible.” (gotquestions)

What does the Bible have to say about its authority?

“The primary Catholic argument against sola scriptura is that the Bible does not explicitly teach sola scriptura. Catholics argue that the Bible nowhere states that it is the only authoritative guide for faith and practice. However, this is only true in the shallowest sense.

“The principle is strongly indicated by verses such as Acts 17:11, which commends the Bereans for testing doctrine—taught by an apostle, no less—to the written Word.” (gotquestions)

Acts 17:11 NIV
[11] “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”

Paul was obviously referring to the Tanach, the writings we call the Old Testament, which was already in existence and authoritative for the early church since the church recognised the gospel of Jesus as the continuation and fulfilment of the Old Testament Scriptures.

“Sola scriptura is all-but-explicitly indicated in 1 Corinthians 4:6, where Paul warns not to “go beyond what is written.” (gotquestions)

1 Corinthians 4:6 NIV
[6] “Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other.”

Since the early church recognised the authority of the Tanach, there was no place for competition between church leaders. They were bound by what was written in the Scriptures.

“Jesus Himself criticized those who allowed traditions to override the explicit commands of God in Mark 7:6–9.” (gotquestions)

Mark 7:6-8 NIV
[6] He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. [7]  They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ [8]  You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”

There is multiple evidence in the gospel records that Jesus based His entire life and teachings on the Old Testament Scriptures. His disclosure to the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus after His resurrection reveal the foundation  of His earthly life and death.

Luke 24:25, 27 NIV
[25] “He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
[27] And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”

The article on “Sola Scriptura”, found in www.gotquestions.com concludes with this argument.

“We know that the Bible is the Word of God. The Bible declares itself to be God-breathed, inerrant, and authoritative. We also know that God does not change His mind or contradict Himself. So, while the Bible itself may not explicitly argue for sola scriptura, it most definitely does not allow for traditions that contradict its message. Sola scriptura is not as much of an argument against tradition as it is an argument against unbiblical, extra-biblical and/or anti-biblical doctrines. The only way to know for sure what God expects of us is to stay true to what we know He has revealed—the Bible. We can know, beyond the shadow of any doubt, that Scripture is true, authoritative, and reliable. The same cannot be said of tradition.”

Where tradition clashes with or contradicts Scripture, our only safe position is to trust the Bible to be what it claims to be, the authoritative Word of God.

“The Word of God is the ultimate and only infallible authority for the Christian faith. Traditions are valid only when they conform with Scripture. Traditions that contradict the Bible are not of God and are not a valid aspect of the Christian faith. Sola scriptura is the only way to avoid subjectivity and keep personal opinion from taking priority over the teachings of the Bible. The essence of sola scriptura is basing one’s spiritual life on the Bible alone and rejecting any tradition or teaching that is not in full agreement with the Bible.  2 Timothy 2:15 declares, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”

Paul assured his protege, young Timothy,

2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV
[16] “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, [17] so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Like Paul, we can have every confidence in the authority of the Bible since it testifies to and proves the truth of its claim.

GOD’S WORD – ITS SOURCES

Apologetics, ,

How did a book as amazing and unique as the Bible come into existence? There is no other book written over two-plus millennia by more than 40 different authors residing in different countries, in three languages, that can claim the unity and cohesion that the Bible presents. This book is a miracle but…it did not fall from heaven; it had to have human participation to bring it about, a true partnership between God and people.

Let’s look at the process, even if only in summary form. This presentation may be a bit technical but I hope it helps you to understand something of the way in which we have a reliable copy of God’s Word.

Humans had to preserve the original writings as accurately as possible. There is no record of the way people went about collecting and preserving them , or even if they still exist. The only way we have access to them is through copies of copies of copies of the originals that were passed down from generation to generation. The miracle is that these copies are still in existence and that those who copied them were careful to preserve the text as error-free as possible. This accuracy is tested by comparing the most ancient copies with later ones.

How do we know this happened?

This is Meta’s summary…

“The accuracy of biblical manuscripts is a topic of ongoing scholarly debate and research.

Here’s a brief overview:

Manuscript Evidence
The Bible’s original texts, written by authors like Moses, David, and Paul, have not survived to the present day. However, we have thousands of manuscript copies, fragments, and quotes from early Christian writers that help us reconstruct the original texts.

Types of Manuscripts
1.”Autographs”: The original texts written by the authors (none have survived).

  1. “Manuscripts”: Handwritten copies of the texts (e.g., Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Vaticanus).
  2. “Papyri”: Fragments of texts written on papyrus (e.g., P52, P46).
  3. “Quotes” : Citations from early Christian writers (e.g., Origen, Eusebius).

Factors Supporting Accuracy

  1. “Manuscript Multiplicity”: Over 5,800 Greek manuscripts, 10,000 Latin manuscripts, and 1,000 other manuscripts exist.
  2. “Geographical Distribution”: Manuscripts come from various regions, reducing the likelihood of widespread errors.
  3. “Early Dates”: Some manuscripts date back to within 100-200 years of the original texts (e.g., P52, circa 125 AD).
  4. “Consistency”: Manuscripts show remarkable consistency, despite being copied over centuries.
  5. “Textual Criticism”: Scholars use various methods to analyze and compare manuscripts, ensuring the most accurate text possible.

Challenges and Limitations

  1. “Transmission Errors”: Human errors during copying, such as typos or omissions.
  2. “Intentional Changes”: Some scribes may have intentionally altered texts for theological or ideological reasons.
  3. “Lost Manuscripts”: Many manuscripts have been lost or destroyed over the centuries.

Conclusion
While we can’t be 100% certain about the accuracy of every detail, the cumulative evidence from manuscript multiplicity, geographical distribution, early dates, consistency, and textual criticism provides strong support for the reliability of the biblical texts. Scholars continue to refine our understanding of the texts through ongoing research and analysis.”

There is no other ancient writing as thoroughly documented as the Bible. In the case of works by ancient philosophers like Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle, for example, only a few texts are available today compared with the total count of nearly 66,000 including, for example, fragments of Bible texts on mummy wrappings.

“What about translations?” you might ask. “How do we know that translations are an accurate reflection of the original text?”

Again, Meta provides a helpful summary.

“Ensuring the accuracy of Bible translations is a complex process that involves several steps and considerations. Here are some key factors that contribute to the accuracy of Bible translations:

Translation Process
1.” Textual Criticism”: Scholars analyze and compare various manuscripts to determine the most reliable text.

  1. “Language Expertise”: Translators must be proficient in the original languages (Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic) and the target language.
  2. “Translation Teams” : Multiple scholars and translators work together to ensure accuracy and consistency.
  3. “Peer Review”: Translations are reviewed and critiqued by other experts to identify potential errors or inaccuracies.

Translation Philosophies

  1. “Formal Equivalence” : Translators focus on conveying the exact wording and grammatical structure of the original text.
  2. “Dynamic Equivalence” : Translators prioritize conveying the overall meaning and context of the original text, even if it means using different words or phrases.
  3. “Optimal Equivalence”: Translators aim to balance formal and dynamic equivalence, seeking to convey both the original wording and the overall meaning.

Additional Factors

  1. “Manuscript Evidence”: Translators rely on a vast array of manuscripts, including early and reliable texts.
  2. “Historical and Cultural Context”: Translators consider the historical, cultural, and social context in which the original text was written.
  3. “Theological and Literary Considerations”: Translators take into account the theological themes, literary styles, and genre-specific conventions of the original text.

Examples of Reliable Translations

  1. “New International Version (NIV)”: A balanced translation that aims for optimal equivalence.
  2. “New American Standard Bible (NASB)”: A formal equivalence translation that prioritizes accuracy and precision.
  3. “English Standard Version (ESV)”: A translation that seeks to balance formal and dynamic equivalence.

While no translation is perfect, the combination of rigorous scholarship, careful translation, and consideration of various factors helps ensure that modern Bible translations accurately reflect the true meaning of the original text.”

One final comment…
Translations done by teams of experts are more likely to be accurate than single translators since they provide checks and balances rather than the personal opinion or pet theory of one person.

We must be wary of those that paraphrase rather than translate because a paraphrase injects words and ideas that may not reflect the meaning of the words of the original text.

Since much of the Old Testament was written in paleo Hebrew, an ancient picture language, rather like a comic strip, the meaning of individual pictures representing words can only be derived from their context. This makes translation far more complicated since pictures cannot be translated into specific words. As many translators are abstract-thinking and philosophy-orientated, some of the Old Testament’s original meanings are lost in translation.

One example…in Genesis 1, the word “bara”, translated “created”, as in “God created” (bara) is used in other parts of Scripture in a way that cannot be translated “created”.

A word from the Lord to Eli about his wicked sons…

1 Samuel 2:29 NLT
[29] “So why do you scorn my sacrifices and offerings? Why do you give your sons more honor than you give me—for you and they have become fat (bara) from the best offerings of my people Israel!”

In this context, Eli’s sons became fat on the sacrifices that belonged to God.

“Bara” can mean create, shape, filled up, or fatten. Is it not possible that, in Genesis 1, “bara” may mean, “In the beginning, God shaped or filled up the earth (in preparation for human habitation)?” The rest of Genesis 1 describes the process by which He reshaped a corrupted earth.

The study of textual criticism is too painstaking, involved and intricate to explain here but it is sufficient to say, in the face of all the evidence, that the Bible, in its translations, is a book as close to the original as is humanly possible to achieve.

The outcome for us today should be the confidence that we have access to God’s Word as close to the truth as He intended.

WHAT IS THE LOCAL CHURCH?

Apologetics,

Isn’t it amazing how people, we humans, have the knack of changing God’s Word to suit us. Take, for example, the way we identify church groups, denominating them by theological criteria…Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Anglican…etc. We immediately associate people belonging to these “denominations” as either subscribing to infant baptism and confirmation versus believer’s baptism, hierarchical church government versus congregational rule, or even “born-again, Spirit-filled believers” versus the rest! There are other, lesser differences that give denominations their unique identity, as in today’s world, independant groups who think they have a handle on the truth but, in the end, these are artificial, non-biblical, superimposed differences.

The New Testament puts the church into only two categories according to its GEOGRAPHY, the local church and the universal or global church. So, churches were identified by where they were situated in the known world of that day.

Jesus is head of the universal church, His body which, like a human body, is made up of cells, which are the local churches…all believing the same truth, all connected to and living under the authority of the same Lord. Unlike the human body whose cells function differently, the cells of the global church have similar functions.

Some local churches today, unfortunately, have lost or ignored the pattern of the biblical church. Some are run as businesses, others as clubs, still others as military operations, with strict hierarchical orders, depending on the bent of the leadership.

No so the church of the Lord Jesus Christ! His church is made up of His sons and daughters doing life together under the loving leadership of its Head. Each member is a responsible and willing partner in the harmonious togetherness of the whole.

Let’s examine three of the main functions of the local church.

First, the nature of the church is a FAMILY . Every member of the local church is a son or daughter of God, born from above by the Spirit of God and adopted as full members into His divine family. Every member worships the same Lord, believes and practises His Word, and is connected to every other member by the “glue” of the same Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:13 NLT
[13] “Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.”

Jesus is both head and elder brother in this family. In the Hebrew family, the eldest son, the first-born, is responsible for the wellbeing of all the “second-borns”, and the family as a whole. As the “priest” of the family, he represents the family to the father and the father to the family. So, Jesus, our elder brother, represents the Father in all the doings and dealings of the family and us to the Father. God chose Him to be the head and leader of His family because He was qualified to be High Priest of the family.

Hebrews 5:5, 8-9 NLT
[5] “That is why Christ did not honor himself by assuming he could become High Priest. No, he was chosen by God, who said to him, “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.”…
[8] Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. [9] In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.”

Hebrews 2:10 NLT
[10] “God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory. And it was only right that he should make Jesus, through his suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation.”

This new family overrides all human family ties.

Matthew 12:48-50 NLT
[48] “Jesus asked, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” [49] Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. [50] Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!”

We become members of God’s family by adoption through the new birth.

Ephesians 1:5 NLT
[5] “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.”

Romans 8:14-16 NLT
[14] “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. [15] So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” [16] For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.”

Jesus is the head, elder brother, High Priest, and blueprint for every member of His family.

…made like us…

Hebrews 2:11, 14, 17 NLT
[11] So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters…

…died for us…

[14] Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.

…represents us…

[17] “Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people.”

… and we are being remade like Him…

Romans 8:28-29 NLT
[28]”And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. [29] For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the FIRSTBORN among many brothers and sisters.”

Togetherness is the hallmark of the family, bound by love and the strong family ties of new birth and belonging. So, the whole New Covenant presents the blueprint for the life of love and unity in the kingdom, the solid foundation of our family connectedness. It’s this real difference between the church and the world that alerts unbelievers to true power of the gospel.

John 13:34-35 NLT
[34] “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. [35] Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

John 17:23 NLT
[23] “I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.”

Second, this divine family expresses itself through FELLOWSHIP.

What is fellowship?

Worldly clubs and organisations sometimes classify their togetherness as” fellowship” because they share the same goals and objectives. Their “fellowship” is based on ideas and philosophies external to themselves. Most often, their goals and objectives are not the driving force of their lives but rather some “after-hours” activity they engage in.

No so the church!

John teaches us about fellowship in his first letter.

1 John 1:2-3 NLT
[2] “This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. [3] We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”

Fellowship in the church begins in the heart and is the heart of its togetherness. Real fellowship has Jesus as its root…understandimg and believing who He is and what He did, according to the Bible’s evidence, and being rooted by faith in Him as the source of life itself. Fellowship with one another is based securely on “Christ in us, the hope of glory”.

The miracle of this fellowship is that first, we share the very life of Jesus through faith in Him, and second, we share this common life with one another because He is in us collectively as His body, the church.

Third, we maintain the integrity of this fellowship by being transparent with one another and with the Father.

1 John 1:5-7 NLT
[5] This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. [6] So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. [7] But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

God the Father has impregnated us with His own nature by His word…

1 Peter 1:22-23 NIV
[22] “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. [23] For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”

1 John 3:9-10 NIV
[9] “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. [10] This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.”

Both Peter and John testify that the evidence of new birth and the presence of the life of God in us is the love we have for one another.

This means that Jesus Christ is the heart of our fellowship because He is at the centre of the Father’s heart and He is the centre of our new lives.

The most amazing truth is that God maintains the integrity of our fellowship by the constant cleansing of the blood of Jesus as we walk in honesty with the Lord and with one another.

The third characteristic of the local church is it’s FUNCTION .

The primary function of some local churches is to turn the church into a facility for “tertiary education”. The function of their churches is to train people in every facet of Christian life. Seminars, courses, conferences, meetings, even church services…all the members must attend to qualify for serving in the church and to move them towards becoming model believers.

Other congregations, for example, focus on the “good works” side of their life together. Social involvement is the main function of their family.

These things may be important but they must flow from, not be the reason for family togetherness. The function of the family, first, is to be a family. It is this aspect of the local congregation’s life that sets it apart from all other worldly groups and organisations.

We have this witness in the life of the early church in Acts. The church was welded together by the way they handled their everyday lives…their problems and challenges…applying the wisdom given to them by the Spirit to overcome their human frailties.

The outcome was waves of new converts, convinced by the witness of believers to their new lives, and coming into the church through the One who changed the people in God’s family. Being convinced that this was a God-thing, they wanted to be a part of it. Despite hardship and persecution, they also believed and were born into God’s family.

After the judgment in Ananias and Sapphira…

Acts of the Apostles 5:11-14 NLT
[11] Great fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who heard what had happened. [12] The apostles were performing many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers were meeting regularly at the Temple in the area known as Solomon’s Colonnade.
[13] “But no one else dared to join them, even though all the people had high regard for them. [14] Yet more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord—crowds of both men and women.”

So, we have, in Scripture, the witness of one global church, divided, geographically, into small units…believers living in unity with each other in obedience to their Head, doing life together, and having a powerful influence on outsiders.

What if the artificially divided and theologically distanced groups of believers today were to return to our roots in the New Testament? Perhaps the church of the Lord Jesus would no longer be a joke but would once again become the powerful force that would turn our world “right-side-up”!

THS SPINOFFS OF TRUTH

Apologetics, ,

Colossians 1:22-23 NIV
[22] “But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— [23] if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.”

How imperative it was for Paul to explain to the Colossian church the foundation truths about Jesus!Without this basis, their entire experience as children of God would topple and disintegrate. However small or apparently insignificant a deviation from the truth, the entire gospel is undermined and becomes useless.

All the realities of forgiveness of sin, reconciliation with the Father, a new standing in grace, holy and accepted, and every other blessing we enjoy, are spinoffs of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Undermine that, and we are left with nothing.

When the Corinthian church was tempted to dismiss the truth of the resurrection, Paul not only argued for the truth but also pointed out the terrible implications for God’s children if there is no resurrection of the dead. Then Jesus did not rise from the dead either, and that was unthinkable!

1 Corinthians 15:13-19 NIV
[13] “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. [14] And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless, and so is your faith. [15] More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if, in fact, the dead are not raised. [16] For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. [17] And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. [18] Then those also, who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. [19] If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”

Any deviation from the details of the gospel given to us in God’s Word has serious implications for our lives now and our hope for the future.

Paul battled against different false teachers and their false teachings in different churches. For example, the Galatian believers were plagued by Jewish teachers who insisted that Gentile believers be circumcised to be saved. To Paul, this was an issue of dire significance, of life and death. Christ plus anything was “another gospel” and under God’s curse.

Galatians 1:6-9 NIV
[6]”I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— [7] which is really no gospel at all. Evidently, some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. [8] But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! [9] As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!”

Anyone who believes the teaching that undermines faith in the sufficiency of Jesus’ death and resurrection renders the gospel useless for them.

Galatians 5:2-4 NIV
[2″Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. [3] Again, I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. [4] You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.”

These seem like harsh words, especially for us in an era when people are taught that truth is not objective or absolute. Truth is what we want it to be…our truth…my truth.

The objective truth of Jesus’ death and resurrection is a fact of history. Many have taken pains to disprove its historical fact, only to be convinced of its truth and drawn to faith in Jesus. “Who Moved the Stone?” by the lawyer, Frank Morrison, is a classical example of one who lost the battle against unbelief.

So, what is Paul saying to us?

Jesus is who He said He is, the Son of God! Jesus said He would die and rise again, and He did! Jesus gave His disciples authority and the Holy Spirit to interpret these historical facts, and they did! We have a complete record of the revelation the Spirit gave them to understand these spinoffs and their implcations for our lives. All this is proven and trustworthy.

Only one thing is left to do. Obey by believing! Outs lives depend on it!