Category Archives: Apologetics

GOD HAS THE LAST WORD

Apologetics, ,

Racism” is an issue that raises its ugly head all over the world. It’s the mud that people sling at each other when they don’t like what the other has said or done. It’s the brick wall they hide behind to shield their own “racist” attitudes. It’s the paint they apply to blame the other person’s colour on the outside.

However, racism, and all its fallacies, is, well, a fallacy! You see, when God created the first pair, He made the beginning of one race, the human race. All the colour, culture, and group distinctions are variations of one race. If we strip off our skin, we are all the same on the inside.

Acts of the Apostles 17:26 NLT
[26] “From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.”

So, what can be clearer than that!

Where does racism originate? I comes from foolish members of this one race who think that the variations in one race equals different races! Since a dachshund differs from a dalmatian, is it not a dog? Since a lion differs from a house cat, is it not a cat?

When Jesus came to rescue the human race from sin, He created another race but on very different grounds. His world was divided into two variations in the human race, but not on the grounds of colour or culture. Their defining difference were spiritual. The Jews were God’s people; the Gentiles, were not. The Jews believed in one God; the Gentiles worshipped many gods.

The hatred between Jew and Gentile was deep and bitter. Their racism would never be solved by negotiation or education. There was no way of ever bringing about “racial” tolerance. It was what it was.

God’s way of ending the enmity was risky and radical but permanent and effective.

Ephesians 2:14-16 NLT
[14] “For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. [15] He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. [16] Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.”

How about that!

No more reason to be at loggerheads with each other. Peace and togetherness at last! A new perspective on racism. It does not exist in God’s family.

Galatians 3:28-29 NLT
[28]”There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. [29] And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.”

Therefore, racism is the artificial distinction created by those who leave God out of their lives.

From God’s perspective, then, there are only two variations in the human race.

1 John 5:11-12 NLT
[11]” And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. [12] Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.”

All other distinctions are false and mischievous, creating wars that have no grounds to exist.

“I WILL GIVE YOU THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM”

Apologetics, ,

Matthew 16:17-19 NLT
[17] “Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. [18] Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. [19] And I WILL GIVE YOU THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM of Heaven. Whatever you forbid (untie, loosen, release, annul, set at naught, destroy – Strong’s Concordance number g3089) on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit ( bind, tie, fasten – Strong’s Concordance number g1210) on earth will be permitted in heaven.”

This is a passage of Scripture that has almost as many interpretations as there are interpreters! From Peter, the rock on whom Jesus builds His church to demons that have to be beaten back by our authority, confusion has confused the issues around Jesus’ commission to His disciples.

It’s important for us to distinguish between specific instructions and promises Jesus gave to His twelve disciples as the “foundation” of the church…

Ephesians 2:20 NLT
[20] Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.

… and general instructions and promises that apply to the church.

“I WIL GIVE YOU THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM”… What a loaded statement! The entire New Testament is an expansion on Jesus’ promise to His Twelve disciples.

This was a unique situation in the lives of the disciples. The setting was unusual, one that Jesus deliberately chose as the background to His commission to His disciples.

Caesarea Philippi was the “red light” district of Israel, situated in the north-east, near Mount Hermon, and the area later known as Banias, the source of the Jordan River and the site of the despicable pagan worship of Pan, the goat-god.

This was the area in Israel, the centre of monotheistic Judaism, where Roman and Greek paganism were practised in the extreme. A temple to the worship of Caesar and a temple to the worship of Pan, the goat-god of fertility, were the centre of pagan worship in this area together with the disgusting practice of sexual contact with goats.

Against this background, where the worst of human depravity was exposed, Jesus impressed on His disciples the power of His “yoke”, the power of the gospel based on His life, death, and resurrection, to save and deliver from all sin. At the same time, He commissioned His disciples through understanding and experience, to interpret, and teach His yoke to the whole world which was the key to the kingdom of heaven.

Although He did not express these details in so many words on this occasion, the disciples would have understood His commission by the words He used. They were first-century disciples of a Jewish rabbi. They were called to a life-long commitment to follow, imitate, and pass on the teachings and practices of their “teacher” without adding or subtracting anything from his teaching or example. His yoke represented every detail of who he was, did, and taught.

Like a young ox yoked with an old ox to learn to pull a plough, disciples were “yoked” to their rabbi to learn to live like he did and to pass the rabbi’s yoke to other disciples.

So, Jesus’ final command to the Twelve was a summary of the years that they had spent yoked to Him as their rabbi.

Matthew 28:18-20 NLT
[18] “Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. [19] Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. [20] Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Jesus was adamant that those who adopted His yoke of righteousness and mercy would be set free from all other yokes, especially the yoke of the religious leaders who hypocritically taught a legalism they did not live by.

His yoke was already (approved) permitted in heaven and did away with every annulled and destroyed yoke bound on people (for example, the yokes of idolatry or legalism). Hence, He gave His commission to the Twelve to practise and teach His yoke to the very people who were enslaved by the paganism the disciples were witnessing in Caesarea Philippi. “On this rock I will build my church…” Which rock? Is it not possible that Jesus was referring to the very rock on which the temple to the worship of Pan stood. In places like that, He would build His church of people whose lives would be changed through His death and resurrection and His yoke of mercy and forgiveness.

Jesus’ authority to pass on His commission to His disciples lay in the very words of Peter’s confession. As the Son of the living God, He had the right and authority to send them out to the world to bind His yoke on people as the solution to sin and alienation from God.

The worst the world has done is to substitute imaginary gods for the true God, to attribute to them the right to be worshipped, and to turn God’s holy requirements upside down, calling good evil and evil good (Romans 1:18-32).

Jesus instructed His disciples to pass on the gospel message of salvation through His death and resurrection to the whole world. They would rightly understand what His death would mean, through the writings and predictions of the prophets in the Old Covenant. He would send the Holy Spirit to be in them, giving them understanding, who would lead them into all truth. He would inspire them to write this message for posterity.

2 Peter 1:16-21 NLT
[16] “For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes [17] when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic glory of God said to him, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” [18] We ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. [19] Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. [20] Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, [21] or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.”

It is faith in the gospel message of salvation through Jesus alone and obedience to the message, that is the key to the kingdom. The response of obedience to Jesus and His teaching opens the door to God’s reign in the heart. Jesus, sets those free from all other yokes who follow and obey Him.

John 8:31-36 NLT
[31] “Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. [32] And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” [33] “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?” [34] Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. [35] A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. [36] So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”

The Twelve were chosen to call people to enter the kingdom of God through repentance and faith in Jesus. They were to teach the good news of Jesus in all its detail. They would call others to discipleship, but no one would have the authority Jesus specifically entrusted to them. All other disciples are called to embrace the yoke the Twelve passed on without adding or subtracting anything to it. Adding to or subtracting anything from Jesus’ yoke would automatically disqualify them from being His disciples.

The passage of Scripture quoted at the beginning has a completely different meaning from that traditionally taught. This is not about binding Satan (as if this were possible!), and loosing the Holy Spirit (which is utter nonsense). Jesus taught His, disciples that the power of the gospel of God’s grace through His death and resurrection would bind that truth in them and loose them from the lies they believed and practised. Only through the message of the gospel, faith in Jesus, and the work of the Holy Spirit that brings about the new birth can anyone ever see or enter the kingdom of God.

In response to Nicodemus’ question…

John 3:3, 5-8 NLT
[3] “Jesus replied, “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. [6] Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. [7] So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ [8] The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE

Apologetics,

John 8:31-32, 36 NLT
[31]”Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. [32] And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”…
[36] So, if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”

“The truth will set you free.”

This is a misuse of Jesus’ statement, which is a fallacy. How often have you heard someone miquote Jesus’ words, “The truth will set you free”?

Nothing could be further from the truth! It’s like saying, “The recipe in this book will bake a cake!” How can this happen if you don’t use the words of the recipe to direct you in the process of baking a cake?

What did Jesus say, and what is the process by which we can experience true freedom?

His first statement is a condition without which it is impossible to experience freedom…

“You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings.”

Discipleship based on faithful obedience to Jesus’ teachings is the foundation of freedom. What He taught was radically different from what human philosophy taught. He taught love, kindness, and mercy even towards enemies. He taught submission and obedience to a heavenly Father. He taught selfless service and generosity towards others.

These ways of living in peace and harmony with God and people frees a disciple of Jesus from the guilt and shame of wrong attitudes and wrongdoing.

Jesus offered rest from the burdensome demands and requirements of religious law and the religious leaders who policed those who broke the law. A conscience bound to law-keeping is in slavery.

A conscience in harmony with Jesus’ teachings leads to freedom.

Matthew 11:28-30 NLT
[28] “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Following Jesus means learning to live by what is true. Jesus claimed to be the truth personified. He said to His disciples, who wanted to know the way to the Father,

John 14:5-6 NLT
[5] “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?” [6] Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”

Knowledge, understanding, doing what is true will release a person from failure to obey unreasonable demands that are untrue and do not work. Despite what our old, sinful nature desires, what Jesus taught and did, radically different though it was, leads to a heart at peace with God and people.

The Apostle Paul would heartily endorse Jesus’ words. His life BC (before Christ) was driven by a relentless passion to be righteous. He though he was right by destroying as many of Jesus’ followers as possible, even going outside of his own country to persecute believers.

Philippians 3:5-7 NLT
[5] “I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. [6] I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. [7] I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.”

To his great relief, he discovered that…

Romans 8:6 NLT
[6]”So, letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.”

The truth can never set anyone free. KNOWING and DOING what Jesus, who is the TRUTH, teaches is the only way to experience the freedom of forgiveness, cleansing from a guilty conscience, and the peace that reconciliation with God brings.

Romans 5:1-2 NLT
[1] “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. [2] Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.”

The world tries to dodge the truth that inner freedom is the only real freedom and that we can only experience inner freedom when we relinquish ourselves to Him as Saviour and Lord. However, the truth is that the only way to free ourselves from the demands of religion is to entrust ourselves to the only one who can set us free.

John 8:36 NLT
[36] “So, if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”

ASK AND KEEP ON ASKING – JESUS

Apologetics, ,

Matthew 7:7, 9-11 NLT
[7] “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you….
[9] “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? [10] Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! [11] So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.”

This prescription Jesus gave His disciples about prayer seems to imply that God responds to nagging. God will give us what we want if we nag Him long enough! Is that really what He meant?

As always, the context will reveal the true meaning.

In Matthew 7:9-10, Jesus compares the attitude of human fathers with the attitude of the heavenly Father. Although human fathers are basically sinful, they don’t substitute their children’s needs with harmful or worthless things like stones and snakes.

“How much more, then…” The Father’s love and goodness are far greater than those of human fathers. He will give better gifts to His children than even the basic needs of bread and fish.

So, Jesus urges, never stop asking, seeking, and knocking because we are approaching a loving and caring heavenly Father who gives what we need and much more. We can be assured that He is greater, wiser, more loving, and far more able than any earthly parent to supply the needs of His children.

GOOD GIFTS FROM A HEAVENLY FATHER

Apologetics, ,

Matthew 7:11 NLT
[11] “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.”

Luke 11:13 NLT
[13] “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

Why is there a difference between these two records of Jesus’ teaching? Are they a contradiction or are they saying the same thing in slightly different words?

The key, I think, is in one small word, not in the original text in Luke 11:13, but added by translators to expand on the “good things” in Matthew’s text.

The Holy Spirit’s title, in the Greek text, is ” ‘o pneuma hagios’, translated “the Holy Spirit”. The word ” ‘o” is the Greek definite article translated “the”. Wherever the Holy Spirit is mentioned in Scripture, He is given His full title. This little one-letter word signifies that the person addressed is one-and-only “Holy Spirit”. Nowhere in the New Testament is ” ‘o” omitted when referring to the Holy Spirit.

In Luke’s record of Jesus` words, “… how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him”, there is no
” ‘o” in the original text which means that it cannot be translated as “the Holy Spirit”.

How does this mistranslatiion fit with the teaching of Scripture?

Nowhere in the New Testament are we instructed to ask the Father for the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit was poured out on “all flesh” on the day of Pentecost as God promised and has never or will never been poured out again or withdrawn.

Two incidents in Acts show us how the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on specific non-Jewish believers as part of the “all flesh”, ie, on Samaritan believers…

Acts of the Apostles 8:14-17 NLT
[14] “When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God’s message, they sent Peter and John there. [15] As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit. [16] The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. [17] Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit.”

… on Cornelius, a Roman Centurion and his household….

Acts of the Apostles 10:44-45 NLT
[44] “Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message. [45] The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too.”

…and on twelve Ephesian believers who had not yet been baptised into Jesus…

Acts of the Apostles 19:1-2, 5-6 NLT
[1]”While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers. [2] “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them. “No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
[5] As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. [6] Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied.”

The Holy Spirit takes up residence in every person who receives God’s promise of salvation through faith in Jesus.

Acts of the Apostles 2:38 NLT
[38] “Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

1 Corinthians 12:13 NIV
[13] “For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”

Would Jesus, then, instruct His disciples to ask for the Holy Spirit?

This pernicious teaching in some parts of the church has led to the idea that to be a “spirit-filled“ believer, i.e., one who has received “the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues”, is in a class higher than ordinary believers.

Jesus would have none of that since all of His followers have been immersed in the Holy Spirit through faith in Him. The onus is on the believer to ba “filled” with the Spirit by obeying His leading and by nou quenching or grieving Him.

What did Jesus imply by His teaching in Luke 11?

Let’s go back to the Greek text and look again at the context. Since the Father is greater than earthly fathers, He gives “good gifts” to those who ask Him, good meaning “functional”. The Greek words imply that God will give a holy disposition, mental attitude (words derives from “pneuma” meaning wind or breath). to those who ask for (desire) it.

Is this promise, then, of “good gifts”, the “much more” that the heavenly Father will give, more than basic human needs that earthly fathers provide, to those who ask for ( earnestly desire)
a holy disposition?

This interpretation perfectly fits the whole drift of Scripture. There are so many verses that urge us to seek the Lord, draw near to Him, acknowledge Him, that we cannot ignore Jesus’ assurance that the Father will surely give and do much more that we can ask, think, or even imagine if we ask Him for “holy desires”!

Ephesians 3:20 NLT
[20] “*Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”