And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 1 Corinthians 15:49

Sunday, October 23, 2022

If I Be Lifted Up

"...Nothing is certain except death and taxes" Benjamin Franklin. Taxes we can live with, but death--that is a different story!

Many people are afraid of death, and why not? It is the end of life as we know it. It is the doorway from the familiar to the unfamiliar. Many have passed from this side of that doorway to the next, but only ONE has passed from the next side unto this side. And it is the One who has passed from the next side back to this side, in whom we put our trust for what life is like on the other side.

Of course, that One I am talking about is the Lord Jesus Christ! It is Jesus who conquered sin and death, and taken away it's sting. 1 Cor. 15:55-57 " O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Every Christian can attest to the reassurance they have when they know in themselves that they are in right standing with God, but even many Christians are not sure about their right standing with God, and are even fearful of their own death as fearing that they don't qualify for a life filled with the joy of all that the heaven they have been taught is available to them.

It is that sense of fear of disqualification that I would like to put at ease in many of these blog posts that I write, including this one. The verse I would like to start with is the very familiar verse found in John 12:32 "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me."

This verse is so familiar because it is sang in church as a praise song to "Lift Jesus Higher" but the truth of the matter is that to be "lifted up from the earth" is a euphemism for the crucifixion! Rather than saying a person was about to be crucified, they might say he is to be lifted up, to ease the terrible thought of this Roman form of torture reserved for the worst of criminals, that the Romans wanted to make a visual point of cruel torture to make it known what happens to those who threaten Rome. In fact the bible tells us what Jesus meant by what He said in John 12:32 by what He said in the next verse: John 12:33 "This he said, signifying what death he should die."

I am not sure how I think about singing that verse after knowing what I just wrote, but perhaps as it is in our minds as a praise song to His Lordship, and as a form of exaltation, then indeed there is no harm. What I would like to point out in this post is what Jesus said would be the result of His being lifted up. "I will draw all men unto me." which on the surface sounds all nice and gentle and inviting, but I want to focus your attention on a couple words of that verse. The first word is, what is translated as "draw". It is from the Greek word helkō which means: to draw, drag off metaph., to draw by inward power, lead, impel. It is the same word used to draw in a net full of fish. In fact just as ALL the fish in a net are impelled to be dragged into the boat, so also are the ALL for whom Jesus is dying on the cross. 

It is the other word in verse 32 I want to also bring your attention to consider, and that is the word ALL. Someone once said about this word, "What don't you understand about the word all: the A or the two L's?" What needs to be understood is the fact that the death of Jesus on the cross and subsequent resurrection was a WORLD CHANGING event! Jesus put to death ALL of those who were born a descendant of the first Adam and began a second creation race a descendant of Himself making all creation past present and future heirs and joint heirs with Christ. And Romans 5:12: "just as by one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" ...5:17 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.... 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." So that you do not confuse the word all for the word many, take note is is the same "many" (all) who were made sinners, that is the many (all) made righteous.

There is no getting away with thinking or believing that some qualify and some do not qualify for a life eternal beyond the mortal door of death, and into that life of God offered to ALL creation right from the very beginning! There is no denying the Lord Jesus Christ any one of the ALL that He died on the cross to save! It is the greatest lie ever to be perpetrated against mankind to say anyone born into God's good creation will ever be separated from Him! Rom. 8:38-39 "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."


Well, you might say, if that is the case, then why not just live in sin, since all will be saved by the death of Jesus on the cross? Funny you should say that, since Paul anticipated that his very argument based on what I just quoted would lead you to that conclusion. Romans 6:1-2 "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein" And also in 2 Cor. 5:14 "For the love of Christ constrains us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again."


The difference between us who have become believers, and those who have not is simply that WE know now, and THEY do not! So, it is up to us who know to tell them who do not that God is not mad at them, and has forgiven them and is not holding their sins against them! They are NOT going to be sent to an endless torture chamber and last day bar-b-que, but rather they too can experience His forgiveness now, and a promised abundant life now. THAT IS THE GOSPEL! That Jesus said He would drag ALL men unto himself : If I Be Lifted Up.



Sunday, October 9, 2022

...The Problem Of Evil continued


On June 15, 2013, Ethan Couch lost control of his family’s pickup truck after he and his friends had played beer pong and drank beer stolen from a Walmart. He veered into a crowd of people helping the driver of a disabled vehicle on the side of the road. The crash fatally injured the stranded motorist, a youth minister who stopped to help her, and a mother and daughter who came out of their nearby home to also help. Couch, 16 at the time of the crash, was found to have a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit for adult drivers after the crash. Investigators estimated his speed was around 70 mph in a 40 mph zone.
A psychologist who evaluated Couch in 2013 introduced the “affluenza” term at trial in reference to Couch being coddled by his wealthy parents. He testified that Couch learned nothing from his first incidents, court records show. The teen didn’t think he had done anything serious, Dr. G. Dick Miller said, and his mother lied to his father about it.

In the last post, in my discussion on the problem of evil, I talked about the difference it would make if this world never experienced the devastating effects of evil. I remembered this story from years ago which made me think of it as an example of the contrast between the teen Ethan Couch, and the death and destruction he caused. He would have no remorse, since he had no experience of consequences for any actions he took; and how anyone even reading this story would feel having known the experience of cause and effect; good and evil; right and wrong; actions and consequences. The example of "knowing" by experience.

I mentioned that I believe that it is vitally important to understand the plan and purpose God had for His creation to begin with. Where I depart with most others is when they say that God gave man free will to choose to obey or not as proof of Adam's love for God; and that I believe the first man Adam was not who God had in mind when He said "Let us make man in our image and likeness." I believe that JESUS who is the LAST ADAM and the SECOND MAN, make US the NEW CREATION MAN, as heirs and joint heirs with Jesus! Otherwise, then Jesus just becomes PLAN B, to God's purpose of creation, which we know that He is not! Jesus has ALWAYS been the plan and purpose of God's good creation!

Since Jesus was the last Adam, He put to death ALL of the Adamic race on the cross, and paid for the sin of the world for ALL time and forever, and was raised up to become the beginning of a whole new Christ man, with Jesus as the head! God was never mad at mankind! In fact if you understand this plan of God then it makes sense what it says in Genesis 6:3 "And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years." I used to think that was a threat. Like God was saying: "That's it, I am not going to put up with this for long before I finally lose my temper and you are going to get it". But now I see that verse as a promise of redemption!! As if God was saying: "Don't worry, the plan is in motion, YOU are not going to always be at strife with me, it has an ending, even a 120 years, and then the final outcome will be accomplished, and this enmity will come to an end!" Somewhat like a parent who reassures their child before surgery that when they wake up all their pain will come to an end. Psalm 17:15 "As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness."

I will agree that even understanding this explanation for evil does not make it easier to go through the torment of suffering, especially when it seems so random and without reason. "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." Hebrews 12:11 But be assured nothing escapes the loving care and compassionate Heavenly Father! We see that played out in the person of Jesus, who is the full representation of God in the earth!

We also have a long history of countless examples of people who have turned their suffering from evil of many kinds into a testimony of the Grace of God in the midst of their pain, and demonstrate by a living example that indeed Love triumphs over hate; good triumphs over evil; grace and mercy triumphs over unforgiveness! There are many examples throughout history of people like Corrie Ten Boom, who was prisoner in a Nazi prison camp. Or how about Nelson Mandela who spent decades in prison for successfully leading the resistance to South Africa's policy of apartheid in the 20th century. I just recently read an autobiography of a lady named Theresa Gilliam, who wrote a book called Bring My Soul Out Of Prison who suffered much evil at the hands of many people including her husband, and still knew God was with her in the midst of her struggle.

Even suffering that is not the result of evil is also a major complaint from many who are mad at God for their pain and sorrow. Job is about the most well known example of suffering being replaced by restoration. Or Joni Erickson Tada who broke her neck as a teen in a diving accident, and is paralyzed. She was able to display the love and grace of God in her life beyond what anyone can imagine out of her tragic circumstance.

And we can go on to talk about the many who were born or later suffered deformities from accidents. How about war the result of man's inhumanity to man! No matter how long the list of evil and tragedy is, the list of the goodness of God is abundantly greater! "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Rom.8:18

All of these people are in stark contrast to Ethan Couch! The difference between someone who is kept from any bad experiences and whose lawyer argued that, as a reason of his destructive and deadly behavior, and those who like the people in the Faith chapter of Hebrews 11:13 "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."

As I said at the start of the previous post, I have no expectations of providing an adequate answer to solve this question to anyone's satisfaction in full in such a sort blog post as this, however I think I can provide some thoughts to provoke more thought in that direction for someone who reads this post. Perhaps, maybe, having read these writings, you have more understanding to give you peace when considering ...The Problem Of Evil


Sunday, October 2, 2022

The Problem Of Evil...

There have been countless books written about the subject of this title, and so I have no expectations of providing an adequate answer to solve this question to anyone's satisfaction in full in such a sort blog post as this, however I think I can provide some thoughts to provoke more thought in that direction for someone who reads this post. 

"Let us make man in our image, and after our likeness..." (Gen. 1:26) So here in this verse we see the purpose of God revealed, to make man in His image and likeness. Don't skip by this verse without considering it closely, it sets up the whole story! It is widely believed that it is Adam to whom God is referring to in this verse. Adam can also be interpreted as humankind. And in the broader sense, I believe God purposes the end from the beginning and so He sees the New Creation Man in Christ as the ultimate purpose, and Adam is the beginning of the process.

 So with that in mind consider this verse in Gen 3:22 "Now man has become as one of us, knowing the difference between good and evil."  Well, isn't that the beginnings of the purpose stated in Gen 1:26? I have always been told that it was such a problem for God since God told Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or he would surely die. However, was God unaware of what Adam would do? Of course He was aware, in fact God is Sovereign! He knows ALL things, and is fully aware of the end result of His purpose, and that purpose included Adam's disobedience in the Garden of Eden.  Adam did not mess up God's purpose, Adam fulfilled God's purpose! The plan is in motion.

But why? What kind of plan is that? Didn't Adam freely reject God's love by his disobedience? Adam could not have known the extent of God's love, and couldn't know what he was rejecting, therefore his will was manipulated by the result of Eve being deceived by the serpent who enticed her desire to eat of the (figurative) tree in the center of the Garden, which we are told: "...that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom...   Gen. 3:6.  The truth is that Adam was set up to fall. It was not some kind of test to see if Adam would obey or disobey God like many bible scholars try to explain, it is the kind that gives a purpose to what we call the problem of evil. Let me explain. 

Imagine there was no evil. No killing, no lying no harming others, no sorrow, no pain: just heavenly bliss... like the Garden of Eden non stop forever. Ahh, pretty good eh! How would you know? Not only how would you know there was no evil if you never knew about it, but how would you even know you were experiencing goodness? It's the tree of the knowledge of good AND evil. It is a comparison system. Good and evil. Light and darkness. Need and supply. Desire and fulfillment. 

Adam was innocent like a new born baby, before this plunge into disobedience. So, how was he even to understand what it meant to die, before death entered into this world? For that matter how would Adam understand the Nature and Character of God? Adam just knew God as Creator. How is God to reveal Himself to His creation? Does God just explain to Adam who He is? How far can that go without experiencing examples?

There are different meanings in the bible for the word knowledge. I use the example of being a skydiver. I had knowledge at first that there are skydivers. Then I learned knowledge through training the process of how to skydive, but then there is the experience of actually jumping out of a plane and skydiving for myself! 

In one biblical example of this is in Gen 4:1 "Adam knew Eve, and she conceived and bore a son.." It shows the intimacy of the knowledge. So how are we to have that same intimate knowledge of the creator God? By using that system of contrast. "Now man has become as one of us knowing the difference between good and evil." Man is also learning compassion, and forgiveness, and mercy, and love, and kindness, and patience. Rom. 5:3-4 "And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:"

Okay, so this post might offer some explanation of the purpose God had in allowing evil to take place, but hasn't it gotten out of control, and what about all of the suffering it has caused? How can that be a good thing? I will say this before I continue in the next post: There is no question that people can easily cite many, many examples of great evil in the world's history! Unimaginable suffering of innocent victims. One only has to mention the Holocaust to make their point. So how can I say that evil is not out of control? I mean really haven't  things gotten worse? Where is God? And the proof I offer that things are not out of control is this: That the absolute ultimate form of evil ever in history took place more that 2.000 years ago on a cross in Israel in the Deicide (murder) of God in the innocent person of Jesus!

The proof that God has ALL things under control, and evil does NOT have the final say, and evil is not running a muck outside the boundaries of God's purpose is that the ULTIMATE evil has already been perpetrated on God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ, as part of the plan and has used that which was meant for evil to overcome evil and death and to redeem mankind from the curse. In the Sovereign Love and purpose of God, Jesus suffered and was crucified FROM the FOUNDATION of the world. The plan was finished before it was started and put in motion. God has proven that to not repay evil for evil, but rather that evil is overcome by LOVE is the solution which we will explore further in the next post, to The Problem Of Evil...

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