Proverbs Study

In the introduction to Proverbs, (See www.ibcpastor.blogspot.com), we looked at verse one of chapter one and discovered that the title of the book is Proverbs, from the Hebrew [Mashal], which refers to short rhythmic statements that are catchy and full of meaning. And they had wide spread acceptance as teaching tools.

We also learned that most of the book of Proverbs was written by Solomon. It is possible that chapters 30 and 31 were not, but the names used there may be alternate names for Solomon. It really doesn’t matter. It doesn’t damage the book in any way if there were other contributors because it was all given under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and eventually canonized as scripture. So it is still the Word of God even if there were other authors.

So verse one gives us the author and the explanation of what Proverbs are. Verses 2-6 gives us the purpose for the book of Proverbs. We alluded to some of this last week.

Remember we said that Proverbs deal with choices people make. They speak of family relationships, business ethics, moral choices, and inner motivation, and again universal in their application.

Proverbs adapt themselves to our situation, and provide instruction in handling “life”. The issues and apprehensions of life that bog us down. The questions we ask about how to raise our kids and handle our money, and make the most of our marriage, and get along with our neighbors and our employers. These are the things that Proverbs teach us.

But I guess that’s really more about what they are. But in Proverbs 1:2-6 God tells us what His purpose is for this book. Why did he inspire it? Why was it written? Why did he make sure that it is available to us 3000 years later to read and study? Well in these verses he makes that very clear.

1:2 “for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight;”

God is very clear. This book was given first of all for attaining:

“Wisdom”. If we had to sum up the theme of the book of Proverbs in one word it would be “Wisdom”. We saw last week that this book along with Job, some of the Psalms and Ecclesiastes are known as “Wisdom Literature”

The word, “wisdom” comes from the Hebrew word “chokma”, and has different meanings depending on the context. For instance,

II Chronicles 2:7 “Send me, therefore, a man skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, and in purple, crimson and blue yarn, and experienced in the art of engraving, to work in Judah and Jerusalem with my skilled craftsmen, whom my father David provided.”

Here is means and is translated “skilled”. The KJV says, “cunning”.

II Samuel 13:3 “Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab son of Shimeah, David's brother. Jonadab was a very shrewd man.”

In this verse it is translated “shrewd”. The KJV here renders it “Subtle”.

But in our text in Proverbs, it probably has to do with knowledge of the moral law of God – that is what God requires. And it refers to the ability to use that knowledge to live life rightly. There is a difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is simply the possession of facts. Wisdom is the ability to use those facts. It’s kind of like the difference between classroom instruction and practical experience. In the classroom, you learn facts. Then you go out and apply those facts to life, AND in the process you learn a whole lot more.

Brenda and I were talking about that the other night. She was saying that there were all these facts that she was being introduced to in her nursing classes. Some of them are clear and some of them are not. But when she has clinicals and sees those things put into practice, or she gets to practice them, they make more sense and the big picture begins to come together.

Proverbs was written toward the end of Solomon’s life because he had attained a great deal of wisdom through his life experience. That’s why Proverbs speaks highly of the gray hair of the righteous.

Proverbs 20:29 “The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old.” That is young men delight to show strength and agility of body; whereas in old age physical strength is often replaced by wisdom and experience.

But not only is this book for the purpose of attaining wisdom, but also:

“Discipline”. If you have a King James, it says “instruction”. Now the basic meaning of both these words is “Chastisement”. You know what chastisement is? That’s when your daddy used to take you to the woodshed. “Discipline”, “Correction”. That’s the kind of instruction Solomon is talking about here.

Sometimes we learn instruction from experience, and other times it requires, “instruction”. I used to get a lot of “instruction” from my parents. And sometimes I get “instruction” from my heavenly Father. Does God ever take you to the woodshed? Now why does God do that? Because He loves us.

Hebrews 12:6 “For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.” The New American Standard Version say, “FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES,”

So sometimes God is going to use the book of Proverbs to discipline us. Are you ready for that? We are going to see things that we are doing right. But sometimes we are going to be confronted with areas that we need to change. And it’s very important that we accept that. Why? Let me give you two reasons.

First, look at Hebrews 12:8 “If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.” You see when God disciplines us, its evidence of sonship. What does that mean?

We all sin. As believers we try not to but we do. John says, I Jn. 1:8 “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” And when we do sin, God disciplines us, that’s what we just saw in Hebrews 12:6. But if God never spanks you. If God never chastises you. If God never disciplines you, then Heb. 12:8 says, you’re not a child of God.

Sometimes people come to me with questions about assurance of their salvation. They think they are saved but something has made them question it. So one of the questions I usually ask is simply this. Can you sin and get away with it. If you can sin and God doesn’t convict you about it and discipline you, if you’re not grieved by it, then you’re probably not saved. That’s what the Bible says.

Now the second reason discipline is important is because it’s worth it. Notice Heb. 12:11. “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

God’s “instruction”, His loving discipline, administered to his sons and daughters is not without cause and it’s not without fruit. God’s discipline, while not pleasant at the time, ultimately produces righteousness in our lives. And that’s the point – and the purpose of Proverbs.

The third purpose for the book of Proverbs that we find here is also in verse 2. It is:

“For understanding words of insight”, (KJV- “to perceive the words of understanding”). This is the characteristic that we all pray our children will acquire. It is the attribute that we have tried to drum into the heads of our children since they were small. It is the trait we want our youth to learn – But – it is a quality that we all need no matter our age.

The words “understanding” and “insight” are similar words. The writer used them for emphasis to demonstrate just how extremely important this point is. Both words have the same root as the Hebrew preposition “between”. It refers to one who can “see between the lines”. Someone has said that it takes rare insight to read between the lines, and that is true. But the author of Proverbs is telling us that one who studies this book can, to a degree, achieve that ability.

It is the ability to decide upon a right course of action. It is the ability to make right choices. The ability to make accurate life decisions. To be able to discern the will of God for one’s life.

WHO’S YOUR DADDY?

It should be pointed out that Genesis chapters ten and eleven are not recorded in chronological order. The events of chapter eleven occurred first. That is not an error but simply a literary device. It is part of the narrative art of Genesis to give the explanation of the event after the narration of the event.

Chapter ten identifies which nations descended from each of Noah's three sons. Chapter eleven explains how the dispersion of these nations transpired.

This information is important because without it, a cursory reading of chapter ten might lead some to believe that when the family of Noah began to increase, there followed a natural expansion, as mankind migrated across the face of the earth.

The fact is, however, as can be readily seen in chapter eleven, the people did not relocate naturally or willingly. In fact, there was a monumental rebellion against the idea of expansion and dispersion.

For whatever reasons, they wanted to remain geographically united. It was, however, God's plan to distribute humanity over the face of the earth, and scripture makes it clear that God communicated His will to the people, and that it was He who made certain it happened. From that dispersion sprang all of the nations of the world.

Duet. 32:8 says, "When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided all mankind, he set up boundaries for the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel."

Paul preaching to the men of Athens also makes reference to this in Acts 17:26. "From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live."

Chapter ten lists the names of the descendants of Noah through his three sons: Japheth, Ham, and Shem. Many of the names listed are not only names of individuals but also became the titles of nations and people groups.

The descendants of Japheth - Genesis 10:2‑5 "The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras. The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah. The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim and the Rodanim. (From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.)"

From Japheth have come the Indo European nations. Gomer is the ancestor of the Celts. Among the nations that emerged from this son of Japheth are: England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Various regions of Russia appear to have come from Magog, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

Madai is the father of the Medes. From Javan came the Greeks. Ashkenaz is the progenitor of the Turks and Germans. Elishah's descendants became the nation of Italy. Tarshish was probably the forefather of Spain.

Others that descended from Japheth include India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Romania, the Vikings, the Swedes, the Norwegians, and the Danes, to name just a few.

The descendants of Ham - 10:6‑20 "The sons of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan. The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan. Cush was the father of Nimrod, who grew to be a mighty warrior on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; that is why it is said, "Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD." The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Erech, Akkad and Calneh, in Shinar. From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city. Mizraim was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, Pathrusites, Casluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites. Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites. Later the Canaanite clans scattered and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations."

From Ham came the nations that largely, though not exclusively, settled in the continent of Africa. Cush, it is generally agreed, became the people of Ethiopia. From Mizraim came the nation of Egypt. Put is synonymous with Libya.

Two exceptions to the descendants of Ham settling initially in Africa are the Sidonians, or the people of Phoenicia, (modern Lebanon.) The Hittite nations were the descendants of Heth and the Canaanites, who inhabited Palestine when Israel conquered the land, were also Hammites.

During the period of the Judges, Jerusalem was still called Jebus, because it was the home of the Jebusites, descendants of Ham through Canaan. Judges 19:10

Other nations and people groups that are of hametic descent are the Chinese, Japanese and other Asians, American Indians, Eskimos, Australian Aborigines, Polynesians, Pacific Islanders and others.

The descendants of Shem - 10:21‑31. "Sons were also born to Shem, whose older brother was Japheth; Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber. The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram. The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshech. Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, and Shelah the father of Eber. Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan. Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan. The region where they lived stretched from Mesha toward Sephar, in the eastern hill country. These are the sons of Shem by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations."

From Shem came many of the Arab nations and the Israelis. Elam lived in the area that became Iraq. Asshur settled in the region that is now Iran. Uz fathered the people of Saudi Arabia. Eber is the name from which we get (Hebrew), and through him came the Jews and all who descended from them.

GOD'S PLAN FOR THE AGES – Part 1
The Book of Revelation
Chapters 1-3

Intro. God is a God of order. Nothing He does is arbitrary. That is, He has a plan for every thing He does and He has a plan for the world. People spend a lot of time worrying about all kinds of things. Global warming, Atomic Weapons, Terrorist Attacks, Diseases, The Economy, Politics.

But a child of God ought not worry about those things, because he can know that God has a plan. As a matter of fact, when you look at world events today, in light of the Word of God, things are starting to get very interesting - even exciting.

You might say, “Things are looking pretty bleak to me, even frightening”. Well, if you are an unbeliever, it should be very scary, because the time you have left to get saved and get right with God and have your place in heaven secured is growing short. But for the Bible believing, Christian who understands what God’s Word teaches about end times, there are thrilling days ahead.

Oh yes, things look dark right now, but it is true in this case that, “It is darkest just before the dawn.” Because at the point when it looks like things couldn’t get worse and there’s no hope, is the time the Bible teaches, that Jesus will come and take his church home...

And we can say, “Praise God, it’s getting gloriously dark”. God has a plan, and everything that is happening and will happen in the world is proceeding according to God's eternal plan.

Eph. 1:11 "In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,"

Basically what we are going to see in these two messages, is an over view of the Book of Revelation. Revelation is a very important book. There are two books the devil especially hates. Genesis, The Book of Beginnings and Revelation, the Book of Conclusions and new beginnings.

In Genesis Satan appears for the first time and his doom is pronounced.
In Revelation Satan appears for the last time and his doom is carried out.

In Genesis we find Paradise lost
In Revelation we find Paradise Regained

In Genesis we find Man Driven from the Tree of Life
In Revelation Man is Invited Back to the Tree of Life

In Genesis we find the Beginning of Sorrows and Suffering
In Revelation the End of Sorrows and suffering

In Genesis we see The Beginning of Death
In Revelation - No more death

In Genesis we see The First Adam and His Bride fall into sin.
In Revelation we see The Last Adam and His Bride recover from the fall.

So this is what the devil tells you about those two books. He says, "Genesis is a Myth and Revelation is a Mystery".

"Genesis is full of contradictions with science and Revelation is full of controversial symbols.

So "Genesis you can't trust and Revelation you can't understand". “So you don't need to read either.”

Now that, like everything else the devil says, is a lie. As a matter of fact the Bible says that God has promised a special blessing to those who read, believe and obey the Book of The Revelation.

1:3 "Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near."

So in the first chapter of the book of Revelation, God promises a special blessing to those who study it. But not only in the first chapter. Also in the last - 22:7. "Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book."

Now what about understanding it? Is it possible to read and comprehend the book of Revelation? Yes, if you know the key.

The Key Verse of the Book of Revelation is 1:19. "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later."

This is the Golden Key to the Revelation. If you don't understand this verse, you won't understand the book.

Notice 3 parts of this verse. Jesus says to the apostle John, "Write, therefore,"
1. "what you have seen,"
2. "what is now"
3. "what will take place later".

These divisions represent the outline of the book of The Revelation. Roughly the divisions are:

1. "what you have seen," Chapter 1. John had just seen a vision of the Glorified Christ...

2. "what is now" Chapters 2-3 The Church Age - From the time of John's writing until the Present.

3. "what will take place later". Chapters 4-22 Future

Now lets look at these in a little more detail:

I. "What you have seen." Rev. 1:12-18 is a vision of the resurrected glorified Christ. When John saw him here it was not in suffering and humiliation but power and majesty. He was clothed as a king and a judge. He had all knowing eyes, and power in his voice. This is how we'll see him when he returns.

The first time Jesus came John laid his head on His chest.
Here John fell at His feet as dead.

The first time He came as the Lamb of God.
Next time He'll come as the Lion of the tribe of Judah

The first time he came as Savior.
When He comes again He'll come as Judge and King

And everybody will face him. Today you have a choice. - In that day, you won't. You either face him as Savior now. Or face him as Judge when he returns. (So the first division of the book, "what you have seen," is Chapter 1, a vision of the Glorified Christ.)

II. "What is now." Chapters 2-3 In these chapter we see seven messages to seven Churches. These are seven literal churches, but they also represent all churches of all times. In these letters you can find just about every church problem there is. (Uncalled preachers, false doctrine, Laymen running the church, Satanic Opposition, Persecution…)

But there is something else I want you to see. The Church Age, which is the age of biblical and prophetic history in which we are now living, began on the day of Pentecost, recorded in Acts chapter 2, and will end with the rapture of the church. (Which we'll describe in a moment).

We are living in the age of the "what is now". This age has lasted now for nearly 2000 years. And in these 2 chapters we see various stages, epochs, periods, divisions, in the history of the Church.

So let me explain this again, in some detail. These seven Churches represent 3 different things.

A. Seven Literal Churches that existed at the end of the first century when John wrote this book. They were literal churches, in Asia Minor, which is modern Turkey.

B. All Churches of All Times and the issues that can arise in churches, such as false teaching, church fights, pride, political alignment. There are also positive things like sound doctrine, and church discipline and other things for which these churches are praised and commended.

C. Distinct Historical Periods during the age of the church in which we are now living.

Lets look at each of these 7 churches and I'll show you what I mean.

1. Ephesus Rev. 2:1 "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands:" This church has been called by some, (The Working but loveless Church) This epistle from the Lord Jesus Himself deals with the church of John's time, the church of the late first century. This was a church that was laboring, but had lost its fire, it's zeal. Jesus says it had "lost (it's) first love" 2:4 "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love."

This age was contemporary to John but everything after this, while much of it is history to us, was still prophecy to John.

2. Smyrna 2:8 "To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again." This is (The Suffering but pure church) and presents a description of the church that would exist in roughly the 2nd and 3rd centuries.

We know from Church history that during this period the church suffered wave after wave of intense persecution from Rome and yet it remained true. And if you read verses 8-11 you'll see that is the character of this church.

"To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty‑‑yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death."

3. Pergamum 2:12 "To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double‑edged sword." This is the (Orthodox but worldly church) It speaks of the church of the 4th - 6th century. During this period the church and the state became married, as Christianity became the official religion of Rome.

It is known as the Old Catholic period, and at the end of this time Gregory the Great ascended as the 1st real Pope and the "Holy Roman Empire" began.

2:15 "Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans." Nicolaitans comes from two Greek words. "nicao", which means, “to conquer”. And “laos”, which means “people”. “To conquer the people”.

Popery was taking a foothold in the church. It was the beginning of the eccleastical hierarchy that would become the Roman Catholic system. And I want you to notice what God thinks of that. Look in verse 6. Writing to the Ephesian church Jesus says, "But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate."

4. Thyatira 2:18 "To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze." This was (The working but corrupt church).

"Thyatira" seems to mean "continual sacrifice" It comes from two Greek words "thusia" which means, "to sacrifice", and "tereo" which means, "to keep on or continue".

This is the church that existed in the 7th -15th Century. It was a period of absolute Dominance by the Roman Catholic System. Evangelical scholars call it "The Dark Ages", because the light of the true gospel was all but extinguished. The primary Doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church observed in their mass is called "Transubstantiation".

It means that when Catholics observe the "Eucharist", what we call communion or The Lord's Supper, that the elements, (bread and wine), are actually, literally transformed into the body and blood of Christ. That the priest performs a miracle and when he places the bread in your mouth you are eating the very flesh of Christ. And when you drink the fruit of the vine, it is transformed and you literally drink the blood of Christ.

So in reality what takes place is not a reenactment of the crucifixion or sacrifice of Christ, but a renewal of the sacrifice of Christ, - hence (Remember the meaning of Thyatira), - "continual sacrifice". By the way that is heresy. It is a denial of the efficacy of finished work of Christ...

Heb. 10 "Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: "Here I am, I have come to do your will." ...And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

5. Sardis 3:1 "To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead." This is the (Orthodox but dead church)

Some say that the word Sardis means "A remnant of those escaping", and while I haven't been able to confirm that, it is consistent with the church of this age.

This is the period of the protestant reformation in the 16th and 17th Centuries when the church finally broke away from Roman domination...

Unfortunately the Church of the Reformation didn't complete the task. Much of Catholicism remains in many protestant denominations today including Baptist Churches.

Also many of the early protestant churches while escaping from Roman bondage ended up becoming state churches and were really no better off than they were before. And so while this church had a reputation for having life, it was in many ways just as dead as it's Roman predecessor.

6. Philadelphia 3:7 "To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open."

Of course we know that Philadelphia means brotherly love so this is the Church of brotherly love. It has been called (The Feeble but Faithful Church), and it the represents a period of the church that was characterized by world wide missionary activity, specifically the mid 18th century to the mid 20th century.

It was during these years that God opened doors that all the forces of hell could not close, for missionaries like William Carey, and Adonirom Judson, and Hudson Taylor, and David Livingston, and Lottie Moon, and thousands of others whose names only heaven know, to carry the gospel to hundreds of unreached places and people groups.

Look at 3:8 "I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name."

Now there is a remnant of this church, as there is most of the others, still on the scene today. Our Church needs to be, a remnant of the Philadelphian church.

But sadly, and yet within the plan of God, it's no longer the dominant church.

7. Laodicea 3:14 "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation."

When you read the verses that follow you find that this is (The Rich but Christless Church). Has there ever been a more accurate description of the church of the 21st century.

The word "Laodicea" means "ruled by the people"... God is absent from this church. It represents the church that came on the scene around 1950 with the beginning of the World Council of Churches and the ecumenical movement.

The Laodicean system of this age has deceived the church to lay aside sound doctrine, abandon biblical theology, and to come together under an abstract definition of love.

Paul warned Timothy in II Tim. 4:3 "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."

The ultimate goal of the Laodicean church, the World Council of Churches, the ecumenical movement, theological liberalism, as well as much of the user-friendly church of the 20th century and the so-called emerging Church the 21st century with it’s Post Modern world view, (It's all pretty much the same), is to develop a one world religion, (which will become a reality during the tribulation).

And this church, because it is made up of many unbelievers, will last until after the rapture of the true church, which we will describe later. So the Laodicean Church, which is on the scene today, will continue for an unknown period of time.

Introduction to the Dispensations of the Bible

The next event that will be addressed in Genesis is the creation of man. This section begins what is known as the first "dispensation". A dispensation is a period of time during which man is tested in respect to his obedience to some specific revelation of the will of God.

Notice there are three parts to this definition. There is something, which God requires of man. Man is responsible to obey. And there is a specific period of time during which man is tested with regard to that particular area. It is sometimes referred to as an "age". The purpose of a dispensation is to demonstrate man's inability to fulfill God’s righteous standards.
Scholars do not agree on the number of dispensations in the Bible, so the number given depends on which dispensational perspective is followed. For the sake of this study we will adopt the view of Dr. C. I. Scofield that appears in the New Scofield Reference Bible, which observes seven dispensations. (These are not to be confused with the historical periods that were discussed earlier.)

The Seven Dispensations of the Bible
1. Innocence ‑ Gen. 1:28‑3:6 From the creation of man to the fall of man into sin. During this dispensation man was responsible to remain sinless.

2. Moral Responsibility ‑ Gen. 3:7‑8:14 From the fall to the emergence of Noah and his family from the ark after the flood. During this dispensation man was responsible to do all known good.

3. Human Government ‑ Gen. 8:15‑11:32 From the emergence of Noah and his family from the ark to the call of Abraham. Man was responsible to be obedient to God through submission to the authority of his fellow man.

4. Promise ‑ Gen. 12:1‑Ex. 18:27 From the call of Abraham to the giving of the law at Sinai. The responsibility for the acceptance of and identification with Abraham and his seed as God's chosen people was man's test during this dispensation.

5. Law ‑ Ex.19:1‑Acts 1:26 From the giving of the law at Sinai to the beginning of the Church at Pentecost. Man was responsible to keep all of God’s revealed laws.

6. Church ‑ Acts 2:1‑Rev. 3:22. From the beginning of the Church at Pentecost to the Rapture of the Church at the conclusion of the church age. Man's responsibility is to accept salvation made available through the death burial and resurrection of Christ by a simple act of faith. It should be understood that the redemptive death of Christ was God’s provision for the salvation of sinful man, not just in this dispensation, but also in all those that preceded it. Old Testament saints were saved by believing in the coming redeemer, as those in the Church age are saved by believing in the redeemer who has come. Those in the Old Testament looked forward to the cross while those of us in the church age look back to the cross. Why then would faith in Christ constitute man’s test of obedience during this dispensation? Probably because it should be so easy. Believers before this age had to believe what they could not see. In the Church age the reality of Christ’s historical life, death, burial, and resurrection should remove the complexity from faith.

Revelation 4:1‑20:3 represents a parenthetical period, a gap of seven years between the 6th and 7th dispensation. It is called the Great Tribulation and its purpose is to bring the Nation of Israel back to Christ. It will last from the rapture of the Church to the physical return of Christ to set up His Kingdom.

7. Kingdom - Rev. 20:4 From the Physical return of Christ to set up His Kingdom to the release of Satan from the abyss and the entrance into the eternal state, man's final responsibility will be to remain holy in a perfect environment.
Man has and will fail to completely obey in each of these dispensations and so demonstrate his corrupt nature. Sin is not a disease it is a disposition. Man is sinful at birth by nature and can only be saved by an act of a sovereign God by which his tainted nature is changed.

An Introduction to the Book of Genesis

The Bible can be divided into historical periods and a basic awareness and knowledge of these periods is necessary in order to understand the following discussion. The outline below will provide the needed information. This material is adapted from OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY (in outline form) by Dr. Roy Gingrich.[1]

HISTORICAL PERIODS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
The dates listed for the first 6 periods are approximate.

I The Beginnings Period ‑ From creation to Abraham B.C. 4000 ‑1900. Genesis chapters 1‑11.

II The Patriarchal Period ‑ From Abraham to Israel's descent into Egypt. B.C. 1900 ‑ 1700. Genesis chapters 12‑50.

III The Egyptian Period ‑ From Israel's descent into Egypt until the exodus out of Egypt.
B.C. 1700‑1500. Exodus chapters 1‑14.

IV The Wilderness Period ‑ From the exodus out of Egypt to the entrance into Canaan. B.C. 1500‑1460. Exodus chapters 15‑40, and the books of Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

V The Conquest Period ‑ From the entrance into Canaan to the death of Joshua. B.C. 1460‑1430. The Book of Joshua.

VI The Judges Period ‑ From the death of Joshua to the setting up of the kingdom. B.C. 1430‑1053. The Books of Judges and Ruth.

VII The United Kingdom Period ‑ From the setting up of the kingdom to the division of the kingdom. B.C. 1053 ‑ 933. (120 years, 3 kings) [Saul, David, and Solomon] I & II Samuel, I Kings chapters 1‑11, I Chronicles and II Chronicles chapters 1‑9.

VIII The Divided Kingdom Period ‑ From the division of the kingdom to the captivity of the Northern kingdom. B.C. 933 ‑722. I Kings 12:1 ‑ II Kings 17:41; II Chronicles chapters 10 ‑28; and the books of Jonah, Amos, Joel, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah.

IX The Single Kingdom Period ‑ From the captivity of the northern kingdom to the captivity of the southern kingdom. B.C. 722 ‑ 605. II Kings 18:1 ‑ 25:30; II Chronicles 29:1 ‑ 36:23; and the books of Nahum, Zephaniah, and Habakkuk.

X The 70 Year Captivity Period ‑ From the first deportation of the southern kingdom until the return from captivity, B.C. 605 ‑536. The books of Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Obadiah.

XI The Partial Restoration Period ‑ From the return from captivity to the close of the Old Testament Canon. B.C. 536‑400. The books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

The Authorship of the Pentateuch
For centuries it has been generally accepted that Moses wrote the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. However, in the last century, another view arose within the circles of theological liberalism. This view is called the Documentary Hypothesis. It lists the existence of four different documents supposedly contained in the Pentateuch, three of which appear in Genesis. According to this hypothesis each of these documents has a different author and are identified using the letters J.E.D.P.

The J. Document is so called because of the use of the name Jehovah in that section to identify God. (Used only four times in the Old Testament and only once in the Pentateuch in Exodus 6) The theory holds that a single author would not use more than one title for God. (It is interesting, however, that today we refer to Him as God, Father, Lord, Master, and many other titles routinely.) This portion of scripture was allegedly written in the 10th century B.C. around the time of the United Kingdom, some 500 years after Moses. The author is unidentified.
The E. Document is so called because of the use of the name Elohim. (Elohim is used over 2600 times from Genesis to Malachi.) It was supposedly written around the 8th century B.C. during the Divided Kingdom.
The D. Document. This author supposedly wrote Deuteronomy, hence the D., and also sections of Joshua. It was supposed to have been written around 600 B.C. but before the Babylonian captivity in 605 B.C.
The P. Document. This was allegedly the writer or writers of the priestly material, written around 500 B.C. during the Partial Restoration Period, after the Babylonian captivity.
Of these four “documents”, Genesis is supposed to contain J, E, and P. sections and therefore, is the result of at least three different and unknown authors who wrote over a period of 500 years.

There are several reasons for rejecting this theory. First, there is the Testimony of Scripture. If the documentary hypothesis is true, then the Scripture is not. As material written under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, these five books record for us a first hand explanation of what took place during these historic periods of the Bible. God was there and so provides an eyewitness account of all of these events, including creation. If the J.E.D.P. theory is correct then what is contained in the Pentateuch is a lie. Psm. 119:160 "All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal." Notice what the Law itself says about it's authorship, Deut. 31:24-25 "After Moses finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end, he gave this command to the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD” Ex. 17:14 "Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."
The second reason for rejecting the Documentary Hypothesis is the Testimony of Christ. Mt. 19:8 "Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning." This is a reference to Deut. 24:1‑4, which Jesus clearly attributes to Moses. Mt. 8:4 says, "A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, "See that you don't tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." Again we find Jesus referring to the Pentateuch, specifically Lev. 14:2 and attributing its writing to Moses. In Mark 7:10 we find these words spoken by Jesus. "For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death." This is a reference to the fifth commandment in Exodus 20:12. In Luke 24:44, notice the threefold division of O.T. listed by Jesus himself. "And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me." Jesus agreed with Hebrew teaching and references that attributed the Law or the first five books of the Old Testament to Moses.
Finally there is the Testimony of History. Both Judaism and Christianity accepted the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch until the 19th century.

Moses as the Author of Genesis
Moses was not born until at least 2500 years after creation. How then did he get the information contained in the book of Genesis? There were two sources of information. The primary source is Divine Revelation. God simply communicated to Moses the record of those events. Exodus 19:3 and many other passages indicate that God communicated directly and verbally with Moses. "Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel:" As a matter of fact Moses had a special relationship with God that was greater than any other prophet. Numbers 12:6-8a "Then He said, "Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house. I speak with him face to face, Even plainly, and not in dark sayings; And he sees the form of the LORD..." (NKJV)
A secondary source of information may have been written or oral records. It is possible and even quite probable that records such as the genealogies found in the early chapters of Genesis were passed down from generation to generation. The existence of research and records does not harm the doctrine of divine inspiration. Research and revelation are not antithetical and are found together several times in Scripture. Luke openly admits that he had researched the writing of several others as well as the oral tradition regarding the life of Christ and yet wrote under the leadership and direction of the Holy Spirit. Lk. 1:1‑4 "Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught."

Date of Writing
The Pentateuch was written during the Wilderness Wandering Period. 1500‑1460 B.C.
For some years secular and liberal religious historians believed that Moses couldn't have written the Pentateuch, because by this period, it was believed man had not yet reduced language to writing. However, in 1968, Ebla, an ancient city of northern Syria, was discovered. Excavating the site in 1975, archaeologists unearthed Ebla's royal archives: a collection of more than 14,000 inscriptions on clay tablets. Written in the cuneiform characters originated by the Sumerians of Mesopotamia, adapted to the language of Ebla's Semitic inhabitants, they show the city to have been an important commercial center ruled by a merchant aristocracy with an elected king. They also reveal the existence of a flourishing north Syrian civilization rivaling that of Egypt and Mesopotamia in the 3rd millennium BC. The Ebla tablets were dated 2500-2200 BC, 1000 years before Moses.[2]

Time Period Covered in Genesis
Genesis covers about 2300 years. It spanned four dispensations, (which will be discussed later), and the first two and a half Old Testament Periods. (The Beginnings period, the Patriarchal period, and half of the Egyptian period.)

Genesis as a Target of Criticism
Along with Jonah and Daniel, the book of Genesis has been the target of much criticism. It is criticized as being historically and scientifically inaccurate. One purpose of this book is to demonstrate that those charges are wrong.

Title
Genesis means Beginning, which is an appropriate name since in it we find the beginning of many things, such as; Creation, Man, Woman, Marriage, The Sabbath, Sin, Death, Redemption, Birth, Sacrifice, Murder, Nations, Languages, etc.

The Division of the Book
The book of Genesis can be divided into five major sections.
1. From Creation to the call of Abraham. 1:1‑11:32.
2. From the Call of Abraham to the Death of Sarah. 12:1‑23:20.
3. From the Marriage of Isaac to the Stolen Blessing. 24:1‑27:46.
4. The life of Jacob; His departure from Canaan to the death of Isaac. 28:1-36:43.
5. The life of Joseph. 37:1‑50:26.




[1] Roy Gingrich, Old Testament Survey (in outline form), (Memphis, Riverside Press, 2001), p. 5
[2] Microsoft Encarta 96 Encyclopedia.

Biblical Forgiveness

I know I haven't updated this blog in some time. I do have a least one more post that I want to add to the previous discussion, but just have not had time recently. However, two weeks ago I preached a message in my church called Biblical Forgiveness. There was such an overwhelming response to the message that I decided to put it here in print. I hope this will also find it helpful you as you read it and share it with others.

Biblical Forgiveness
Matt. 6:9-14

In 28 years of ministry, I have come to the conclusion that one of the most important elements in the Christian life, and one of the most misunderstood words in the Christian vocabulary is "forgiveness". Forgiveness is a critical doctrine.

It is critical to spiritual obedience.
It is critical to mental health.
It is critical to a harmonious marriage.
It is critical to maintaining unity in the church.

It is critical to experiencing the peace of God in all of life, because we are all presented with the occasion to forgive from time to time, and as we will see, failure to forgive carries with it, some serious consequences.

Genuine forgiveness is possible only within a Christian context. Why? Because only believers have a frame of reference from which to forgive. Only Christians have experienced genuine forgiveness.

Of course, the problem is, and the reason why I have to preach a message on forgiveness at least once a year, is that it is possible for Christians to act like unbelievers.

I Cor. 3:1-3 "Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly--mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?" Paul says when we quarrel we are acting like children and pagans.

Do believers always forgive? No! Why? Sometimes it's because they are just simply unwilling to. I’ve heard church members say, “I know the Bible says I’m supposed to forgive, but I’m not going to do it.”

Sometimes it is because they’ve not been taught and don’t understand what forgiveness is or that they have the resources to forgive. Some don’t understand that it is really possible for them to forgive.

So today I want us to discuss what the Bible teaches about forgiveness and what God's Word requires of us with regard to this important doctrine.

First of all, let me give you the first half of a biblical definition of forgiveness: Forgiveness is the offended restoring the relationship, as though the offense never occurred.

What is different about that kind of forgiveness and what is usually called forgiveness? The answer is that true forgiveness is not just putting a Band‑Aid on it, but making the relationship like new or even better than it was before.

Now before we go any further, we must first understand the Nature of forgiveness: and that is that FORGIVENESS IS AN ACT OF THE WILL.

Contrary to what is believed and taught by many, the Christian life is not all about emotion. It is instead, a series of choices or decisions. And it's only lived rightly if those decisions are made in obedience to the Word of God.

And forgiveness is not a suggestion or a wish. It's not just something Jesus hoped would happen among believers. Sometimes I hear people say, well I just can't forgive. Yes you can. How do I know? Because God commands us to forgive.

Col. 3:13 "Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another." That's a command and God doesn't command us to do something that we can't do. If we did not have it within our power to forgive, God would not command us to do it. But forgiveness is a choice. I make a conscious decision to forgive or not to forgive. It is an act of the will.

Now people don't like to hear that because it makes us responsible and we don't like to be responsible. We live in an age that has abandoned the idea of moral responsibility. But the Bible teaches that man is indeed a moral agent and that life is a series of choices that I must make and forgiveness is one of them.

So what does the Scripture say about our responsibility to forgive? A lot actually.

Five Biblical requirements for forgiveness. Write these down.

1. I must forgive whenever I am asked. Luke 17:3‑4. "So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him."

If someone comes to you and asks you to forgive them, the Bible commands us to comply. We are required to forgive.

Now you might ask, "What if the other person asks to be forgiven but their repentance is insincere?" Well the answer to that is: We are not responsible for their motives or their obedience in this matter, only ours, and the Bible says that we are to forgive when asked. God didn’t appoint us as judges of their motivation.

When Brenda and I were first married, sometimes if she would ask me to forgive her for something, sometimes I would say, “No I won’t, because you don’t mean it. I was wrong. When we are asked to forgive, God commands us to do it.

2. I must forgive even when not asked. Mark 11:25. "And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."
There is no indication of repentance in this passage. Somehow we've gotten the idea that forgiveness works like this: "If you expect me to forgive you, you're going to have to beg".

We don't say that, (usually), but that’s how we think. This is probably one of my biggest problems with forgiveness. When someone hurts me, I want to hurt them back. I want to make them suffer.

Something that took me years to get over was that I used to be really bad about holding a grudge. My family used to tell me that all the time, and they were right.

I would withhold forgiveness because I wanted them to apologize, or ask for forgiveness. I wanted to make them feel as bad as I could. I wanted to make them beg.

Is that a godly attitude? No! The Scripture requires me to forgive even when I'm not asked.

Therefore, if I simply realize, or am convicted by the Holy Spirit, that there is something unforgiven in my heart, the Bible says, I must forgive. And so must you.

So here’s something you ought to do. Pray and ask God to reveal to you if there is anyone in your life that you have not forgiven. Now if you do that be ready, because He will...

3. I must forgive as many times as asked. Mt. 18:21-22 "Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times."

Seventy times seven is 490. Did Jesus mean I should forgive 490 times, then not any more? NO! He meant an innumerable quantity.

Now this is the one that gets most people. "I'll forgive you once, maybe twice, but after that, forget it.” But the Bible says, we must keep on forgiving.

Now does this mean that if someone keeps on offending me over and over, that I must just keep on forgiving without ever saying anything about the repeated offense? NO!

Look again at Luke 17:3, "So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him."

Eph. 4:15 tells us that spiritual growth comes as we "speak the truth in love". (I’ll be preaching a message by that title soon.) The Bible says, if someone continues to sin against you, you may, and should, "rebuke them", "speak the truth in love", but then you are to forgive.

4. I must forgive as Christ forgives.
Eph. 4:32 "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

Now of what did Christ forgive you? Well Jesus illustrates that point in Matt. 18. Notice verses :23-27 "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle them, there was brought to him one who owed him ten thousand talents. "But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. "The slave therefore falling down, prostrated himself before him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will repay you everything.' "And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.”

The text says that this servant owed his master “ten thousand talents.” Do you know how much that is? By today’s measures, it would be over 50 billion dollars. Now what was the point Jesus was trying to make? Well, that it was an unpayable debt.

You see our sin is an uncorrectable offence to a Holy God. And because of our sin we deserve an eternity separated from God in the fires of hell. We could never in a million years atone for our sin. We could never pay the price to gain forgiveness for our sin. It is an unpayable debt. And so God sent Jesus to pay the debt for us, to take the punishment that I should have had to bear, even though He himself was total innocent of and free from sin. And so God forgave us, and allowed us to go free and have fellowship with him, and gave us eternal life in heaven, even though we are guilty, just like that slave.

And God says, THAT’S HOW WE ARE TO FORGIVE THOSE WHO HAVE OFFENDED US! Unconditionally. What is it that’s so great you think you can’t forgive?

Col. 3:13 "Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."

Now this is when we are confronted with just how willing we are to obey this command to forgive. We must not only forgive but we must forgive following the pattern established by God. We are to forgive others how? As Christ forgave us.

How does He forgive?
A. Psm. 103:12. "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."

He puts my sins as far as East is from West. How far is that?... He puts a lot of distance between Him and our sin. Most of us don't want to do that.

As a matter of fact we want to keep the offenses of others real handy so we can reach them whenever we want. Some one has said, "We may be willing to bury the hatchet but we leave the handle out for immediate use".

I'm glad that's not how Jesus forgives us.

B. Heb. 8:12 "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." He remembers them no more. This is where it gets tough.

Here's the problem: Can you will to forget? No. God is the only being able to do that. Yet, there is a very simple principle here that I want to teach you. That is, while you cannot will to forget technically, you can forget practically. Because you have the indwelling Holy Spirit, you have the power to forgive.

Let me explain what I mean. A while ago I gave you the first half of the Biblical definition of forgiveness. Forgiveness is the offended restoring the relationship, as though the offense never occurred.

Now lets look at the second half: Biblical forgiveness is never bringing the offense up again - Even to myself.

Here's what we do. We say, "I'll forgive but I won't forget". Do you know what that really means? It means, "I reserve the right to bring it up anytime I need to use it to my benefit".

Is that Biblical forgiveness? No! Genuine forgiveness is possible, and if you say, "I can't forgive", what you really mean is "I won't". Why? Because it’s a choice.

Now, if you refuse to forgive you have another problem. If you won't forgive, then you have to accept the guilt for not restoring the relationship. And unresolved guild leads to all sorts of nasty things like emotional and psychological problems not the least of which is depression.

Guilt must be resolved and forgiveness is God's plan for ridding us of guilt. When I'm confronted with an offense, I must forgive. I must make a conscious decision first to restore the relationship and second, never to bring it up again and that includes to myself. That is I must never allow myself to dwell on it, to turn it over in my mind. Instead I must put it out of my mind.

So how do you do that? Well, you do that by occupying your mind with other things, particularly the Word of God and spiritual service. I get in the Word, and I give my self to serving others.

That works for one very important reason. Because God has so designed our minds that we can't think of two things at once. Try it! You can't do it. So if you are concentrating on serving or meditating on God's Word, it's impossible for you to dwell on an offense.

That's why Paul wrote in Philippians 4, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable‑‑if anything is excellent or praiseworthy‑‑think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me‑‑put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

Ok so I can put the thought of an offense out of my mind and I don't have to dwell on it.

But, you might say, "If it comes to my mind, I can choose not to dwell on it, but how can I prevent the thought from popping into my mind in the first place? How do I prevent the first thought?"

That's a great question and there is a great answer. This is what I meant when I said it is possible to forget an offense "practically".

Ok, how does that work? Well first of all understand that one of the reasons those thoughts pop into our minds in the first place is because the devil plants them there.

Satan wants to defeat you with an unforgiving spirit and if he can drag up those old offenses often enough and get you to dwell on them, then he can keep you from growing to maturity in Christ. He doesn’t want you to forgive and forget. So what does he do about it?

Well we know that the devil has the ability to plant thoughts in our minds. John 13:2 "And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;"

But we have the ability to prevent the implantation of first thoughts by a very special gift from God called prayer. Prayer defeats the devil because it connects you with God. How does it work?

If you are being tempted in a certain area, or if the first thought of an offense that you have made a conscious decision to forgive comes to your mind - immediately and consistently, (every time without fail), go to God in prayer, specifically about the temptation or offense.

Repent, and seek God’s help in dealing with it, and ask God to defeat the devil in this regard. Ask God not to allow Satan to have a victory in this area.

Here's what will happen. When the devil realizes that the only thing he is accomplishing by bringing it up is his own defeat, by driving you to your knees, he will soon cease to bring it up. And you’ll stop having the first thought. That is what it means to forget the offense practically. Try it. It works.

5. I must forgive in order to be forgiven. Mt. 6:14-15. "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

Someone has put it this way. "An unforgiving spirit is unforgivable". Does that mean if I don't forgive I'll lose my salvation? No. It means I'll lose my victory. I'll lose my fellowship. Forgiveness is a must for a Christian, because it is an issue of obedience. Failure to forgive is sin and will break my own fellowship with God. You cannot have something unforgiven in your life and have and be in fellowship with God. And you cannot have something unforgiven in your life and have Joy and Peace…
Forgiveness is an imperative, a requirement for a Christian, because it's an issue of obedience. We have been commanded to forgive and so failure to forgive is failure to obey, and failure to obey is sin, and sin breaks my fellowship with God. So don’t tell me you are walking in fellowship with God if there is something unforgiven in your life!

But there is also another reason we must forgive. If I fail to forgive, I because I become a prisoner of my own unforgiveness. How? If I don't forgive an offense biblically, that offense is always present. That person or group or offense that I don't forgive is always in my mind.

It follows me around. It haunts me. It keeps me from sleeping soundly. It keeps me from serving effectively. It really becomes and Idol because it becomes the focus of my life. It controls my emotions. I try to put it out of my mind, and it comes up in my stomach as an ulcer, and I become the one who suffers because of my unforgiving spirit rather than the one I refuse to forgive.

Biblical forgiveness is a major ingredient in the foundation of a Christian home as well as the Church, and the individual Christian life.

The enjoyment of the Christian life, the employment of genuine communication, the expression of Christian unity can never exist unless Biblical forgiveness is present.

Now let me ask you a question. Is there someone who you need to forgive?.... Are you willing to forgive that person, or that offense? Then right now in you heart, silently with only God listening will you make that decision to forgive that offense?

Just in your heart right now pray with me, "Father right now with your help I make a conscious decision to forgive ____________.

By your Grace I will take steps to restore that broken relationship. And further I promise to never bring it up again to anyone else or even to myself. And when the first thought comes I will take it immediately to you so that you can give me victory over it and I will, enabled by your Holy Spirit, forget it. Amen.”

Now if you did that and you really meant it and you follow through with it, (And remember that following through, is often going to mean going to that person and initiating that restoration. It may mean you going to someone and asking to be forgiven.), but if you do that, then you have begun a new phase in your Christian life that will set you free from anger and bitterness and resentment.

Remember we said in the beginning of this message that genuine forgiveness is possible only within a Christian context. Because only believer have experienced genuine forgiveness.

And maybe you find it impossible to forgive. Is it possible that it's because you have never been forgiven....?

Confessions of a Reformed Pragmatist – Part 5

In my last post, (which I’m sorry to say was almost 3 weeks ago), I began addressing the motivation for forcing upon a congregation, a single style of music when indeed there are a variety of tastes and musical traditions represented in the church. We had already observed that using a certain style of music over another for the sake of evangelizing the culture is neither necessary nor biblical, therefore, the motivation must be something else and I suggested two alternate motivations. The first is simply selfishness, and we not only discussed that motivation but also demonstrated it with personal testimonies. It is often simply the kind of music that is preferred by those in charge and so it is thrust upon the whole congregation.

Next I mentioned a second impetus for forcing an exclusive style of music upon a congregation that we did not have time to develop. That is Idolatry. Now you might ask, “How can that be? How can we sing about God and be guilty of idolatry?” Simply stated, because in a sense, music has become the god of the contemporary Church. In some contemporary churches, often times without even realizing it, music has become supreme. People no longer worship God through music; instead they use God as an excuse to worship music. They go to church because of the music. They can't seem to live without music.

In his series, Living In The Spirit, MacArthur observes about music and the culture, “People in our society can't make it from their house to their car to get the radio on. And from their car back to their house to get the stereo on. The music plays at work, the music plays at the factory, it plays at the shop, it plays at the half time of the football game, music plays constantly.” Now I want you to pay close attention to this next statement because it is very telling. “People don't want to face life without the music because the music plants the thoughts in their minds, the words in their minds to keep them from thinking about the stuff that matters”

The same has become true of the modern church. Many in today’s version of the Church reject the preaching of the Word and the teaching of doctrine. Instead they want their ears to be tickled with a short story about felt needs or to be distracted by jokes and entertainment, and to spend the rest of their time in church repeatedly chanting the lyrics to a melody that teaches them nothing but simply makes them feel good.

In many churches the keyboard has replaced the pulpit. The pulpit represents the proclamation of truth, the preaching of the Word of God, which is to be the focus of the New Testament Church. We are told to sing 8 times in the New Testament. Preaching is prescribed 81 times. Here are just a few.

(Acts 10:42 NIV) He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.

(1 Cor 1:17 NIV) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

(1 Cor 9:16 NIV) Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

(1 Cor 9:17 NIV) If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me.

(2 Tim 4:2 NIV) Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction.

(Acts 18:5 NIV) When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.

(Rom 10:14 NIV) How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

(1 Tim 4:13 NIV) Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.

(1 Tim 5:17 NIV) The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.

(Titus 1:3 NIV) and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,

(1 Cor 1:18 KJV) For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

(1 Cor 1:21 KJV) For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

The apostles were never commanded to nor did they ever go from town to town, house to house, country to country singing the gospel. They went about preaching. Over and over again, we are commanded to preach. Timothy a young pastor is commanded to preach. Preaching is to be the central activity of the Church service. Yet in many churches today, preaching has been or is being replaced by other things, most notably music.

It is interesting that in recent years, music has come to be identified as the “worship” portion of the service. Let me remind you that in scripture, music is not only never defined as worship, the words “music”, and “worship” are never even used in the same verse. Certainly music contributes to worship, but the contemporary church as placed music in a position of reverence that it is never given in the Word of God.

One of the mistakes that the modern church has made and one that I believe the evil one has instigated, is that music and worship have become mutually exclusive, directed toward different ends. There are two parts to a “worship service.” (Certainly there are other elements, Bible reading, prayer, etc., but they lead to these two ends.) The first is giving praise and honor to God. “Worship” means literally to recognize and acknowledge the worthiness, the “worth-ship” if you will, of God and in doing so to honor and glorify him. The second aspect of a worship service is to equip the body of Christ to do the work of ministry. Ephesians 4:11-13 “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

Regrettably what the modern church has done has been to designate the preaching and the music, each to accomplish one of those tasks but not the other. Preaching is to equip, (And in many contemporary churches that’s not even true anymore, as preaching as come to be more about feeling than communicating truth.), and music is for worship. But this is not an accurate picture of what a biblical church service is to be. Both the music and the preaching are to involve worship and equipping.

The Bible never calls a music director the “Worship Leader”. Technically, the pastor is the worship leader, and biblically, the preaching of the Word, lends more to genuine cooperate worship than music. Martin Luther said, "To be sure, it is true that the foremost and highest worship of God is preaching and hearing God's Word…” Informing our understanding of God's decrees and doctrine brings us into His presence and enables us to worships rightly and biblically. The dearth of teaching is one of the reasons the church is involved in so many unacceptable and unbiblical forms of worship in the first place. If we are not taught correctly we can not worship correctly.

There are several reasons beyond the music why I object to hymns being removed from the Church, and one of them is that hymns, good hymns, teach doctrine. Many of the great old hymns were written not by musicians but by theologians and they contain and communicate biblical truth. Remember what we said earlier about the ability of song to communicate powerful musically driven messages? That is true with regard to hymns as well. What preacher has not used the lyrics to a hymn to drive home a theological point and the reason he does, is because the congregation, (if they’ve been taught hymns), will immediately recall the words, the melody and the truth. I fear that this generation of Christians is going to lose completely that powerful medium of proclamation, because of the influx of contemporary music in the church. Not to mention they are going to lose touch with the wonderful heritage we have as Christians.

Most believers are taught nothing of Church history and know little about Christianity other than what exists in the world today, and many don’t know what’s going on in Christendom beyond their immediate circle. Who was Martin Luther? Not only was he the father of Protestantism, He wrote some of the great hymns of the faith and he restored congregational singing to church after the Catholic Church had removed it for 1200 years. (He also played the guitar.) Who were John Wesley and Charles Wesley? John Wesley was the founder of Methodism, a prolific preacher and theologian, and his brother Charles wrote hundreds of hymns that are not only beautiful compositions but also teach powerful biblical truths. Look at the words of just one of Wesley’s hymns and name a contemporary song that even approaches the majesty and might of this theological masterpiece.

1.And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior's blood! Died he for me? who caused his pain! For me? who him to death pursued? Amazing love! How can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me? Amazing love! How can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

2.'Tis mystery all: th' Immortal dies! Who can explore his strange design? In vain the firstborn seraph tries to sound the depths of love divine. 'Tis mercy all! Let earth adore; let angel minds inquire no more. 'Tis mercy all! Let earth adore; let angel minds inquire no more.

3.He left his Father's throne above (so free, so infinite his grace!), emptied himself of all but love, and bled for Adam's helpless race. 'Tis mercy all, immense and free, for O my God, it found out me! 'Tis mercy all, immense and free, for O my God, it found out me!

4.Long my imprisoned sprit lay, fast bound in sin and nature's night; thine eye diffused a quickening ray; I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; my chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed thee. My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed thee.

5.No condemnation now I dread; Jesus, and all in him, is mine; alive in him, my living Head,and clothed in righteousness divine, bold I approach th' eternal throne, and claim the crown, through Christ my own. Bold I approach th' eternal throne, and claim the crown, through Christ my own.

So here’s another problem I have with the contemporary only philosophy that has taken over many churches. It is the dumbing down of the Church. Not only will many contemporary Christians never know who Charles Wesley was, but will never be exposed to the powerful, godly, music that flowed from his pen and blessed the Church for generations. Both music and preaching should teach us the great truths of scripture, and bring us into the presence of God that we may worship.