Names of Jesus: The Vine

Friday, December 18th, 2015

• Holidays
• Jesus

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)


It’s important to understand that salvation is not a fruit bearing event, so in this statement Jesus was talking about our life after we’re saved.  Even after we are saved, believers are not automatically fruitful. But if we yield our lives to Him, (Romans 12:1-2) and respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit He sent to guide us (John 14:26) we can bear much fruit.
If we don’t yield to Him, our lives will be unfruitful, because without Him we can do nothing of spiritual value. We’ll still be saved, but we’ll be of no more use to the work of the Kingdom than the unfruitful branches the gardener discards at pruning time. Paul confirmed this in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15. The unfruitful believer will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

Fruitfulness is not a matter of success or failure from a worldly stand point. It’s a matter of motive. Many of us will see some of our greatest accomplishments burn in the fires of judgment because we achieved them with wrong motives, like self satisfaction, or recognition from others, or even a desire to “make points” with God. Only those things that are prompted by the Holy Spirit and where our only motive is gratitude for all we’ve been given will survive.

And what have we been given? Here is a list of just some of the things He has given to each and every one of His children:
We are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)
We have been made perfect forever (Hebrews 10:14)
We are anointed, sealed, and have His Spirit in our hearts (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)
We are children of God and co heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16-17)
We are seated in the heavenly realms with Christ, above all rule, authority, power and dominion (Ephesians 2:4-7)
We are set free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2)
We are kings and priests (Revelation 5:10)
We have the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21)
We are more than conquerors (Romans 8:27)
And there is nothing (not even ourselves) that can separate us from His love. (Romans 8:38)

Spend some time today thanking the Lord for His blessings, great and small. He is the giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17) and He longs to give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4) Out of gratitude, let Him prompt you to do good works. Remember that these works won’t necessarily be big deeds in our minds. The smallest of gestures, the kindness we show  (Proverbs 19:17), and even a cup of cold water (Matthew 10:42) when prompted by the Holy Spirit and done out of gratitude bring eternal rewards and are fruit that survives.

Our prayer: We thank you, Lord for the abundant blessings you’ve given to each of us, your children. We are grateful to be called your sons and daughters. You have given us everything, and we are overcome with gratitude. Help us bear fruit in you and help us remember that apart from you we can do nothing. Prompt us to do good works, not in fear or out of obligation, but in gratitude for all you’ve done for us and for your glory. Amen.

Everything Is Permissible

 
Wednesday, October 7th, 2015

• Past Featured
• Salvation
• Spiritual Life

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley
Reblogged from gracethrufaith
 
“Everything is permissible for me”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”—but I will not be mastered by anything.” (1 Cor. 6:12)
I get a fair amount of email from people who are seriously troubled by “low level bondage”. What I mean by that term is that they’ve taken something that most would consider a fairly minor thing and either by themselves or with some “help” from friends have become totally obsessed over it. One bites her finger nails, another is overly jealous, still another refuses to look at a woman at all for fear of having a lustful thought. Over eating, smoking, coarse language and “out of control” anger are among other common subjects.


The thing that makes these obsessions the most dangerous is that often the people afflicted by them begin to feel as though they’ve offended God by not being able to quit. This can lead to feelings of unworthiness that create problems in their Spiritual Life. They become more and more reluctant to pray about their obsessions and may even start avoiding church because they’re ashamed to be in God’s presence.

Arrogance And Fear

It’s been said that the only two possible outcomes of a life under the law are arrogance and fear. The one who becomes arrogant actually begins to think he doesn’t need a Savior. People like this are the modern day Pharisees. They murder the Messiah in their minds by denying their need for Him. The people I’m referring to above have gone to the other extreme. They have an unhealthy fear of the Lord, as if after showing His love by dying for them, He’s ready and waiting to punish every act of disobedience now that they’re His.
In both cases their quest for obedience began with wanting to please Him by acting in the manner He desires, but somewhere along the way this healthy desire became perverted into an obsession. Their joy was stolen and their victory became a defeat. You can guess how this happens. Convincing us we need to earn our position before God is a classic ploy of the enemy, and he uses it to great advantage in getting us to defeat ourselves.

When Jesus said that anger is as bad as murder and lustful thinking is as bad as adultery in Matt. 5, He wasn’t so much condemning people who get angry or experience lust, as explaining how easy it is to break the Commandments. His point was that unless our righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees, the most obsessive people in the world where the law was concerned, we will never see the Kingdom. They thought that if they avoided taking any action, no matter how small, that would violate the Law, they could be righteous enough to save themselves. But He said that just thinking about a violation was enough to condemn them. So how do we attain a righteousness that exceeds theirs? By being just as obsessive as they were? No, by having the very righteousness of God imputed to us by faith. (Romans 3:21-24)

So, by saying, “Everything is permissible for me,” Paul was telling us that we’ve been freed from the Pharisaical need to micro manage our lives in constant fear of breaking the Law. When he continued, “But I will not be mastered by anything,” he meant that no behavior would get the best of him or dominate his life. That can be viewed in two ways. If you’re totally given over to a certain behavior, then it has mastered you. But you’ve also been mastered if your life is consumed by an obsessive attempt at avoiding the behavior.

Who Did That?

Paul also spoke about this in Romans 7. He said, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” (Romans 7:18-20)

In his mind, Paul had a desire to live in a manner pleasing to the Lord, but in his body he couldn’t always carry it out, even though “I beat my body and make it my slave.”. (1 Cor. 9:27) It ‘s because of a defect we all have that he called his sinful nature. This defect will always trip us up. As someone once put it, “We aren’t sinners because we sin, we sin because we’re sinners.” Our sin nature insures that the more we worry about doing something wrong, the more likely we are to do it.

Paul concluded with, “So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.” (Romans 7:21-25)

This was an incredible realization for one so thoroughly schooled in the Law. It means that Paul recognized that he was in a constant battle with himself, and as far as outward appearances are concerned he would always lose. But once he received and accepted our Lord’s death as payment for his sins, the measure of his success would be in his intent, not just his behavior.

Here’s how to tell the difference. “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.” (Romans 8:5) Is our mind set on satisfying the needs of our sinful nature? Is that what we begin each day desiring? Or do we wake up in the morning with a desire to please God? It’s the dominant thought in our mind that matters, the intent of our heart, and only the Lord can determine that.

This is why Paul told the Corinthians, “Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.” (1 Cor. 4:5) And the Colossians, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.” (Col. 2:16)
Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly”. (John 10:10) 

Does walking around with your head down for fear of looking at a woman, or kicking yourself all over creation for giving in to a craving, or being ashamed to show your face in church sound like the abundant life to you?
If obsessing over a certain kind of behavior will actually increase the probability of that behavior manifesting itself, and if it’s the intent of our heart that really matters anyway, doesn’t it make sense to take the emphasis off the behavior and place it on making sure the intent of our heart is right? 

Doing this accomplishes two good things. It will restore our relationship with God, helping us to regain our victory, and it will make the manifestation of the behavior less likely by depriving it of its importance. Once we’ve done that, we’ll be able to see the less and less frequent behavioral slip-ups for what they are, slip-ups, not like us, departures from our norm. And like Paul learned to do, and God always has done, we’ll be able to say, “It’s no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”

That realization will place our feet back on the path to victory and restore our joy as we see that we’re neither being mastered by the behavior nor by the fear of it. Realizing that by His once for all time sacrifice, He has forgiven us for all the sins of our life, we’ll finally be able to forgive ourselves as well.

As we do, that original joy of our salvation will return and we’ll long to be in His presence again. As we delight ourselves in the Lord, He’ll give us the desire of our heart, to live a life pleasing to Him. (Psalm 37:4) Selah 08-04-07

The Case for Eternal Punishment

Saturday, May 30th, 2015

•  Eternity
• Featured
• Hell
• Life After Death

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley
Grace thru Faith

“And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.” (Isaiah 66:24)

Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:2)
Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. (Matt. 25:41,46)
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:14-15)

For most of mankind’s existence the belief that punishment for unbelievers is eternal was taken for granted.  The above verses are the basis for this point of view.  It’s become known as the traditional view of hell.

Recently an alternative, called the conditional view, has come on the scene. This view is based primarily on Rev. 20:12 which says the unsaved dead will be judged according to their works. Proponents of the conditional view interpret this verse to mean that while no unbeliever can go to heaven, their punishment in hell will be based on the quality of their lives while on Earth. They contend that those who’ve led meritorious lives on Earth but aren’t believers will receive less severe punishment for a shorter period of time than say a Hitler or Stalin before being destroyed altogether. They claim that this view makes more sense because it shows God to be fair, making the punishment fit the crime so to speak, before mercifully ending their existence altogether.

On the surface it seems to make sense and some people are more comfortable with this view than the traditional one that appears excessively harsh to them and serves no purpose other than making people suffer. But is the conditional view the result of greater enlightenment in our understanding of Scripture or just another in a long line of attempts to re-cast God’s word into a kinder gentler document as it pertains to those who’ve rejected Him?

My Ways Are Not Your Ways

A closer look reveals that the idea of a conditional hell is decidedly biased toward the world view of unbelievers. Conditional hell proponents say, “All they did is not believe that Jesus died for them.  Other than that many unbelievers  tried to live a good life and helped a fair amount of people along the way. What did they do to deserve eternal punishment?” (Notice the emphasis on good works here?)

What these folks don’t seem to realize is that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). No amount of good works and kindness toward others will make up for the deficiency of unbelief.   The truth is they will have failed to do the only thing God required of them.
Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:28-29)

If God is going to judge unbelievers by how they’ve done the work He requires of them, it’ll all be over pretty quickly because without belief in Jesus even the good they might have accomplished is considered evil in God’s sight. How do I know that?  Read the Lord’s own words;
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matt. 7:22-23)

They will claim to have performed miracles in His name, but the Lord will deny ever knowing them, calling them evil doers.  So much for the value of a meritorious life apart from faith in Him!
And in John 15:5 He said, “I am the vine and you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. Apart from Me you can do nothing.”

Unbelievers don’t think rejecting the Lord is a big deal because they don’t realize that their rejection of His sacrifice for their sins has eternal consequences. Because of their unbelief they’re only thinking in terms of a 70-80 year lifespan, not an eternal existence.  So let’s take a look at this from the eternal perspective and try to understand how different it is.

First let’s understand that the man who is executed or given life in prison for taking someone’s life is not being taught that murder is wrong. He’s suffering the consequence of his crime by forfeiting the balance of his physical life . It’s an adaptation of the Biblical injunction, a life for a life (Lev. 24:17).  On Earth we’re in a physical environment so it’s a physical life for a physical life.

But a person who rejects the pardon God provided for him has in effect murdered his own soul and spirit.  Both are eternal, so there has to be an eternal consequence to fit the crime. Our physical bodies are only intended to serve a temporary purpose, and that’s to house the eternal part of us for a little while. Compared to our eternal existence, putting our physical existence to death is a minor infraction.  Refusing to accept the Lord’s completed work on the cross as payment in full for our sins is a crime against our eternal life and therefore the only just punishment is eternal punishment.

Is Everyone Destined For Hell?

Recently someone challenged me to prove from the Bible that all mankind is destined for hell.  He said by that he meant an actual place where one will spend eternity.  This person, like many others, doesn’t realize that hell is not an eternal destination, but only a temporary place of torment while one awaits his or her final judgment.  So first let’s see if there’s a place that says everyone is destined for hell.
“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).

A surface reading of that verse alone might lead one to conclude that Paul was just talking about the death of the body here. After all it was sin entering the world that caused man’s physical life to change from immortal to mortal.
But if we read on and take the entire passage in context we see Paul wasn’t just talking about physical death. For example, in Romans 5:18 He wrote, “Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.”

Here we can see he had to be talking about eternal life because the Lord’s one act of righteousness did not prevent the physical bodies of believers from dying.
Therefore, since we’re all sinners we are all condemned. But by accepting the Lord’s death as payment in full for our sins we can escape condemnation and death and receive justification and eternal life instead.

What Does The Bible Say?

The account of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) gives us the Bible’s clearest picture of what happens after we die.  In comparing what happened to these men, the differences in their experience become obvious.
When Lazarus died he was carried to a place the Jews called Abraham’s side because Abraham, the father of the faithful, was there to comfort them.  But when the rich man died he went to hell (Greek, hades).  Abraham and the rich man could see each other and communicate back and forth so we know Abraham’s side and Hades were in the same general location.

In the Old Testament these two destinations were known by the single name of Sheol, the “abode of the dead.” Upon dying, everyone went there. It’s where Jonah’s spirit went while his body languished in the belly of the whale (Jonah 2:2,6).

From the New Testament we learn that Sheol contained two compartments, separated by a wide chasm, impossible to cross (Luke 16:26). One side was a place of comfort where believers went to await Heaven’s opening after the cross. That’s where Lazarus was.  In Greek it was called Paradise, a name that evoked memories of the Garden of Eden.
The other side was a place of torment reserved for unbelievers, and that’s where the rich man was.

After His resurrection, Jesus took the spirits of the believing dead from Paradise with Him to Heaven (Ephes. 4:8).  Those who are in hell will remain there in torment until their final judgment at the end of the Millennium, which is still over 1,000 years in the future to us.  At that time, Rev. 20:14 tells us, death and Hades will give up the dead who are in them and each person will be judged according to what has been recorded in the books kept in Heaven.  Everyone whose name cannot be found in the book of life will be thrown into the Lake of fire, which is the Second death.  The Lake of Fire is the final destiny of all unbelievers. Now, let’s see how long they’ll remain there.

At the time of the 2nd coming, the Lord will conduct a judgment of all humans still alive on earth (Matt. 25:31-46).  People from all over the world will be brought to the Lord for His determination of their spiritual condition.  Those He judges to be believers will be welcomed into the Millennial Kingdom (Matt. 25:34) where they will help repopulate the earth. Those who are not will be taken away to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt 25:41).  Rev. 19:20 and Rev. 20:10 tell us this is a fiery lake of burning sulfur, while Rev. 20:14 simply calls it the lake of fire. They all refer to the same place, the final destiny of all unbelievers.

It’s a mistake to just read Rev. 20:10 and conclude that only the devil, the anti-Christ and the false prophet will be tormented forever.   It’s a mistake to just read Matt. 25:46 and conclude that only unbelieving tribulation survivors will be punished forever.  And it’s a mistake to just read Daniel 12:2 and conclude that only unbelievers from Old Testament times will suffer shame and everlasting contempt (abhorrence).   All unbelievers from all ages will go to the same place, the place of eternal punishment, and all will suffer eternally.

And That’s Not All

But there’s an even more powerful legal argument for eternal punishment that for centuries was modeled in human existence as well.  Until the mid 19th Century it was common practice in many parts of the world to incarcerate a person for failure to pay his or her debts.  Jail time was not an alternative method of repayment, it was the consequence they suffered for their inability to pay their debts.  No matter how long they were locked up they still owed as much of their debt as they did on their first day behind bars. They could only be freed by repaying the money they owed.  Jesus referred to this practice in His parable of the unmerciful servant (Matt. 18:23-35).

It’s the same with our sins.  Punishment is not an alternative method unbelievers can use to pay the penalty for their sins, it’s the consequence they’ll suffer for their inability to pay the penalty.  No matter how long people suffer in eternity, they will still owe the same penalty as they did on day one. The only acceptable payment for sin is the blood of an innocent person, and nothing else will suffice.  Hebrews 9:22 explains that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.  Therefore no one can “work off” his or her penalty through suffering.

This is the fatal flaw in the Catholic concept of purgatory.  It calls for a person who dies with certain unconfessed sins  to “work off” the penalty for those sins through their suffering and the intercessory prayers of living relatives in order to qualify for entry into heaven.  But there’s only one way  for humans to qualify for entry into heaven and that’s by accepting the blood of Jesus as payment for our sins (John 3:3).  Once we do that  all of our sins are covered (Colossians 2:13-14).  But we have to do it before we die (Hebr. 9:27) or else it’s too late.]
It’s also the flaw in the conditional view of hell.  If the blood of Jesus is the only way to be released from the penalty for our sins, then there’s no release for those who reject it.  No matter how numerous or noteworthy, the “good works” unbelievers perform during their lifetime can’t be applied to reduce their sentence and neither can the “time served” after they die, so they’ll always owe the same penalty as they did on day one of their incarceration.

The bottom line is the only acceptable payment for our sins is the blood of a sinless man, and the only sinless man is Jesus. He died for all the sins of mankind (John 1:29) but only those who choose to accept His death as payment for their sins can be forgiven (John 3:16).

Refusing to accept it leaves everyone else unable to pay and requires that they be incarcerated.  Since they’re eternal beings and have committed crimes against eternity, and since they’ll never be able to pay, they’ll have to remain incarcerated forever.

It is my fervent prayer that if you’re reading this and you have not accepted the Lord’s death as payment in full for your sins, you will not let another day go by without doing so.  None of us is privileged to know the number of our days.  Each new one could be our last. Please don’t tarry.  Selah 05-30-15.

The Story behind the Reedemer - Jack Kelley

Reblogged from  https://gracethrufaith.com/topical-studies/the-story-behind-the-redeemer/

  Saturday, January 26th, 2013

• Bible Study
• Evangelism

Commentary by Jack Kelley
As many of you already know, my newest book, The Redeemer, became available this week. Since it’s a little different from my previous efforts I want to give you some background on why I wrote it.

Why Did You Do That?

The current trend among ministries like ours is to tap into all the different social networking media in an effort to broaden their audiences. And while we’ve begun to do that as well, we’ve also been taking a look at what the world would be like if suddenly there were no internet ministries.

There are three reasons why I think it makes sense for someone in my position to consider this. First, of course, is the rapture of the Church. Without Christians around to maintain them, Christian websites would soon disappear too. And try as I might, I just can’t imagine asking one of my non-believing friends to take over in my absence if I should suddenly disappear, although that could certainly be the spark to ignite a conversation of a different sort. The problem is if the conversation resulted in the friend’s conversion I’d be right back in the same situation. I’d have to find someone who is not a believer now, but was guaranteed to become one right after the rapture. So far the Lord hasn’t revealed such a person to me.

The second reason is an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) attack. A nuclear warhead detonated in the atmosphere above the US would send an electromagnetic pulse hurtling to Earth at the speed of light. Depending on the height, the location, and the power of the explosion it could destroy all computers and other electronic devices in the US instantly. No more internet. No more electronics of any kind. Experts say this is where we are most vulnerable to terrorists because the capability already exists, it’s a relatively inexpensive weapon, and we have no defense against it.

The third reason is something that’s also in the works. The UN is persisting in their effort to gain control of and regulate the internet. One of their stated goals is to eliminate hate speech, but as we know in some people’s view hate speech includes Biblical Christianity. This is partly due to the fact that we’re opposed to homosexuality and abortion, and believe that non-believers will be condemned. If the UN gets the power it wants, Bible study websites like ours could soon be censored to the point of ineffectiveness.

For these reasons, I concluded that we should also pay attention to some of the more traditional means of mass communications, and that includes writing books. Books are more durable. Once they’re in circulation no one can push a button somewhere and erase them.  In short they’re better suited to times of political uncertainty.

What’s It All About?

So then the question became what to write about.  My experience answering Biblical questions over the past five years has taught me that a lot of Christians really don’t know very much about our faith. At some point in their lives they chose to become believers, but because there are so few opportunities for meaningful discipleship, they frequently just go on living as they had before. If someone asks them to explain their faith, they have a hard time doing so because what little knowledge they have is largely hearsay. And as for having a meaningful discussion with a curious non-believer, forget about it.

The majority of today’s believers are represented by the seed that fell among thorns in Matt. 13:7, which is part of the Kingdom Parables. Jesus described them as being unfruitful because they are too concerned about the things of this world (Matt. 13:22). According to recent surveys over 90% of people who call themselves Christians fall into this category. Now I’m not questioning their salvation. I’m talking about their fruitfulness. Salvation is not a fruit bearing event. It’s what we do after we’re saved that determines our fruitfulness.
An apple tree is born because the seed that was planted in the ground has germinated and produced a new life. It grows to maturity and begins to produce apples. Although the tree was alive from the moment it sprang forth from the soil it wasn’t considered to be fruitful until it produced more of its own kind. After all, apples aren’t just for eating. They’re also for producing more apple trees.

So it is with believers. We’re born again because the seed of the gospel was planted in our heart. But although we’re a new creation from the moment we believe we’re not considered to be fruitful until we produce more of our own kind. We’re not just for singing and praising God. We’re also for producing more Christians (Matt. 28:19-20)

From this I determined that three groups of people could benefit from knowing more about what Christians believe and why we believe it. In no particular order, they are curious unbelievers, new believers, and long time believers who want to become more fruitful.

After some prayer and reflection on this, I felt like the Lord had told me what to write about and who to write it to. I divided the message into eight parts, which became the book’s eight chapters. Eight is the number of new beginnings and it’s my prayer that many who read the book will be motivated to begin their life anew, whether by deciding to become a believer, or by having their faith strengthened through a deeper understanding of what the Lord has done for them.

Chapter 1. The Redeemer Is Promised

The book begins at the beginning, explaining how mankind became estranged from God and why we need a redeemer to bring us back to Him.

Chapter 2. The Redeemer Awaits

Chapter two is an overview of what God was doing between the time He promised to send a redeemer and the time of His actual arrival. Think of it as a very brief summary of the Old Testament as it concerns man’s redemption.

Chapter 3. The Redeemer Is Given

This is the Christmas story. To show that the Redeemer is the focus of the entire Bible I made liberal use of Old Testament prophecies that foretold of His coming.

Chapter 4. The Redeemer In Ministry

This chapter is devoted to a summary of things Jesus taught us about what He had come to do and why it was important for us to understand that He wasn’t starting a new religion. On the contrary, He was trying to re-establish a relationship.

Chapter 5. The Redeemer In Victory

This is the longest chapter in the book and gives a day-by-day description of His official presentation as the Redeemer, His final days of teaching, His crucifixion, and His resurrection, eight days that changed everything between God and man.

Chapter 6. The Redeemer In The Church

Following His ascension, the men He had trained and mentored began to build His Church. This chapter shows how the Church began, why and when the New Testament was written and what effect the Redeemer has had in the world. It ends with a prayer that allows those who began reading out of curiosity to become children of God.

Chapter 7. The Redeemer In Prophecy

Jesus didn’t die for us just so our sins could be forgiven. He died so whoever believes in Him can have eternal life. Chapter 7 explains why Christians have a right to believe there’s a future in store for us that exceeds our wildest expectations.

Chapter 8. The Redeemer Returns

We conclude with a summary of end times events that will take place after the rapture. It shows how God will fulfill the promise he made so long ago to reverse the devastating effects of sin and restore planet Earth to its original condition.

In Summary

I wrote the book in simple straight forward language so even people who are not believers could see the importance of changing their lives and becoming born again. I included hundreds of Bible references within the text so new believers could use the book as a study guide to help them understand what our faith is all about. After a few hours of diligent study with nothing but this book in one hand and and a Bible in the other, a new believer can come away with a greater understanding of our faith than most seasoned veterans have. These references will also help long time believers search the Scriptures to prove whether what I’ve written is true in accordance with Acts 17:11, and rekindle the flame of faith they had at the beginning.

As I did with my last book, I’ve included an appendix with eight of our most popular studies on prophecy, eternal security, and faith.  These will facilitate continued growth and understanding.

All that said, I think The Redeemer will accomplish its stated goals in the life of anyone who reads it with a sincere desire to learn. I also think it will make an ideal gift for a person who has expressed interest in our faith, whether as a prelude to a personal discussion or to supplement one you’ve already begun.
Of course, you’d expect me to say something like that. After all, I wrote the book. The best way to see if I’m right is to get a copy and read it for yourself. Selah 01-26-13

Gary´s Commentary on Bible Study Part 1

A Dispensational View of the Christian Life (Part 5)

May 11, 2015

Dr. Steve Spurlin Cornerstone Bible Church

In our last post we delved into two of the three main difficulties that a Christian faces in the daily challenge of living life in obedience to the Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the spiritual, or Spirit-filled life. We will now look at the third aspect of this triumvirate of problems the Christian faces.

The Internal Struggle

It is this environment of maintaining the proper motivation in the Christian life, and overcoming the various impediments into which a new creation is placed (2 Cor. 5:17) and the new man is born. The inner tension that Paul warned about in Galatians 5:16-17 exists between the Spirit and the flesh, or the new creation and the sin nature of the old creation.]

To use different biblical terminology it is the struggle between the new man (creation) and the old man. That term, "old man," directs our attention back to Romans 6:6. The New American Standard Bible reads, "knowing this that our old self was crucified with Him." However, the Greek uses the exact phrase "old man" (palaios anthropos) in place of "old self." In the act of co-crucifixion we are transferred from our natural born position in the first Adam to our new position in the Last Adam (Rom. 5:12-21, cf. Col. 1:13-14). 

Paul's further testimony concerning his own struggles is helpful. The Holy Spirit found it necessary to have Paul describe these struggles in order for believers to understand that the new position in Christ does not eradicate the old man in the present. In fact, we should remember Paul's emphatic exclamation at his own plight, "Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?" (Rom. 7:24) This statement alone illustrates the fact that the sin nature, the old man, the flesh is indeed somehow intrinsically tied to our current physical state. It is our inheritance from the first Adam and cannot be expunged from this present body, but it is the complete removal of this nature to which we look with anticipation.

With the new man born in the believer the internal struggle begins in earnest. This is not to say that we are schizophrenic or possessed of two personalities. Ryrie offers an excellent explanation of the unity of the believer:

Although man is a many-faceted being, and even though these facets of man participate in the conflict between the old and new natures when a person becomes a believer, still man is a unity and acts as one. What I do, I do, not a part of myself....True, certain aspects of my being may originate an action, but that action is performed by me, not part of me....
Galatians 2:20...says not only that Christ lives in me but that Christ lives in me, and the life is a life which I live—to be sure by faith—but nevertheless I live it. Whatever is done, whether for good or evil, I do, for there is no other way for the old nature, the new nature, the soul, the spirit, or any other aspect of my being to express itself than through me. [1]

It is within the context of this internal battle that the following is issued: "...[L]ay aside the old self,...and put on the new self..." (Eph. 4:22, 24). Our new position in Christ means that positionally, the old man is put off. The everyday experience, or our experiential or progressive sanctification, is where the battle to live the Christian life takes place, and the old man will not go quietly. We must actively, and consistently strive to put off the old man, and replace him with the new man, the man who is to be transformed by the renewing of his mind (Rom. 12:2), replacing the old way of thinking with "the mind of Christ" (1 Cor. 2:16) to which every believer has access.

The victory of the new man over the old man is, on the part of the believer, dependent upon a positive volitional response to biblical commands such as the one just mentioned. In a word, victory for the new man over the old is through obedience. The power to make the correct decision is provided by the Spirit, "for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13). Therefore, the desire is produced by the new man in conjunction with the divine enablement of the Spirit, the positive volition belongs to the believer, but the power to overcome belongs to the Lord.

It is clear from what we've seen that there is a great deal for the believer to overcome. Between the various impediments that the multiple enemies place in his way and the internal struggle that is faced on a moment-by-moment basis the battle is seemingly hopeless for the believer. Yet, God has not left believers to fend for themselves. The indwelling Spirit provides the power for the believer's victory and progress in the Christian life.

Endnotes

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[1] Ryrie, Christian Life, 32-33.

Keeping it Simple

Saturday, October 18th, 2014

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

Mankind has a propensity for taking simple things and making them complex, often confusing himself in the process.  Some say this began with the serpent’s question to Eve,  “Did God really say…?”(Genesis 3:1).  Lets look at some of the simple things of the Bible that man has tried to complicate and ask ourselves if we’re better off with man’s opinion or would it make more sense to keep it simple and stick with what the Bible says.

Creation

God said His work of creation required six days and He rested on the seventh day (Genesis 2:1-2).  There was no one around who could dispute His claim but that hasn’t stopped man from proposing alternatives.

The best man has come up with is that we’re really the product of random chance. The Big Bang theory and Evolution are called  laws of nature by some, but in fact, they violate natural law. Things in nature don’t naturally evolve from randomness, or chaos, into order. In fact they go the other way. The evidence is all around us. Your house, your car,  your body, and everything else that’s been created or made or manufactured confirms that absent some kind of preventive maintenance, the natural way is devolution, from order into chaos. Everything breaks down, wears out, rusts, rots, or dies. There’s no way around it.

And the best preventive maintenance can only retard the devolution process. It can never reverse it, let alone turn something into something else. Order into chaos, order into chaos. That’s nature’s way.  Some folks want you to ignore this simple fact and believe that where you’re concerned, natural law was spontaneously reversed for no reason at all so that the amoeba that became the fish that became the monkey could become you.  If we can’t believe the very first thing God said to us, how can we be sure about anything else He said?
The simple thing is to believe God.

Salvation

God said we’re saved by grace through faith, not by works. (Ephesians 2:8-9) He doesn’t want anyone bragging that he earned his own way into the kingdom, and knows that we can’t do it anyway. He gave man a set of laws that were impossible to keep but which defined the standard He required of us. Then He sent His Son to keep those laws for us and give His life to purchase an unconditional pardon that releases us from the penalty of breaking them (Colossians 2:13-14). He said this is the only way we can be saved (John 14:6, Acts 4:12).  All we have to do is believe in the one He sent (John 6:28-29) admit we’re sinners, ask for His pardon, and accept it in faith (Romans 10:13).

But right from the beginning, man has tried to earn his own way into God’s Kingdom. Some have multiplied God’s laws by adding many others, while others have ignored His laws, substituting their own instead.  Either way man has made his existence here on earth miserable as he labors to prove that he doesn’t need God’s free pardon, living a life of guilt and fear in a vain attempt to earn something that has been offered to Him for free.
The simple thing is to believe God.

Agency

God said that anyone who wants to can choose this pardon and have eternal life.  It’s free for the asking irrespective of merit or worthiness (Matt. 7:7-8).  It doesn’t matter if you’re a Jew or Gentile, free or slave, male or female, civilized or barbarian (Galatians 3:26-29). If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you’ll be saved (Romans 10:9). You have your entire lifetime to make your choice. However when you die His offer of pardon expires (Hebrews 9:27).

Some men have  imposed conditions without number to this unconditional promise. They say you must have been chosen in advance by God, or belong to a certain denomination, or behave in a certain way, give a certain amount, maintain certain standards, avoid certain food or drink, etc, etc. Others say you don’t have to accept God’s terms at all.  Just try to do the best you can and treat others nicely. You’ll have a chance after you die to sit down and work it all out with God.  Still others say it doesn’t matter who your god is.   As long as you’re sincere in your belief, you’ll find your way to eternal life.  Jesus said all these ways lead to destruction (Matt. 7:13-14).
The simple thing is to believe God.

Security

God says that when you’re saved He sends His Holy Spirit to dwell within you, sealed there as a deposit guaranteeing your inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14).  It’s the down payment on His promise never to leave you or forsake you.  God Himself will make you stand firm (2 Cor. 1:21-22), and there’s no one who can take you out of His hand (John 10:27-30).  His Spirit will also guide you and advise you on behavior that’s pleasing to Him, not to earn His favor but as a way to express your gratitude for already having received it. Your behavior is still your own choice and when you sin, as we all do, the Holy Spirit will prompt you to confess so you can be forgiven and preserve your intimate relationship with God (1 John 1:9).

Man says something different.  Some say the Holy Spirit doesn’t come all at once. You get a little bit when you’re saved and more when you’re worthy. You’ll know you’re worthy when you receive a certain Spiritual gift that tells you and others that you’ve made it. They also say the Holy Spirit isn’t permanently sealed within you. He’ll leave you if you don’t behave right or if you decide you don’t want Him any more. And once He’s gone you can never get Him back. Scary.
The simple thing is to believe God.

Abundant Life

God says that you shouldn’t worry about how your life will work out, that He’ll take care of it.  Since He takes care of little birds and flowers, that aren’t worth anywhere near what you are to Him, He’ll certainly watch out for you. “Seek first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness,” He says, “And I’ll take care of everything (Matt. 6:31-33). After all, I came to Earth so that you could have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).  So don’t conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2).

Man says you have to figure out what you want and then strive to get it. Work hard and sacrifice much, and you’ll be rewarded. The stress you feel from the job, and the difficulty you have staying connected at home are just part of the deal. And when you become successful, if it wasn’t all you hoped it would be, well everybody feels that way. The more you have, the better you’ll feel. Stay with it.
The simple thing is to believe God.

Forgiveness

God says to forgive as you’ve been forgiven, that nothing someone does to you can ever approximate what you’ve done to God. (Matt. 18:32-33) And since He’s forgiven you unconditionally, you should do the same. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger. Don’t give the devil a foothold. “Vengeance is mine,” says the Lord. “It’s mine to repay.”

Man says some folks don’t deserve to be forgiven. Make them prove that they’ve earned it before you let them off the hook. Besides, maybe it’s you. Maybe you’re just too weak, too naive. As you become more skeptical, less trusting, you’ll find people won’t take advantage so often. Don’t get mad, get even.
The simple thing is to believe God.

Giving

Jesus said don’t store up treasure on earth, where it can be stolen or destroyed.  Instead, store up treasure in heaven where nothing can happen to it (Matt. 6:19-21).   He said, “Give and it will be given to you, for with the measure you use it will be measured to you” (Luke 6:38).  Paul confirmed this.  He said if we sow sparingly we’ll reap sparingly, but if we sow generously we’ll also reap generously.  He said we should decide in our own heart what to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, because God loves a cheerful giver  (2 Cor. 9:6-7).  He said our generosity will be rewarded with blessing and we’ll be made rich in every way so we can be generous on every occasion (2 Cor. 9:10-11).

Some pastors say you owe a debt to God and if you don’t pay it back to the church you’ll be cursed. Others say you worked hard for your money and it’s yours to do with as you please. Why give any of it to a bunch of do-gooders who’ll just waste it on people who don’t deserve it. Give enough to keep them off your back, if you must, but not so much as to cramp your lifestyle.
The simple thing is to believe God.

Prophecy

God said he would never do anything without first revealing it through His servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7) For over 6,000 years now He’s had a perfect record of first saying what He’ll do and then doing it.  But many scholars call predictive prophecy a sham and go to great lengths to try and disprove its reliability. For example, when history documented that Daniel 11:1-35 contained 135 fulfilled prophecies, scholars tried to say it was written after the fact.

As a result the Book of Daniel became the most thoroughly validated Book in the entire Bible. And yet some still deny its authenticity, in spite of the fact that Daniel also predicted the rise of Alexander the Great (Daniel 7:6, 8:5-8, 8:21-22), named the exact day that Jesus would ride into Jerusalem as Israel’s Messiah,  and foretold His Crucifixion, as well as the city’s subsequent destruction as (Daniel 9:26).

Zechariah prophesied that the Messiah would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zech. 9:9), then be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver with the money being thrown into the Temple for the purchase of a potter’s field (Zech 11:12-13). Micah prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).  Isaiah that He would be the Son of God (Isaiah 9:6), born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), pierced for our transgressions (Isaiah 53:5), though innocent would offer no defense (Isaiah 53:7), be buried in a rich man’s grave (Isaiah 53:9), and come back from the dead (Isaiah 53:11).  Amos said the sun would go down at noon on the day He was crucified (Amos 8:9-10). There well are over a hundred more that pertain to the first coming but you get the idea.

In spite of this, some of the very men and women who make a career out of studying the Word of God resort to extreme measures in their attempts to convince us that God is unreliable at best and at worst a liar.  And to what end? If they were diplomats and worked this hard at undermining the principles on which our country is founded, they’d be charged with treason. If they were managers who were committed to destroying the public’s perception of their company’s product, they’d be fired.  But since they claim to be Christians we call them scholars. “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,” Paul wrote, “And the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate” (1 Cor. 1:19)  He was quoting from Isaiah 29:14.
The simple thing is to believe God.

Conclusion

These are harsh and perilous times and now, more than ever, we need someone we can rely on who is utterly dependable. When the hurricane’s threatening to blow you down, and the flood waters are rising fast, you don’t want to be worrying whether the One you’re praying to is committed to your well being.

If you’re from Israel and your neighbors are publicly planning your destruction, and take every olive branch you hand them then turn it into another excuse to attack, you need to know that the One who gave you the land you’re standing on will keep His promise that it’s yours forever.

When your eternal destiny hangs in the balance, you need to be certain that the One Who says He surrendered His life to redeem yours really did.

The End of the Age is upon us. It’s time to stop debating and start believing the simple truth of the Bible. God is Who He says He is and He did what He said He would do. And in the 6000 years of man’s relationship with Him, not one of the 14 billion of us who’ve walked this earth has ever been able to successfully refute this. Conversely, proof of His existence is so far beyond the limits of mere probability that it’s no longer debatable.  Therefore belief in Him is a choice we make. It’s time to choose and be done with it. Like my favorite bumper sticker says, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.” It’s the simple thing to do. Selah 10-18-14.

Rightly Dividing The Word Of Truth

Reblogged from gracethrufaith.com  
A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15 KJV)
The purpose of this study is to show that the above verse from the King James translation of  2 Tim. 2:15 has been given a meaning Paul didn’t originally intend.  If you’ve heard the phrase “rightly dividing” being tossed around lately, you probably know what I mean.  If not, reading this will help you to be better prepared when you do.

Shew Thyself Approved

First, an overview of 2 Tim 2:15.  The Greek word translated approved in this verse is dokimos.  It came from the world of finance and is the key to understanding the verse.  All money was coinage in those days and was originally valued by weight.  Dishonest money changers would shave some of the metal from the coins they handled, making them worth a little less than their face value. The little bit shaved from each coin was a hidden profit that over time could be used to make additional coins that cost them nothing.

But some money changers were men of integrity, who would neither accept nor distribute lightweight coins; they were men of honor who put only genuine, full-weight money into circulation. These men were called dokimos. They were approved because they correctly handled the money entrusted to them. (Donald Grey Barnhouse, Romans: God’s Glory, p. 18.)

Timothy was a young man and one of the Church’s very first pastors.  Paul advised him to warn his people not to get caught up in debates over different interpretations of words (2 Tim. 2:14). He told Timothy to study so he could deliver the full weight of God’s Word in its proper context. That way he could present himself to God as a teacher of integrity, as one approved, a dokimos who correctly handled the word of truth, and therefore he would not be ashamed of what he had taught.  That is what the verse is supposed to mean.

Rightly Dividing the Word Of Truth

The Greek word translated “rightly dividing” in the King James translation of 2 Tim. 2:15 is “orthotomeo” which literally means to make a straight and accurate cut. Carpenters used this word to describe the correct way to saw lumber, while civil engineers used it to be sure the roads they were building went from one place to another by the shortest possible route. When used metaphorically the word means “to proceed on straight paths, hold a straight course, equivalent to doing right”.  By using this word Paul was instructing Timothy to preach God’s word accurately, correctly, and with precision. Had he been instructing Timothy to divide God’s word into various parts he would have used the Greek word diaireo which means to divide into parts.

Probably the most famous use of 2 Tim. 2:15 was by C.I. Scoffield in titling his monumental book on dispensationalism, written in 1896. He called it “Rightly Dividing The Word Of Truth”. Many of you know that I follow this system of theology and believe that it correctly handles the Scriptures.

I’m convinced that back then people understood what “rightly dividing” meant but over time the way words are understood changes, especially in metaphorical usage, and other translations have interpreted orthotomeo to reflect this. Look at the same verse from the NASB and you’ll see what I mean.
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth 2 Tim. 2:15 NASB).

Notice “accurately handling” has replaced “rightly dividing” in the NASB. The NIV uses the phrase “who correctly handles”. Both of these are more in line with the metaphorical use of the Greek word “orthotomeo” as we understand things today.  When you put dokimos (approved) and orthotomeo (accurately handling) together you get someone who preaches the word the way God intended, or as some would say “he tells it like it is”.


But lately some people have begun applying this phrase to actually divide the New Testament up into the parts they say are meant for the Church and the parts that are not, using 2 Tim. 2:15 to justify doing so . They take the phrase “rightly dividing” to mean we should cut the Bible up into the parts meant for Israel and the parts meant for the Church, and only focus on the parts meant for us.

First, they claim that because the gospels were written about the time just before the cross, they don’t really apply to the Church.  They say the cross “rightly divides” the Old Testament from the New and therefore the Gospels belong with the Old Testament and are meant for Israel. They also exclude the first part of the Book of Acts, claiming that the use of spiritual gifts like speaking in tongues and healing described there were meant as signs to Israel and are no longer available to the Church. Some also claim the letters from Peter, James, and John and the letter to the Hebrews were written for Jewish believers and not to the Gentile Church. And because the Book of Revelation deals with the time after the Church is gone they say we really don’t need to pay much attention to it either.

Is That What That Means?

In short, they are taking the literal meaning of the English phrase “rightly dividing” instead of considering that Paul was using the Greek word orthotomeo metaphorically.  I think this is a doubly incorrect interpretation that basically leaves the Church with only the last half of the Book of Acts and Paul’s epistles.

I’ve received numerous letters and comments from these folks criticizing me for using the words of Jesus in some of my answers to questions about living the Christian Life. They accuse me of not “rightly dividing “ the Scriptures.

Even though I can see differences between what Jesus taught in the Gospels and what Paul taught in his letters, I believe this division of God’s word improperly exceeds Paul’s intent in his instructions to Timothy. To me this is another step in undermining the authority of the Bible, similar to what some Christians have done by ignoring the Old Testament.
I think if the Lord had wanted His word to be divided up like this He would have offered a method for doing so.  But He didn’t. He didn’t tell the Church to ignore the Old Testament back then, and He’s not telling us to throw out parts of the New Testament now. You won’t find any directions on how to “rightly divide” His word because we don’t need special instructions to read something the way it’s written.

Obviously, the Bible says some things specifically to Israel, some things specifically to the Church, and some things about the unbelieving world.  An important part of correct interpretation is to determine the context of a passage to see who the Lord was addressing.
Paul said he didn’t hesitate to proclaim the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27).  He said that everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope (Romans 15:4), and that Israel’s history contains examples that were written down as warnings to us upon whom the end of the age has come (1 Cor. 10:11).  To me that means the entire Bible has value for all of us and with careful attention to the context we can glean important truths from every one of its 66 books.

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105).

He Who Has Ears, Let Him Hear

Reblogged from http://gracethrufaith.com/topical-studies/spiritual-life/he-who-has-ears-let-him-hear/

Wednesday, February 26th, 2014

• Israel
• Past Featured

This phrase appears 7 times in the gospels; 8 if you count Mark 4:23. (Most modern translations omit that one.) Two are duplicates of Matt 13:9 having to do with the Sower and the seed. A variation, “he who has an ear” appears 7 times in Rev 2-3, and another version, “let the reader understand” appears in Matt 24:15. These words, only used by the Lord, seem to underscore something important. It’s as if He’s saying, “Pay attention now. This part is not optional.”  Adding them up gives us 14 passages that are required understanding for the believer.

Let’s Take A Look At What They Say

In Matt 11:14-15, the Lord informed Israel that if they chose to accept John the Baptist as “the Elijah who was to come” then he would be. The implications of their choice were staggering, requiring that Jesus be accepted as their Messiah as well, since the mission of Elijah was to herald the coming Messiah. Had this happened, all of Israel’s Kingdom promises would have begun to come true. Israel’s leaders rejected both John and Jesus, and the result was a 2000 year pause in the fulfillment of Israel’s destiny.

In Matt 13:9, Mark 4:9, and Luke 8:8 the subject is the Sower and the four soils, which the Lord identified as a parable about His Word in the church age and the opposition it will encounter. The opposition obviously includes Satan, but also some ordinary people who refuse to become knowledgeable about His word, being too preoccupied with various earthly circumstances. Having chosen to place their emphasis on the things of this world, He proclaimed, many will find the next one to be distinctively not to their liking.

More Cause and Effect

In Mark 4:23 the subject is the revelation of things hidden, and the relationship between considering and understanding. There’s a connection here with the references above because the Lord clearly identified the cause and effect relationship between the effort we put forth in study and the depth of understanding we’ll attain. Every detail of God’s plan will be revealed, but only the diligent student will comprehend.

“Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you–and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” With the measure you use (time and effort in study) it will be measured to you (level of comprehension) Mark 4:24-25.

Mark 7:16, where the phrase is omitted in modern translations, has to do with clean and unclean foods. The Lord declared all foods clean and the heart of man incurably unclean, and warned us again that spiritual cleanliness is a matter of the heart, not of behavior. It’s another application of a principle we’ve discussed before. That which is physical and external in the Old Testament becomes spiritual and internal in the New Testament.

And Still More

Luke 14:35 is a parable about salt and saltiness. Salt was a preservative; retarding the effect of spoilage in the age before refrigeration. In the parable it’s a model of the church. If salt loses its saltiness it’s useless. It has no other purpose. If the church loses its preservative nature, no longer retarding the spoiling effect of sin in the world, it too becomes useless. As He predicted, becoming too immersed in the things of this world has rendered the latter day church all but ineffective in retarding the spoilage of the world due to sin.

Church History According to Jesus

The 7 references in Revelation 2-3 also describe the church age. Each follows an admonition to a group claiming to be part of the church. To those caught up in organized religion, He warns, “Come back to your first love (Rev. 2:5).” To those suffering persecution, He admonishes, “Be faithful (Rev. 2:10).” To those practicing idolatry, He commands, “Repent (Rev. 2:16).” To those wrapped up in cult- like systems, He threatens repayment according to their deeds (Rev. 2:22). He accuses main line denominations of being spiritually dead (Rev. 3:1), comforts evangelicals with the promise of His return for them (Rev. 3:10), and condemns apostates to eternal loss (Rev. 3:16). For each group a clear choice is given and each group is admonished to comprehend it.

The Times of the End

Finally, the variation “Let the reader understand” in Matt 24:15 concerns events that signal the end of the age. Here the Lord commanded us to understand eschatology; the study of the end times. The sad fact that so-called theologians have made this a controversial issue is no excuse. He wouldn’t require you to understand with out giving you the capacity to do so (review Mark 4:23-25). Failure to do this, He implied, will result in us being mistaken about the purpose of those events, and woefully ignorant concerning the signs of His return. And so we are.

Truth or Consequences

In each case, those being addressed are offered a clear choice, consequences are foretold, and a commandment to understand is given. It is as clean cut a model as you’ll find anywhere in Scripture of the basis on which the Lord has determined to relate to us. Whether we’re a part of Israel, the Church, or the World, the underlying principle is choice.

Ultimately the consequences of our choices can be a matter of life or death.  We will either say to Him, “Lord, Thy Will be done” and accept His offer of eternal life with Him, or He will say to us, “mankind, thy will be done” and send us to a place where we’ll never have to hear His voice again. 06-30-03

The Outer Darkness - Jack Kelley

Wednesday, October 2nd, 2013

 A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

• Faith
• Great Tribulation
• Life After Death
• Past Featured
• Second Coming

I’ve received several emails lately asking for clarification of the term “Outer Darkness.” It’s mentioned a total of 4 times in the New Testament, three by name and one by implication, and always by Jesus. The term is not used any where else, Old Testament or New, by any other writer. Those who ask want to know if it’s another name for the place of eternal punishment, or if it’s some place different. And they want to know who’s going there.


The problem I’ve had in researching this is there’s no general agreement among scholars as to what it is, where it is, or for whom it’s intended either. There’s also no agreement as to whether it’s a physical location or a state of being. The phrase outer darkness literally means, “outside, where there’s no light”. The Greek word for darkness can be used metaphorically to mean obscurity, which is the condition of being unknown. And there’s also a sense in which spiritual ignorance or blindness can apply. An accompanying phrase describes it as a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, which denotes extreme anguish and utter despair. No matter what else you think about it, the Outer Darkness is definitely not a nice place to be.

For many generations it was simply thought to be another name for Hell. But Hell, or more accurately Hades, is not a permanent destination. It’s a temporary one that will be thrown into the Lake of Fire at the end of the Millennium (Rev. 20:14). To me, the concept of utter despair denotes permanence.
So let’s take another look at its four appearances to see if we can answer some of the lingering questions about the Outer Darkness.

Matt. 8:12.

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.”
Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.”
The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt. 8:5-12)

In His first reference to the Outer Darkness, Jesus was clearly speaking to and about Israel. He was criticizing the Jews for letting a Gentile Roman soldier demonstrate a stronger faith in Him than they had. He said that their lack of faith would result in people from all over the world (Gentiles) inheriting the Kingdom, while the Jews, who were the Kingdom’s intended subjects, would be thrown into the Outer Darkness, a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Israel was then (and will be again) God’s Kingdom on Earth. The Lord repeated His warning to them in Matt. 21:43 when He said, “Therefore I tell you that the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.” It’s obvious that the Lord believed they were the subjects of the Kingdom or else why would He threaten to take it away from them?

So in His first mention of the Outer Darkness the Lord warned the Jewish people that at the End of the Age Gentile believers, like the Centurion, would join their patriarchs at the Wedding Feast while they themselves sat outside in the darkness for failing to recognize their Messiah.

Matt 22:13

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
“Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
“But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.
“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
“For many are invited, but few are chosen.” (Matt. 22:1-14)

This is the parable of the Wedding Banquet, and there are three things to keep in mind here. First, the bride is never mentioned in this parable. Second, a bride is not considered a guest and could never be thrown out of her own wedding. And third, the banquet follows the wedding, so in the context of the parable the wedding has already taken place.

To accept the view that this parable is about the Church you have to start with the belief that some in the Church will become the Bride of Christ while others will not. But the Bible never even hints of that. It’s a man made conclusion without any Biblical support. If we’re saved, we’re in the church and if we’re in the Church we’re the Bride of Christ.
In parables everything is symbolic of something else, and the Bible always explains what they stand for. Isaiah 61:10 explains that the wedding clothes represent righteousness;
I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Here’s how I see it. In Rev. 16:15, just after the 6th Bowl judgment and long after the church has departed, the Lord said, “Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.”

He was alluding to the fact that the Doctrine of Eternal Security expires with the Rapture, a fact that Jesus also taught in the Parable of the 10 Virgins. Tribulation believers will be saved by faith, just like everyone else, but will be responsible for keeping themselves saved, or as John said, keeping their clothes with them. Rev. 14:12 says they will do this by obeying God’s commandments and remaining faithful to Jesus.

The man ejected from the banquet was a last minute guest. He represents tribulation survivors who are not part of the Church. He was trying to receive the blessing of those invited to the wedding feast that occurs at the time of the 2nd Coming (Rev. 19:9). But He either hadn’t remained faithful and had lost his salvation, or never was saved at all. Remember the servants invited both the “good” and the “bad” and it isn’t clear whether this man had wedding clothes and lost them, or never had them in the first place. When he tried to gain entrance into the banquet, he was discovered and ejected.

So the 2nd reference applies to unbelieving survivors from the Great Tribulation who will be denied a place in the Kingdom for lack of the righteousness that comes by faith, and banished to the Outer Darkness instead.

Matt. 24:51

Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matt. 24:45-51)
The Parable of the Servants has only an implied reference to the Outer Darkness, calling it a place for hypocrites where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Since that phrase accompanies every other mention of the Outer Darkness, I think it’s safe to include it in our study. The timing of this parable was established as early as Matt. 24:29-30 which makes every thing that follows pertain to those on Earth at the time of the 2nd Coming. As a matter of fact, all the Olivet Discourse parables describe the destinies of Tribulation Survivors. You can easily confirm this by also looking at Matt. 24:36-37, Matt. 25:1, and Matt. 25:14.

This parable is about those who will have held positions of spiritual leadership during the Great Tribulation. In the Millennial Kingdom, the Lord will elevate to a place of authority leaders who have kept the word of God through the intense hardship and persecution of the times, and have taught sound doctrine to the flocks entrusted to them. (Remember, no Tribulation survivor will enter the New Jerusalem, but will dwell on Earth during the Lord’s Millennial reign.)

But having forsaken the truth, the wicked servants will no longer be watching for the Lord’s return, ignoring the obvious fulfillment of prophecy all around them and ridiculing those whose child-like faith sustains them. They are the worst of all enemies because they’ll look and sound like friends. They’re like the one John describes as appearing to have the authority of the Lamb but who speaks the words of the Dragon (Rev. 13:11).

The Greek word translated hypocrite was often used to describe an actor or pretender, someone who appears to be something he’s not. So for the third time we see the Outer Darkness as a place for unbelievers. In this case it’s those who have betrayed the trust placed in them.

Matt. 25:30

The Lord’s final reference to the Outer Darkness appears at the end of the Parable of the Talents.
“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
“The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
“Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
” ‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ (Matt. 25:14-30)

For a more complete treatment of the Parable of the Talents click here. The relevant points for this study are that like the other Olivet Discourse parables, the timing is after the 2nd coming, the judgment is on Earth, and the man who had his only talent confiscated demonstrated a complete lack of knowledge of and faith in his master. He thought of Him as a hard man who accepted credit He didn’t deserve and he was afraid the master would treat him unfairly. No believer feels that way about Jesus. His punishment was to be consigned to the outer darkness.

So in all four cases, the ones being judged are unbelievers and their punishment is to live in a state of total obscurity where they will experience extreme anguish and utter despair. The fact that there’s no expanded teaching on the outer darkness elsewhere in the Bible leads me to believe the Lord was speaking of a place we’re already familiar with, but describing it in a way that helps us understand how it will feel to be there.
Remember, the words obscurity, extreme anguish and utter despair are associated with the phrase Outer Darkness. To be there is to be cut off from the presence of the Lord and everyone else, existing in total obscurity. The dictionary defines anguish as excruciating or acute distress, suffering, or pain, and despair as a state of utter hopelessness.
That, my friends, is the consequence of unbelief. Whether you call it Hell, Hades, Gehenna, the Lake of Fire, or the Outer Darkness,  you wouldn’t want your worst enemy to spend even an hour there. 09-28-13