"through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake,"
Now I think we need to cover the most unpopular word in the verse: obedience. It is one thing to stay in the hypothetical but obedience is where the rubber meets the road. James tells us, "What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?" (James 2:14) That does seem to contradict Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; no as a result of works, so that no one may boast." That is until you look closer. Many say that they believe in God; many say that the believe in Jesus; many say that Jesus is their savior. However, even if you confess Jesus Christ as your lord and savior by faith and continue in sinful behavior there is a good chance that your faith is worthless. Just to be clear, faith + obedience does not equal salvation; rather the equation should be grace + faith = salvation and obedience. What that means is if you have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, it should manifest in obedience to His commands and good works. After all, "If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,' and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?" We as Christians are guilty of that very frequently. We say, "I will be praying for you," and don't lift a finger to help; we often even forget to pray (I know that I frequently do). Now prayer is a wonderful thing and we should absolutely pray for our brothers and sisters in need but we shouldn't stop there; God has given us all spiritual gifts to glorify Him and to serve others. If you find someone in need even the smallest actions can be a dramatic blessing. Even talking to them can help immensely. It is a matter of living sacrificially for your neighbor.
This is also a question of the Lordship of Jesus. Romans 10:9 tells us, "that (or because) if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;" The Greek word for lord is kurios (koo-ree-os) and it means chiefly he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord. Since that is a central part of salvation we should do what He says and wants don't you think? Jesus has more than earned that right (not as though He needed to do so but He did anyway). He suffered and died to pay for our sins; something no one else could ever do. Any mortal man could conceivably go through the physical torments that Jesus experienced: pray so hard that you weep tears of blood; get betrayed by one of your closest friends; get beaten; spend the night in a cold jail cell; get questioned in a kangaroo-court; then questioned by a political weenie; then scourged until the skin on you back is hanging of in ribbons; then have a crown of thorns pressed on your head; then be forced to carry a 300 lb. block of wood across town with guards wiping you every time you stumble with exhaustion (which Jesus did a few times); and then have someone nail your to the cross in your wrists and feet so you hang there. Of course that was just a warm-up for Jesus, the worst was yet to come. When Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Some Theologians believe that is when Jesus was experiencing the full wrath of God for the sins of those who would believe in Him. There is no way any of us could survive the full wrath of an almighty, infinitely holy, and infinitely just God. Without Jesus, a person will spend eternity paying for their own sins and will never come anywhere close to satisfying the whole debt of their own sin. Now imagine paying for the sins of untold trillions of people. All that was accomplished by Jesus. God the Father greatly exalted Jesus Christ as it is written, "Being found in appearance as a man, He [Jesus] humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:8-11). There is one last sobering consideration in Jesus' own words, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but those who do the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.'" (Matthew 7:21-23). Note that these people were claiming all the showy flashy works to try to earn their entrance into Christ's Kingdom; all those things that are crowd drawing and self-glorifying and yet their lives were measured demonstrations of sinful behavior. Any person who claims Jesus as Lord and yet carries on in a sinful lifestyle is like someone who is building his house on sand which will eventually wash away and leave him with out God and without hope.
That is all the time we have; tune in next week for the eventual conclusion of this loaded verse.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness,
Because of Your truth.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Romans 1:5 (the introduction) part 2
"through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake,"
What does Paul mean by "...to bring about the obedience of faith"? There are two ways of looking at this passage. The first covers the response to the gift of faith the Holy Spirit grants upon regeneration. Refer to the classic passage of John 3 starting in verse 3, "Jesus answered and said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again (or from above) he cannot see the kingdom of God.'" A lot of people contend that this happens upon salvation however it is my belief that regeneration by the Spirit of holiness precedes salvation. Consider Ephesians 2:1, "And you were (or being) dead in your trespasses and sins," preaching salvation through Jesus Christ to people who are dead in their spirit would be just as useful as going to a grave yard and telling the corpses to rise. Fortunately Ephesians goes on to say in verses 4 and 5, "But God being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in (or by reason of) our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)," and again in Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Or as the great Puritan Preacher John Owen tells us:
Unfortunately that is all the time we have. Tune in next week for more exciting adventures in Romans!
Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your lovingkindness,
Because of Your truth.
What does Paul mean by "...to bring about the obedience of faith"? There are two ways of looking at this passage. The first covers the response to the gift of faith the Holy Spirit grants upon regeneration. Refer to the classic passage of John 3 starting in verse 3, "Jesus answered and said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again (or from above) he cannot see the kingdom of God.'" A lot of people contend that this happens upon salvation however it is my belief that regeneration by the Spirit of holiness precedes salvation. Consider Ephesians 2:1, "And you were (or being) dead in your trespasses and sins," preaching salvation through Jesus Christ to people who are dead in their spirit would be just as useful as going to a grave yard and telling the corpses to rise. Fortunately Ephesians goes on to say in verses 4 and 5, "But God being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in (or by reason of) our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)," and again in Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Or as the great Puritan Preacher John Owen tells us:
I apologize for making the quote so long but it is hard to anything out. I would highly recommend reading the whole article http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/owenoverthrow.html So, in regenerating us the Holy Spirit grants unto us faith by which we are able so see the glories of Christ; we can perceive our sinful nature and desperate need of salvation. Thus in accepting Jesus' death and resurrection as a personal atonement you are showing the obedience of faith.Outward darkness is when men do not have that light by which they are enabled to see. So outward spiritual darkness is upon men when there is nothing to enlighten them about God and spiritual things (Matt 4:16; Psa 119:105; Psa. 19:1-4,8; 2 Pet 1:19; Rom 10:15, 18). It is the work of the Holy Spirit to remove this darkness by sending the light of the gospel (Acts 13:2, 4; 16:6-10; Psa. 147:19,20).Inward darkness, on the other hand, arises from the natural depravity and corruption of the minds of men concerning spiritual things. Man’s mind is depraved and corrupted in things which are natural, civil, political, and moral, as well as in things which are spiritual, heavenly and evangelical. This depravity is often held back from having its full effects by the common grace of the Holy Spirit. So, man’s mind being darkened, he is unable to see, receive, understand or believe to the saving of his soul. Spiritual things, or the mysteries of the gospel, without the Holy Spirit first creating within the soul a new light by which they can see and receive those things, cannot bring salvation.However brilliant the mind may be, and however brilliant the preaching and presentation of the gospel might be, yet without the Holy Spirit first creating this light in them, they cannot receive, understand and agree with the truths preached, and so will not be led to salvation (Eph 4:17, 18).So the unregenerate ‘walk in the futility of their mind’ (Eph 4:17). The natural inclination of the unregenerate mind is to seek those things that cannot satisfy (Gen 6:5). It is an unstable mind (Prov. 7:11-12). The unregenerate understanding is darkened and cannot judge things properly (Jhn 1:5). The unregenerate heart is blind. In Scripture the heart includes the will also. Light is received by the mind, applied by the understanding and used by the heart. ‘But if the light within is darkness,’ said Jesus, ‘how great is that darkness.’...Even though the unconverted mind is highly educated and talented, yet it is utterly unable to receive and understand spiritually those things needful for its eternal salvation. It will not respond to the preaching of the gospel until renewed, enlightened and enabled to do so by the Holy Spirit: “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned’ (1 Cor 2:14). The subject of this verse is the natural man. The natural man is quite opposite of the spiritual man (1 Cor 15:44; Jude 19).
Unfortunately that is all the time we have. Tune in next week for more exciting adventures in Romans!
Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your lovingkindness,
Because of Your truth.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Romans 1:5 (the introduction) Part 1
"through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake,"
This verse shows the fruit of the gospel: that trough the manifestation of Christ (His life, death, and resurrection) we who are in Him are justified which is to say found not guilty before a just and holy God. That is what God's grace is: His unmerited favor to those who absolutely do not deserve it. The emphasis on God's grace in our salvation should remind us that we can never be good enough to be justified (be found not guilty) before a righteous and holy God. Unfortunately, the common thought is that if I do enough good deeds that will outweigh my bad deeds. I am pretty sure that is the view of every other religion and anti-Christian cult. The problem they and we run into is that God demands perfection and as it is written, "There is none righteous (without guilt), not even one;" (Psalm 14:1;53:1; Romans 3:10) and again, "for all have sinned and fall short of the gory of God," (Romans 3:23). The closest I can think to being good enough is like going to the world's greatest long-jumper and asking him to jump from San Diego to Beijing. It is impossible! The good news is that God mercifully put the guilt of the sins of those who would believe upon His Son, Jesus Christ; so that in Him we are completely forgiven.
The next part it a bit more tricky. There could be two ways of looking at it if we allow that the office of apostle ended with the twelve and Paul (which I personally believe)"...we have received grace and apostleship": the first carries the idea that the "we" that Paul is using refers to just the Apostles and him (and one commentator posits that God did them a favor by giving them their office); the second could use the word apostle more loosely insomuch that all Christian are commanded to preach the gospel to everyone, "Go therefore and make disciples of of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-19). That, of course, is the great commission in which you could say that in a sense we are all sent ones (apostles) to share the good news (gospel) to all the world. Of course the original apostles were granted sign-gifts which is to say that they could heal miraculously, cast out demons, and on on occasion raise someone from the dead. This functioned in the same way God worked in the prophets of the Old Testament. As an example of what people expected of a prophet in Jesus day consider, "Jesus answered and said to them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent'. So they said to Him, 'What then do you do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform?"(John 6:30) It is interesting that they would say that after Jesus had just finished feeding the five-thousand with five barley loaves and two fish (although the total amount of people could have been closer to seventy-five hundred to ten-thousand to account for women and children) a little while ago but I digress.
This verse shows the fruit of the gospel: that trough the manifestation of Christ (His life, death, and resurrection) we who are in Him are justified which is to say found not guilty before a just and holy God. That is what God's grace is: His unmerited favor to those who absolutely do not deserve it. The emphasis on God's grace in our salvation should remind us that we can never be good enough to be justified (be found not guilty) before a righteous and holy God. Unfortunately, the common thought is that if I do enough good deeds that will outweigh my bad deeds. I am pretty sure that is the view of every other religion and anti-Christian cult. The problem they and we run into is that God demands perfection and as it is written, "There is none righteous (without guilt), not even one;" (Psalm 14:1;53:1; Romans 3:10) and again, "for all have sinned and fall short of the gory of God," (Romans 3:23). The closest I can think to being good enough is like going to the world's greatest long-jumper and asking him to jump from San Diego to Beijing. It is impossible! The good news is that God mercifully put the guilt of the sins of those who would believe upon His Son, Jesus Christ; so that in Him we are completely forgiven.
The next part it a bit more tricky. There could be two ways of looking at it if we allow that the office of apostle ended with the twelve and Paul (which I personally believe)"...we have received grace and apostleship": the first carries the idea that the "we" that Paul is using refers to just the Apostles and him (and one commentator posits that God did them a favor by giving them their office); the second could use the word apostle more loosely insomuch that all Christian are commanded to preach the gospel to everyone, "Go therefore and make disciples of of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-19). That, of course, is the great commission in which you could say that in a sense we are all sent ones (apostles) to share the good news (gospel) to all the world. Of course the original apostles were granted sign-gifts which is to say that they could heal miraculously, cast out demons, and on on occasion raise someone from the dead. This functioned in the same way God worked in the prophets of the Old Testament. As an example of what people expected of a prophet in Jesus day consider, "Jesus answered and said to them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent'. So they said to Him, 'What then do you do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform?"(John 6:30) It is interesting that they would say that after Jesus had just finished feeding the five-thousand with five barley loaves and two fish (although the total amount of people could have been closer to seventy-five hundred to ten-thousand to account for women and children) a little while ago but I digress.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Romans 1:4 (the introduction) Part 2
who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,
I apologize for finishing the posting last week. I will do my best to get caught-up.
The term "Son of God" in this instance refers to the willful subjugation of God the Son to the Father's will in all things. One of the Messianic titles that Jesus has is one that I will bet you have not heard of: the Slave of YHWH. Isaiah 52:13-14 and 53:11 both use the Hebrew word `ebed (eh bed) to refer to this slave who was both suffering and exalted. One of the problems that arises is that nearly all Bible translators wimped out and put servant instead; in like manner the Greek word doulos (doo los). We all know how much baggage the word slave carries in American culture, however in the days of the Bible it was possibly even more so. Unfortunately, I can only speculate as my attempts thus far to garner clarification on the world-wide-web have been mostly unsuccessful. It is too bad that I got rid of a book called Slave by John MacArthur that could have shed some light on the issue. Philippians 2:6-8 further expands on the submission of the Son to the Father's will, "who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped (or asserted), but emptied (i.e. laid aside His privileges) Himself, taking the form of a slave, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." It is interesting that Paul make the distinction of pointed death on a cross specifically. At that time prominent orators like Cicero described crucifixion as, "a most cruel and disgusting punishment," and suggested that "the very mention of the cross should be far removed not only from a Roman citizen’s body, but from his mind, his eyes, his ears." It was not even allowed in polite conversation among Roman citizens. It is also possible that Deuteronomy 21:23 (quoted by Paul in Galatians 3:13, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us-- for is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree [or cross]--') could be referring to the infamy of that form of execution in the Jewish mind. If Paul were not a Roman citizen, you can bet that is the how Nero would have killed him.
The next part, "...with power by the resurrection from the dead," is an engaging thing to consider. The Greek word for power is dunamis (doo-nam-is) which is where we get our word dynamite. The resurrection is quite possibly one of the most important things that we as Christians often overlook. We often like to say that Jesus died for our sins (and He did) but we commonly do not include He was raised again on the third day. The thing is that if Jesus did not rise again then our sins are not forgiven. Paul tells us in 1st Corinthians 15:12-17, "Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins." (emphasis mine).
"according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord." Now to wrap up this amazing verse. The Holy Spirit may be one of the most important parts of Christianity that we almost never mention. Without Him we would have no Bible, we would have no spiritual gifts, no indwelling spirit to convict us, and finally no salvation without the regeneration of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit did mighty works in Jesus during His incarnation when He walked among us and rose Him from the dead. Here is what it is all about: Jesus Christ our Lord. When you take apart the last bit of the verse: Jesus means Jehovah is salvation; Christ means anointed and is the Greek word of the Jewish Messiah; and Lord comes from the Greek word kurios (koo-ree-os) which speaks to His supremacy over all things even as it is written in Philippians 2:9-11, "For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness,
Because of your truth.
I apologize for finishing the posting last week. I will do my best to get caught-up.
The term "Son of God" in this instance refers to the willful subjugation of God the Son to the Father's will in all things. One of the Messianic titles that Jesus has is one that I will bet you have not heard of: the Slave of YHWH. Isaiah 52:13-14 and 53:11 both use the Hebrew word `ebed (eh bed) to refer to this slave who was both suffering and exalted. One of the problems that arises is that nearly all Bible translators wimped out and put servant instead; in like manner the Greek word doulos (doo los). We all know how much baggage the word slave carries in American culture, however in the days of the Bible it was possibly even more so. Unfortunately, I can only speculate as my attempts thus far to garner clarification on the world-wide-web have been mostly unsuccessful. It is too bad that I got rid of a book called Slave by John MacArthur that could have shed some light on the issue. Philippians 2:6-8 further expands on the submission of the Son to the Father's will, "who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped (or asserted), but emptied (i.e. laid aside His privileges) Himself, taking the form of a slave, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." It is interesting that Paul make the distinction of pointed death on a cross specifically. At that time prominent orators like Cicero described crucifixion as, "a most cruel and disgusting punishment," and suggested that "the very mention of the cross should be far removed not only from a Roman citizen’s body, but from his mind, his eyes, his ears." It was not even allowed in polite conversation among Roman citizens. It is also possible that Deuteronomy 21:23 (quoted by Paul in Galatians 3:13, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us-- for is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree [or cross]--') could be referring to the infamy of that form of execution in the Jewish mind. If Paul were not a Roman citizen, you can bet that is the how Nero would have killed him.
The next part, "...with power by the resurrection from the dead," is an engaging thing to consider. The Greek word for power is dunamis (doo-nam-is) which is where we get our word dynamite. The resurrection is quite possibly one of the most important things that we as Christians often overlook. We often like to say that Jesus died for our sins (and He did) but we commonly do not include He was raised again on the third day. The thing is that if Jesus did not rise again then our sins are not forgiven. Paul tells us in 1st Corinthians 15:12-17, "Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins." (emphasis mine).
"according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord." Now to wrap up this amazing verse. The Holy Spirit may be one of the most important parts of Christianity that we almost never mention. Without Him we would have no Bible, we would have no spiritual gifts, no indwelling spirit to convict us, and finally no salvation without the regeneration of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit did mighty works in Jesus during His incarnation when He walked among us and rose Him from the dead. Here is what it is all about: Jesus Christ our Lord. When you take apart the last bit of the verse: Jesus means Jehovah is salvation; Christ means anointed and is the Greek word of the Jewish Messiah; and Lord comes from the Greek word kurios (koo-ree-os) which speaks to His supremacy over all things even as it is written in Philippians 2:9-11, "For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness,
Because of your truth.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Romans 1:4 (the introduction) Part 1
"who was declared the Son of God with power by (or as a result of) the resurrection from the dead according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,"
Have you noticed that a lot of people have good things to say about Jesus? The Muslims believe that He was the greatest prophet of allah (yes I chose to not capitalize on purpose because he is not God) next to Muhammad (who they consider the greatest of their prophets). Of course they do not believe that He is coequal with God the Father (or is even God the Son); they also do not even believe that He died on the cross. It is written in Quran 4:157, "...They said, 'We killed the Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, the messenger of God.' They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but the likeness of him was put on another man (and they killed that man)..." Apparently, the Hindus believe in Jesus too. They believe that a Southeast Asia, learning yogic traditions and returning home to be a guru to the Jews. To Hindus, Jesus' proclamation "The Father and I are one" confirmed the Hindu idea that everyone, through rigorous spiritual practice, can realize his own universal "god-consciousness." Buddhists believe that Jesus was a "great man" and some consider Him to be a "great master and follower of God" (how that fits into Buddhism as there is no "god" in their religion). Many other people consider Jesus to be a "great moral teacher (leader, prophet, revolutionary, etc., etc.,). The best way I know to respond to that line of thought is to quote C.S. Lewis.
The first part of the verse, "who was declared the Son of God..." lets try and take it apart bit by bit. The Greek word for declared is horizo (pronounced hor-id-zo) means to ordain, determine, appoint, or proved. It is also important to stress the fact that Jesus is the unique Son of God. In other parts of the Old Testament the word son was used to refer to angels (Genesis 6:1-2; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; Psalms 29:1; 89:6) of to the Nation of Israel (by relationship of Covenant) (Exodus 4:22; Deuteronomy 14:1; Hosea 1:10; 11:1) and God's anointed king (Psalm 2:7; 89:27; 2 Samuel 7:14) In the New Testament, the second Person of the Godhead took on flesh as I alluded to in Psalm 2:7, "You are My Son today I have begotten You." (granted there is more in the verse but I will leave that for you to look up). It is written in the Gospel according to John, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God...And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:1-2, 14 emphasis mine). The Greek word for only begotten is monogenes means single of its kind, only.
Have you noticed that a lot of people have good things to say about Jesus? The Muslims believe that He was the greatest prophet of allah (yes I chose to not capitalize on purpose because he is not God) next to Muhammad (who they consider the greatest of their prophets). Of course they do not believe that He is coequal with God the Father (or is even God the Son); they also do not even believe that He died on the cross. It is written in Quran 4:157, "...They said, 'We killed the Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, the messenger of God.' They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but the likeness of him was put on another man (and they killed that man)..." Apparently, the Hindus believe in Jesus too. They believe that a Southeast Asia, learning yogic traditions and returning home to be a guru to the Jews. To Hindus, Jesus' proclamation "The Father and I are one" confirmed the Hindu idea that everyone, through rigorous spiritual practice, can realize his own universal "god-consciousness." Buddhists believe that Jesus was a "great man" and some consider Him to be a "great master and follower of God" (how that fits into Buddhism as there is no "god" in their religion). Many other people consider Jesus to be a "great moral teacher (leader, prophet, revolutionary, etc., etc.,). The best way I know to respond to that line of thought is to quote C.S. Lewis.
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” –Mere Christianity, C.S. LewisNow let us unpack the verse. Jesus was, is, and always will be the second Person of the Holy Trinity so it is not like He just showed up for the first time when He was born in Bethlehem some two-thousand years ago. The pre-incarnate Christ made appearances all through the Old Testament; one interesting thing to consider all the time the Angel of the Lord is written, some theologians (and I personally) believe those are and example of Jesus poking in. One thing we must keep in mind is that God exists outside the space-time continuum. I know that sounds like a sci-fi thing to say, but it makes sense. God is infinite and omnipresent. That means that even thought God existed an infinite amount of time before He created the Universe, the beginning of creation and the final fulfillment of it is the exact same moment for Him; also He is simultaneously present with us and at the farthest reaches of the Universe at the same time. However that is enough Ontology (the philosophy [love of wisdom] of being or existence) because this is a blog about the Bible. The important thing to take away is that God does not get surprised by our actions.
The first part of the verse, "who was declared the Son of God..." lets try and take it apart bit by bit. The Greek word for declared is horizo (pronounced hor-id-zo) means to ordain, determine, appoint, or proved. It is also important to stress the fact that Jesus is the unique Son of God. In other parts of the Old Testament the word son was used to refer to angels (Genesis 6:1-2; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; Psalms 29:1; 89:6) of to the Nation of Israel (by relationship of Covenant) (Exodus 4:22; Deuteronomy 14:1; Hosea 1:10; 11:1) and God's anointed king (Psalm 2:7; 89:27; 2 Samuel 7:14) In the New Testament, the second Person of the Godhead took on flesh as I alluded to in Psalm 2:7, "You are My Son today I have begotten You." (granted there is more in the verse but I will leave that for you to look up). It is written in the Gospel according to John, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God...And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:1-2, 14 emphasis mine). The Greek word for only begotten is monogenes means single of its kind, only.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Romans 1:3 (The Introduction)
"concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant (or seed) of David according to the flesh,"
I all comes down to Jesus, who is the Son of God and God the Son. There is something interesting about the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Two were written by Apostles: Matthew and John; two were written by close disciples of an Apostle: Luke the doctor was a fellow traveler with the Apostle Paul, (John) Mark traveled briefly with Paul and latter was a fellow traveler with the Apostle (Simon) Peter. Each of the Gospels presents an unique perspective of Jesus. With Matthew it was behold the king, with Mark it was behold the suffering servant, with Luke it was behold the man, and with John it was behold your God. There is also a corollary with the four living creatures in the book of Revelation 4:7, "The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle." Quoting Matthew Henry, "...the lion indication majesty and omnipotence; the ox, typical of faithful labor and patience; man, indicating intelligence; and the eagle representing supreme sovereignty."
There are two truths that simultaneously apply to the Lord Jesus while He walked on Earth with us: He was fully God and fully man at the same moment. This is referred to as (technical term alert) the Hypostatic Union. In Colossians 2:9 it is written, "For in Him [Jesus] all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form," and again in Philippians 2:6-8, "who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped (or utilized or asserted), but emptied (or laid aside His privileges) Himself, taking the form of a slave, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." In this posting we will focus on the human aspect of the Lord Jesus.
The earliest account of Jesus earthly life comes in Luke 2:42-52. Jesus had was now twelve and was preparing for His bar mitzvah (the traditional point when a boy is officially recognized as an adult by the Law). Traditionally boys would go with their parents to the Passover Feast when they were that age so that they could learn what they needed to know about what would be expected of them as adults.
They must begin to fast from time to time especially on the festival of Yom Kippur (or the Day of Atonement) the one day a year when the High Priest would enter the Most Holy Place (a.k.a. the Holy of Holies) to make a (technical term alert) propitiatory (which means the same thing as a substitutionary or in place of) sacrifice for the sins of the nation; the high priest would first have to offer a sacrifice for himself and preform elaborate cleansing rituals to purify himself. On a side note, this is where we get the phrase "scapegoat." In Leviticus 16:5, 8-10 we learn about the propitiatory sacrifice the high priest would make, "He shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering...Aaron [the first high priest] shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat (literally the goat of removal). Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the LORD fell, and make it a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as the scapegoat." Even after the sacrifice was made it was temporary, it would have to be repeated every year, and each person would be required to present new sin offering to atone each time they sinned. The whole idea of a atoning (or covering) sacrifice is as old as the Book of Genesis 3:21, "The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them." The penalty for sin was always death (and it still is) it is written in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."; that is why God gave us the sacrificial system. This is to emphasize that we cannot do enough good works (giving money to charity, volunteering at the local soup kitchen, etc.) to pay for our sin. However, it was not until Jesus Christ judged in our stead, died for our sins, and rose again to show that the price had been paid once for all; also when Jesus died He cleared the way to God because He was the ultimate atoning sacrifice. It is written, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2nd Corinthians 5:21).
Now to touch on, "born of a descendant of David according to the flesh," both Jesus' mother and foster father were of the tribe of Judah and descended from King David. This was to fulfill what was promised David in 2nd Samuel 7:12, "When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendent after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever." Jesus was descended from David through His mother Mary through David's son Nathan, "the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David," (Luke 3:31) and through Joesph (you could say His foster father), "Jesse was the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah." (Matthew 1:6). One thing I love about the Bible is that it hold nothing back. It displays the heroes of the faith as fallen, sinful human beings that overcame through the grace of God. No other religion's holy text shows the failings of their principle characters, but I digress. Jesus was born a man and a royal man; He was the rightful king of Israel from a human perspective; and He had to be born a mortal man so that He could be tempted just as we are to be sympathetic to fallen mankind, as it is written in Hebrews 2:17-18, "Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted." Once again I am sorry that I cannot put more in, there is so much good stuff in the book of Hebrews.
Jesus had to be born a man so that He could die. He was born without sin so He could be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He was raised to life on the third day to show that the price was paid in full.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness,
Because of Your truth.
I all comes down to Jesus, who is the Son of God and God the Son. There is something interesting about the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Two were written by Apostles: Matthew and John; two were written by close disciples of an Apostle: Luke the doctor was a fellow traveler with the Apostle Paul, (John) Mark traveled briefly with Paul and latter was a fellow traveler with the Apostle (Simon) Peter. Each of the Gospels presents an unique perspective of Jesus. With Matthew it was behold the king, with Mark it was behold the suffering servant, with Luke it was behold the man, and with John it was behold your God. There is also a corollary with the four living creatures in the book of Revelation 4:7, "The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle." Quoting Matthew Henry, "...the lion indication majesty and omnipotence; the ox, typical of faithful labor and patience; man, indicating intelligence; and the eagle representing supreme sovereignty."
There are two truths that simultaneously apply to the Lord Jesus while He walked on Earth with us: He was fully God and fully man at the same moment. This is referred to as (technical term alert) the Hypostatic Union. In Colossians 2:9 it is written, "For in Him [Jesus] all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form," and again in Philippians 2:6-8, "who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped (or utilized or asserted), but emptied (or laid aside His privileges) Himself, taking the form of a slave, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." In this posting we will focus on the human aspect of the Lord Jesus.
The earliest account of Jesus earthly life comes in Luke 2:42-52. Jesus had was now twelve and was preparing for His bar mitzvah (the traditional point when a boy is officially recognized as an adult by the Law). Traditionally boys would go with their parents to the Passover Feast when they were that age so that they could learn what they needed to know about what would be expected of them as adults.
They must begin to fast from time to time especially on the festival of Yom Kippur (or the Day of Atonement) the one day a year when the High Priest would enter the Most Holy Place (a.k.a. the Holy of Holies) to make a (technical term alert) propitiatory (which means the same thing as a substitutionary or in place of) sacrifice for the sins of the nation; the high priest would first have to offer a sacrifice for himself and preform elaborate cleansing rituals to purify himself. On a side note, this is where we get the phrase "scapegoat." In Leviticus 16:5, 8-10 we learn about the propitiatory sacrifice the high priest would make, "He shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering...Aaron [the first high priest] shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat (literally the goat of removal). Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the LORD fell, and make it a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as the scapegoat." Even after the sacrifice was made it was temporary, it would have to be repeated every year, and each person would be required to present new sin offering to atone each time they sinned. The whole idea of a atoning (or covering) sacrifice is as old as the Book of Genesis 3:21, "The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them." The penalty for sin was always death (and it still is) it is written in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."; that is why God gave us the sacrificial system. This is to emphasize that we cannot do enough good works (giving money to charity, volunteering at the local soup kitchen, etc.) to pay for our sin. However, it was not until Jesus Christ judged in our stead, died for our sins, and rose again to show that the price had been paid once for all; also when Jesus died He cleared the way to God because He was the ultimate atoning sacrifice. It is written, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2nd Corinthians 5:21).
Now to touch on, "born of a descendant of David according to the flesh," both Jesus' mother and foster father were of the tribe of Judah and descended from King David. This was to fulfill what was promised David in 2nd Samuel 7:12, "When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendent after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever." Jesus was descended from David through His mother Mary through David's son Nathan, "the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David," (Luke 3:31) and through Joesph (you could say His foster father), "Jesse was the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah." (Matthew 1:6). One thing I love about the Bible is that it hold nothing back. It displays the heroes of the faith as fallen, sinful human beings that overcame through the grace of God. No other religion's holy text shows the failings of their principle characters, but I digress. Jesus was born a man and a royal man; He was the rightful king of Israel from a human perspective; and He had to be born a mortal man so that He could be tempted just as we are to be sympathetic to fallen mankind, as it is written in Hebrews 2:17-18, "Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted." Once again I am sorry that I cannot put more in, there is so much good stuff in the book of Hebrews.
Jesus had to be born a man so that He could die. He was born without sin so He could be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He was raised to life on the third day to show that the price was paid in full.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness,
Because of Your truth.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Romans 1:2 (the introduction)
which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,
Here is a good example of a Greek mouthful: proepangellmai (it does not even come up on Google) what it means is promised beforehand (weird I know), the reason that Paul felt that he needed to emphasize that for the Gospel of God that he was preaching is that many of the Jews were claiming that this was a new teaching and contrary to what the law and the prophets. The Old Testament (as we call it) is full of references to what Paul was preaching; even so far back as Genesis 3:15, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." Interestingly enough the word that is translated "bruise" comes from the Hebrew word shuwph (pronounced shoof) and in this context means to crush. This looks way forward to Jesus' crucifixion. The devil certainly made quite a strike in killing God the Son but in doing so Jesus crushed Satan's power and paid the debt for our sins. Also there is Isaiah 1:18; 53; and 55. In chapter 1:18 it is written, "Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool." There is so much in chapter 53 you might even call it the first Gospel; "Surely our griefs (or sickness) He Himself bore, and our sorrows (or pains) He carried...But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed...but the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief...as a result of the anguish (or toilsome labor) of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities." (verses 4a, 5, 10a, 11). I feel bad about cutting any of it out and strongly recommend that you read the whole chapter. Also chapter 55:7, "Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the LORD, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." That is just a small amount of what the Old Testament has to offer concerning Jesus Christ; there are approximately 325 prophecies concerning Jesus alone (most but not all were fulfilled in the life of Jesus). His virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14), where He would be born (Micah 5:2), His family's flight to Egypt (Hosea 11:1), the fact that He would live most of His life in Nazareth (Isaiah 9:1,2), the manner of His triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Isaiah 62:11, Zechariah 9:9), even what Jesus cried out from the cross, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani that is My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" (Psalm 22:1); and that is just cherry-picking a few of them. The list goes on. The point that Paul was making is that the Gospel that he was neither new nor contrary to the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings (Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes).
The next part of the verse,"...in the holy Scriptures" reaffirms the authority of scripture. Interestingly enough when Paul talks about holy Scriptures, he means the Old Testament. Specifically in his last letter 2nd Timothy 3:14-17, "You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writing which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired (or God-breathed) by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." One of the earliest heretics of the church: Marcion of Sinope (85-160 A.D.) believed in a Dualistic view of Theology (spiritual=good, material=evil) and was one of the earliest believes in what we now call Gnosticism (the belief that salvation comes to special and secret Gnosis or knowledge). Specifically, Marcion believed that the God of the Old Testament (that he called the demiurge) was the evil creator of matter and was characterized by righteousness and wrath; whereas, the God of the New Testament (specifically Jesus Christ) who is only love and mercy. He believed that the "teachings of Christ" were inconsistent with the actions of the God of the Old Testament; that does seem to be true if you only skim over both. In the Old, God pours out wrath, wipes out cities, and allows righteous men like Lot and Joseph to undergo great loss, hardship, and persecution; whereas in the New, God heals, provides, forgives, and shows compassion. That is, however, until you look deeper. This is a technical term alert: Immutability. This attribute of God speaks of His unchanging nature. The Westminster Shorter Catechism says, ’God is a spirit, whose being, wisdom power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth are infinite, eternal, and unchangeable.” Those things do not change. A number of Scriptures attest to this idea (e.g. Num. 23:19; 1 Sam. 15:29; Ps. 102:26; Mal. 3:6; 2 Tim. 2:13; Heb. 6:17–18; Jam. 1:17). So basically God is the same yesterday, today, and forever; God was just as gracious in the Old Testament as He is now and His righteous standard abides forever. The best example that springs to mind is the account of the Nation of Israel while they were wandering in the desert for 40 years. You can read about it from Exodus to Deuteronomy; you can barely get a chapter or two before you read of yet another complaint, "What are we going to drink...what are we going to eat...we are sick of this manna, we want meat...why should you be the boss...(and the ever popular) Oh, that we had died in Egypt when [fill in the blank things were better]," and on and on. Yet God patiently put up with them and graciously provided and protected them. If you want some good examples of judgement and wrath in the New Testament consider Matthew 23 when Jesus lays into the Pharisees and the Religious Elite; or all the horrible wrath being poured out in the book of Revelation.
Our main problem has always been that we try to judge God based on an external man-made standard; this is both stupid and entirely wrong. God doesn't do good, He is good; God doesn't love, He is love. God is in Himself the perfect standard that we should judge by. In our sinfulness we are still deceived by Satan in the same way he tempted Eve, "Has God indeed said...?). In the same way as Psalms 14 and 53, "The fool says in his heart 'there is no God.'" we try to reason and justify our thoughts and actions thinking that we (somehow) know better than God. Fortunately for us, God has given us His Word the Bible so that we can know who He is, where we came from, how to live our lives, and where it is all going. So too did Paul wright this letter to the Romans to encourage and instruct the faithful.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness,
Because of Your truth.
Amen
Here is a good example of a Greek mouthful: proepangellmai (it does not even come up on Google) what it means is promised beforehand (weird I know), the reason that Paul felt that he needed to emphasize that for the Gospel of God that he was preaching is that many of the Jews were claiming that this was a new teaching and contrary to what the law and the prophets. The Old Testament (as we call it) is full of references to what Paul was preaching; even so far back as Genesis 3:15, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." Interestingly enough the word that is translated "bruise" comes from the Hebrew word shuwph (pronounced shoof) and in this context means to crush. This looks way forward to Jesus' crucifixion. The devil certainly made quite a strike in killing God the Son but in doing so Jesus crushed Satan's power and paid the debt for our sins. Also there is Isaiah 1:18; 53; and 55. In chapter 1:18 it is written, "Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool." There is so much in chapter 53 you might even call it the first Gospel; "Surely our griefs (or sickness) He Himself bore, and our sorrows (or pains) He carried...But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed...but the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief...as a result of the anguish (or toilsome labor) of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities." (verses 4a, 5, 10a, 11). I feel bad about cutting any of it out and strongly recommend that you read the whole chapter. Also chapter 55:7, "Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the LORD, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." That is just a small amount of what the Old Testament has to offer concerning Jesus Christ; there are approximately 325 prophecies concerning Jesus alone (most but not all were fulfilled in the life of Jesus). His virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14), where He would be born (Micah 5:2), His family's flight to Egypt (Hosea 11:1), the fact that He would live most of His life in Nazareth (Isaiah 9:1,2), the manner of His triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Isaiah 62:11, Zechariah 9:9), even what Jesus cried out from the cross, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani that is My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" (Psalm 22:1); and that is just cherry-picking a few of them. The list goes on. The point that Paul was making is that the Gospel that he was neither new nor contrary to the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings (Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes).
The next part of the verse,"...in the holy Scriptures" reaffirms the authority of scripture. Interestingly enough when Paul talks about holy Scriptures, he means the Old Testament. Specifically in his last letter 2nd Timothy 3:14-17, "You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writing which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired (or God-breathed) by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." One of the earliest heretics of the church: Marcion of Sinope (85-160 A.D.) believed in a Dualistic view of Theology (spiritual=good, material=evil) and was one of the earliest believes in what we now call Gnosticism (the belief that salvation comes to special and secret Gnosis or knowledge). Specifically, Marcion believed that the God of the Old Testament (that he called the demiurge) was the evil creator of matter and was characterized by righteousness and wrath; whereas, the God of the New Testament (specifically Jesus Christ) who is only love and mercy. He believed that the "teachings of Christ" were inconsistent with the actions of the God of the Old Testament; that does seem to be true if you only skim over both. In the Old, God pours out wrath, wipes out cities, and allows righteous men like Lot and Joseph to undergo great loss, hardship, and persecution; whereas in the New, God heals, provides, forgives, and shows compassion. That is, however, until you look deeper. This is a technical term alert: Immutability. This attribute of God speaks of His unchanging nature. The Westminster Shorter Catechism says, ’God is a spirit, whose being, wisdom power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth are infinite, eternal, and unchangeable.” Those things do not change. A number of Scriptures attest to this idea (e.g. Num. 23:19; 1 Sam. 15:29; Ps. 102:26; Mal. 3:6; 2 Tim. 2:13; Heb. 6:17–18; Jam. 1:17). So basically God is the same yesterday, today, and forever; God was just as gracious in the Old Testament as He is now and His righteous standard abides forever. The best example that springs to mind is the account of the Nation of Israel while they were wandering in the desert for 40 years. You can read about it from Exodus to Deuteronomy; you can barely get a chapter or two before you read of yet another complaint, "What are we going to drink...what are we going to eat...we are sick of this manna, we want meat...why should you be the boss...(and the ever popular) Oh, that we had died in Egypt when [fill in the blank things were better]," and on and on. Yet God patiently put up with them and graciously provided and protected them. If you want some good examples of judgement and wrath in the New Testament consider Matthew 23 when Jesus lays into the Pharisees and the Religious Elite; or all the horrible wrath being poured out in the book of Revelation.
Our main problem has always been that we try to judge God based on an external man-made standard; this is both stupid and entirely wrong. God doesn't do good, He is good; God doesn't love, He is love. God is in Himself the perfect standard that we should judge by. In our sinfulness we are still deceived by Satan in the same way he tempted Eve, "Has God indeed said...?). In the same way as Psalms 14 and 53, "The fool says in his heart 'there is no God.'" we try to reason and justify our thoughts and actions thinking that we (somehow) know better than God. Fortunately for us, God has given us His Word the Bible so that we can know who He is, where we came from, how to live our lives, and where it is all going. So too did Paul wright this letter to the Romans to encourage and instruct the faithful.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness,
Because of Your truth.
Amen
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