AW Pink on Receiving Christ

"The first thing for me, as a poor lost sinner, to make sure of is, Am I relying upon what Christ did for sinners? Am I personally trusting in His shed blood?

If I am not, if instead, under the eloquence and moving appeals of some evangelist, I have decided to turn over a new leaf, and endeavor to live a better life, and I have "gone forward" and taken the preacher’s hand, and if he has told me that I am now saved and ready to "join the church," and doing so I feel happy and contented—my peace is a false one, and I shall end in the Lake of Fire, unless God in His grace disillusions me.

On the other hand, if the Holy Spirit has shown me my lost condition, my deep need of the Savior, and if I have cast myself upon Christ as a drowning man clutches at a floating spar; if I have really believed on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31), and received Him as my own personal Savior (John 1:12), and yet, nevertheless, I am still lacking in assurance of my acceptance by God, and have no settled peace of heart; it is because I am failing to rest in simple faith on the written Word. GOD SAYS, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved". That is enough. That is the Word of Him who cannot lie. Nothing more is needed. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life" (John 5:24).

Never mind about your feelings; do not stop to examine your repentance to see if it be deep enough. It is CHRIST that saves; not your tears, or prayers, or resolutions. If you have received Christ, then you are saved. Saved now, saved forever.—"For by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are set apart" (Heb. 10:14).

In the same way that the firstborn Israelite could know that he was secure from the avenging Angel—by the Word of God. "When I see the blood I will pass over you". God is saying the same to-day. If you are under the blood, then you are eternally secure. Neither the Law, nor the Devil, can harm you. "It is God that justifieth, who is he that condemneth?" (Rom. 8:33, 34).

Receive Christ for salvation. Rest on God’s Word for assurance and peace!

It is faith in God’s promise which brings assurance. For salvation, faith is simply the hand that receives the gift. For assurance, faith is "setting to our seal that God is true" (John 3:33). And this is simply receiving "His testimony". In this paper we have only sought to develop that which is central and vital in connection with our salvation and peace."

Pink, Arthur W.. Gleanings in Exodus 

Spirit of Fear- Tuesday with (2nd) Timothy #6

2 Timothy 1:5-7 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. 6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

One of the great spiritual weapons used against the child of God is fear. We are to fear (reverence, worship) the Lord, but are not to be fearful, cowardly, or timid, which is a great sin. "But the fearful...shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death," Revelation 21:8.  Fear is a powerful tool to manipulate people to act against their consciences or to cower from doing right. Paul encouraged Timothy not to cringe in the face of potential persecution, but to boldly serve God and declare the gospel. Fear keeps preachers from preaching the whole counsel of God. Fear keeps Christians from witnessing at work. Fear keeps men from opposing false doctrine and fear of trouble keeps men from doing what they believe to be right. Fear keeps pastors from stepping on the wrong toes and try to make everyone happy in the pews, especially those with power. Fear makes a preacher skip the application of a message and say, "It's not my job to apply Scripture, that's the Holy Spirit's job." A young man was called to pastor a church in Kentucky, and his first sermon he preached against drunkenness. The deacon came up to him afterword and said, "I know you are new here, but there are quite a few men who work at the distillery, so you shouldn't preach on drunkenness." The next week, he preached on truth telling, and against liars. The deacon said, "About that sermon – we have a few politicians in the church, and they took exception to that sermon." Frustrated, the young preacher said, "Well then, what CAN I preach about!” The deacon thought for a moment and said, "You can preach against the Mormons. I doubt there is a Mormon within 500 miles of here."

To encourage boldness, Paul told Timothy to remember his heritage (2 Timothy 1:5-7). Remember God's good providence in blessing Timothy with a mother and grandmother who loved him enough to read and teach him the Bible. It can be a good tool for spiritual boldness to recall how the Lord saved you, and even what he saved you from and to consider your election. God saved you by his mighty power, not because of good that you have done, but according to His loving mercy. Remembering how God ordained your salvation and brought it to pass can give you boldness for the present day. Be encouraged by Christian fellowship and the prayers of saints. Timothy may have been afraid of persecution, but Paul was praying for him. His dear friend lifted him up before the throne of grace. Timothy was not alone. Timothy was not abandoned. When we become fearful or allow fear to manipulate us, the thought of the church praying for you is a great means of boldness. Yet another reason why you need to be in the regular fellowship of a church. We need the prayers of our brothers and sisters, and we need to be able to request prayer. We also need the fellowship of the believers who know us and want the best for us. You can't have that when your forsake the assembly.

We gain boldness by action. It may not seem very spiritual, and it may not seem helpful, but a good way to not be fearful is to run straight into what you are afraid of. Go. Move. Get to the field of service despite your fear and trust in the Lord. This is how you can courage. Stirring up the gift of God is to use the gifts God gave you and kindling the fire of service. Fan the flames of God's gift into a roaring fire. Timothy was called to preach, called to pastor, and called to defend and proclaim the gospel of Christ. The gift God gave him is related to that ministry. But, he thought, if he used his gifts, he would be persecuted, and so he was afraid. Paul’s answer to Timothy’s timidity? Use the gifts. And not half-hardheartedly. Stir them up, kindle the fire and burn down the barriers of fear! When I was small child, I was convinced there was some sort of scary monster standing outside my window. I just knew if I opened the window, I'd be looking face to face with some ugly ghoul wanting to eat me whole. My mom came in my room and I told her why I wasn't asleep, and about the monster outside the window. Do you know what she did? She made me get up and open the window and look outside. That was the very thing I was afraid of! "But what if there IS a monster outside?" She said, "There isn't, but if there is, you'll be able to see it and then deal with it. But, if you lay here wondering, then you'll always be afraid." The advice was sound. If fear keeps you from serving God, the only way to defeat fear is press on in your calling. The work will dampen the fear. The more experience you gain, the less you’ll fear the unknown. And the more you are mortifying the fear in the Spirit of God, the more grace you receive.

God has not given us the spirit of fear. Whenever a Christian has the disposition of fearfulness, know it isn’t God. The character of fear is not a fruit of the Spirit. It’s easy to dress fear up in different garments, but underneath, it’s still fear. We may call it by different names, but it’s still fear. We may call it practicality. We may call it generosity. We may call it broadmindedness, or say we are protecting ourselves. We may say its living to fight another day. But if we search our hearts, we may find our motivation is being afraid. Obviously, this doesn’t do away with wisdom, but be careful that fear isn’t manipulating Scripture to give an easy out. Wise as serpents, after all.

The “spirit” is the source of the power of fear. If you are driving down a mountain and your breaks go out, it would be right and ok to be afraid. That human emotion is useful to release adrenaline and help us to get out of a life or death situation. But God hasn’t give us the spirit of fearful self-preservation. God has given us the spirit of power. Mighty, supernatural, God given power, whereas fear is weakness.

God has given us the spirit of love. Fear is self-motivated, and hesitant to act. Love presses forward for the good of others. Fear keeps us quiet in self-preservation. Love motivates us to move and sacrifice for God and for others. Fear is selfish, thinking only of ourselves. Love is selfless, serving for God’s glory. God has given us the spirit of love.

God has given us a sound mind. Fear takes the mind captive. Fear causes us to be irrational. Fear causes us to miss out on opportunities of service. Fear creates problems that are not really there, or amplifies problems that are really small. Fear takes weak enemies and makes them giants. Fear takes inconsequential barbs and turns them into swords. Fear takes the possibility of disapproval and turns it into a great trial where all the world is watching. It’s not rational. God gives us a sound mind. A healthy mind to be able to look at what is true, what is real, and what is important. God gives us a mind that isn’t ruled by our emotions, but a mind that is ruled by truth and reality.

Fear sells. Fear makes men compliant. Fear lets evil run free. The devil wants you afraid. The enemies of goodness and truth want you afraid. The worst case scenario for evil doers is coming across  a man whose had enough and no longer fears what man can do to him.

From the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias

Interesting article from Alan Jacobs on the technology of the book, thinking about this passage from the gospels.

"In referring to this story, Jesus is clearly indicating that Zechariah — not, to be clear, the one who wrote the book of Zechariah — is the last of the Bible’s prophet-martyrs, just as Abel was the first. Yet this is clearly not so: half a dozen later prophets were martyred, at least according to unanimous tradition. But there is no mistake here, neither by Jesus nor by Luke. By invoking an arc that stretches from Abel to Zechariah, Jesus is indeed imagining a strict sequence, but not that of the history of Israel: rather, he has in mind the sequence of the Bible as he knew it."

Which, believe it or not, he brings this to bear on reading on Kindles and iPads. Like I said, it's interesting. Read more HERE.

Authority and Baptism

Luke 20:1-8 “The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?  ...they answered, that they could not tell whence it was.  And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.”

If baptism began as a man-made ordinance or ritual then it really would not matter how, when, or why you baptized.  Men can change and redefine their creeds and practices to suite their own needs and wants.  Laws, constitutions, by-laws change all day long in different organizations. Baptism, however, is not man-made ordinance but a divinely authorized practice so men do not have the right to change the practice. We can submit to but cannot change what God established. Jesus asked a lot of questions, not because he did not know the answer, but because He wanted the people He asked the questions to give an answer.  Jesus asked in Luke 20:4 a question that should be considered and answered today. “The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?”  If John’s baptism was from men, we have liberty to change it from its original mode and purpose, submit to it  or leave it aside.  We are not bound to observe and follow the traditions of men.  But, as Jesus illustrates by asking the question and as the Pharisees illustrate by not answering the question, John’s baptism did not originate with men.

What did Jesus mean when He asked, “from Heaven or men?”  Jesus asked about the authority and originator of the baptism. Jesus confirms the ministry of John the Baptist as being sent and authorized by God.  The chief priests questioned the Lord’s authority to preach the gospel and teach the Word of God.  Unable to find any other fault with the preaching of Jesus Christ, it was a desperate attempt by wicked men, to try and discredit the Lord by discrediting His ministry.  Since they could not find fault with the doctrine, they would attack His authority to teach.  (By the way, people still do that today to the men of God.  If you don’t like his preaching, find some other reason to discredit the message. He preaches too long or too short, too loud or too quiet. He isn’t refined enough, or he isn’t country enough. The reason is not the man but the message.) Jesus turned the tables by questioning them about John the Baptist and by whose authority He came preaching and baptizing.  They could not answer because both the Lord’s and John’s authority came from the same place – God.  Baptism was not a man-made practice or a preacher invented ritual; but it came from God. John 1:6, “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.”  God sent John to preach, prepare and baptize. The Baptism of John and the ministry of Christ are forever linked, even today. Do you have the baptism of John? Have you been baptized for the same purpose, in the same way, with the same God given authority?

When John flinched at baptizing the Lord Christ, Jesus told Him in Matthew 3:15, “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.” John’s baptism was not a vain tradition of men. Immediately after the baptism of the Son of God,  the Spirit of God and God the Father visibly and audibly declared their approval (Matthew 3:16-17). God sanctioned, authorized and approved of John’s Baptism.

John was the first to baptize in the Bible, but certainly was not the only one. By what authority did the disciples baptize believers? John 3:22, “After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized.”  John 4:1-2, “...Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,  (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples).”  How did Jesus baptize when John said he didn’t? Christ baptized through His church, using men as His representatives to immerse believers under the water. The apostles baptized for Jesus, in His name. The process and authority to baptize was from Heaven, commissioned by God to John.  Jesus then commissioned and authorized His disciples to baptize believers in His name.  Though the men put people under the water, the authority to do so was from God. Jesus baptized by authorizing His disciples to do it for Him.

The divine ordinance of baptism began when God sent John. Next, Jesus authorized His disciples, to baptize in His name. So then, who can baptize today? Matthew 28:18-20, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost…”.  All power is Christ’s and all authoritative, kingly power is Christ’s and in divine royal authority He commissions the church to go and teach and baptize in the name of the Trinity, in observance of all things He had commanded. Just as the Trinity sanctioned, authorized, and approved of John’s Baptism in Matthew 3, and just as the apostles baptized for Jesus, in His name, the church is commissioned to carry out this same practice in Matthew 28 in name of the Trinity. Just as God sent and authorized John alone, and  just as Christ authorized the disciples alone to baptize, God  authorizes His church, and His church alone to baptize.  The Lord’s church baptizes in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ carrying out the commission with His authority, in His church.  Baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is more than saying the words, but by their authority. 

LORD? A Defense of our English Bible

In preparation for preaching Wednesday, I was studying In Matthew 22:43-46, Jesus said, "How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?' And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions."

"The LORD said unto my Lord..."

I think it's common knowledge for most Bible readers that the word LORD in all caps in our English Bible, refers to the covenant name of God. Some modern translations have taken to replace *some* of those instances with Yahweh or Jehovah (that's a separate issue, and I won't address that here). For years, I've read scholars talk about the crime of the translators following the superstitions of the Jews by not translating God's name, but following the tradition of saying LORD. This is a subject that has fascinated me for well over a decade. I recently preached on the burning bush and dealt with God's name. LORD, I AM that I AM, YHWH  was fresh on my mind as I read this passage.

Jesus quotes Psalm 110:1, “The LORD said unto my Lord…” In both the Old and New Testament, LORD is in all caps in my Bible. In the Psalms, LORD in Hebrew is the Tetragrammaton, the covenant name of God. Hebrew doesn’t have vowels, and until much later in history, they didn’t have vowel markers. The Tetragrammton, God’s name, is spelled in English letters, YHWH. Anytime in our English Bible you see LORD in all caps, it refers to the Divine name. It's not a hidden mystery and I think important to make sure we are aware of the reason for the small caps.

The question: should we or must we substitute LORD with YHWH in our reading or even work toward a translation of the Bible that makes the change? One evangelical author is adamant about getting a translation that changes all instances of LORD to the point of saying it's wrong and superstitious to continue such a foolish tradition. Have God's people been duped for millennia? Does my Bible have literally thousands of mistakes?

Not so fast. Let's think about the passage in Matthew. The Greek Word for LORD is κύριος (kyrios) and that’s the word translated Lord in all three places in Matthew 22:43-46.  But if the King James is mistranslated and it should have been translated YHWH, why didn't the Lord correct it here or why didn't Matthew correct it?

Εἶπεν ὁ κύριος τῷ κυρίῳ μου Κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου ἕως ἂν θῶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν σου

See for yourself, the kyrios said to my kyrios. Not YHWH said to my kyrios. 

Did Matthew misquote Jesus? Did Jesus say LORD? Was Matthew wrong in writing LORD?

Or, perhaps, Matthew, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote exactly what God wanted us to read. If we "go to the original", to what original will we go? The Greek which says kyrios or the Hebrew that says YHWH? If "LORD" is wrong, it also means Matthew is wrong. But, since Matthew was under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God is innerant and infallible and Matthew wrote LORD quoting the Old Testament, it is not wrong for us to do likewise in the Old or the New Testaments.

It’s easy to point to Jewish superstitions in the Septuagint as the cause for the practice of writing LORD. But if that’s the reason its in the Bible now, why did Matthew commit the same "error"? Why didn't the New Testament authors, who were hardly afraid of ruffling the feathers of the Jews, not set the churches straight? Or, maybe, in God's providence, the people of God have not been wrongly reading God's Word for 2100+ years. You won't find Jesus or the apostles ever correcting Scripture when they quote the Old Testament even when they quoted their translations. We would be much better off following their practice and stop correcting our Bibles and let our Bibles correct us.