Saturday, June 20, 2009
Eternal death.
In Revelation 20:14-15 “Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Eternal death is only experienced by those who do not believe in Jesus Christ.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Atheist Bible
I ordered an Atheist Bible from Answers in Genesis, it came in today.
I rather like it.
It is a HCSB version of the New Testament with commentary interspersed throughout. In the front of the bible is a section of frequently asked questions with answers and another section in the back with more of the same. All in all it was worth the 5 bucks
I rather like it.
It is a HCSB version of the New Testament with commentary interspersed throughout. In the front of the bible is a section of frequently asked questions with answers and another section in the back with more of the same. All in all it was worth the 5 bucks
Physical death.
Before Adam’s fall he had the potential to die physically, but not the necessity to die physically, this can be deduced from Gods provision for eating in Genesis 2:16-17 “The LORD God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” (Emphasis added)
After the fall physical death became a necessity for everyone, (Hebrews 9:27 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment”) except those believers who are caught up to be with the Lord at the time of the rapture. (1Theselonians 4:16-17 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.)
After the fall physical death became a necessity for everyone, (Hebrews 9:27 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment”) except those believers who are caught up to be with the Lord at the time of the rapture. (1Theselonians 4:16-17 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.)
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Spiritual death.
Adam was created by God and imparted with “lives” (Gen. 2:7). Adam’s body was formed from the dust of the ground. God breathed into him the breath of lives (נִשְׁמַ֣ת חַיִּ֑ים nishmath chayyiym), and Adam became a living soul (נֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּֽה nephesh chayyah).[1] When Adam sinned he died spiritually, he still had a body and a soul even though his human spirit was dead.
Everyone after Adam is borne spiritually dead, so this is a state of being for mankind and not something experienced by mankind. That is, we are not borne spiritually alive then die as a result of sin. We are borne spiritually dead because of Adams sin. This spiritual death can be seen played out when God came looking for them and they hid themselves. Spiritual death is nothing more than separation from God.
[1] Pastor Bob Bolender, Basic Doctrinal Studies, p. 27.
Everyone after Adam is borne spiritually dead, so this is a state of being for mankind and not something experienced by mankind. That is, we are not borne spiritually alive then die as a result of sin. We are borne spiritually dead because of Adams sin. This spiritual death can be seen played out when God came looking for them and they hid themselves. Spiritual death is nothing more than separation from God.
[1] Pastor Bob Bolender, Basic Doctrinal Studies, p. 27.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
What is the result of sin?
Genesis 2:17 “in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” Adam and Eve did not drop dead when they sinned. Adam was 930 years old when he died, is the bible wrong? No, the bible is not wrong, but to understand this will take some work. In the Hebrew what the NASB renders “you will surely die” is “dying you will die.” What we will come to understand is that they died spiritually the day that they sinned, later they died physically and had they not accepted God’s provision of salvation they would have died eternally.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Where did sin come from?
According to scripture the origin of sin is found in free will.[1] God created moral beings, both angelic and human, and gave us the power of free choice. Both angels and humans miss-used that choice and as a result sin entered into God’s perfect creation.
Sometime between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 an angel that is now called Satan chose to sin. But who was he? In Ezekiel 28:11-19 we get a glimpse of who he was.
First off how do we know that this is speaking of Satan? We understand this because of the statements in Verses 12 and 13 "You had the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering”. When we consider the underlined text we can conclude that this was no man. Verse 13 also speaks of the “day you were created” not on the day you were born as we would expect if this was speaking of a man. Also in verse 15 we read that “unrighteousness was found in you”, not that you sinned. This is clearly speaking of the first ever sin. Also in verse 15 we see “You were the anointed cherub who covers”, the word covers can also be rendered shields implying that this being was a guardian of some kind. So the total picture that we get here is of a perfect sinless being that guards who fell from that sinless state.
So what happened? Verse 6 tells us that he sinned, but not what he did. In order to see that we must look to Isaiah 14:12-15.
Isa 14:12-15 “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! (13) "But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. (14) 'I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' (15) "Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.
Here we see the five “I wills” of Satan. Here we see Satan make statements of what he will do using the language of God when He makes an unconditional covenant. (See Genesis 12:2) Put simply this was the sin of pride; he had a desire for a place and a position that was not for him. In the Isaiah passage we get the “what” in order to get the “why” we must return to the Ezekiel passage.
In Ezekiel 28:16-18 we can get a since of why Satan sinned. "By the abundance of your trade You were internally filled with violence”, here we can infer that he lusted after wealth and power and was willing to do anything to acquire them. “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty” We know by the description of him from earlier that Satan was a beautiful creature and from this we see that he knew it and became vain. “You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor” because he was wise he substituted his wisdom for God’s wisdom.
In Romans 12:3 we read “For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”
The Romans passage sheds light on Satan’s problem. He became unsatisfied with his position and thought that he was something that he was not; he thought that he was God. Because of this he sought to take a place that was not his to occupy.
Ok so we have seen the angelic fall, what about humans? For that we need to turn to Genesis.
In Genesis 1:27-28 we read of God’s creation of man. Take note that man is created in the image of God, and that God intended the male female relationship even before Eve was created.
In Genesis 2:15-17 we read that God placed man in a specific location, made provision for him and placed a limit on his freedom. With that limit came a consequence. We read in verse 17 “for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." Literally dying you will die. Or in other words dying spiritually you will die physically.
In Genesis 3:1-7 we see the temptation of Eve and her fall. Satan questioned Eve, "Indeed, has God said”, and Eve ether had not been taught correctly or had misunderstood the teaching as can be seen with her reply. “God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.” Emphases added. Misunderstood teaching opened the door for Satan. “You surely will not die!” and “you will be like God”. Then Eve substituted her own wisdom for God’s. She saw, delighted and desired, and then she ate.
“and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” A person in sin will seek to bring others into what they are doing.
“Then the eyes of both of them were opened” note that the eyes were not opened until Adam sinned. Eve was deceived, Adam was not, and he sinned willfully. In Genesis 3:8-21 we read of God seeking fallen man and providing an opportunity for confession, they did not confess, they provided excuses for what they had done and God applied discipline to them. God also provided the first hope of salvation in verse 15 with the seed of the woman promise, and God’s provision for covering with animal skin verse 21.
[1] Dr. Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Three p. 82.
Sometime between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 an angel that is now called Satan chose to sin. But who was he? In Ezekiel 28:11-19 we get a glimpse of who he was.
First off how do we know that this is speaking of Satan? We understand this because of the statements in Verses 12 and 13 "You had the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering”. When we consider the underlined text we can conclude that this was no man. Verse 13 also speaks of the “day you were created” not on the day you were born as we would expect if this was speaking of a man. Also in verse 15 we read that “unrighteousness was found in you”, not that you sinned. This is clearly speaking of the first ever sin. Also in verse 15 we see “You were the anointed cherub who covers”, the word covers can also be rendered shields implying that this being was a guardian of some kind. So the total picture that we get here is of a perfect sinless being that guards who fell from that sinless state.
So what happened? Verse 6 tells us that he sinned, but not what he did. In order to see that we must look to Isaiah 14:12-15.
Isa 14:12-15 “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! (13) "But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. (14) 'I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' (15) "Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.
Here we see the five “I wills” of Satan. Here we see Satan make statements of what he will do using the language of God when He makes an unconditional covenant. (See Genesis 12:2) Put simply this was the sin of pride; he had a desire for a place and a position that was not for him. In the Isaiah passage we get the “what” in order to get the “why” we must return to the Ezekiel passage.
In Ezekiel 28:16-18 we can get a since of why Satan sinned. "By the abundance of your trade You were internally filled with violence”, here we can infer that he lusted after wealth and power and was willing to do anything to acquire them. “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty” We know by the description of him from earlier that Satan was a beautiful creature and from this we see that he knew it and became vain. “You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor” because he was wise he substituted his wisdom for God’s wisdom.
In Romans 12:3 we read “For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”
The Romans passage sheds light on Satan’s problem. He became unsatisfied with his position and thought that he was something that he was not; he thought that he was God. Because of this he sought to take a place that was not his to occupy.
Ok so we have seen the angelic fall, what about humans? For that we need to turn to Genesis.
In Genesis 1:27-28 we read of God’s creation of man. Take note that man is created in the image of God, and that God intended the male female relationship even before Eve was created.
In Genesis 2:15-17 we read that God placed man in a specific location, made provision for him and placed a limit on his freedom. With that limit came a consequence. We read in verse 17 “for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." Literally dying you will die. Or in other words dying spiritually you will die physically.
In Genesis 3:1-7 we see the temptation of Eve and her fall. Satan questioned Eve, "Indeed, has God said”, and Eve ether had not been taught correctly or had misunderstood the teaching as can be seen with her reply. “God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.” Emphases added. Misunderstood teaching opened the door for Satan. “You surely will not die!” and “you will be like God”. Then Eve substituted her own wisdom for God’s. She saw, delighted and desired, and then she ate.
“and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” A person in sin will seek to bring others into what they are doing.
“Then the eyes of both of them were opened” note that the eyes were not opened until Adam sinned. Eve was deceived, Adam was not, and he sinned willfully. In Genesis 3:8-21 we read of God seeking fallen man and providing an opportunity for confession, they did not confess, they provided excuses for what they had done and God applied discipline to them. God also provided the first hope of salvation in verse 15 with the seed of the woman promise, and God’s provision for covering with animal skin verse 21.
[1] Dr. Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Three p. 82.
Monday, June 15, 2009
The Gospel
The Greek word for gospel is εὐγγελιον (2098) and means good news. The gospel in its simplest form is: believe in Jesus Christ and you will be saved. John 3:16; 14:1; 20:31; and Acts 8:37.
What are we saved from, the penalty for sin, the power of sin, the presence of sin, or all three?
To understand this question we must understand why we need a savior in the first place. And to understand that we need to understand sin.
What is sin?
Sin is anything that falls short of God’s perfect moral nature.[1] God as creator of the universe sets the standard. Anything short of that standard is sin. We see this in Romans 3:23 and Leviticus 11:45.
For a full understanding we need to turn to Genesis 1:27-28.
Gen 1:26-27 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (27) God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Image and likeness are used interchangeably (Gen. 5:1, 3). בְּ and כְּ are also used interchangeably (בְּ with likeness and כְּ with image). The prepositions “in” and “according to” are not interchangeable without a bit of help. Both Hebrew prefixes can be rendered in English with the preposition “as.” Rendering the interchangeable Hebrew prepositions with an identical English preposition may help us to properly interpret the text. “Let Us make man as Our image, as Our likeness.” This is the use of בְּ for the word “in” or “as” to reflect “functioning in the capacity of.” Understood in this manner, mankind is created in God’s image and likeness functionally rather than qualitatively. Imaging God is the work assignment for mankind (humanity in general)…[2]
So we see that part of Adam’s work assignment was to function as the image of God. While the fall damaged man’s ability to image God it did not destroy it. This can be seen in Genesis 9:6. “"Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.” If the image was completely destroyed then the rational for capital punishment would be gone. With this as our understanding we need to consider what God’s image is.
What attributes can be attributed to God?
To understand this we need a glimpse of God’s essence. What we call God’s essence is a list of attributes that God can be said to possess. God is sovereignty, righteousness, justice, love, eternal life, omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, immutability, and veracity.[3]
Even in our fallen state we try to image these qualities unconsciously. Mankind seeks sovereignty and justice through governmental intuitions. We seek righteousness, love and veracity through manmade religions, and even through our denial of those religions. And through science we seek wisdom and power. Apart from God, though, all of that is sin, falling short, missing the mark.
[1] Dr. Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Three p. 106.
[2] Pastor Bob Bolender, The Doctrine of Marriage, p. 1.
[3] Pastor Bob Bolender, Basic Doctrinal Studies, pp. 19-24.
What are we saved from, the penalty for sin, the power of sin, the presence of sin, or all three?
To understand this question we must understand why we need a savior in the first place. And to understand that we need to understand sin.
What is sin?
Sin is anything that falls short of God’s perfect moral nature.[1] God as creator of the universe sets the standard. Anything short of that standard is sin. We see this in Romans 3:23 and Leviticus 11:45.
For a full understanding we need to turn to Genesis 1:27-28.
Gen 1:26-27 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (27) God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Image and likeness are used interchangeably (Gen. 5:1, 3). בְּ and כְּ are also used interchangeably (בְּ with likeness and כְּ with image). The prepositions “in” and “according to” are not interchangeable without a bit of help. Both Hebrew prefixes can be rendered in English with the preposition “as.” Rendering the interchangeable Hebrew prepositions with an identical English preposition may help us to properly interpret the text. “Let Us make man as Our image, as Our likeness.” This is the use of בְּ for the word “in” or “as” to reflect “functioning in the capacity of.” Understood in this manner, mankind is created in God’s image and likeness functionally rather than qualitatively. Imaging God is the work assignment for mankind (humanity in general)…[2]
So we see that part of Adam’s work assignment was to function as the image of God. While the fall damaged man’s ability to image God it did not destroy it. This can be seen in Genesis 9:6. “"Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.” If the image was completely destroyed then the rational for capital punishment would be gone. With this as our understanding we need to consider what God’s image is.
What attributes can be attributed to God?
To understand this we need a glimpse of God’s essence. What we call God’s essence is a list of attributes that God can be said to possess. God is sovereignty, righteousness, justice, love, eternal life, omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, immutability, and veracity.[3]
Even in our fallen state we try to image these qualities unconsciously. Mankind seeks sovereignty and justice through governmental intuitions. We seek righteousness, love and veracity through manmade religions, and even through our denial of those religions. And through science we seek wisdom and power. Apart from God, though, all of that is sin, falling short, missing the mark.
[1] Dr. Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Three p. 106.
[2] Pastor Bob Bolender, The Doctrine of Marriage, p. 1.
[3] Pastor Bob Bolender, Basic Doctrinal Studies, pp. 19-24.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Where to now
With the conclusion of 2 Peter 2:20 I find that I am not far enough ahead in Romans 12 to continue that study yet. It is amazing how life has a way of interfering with study.
I have a study that I did on the gospel and after that if I still am not far enough ahead will be a study on the armor of God.
God willing , I will be far enough ahead to continue in Romans 12 when this one is finished.
I have a study that I did on the gospel and after that if I still am not far enough ahead will be a study on the armor of God.
God willing , I will be far enough ahead to continue in Romans 12 when this one is finished.
2 Peter 2:20 Conclusion
At this point it is important to consider the ones that this verse was directed at. We have already seen that this verse is directed at believers. “They have escaped …by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” The word used here for knowledge is ἐπιγνώσει (G 1922) and it expresses a more thorough participation in the acquiring of knowledge on the part of the learner. In the NT, it often refers to knowledge which very powerfully influences the form of religious life, a knowledge laying claim to personal involvement.[1] So what we see here is that these believers had actively pursued Christ. This was not a casual knowing about Christ.
So what happened?
Matthew 13:5-7 happened. Their roots were not deep or the thorns crept in.
As their apathy toward God increases the view point of the world will enter in, eventually they will look and act just like unbelievers. At some point Gods discipline will come into play. The longer His discipline is ignored the more intense it becomes until God finally gives them over to the evil that they have embraced. "And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper," (Romans 1:28, NASB95) The word translated as acknowledge is ἐπιγνώσει this is the same word for knowledge from 2 Peter 2:20.
When a person no longer seeks God, God gives them over to the desires of their heart. This is a very dangerous place to be. "The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9, NASB95)
This brings us to the main thought of verse 20: "they are again entangled in them and are overcome; the last state has become worse for them than the first." (2 Peter 2:20, NASB95) We have two ideas here that of being entangled and that of being overcome. The idea behind being entangled is that of limiting options. The more interwoven that sin becomes in one’s life the more limited choices become. This continues on until the ability to choose not to sin is lost; this is the thought behind being overcome. The position that the believer finds themselves in now is that of being in bondage to sin, being subject to self induced misery and of being under divine discipline. At that point God ether removes that person from life or works a miracle to return them to Him.
[1] The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament.
So what happened?
Matthew 13:5-7 happened. Their roots were not deep or the thorns crept in.
As their apathy toward God increases the view point of the world will enter in, eventually they will look and act just like unbelievers. At some point Gods discipline will come into play. The longer His discipline is ignored the more intense it becomes until God finally gives them over to the evil that they have embraced. "And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper," (Romans 1:28, NASB95) The word translated as acknowledge is ἐπιγνώσει this is the same word for knowledge from 2 Peter 2:20.
When a person no longer seeks God, God gives them over to the desires of their heart. This is a very dangerous place to be. "The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9, NASB95)
This brings us to the main thought of verse 20: "they are again entangled in them and are overcome; the last state has become worse for them than the first." (2 Peter 2:20, NASB95) We have two ideas here that of being entangled and that of being overcome. The idea behind being entangled is that of limiting options. The more interwoven that sin becomes in one’s life the more limited choices become. This continues on until the ability to choose not to sin is lost; this is the thought behind being overcome. The position that the believer finds themselves in now is that of being in bondage to sin, being subject to self induced misery and of being under divine discipline. At that point God ether removes that person from life or works a miracle to return them to Him.
[1] The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament.
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