Monthly Archives: March 2013

A Credible Witness

john-the-apostleIn a court of law, eyewitness testimony needs to be relevant and credible.  Which one of these two testimonies would you consider credible?

Scenario A

“I think I saw the accused at the scene of the crime.  Well, it looked like him.  He sounded like him too.  I never saw his face, but from a distance he was the spitting image of the defendant.”

Scenario B

“I was five feet away from the accused.  I saw his face clearly under the street light.  His voice was unmistakable.  I could see the color of his eyes and the scar above his left eye.  There is absolutely no doubt that the man I saw at the scene of the crime is the defendant.”

So, which testimony seems more credible to you?  I am hoping the answer is obvious.

In 1 John 1:1 we read these words penned by the John the Apostle:

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life –

Not long after Jesus’ death and resurrection the early church was opposed by many false teachers.  Some of these false teachers claimed to speak for the Apostles, but none of them were eyewitnesses to the events they wrote about or were commissioned directly by Jesus Himself.  For that reason, John starts off his first epistle establishing the credibility of his eyewitness account.

What was from the beginning

What beginning?  From eternity.  Or as we often refer to it – eternity past.  John was giving testimony of Jesus Christ, and he was establishing the fact of Christ’s pre-existence before his incarnation.

What we have heard

The Apostles were Jesus’ companions.  They were called by Him, traveled with Him, ministered with Him, ate meals with Him, and were commissioned by Him.  They knew the voice of their Lord.

What we have seen

The Apostles witnessed first hand the many miracles of Jesus; from turning the water to wine at Cana of Galilee, to raising Lazarus from the tomb.

What we beheld and our hands handled

John was present when Jesus said to him, “Behold, your mother!” (c.f. John 19:27).  John beheld the death of Jesus on the cross.  He saw the event with his own eyes.  Those who were the companions of the Apostles, and disciples of Jesus, took His body and laid it in the tomb.  This is what is meant by “our hands handled”.

When we read the accounts of Christ’s death and resurrection in the New Testament, we are reading credible testimony.  Whether it is the firsthand accounts of the Apostles, such as the epistles of Paul and Peter; the Gospels of Matthew and John; or those books that are consistent with the firsthand accounts, such as Luke and Mark’s Gospels, we can trust that they are credible.   And considering that the household of God (the Church) is built on the teaching of the apostles and prophets, that is a good thing to know!

Not Just 1 out of 52

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Almost every church experiences a swell of attenders on Easter Sunday.  There is a sign hanging on the wall in my office that says, “It is what it is.”  How appropriate.  Now, do not get me wrong.  I am happy to have additional attenders on any Lord’s Day morning (Sunday); whether it be in the middle of August or on Easter.  But as a minister of the Gospel, it pains my heart to witness so many come to church with the intent of celebrating Christ’s resurrection, but miss the true impact of His resurrection on most other Lord’s Day.

I have a custom that some of you are well aware of.  Throughout the year I commonly proclaim from the pulpit, “He is risen!”  The congregation responds with, “He is risen, indeed!”  This custom is not a marketing ploy or some added part to our liturgy just to make us unique.  Instead it is a reminder that we celebrate Christ’s resurrection, not just one week out of fifty-two, but each and every Lord’s Day.  Without the resurrection we have no hope of eternal life.  The Apostle Paul said it plainly:

1 Corinthians 15:13-18 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 vain, your faith also is 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. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

The fact is that Jesus Christ has risen from the grave.  He is alive!  Because He has vanquished the final enemy, death, He has the power to forgive sins and promise eternal life to all who will repent (turn) from their sins and place their faith in Him.  Christ’s resurrection, and the message of the forgiveness of sins, is proclaimed on every Lord’s Day by churches that are faithful to the Gospel.

I close with the words of the Apostle Peter, recorded in John 6:68:69:

Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”

It is not just one Lord’s Day out of fifty-two that the words of eternal life are proclaimed.  They are proclaimed on all fifty-two Lord’s Days.

Does Disagreement Equal Hatred?

The rhetoric coming from some of the extreme proponents of the anti-biblical marriage camp accuses Christians of bigotry and hatred.  These are strong words against a group of people that have held to the biblical view of marriage for 2000 years.  Does it immediately follow that if someone disagrees with the homosexual lobby that they are automatically bigots and haters?  I suppose it depends on who you ask.  If you ask the militant members of the homosexual lobby they will answer in the affirmative.  Does the Bible shed light on this subject?  I think it does.

According to the Bible, deviant sexual behavior is not limited to just homosexuality.  Fornication (sex outside of marriage) and adultery (marital unfaithfulness) are both considered sin.  In fact, I do not think I need to cite statistics in order to say that heterosexual fornication and adultery are a more widespread problem than homosexuality.  All this to say that homosexuality is not the end all be all of sins.  God is concerned about sexual purity in all areas of our lives.

But let me set up a story from the Bible that is relevant to this discussion.  First, in the Ten Commandments (God’s moral law), we read this:

Exodus 20:14 “You shall not commit adultery.”

There is no ambiguity here.  God said, on a tablet of stone, “You shall commit adultery.”  Moses later wrote God’s penalty for being caught in adultery:

Deuteronomy 2:22 “If a man is found lying with a married woman, then both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman; thus you shall purge the evil from Israel.”

This is how serious God considered marital unfaithfulness.  Marriage is a picture of God’s intimacy with His children.  In the Old Testament it was a picture of God’s intimacy and affection for Israel.  Therefore adultery was unfaithfulness  not just to a spouse, but to God Himself.  That is why the penalty was so severe.

In the New Testament, Jesus encounters a woman who was caught in this terrible sin of adultery:

John 8:1-11 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”  Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”

Jesus was not condoning the woman’s sin.  Adultery was still adultery.  God did not change His opinion towards it.  But Jesus did not ostracize the woman.  He did not ridicule here.  Instead, He showed her great grace and mercy.  He pointed out to her (through her own admission) that men could not condemn her.  In fact, Jesus offered her forgiveness.  But He did say to her, “From now on sin more more.”  He was telling her to turn from the sin of adultery.  The Bible does not tell us whether she heeded Jesus’ command, but we do know that Jesus gave her words of great hope.

As Christians we are not to hate homosexuals.  We are not to hate adulterers or fornicators.  Think about it for a moment.  Paul wrote:

Ephesians 2: 1-3 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,  in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

Paul acknowledged that “we” (both himself and those with him) once practiced many of the same sins.  Christians are not immune to sin.  In fact, most Christians are great sinners; great sinners who have received forgiveness by God through His Son, Jesus Christ.  If we, the great sinners that we are, have received forgiveness of our sins, what should our attitude be towards others?  Well, like Jesus, we should declare to them good news.  We are not judge and jury.  God is the one who judges, and God is the one who forgives.  Yes.  Christians should stand up for the truth of God’s word.  The Bible condemns homosexuality, fornication, and adultery.  Because the Bible condemns it, we cannot act contrary to His Word.  Since the debate on homosexual marriage is public in nature, it is right for the Church to speak out publicly and declare God’s Word on the matter.  But just because the Church is declaring God’s Word, does not mean that it, or individual Christians, are espousing bigotry and hatred. Perhaps the reason some people feel that way is due to the fact that they innately know that what they are advocating is wrong.  Their conscience, convicting them, causes them to lash out irrationally and in anger.

Why Biblical Marriage Matters

Genesis 2:18-24 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”  And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.  And the man gave names to all the cattle, and to birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.  So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs; and closed up the flesh at that place.  And the Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which he had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.  And the man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man.”  For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.

Marriage was instituted by God in the Garden of Eden.  Yes.  I believe in a literal Garden of Eden, a literal Adam, and a literal Eve.  For those Christians who put forth the idea that the creation narrative is a myth, or otherwise deny its factualness, you have cast aside not just a literal six day creation, but also the Bible’s authority (really God’s authority) in establishing the family unit.  But I digress.  Marriage was given by God, first and foremost, to provide the man (Adam) with a helper.  Adam and Eve were the first family unit.  God created them male and female, not female and female or male and male. In Adam and Eve, God presented His plan for human relationships.  The man shall leave his father and mother and cleave (literally, become attached to) his wife.  Another reason God ordained marriage only between a man and a woman was to populate the human race.

Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

The debate over same-sex marriage refers to loving and committed relationships, fairness, equality, civil rights, et. al.  Even Christians get caught up in discussing the issue from these perspectives.  But the subject is not that broad and diverse.  At its core it is very simple.  “He created them male and female” (Genesis 5:2).  “a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24).  Biblical Marriage is not a philosophical argument, although a convincing philosophical argument can be made.  Biblical Marriage is a command, given by God, that is binding on all people, everywhere, who desire to be married.  It is God’s expressed command.  Mankind does not have the right to disobey God’s command, but disobey they do.  With disobedience to God’s commands comes consequences.  The point of this brief essay is not to the enumerate the consequences of disobedience, but simply to say that they will follow disobedience as sure as dawn comes after night.

For the Christian the subject is black and white.  There should be no debate.  You have only one option and that is to obey God.