The Church is fragmented into thousands of different sects and groups, so much so as to say, “There sure is an awful lot of interpretation of this Book out there.” Can any of these groups say for sure that “We don’t have the ability to be deceived, or come to a wrong doctrinal conclusion”? We should be humble enough to bow and pray, and say, “God, show me Your truth!” If we truly do that, we would gradually unify, which is what Jesus wants. Unfortunately, we naturally think our view of theology is right, and everybody should think like us.
Actually, though, don’t people choose their denomination based on family history, or what their heart secretly wants to hear about God? After all, what do people really want in a church? They often say, in surveys, they want “something authentic, something real.” They dislike orthodoxy, maybe it's because they assume anything old is irrelevant; or maybe they assume most churches don't really seem to accomplish much. They often are swayed by the “Emerging church” movement (see my blog). But the church’s desire to have relevance causes them to “come down to the world’s level.” Playing with the world's cards is not good. Orthodoxy, actually, is Scriptural, based on God's Word--and it really has much to benefit us.
If people are really looking for authenticity, they should look again at the lifestyles and words of the Christians in the book of Acts. The Kingdom of God was so irresistible, so radical, that the people had one of two choices the church brought them: Either join us, or persecute us. There was no neutral ground; they couldn't ignore them. Just like Jesus said, You’re either my friend, or you’re my enemy. There’s no “gray area” with Christ. The Church, in Acts—it will make your heart pound when you read it. When you read it, don’t you have a longing in your heart to see church today like that? When you look at the radical nature of what God is doing through them, does it ever make your heart burn? Let’s examine their actions in the Word.
Acts 2:41-47: Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. 46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
Acts 4:29-35: Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. 32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. 33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. 34 Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, 35 and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.
Acts 5:12-16: And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch. 13 Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. 14 And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 15 so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. 16 Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
Acts 8:35-39: Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” 37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” 38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.
Acts 9:32-35: Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda. 33 There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed.34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” Then he arose immediately. 35 So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
Acts 13:2-3: As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.
Acts 14:8-10: And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. 9 This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, 10 said with a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet!” And he leaped and walked.
Acts 16:25-31: But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. 27 And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.” 29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Acts 20:7-11: Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together. 9 And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. 10 But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, “Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him.” 11 Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed.
Let our hearts hunger for reality with Jesus Christ like they experienced. Look at His willingness to pour Himself out in miracles. People were so moved that they gave away their wealth, unreservedly; miracles were flowing, angels were appearing (in other verses). It’s radical when you look into God’s heart for His people. Do we still believe what Jesus said—“You’ll do greater things than I have done”? Do we really believe that Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever? Or have you bought into doctrine that cynically says, “That was then: wake up, this is now.” Wouldn’t you just want to be in the early church? Well, I should also mention: Leaders were losing their heads, believers were persecuted and had to flee. In a couple of cases, church people were killed by the Holy Spirit for lying. That was an intense church. Would you have counted the cost and joined—or are you content to be comfortable? I suspect the latter, because: our churches fall so short. You could argue that, hey, miracles are not the whole story, but doesn’t Scripture say that “these signs will follow those who believe.” (Mark 16:17).
What keeps it from happening in America now? Jesus might answer by saying, Do we really want to meet Him on His terms? Our lifestyle is quite different than that church. We don’t have their dedication. Are we hungry enough to get together and pray for ten days straight, as they did? If anyone in the church is lacking, would we give up our food, would we all fast to feed them? Would we give up all of our material possessions to the group to meet those in need—do we have a heart to give like that?
Could it be that the reason for this difference between us and them is that our interpretation of doctrine is different than theirs? After all, doctrine and lifestyle should go hand in hand. Doctrine is useless unless it transforms your life. You can think you believe something, but you only truly believe that which moves you to action, not just on a printed page. Do you believe that the majority of people are on their way to hell? That there are many people deceived to think that they are on their way to heaven--but they are not? To the extent that you actually believe that, you will intercede for the lost, your heart will break when you see people that don’t know the Lord, you’ll stand on the street corner and plead with people, or write a letter to an aunt that doesn’t know Him. You’ll be down on your knees often.
To the extent that you believe in something, it changes your life.
What was it the apostles believed that made their lives so radical? Let’s spend some time reading the writings of the early church fathers, whose lifestyles were the closest to the apostles. These men bled and died for the faith too, often being persecuted by Nero or other Roman "god"; they sat at the feet of the apostles, or only a generation removed. Let’s interpret Scripture as close as possible to what the fathers believed and wrote about. These guys must’ve had it right, the way they lived. When we see lifestyles like the book of Acts, then we know that the truth was taught. We’ve layered on many weaknesses in the 2000 years since, I suspect. Let’s find them. Are we ready to admit we might be wrong on some points? Sure, they didn’t have modern technology; but they did it one better—they just read the Bible, over and over and over. In fact, they were the people who debated thoroughly and decided on what was Scripture in the first place. They took the words literally as from God's mouth; they consulted no commentary (that might twist words); their knowledge of other Scripture enabled them to place things in the proper context to explain seemingly contradictory passages. They didn’t have to fool with interpreting Greek—they spoke it, they knew it intimately. Here is their lifestyle, as described by witnesses:
Let's start with two witness statements of 125 AD, from a new believer about his local congregation:
They do not bear false witness; nor do they covet what is not theirs. They comfort their oppressors and make them their friends.
Their women are pure as virgins and their daughters are modest; their men keep themselves from all unlawful unions and uncleanness. They go their way in all modesty and cheerfulness. They love one another. They deliver their widows and orphans from those who would treat them harshly. He who has, gives to him who has not. They fast two or three days to supply the necessary food for the needy. They follow the commands of their Christ justly and seriously. Every morning and every hour they give thanks to God for His lovingkindness to them. If any righteous man passes from this world, they rejoice and give thanks to God.
Now from a non-believer; within the sarcasm is a good witness:
They despise the temples, as dead houses; they reject the gods. Half-naked themselves, they despise honors and purple robes. Oh, wondrous folly…They despise present torments, although they fear those which are future. They fear to die after death, but they do not fear to die for the present. The larger portion are in want, are cold, are laboring in hard work or hunger. And God allows it. You do not visit exhibitions; you reject public banquets and abhor sacred contests…you assume you will rise again but refuse to live in the meanwhile. Cease from prying into the destinies of the sky. What is wrong with you?
Could the church of America be accused of having such a witness statement? No, frankly. The church today, in fact, is too often accused hypocrisy or worldliness. And, mostly, of lukewarmness. The early church had a Holy Spirit-touched lifestyle. They won souls, they turned the world upside down. The secret was in their doctrine. It was different than ours.
NEXT WEEK: So What are the Three Doctrines the Early Church Had That Have Been Radically Changed in Today’s Church That Made Them Weaker?
Acknowledgement: Scott Schones, “A New Kind of Christian?” CD, Scroll Publishing
Thursday, August 17, 2017
Friday, August 11, 2017
Why Did Jesus Reject Some "Christians" for Heaven? The Answers May Surprise You
Jesus spoke many parables. A parable is defined as a story, the object of which is to learn a spiritual lesson. This narrative is of a physical story, but the hearer is to make the analogy to the spiritual lesson. Jesus used it often in a crafty way; He wanted to point out the deficiencies of the Jewish spiritual leaders without pointing His finger directly at them. In their guilt, they knew He was talking of them, but they needed real proof to take His life. I think parables added some time He was allowed to speak freely; He was “lucky” to have lasted over 3 years before they had Him silenced --but only for a little while, right?
One group of parables is called Kingdom parables. When you read them over, you see three basic themes dominate them. We can learn much, and they have to do with how to get to heaven—so let’s study on.
Theme #1: God’s Kingdom People Would Start Out Tiny, then Grow in Number Around the World
Demonstrated In: Mustard Seed, Matthew 13:31-32
Leaven, Matthew 13:33
Example: Matthew 13:31-32: Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
A mustard seed is really tiny. Yet it becomes a tree. And a small amount of leaven will ferment the whole loaf. These parables are also a prophecy, and of course that prophecy has come to glorious truth. There are believers all over the globe (as I have found!).
There is one possible argument that you could make about this parable: How do you reconcile the huge number of believers this is speaking of, with Jesus’ comments in Matthew 7:13:
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
So, the argument goes--well, which is it? A huge number, or few? Well, it could be both. It has been agreed upon by several scientists who should know that 100 billion people have ever lived. As my earlier blog (Most Americans Are Not Saved) points out, “few” might be 6-7%. But 7% of 100 billion is 7 billion. Seven billion in heaven! That’s “few” of everybody—but a lot of people, too.
But it could also be argued that the number of initial believers is huge--however, fewer get to heaven at final judgment. (See another blog on that, or I will explain it in this blog next.)
Theme #2: Many Who Start Out As Believers Get Rejected in Final Judgment
This is very important. In these parables listed below, Jesus makes it crystal clear why the “believers” get rejected. They were not rejected because “they were not saved to begin with,” or “they trusted in their own righteousness instead of God’s imputed righteousness.” For our soul’s sake, let’s seek the real reason why they were rejected, so we can avoid such tragedy.
Demonstated in:Vine, John 15:1-10
Sower, Matthew 13:3-8, 18-23
Wedding feast, Matthew 22:1-14
Five foolish and five wise virgins, Matthew 25:1-13
The faithful and wise servant, Matthew 24:45-51
Talents, Matthew 25:14-28
Separating the Sheep and the Goats, Matthew 25:31-46
Houses built on the Rock and Sand, Matthew 7:21-27
I picked three of the above:
Example #1: John 15:1-10: “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. 9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
This is some of the best Words from Jesus in the New Testament, aside from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is the Vine; some of us are the branches. True, these verses don’t say how to get on the Vine in the first place, the initial salvation (it takes repentance and faith, explained elsewhere in Scripture), but they do a wonderful job of explaining the much-ignored path to final salvation. You need both (initial and final) to get to heaven. As these verses clearly show, to finally get to heaven, and not be tossed out, we must abide in Christ to bear fruit. We must bear fruit for final salvation. If we don’t abide in Christ, we are “cast out,” we are “withered,” we are thrown into the fire, and we burn. An obvious reference to hell. The word “abide,” in the Greek, is defined as “continue, remain, tarry.” It suggests a relationship of bonding which we seek with our Savior, in gratitude for His saving us from hell. We want to find out and obey His commandments, His commandments of love, the best path for our life. Beside the requirement to obey His commandments, we must produce fruit. The word “fruit” might be best explained by Galatians 5:22-24:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
This concept of initial and final salvation is revolutionary, it seems, except in Scripture, where it is set forth plainly (see my blog, “Initial and Final Salvation.”) Protestant Reformers like Luther didn’t get it; he spent most of his time trying to be the opposite of the Catholics. If they said “works is big,” he had to say “no works, grace.” I don’t deny grace. It is all grace for God to pay any attention to us sinful creatures. But the truth is, Catholics distorted their idea of works (they say a relationship with Christ is not necessary; just say your rosary, attend Mass, Confession, etc). And Protestant Reformers distorted grace (they say a relationship with Christ is not necessary; just accept Him, and you are saved forever, through His unconditional grace, whether you sin little or a lot, hey, we all have to sin). Both these theologies are lies, and put you in danger of hell. The real truth is, a relationship with Christ IS NECESSARY to be saved, as Scripture clearly points out. That relationship will start out weak, of course, but then it bears a little fruit, gets pruned, starts to grow more each year. We gradually learn to love the world less, and Him more.
Example #2: Matthew 25:31-46: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ 41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
So the issue for final salvation is not a theological debate about grace, but simply, “What did you do with your life? Did you love your fellow man? Did you care for the poor?” Caring for the poor, and loving, being merciful and forgiving, are commandments Jesus gave frequently. But broken frequently by "Christians" without a thought of its danger. It's possible to feel "secure" about accepting Christ once, go to church, commit few "bad" sins, yet go to hell. Because the sins here are not sins of commission (if you steal, murder, etc) but sins of omission. Lots of "Christians" might assume poor people are just lazy, and so they only give to their church, and would never go near areas of their city that really need Christ's help. Are they assured of heaven? These verses say no; they're the goats.
Example #3: Matthew 7:21-27: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
As anyone can read, hearing His commandments and DOING them is wise and keeps our spiritual house together; hearing and NOT DOING, no matter how much “service” you do to impress people, you are headed for spiritual collapse. We must “do the will” of His Father. It’s the same theme: Having been saved, doing His commandments gets you on God’s “good side” in judgment. Saying a prayer and accepting Him, no matter how sincere, might get you initial salvation; but follow through is necessary. It will mean nothing if you don’t persevere in talking to Him as well. Living your life as you wish and ignoring God’s desire for relationship and His will for you puts you back on the road to hell.
For a little more proof, I cite John 5:28-29:
28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
This is what Jesus preached; final decision is made on who has done good, versus who has done evil. Maybe that idea is different from what you hear at church? Are we going to twist the obvious meaning of this verse? It looks clear: “Doing good” gets you final salvation: the resurrection of life. (PS: Don’t forget initial salvation—you won’t produce fruit without His Spirit’s guidance; abiding in Him). If this seems to disagree with what Paul says about ignoring the law (especially in Romans and Galatians), you need to keep context in view. The apostles had to deal with Judaizers—new Jewish Christians who wanted us to keep all their laws to be saved. “Let’s get all the male believers circumcised, too,” they said. “They have to follow the law of Moses to be saved.” That’s what Paul couldn’t stomach. He didn’t want us to just follow laws; he wanted us to have a relationship with Jesus. (I have other blogs on “Paul vs. James” on this subject).
Theme #3: God’s Kingdom People Would Have Non-Believers Among Them; Let God Weed Them Out at Final Judgment
Demonstrated in: Wheat and Weeds (tares), Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43
Dragnet, Matthew 13:47-50
In the interest of space, we only comment on one.
Example: Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43: Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”…(ed, now speaking only to disciples) “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
In His kingdom, largely expressed through the church, there will be wheat and weeds together. We sometimes worry about a problem: Who is a genuine Christian? Jesus say, Don't worry; the angels will pull out “those who practice lawlessness.”
I believe that phrase includes those people who publicly preach that obedience to His commandments, making Him Lord of your life, is not necessary.
They are saying, “If you accepted Him, it’s possible not to worry about His law; you are unconditionally saved.” Such a "gospel" is practicing lawlessness. This "gospel" makes those who made a profession of Christ think they had heaven “locked in,” and they can live without thinking about what Christ wanted for them, or pay any attention to His laws. They are not abiding in Christ's commandments; they are living without laws--lawless.
Jesus is saying, further, that He doesn’t want concerned believers to spend all of our time examining other church member’s lives to see if we think they’re still saved, and then tossing out of church those who don’t meet our qualifications. Things like Spanish Inquisitions or Salem witch trials usually come of that. In other Scriptures, Jesus counsels against judging others. The word is: Let Him decide in the last days. Let’s love the foot-draggers among us and encourage them to do better; and let us build His church missions accordingly. It may go slower, but it’s a good test of love. I’m not saying, forget church discipline. There are many good Scriptures on that score. But, what if the church discipline goes awry? If things get like the late Middle Ages, with the church married to the State, with wicked people running the show, with adulterous kings and bishops, and the wrong people getting disciplined, that might be a time to break away from that denomination completely.
Well, think awhile on these important parables. Don’t twist them to meet your previous theology. Don’t ignore them, thinking them too hard to understand with their couched language. As you can see above, Jesus’ language is really quite clear. We often just don’t like what He’s saying.
Acknowledgement: David Bercot CD, “Kingdom Parables,” Scroll Publishing
One group of parables is called Kingdom parables. When you read them over, you see three basic themes dominate them. We can learn much, and they have to do with how to get to heaven—so let’s study on.
Theme #1: God’s Kingdom People Would Start Out Tiny, then Grow in Number Around the World
Demonstrated In: Mustard Seed, Matthew 13:31-32
Leaven, Matthew 13:33
Example: Matthew 13:31-32: Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
A mustard seed is really tiny. Yet it becomes a tree. And a small amount of leaven will ferment the whole loaf. These parables are also a prophecy, and of course that prophecy has come to glorious truth. There are believers all over the globe (as I have found!).
There is one possible argument that you could make about this parable: How do you reconcile the huge number of believers this is speaking of, with Jesus’ comments in Matthew 7:13:
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
So, the argument goes--well, which is it? A huge number, or few? Well, it could be both. It has been agreed upon by several scientists who should know that 100 billion people have ever lived. As my earlier blog (Most Americans Are Not Saved) points out, “few” might be 6-7%. But 7% of 100 billion is 7 billion. Seven billion in heaven! That’s “few” of everybody—but a lot of people, too.
But it could also be argued that the number of initial believers is huge--however, fewer get to heaven at final judgment. (See another blog on that, or I will explain it in this blog next.)
Theme #2: Many Who Start Out As Believers Get Rejected in Final Judgment
This is very important. In these parables listed below, Jesus makes it crystal clear why the “believers” get rejected. They were not rejected because “they were not saved to begin with,” or “they trusted in their own righteousness instead of God’s imputed righteousness.” For our soul’s sake, let’s seek the real reason why they were rejected, so we can avoid such tragedy.
Demonstated in:Vine, John 15:1-10
Sower, Matthew 13:3-8, 18-23
Wedding feast, Matthew 22:1-14
Five foolish and five wise virgins, Matthew 25:1-13
The faithful and wise servant, Matthew 24:45-51
Talents, Matthew 25:14-28
Separating the Sheep and the Goats, Matthew 25:31-46
Houses built on the Rock and Sand, Matthew 7:21-27
I picked three of the above:
Example #1: John 15:1-10: “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. 9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
This is some of the best Words from Jesus in the New Testament, aside from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is the Vine; some of us are the branches. True, these verses don’t say how to get on the Vine in the first place, the initial salvation (it takes repentance and faith, explained elsewhere in Scripture), but they do a wonderful job of explaining the much-ignored path to final salvation. You need both (initial and final) to get to heaven. As these verses clearly show, to finally get to heaven, and not be tossed out, we must abide in Christ to bear fruit. We must bear fruit for final salvation. If we don’t abide in Christ, we are “cast out,” we are “withered,” we are thrown into the fire, and we burn. An obvious reference to hell. The word “abide,” in the Greek, is defined as “continue, remain, tarry.” It suggests a relationship of bonding which we seek with our Savior, in gratitude for His saving us from hell. We want to find out and obey His commandments, His commandments of love, the best path for our life. Beside the requirement to obey His commandments, we must produce fruit. The word “fruit” might be best explained by Galatians 5:22-24:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
This concept of initial and final salvation is revolutionary, it seems, except in Scripture, where it is set forth plainly (see my blog, “Initial and Final Salvation.”) Protestant Reformers like Luther didn’t get it; he spent most of his time trying to be the opposite of the Catholics. If they said “works is big,” he had to say “no works, grace.” I don’t deny grace. It is all grace for God to pay any attention to us sinful creatures. But the truth is, Catholics distorted their idea of works (they say a relationship with Christ is not necessary; just say your rosary, attend Mass, Confession, etc). And Protestant Reformers distorted grace (they say a relationship with Christ is not necessary; just accept Him, and you are saved forever, through His unconditional grace, whether you sin little or a lot, hey, we all have to sin). Both these theologies are lies, and put you in danger of hell. The real truth is, a relationship with Christ IS NECESSARY to be saved, as Scripture clearly points out. That relationship will start out weak, of course, but then it bears a little fruit, gets pruned, starts to grow more each year. We gradually learn to love the world less, and Him more.
Example #2: Matthew 25:31-46: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ 41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
So the issue for final salvation is not a theological debate about grace, but simply, “What did you do with your life? Did you love your fellow man? Did you care for the poor?” Caring for the poor, and loving, being merciful and forgiving, are commandments Jesus gave frequently. But broken frequently by "Christians" without a thought of its danger. It's possible to feel "secure" about accepting Christ once, go to church, commit few "bad" sins, yet go to hell. Because the sins here are not sins of commission (if you steal, murder, etc) but sins of omission. Lots of "Christians" might assume poor people are just lazy, and so they only give to their church, and would never go near areas of their city that really need Christ's help. Are they assured of heaven? These verses say no; they're the goats.
Example #3: Matthew 7:21-27: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
As anyone can read, hearing His commandments and DOING them is wise and keeps our spiritual house together; hearing and NOT DOING, no matter how much “service” you do to impress people, you are headed for spiritual collapse. We must “do the will” of His Father. It’s the same theme: Having been saved, doing His commandments gets you on God’s “good side” in judgment. Saying a prayer and accepting Him, no matter how sincere, might get you initial salvation; but follow through is necessary. It will mean nothing if you don’t persevere in talking to Him as well. Living your life as you wish and ignoring God’s desire for relationship and His will for you puts you back on the road to hell.
For a little more proof, I cite John 5:28-29:
28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
This is what Jesus preached; final decision is made on who has done good, versus who has done evil. Maybe that idea is different from what you hear at church? Are we going to twist the obvious meaning of this verse? It looks clear: “Doing good” gets you final salvation: the resurrection of life. (PS: Don’t forget initial salvation—you won’t produce fruit without His Spirit’s guidance; abiding in Him). If this seems to disagree with what Paul says about ignoring the law (especially in Romans and Galatians), you need to keep context in view. The apostles had to deal with Judaizers—new Jewish Christians who wanted us to keep all their laws to be saved. “Let’s get all the male believers circumcised, too,” they said. “They have to follow the law of Moses to be saved.” That’s what Paul couldn’t stomach. He didn’t want us to just follow laws; he wanted us to have a relationship with Jesus. (I have other blogs on “Paul vs. James” on this subject).
Theme #3: God’s Kingdom People Would Have Non-Believers Among Them; Let God Weed Them Out at Final Judgment
Demonstrated in: Wheat and Weeds (tares), Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43
Dragnet, Matthew 13:47-50
In the interest of space, we only comment on one.
Example: Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43: Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”…(ed, now speaking only to disciples) “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
In His kingdom, largely expressed through the church, there will be wheat and weeds together. We sometimes worry about a problem: Who is a genuine Christian? Jesus say, Don't worry; the angels will pull out “those who practice lawlessness.”
I believe that phrase includes those people who publicly preach that obedience to His commandments, making Him Lord of your life, is not necessary.
They are saying, “If you accepted Him, it’s possible not to worry about His law; you are unconditionally saved.” Such a "gospel" is practicing lawlessness. This "gospel" makes those who made a profession of Christ think they had heaven “locked in,” and they can live without thinking about what Christ wanted for them, or pay any attention to His laws. They are not abiding in Christ's commandments; they are living without laws--lawless.
Jesus is saying, further, that He doesn’t want concerned believers to spend all of our time examining other church member’s lives to see if we think they’re still saved, and then tossing out of church those who don’t meet our qualifications. Things like Spanish Inquisitions or Salem witch trials usually come of that. In other Scriptures, Jesus counsels against judging others. The word is: Let Him decide in the last days. Let’s love the foot-draggers among us and encourage them to do better; and let us build His church missions accordingly. It may go slower, but it’s a good test of love. I’m not saying, forget church discipline. There are many good Scriptures on that score. But, what if the church discipline goes awry? If things get like the late Middle Ages, with the church married to the State, with wicked people running the show, with adulterous kings and bishops, and the wrong people getting disciplined, that might be a time to break away from that denomination completely.
Well, think awhile on these important parables. Don’t twist them to meet your previous theology. Don’t ignore them, thinking them too hard to understand with their couched language. As you can see above, Jesus’ language is really quite clear. We often just don’t like what He’s saying.
Acknowledgement: David Bercot CD, “Kingdom Parables,” Scroll Publishing
Thursday, August 3, 2017
The Antichrist is Islamic
This blog is for all you eschatology, or future event, thinkers out there. I have an important announcement: You may think seriously about adjusting your “charts,” particularly if you are a follower of Lindsey, LaHaye, or Hagee, because this study considers why the Antichrist is a Muslim, a conclusion from the book The Islamic Antichrist by Joel Richardson. His best proof for that claim is by proving that the same man is in the Bible and in the Quran. The irony is, this man is the Antichrist in the Bible, but the Savior in the Quran! This one chapter in the book that I will summarize might convince you too.
Now, first, keep in mind that there is more than one sacred text to their Scripture: In addition to the foundational Quran (Mohammed’s writings of God's actual words through the angel), you have the Sunna (presumably Mohammed’s life and thoughts) and the hadiths (presumably Muhammed’s sayings); these are sacred as well. A true Muslim believer will follow any of these to the death, if need be.
Why is this study worthwhile? The Quran records five things that a Muslim must believe in to be a true Muslim; these five areas are fixed and non-negotiable. As it says in sura 2:177: “righteous is he who believeth in (1) Allah and (2) the Last Day and (3) the angels and (4) the Scripture and (5) the prophets.” Note the importance of the Last Day to them. Eschatology (study of future events) may be optional for study to us Christians, but their scary Last Days may lead to some irrational and murderous action—on us. We need to know their predictions of their future, in thinking about a defensive strategy against the determined Muslim who wants to help bring about their version of the Last Day. There is no doubt in their minds how those days will go if they act, and their scenario does not look good for us.
Of their many key figures in the Last Days, the man above all men was al-Mahdi, which means “the Guided One.” Other names given to him by Shia Muslims are Sahib Al-Zaman and Al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar. These names mean “the Lord of the Age” and “the Awaited Savior.” Let me quote hadiths, for much of the details Muslims have in their theology about him. Then we’ll compare to what the Scripture says about the same man.
From the hadiths: The Mahdi will be a world ruler through revolution
To quote Al-Sadr and Mutahhari, “He will reappear on the appointed day, and lead a world revolution, and set up a new world order… " Quoting Izzat and ‘Arif again, this will bring ”victory of the Truth and the fall of all tyrants.” According to Islamic tradition, the Mahdi is said to preside over the entire earth as the final caliph of Islam.
Now the Bible truth about the Antichrist: The Antichrist will be a world ruler through military power (Daniel 7:23)
‘The fourth beast shall be A fourth kingdom on earth, Which shall be different from all other kingdoms, And shall devour the whole earth, Trample it and break it in pieces
The first three kingdoms (“beast” or “beasts” can mean kingdoms or people). were Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece, most experts agree. Each of those dominated the known world. Based on Daniel 7:24-25, a revived fourth kingdom will be worldwide, but is yet future. Some say the fourth kingdom was the Roman empire in two parts. Part 1 has already occurred. Part II is future, they say. We’re suggesting that this latter kingdom is Islamic.
Revelation 13:7:…authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.
Hadiths say: The Mahdi will be worshiped, a popular political genius
“Allah will sow love of him in the hearts of all people…everyone only talks about Him.” He will have control over the wind and the rain and the crops; the world will live in prosperity, says Sahih Hakim Mustadrak.
Bible: The Antichrist will be worshiped, a popular political genius (Revelation 13:3,4,8):
3And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.…they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”… 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Hadiths: The Mahdi will be spiritually good and a Messiah;
Sahih Hakim Mustadrak claims: “He will give away wealth profusely, flocks will be in abundance.” He will be perceived to be a miraculous archaeologist, uncovering Jewish and Christian sacred treasures, perhaps to convert them to Islam at the beginning: he finds the Torah (first five books of the Old Testament) from a mountain in Syria, and the Gospel from a town called Antioch (a major town in south-central Turkey). And if that weren’t enough, the Ark of the Covenant (a wooden chest clad with gold, containing the Ten Commandments) will be brought forth from the Lake of Tiberias and will be placed in Jerusalem. As quoted by Ayatullah Baqir al-Sadr: “For the ultimate salvation of mankind he is the Pole Star of hope on which the gaze of humanity is fixed…He stands high above the narrow walls in which humanity is cut up and divided.” To quote Al-Sadr and Mutahhari, “He will…set up a new world order based on justice, righteousness, and virtue.” From Sachedina again: “He will create a just social order and a world free from oppression.”
The Bible has a different view: The Antichrist will be spiritually the embodiment of evil, with hate and murder at his core beliefs:
II Thessalonians 2:4 shows his hunger to be worshiped, his blasphemy:
…who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God
Revelation 13:4a shows the Antichrist (the beast) gets his authority from Satan (the dragon):
So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast
In further proof of his Antichrist nature, let’s quote Muslim sacred texts which indicate his hatred and murderous spirit. As Sunan Abu Dawud says, “Every believer will be obligated to support him.” As Ibn Maja says, “Give him your allegiance, even if you have to crawl over ice.” The Mahdi’s means of accomplishing world revolution will include multiple military jihads (holy wars), as Abdullrahman Kelani says. Even Harun Yahya, supposedly a moderate, says, “the Mahdi will invade all the places between East and West.” Sheikh Kabbani says, “black flags coming from the area of Khorasan (in Iran) will signify the appearance of the Mahdi is nigh.” The black flag is the flag of jihad. On the flag is one word written in Arabic: punishment. Here are some really ugly quotes showing their anti-Semitism: Egyptian authors Muhammad ibn Izzat and ‘Arif: “The Mahdi will be victorious and eradicate those pigs and dogs and idols of this time…will abolish the leadership of the Jews…and put an end to the domination of the Satans who spit evil into people and cause corruption in the earth, making them slaves of false idols and ruling the world by laws other than the Sharia of the Lord of the worlds.”
To quote a famous Islamic tradition: “the last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews, and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide behind a stone or a tree and a stone or tree would say: “Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him.”
Hadiths: The Mahdi will have his seat of authority in Jerusalem
As Tirmidhi says, “No power will be able to stop them and they will finally reach Eela Baitul Maqdas, where they will erect their flags (i.e., the jihad black flags).” This place is the Jewish Temple Mount, in Jerusalem, which no longer exists—but will then.
To quote Izzat and ‘Arif again: Jerusalem will be the location of the rightly guided caliphate and the center of Islamic rule, which will be headed by Imam al-Mahdi.
Bible: The Antichrist will set his throne in God’s Temple (Jerusalem) and desecrate it
Zechariah 14:2: For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
Matthew 24:15, 21: “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (i.e., in Jerusalem)…21 For then there will be great tribulation...
Hadiths: The Mahdi will present Jews and Christians with a “Hobson’s Choice”
To quote the Ayatollah Ibrahim Amini: The Mahdi will offer the religion of Islam to the Jews and Christians; if they accept it, they will be spared, otherwise they will be killed.
Bible: The Antichrist will present Jews and Christians with a “Hobson’s Choice”
This is in Rev. 12:17, keeping in mind that the Antichrist is the embodiment of Satan (the dragon). Note the reference to “her offspring, who….keep the..testimony of Jesus Christ.” This refers to Christians. Thus, we Christians will not escape the Antichrist’s intense persecution:
And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ
Hadiths: The Mahdi will ride a white horse
The Muslims’ authority for that is the Bible, of all things (which they consider it a source, but “less than sacred” book). They quote Revelation 6:1-2:
Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
Obviously, the Bible agrees: The Antichrist will ride a white horse
The same Bible verse is used. But it actually proves that this is not a messiah, but a deceiver. For proof, first, we look at the word “crown” in Rev. 6:2. The Greek word is “stephanos,” used for the winner of war games. Jesus’ crown is a “diadem,” a kingly crown. Plus, note the events of subsequent seals in Revelation 6:3-17: war, famines, death and Hades, martyrdom, and cosmic disturbances. There is no way this follows a triumphal entry of a Messiah. No, it follows a deceiver, one who pretends to be a Messiah. And the world then chaotically reels under his hatred and destruction.
The best one of all: From the hadiths: The Mahdi will make a Seven year treaty with Jews
This is the most shocking and convincing testimony that the Antichrist and the Mahdi are the same. Note the hadith first: this is called the “fourth treaty,” to be made with a descendant of Moses’ brother Aaron the priest. Now to quote Muhammad Ali Ibn Zubair: There will be four peace agreements between you and the Romans (i.e., Christians, Westerners). The fourth will be mediated through a person who will be from the progeny of Hadrat Aaron and will be upheld for seven years. The people asked, “Who will be the leader of the people at that time?” The prophet said: He will be from my progeny and will be exactly 40 years of age.
Bible: The Antichrist will make a seven year treaty with Jews
This is from Daniel 9:27. Note the use of “abominations” and “desolate,” which we tie in to Jesus’ reference to the Antichrist (from Matthew 24, above). Using “seven” to mean “seven years” works best. Few negotiated treaties of importance are only for seven weeks, or months.
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one seven; But in the middle of the seven he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate.
Thus, in these seven important areas, what happens when the Antichrist comes to power will mean the Muslims who read their sacred texts will be completely deceived into thinking this horrible man, this embodiment of Satan, is Their Messiah! This will bring about, I believe, an intensity to follow their sacred texts—which are texts of murder and hatred. (I have a blog on their version of Allah vs. our Biblical God). And with over a billion Muslims in the world, they would rise up in religious fervor and perform whatever their sacred texts tell them to. This would lead to unbelievable deaths and chaos.
Christians, think nothing of your bodies, which are temporary abodes. If all this happens in this age, be ready to be a martyr if given the choice of Jesus or al-Mahdi. Your reward will be a place in heaven for eternity.
Acknowledgement: The Islamic Antichrist, Joel Richardson
Acknowledgement: The Islamic Antichrist, Joel Richardson
Thursday, July 20, 2017
Fire and Brimstone Preaching: Good Idea or Bad Idea?
We’re defining “fire and brimstone” as, preaching against a sin, or a burden of sins, or reminding people of Satan or hell. Let’s look at Peter. In his very first sermon, in Acts 2:19-21, he began with a quote from Joel2:
I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. 21 And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.’
So he begins his preaching by giving graphic images of the devastation of the Day of the Lord. Such a negative start.This was book-ended with hopeful statements, too; that God would give prophecies, dreams, and images; and He would respond if they call on His name. Then Peter wasted no time in reproaching everyone (Acts 2:22-24a) for a recent incident that was still raw on their nerves—he accused them (not Pilate) of crucifying their Messiah. He didn’t shy away from blunt language:
Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles… 23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;24 whom God raised up…
Note how confrontational Peter is, YOU have crucified, you have put Him to death. Note particularly his calling them “lawless.” The Jews thought they knew the law, and had abundant scribes and lawyers to tell them exactly how to be lawful to the finest degree possible; so being accused of lawlessness was a gigantic slap in the face, was it not?
He points more emphatically at their mistake in verse 36:
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
This directness about their sin makes this “fire and brimstone” preaching. What was the reaction? A good one, from Acts 2:37-41:
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized…" and, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
Three thousand people saved! An astonishing result from one “fire and brimstone” sermon. These people turned completely around; as later verses show, they were on fire for Christ.
If something works, you do it again, right? Peter, after healing a lame man, is equally forceful in his reproach of the Jews, in Acts 3:13-15:
…God…glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses
Peter won’t let them escape blame by saying “Pilate did it.” They knew the truth; Pilate was very willing to opt out of crucifixion, but the Jews wouldn’t let him. He is again forceful with his language; “you killed the Prince of life,” you delivered Him up, you traded Him for a murderer. He also accused them of denying Christ. To do that was a serious charge; if unrepentant, it is a ticket to hell, as Jesus points out in Matthew 10:33:
But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven
Then Peter seems to open the door for them to escape blame, in verse 17:
“Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers.
But how acceptable is it, to say, “Yes, we killed Him, but we did it out of ignorance.” But that was only a temporary respite, as his censorious language reaches its peak in verse 23:
And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet (Jesus) shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.
You just never hear this confrontational preaching anymore, do you? In any event, except for the priests, the response was amazing, as Acts 4:4 says:
However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
Considering that households generally took on a faith together, this suggests at least 10,000 people, including wives and older children, either were saved in this sermon, or have been saved altogether. When compared to 3000 souls added in his previous sermon, shortly before, this sermon, definitely classed as fire and brimstone, might’ve saved 7000-10,000 people! This is shocking, is it not? Because of fire and brimstone preaching in two sermons, their saved souls had grown from 120 to at least 10,000.
Now of course, you might beg off from the obvious conclusion, saying that the Holy Spirit did something special here just to “kick off” Christianity’s start. Well, “doing something special” is my point. Preachers need to understand that the results are not theirs—the results belong to God. The Holy Spirit can knock a person down with conviction far better than the preacher can. Suppose that a pastor is never blunt about sin, and fears a negative response to such preaching so much that he never delivers a fire and brimstone message. Given favorable results that we've seen, and if he wants to save souls more than worry about how some of the people feel about him, he should be willing to give it a try, right? So if he rejects it instead: that fear is of the world, is it not? Is he assuming that the negative style doesn’t get results? We are proving the opposite. Considering his "rational" expectation (preaching negatively now and then is a bad idea) means perhaps the Holy Spirit will not bless his messages, because of “fear of man,” and few people are genuinely saved in that church as a result? It could even be that with bland preaching, he attracts more “worldly Christians” to his membership (that’s an oxymoron—being worldly and a Christian shouldn’t exist). These lukewarm people are often trouble. They actually get angry and fearful if the Holy Spirit gets some people emotionally saved and starts to shake up the place. If pastors then listen to their complaints, and gets worried himself, he might suppress anything considered "radical" today--and kill a revival.
My conclusion is, the Holy Spirit liked Peter’s sermons, and blessed them by convicting people and bringing more souls to heaven. May God be praised. When you see these results, why not copy it, pastors? Are you bold enough?
Peter preaches like that again, this time before the religious rulers, after a miraculous healing. If Peter had used worldly logic, it would suggest that he “back off” from a fire and brimstone style with them, knowing that they had the power to imprison him, and then no one would hear the gospel from him again. Better to "go softer" than to be forced to go silent, right? But the Holy Spirit gave him the fire and brimstone words, as we’re told in Acts 4:8, and you can see his forthrightness in the sermon in verses 10-12:
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel… 10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead… 11 This is the
‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’
12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
I would just like to note, for present day readers, the “bigoted intolerance” of Peter’s—or really God’s —statement in verse 12—there is no salvation in any other faith, including the Jews trying to obey the law.
Now you may argue that, yeah, when accompanied by miraculous healings, as he had, you’ll get more people saved. My answer is twofold: First, the Jewish rulers cared less about the recent miracle; their concern was that Peter was preaching that Jesus was raised from the dead. We all know that miracles can be conjured up in fakery; but it’s hard to fake someone rising from the dead, as Jesus had. Acts 4:1-2:
…the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
Secondly, Jesus knew that salvation by miracles was temporary; that was mostly to pull more people around to hear His great words. The words were the key; they were calculated to convict of sin, which is essential in being saved. As you can see in John 2:23-25:
Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.24 But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men,25 and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man
Let’s turn to the deacon, Stephen, a fire and brimstone preacher in the “worst” way. Now it’s true that when Stephen used that style on the religious rulers, the results were what you might expect--disastrous. He was stoned to death. But God wanted them to hear just those words, as Acts 6:15 will clearly imply:
And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.
And his sermon, in chapter 7? As we said: fire and brimstone. He tells them that they were God’s chosen people, and God blessed their ancestors abundantly. But they rejected God, and God’s prophets, at every turn; they would rather have idols than God. In their wilderness wandering, they would rather go back to Egypt than have faith in God. As Acts 7:35, 39, and 42 point out:
“This Moses whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush….39 whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt… 42 Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the Prophets
As the next several verses point out, they would rather worship Moloch, the stars, images, things of Babylon…but not the God Who loved them.
Now Stephen uses language guaranteed to touch their “hot buttons” more than Peter, in Acts 7:51 and 52:
“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers
Stiff-necked! Uncircumcised! (That must’ve hurt—circumcision was a badge of honor to them). You always resist the Holy Spirit. He told them that they were persecutors, betrayers, and murderers. This kind of language, calling people names, is guaranteed NOT to save anyone, except a masochist. So why did God want him to do it? Well, consider the audience: the religious leaders, who had a long history of rejecting prophets and Jesus before, and rejecting the disciples now. So they get the harshest language. No longer just facts, like Peter did with the Jewish public: You killed the Son of God. Now, with the leaders, it’s: You’re stiff-necked! And so on. What do we learn from this? God might ask us to preach in a style that will get us killed, or hated. But you do it, you use your forthright and blunt language. So, if we want to go to the mouth of the beast, as it were, like attending their “Reason Rally,” or an Atheist rally, you might need to get prayed up and get stark about their future destination in hell--if that’s what the Lord gives you. It’s what He wants, whether it seems to make sense or not. Maybe you won’t see anyone saved. It didn’t happen to Stephen here, and it didn’t happen to Noah for many years. Well, you say, why even do it? Because when they stand in judgment, God will remind them of the words you said to help convict them. And because we all should be “watchmen.” Ezekiel 33:2-6 explains the idea:
…let the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, 3 when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4 then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’
The definition of “warn” is to “inform someone of an impending danger…give someone forceful advice about their actions.” If you are the watchman, it is your obligation to use forceful (i.e, fire and brimstone) language to steer them clear of danger. If you don’t, judgment is on you.
Now, you pastors and others, may argue that you are not appointed to be a watchman, so you have no responsibility for warning, nor punishment if you don’t. But to feel that way suggests that you don’t want to warn him of danger coming his way (hell)--so you don't really love the brethren. But that’s a dangerously complacent path, as I John 4:7-8 points out:
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
To use a blunt example: Say, someone is walking unknowingly toward a fire. You will run up and warn them, forcefully if necessary. If they aren’t changing course, and they are your friend or your brother, you will even attack them, as a final measure to keep them from walking into it. You’re not going to stand back and say, “Not my responsibility.” God, the real writer of Acts, sets in Paul a noble example for all of us to follow. Watch and warn people, he’s saying, is a responsibility for all of us. Acts 20:30-31:
Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. 31 Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.
Yes, we do have a responsibility to preach fire and brimstone on occasion.
When Peter preached to Gentiles, beginning with Cornelius in Acts 10, his approach was completely different. No more fire and brimstone. Why? Well, he saw the Gentiles as a foreign mission. Jews had minimal relations with Gentiles, particularly about religion. The Gentiles knew little about this Jesus of Nazareth. The Jews had the Old Testament Scriptures, with prophecies, so they should have worshipped Jesus. But they crucified Him. So the word for them was a word of reprimand. But the words to the Gentiles were those of instruction and education about Jesus.
So, we see that fire and brimstone preaching was highly successful with the Jews, who needed to be aware of their sin, and who had Scripture that they allegedly knew and believed in. Well, the same is true of the U.S. today. (Though less than in the past.) We have lots of Bibles, lots of Christian tradition. But, you say, we have no great sins among churchgoers. Are you sure of that? Could it be that it’s easily hidden these days? Let’s not kid ourselves. We have sin among churchgoers. We definitely need fire and brimstone to wake us up—we could lose the salvation we think we have.
But…most pastors don’t use fire and brimstone methods anymore, which we’ve seen are successful…why?
Is it because pastors love to assume that everyone in their church is saved, and not “walking toward a fire,” so aggressively warning them is not necessary? There might be a few problem areas, pastor would say, or problems caused by only a few people, but “they would straighten out if we just warn them in a kind way, if possible.” Pastors are diplomats. They tend to suppress prophetic voices among their leaders that seem to them negative, full of admonishment. Pastors consider the prophets, the sources for those utterances, speculative, emotionally driven, only believed with a large grain of salt, and pastors don’t like to deal with problems that seem to always result when someone gets their feelings hurt when these guys talk. And that's among churches that believe all the gifts are for today. If they don't believe that, they'll shut down the naysayers even quicker.
Also, church discipline, commanded in Scripture, is effectively ignored (I have a blog on that subject). But take a look at Paul’s statement in I Corinthians 10:11-12. This was after his listing past sins of lusting after evil things, sexual immorality, etc, all of which are pointed out explicitly in Scripture. Gee, you might ask, do you really want to mention these terrible things that people are capable of doing? Here is his answer:
Also, church discipline, commanded in Scripture, is effectively ignored (I have a blog on that subject). But take a look at Paul’s statement in I Corinthians 10:11-12. This was after his listing past sins of lusting after evil things, sexual immorality, etc, all of which are pointed out explicitly in Scripture. Gee, you might ask, do you really want to mention these terrible things that people are capable of doing? Here is his answer:
Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.:
Some Scriptures are for our admonition, to shake a finger at us, to warn us, “lest (we) fall.” Fall might mean going to hell, or taking steps in that direction (a good verse for those who mistakenly believe "once saved, always saved.") Such admonishment is needed to remind ourselves that we are sinful people and need God every day. So when was the last time you heard a pastor preach on one of the fallen people in Scriptures, preaching deeply about the sin, and concluding the sermon with “so as far as we know, he is in hell even today. We could go there ourselves, taking the path he took.” Not going to happen, right? Pastors are trained in seminary to begin a sermon lighthearted, and end on a positive note, to send everyone home happy. Keeps everyone coming back, tithing, paying the bills. But God’s goal is sometimes not to make us happy—but to call us up short, to make us sober and vigilant, sometimes to make us introspective. To make us take a good hard look at ourselves, trying to strip away the self-deception that we fall prey to if we are not bathed in Scripture, which gives us a realistic look at ourselves.
Since pastors are not encouraging us, may we desire to be closer to God, and warn ourselves to put an end to our own sins and self-deception. And pray for pastors to become leaders, with more spine. Willing to warn us away from falling.
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