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THE “PENTECOSTAL” EXPERIENCE CONTINUES

Published May 29, 2012 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: Pentecostal experience, spiritual gifts, tongues of fire

On the great Day of Pentecost, God chose 120 men and women to fill with the Holy Spirit and then He scattered them all over the known world. The Spirit fell on that group of believers just as Jesus, and even the prophets, had said He would. In a master stroke of irony, the Spirit fell in the very city that rejected Jesus! Thanks to the indwelling of the Spirit, the church grew in leaps and bounds in those early days, often with thousands of converts joining after hearing a single sermon. It was the Holy Spirit that emboldened and empowered those early Christians and the result was nothing less than extraordinary.

The modern church faces a tremendous challenge and opportunity. All Christian denominations pay lip service to the Holy Spirit, and a lot of them don’t recognize what He can do for them beyond conviction of sin. The Holy Spirit is just as real today as He was back in New Testament days. There may have been only one “Day of Pentecost,” where He fell in such a dramatic way, but God still wants His people to have there own “pentecostal” experience with His Spirit. Certainly every single believer is filled with the Holy Spirit. But there is a further experience some believers never get to. This experience, which some call “the baptism in/of the Holy Spirit,” comes to those who seek a deeper walk and relationship with God. Just as those 120 were seeking God and praying in that Upper Room, so we, too, must seek God with purpose and determination. When we do that, God will meet us and we will experience His presence and power in our lives like never before.

1. New converts receive the Spirit, Acts 8:5—17

The Samaritan Crusade, verses 5—8

Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. (vs. 5)

Here is the second deacon used by God in a wonderful way, and we see the Church growing exactly as Jesus had said it would: beginning in Jerusalem, then reaching Samaria. What drove Philip to a city in Samaria was persecution back in Jerusalem. Had those believers in Jerusalem not faced certain doom, some scholars think they would have never left. God took a bad thing—persecution—and used it for something very good: to spread the Gospel. These lay preachers that left Jerusalem took the Word of God everywhere they went:

Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. (vs. 4)

The word translated “preached” is euangelizo, one of Luke’s favorite words. It means “to announce good news,” and surely the Gospel is the best of all news. These first century missionaries didn’t walk around worrying about the persecution back home, they talked about the risen the Christ to anybody who would listen to them!

Samaria was the name of the capital city of the old Northern Kingdom of Israel, and Samaira proper was rebuilt by Herod the Great and renamed “Augustus,” although according to Josephus this city was often referred to as “Samaria” by the Jews. To these Samaritans, Philip “proclaimed” Christ. The verb is in the imperfect, meaning preaching Christ was all Philip did; he did nothing else while he was there. Like the Jews, the Samaritans were looking for “the Christ” to come.

Philip’s preaching was accompanied by great manifestations of the supernatural. These miraculous signs seemed to be quite common during the early days of the Church’s expansion. Why was this so? The Gospel was first preached among the Jews, and their distant relatives, the Samaritans, but later on the Gospel broke out of the Jewish world to penetrate the Greek world. Of these two cultures, Paul made this observation:

Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom… (1 Corinthians 1:22)

The Jews (and Samaritans) needed those “signs and wonders,” and God met their need. But the Greeks weren’t looking for the miraculous; they were the philosophers and the educated, and what they needed was good teaching. God met their need through the apostle Paul’s towering intellect.

The Sorcerer’s Encounter, verses 9—13

Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great… (vs. 9)

Simon the sorcerer was also known as “Simon Magus.” Justin Martyr, also a Samaritan, wrote that Simon Magus was famous among the Samaritans of his day and greatly respected and revered. In fact, some Samaritans regarded Simon as a “god!” As the Gospel advanced in Samaritan, Simon Magus believed and was baptized.

Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw. (vs. 13)

In light of verses 18 and 19, a great many Bible scholars conclude that Simon was more impressed with the man Philip and his apparent power than with God. Simon was the very first “religious racketeer”; a man who thought he could make a buck peddling miracles. It seems that Simon already had some kind “power” which caused people to follow him. This brings us to an interesting point: can unbelievers work “signs and wonders?” The answer must be “yes.” Consider these verses:

For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. (Matthew 24:24)

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. (2 Corinthians 11:13—15)

The Spirit Received, verses 14—17

Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. (vs. 17)

When the apostles who stayed in Jerusalem heard about this Samaritan revival, they had to go and check it out. What they found there were many genuine believers—true converts to Christ—who had been baptized but not filled with the Holy Spirit. These new Christians had not yet had their own “personal pentecost.” Clearly, as far as the apostles were concerned, all Christians needed to have an experience with God the Holy Spirit subsequent to conversion.

Verse 17 declares that when Peter and John laid hands on them and prayed, these new Christians were filled with the Holy Spirit. While some scholars teach that they received certain gifts of the Spirit, this is not what the text says. The Samaritans were filled with the Holy Spirit after their conversion. This incident in Samaritan is very significant because it shows us that at some point after conversion, a Christian may receive another experience: the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

2. Gentiles receive the Holy Spirit, Acts 10:44—48; 11:15—18

A new chapter, 10:44—48

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. (vs. 44)

As chapter 10 begins, we meet a man named Cornelius, a Gentile who believed in God and had heard about Jesus Christ. He was not a Christian yet, but well on his way. God, working as only He can, was busy: God told Cornelius to send for Peter and God told Peter to go and see Cornelius.

When Peter began preaching at Cornelius’ house, the Gentiles started believing then the Holy Spirit fell on all where were listening to the sermon. The Greek suggests that the Spirit came upon the people when Peter said this:

...everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. (vs. 43)

At that moment, when the people heard the essence of what salvation involves, it was as though the water broke through the dam, flooding the valley! This outburst of the Spirit’s power filled the people—they manifested one of the gifts, tongues—and this astonished Peter and the six Jewish Jewish believers gathered there.

Later on, at the Jerusalem Council, Peter compared what happened to Cornelius and those in his house—a “Gentile Pentecost”—to the first Pentecost:

God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. (Acts 15:8—9)

Notice that they received the Holy Spirit and God “purified their hearts by faith.” Not only do we see another pentecostal experience, but we also have a good example of what is known as “entire sanctification.” These folks found Jesus as their Lord and Savior, He cleansed their hearts, and Holy Spirit came in like a flood.

Another problem, Acts 11:15—18

This was new. Things were getting out of control. The “mother church” back in Jerusalem had been hearing all about these moves of God among the Gentiles. To these Jewish-Christians, God was doing a new thing. A church-wide meeting was called to discuss what God was doing. Peter, defending what God was doing in the Gentile world, concluded his dissertation:

So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God? (vs. 17)

Indeed, there is no good answer to that question. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is difficult to explain and understand, but that doesn’t make it any less real than other things God is doing. We accept all of God’s gifts by faith, not always fully comprehending them.

3. Disciples receive the Spirit, Acts 19:1—7

This incident opens Paul’s third missionary journey, and it’s such a curious incident that we wish Luke had supplied more details. In his Gospel, Luke tells us that John the Baptist began his ministry in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar (Luke 3), and within a short period of time he was arrested and eventually beheaded (Matthew 14). With the rise of the ministry of Jesus, John the Baptist’s ended. And yet, here in Acts 19, some three decades after the Baptist’s death, we find a group of people baptized with John’s baptism, whom Luke refers to as “disciples.”

A new doctrine, vs. 1—4

“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” (vs. 2)

It’s impossible to know exactly who these disciples were or where they came from, but one thing is certain: they were genuine Christians; they were born again.

The whole passage indicates that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a “second work of grace.”

When asked about the Holy Spirit, these believers indicated that they had never heard about a Holy Spirit. Now, they probably did know about a “Holy Spirit,” especially since John the Baptist talked about the Holy Spirit, and they were his disciples. Apparently they had heard about the Messiah and accepted Him, but they had not heard about what happened in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. They must have been a small, isolated group of Christians.

So this doctrine of the Holy Spirit living in Christians after their salvation was a new doctrine to this group of Christians, and it was up to Paul to explain it to them.

A new baptism, vs. 5—7

Here is unquestionable proof that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is most definitely a second work of grace.

On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. (vs. 5, 6)

There two distinct movements here: they were (1) baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus; (2) they were filled with the Holy Spirit. As an evidence of their receiving the baptism of the Spirit, this group of Christians, like others before them, manifested some gifts: tongues and prophecy.

The power of the “pentecostal experience” was not confined to what happened to the 120 on the Day of Pentecost. As we read through the book of Acts, we see an undeniable pattern: one believes in Jesus Christ and Lord and Savior, then one receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Until that second work of grace happens, a believer does not function in the fullness of the gifts. When the Spirit is received in His entirety, the Christian will undoubtedly manifest some gift or gifts of the Spirit.

THE CROSS OF CHRIST, PART 2

Published May 25, 2012 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: cross of christ

THE DEATH OF THE CROSS

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:8

The death of Christ is the overriding theme of the New Testament, so much so that it is directly mentioned 175 times. But even more significant is the fact that without exception every single doctrine of the Bible, every bit of theology from Genesis to Revelation, somehow comes back to the reality of the Cross of Christ. The truth is, the Cross and the Christ are One; they cannot be separated for they are quite literally nailed together. You can’t about Jesus without eventually getting around to His Cross, and you can’t talk about the Cross without talking about the Man hanging on it. And this is the way it should be! We ought to not only appreciate the Cross of Christ, but we ought to glory in it, for the grace that was poured out on sinful man by way of the Cross has put away sin once and for all and eliminated the enmity of the human heart. It might be more proper to say that the death of the Cross wasn’t the death of the Messiah, for He did rise again. The death of the Cross was the utter annihilation of sin as the barrier between God and man, and the death of death as the wages of sin. The death of the Cross involves four points:

1. It was a shameful death

Crucifixion was the worst death possible; a death reserved for the lowest of the low. Whether it was for murder or robbery, the one condemned to this awful death was made a spectacle; stripped naked in front of everybody, nailed to a rough-hewn cross and hoisted up, where he hung for hours and sometimes days, waiting to die a very public, humiliating death. Jesus Christ, the One who never sinned, was “numbered with the transgressors,” and treated as bad or worse than the worst kind of criminal.

When they crucified him, the Roman soldiers took his clothes and divided them up four ways, to each soldier a fourth. But his robe was seamless, a single piece of weaving, so they said to each other, “Let’s not tear it up. Let’s throw dice to see who gets it.” This confirmed the Scripture that said, “They divided up my clothes among them and threw dice for my coat.” (The soldiers validated the Scriptures!) (John 19:23-24, MSG)

It’s hard to imagine an innocent human being subjected to such inhuman humiliation, and yet Jesus was, and He took it!

For he himself endured a cross and thought nothing of its shame because of the joy he knew would follow his suffering; and he is now seated at the right hand of God’s throne. (Hebrews 12:2)

To be crucified – to be strung up on a tree as Jesus was – was to be considered cursed by both Heaven and Earth. Jesus Christ bore the sin and suffered the shame; the two cannot be separated. The question we must all ask ourselves is a simple, but hard one: Are we so ashamed of our sins that we have stopped putting our Lord to shame?

…if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. (Hebrews 6:6)

Christians do it all the time, though we seldom admit it. We sin and we embarrass our Lord because we forget that we are His ambassadors; what we do reflects on His character. Or we live like we are ashamed of Him! That might be deepest cut of all: being ashamed of the One who suffered the painful and shameful death on the Cross for us so that we might be spared the guilt of sin and the agony of eternal shame. How, in good conscience, can we ever be ashamed of Someone who would do that for us? Yet, many of us do it routinely, without even giving it a second thought.

2. It was a voluntary death

What Jesus did He did because He chose to do so; He knew His Father’s will because it was written in His heart. We sometimes forget this, but Jesus was not murdered by the Romans or the Jews or anybody else. Of course, that’s what it looked like, even the apostles acknowledged this. But we must always remember that at the Cross, Jesus was never the victim; He was always in complete charge of what was going on.

The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life —only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” (John 10:17, 18)

Jesus Christ was no martyr, in the traditional sense. Certainly many people have given their lives for the cause of Christ, but nobody ever took back their lives! He was the only One! He was the One who was able to say with complete confidence:

“Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” (John 2:19)

This was not the statement of a prophet or a good man who was willing to suffer and die for the cause. The very fact that Jesus Christ was able to take back His life gave infinite value to His death. That’s why He was no martyr. His resurrection is what gave weight and meaning to His death. Good men die all the time for good causes, but only One man came back, just as He promised He would. Everything Jesus did, from His life to His death to His Resurrection was done because He alone chose to. Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of a free man. And yet His freedom was grounded in His obedience to His Father’s will; we must never lose sight of this. In complete freedom, Jesus did what He did for you:

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

3. It was the predicted death

The death of Christ was THE predicted death. The death of the Son of God was not a contingency plan in God’s mind because Adam and Eve sinned. It was not some plan cobbled together at the last minute. 1 Peter 1:20 says in no uncertain terms that Jesus “was chosen before the creation of the world.” At the very foundation of the universe, the Son of God knew what His fate would be. His death was the very purpose of the Incarnation. Throughout the Old Testament, we read the things that Moses, David, and the prophets wrote, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, concerning the coming of Christ and of His fate. The death of Jesus was THE predicted death; it was no secret; it was obvious for those who had ears to hear. When Peter was defending himself before the religious leaders, men who knew what their own prophets had written, he made this clear:

But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer. (Acts 3:18)

This predicted death, which culminated in the resurrection and eventual glorification of Christ, was the singular event around which the world revolves. It is such a significant, never-to-be-repeated event, it’s strange that so many Christians take it for granted. What’s worse is that we don’t appreciate the wonderful intricacies of God’s great plan of redemption. We may excuse the young, immature believer because he’s ignorant, but surely the mature, Biblically literate believer should praise the Lord for God’s perfect plan. But even folks in Jesus’ day were taken by surprise:

He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” (Luke 24:25-26)

Let’s never grow so comfortable and used to our faith that we forget to be eternally grateful for the wonder of John 3:16!

4. It was a substitutionary death

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

Jesus Christ gave His life in place of ours, thus setting us free from sin, the guilt of sin, and its ensuing punishment.

…who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. (Titus 2:14)

There are dozens of verses that teach us about Christ’s substitutionary death, but none so graphically as a handful of verses in Isaiah:

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering… (Isaiah 53:4-10, verse 10a cited)

The death of the Son of God in place of the sinner is God’s absolute, only, final, and irrevocable plan for dealing with man’s sin problem. The Old Testament sacrificial system couldn’t accomplish this. No amount of good intentions, good deeds, and positive thinking can accomplish this. The sacrifice of Christ on the Cross is the last image God sees of your sins. Jeremiah 31:34:

“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Your sin – your life of sin – is something so awful to behold, God cannot and will not look at you until you have dealt with that sin problem. Your conundrum is this: there is nothing you can do about it on your own! The fact is God cannot and He will not accept any other solution to your sin problem besides than His. His is the perfect solution. Only His Son, Jesus Christ, is capable of lifting your sins off of you and flinging them into an eternal pit, never to be seen again. This is the offer every man gets from God: Let me help you! The price of your soul is covered by His.

The Lord makes his life a guilt offering. (Isaiah 53:10)

THE EARLY CHURCH AND THEIR PRAYERS

Published May 21, 2012 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: Church, power of the holy spirit

THE CHURCH AND PRAYER

God has always been speaking to His people; He has never been silent. Even during the so-called “400 silent years” between the Old and New Testaments, God was still speaking to His people even though we have no record of any sermons, prophecies, or other divine revelations. After Malachi there is not a single recorded message from God. But that’s not to say God was silent. He never is.

When the New Testament opens, the climate is completely different. God is again speaking to His people through a prophet: John the Baptist. After 400 years of prophetic silence, when Matthew opens up, so do the floodgates of the prophetic voice!

Not only does God once again speak through John the Baptist (and other New Testament prophets), God began to speak through His Son, the Messiah. But it doesn’t stop there! God established a new group of people called “His people.” This time, though, He didn’t establish a nation, He founded a body of believers called “the Church.” Today’s Christian has no idea what a revolutionary concept “the Church” was in Biblical days. There was no “Church” in the Old Testament, and “the Church” would become God’s primary venue to speak to His creation.

So, a lot of things changed between Malachi and Matthew. Prayer is also different in the New Testament.

1. Prayer in the Upper Room

In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. (John 16:23—24)

Here is the fundamental change in prayer from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Now, believers are to pray TO God the Father IN the name of Jesus BY the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is our great Intercessor, and that’s why we are to pray in His Name.

Preaching, teaching, and evangelistic endeavors are all vitally important tasks the Church is involved in, but nothing is more central to the success of the Church’s mission on earth than prayer. The truth is, the Church was born in prayer!

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. (Acts 2:1)

This is a significant verse. All these believers were gathered together in the upper room, in obedience to the wishes of Jesus. They were praying—it was a big prayer meeting—and the NIV says they were “all together.” The KJV’s “with one accord” is a more telling translation. All these people were praying together in unity. They were obeying the Lord together and they were praying and waiting in anticipation for the coming of the Holy Spirit together, in unity.

Probably not since the days of the New Testament has the Church experienced that kind of unity! When we look at how effective the prayers were in that early church, we wonder what happened between then and now. Back then, when the church prayed, things happened—walls shook and prison doors flung open! Those prayers were powerful. Sadly today, our prayers often seem anaemic and powerless by comparison. By any estimation the Church of the 21^st century is pale and sickly compared to the very early Church. It was an apostolic church, today’s church is rife with apostasy. Back then, the Church was persecuted; today it’s a prosperous Church that seems to forget about the necessity of being dependent on God. Then it was united, today it’s divided. In it’s early years, the Church was welcoming and spiritual; today it’s cold and dry. The New Testament Church was young, healthy, ambitious, and committed. Today it’s old, weary, lazy, and confused.

What happened? It’s far more than just the old, “familiarity breeds contempt” notion, although that’s part of the problem. We can learn a lot from the early Church that we may apply to our day today. Naturally, we can’t BECOME the early Church; that was a point in history that can never be revisited or duplicated. However, there are some lessons we can learn.

2. Lessons from the “old days”

A sense of impending danger

The very early Church was very conscious of danger, especially when they gathered for prayer.

When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. (Acts 1:13, 14)

These people were afraid; they huddled together in a small room upstairs. They were a hunted group and they knew the fate that Jesus suffered was likely going to be theirs if they weren’t careful. Now, you’d think that kind of danger would cause these folks to scatter and stay away from each other for a while. But the exact opposite happened! The threat drew believers together to pray.

After the Spirit fell, there was even more danger of persecution from the religious establishment of the day. Remember, Peter and John were actually arrested because they were preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They were eventually released from prison, and then an interesting thing happened:

On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.” (Acts 4:23, 24)

Their arrest and persecution only caused the Church to praise God even more! They praised God in prayer! Yes, they were threatened, but that didn’t stop them from coming together and being united in prayer.

A respect for the sovereignty of God

In addition to a sense of danger that unified them, the early Church had a firm conviction and respect for the sovereignty of God. When these people prayed, it wasn’t to convince God to come around to their way of thinking. No, when the early Church prayed it was to discover God’s will, no matter what it was. Notice the wording of Acts 4:24:

When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.

What did these people hear that caused them to raise their voices in prayer? It wasn’t good news, that’s for sure!

Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. (Acts 4:18)

So, upon learning that the authorities had ordered the Church to STOP preaching the Gospel, the Church praised the Lord. What they said in their prayer should give every believer pause:

“Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.”

The NIV has done a good job of translating a special word used for “Lord.” In the Greek, this version of the English “Lord” is despotes. We get our word “despot” from that Greek word, and normally a despot is not a good person. Yet, this is how these believers addressed God! Why did they call God a “despot?” What did they know that we don’t?

Our God is a despot: He is a benevolent dictator. There is no will but His. God delegates nothing: He is in total control of everything. This is something the early Church understood that seems lost to us. Intellectually we may agree with the doctrine of the “sovereignty of God,” but emotionally we always think we sway God by our cries and tears. We always think we can be the exception to any rule by justifying our sins.

They knew God was completely sovereign, but also that He was the originator of all things. They recognized He that created all things; that the universe is His, not ours. God consulted NO one when He created it. In God’s eyes, everything He created was “good.” God is in control of the universe, both material and spiritual, and He defers to NO one.

Another point about their awesome respect for God’s sovereignty is revealed in verse 27:

They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.

Those who prayed knew the players in the game. They understood who was involved in the death of Jesus: Herod (the Romans), Pontius Pilate (Israel), and even the Gentiles, but they knew that it was GOD who was in charge and in control. Here is a wonderful example of people who knew the will of God, didn’t complain about it, but accepted it.

When we catch the vision of God as the great despot of His universe, then we will understand His sovereignty as the early Church did, and our prayers will reflect that.

A respect for the Scriptures

A little further on in their prayer, we learn something else about the attitude of the early Church. Not only were they conscious of real threats to their existence, and not only did they have a profound respect for the sovereignty of God, but they also had a healthy respect for the Word of God:

You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.” (Acts 4:25, 26)

When they prayed, they actually quoted Scripture. But, this isn’t the noteworthy thing; what is noteworthy is they believed Psalm 2 to be literal, that it was written by David, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, about Jesus Christ! The modern liberal Christian revolts at this! They question the inspiration of Scripture, and they question the reliability of the Old Testament.

Courageous consistency

Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. (Acts 4:29)

What’s remarkable about this verse is that is shows just how determined and consistent these early Church members were! Regardless of the the danger, they wanted God “enable” them to continue preaching the Gospel. They didn’t pray and ask God to change the circumstances; they didn’t ask God to take away the threat of persecution. All they focused on was their mission: to preach the Gospel. They were guided, not by their circumstances, but by their principles. Their job was to preach the Gospel and make converts and nothing was going to stop them.

3. The real early Christian

Now, there is the thought that these early Christians were different from the modern Christian; that somehow, because of their proximity to the life of Jesus or the fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit, they were “super saints,” instead of just regular saints like we are. In fact, Peter, James, John, even Paul were just like us.

But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: “Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. (Acts 14:14, 15)

They were just regular men; there was nothing different about them. Another good example of this is an incident in Acts 12. You will recall that when Peter was tossed in prison, the body of believers gathered together to pray that God would deliver their friend. Deliver him God did!

Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. (Acts 12:7)

It was a miracle, no doubt about it! God answered the prayers of the believers. Eventually Peter made his way to the place where they were praying, and we read this interesting exchange:

When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!” “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.” (verses 14, 15)

Why didn’t they simply believe God had delivered Peter exactly as they had been praying? Because these people were not the super saints some of us think they were. At first, they couldn’t believe Peter was at the door, even though they had been praying for this very thing to happen! We wonder if they really expected God to answer their prayer or not.

We would have to say that the early Christian had the same struggles with doubt that we have. In spite of that, God did wondrous things through the early Church as believers prayed. And He still does wondrous things through our prayers, today. The same Holy Spirit that fell at Pentecost didn’t just go away at the close of the New Testament era. He is still here, still indwelling all believers. Even though every single Christian is full of the Holy Spirit at conversion, the command stands: be filled with the Holy Spirit. When we are conscious of His presence in our lives, and when we yield ourselves to Him, the Holy Spirit will lead us to new heights and vistas of prayer; He will guide us, pray through us, and give us the strength we need to overcome any fear or doubt.

THE CROSS OF CHRIST, PART ONE

Published May 19, 2012 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: cross of christ, heart of god, Holiness, Righteousness, theology

THE WORD OF THE CROSS

The heart of Christianity is the Bible. The heart of the Bible is the Cross. The heart of the Cross is the heart of God. (James Smith)

The heart of God is a heart that is full of compassion for the one who is lost and living without hope. When we think about God’s concern for those living without Him, our minds go immediately to a verse of Scripture almost every Christian knows by heart:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Imagine the depths of love that compelled the Heavenly Father to offer His Son in atonement for our sin and guilt. The Cross is, at the same time, the most glorious and the most awful object ever seen by angels or men. 1 Corinthians 1:18 tells us what the Cross is all about:

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

The “message of the cross” isn’t found in any single verse of Scripture, but throughout the fullness of God’s Word. This is why so many Christians don’t really understand the true “message of the cross.” It’s simply because they’ve never really heard it. Modern preaching has so fragmented it that, at best, the average church-goer has only heard bits and pieces of the great “message of the cross.” Even at that, there isn’t a Christian anywhere in the world who doesn’t grasp the eternal significance of the Cross of Christ. They may not grasp it in its entirety, but what they do know has resulted in their salvation. Such is the awesome power of the Cross!

It is a sign that you are perishing if you cannot see the infinite wisdom and power of God on display in the Cross of Jesus Christ. God’s word concerning the Cross is God’s message of love and grace to us through the Cross.

Let’s look at God’s word concerning the Cross and what that great word means to us today.

1. Holiness and sin

One message of the Cross is God’s own opinion concerning holiness and sin; that is to say, the holiness of the Son of God who suffered on the Cross and the utter wickedness of sin for which He suffered. The true wickedness of sin is revealed in what Jesus said out it John 8:34—

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.”

What an awful thing sin is! It seduces you, tricks you into becoming your friend, then it never, ever lets you go. James, the earthly brother of Jesus, understood all about sin:

Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. (James 1:15)

Back to John 3, after stating bluntly that sinners are enslaved by sin, Jesus poses a question a few verses later:

Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? (John 8:46)

Jesus’ teaching on sin is plain: sin and slavery are inexorably linked. No human being can be free if they are not free from sin. The only free people are those who have placed their full faith and trust in Christ; who have broken the hold sin had on them.

However, Jesus Christ was completely sinless—He was guilty of no sin—for if He had slipped but a single time, He would not have been fit to be the Messiah; He would have been in the grip of sin. But our Lord knew what His mission was and He remained unfettered and out of sin’s grip.

Jesus Christ was holy, harmless, completely separate from sinners, even while living among them, revealing the invisible God to them. Thanks to the Cross of Christ, we are given a clear picture of our Heavenly Father’s love for sinful man. The holiness of God and the sinfulness of man collided on the Cross, in the Body of Jesus Christ. In the Cross, we see God at His best and man at his worst. Even while the vilest of sinners plotted to crucify Christ, our Lord bore their sins in His body.

But that is the only time holiness and sin have met together in one Person. The truth is, darkness cannot exist in the light. The unrenewed spirit of a man cannot have any fellowship with God on any level. The Word of the Cross is the word of victory because the holiness of Christ crushed the sinfulness of man.

2. Love and sacrifice

John 3:16 tells us that God gave His only son to save the lost. God gave His Son with no expectation that He would escape His death on the Cross. God the Father had no hope of saving sinful man apart from the awful death of His Son. Therefore, man has no hope of salvation without the Cross.

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

God loved us so much that He offered His Son’s life in exchange for the ours. Imagine that kind of love! And the Son of God, loved us so much that He was willing to sacrifice Himself as an offering for us. Remember what Jesus taught:
the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28)

The message of the Cross is not only a message of holiness and sin, but also a message of love and sacrifice.

…Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:2)

Only God the Father could love us so much as to give His one and only Son over to the terrible death on the Cross to save them. Only God the Son could love us so much that even while we were still enslaved to sin; even while were were still His sworn enemies, He offered Himself as the prefect sacrifice for our souls.

As one scholar has observed:

The sufferings and sacrifice of Jesus Christ is the irrefutable proof and expression of the intensity of the love of God.

3. Righteousness and peace

There is aberrant theology that has been floating around since the days of the early church that teaches the redemption price offered by Christ was paid to Satan in order to free the souls of man. However, Satan has never had the right to any soul. In fact, we are told in Scripture that Christ gave Himself as a sacrifice to God. The Cross, then, contrasts the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man, stands for love and sacrifice, but it also makes possible peace with God through righteousness.

...and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (Colossians 1:20)

The requirements of righteousness are infinite, and they are met only by the infinite value of the life and blood of Jesus Christ, who Himself is infinite.

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13, 14)

Before Christ, everything stood between us and God and everything stood against us. The work of Christ took it all away! Every single thing that stopped us from approaching God, summed up in one word: unrighteousness, was taken to the Cross and removed from us as far as the east is from the west. Because our unrighteousness has been taken away and replaced by His righteousness, we are now completely free to approach God without any fear.

Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. (Psalm 85:10)

On the Cross, righteousness and peace have met!

…by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. (Ephesians 2:15, 16)

There was no other way to make peace between God and man except by way of the Cross. Only Christ’s righteousness could accomplish this. There is no other way for any human being to be at complete peace with God except through the Cross of Christ.

4. Salvation and power

When we began this study, we quoted Colossians 1:18. Refer briefly back to that verse:

For the message of the cross … is the power of God.

The Cross is a magnificent symbol of God’s power to save. All who believe in what was accomplished on the Cross and all who understand the message of the Cross, are conscious of the saving power of God.

In the Old Testament, during the Passover, the Israelites were safe only as long as they remained in a house whose door posts had been sprinkled by the blood of the lamb. Similarly, as Christians we are safe only as long as we live within the shadow of the blood-sprinkled Cross of Christ. At the Cross Jesus gave His life for ours, so we must lose our lives in that same Cross if we are to truly live for Him.

The word of the Cross is the word of salvation to all who believe. It’s the way to a new life in Jesus Christ. The Cross is God’s instrument by which any sinner may be made a new person. There is not a sinner anywhere in the world who is beyond the shadow of the Cross. Anywhere and everywhere to anyone is available the power of the Cross.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

The only way to experience new life in Christ, is by way of the Cross. The Word of the Cross makes no sense to those who are already dying. But to those who are looking for hope and purpose and salvation, the Cross is the power of God.

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Archive for May, 2012

THE “PENTECOSTAL” EXPERIENCE CONTINUES

THE CROSS OF CHRIST, PART 2

THE EARLY CHURCH AND THEIR PRAYERS

THE CROSS OF CHRIST, PART ONE

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