Believers Armed and Dangerous

There are lots of words in the Bible describing the concept of infinity: everlasting, forever, eternity, and such.  But, what is infinity?  “Well, infinity is something which will never end,” we think.    But, I don’t think that statement really grasps what infinity truly is.  Maybe we can never grasp it, but we can get a bit of a handle on it.

To begin with, there are two kinds of infinity.  There is actual infinity, something which has no beginning or end.  God is the only One in this category.

Then there is potential infinity, something which begins to exist but will never cease to exist.  This is called “potential” because we will always have a numbered amount of days we have lived, but our days will never end.  

Infinity is a difficult number to comprehend, and, in fact, no infinite number of things exist in our universe.  There is a specific number of electrons at any precise moment in time in the universe, for exazmple.  That number is 1 followed by 80 zeros.  It’s a pretty large number but still a number.

Infinity is a number that is too large to count.  Nothing can be added to it that will increase its size and nothing can be subtracted from it to reduce its size other than itself.

My point is infinity is unfathomable.  Still the Bible uses the term to describe God.  He is an actual infinite (Ps. 90:2, Mic. 5:2).  The idea of an actual infinite amount of something is present in Rom. 1:20 where God’s power is described as infinite.  The Greek Word (aidios) means without beginning or end.  God’s power has always been and always will be.

In the New Testament, the word “eternal” is nearly always used to describe human beings and is, therefore, speaking of a potential infinity, a condition which will continue forever.  The Bible speaks both of infinitelife and infinite punishment.

Matthew 25:44-46 (ESV)
⁴⁴  Then they also will answer, 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, ‘Truly, I say to you, 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 eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Why is this important?

Infinite life for us is a promise as is infinite punishment for those who do not know Christ personally and intimately.  Infinite life will include constant joy and praising of our Savior.  The other side of the coin should frighten us all.

The Bible describes what infinite punishment will be for non-believers.  Matt. 8:18 says it is utter darkness and torment.  This will also go on for infinity.

Our job as Christians is not to save people, the Holy Spirit does that.  Our job is to inform people, to warn them of the consequences of turning from acceptance of the free gift of God’s Son.

We often hear Christians say, “Just believe in Jesus, and you will be saved.”  They get that from John 6:29 (ESV) ²⁹  Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”    That’s a beautiful verse, but the word “believe” there involves commitment to that belief, to live your life as Christ commanded, to follow Christ’s words, to live the life He modeled. 

James tells us just a belief in the fact that God exists or even that Jesus is our Savior is not enough:

James 2:19 (ESV)
¹⁹  You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

If we are telling people a simple faith in Christ without commitment is the path to salvation, we are misinforming them.  The Christian life is not based simply on a belief but involves a commitment to Him in Whom we believe.  Otherwise the joyful eternity we expect may not come to pass.

Matthew 7:21-23 (ESV)
²¹  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²  On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Are we shortchanging those with whom we share the Truth and perhaps condemning them to a different infinity than we’re promising them?

It’s 300 a.d.  Your pastor and his wife along with 100 church members have been arrested.  They’re being held for trial for the crime of sedition, a crime that carries a 15 year sentence.  Your church has been stripped clean.  The pulpit and cross have been torn down and burned, and a business has taken the place where your church rented space.  Roman soldiers stand outside the building where your church met turning people away with a warning and taking names.

Many of those who escaped are in hiding.  Some who were caught have been exiled never to return to their home town. After almost a year of waiting, your pastor is sentenced to 9 years in prison, and his assets are seized.

This is what life was like under the Great Persecution, 250 until 314 a.d.  It is also the story of what is happening in Communist China today.  The scene above is actually taken from an article in The Guardian of January of 2019 and another article from The Federalist this last December.  Only the time and names are different.

The pastor’s name is Wang Yi, pastor of the Early Rain Covenant Church in the city of Chengdu, China.  He was sentenced just this past December.  His wife and others arrested have been released but their movements are monitored and restricted.

The Chinese government is very aware that Christianity is growing swiftly in China.  Currently, about a fifth of the population is Christian. The government’s idea is to turn the church into a government-friendly and regulated movement.

Since I began this blog three years ago, it has reached 47 different countries with more than 5,000 views.  Even some in Mainland China view our blog.  The first year (2016), Communist China was seventh on our “hit list.”  Last year, it was fourth.  So far this year, China is second only to the United States in the number of views.  Amazing considering English is not their common language.  Something is going on there.

I wanted to let the readers in China know we are aware of some of what they are going through and ask you, the reader, to please pray for these people being persecuted in their own country.  Many Christians must meet in secret in fear of being arrested, tortured, and killed.  Even so, Protestant Christianity is the fastest growing religion in China.  Christianity is not technically illegal in China but is supposed to operate under the authority of the municipal and Provincial council.  In other words, the legal church is government ruled.  It is one without denomination or any overarching church authority.  The government has authority to censor and control local churches if they wish to meet openly.

Because of the restrictions on church teachings, the House Church Movement arose where congregations will meet after hours in bars and restaurants and homes.  These churches are, of course, illegal and openly persecuted, but there is no oversight from the Communists.  To these congregations, Christ should still the Head of the church.

The Gospel Coalition puts it this way:  “The church in China is often lauded in the West as the pinnacle of modern Christian discipleship and church planting. And in some ways it’s a reputation well deserved. The church in China has been forged through the fires of persecution, and the Christians there are men and women of immense faith with great joy in the Lord.”

Why is this important?

Christ spoke of persecution.  We should expect it.

John 15:18-21 (ESV)
¹⁸  “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹  If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ²⁰  Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. ²¹  But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.

I have to say I admire the Chinese Christians who hold fast to their faith through terrible persecution.  I wish that I had the depth of faith they must possess.  We need to pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters.  They are most certainly on the front line of the battle. 

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 (ESV)
¹¹  To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, ¹²  so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We in the west can pray, and we can do everything possible to help the persecuted around the world.  China is only one battleground.  In some Islamic countries, you can be killed for preaching on the street.  In India, Christians are persecuted and killed by Hindu nationalists. 

Persecution of Christians didn’t end with Constantine ending the Great Persecution in 314.  It’s alive and well today.

I don’t usually give outside sources of information, but might I suggest you look here: Open Door. ChristianPost

Angels — Just what or who are they?  Are they just people who have gone to heaven as we were told when we were kids – or are they something very different?  Last week I wrote on demons.  I thought it only fair to discuss the other team this week.

In both the Old and New Testaments, “Angel” simply means messenger, someone who has been sent.   In the case of angels, they are sent to announce something, comfort and direct a believer, and to fight battles for God.  They are members of God’s army.  Angels were manifest both at Jesus’ birth and His resurrection.

The first appearance of the word “angel” in the Bible is in Genesis 16:7 when Hagar was fleeing Sarai.  The Angel of the Lord came to her to tell her to return to Sarai and submit to her and that He would make a great nation of her son, Ishmael.

The term, “The angel of the Lord” has special meaning, and we’ll look at that later. 

We believe just three angels are named in Scripture: Gabriel, Michael, and Lucifer.  Gabriel gave the vision to Daniel in Daniel chapter 8.  He came to Zechariah in Luke chapter 1 telling him his aged wife would bear a son, John the Baptist.  When Zechariah doubted, Gabriel also told him he wouldn’t be able to speak again until John was born.  Gabriel , in Luke 1:26-33, announced to Mary that she would conceive and bear a Son Who would be the Messiah.

Gabriel isn’t the only superstar.  Michael is pretty important, too.  He fought with the demon prince of Persia in Daniel 10.  In Jude 1:9 we find Michael argued with the devil about the body of Moses, and in Revelation 12:7 we see him in command of an army of angels fighting against the dragon.

We looked at Lucifer last week, but suffice it to say he was and still is powerful but fell from heaven along with a third of the angels as they rebelled against God.

Now for “The Angel of the Lord.”  Remember this is “The” Angel of the Lord and not “An” angel of the Lord.  The difference is “The.” It seems to imply one of a kind.  Most theologians believe this to be Jesus Himself in the Old Testament.  In Exodus 3:2, the person in the burning bush is called “The Angel of the Lord” but is identified as God Himself in the following verses.

In Genesis 22:11-12, The Angel of the Lord stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac and said he now knew Abraham would not hold his son from Him.  Sacrifices are made to God not to angels.

In Judges 2:1-4, The Angel of the Lord says He is the one who made a covenant with Israel.  Only God has made covenants of this sort.  So, there is pretty good evidence Jesus, God the Son, is in fact The Angel of the Lord.

What about guardian angels?  Are they real?  Some of us can’t believe we’ve done all the things we’ve done and survived without a guardian angel (or more) helping out.   In Daniel 10:21, Michael is called Daniel’s angel.  In Acts 8:26, Philip seemed to have an angel sent to direct him.  There are lots of other places in Scripture where angels seem to be watching out for the believer.  Hebrews 13:2 says we’ve entertained angels unawares. 

We certainly have angels watching us and what we do.  1 Cor. 4:9 says we’re a spectacle to the angels, and 1 Cor. 6:9 says we’ll be judging the angels.  Even though they are these fierce powerful beings, we will be the ones holding them accountable.

1 Peter 1:12 says angels are fascinated by our salvation through the work of the Holy Spirit. 

Why is this important?

Angels are instrumental and important in the life of the Christian.  They watch us and accompany us in our battles.  I think the most fascinating and impressive thing about angels is they are not just on our side but were created to minister to us:

Hebrews 1:14 (ESV)
¹⁴  Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

The God who created you and me sees our need for protection and guidance, and He has sent angels to serve Him for our sake.  Pretty cool if you ask me.  God is Good!

In case you were still wondering, yes, angels were created by God the Son, Himself:

Colossians 1:15-16 (ESV)
¹⁵  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶  For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

Someone once said there are two mistakes Christians make in talking about the devil, thinking of him too much or not thinking of him enough.  This might be a good time to take a brief look at who he and his minions are.

He’s known by several names including “Lucifer,” “the devil,” “Satan,” and the “Accuser of the Brethren.”  If you would like to see a description of Lucifer, there’s one in Ezekiel 28:11-19 where he’s described as the “King of Tyre.” Demons are sometimes described as princes of various areas such as in Daniel 10:12 when a demon is identified as the “prince of the kingdom of Persia” and Michael the archangel is called “one of the chief princes in verse 13.  So, we see the demons and angels have rankings and seem to have responsibilities over particular geographical areas.

We can also see this ranking in both the demons and angels when we look at verses such as Ephesians 3:10 where we see “principalities and powers” mentioned in heaven.  Then later in the same book (6:12), the same terms are used for demonic powers.  So, angels and demons have rankings.  But, back in Ezekiel 28, Satan is not a prince but a king. He doesn’t actually seem to be called the “Prince of Darkness” anywhere in Scripture, but He is called the prince of the power of the air.

One common misunderstanding is that Satan and God are equal, two powers fighting for control of the earth.  Certainly there is a battle, but the sides are far from equal.  This  is made clear in Mark 1:24 where demons ask Christ if it’s time for Him to destroy them yet. In Matthew 8:28-32, demons beg for Jesus not to punish them and ask if they might possess a nearby herd of pigs.  In asking and then obeying Jesus, we see they are certainly submissive to His authority.  Satan is no different.  In the book of Job, especially the first chapter, we see Satan can do nothing that God has not approved.  He’s a created being.  He is powerful but finite.  He is brilliant but not omniscient. 

There is an old legend of John Calvin waking up one night and seeing Satan himself standing at the foot of Calvin’s bed.  Calvin said, “Oh.  It’s just you,” and rolled over and went back to sleep.  There’s a great truth in that legend.  Satan is powerful, but greater is He Who is in us (1 John 4:4).

Some think Satan’s goal is to destroy the world, taking as many souls with him as possible dragging them deep into sin, and there is a lot of truth in this.  Satan is interested in souls.  He seeks after souls, but I think he’s as happy with a cultist or atheist who leads a wonderfully happy life but is lost because he doesn’t know Christ as he is with drug pushers, human traffickers, and mass murders.

God’s desire is to make heaven as full as possible and hell as empty as possible.  Satan’s is just the opposite.

True, Satan wants people to be separated from God, but he gives special gold stars for those who drag others with them.  The lost going door-to-door trying to drag others into their deception get honorable mention in Satan’s book as much as pimps might by driving others away from God.  But, it’s not just that.

You might wonder why Satan’s so busy messing with your life and mine.  We already have the Spirit of God in us. We can’t lose that. It’s because he’s interested in keeping us from spreading the Truth.  He wants us so distracted plugging up leaks in our lives that we neglect our service to Christ.  As Walter Martin used to say, “For Satan, the next best thing to a lost soul is a sterile Christian.”  If Satan can keep us from doing God’s will, he’s happy.

Don’t get me wrong.  Satan is much more powerful than we are.  Even Michael the archangel in Jude 1:9, would not accuse the devil of wrongdoing, but said “The Lord rebuke you!”  An archangel, the greatest and most powerful of angels, didn’t dare rebuke Satan himself but turned to the Lord to do that.  The cool thing is we have the same option.  If Satan comes after us, we can call on Jesus to rebuke him.

Over the past few years I’ve included some information about the deity of Christ in various posts as a part of another subject like the Trinity or the incarnation.  I realized this week that I had never addressed directly the fact Jesus is God the Son, second Person of the trinity.

In my discussions with Jehovah’s Witnesses, I’m often asked to show anywhere in Scripture where Jesus claimed to be God.  You may have faced this same challenge.  In John 5:18, John tells us the act of calling Himself the Son of God was claiming to be equal with the Father.

John 5:18 (ESV) ¹⁸  This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

There are a lot of passages pointing to Jesus’ deity.  In Titus 2:13, Paul calls Jesus our God and Savior.  In Hebrews 1:8, God Himself calls Jesus “God,” and there are many more places in Scripture where Jesus is identified as God.

Titus 2:13 (ESV) ¹³  waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

Hebrews 1:8 (ESV) ⁸  But of the Son he  [the Father]  says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.

Jesus accepted worship without rebuking the worshipers  (Matt. 28:9, 17; Luke 24:52, etc.)

Matthew 14:33 (ESV) ³³  And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Even the angels were instructed by God to worship Jesus:

Hebrews 1:6 (ESV) ⁶  And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”

“But,” say some, “He is the Son of God, not God Himself.”  The answer to that is in my posts on the trinity and the incarnation, but briefly, Jesus voluntarily emptied Himself of the use of His divine attributes and became submissive to the Father (Phil. 2:5-11).

So, Jesus is equal in nature with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Why is this important?

As Christians, it’s important for us to know exactly Who our God is.  If we’re not worshiping the true God of the Bible, we’re worshiping a false God.  Jesus is God the Son, second Person of the trinity.  When we pray, we need to know Who we’re praying to.  Jesus told us to pray to Him:

John 14:14 (ESV) ¹⁴  If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

2,000 years ago, the God of the universe took on human form and walked the earth.  He walked and talked with men and women.  He taught them and us by word and by example exactly Who God is.

John 14:9 (ESV) ⁹  Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  

In reading about Jesus life, His love for others, His willingness to sacrifice for the good of others, His patience with people like Peter and Nicodemus, we see the character of God the Father as well.  This same Jesus that John looked at face to face, Whom he touched, and learned from daily, who washed John’s feet and suffered death in front of John, this same Jesus is the God who spoke all that exists in the physical universe into existence. 

1 John 1:1-4 (ESV) ¹  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—
²  the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—
³  that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
⁴  And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

Jesus isn’t just a sacrificial Lamb.  He is the Holy One of Israel, the Great “I Am!”

I’ve heard grace defined as “God’s unmerited favor,” or “God’s riches at Christ’s expense.”  But, these definitions come nowhere near what grace is.  Grace isn’t just unmerited.  It’s freedom from what we do merit.  And, even that isn’t enough.

Grace is a very natural arm of God’s love nature.  I’ve written about this before in here, actually on May 2nd, but it’s a large topic with many facets.  In this article, we’ll look at the problem both Christians and non-Christians have with grace.

Grace is one of those things we can’t explain to someone who hasn’t experienced it.  It’s like trying to describe the color blue to a woman who has been blind her whole life.  In one of the early Star Trek movies, Spock had died, his body had been cloned, and his consciousness implanted into his cloned body.  McCoy turns to him in one scene and asks Spock to describe what it was like to be dead.  Spock says McCoy would need a common point of reference for them to discuss it at all.  Grace is like that.  We can only discuss it fully with someone who has experienced it.

Christians may know in their minds they have been completely forgiven of their sins.  We have a clean slate.  We have been justified to stand in the presence of the Great and Holy God.  That’s what we “think,” but do we “feel” that is true.  Have our hearts accepted it?  Do we lead our lives as if God looks at us as a clean vessel?  When we feel God is leading us to do something huge and exciting for Him, do we jump at the chance to serve Him, or do we listen to another spirit telling us we’re unworthy to serve?  Sadly, I think the latter is very often true of our responses.

I don’t blame Christians, though.  I feel the same way.  I have to consciously press through it.  Like you, sometimes I don’t and God raises up someone else.  I’ve missed the blessing and not fulfilled my job description.

In his book, The Seven Laws of the Learner, Bruce Wilkinson tells a story of one time when he needed to fire a worker at “WalkThrough the Bible.”  He thought he would just sit her down and ask her how she liked her job, and she would fire herself.  To his surprise, she loved her job, and she started to describe all the things she was doing to support the ministry and to serve God.  Wilkinson said when the interview was over, he felt like giving her a raise.  Then it struck him.  She wasn’t fulfilling her job description.  One day, we will stand before God, and He will hand us two lists: a list of what He had for us to do and a second list of what we actually did.  We all want those two lists to match, but our disbelief in grace may prevent that.

Grace is a problem for the non-Christian as well.  It sounds too good.  It isn’t reasonable, though.  “But, you don’t know what I’ve done” is a common response.  Grace is both the answer to the sin of the world and a major hurdle.  Compared to most, I’ve lived a pretty clean life.  I was in the Navy, yes, but I never went to sea, never left California for that matter.  I spent most of my time off visiting my Christian girlfriend.  So, my opportunities for sin were lessened.  Even with that, I felt unworthy to accept God’s grace when I asked for it on Oct. 16, 1975.  Other non-believers feel the same.

I’ve pressed all of God’s buttons over the years.  I’ve sinned like the rest.  I know how I am, and so does God.  I also know enough about God that I know He wouldn’t allow someone like me in His presence . . . unless.  It’s the “unless” that makes all the difference.  “Unless” Someone has cleansed me so I can stand before Our Holy God without fear.

When the women went to the tomb in Matthew 28, they encountered an angel.  There were also Roman guards there.  What the angel said speaks clearly of grace:

Matthew 28:5 (ESV)   But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.

The angel didn’t tell the pagan Roman soldiers not to be afraid.  He told the women.  Why?  Because they were seeking Jesus.

Why Is This Important?

Often we as Christians need to step out in faith and just do what God tells us without examining ourselves to see if we’re worthy.  We’re not.  It is Christ in us who does the work.

The rub comes when we try to explain grace to a non-believer.  It’s hard for them to accept this emotionally.  We need to recognize this in order to better share the gospel.  The resistance we see may not be a resistance to Christ but a logical problem.  Explaining that God is anxious to wipe the slate clean and start a new for them is breathtaking and difficult to accept.  It will take the work of the Holy Spirit to show them.

Augustine said, “I must first believe in order to understand.”  That is certainly true of God’s grace.

For us, a good exercise to better grasp God’s grace in our lives is to review the things God has done for us.  David did this often, and so should we.  When we remember God has brought wonderful things into our lives, spared us from certain disaster, or used us to greatly do His will, it’s easier for us to step out believing God and do what He asks no matter how difficult it may seem.

We are anxious when someone we love is sick or dying.  Suffering isn’t pleasant, so why would God allow it in the life of the Christian?  I looked into it this week, and here’s what I found.

Sometimes suffering is meant to show God’s power:

Matthew 8:6-7 (ESV)  “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.”
⁷  And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

Jesus’ miracles were performed to validate the Gospel message.   He wasn’t sharing just words.  His words were and are Truth greater than the reality of our universe.  To demonstrate this, He altered natural events.  He ended suffering in some to show His power, to validate His message.

Suffering helps us grow:

Romans 5:3 (ESV) ³  Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,

If our lives were perfect, if every day was sunshine and lollipops, we would be superficial human beings.  Worse than that, we would be superficial Christians.  Our faith would have no depth.  It is the sufferings in our lives that most powerfully direct us to rely upon God to do what is right.

Suffering draws us closer to one another

I once asked a veteran pastor what he said to people who had lost someone or were about to.  How did he handle the hopeless hospital visits or devastating funerals?  He told me he says very little.  Mostly the family is comforted when he cries with them sharing in their grief. 

Suffering alongside of and with those who are suffering loss creates and expresses fellowship with them.  It brings us closer together.  Suffering as a Christian brings us closer to the brethren around the world who are suffering as well.

1 Peter 5:9 (ESV) ⁹  Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

Above all, through suffering, we experience a closer fellowship with Christ Himself:

Philippians 3:8-10 (NKJV) ⁸  Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ  ⁹  and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; ¹⁰  that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,

Why is this Important?

Understanding suffering is important to the Christian because we often believe we are suffering do to our own actions, that we’re being disciplined by the Lord.  That happens, but I don’t believe it happens as often as we might think.  Not all suffering is our fault:

John 9:1-3 (ESV)
¹  As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. ²  And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³  Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

We should understand as Christians that suffering is an expected part of the Christian’s life.  We are not exempt from suffering because we know Christ.

Romans 8:17 (ESV)   ¹⁷  and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

In fact, I have often wondered why God allows non-believers to suffer.  They have it a terrifying end ahead of them.  Why suffer here on earth, too.  But, God’s Word says He treats us all the same:

Matthew 5:44-45 (ESV)
⁴⁴  But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵  so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Besides, who would come to Christ if only the Christians suffered.

When suffering enters our lives either through our own suffering or that of loved ones, remember it is a benefit to the Christian.  All things which enter our lives are loving acts of our Father in heaven.  Sometimes, it hurts.

In the pioneer days, the small town school had every child from first grade to high school taught by the same teacher.  Can you imagine what it must have been like trying to teach simple arithmetic to one child then turn to read English Literature with another?  You would think the teachers would go crazy, but they didn’t. 

Teachers back then used the older children to teach the younger ones.  The 8^th graders might teach the fifth graders.  The same 8^th graders would then learn from the high-schoolers and hear the high school material taught.  Kids learned faster that way.  If you watched Ken Burns’ Civil War documentary, you heard beautiful poetry written by soldiers with an 8^th grade education.  The Federalist Papers were written to and understood by farmers many of whom lacked even a high school education.  Law students in Ivy League colleges today have difficulty understanding them.  The small schoolhouse education method worked.

Churches are much like that little red schoolhouse.  There are people in the congregation who are new to the faith, at first grade level.  There are those 8^th graders able to help the new Christians and still strive to advance to high school or further.

The pastor/teacher usually gives sermons/lessons at levels across the spectrum.  He tries, usually, to reach the majority of the congregation, not just a specialized group.  Still, many will not catch much of what is taught because it’s new to them, or to some it’s what they’ve heard for years.

A lot of churches offer adult Bible studies at homes or at church.  These give us an opportunity to ask questions and to share what we know with those who aren’t yet as far along the path as we might be or to learn from others who are.

Years ago, I was having trouble finding much that challenged me in our pastor’s sermons.  I told him so, and his response struck me and seared into my mind.  He said “I would expect you to be able to feed yourself by now.”  I had been a Christian for about ten years by then, I was graduating into a new grade.

My whole view of church changed then.  While I am still challenged by sermons I hear, it doesn’t happen as often.  Where church used to be a place to be fed and ministered to, as a “high-school,”  I should be helping others.  Church has become a place for me to minister more than be ministered to.

Like the pioneer schoolhouse, we should be reaching out to one another with love and education:

Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV)
¹⁹  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰  teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The Great Commission wasn’t given just to the apostles; it was given to us all.  We make one another into disciples by teaching one another.

Why is this important?

Many long term Christians grow weary with church.  They’ve “heard it all before.”  They don’t see the need to attend services.  I think they’re missing the point.  I think God is telling them they need to take what they’ve learned and share it.  Attend a home Bible study or an adult Bible class at church.  They aren’t just for learning but for sharing as well.  If you’ve heard it all before, there are those who haven’t and would profit from you telling them.

That same pastor I mentioned earlier came into a class I was attending as a fairly young Christian and pointed out three of us as teachers in the class.  The guy at the head of the class was one, but there were two others he mentioned.  And we never thought of ourselves as teachers, just attendees who shared what we knew.

He told me teachers are not always in front of a class.  He said many in the class are teaching and just as effective as the guy who prepared the lesson.  Teaching others doesn’t require the gift of teaching, or God wouldn’t have command us all to do it.  Teaching doesn’t need to be academic either, or He would have given us all the drive for constant study.  Teaching can be sharing life experiences, the wisdom God or godly people have shared with you.

We all need to become like those kids in that schoolhouse.   We need to reach out to those who haven’t traveled down the Christian path as we have and listen to those who are father along.  Christianity is not made up of hermit monks.  It’s made up of God’s children who should be striving to prepare one another.

Way back when I took physical anthropology, in a circle around the classroom hung a series of photographs of dozens of individuals of all races and mixtures.  Because of their order, no matter where you started in the series, as you followed the photos around the room, you noticed the changes gradually went from African, to Western European, to Asian and back to African in such a way that you realized we’re all just variations of the same race, the human race.

Currently, race has been all over the various media.  It seems to be the topic of most conversations with friends and even strangers.  Here, we’ll look at the question, “Has God given us His view of racism?”

Actually, He has.    In Numbers chapter 12, we see the story of Moses’ siblings angrily arguing with him.  He had taken a Cushite woman as his wife.  Cush was where Ethiopia lies today.  She was a black woman, an African, and it is clear this was the basis of Aaron and Miriam’s anger with Moses (vs. 1).  Moses had married a black woman.

God called Moses, Aaron, and Mariam out and told them He approved of Moses’ mariage:, “He is faithful in all my house.”  Then God turned to Mariam in His anger at her bigotry.  He said, “You don’t like black.  I’ll give you white,”, and turned Mariam white with leprosy.  Moses asked God to heal her, but God said, “I’ll let her think about what she’s done,” and He put her outside the camp for seven days before healing her.  I paraphrased these verses a bit, but you get the idea.  God did not put up with racism then, and He doesn’t do it now.  We are all people for whom Christ died. Racism is condemned directly by God.

In the Mosaic Law, equality among races was commanded.  Leviticus 19:34 states “the stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”  So, God wanted all people treated equally in Israel no matter where they came from or what their race was.  Though it’s true God had chosen a people of His own, they were not to treat others as inferiors. 

By the time of Christ, though, the Jewish leaders saw Jews as superior to all other peoples.  The word, “Gentile” does not appear in the Bible until the New Testament.  It was used by Jewish leaders to separate the Jews from non-Jews viewing them as unclean, even evil and untrustworthy. 

Once again, God steps in. Paul tells us in Ephesians that Jesus tore down the wall of hostile separation between the Jews and Gentiles.

Ephesians 2:14 (ESV)
¹⁴  For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility

In church history, the fiercest advocate for the Trinity doctrine at the Nicene Council in 325 a.d. and probably the greatest theologian in the fourth century church was Athanasius, a black man.  He spent his life defending his beliefs.  He was lovingly and respectfully nicknamed “the black dwarf” by many of his contemporaries because of his color and stature, but he achieved the highest recognition in the church at the time, that of bishop of Alexandria.  He held that office for more than 40 years and fought to keep the faith pure.

We know of so few black church fathers because race was irrelevant through most of church history.    Color simply isn’t mentioned.  Many great theologians and church philosophers were African, though.

Why is this Important?

As Christians, we are watched constantly as to how we react to the evil in the world.  If we don’t stand against the evil of racism where we see it, we’re seen as endorsing it.  The Christian role is instead to endorse righteousness and justice.

It has been my policy never to get political on this blog, and I won’t here.  Let me wax a little philosophical, though.  It is a common human trait to impulsively follow what seems like a noble cause without checking thoroughly what sort of baggage comes with the groups surrounding that cause.  The cause may be noble, the groups and their agenda may not be.  The life of a black human being does not matter because he is black but because he is a human being. 

To the Christian, race should be as irrelevant as eye color.  We are all descended from the same two people.  We have very much the same history and purpose in life.  We have the same wishes to provide for and protect our families.  We want a safe place for our children to play and where our wives and daughters can walk safely at night.  We all hurt when someone is killed unjustly.  We are one people.

God loves us all, cherishes us all, provides for us all, and seeks the hearts of us all.  We are all His children, after all.  We are all descended from the same boatload of people.  We should act like it.

The Holy Spirit is kind of a mystery and much more difficult to study than are the Father and the Son.  This is probably because the Holy Spirit was responsible for writing the Bible, and being humble (one of God’s attributes), He doesn’t mention Himself as much.

First I’d like to address the question as to whether we can lose the Holy Spirit once we’re saved.  Is He always in us and active in our lives?

Old Testament saints’ like Samson had a different relationship with the Holy Spirit than Christians’.  Prior to Christ, a believer could be indwelled by the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit could leave them.  Samson is a good example of this.  In Judges 15:14, the Spirit of God (God Himself) rushes upon (fills) Samson. Judges 16:20 then says the Spirit of the Lord had left Him.  So, we see the Holy Spirit entering and leaving Old Testament saints.

We don’t see this in Christians.  Once Jesus paid the price for our sins, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit never to lose Him.

Ephesians 1:13 (ESV)  ¹³  In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

So, once the Holy Spirit has entered us, has sealed us, He will never leave.  This is also good evidence Christians can never lose their salvation.

Now there is another odd thing about the Holy Spirit for us as Christians.  The Bible speaks of the Holy Spirit being in, on, upon, and filling us.  What is all that about?

We see “upon” relating to the Holy Spirit used in the Old Testament quite a bit.  It’s even used this way speaking of Samson in Judges 15:14.  But since most of the interest in how the Holy Spirit works in our lives as Christians and I have limited space, let’s concentrate on how these terms are used in the New Testament.

The Holy Spirit is often spoken of as “on,” “upon,” “in,” even “unto.”  One of the most common words in the Greek New Testament is “epi.”  It appears 896 times in the New Testament and means “on,” “upon,” “in,” and even “unto.”  So, whenever we see the Holy Spirit coming upon someone or on someone or in someone, it’s the same thing. 

 The question sometimes arises, “Why would the Holy Spirit need to refill us?”   The verse cited for this is usually Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

The word “filled” means to be filled in the sense of being inspired, affected, or influenced by something.  It is not a refilling but an inspiration.

There is another interesting phrase connected with the  Holy Spirit: “in the Spirit.”  In the Spirit speaks of the overpowering of the Holy Spirit.  Simeon is described as being in the Spirit in Luke 2:27.  Paul was under the power of the Holy Spirit when he resolved to go to Macedonia (Acts. 19:21).  Romans 8:9 tells us we are no longer under the power of the flesh but “in the Spirit, under His power.  Most clearly, we see this phrase describing God’s power through the Person of the Holy Spirit in 1 Peter 3:18 where we see Jesus was raised by the power of the Holy Spirit and in Revelation 1:10 where John tells us the vision he records in that book was given through the power of the Holy Spirit influencing him.

Why is this important?

This is important to understand for a lot of reasons among which is the need to know and understand God better especially the Spirit. 

A friend told me of a message outlining the different “fillings” of the Holy Spirit.  This is a bit silly since the words in, on, upon, and unto all are translations of the same Greek word and mean the same thing in the originals.  Use of “in,” “on,” “upon”, and “unto” varies among translations, so there is ground for a teaching on a variety of implications.

It is important to better understand how the Person we know as the Holy Spirit works in our lives, that He will never leave us or forsake us, that He is the Third Person of the Trinity sharing the same power, essence, and authority as the Father and the Son.  Sometimes we make less of the Holy Spirit because He is spoken of less obviously in Scripture.  It is important to see Him there and how He acts.

The Christian should be filled, heavily influenced, by the Holy Spirit and pray for that daily.  He is the Person of the godhead who lives in us, guides us, and reaches the world through us.  May we always live our lives in the Spirit.