Believers Armed and Dangerous

The Man and the Birds 
by Paul Harvey

The man to whom I’m going to introduce you was not a scrooge, he was a kind decent, mostly good man. Generous to his family, upright in his dealings with other men. But he just didn’t believe all that incarnation stuff which the churches proclaim at Christmas Time. It just didn’t make sense and he was too honest to pretend otherwise. He just couldn’t swallow the Jesus Story, about God coming to Earth as a man.

“I’m truly sorry to distress you,” he told his wife, “but I’m not going with you to church this Christmas Eve.” He said he’d feel like a hypocrite. That he’d much rather just stay at home, but that he would wait up for them. And so he stayed and they went to the midnight service.

Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier and then went back to his fireside chair and began to read his newspaper. Minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound…Then another, and then another. Sort of a thump or a thud…At first he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against his living room window. But when he went to the front door to investigate he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They’d been caught in the storm and, in a desperate search for shelter, had tried to fly through his large landscape window.

Well, he couldn’t let the poor creatures lie there and freeze, so he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter, if he could direct the birds to it.

Quickly he put on a coat, galoshes, tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on a light, but the birds did not come in. He figured food would entice them in. So he hurried back to the house, fetched bread crumbs, sprinkled them on the snow, making a trail to the yellow-lighted wide open doorway of the stable. But to his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs, and continued to flap around helplessly in the snow. He tried catching them…He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around them waving his arms…Instead, they scattered in every direction, except into the warm, lighted barn.

And then, he realized that they were afraid of him. To them, he reasoned, I am a strange and terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me…That I am not trying to hurt them, but to help them. But how? Because any move he made tended to frighten them, confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led or shooed because they feared him.

“If only I could be a bird,” he thought to himself, “and mingle with them and speak their language. Then I could tell them not to be afraid. Then I could show them the way to safe, warm…to the safe warm barn. But I would have to be one of them so they could see, and hear and understand.”

At that moment the church bells began to ring. The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind. And he stood there listening to the bells – Adeste Fidelis – listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas.

And he sank to his knees in the snow.

Let’s say you want to know what the Bible says about “Faith.”  Now this is a pretty large bite since faith is seen throughout the Bible.  So, let’s pick a book of the Bible and see what it has to say on the subject.

The word “deacons” appears 6 times in Scripture; let’s look there first.

• Pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit and that He will speak to you in the study.
• Go to the Blue Letter Bible site and type “deacons” into the search field (or find “deacons” in your concordance).
• Go to the verses you find in your search.
• Read each verse and the surrounding verses to put each usage of the word in context.
• Note down what each verse has to say about deacons.
• Now write a paragraph or two on the information you found.
• If you want to know more about deacons, you might do a word study (instructions for this in a preveious blog) on the word “deacon.”  The Greek word for deacon, “diakonos” appears 29 times in the New Testament and can be translated as minister, servant, or similar English words.  Romans 16:1 speaks of Phoebe as a “servant”.  Could this also be translated that she was a deaconess at Cenchraea?  You would need to look at the context and at other translations to see if that might be a valid translation of the word in context.

 

Romans 16:1 (ESV)
¹  I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae,

We’ve seen that most Bible study methods are ways of looking more closely at a particular verse or passage.  This week’s study method does that in spades.  The ABCD Bible Study method can be used on just about any portion of Scripture from a few short verses to an entire book.  Let’s say we want to examine a chapter more closely and learn more about what’s happening there.  The ABCD method will work well for that.  Here’s how you do that:

• Pray asking for God’s guidance
• Read the passage through several times.
• Now look for these four points as you read:
  • A Title
    • What would you say is the overall topic of the passage? Write it down.
  • Basic truth or verse
    • What verse would you say is central to the passage? Write it down.
  • Commitment
    • What commitment does this passage make on my life? Write it down.
  • Difficulty
    • Was there a portion you saw as a difficulty or raised a question? You may not have anything for this point, and that’s okay.  If you do, you can use the other Bible study methods in earlier blogs to solve some of those difficulties.
  • Try this on the book of Philemon this week and see what you find.

So, you’re reading along in Colossians and come to Col 4:7 and a character you’ve never seen before: Tychicus.  You wonder who he was and how he fit into Paul’s ministry.  Ever wonder how the pastor finds out?  Well, there’s the “cheating” way.  You can just look up Tychicus in your Bible dictionary.  But, since Bible study is a personal discipline, it might be good to research him on your own to see what the Bible says about him.  That’s called a character study.

To do a character study, follow basically the same process done in the word study except this time you’ll be looking at the traits and history around a particular character such as David or the apostle Thomas.  Let’s look at Tychicus, this time.  Here are the steps to the study again:

• Pray first
• Find a character that intrigues you in any passage, “Tychicus” in Col. 4:7, for instance.
• Read the context around Tychicus, at least the surrounding paragraph, a few times first.
• Go online to http://www.blueletterbible.com
• Enter the name looking for: “Tychicus” in Col. 4:7, for instance, into the search window at the top of the page.
• Go to Col. 4:7
• Click on “tools” in the left hand column.
• Scroll down until you see “Tychicus” in the list.
• Two columns to the right of “Tychicus” you will see the strong’s number. Click on it.
• You will now see a screen showing what the name means in Greek and other places in Scripture where that name appears.
• Write down what you learn from the descriptions found in the surrounding verses and context.
• Put all that information into a sentence or two, a paragraph at most unless you’re doing a study on a major character, of course, like David or Solomon.
• Now you have seen how a particular character is described in Scripture.

It’s that simple.

 

Ever wonder how that pastor gets all those nuggets from a single word in the original languages?  Mostly, they have had training in those languages.  Many haven’t, though, but they still find treasures from a single Greek or Hebrew word.  And, so can you!  Here’s how:

• Pray
• Find a word that intrigues you in any passage, “only begotten” in John 1:18, for instance.
• To see what that word means in Greek, go online to http://www.blueletterbible.com (or use your own Bible software).
• Enter the word you’re looking for: “only begotten” in John 1:18, for instance, into the search window at the top of the page.
• Go to John 1:18
• Click on “tools” in the left hand column.
• Scroll down until you see “only begotten” in the list.
• “Only begotten” appears because that is how the word appears in the KJV.
• Two columns to the right of “only begotten” you will see the strong’s number (g3439). That’s a universal number assigned to the Greek word for “only begotten.”
• Click on it.
• You will now see a screen showing definitions of that word and other places in Scripture where that Greek word appears. Be sure to scroll down to see it all. There are shortcuts at the bottom if there are a lot of places the word appears.
• Write down what you learn from the definitions given and how it might be used in other verses.
• Put all that information into a sentence or two, a paragraph at most.
• Now you have seen how a particular Greek word is used and what it means.

You should see that the word, “monogenes” doesn’t always mean “only one born.”  Sometimes, as in John 1:18, it means, “one of a kind.”  Jesus is the only, “one of a kind,” Son of God.  The unique One.

Sometimes, we come across passages of Scripture that are difficult to understand because of a particular word or phrase: 1 Peter 3:18, for instance.  What does, “in the Spirit” mean there?  Was Jesus raised as a spirit as the Jehovah’s Witnesses claim and use this verse to prove it?  If so, it doesn’t seem to agree with the rest of the Bible.

If you’ll look it up in the same way as described above, you’ll see the phrase can also mean” by the Spirit.”  So, Jesus was raised by the Holy Spirit.  That makes more sense in the light of the rest of Scripture.  You’ll see “in the Spirit,” appears a number of times in the New Testament including Rev. 1:10 where John says he was “in the Spirit” on the Lord’s day.  Was John a spirit?  No.  He was empowered by the Holy Spirit to write the book of Revelation.  So, we see a clarity here of what is being said.

Once you do this a few times, it becomes a very quick and easy way to research those words that make a difference in how we read and understand God’s Word.

 

 

Ever wonder how the pastor comes up with all those gems you hear on Sunday mornings?  Of course, besides God leading him, he’s been trained to study the Bible in ways most Christians weren’t.  I thought it would be good to lay out some ways to study your Bible so you can discover some of these gems yourself and learn more about the God we serve.

I’ll start with the simpler methods and progress over the next few weeks to some more detailed but and more rewording methods.

Bible study is a lot like mining for gold.  You can walk around the claim looking at the ground and maybe pick up a nugget or two here and there, but you don’t really glean the major rewards until you start digging.

Always start your devotions and studies with prayer.  That’s rule number one!  If you don’t you miss out on the author Himself explaining what you’re reading. (2 Pet. 1:21)

Your daily devotions can produce some nuggets just reading Scripture.  Let me suggest this to start with: if you are reading a portion of Scripture that speaks to you, go back to it after your devotions and paraphrase that passage.  It might be a single verse or an entire chapter, but put it in your own words.  This will make you look more closely at the passage which will naturally cause you to gain more information from it.

My favorite passage of Scripture is Jude 1:24-25.  It reads,

Jude 1:24-25 (NKJV)
²⁴  Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
²⁵  To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.

If I were to paraphrase it, it might read something like this:

“Jesus can keep me from stumbling and will be thrilled to introduce me to the Father.  Jesus is God our savior, and I wish glory, majesty, dominion, and power to Him forever.”

So, pick a favorite verse or short passage and try this method today.  See if it doesn’t bring Scripture more to life, more to your heart.  Next week, we’ll grab a pick and shovel to dig a little deeper still.

 

“Do I have to go to church to be a Christian?”  Well, no.  The old saying still stands: “Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian anymore than going to McDonald’s makes you a hamburger.”  The church doesn’t make us Christians, but being a Christian should make us want to attend church.  We all have something to learn and something to offer in our Christian life (Heb. 10:24-25).  Church is where much of that takes place.  And if you’re not there, the church is lacking (1 Cor.12:21-26)

In The Truth Project , a wonderful  video series produced by Focus on the Family, Del Thacket points out that even God, the most self-sufficient being in existence, has community: the Trinity.  God is a God of community starting with marriage, family, friendship, even our day-to-day acquaintances, and for the Christian, the church.  We aren’t alone in this world nor are we alone in our faith.

When I speak of the church, I’m talking about the body of Christ, the total of believers (1 Cor. 1:2).  Your local Bible-believing church is a part of that body, but not all of it.  If your church isn’t a Bible teaching church, you should be looking elsewhere.

Jesus Himself speaks of the church as a natural expectation of His ministry (Matt. 16:18).  So, if Jesus expects the church to exist and be produced by His teachings, shouldn’t we take advantage of the body He has set up for us?

Jesus also acknowledges it as the place where Christians are held accountable (Matt. 18:17).  Paul tells us quite a bit about church life.  Here are just three points:

• We are to stir up one another with love and good works (Heb. 10:24-25)
• We are not to neglect gathering together with other believers (Heb. 10:24-25)
• How this is all supposed to work (Col. 3:16).

Just a couple of observations to close: our witness to the world is effected by how we act.  Someone who claims to be a Christian and doesn’t regularly attend church is seen as something of a hypocrite by the world.  Their witness fails.  James says our faith is seen by others through our acts, not our words (James 1:14-18).  While you don’t need to be at church every week, we all have things that come up – work, etc.  As Christians, though, we should seek out the fellowship and blessings we get from other believers.  If not, we and our church are losing out.

As usual, this post also appears as a page in the menu and includes the passages cited in full.

The Body of Christ

A lot of years ago now, I wrote a poem describing  the entire assembly of Christians past, present, and future.  The Bible calls that group the “body of Christ.”  The prayer mentioned was a simple childhood request for God to show Himself to me.  Please excuse the lack of proper structure and meter.  Here’s part of that poem:

As I look around the church today

I see dear friends of mine

Who show me through their lives and loves

God’s qualities divine.

 

In some I see the joy of God

His patience and His kindness.

While others share His love in Truth

To cure the world’s blindness.

 

With some it’s His authority

That comes bursting through

With others, His sense of humor

In the funny things they do.

 

If you’ve prayed a prayer like mine

On some dark and lonely night,

Just look around.  He’s wall to wall.

Behold the body of Christ.

The Body of Christ is not just a group of people with a common cause.  We are representatives of Christ to the world, whether individually or collectively.  We are His hands, His voice, His heart.

Just a few weeks ago I was challenged to prove the missionary organizations Christians support are actually doing what they claim.  I needed only to show him a copy of our church bulletin.  In it were announcements about people I knew headed to Brazil, the food bank we have for those who need a hand, the ministry to seniors, Operation Christmas Child, the Bible studies and prayer groups who meet to glorify God.  Our mission statement was there as well: to Win, Equip, and to Serve others.  In short, I showed Him the Body of Christ functioning as it should.

Billy Graham was once asked what it must be like to be at the head of the line to heaven.  He responded by saying there will be millions ahead of him we’ve never heard of who are praying earnestly, helping selflessly, and working silently day by day to further God’s kingdom.  We’re all different in our ministries (Rom. 12:4-8).  If you’re doing something you think is minor in God’s plan, remember, nothing goes unseen.  God doesn’t  grade on a curve but on obedience.  If you’re greeting, ushering, parking cars, sewing clothes for others in need, privately praying for the sick and homeless, sharing Christ with someone on an elevator, publically evangelizing, teaching a Sunday School class, or preaching from the pulpit, you are worshipping God.  You are showing the world the physical representation of His hand.  You are an important part of the body of Christ.  If you ever feel weak and alone in this, remember He has given us the greatest Helper and Comforter of all, God the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17).

As usual, an expanded version of this blog along with the Scriptures cited is available as a separate page in the menu.

We’ve all experienced conversations where we’re talking about one thing with someone and they think we’re talking about something totally different.

A couple of months ago, I was going to help someone at our church move.  We agreed to meet at the Name Brand Storage in town at 10:00.  I was at the storage place on time, but no one else was there.  I waited for some time then decided to check.  There were two Name Brand Storages in town.  I was at the wrong one.  Had I listened more closely to where we were going to meet and heard the correct address, I would not have ended up late and red faced.

Sometimes talking with someone about the Lord is the like that.  We think we both understand what the other is saying, but the truth is we don’t.  When you ask a cultist, “Do you know Jesus?” you’ll often hear, “My church teaches that we have to know Jesus to have eternal life,” or something similar.  That sounds very mainstream, but the truth is they define Who Jesus is as Someone very different than the Bible does.  There is another Jesus, a another Spirit, and another gospel.  Paul warns us of this in 2 Cor. 11:3-4.  If you have the wrong Jesus, you’re wrong enough to lose your soul.

To Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jesus is the Archangel Michael who is God’s first and greatest creation.  To Mormons, He’s one God among many gods.  To the United Pentecostal Church, He’s just one Hat that the one Person called God wears.  So, be careful how you define your terms.  A simple, “Who is Jesus to you?” will often reveal the difference, but not always.

When I talk with someone like I’ve described and they tell me they worship a different Jesus, I’ll ask them a series of short questions:

• If a man were to worship a tree, would you call him a Christian?
• If a man cut down the tree and carved it into the shape of an idol and worshipped it, would you call Him a Christian?
• If the man brought the idol into his house and worshipped it, would you call him a Christian?
• If he renamed the tree, “Jesus,” would he be a Christian?

Of course, the answer to each of these is, “no,” but it helps focus on the problem.  Just because you worship someone or something called, “Jesus,” doesn’t mean the Jesus you worship is the Jesus of the Bible, The Almighty God, second Person of the Trinity.

So, it’s good to check out what you’re talking about.  Define terms early in your discussion, and you are much less likely to walk away red faced.

 

 

How do we know the books of the Bible we have are the right ones?  Maybe you’ve heard this question or even asked it yourself.  After all, there are the “Lost Books of the Bible” or similar volumes published?  There have even been TV shows dedicated to the books which were not included in the Bible, the New Testament in particular.  I’ll focus on those of the New Testament for this post.

Some of these “lost” books are completely bogus.  Remember many if not all of the heresies we see today began back in the first three centuries of the Christian Church.  During that time a lot of books were written by false teachers to support those heresies.

There are others which have claimed to be part of the Bible throughout history.  So, you might ask, “How did we end up with the books we have today?”   Here’s how:

The early church used some wise tests and quality control to examine the books up for inclusion into the canon (set of inspired books) of Scripture:

• Did they have apostolic authority (were they written and/or supervised by apostles?)? Two of the gospels were written by apostles: Matthew and John.  Two were written by traveling companions of apostles: Mark, who traveled with Peter, and Luke who was Paul’s traveling companion.

Peter and John gave apostolic authority to their epistles.  Lastly, we have James and      Jude who were half-brothers of Jesus Himself.  Acts was written by Luke, and                Revelation was written by John.  So, we have apostolic authority throughout the          New Testament.

This test in particular eliminated some of the very earliest writings that were being    considered.  The Shepherd of Hermas, for instance was considered for inclusion in      the Bible but had no apostolic authority.

• Was the book in question accepted by the first and second century church as God’s Word. There may have been writings by the apostles which were not Scripture.  For instance, some scholars believe there was a third epistle by Paul to the Corinthian church which is not included in the Bible because it was not accepted as Scripture by the church even though it had apostolic authority.

 

• Any book being considered needed to relate exactly the teachings of Jesus and the apostles. The books in today’s Bibles were used by the early church for teaching.

There are partial lists of acceptable books supplied by a number of writers beginning in the second century with Irenaeus.  In his Easter letter of 367, though, Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria, included a complete list of the very books we have in our New Testament today.

You might ask why it took so long to decide which books to include.  The church saw the task as more of a discovery than a decision, and a very few books were yet to be agreed upon.  James and Revelation were two of the last to be included in the official Church Canon.

Don’t get the idea that the very early church was not united behind the vast majority of the books we have today.  The gospels, Acts, Paul’s epistles, and others were accepted at the time of their writing or shortly after.  Peter points to Paul’s epistles as Scripture in his second epistle (2 Peter 3:15-16).  Paul was still alive at the time.

Could there be more books coming?  Probably not.  The book of Jude says the faith has been delivered once and for all to the saints (Jude 3).  Revelation tells us not to add or subtract from “this book” which many believe to be referring to the canon itself.   Because of this, we believe the canon of Scripture is closed.

Rest assured, the Bible you hold in your hand today has been stringently examined and tested to make sure all the books are divinely inspired and all the divinely inspired books are in the Bible.

 

As usual, an expanded version of this blog with the Scriptures cited can be found in the menu under Apologetics.