Galatians 6:2
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
I’d like to help but I’m not sure how. So for now I guess I’ll just say be warm and well fed. đ
Category Archives: Paul
Let them eat worms
Behold the
fowls of the airbeneficiaries of welfare: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet yourheavenly Fatherwelfare State feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? (KJV)
Now, if I meant to sound particularly harsh, I’d add that
if any would not work, neither should he eat. (KJV)
But that was the instruction of the Apostle Paul to his brothers and sisters in Christ in the church of the Thessalonians. Whereas, the bread of life himself explicitly instructed us to give food to the hungry and also remarked that the poor we will always have with us. So, no excuses!
What about welfare state? The welfare state is the biggest excuse around for not giving food to the hungry! “It’s not my job, I pay my taxes, no one starves in New Zealand, we have government welfare handouts to which everyone is entitled in times of need …” No doubt, you’ve heard it all before.
Real Christian charitable giving has nothing to do with paying taxes to fund a welfare state. In his post on Real voluntary private Charity vs the evils of welfare and Political force my co-blogger Tim makes this point exceptionally well. I have little to add.
But I will say this much. It seems to me that the Bible implicitly instructs us not to fund the welfare state. Jesus famously told us to “render to Caesar [i.e., unto the government] the things that are Caesar’s.” (KJV) Does that mean that, to follow our Lord’s instruction, we should gladly pay our taxes? No, not at all! ‘Render’ means to give back. Give back to the government that which already belongs to the government. But what is that which already belongs to the government? Your hard-earned dollars? No, I don’t think so. I think your hard-earned dollars belong to you. And you must not give them under compulsion.
The Apostle Paul wrote
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (ESV)
We are to give generously, not grudgingly. Any gift of ours is to be given
as a willing gift, not as an exaction. (ESV)
Furthermore, the Apostle Peter wrote
I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. (ESV)
We are to look after the sheeple not under compulsion, but willingly. And we are not to domineer over those in our charge. This brings me to a further and final point.
We are not to exact. Instead, we are to act. As examples.
Do not treat the poor and needy like trained circus seals! Do not seek to make welfare beneficiaries jump through hoops. Freely scatter your gifts to the poor! Dignity for dignity. (NIV)
Don’t be a Carol Gaither!
As Biblical as Easter. Russell Crowe’s Noah Movie.
I went to see the Noah movie last night.
I was not expecting it to be an accurate portrayal of the Biblical Noah, and was fully prepared for Hollywood licence…. why let the truth get in the way of a good story?
Thus I have been sceptical of the bleating s from Christian commentators…. so I did’t bother to read them… and was determined to make up my own mind…. hoping to find something positive… ie that perhaps it may at least get people thinking about the Book of Genesis.
I like Big Budget movies with Special effects.
I think the real Russell Crowe is a Plonker… yet he’s good at his trade and usually enjoyable to watch… yet his portrayal of Noah was disturbing… unpleasant.
I can appreciate that it was a necessary for the script for Crowe to portray Noah as absolutely single minded in his convictions that God intended to absolutely destroy Humanity… though this was a massive departure from what The Bible says… and as a consequence Crowe’s Noah comes across as absolutely heartless…. a religious Fanatic… and this is a great dis-service to the Biblical Noah whom preached to the world about the coming flood… only to be mocked and jeered at.
The Movie makes out Noah flatly refused anyone’s plea to enter the salvation of the Ark… which is Tantamount to Christ refusing to save sinners…. The Genesis Ark being a Type of God’s mercy and Salvation in Christ.
I will mitigate this criticism in that the Magnitude of the situation did call for Steel resolve and monumental… unwavering Faith in the justness of God’s judgement.
Crow’s Noah was that… and later in the movie Mrs Noah articulates the weight that Noah had Borne …esp being a Caring and Humane Man.
The movie Noah heartlessly leaves Ham’s Girlfriend to be crushed to death, just so they could stitch in another unpleasant and Anti-biblical construct… That in the post Deluvian world Ham and Japheth would take wives of their nieces.
No Doubt the producers relished this ‘innovation’ as it is patently designed to make audiences recoil at the idea that the Bible contains incest… re- procreation from the Children of Adam and Eve.
I will mitigate this critisism only for the shear fact that to believe the Book of Genesis is a literal historical account, it is necessary to accept that Adam and Eve’s children *did* pro-create together.
Yet there was no Law against it in that age, nor was there the same level of De-generation as is the case today… People lived 1000 years back then.
I do think that this part of the plot does evidence the producers desire to use this movie to discredit the Bible… not to enhance Faith… yet would you expect anything less from Hollywood these days?
It would be silly to go to a movie like this and yet feel you had been defrauded of your money.
Rabid Non-Christians like Ricard Dawkins would enjoy seeing Christians squirming in their seats!
Considering myself a more open mined, tolerant, and freer thinker than the average Christian I was hoping to find more virtue in this movie… they really did contrive things to such an extent that regretfully I must say that the bleetings of Evangelicals like Ray Comfort are not without substance.
One virtue which cannot be denied is that this movie is stimulating conversation on a very important subject… and no doubt some people will turn to Christ as a result.
Others may loose their faith…
Half way through the movie now, another interesting yet thoroughly contrary part of the plot was that the Fallen Angels of Genesis 6 had become ‘Watchers’…. Stoney Giants who contrary to the scriptures were benevolent beings who despite having to contend with the violence of humanity, still longed to be restored to communion with the Creator, and decided to help Noah build the Ark and protect it from being over-run by the Evil hordes.
They acted like the 300!
Brave warriors willing to face overwhelming odds to protect Noah’s family and the Ark.
The Highlight of the movie for me was when these Watchers began to be overpowered that they realised that God Almighty was merciful towards them and that upon death they were to be restored to Heaven!
Sitting alone amongst the crowd I was moved to silently shed a tear or two.
Heroic self-sacrifice and the hope of God’s mercy are themes which strike deep in my heart….. even though this part of the movie was an absolute fabrication.
I dont think it is necessary to dwell on the contrived storyline that Crowe’s Noah was determined to kill his own grandchildren…. a truly despicable portrayal… attempting to stitch in events of Abraham and Isaac… That Men of Faith are capable of the most inhumane atrocities.
It matters not that Isaac was spared… as were the grand daughters in this tale…. Hollywood’s purpose was served.
It was portrayed that Noah had to defy God, to save the innocent.
A Test?
Did Noah Fail?
No… not according to Emma Watson who played Shem’s wife.
Noah chose mercy and love… over blind obedience.
Maybe…. Ultimately… in the end Hollywood’s Noah learned the greatest Religious lesson of all.
A Straw man argument as far as the Book of Genesis is concerned.
Some positive yet grim aspects of the movie was that the Ark looked believably constructed.
They caused the Animals to drop into a Hibernation via the use of drugs…. a common speculation as to the logistics of how 8 people were able to tend to so many beasts…. not to mention inter-species conflicts.
They attempted to portray the depravity of The Godless… the justification for God’s Judgement.
I do not think the movie overstated the horror of the flood itself… it’s probably not possible to do that!… and so It was good to visualise the sort of terrible fate that consumed the lost… even if it makes some folk question the Love of God.
Ray Winstone’s portrayal of the Pride of Rebellious Humanity was awesome.
The seed of Cain…. ‘Why wont God commune with me?’
Hell bent, He determined to Dominate the world be shear lawless brutality… to spite God.
To kill was the mark of manhood.
Ultimately I think This Movie is what you would expect from people who dont believe the flood ever happened… don’t believe the Book of Genesis is anything more than fables… and so there can be no real harm done by bastardising the story.
Indeed the infidel no doubt considers the fact that this movie will work to discourage faith in the scriptures as it’s greatest virtue.
Anthony Hopkins as Methuselah.
I will Finnish my commentary simply by saying that I myself believe the Book of Genesis is Literal history… and that the flood did occur.
It is a well establish artefact of historic tradition… almost universally attested to… even if it is unpleasant to consider such all consuming Divine judgement.
Reality and truth are Objective… not determined by our sentiments, and i am appalled by modern liberal Christians whom attempt to sidestep the uncomfortable truths written in the Bible by simply pretending that they are myths… no flood… no massacres… no hell… etc.
The Story of the Flood is absolutely relevant today… and it is Ironic that I am writing these words on Easter Saturday… a festival which has dubiously … via the tides of history come to be associated with the Death Burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ… events which St Paul preached were God’s Grace in action.
The sinless Christ… the Scape Goat… took on the sins of Humanity and was Judged by God… the wages of sin being Death…. he was Crucified.
Yet after 3 days in the grave he rose victorious over sin and death… God via St Paul’s preaching the Good news that whosoever believes that Christ died for their sins and rose again the third day… calling upon the Name of the Lord… they shall be Saved from the coming judgement of God!
Christ is our Ark.
God’s judgement is again drawing near upon a corrupt and violent Mankind.
To pretend that God does not judge is a great lie… a terrible delusion.
The Story of Noah is a warning to be heeded…
Ignore it at your peril.
People surrounded by evil are looking for salvation…. they need to hear the Gospel of Gods Grace… Come to the Ark!
There is salvation in Christ!
God is not Heartless… yet he will judge the wickedness of humanity.
He has provided a way of salvation via faith.
He has given you the choice.
The power is in your own hands.
There is a terrible time approaching under the Anti-Christ, and God’s judgement will again be upon Humanity as he pours out his wrath upon a world which has rejected Christ.
So my friends Will you put your trust in the Word of God or in the vain imaginations of the infidel?
Tim Wikiriwhi
Protestant Christian, King James Bible believer, Dispensationalist, Libertarian
See FaceBook Page ‘Noah Movie Australia’ >>>Here<<< Jesus warns.... Matt 24vs21-5, 37-38 "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before." "But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." 2 Timothy 3 King James Version (KJV) 3 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. 9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as their's also was. 10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, 11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. 12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. ****************************** Read more.... Noahâs Ark given the seaworthy seal of approval by physicists. NZ Herald
Hell is for the Self Righteous, Heaven is for Sinners.
Christâs work of Salvation on the Cross⌠The Great Equaliser.
The Christian Fellowship is a voluntary private society, not a theocratic political movement.
The hope which is In Christ. Terrible grief shall be turned into great joy!
The Rock of Divine Revelation.
Soulmate Delusion
God gave us free will. We’re free to choose right or wrong. Love is a choice! There is no such thing as divine energy holding two people together, that simply is not love. Love would be meaningless if it was not an ACTION of our free will, but pre-programmed to love someone. It just doesn’t make any sense.
We can fall off a bike, fall off a chair, fall in the toilet, but we cannot fall in love. We choose to love. Falling in any context, is not choosing.
This brings me to the purist definition of love you will ever find.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
God hates fags? God hates us all!
Fred Phelps thought that fags were special. They’re not.
Fags think that fags are special. They’re not.
None of us is special.
We all sin differently. Schadenfreude is a sin. (It’s a form of vengeance. “Schadenfreude is mine; I will laugh, saith the Lord.” Perhaps Fred Phelps got that bit right.)
You people are fucked in the head for rejoicing in another human beings death, no matter how much of a cunt he was.
Fred Phelps has died! Let’s spread a little hate worldwide! No, wait … let’s not do that.
Slayer To Protest Westboro Baptist Church Leader Fred Phelpsâ Funeral
Let’s picket his funeral instead!
I’d rather see them play a set out front than picket it!
Me too, bro. But I suspect that news article’s a hoax, anyway. So let’s have another ridiculously over-the-top Slayer fan video instead. đ
Just a note on Slayer. Slayer’s lyrics are sometimes anti-Christian, due in large part to the fact that guitarist Kerry King is a notorious atheist douche-bag. Notwithstanding that some heavy metal bands (whom I won’t name) are genuinely anti-Christian, Slayer is not really an anti-Christian band. Art is art. It’s just an image thing.
Itâs not that these people believe in this stuff. Itâs just … a cool imagery that goes along with the music …
Slayer is just a bunch of guys having fun. Metal is fun! Keep it metal!
God loves us all. As vocalist Tom Araya makes clear, “He doesn’t … God doesnât hate.”
God loves us all. He loves fags, Fred Phelps, Slayer, the Schadenfreuders … and you. Repent!
Repent now and accept God’s gift of eternal life.
RIP Fred Phelps. (Goodbye and thanks for all the good excuses to post more Slayer.)
What does the Bible say about drug addiction?
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. (KJV)
“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. (NIV)
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: (KJV)
Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. (ESV)
For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. (ESV)
So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. (ESV)
Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (ESV)
More nous, less nows
A friend gave me this excellent DEMOTIVATOR® from Despair.com several Christmases ago. And, recently, I finally got a round tuit. I put the damn thing up on the wall of my home office!
The poster represents an ever timely life lesson.
Perhaps life’s greatest lesson is that life itself is a lesson. That was my ex-wife’s sort of New Age spiritual viewpoint, in a nutshell, anyway. She had a firm intuition that we are each thrown into this mortal sphere of existence for a reason or reasons—to learn our spiritual life lesson(s). Of course, being a committed atheist and moral nihilist at the time, I mocked the idea. It’s only now, a repentant worldview and a decade of divorce later, that I’m wondering if she was right, after all. (And kicking myself for not asking the obvious question at the time. If life is a lesson, who sets the curriculum?)
Or, perhaps, life’s a Stanley Milgram experiment.
A test of your Moral character and conviction.
The decisions you make throughout your life are all being observed and recorded.
One day you will be asked to give account.
God as teacher and/or God as experimenter? I don’t think that Tim’s suggesting that life on Earth is, quite literally, an experiment. So I will! (A misbegotten experiment, perhaps? No, I’ll leave it to a detractor to suggest that. Also, I’ll leave it to the apologists for God’s supposed omniscience to explain this.)
How did you do? If life’s a classroom and every day’s a school day, did you study hard? Or did you just fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way? If life’s a Stanley Milgram experiment, did you go with the Word or go with the crowd?
One day you will be asked to give account. If life’s a lab running a Stanley Milgram experiment, you will be judged on how you used your God-given faculty of free will. Did you make the right decisions, and evince moral character and conviction? (The decisions you make throughout your life are all being observed and recorded.) Whereas, if life’s a classroom, you will be judged on how you used your God-given learning ability. Were you a willing, conscientious, hard-working student of life? Did you learn and practise the right things? (Everything you learn and practise goes down on your academic record.)
Classroom or lab? Are we God’s students, or are we his experimental test subjects? I suggest that life’s more lesson than lab, for the simple reason that we do not have a faculty of so-called free will, God-given or otherwise. The concept itself is a nonsense. What we do have is the God-given ability to learn and to change our behaviour. We also have the curriculum and the learning objectives. You’ll find it all in the prescribed text.
(Is Christianity complicated? Please don’t protest that God didn’t make it clear what are the right things to learn and practise. He did. The Bible contains massive redundancy. You know, like how the Ten Commandments are repeated in Deuteronomy, just in case you missed them in Exodus.)
Now, back to the DEMOTIVATOR® at the top.
(Did you see what Despair.com did there with the wee ®? They threatened to send their statist cronies around to your place to sort you out good and hard should you ever decide to go into business selling your own DEMOTIVATOR posters!)
The poster represents an ever timely life lesson. And the life lesson is, learn the power of delaying gratification. Rejoice and be glad!
the children who were best able to delay gratification subsequently did better in school and had fewer behavioral problems than the children who could only resist eating the cookie for a few minutesâand, further, ended up on average with SAT scores that were 210 points higher. As adults, the high-delay children completed college at higher rates than the other children and then went on to earn higher incomes. In contrast, the children who had the most trouble delaying gratification had higher rates of incarceration as adults and were more likely to struggle with drug and alcohol addiction.
How to learn delayed gratification?
Rather than resist the urge to eat the cookie, these children distracted themselves from the urge itself. They played with toys in the room, sang songs to themselves, and looked everywhere but at the cookie. In short, they did everything they could to put the cookie out of their minds.
So, learning to delay gratification is not at all the same thing as learning to resist temptation. The results even suggest that any direct attempt to resist the urge to eat the cookie is worse than futile, it’s counter-productive. And, note, we’re talking about a non-starving child and a cookie. We’re not talking about a methamphetamine addict and a bag of P. And we’re certainly not talking about being offered all that you could ever want in the whole world and having it right now.
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. âAll this I will give you,â he said, âif you will bow down and worship me.â
Jesus said to him, âAway from me, Satan! For it is written: âWorship the Lord your God, and serve him only.ââ (NIV)
Nope. Staring down temptation and simply commanding it to go away is way too hardcore for mere images of God! We can but pray, “Lead us not into temptation” in the first place. Give us this day our daily distraction!
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirableâif anything is excellent or praiseworthyâthink about such things. (NIV)
The poster represents an ever timely life lesson. Delay gratification, do some work, and get your shit sorted. (Thanks for the round tuit.)
The Gospel of God’s Grace.
The Gospel is that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose from the dead showing his victory over sin and death and guaranteeing our salvation and justification before God.
Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord *Shall* be saved.
For by grace are ye saved, through faith… it is the gift of God.
Not of works lest any man should boast.
For God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ.
You cannot *add* or take away anything from this…. God’s ordained prescription for salvation in this age.
You cannot deny Christ’s Sacrifice and resurrection and be saved.
You cant say “I’m a good person.. I dont deserve to go to hell”…. for there is none Righteous no not one, For all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God.
If you deny that it was necessary for Christ to shed his blood for you…. you reject the gift of God.
You cannot *Add* to the finished work of Christ as preached to us by the Apostle of the Gospel of Grace St Paul.
False preachers of the Law say that a person must keep the Law to be saved…. ie they add *works* as necessary for salvation.
They prove they dont understand the Gospel of grace at all!
They fail to ‘Rightly divide’ the word of truth and so twist the scriptures to say what they want…. by mis-applying the old testament, the Kingdom preaching of Christ, St Peter, St James, etc…. and corrupt the Gospel of grace into Slavery under the Mosaic Law.
They add things like baptism, like keeping the Sabbath etc as necessary for salvation.
These ‘additions tend to enslave those whom they deceive into obeying *The Church hierarchy*….. ensnare them in tithing etc.
This is to deny the Liberating Power of the Cross, which sets us free from the Law.
If all this seems confusing….. Satan Laughs and spreads his wings…. He created this confusion to keep you from the Simple truth.
That Christ has paid the penalty of our sins and that if we simply ask God to save us in Christ’s name…. we will be saved indeed… no ifs…. no But’s….
Christ came to save us Sinners.
No matter who you are or how evil you have been, or what your personal struggles and vices are.…. Christ s Blood can save you!
Rejoice in the Love and GRACE of God our Heavenly Father.
Tim Wikiriwhi
Protestant King James Bible believer Dispensationalist Libertarian Independent.
Read more from Tim….
Hell is for the Self Righteous, Heaven is for Sinners.
Christâs work of Salvation on the Cross⌠The Great Equaliser.
The Christian Fellowship is a voluntary private society, not a theocratic political movement.
The hope which is In Christ. Terrible grief shall be turned into great joy!
Post-mortem Docetism. Dear sister, desist.
A Facebook friend of a friend on Facebook recently posted the following comment.
Jesus never “came back to life again” – at least, not in the same human form or the kind of life that he had or that we live. That is actually an incorrect message that is passed on in ignorance. If you read the Bible you will see that he only ever appeared in spirit form following the resurrection, in the same form that angels appear(ed) and possess. And I (and many millions of others) have indeed seen this exact same form for ourselves in our own lives at very different and unexpected times and in very different and unexpected places. There are literally thousands of normal and perfectly sane people who for some unknown reason have been presented with this vision. I and many of the people whose books I have read or youtube accounts I have watched were not even Christian at the time. But there is one thing that each of us has had in common: the spirit form is a shimmering white form with a human-type head. It is like us. đ
Now, she’s a jolly good fellow Christian an’ all, but this is a heinous heresy! It’s post-mortem Docetism!
Jesus was resurrected in bodily form. We read in the Gospel of Luke how, after Jesus’ body was reported missing from the tomb, two of his followers met Jesus on the road to Emmaus.
Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.
He asked them, âWhat are you discussing together as you walk along?â
They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, âAre you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?â
âWhat things?â he asked.
âAbout Jesus of Nazareth,â they replied. …
As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, âStay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.â So he went in to stay with them.
When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. (NIV)
That “he disappeared from their sight” does not necessarily mean that Jesus vanished like an apparition. If Jesus had appeared to the two followers as “a shimmering white form with a human-type head” I think they’d have noticed, don’t you?
Later, Jesus appeared again, this time to a group which included the eleven remaining disciples.
While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, âPeace be with you.â
They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, âWhy are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.â
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, âDo you have anything here to eat?â They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence. (NIV)
Jesus himself denied being a ghost! He was “flesh and bones,” not “in spirit form”. In fact, he was hungry, and ate a piece of fish! Ghosts just don’t do that. Jesus certainly did come back to life, and in the same human form he had before his crucifixion.
In fact, this belief, in the bodily resurrection of Jesus, is Christianity’s central tenet. Paul certainly seemed to think so. He says in 1 Corinthians 15
But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. (NIV)
Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I face death every dayâyes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,
âLet us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.â (NIV)
What’s the bottom line? Keep it Biblical.
Having highlighted someone else’s heresy, what of my own? I think of the coming Resurrection of the Dead in terms of software and hardware. It’s the software that matters, not the hardware. Same program, different machine. Doesn’t matter, as long as the software licence permits installation on more than one machine. Or does it? Somebody called Eric says
I think it is very important to address 1 Corinthians 15, especially in regard to Chuck Smith. According to Paul, those who deny the bodily resurrection at the last day are divisive and enemies of the faith. Unfortunately, Chuck Smith clearly denies boldily resurrection, and instead teaches an innovative heresy of bodily replacement.
According to the Apostle Paul, doctrinal error that is held to at all costs by those not willing to be corrected causes division. He relates this specifically in his second letter to Timothy to the doctrine of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, which is the crux of the good news God has called him to preach. (2 Tim. 2:8) There is no other issue more important. No other issue demands our sobriety and clear-thinking and prayer as Christians as does the doctrine of the resurrection of Christ. If he did not resurrect, if His selfsame body did not leave the tomb after three days bearing the scars of crucifixion, then we are doomed and we have no hope.
Selfsame body or replacement body? Is the latter heretical? If it is, at least it’s “innovative”!
But does it really matter? I think the authors of the comic strip Coffee With Jesus have it right.
The Resurrection of the Dead
Regular readers, thank you for your patience during the recent Eternal Vigilance outage.
So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: âThe first man Adam became a living beingâ; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.
I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: âDeath has been swallowed up in victory.â (NIV)
Eternal Vigilance has now moved to a new imperishable server.
Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lordâs word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever. (NIV)
Furthermore, Eternal Vigilance has now moved to a new cloud server.
We’re hosted by Rackspace, based in Denver, Texas, where everything is bigger, brighter and better.
Algud.