"They're not convinced that there is such a thing as objective moral truth. They're not convinced that Jesus is the only way. They're not convinced really that other religions aren't also ways to come to God,"
"I've been consistently struck by the amount of biblical illiteracy among Christians in churches. You can pick just a simple parable, a simple story of Jesus, that you think most Christians would know -- and although they may know about it, they will not really have any idea what it means."
"We really, truly need very, very sound biblical teaching by some of the best biblical teachers around. If we could have a really firm grasp on what these biblical principles mean for our world, we can at least know how to live them out. And then we need to learn how to communicate that to the people around us."
THE POSTERITY OF CAIN.
It is important to note that the posterity of Cain comes in the First Toledoth, vis., that of "the generations of the heavens and the earth"; and not in "the book of the generations of Adam."
The posterity of Seth commences with "the generations of Adam": showing that the two accounts are distinct, and deal with two different subjects. See the Structures on pp. 3 and 5 (Gen. 2:4--4:26; 5:1--6:8).
The generations of the heavens and the earth (2:4--4:26).
J1 | 2:4-25. Before the Fall.
J2 | 3:1-34. The Fall.
J3 | 4:1-26. After the Fall.
The expansion of J3. "After the Fall" (4:1-26), p. 8.
J3 L | 1-16. Adam's sons: Cain and Abel.
M | 17-24. Cain's son: Enoch.
L | 25. Adam's son: Seth.
M | 26. Seth's son: Enos.
There were 130 years before Seth was born and substituted for Abel in the line of the promised seed.
In those 130 years after Cain, Adam must have begotten "sons and daughters", as in the 800 years after Seth.
If Abel dies in A.M. 125, and Abel and Cain had children before that year, even supposing they had no descendants till they reach the age of sixty-five, Adam could have had 130 children. And if each of these could have a child at sixty-five years of age, one in each successive year, there would have been 1,219 in A.M. 130. If we suppose Adam's earlier sons and daughters to have had children at the age of twenty-one instead of at sixty-five, there would have been over half a million in the 130 years, without reckoning the old or young, and this at a very moderate rate of increase.
It is generally assumed that Adam and Eve had no children beyond those named. But, as in the line of Seth, it is clear from Gen. 5:4 that they had, we may well conclude that the same was the case in the line of Cain. it is a gratuitous assumption that Abel had no posterity.
It is manifest that the history assumes a considerable population; and the fact that there is no attempt to explain it proves its genuineness, and shows that we are left to explain it for ourselves in the only natural way by which it can be explained.
From The Companion Bible.
We have seen in Appendix 112 that the word "kingdom", like the Greek
basileia, has regard to sovereignty rather than territory, and to the
sphere of its exercise rather than to its extent.
Using the word "kingdom" in this sense, and in that which is conveyed
in its English termination "dom", which is short for dominion, we note
that the former expression, "the Kingdom of heaven", occurs only in
Matthew, where we find it thirty-two times 1.
But in the parallel passages in the other Gospels we find, instead, the
expression "the Kingdom of God" (for example; compare Matthew 11:11 with
Luke 7:28).
The explanation of this seeming difference is that the Lord spoke in
Aramaic; certainly not in the Greek of the Gospel documents. See Appendix
94. III.
Now "heaven" is frequently used by the Figure Metonymy (of the
Subject), Appendix 6 for God Himself, Whose dwelling is there. See Psalm
73:9. Daniel 4:26, 29. 2 Chronicles 32:20. Matthew 21:25. Luke 15:21 ("I
have sinned against heaven" is thus contrasted with the words "and in thy
sight"). John 3:27.
Our suggestion is that in all the passages where the respective
expressions occur, identical words were spoken by the Lord, "the Kingdom
of heaven"; but when it came to putting them into Greek, Matthew was
Divinely guided to retain the figure of speech literally ("heaven"), so as
to be in keeping with the special character, design, and scope of his
Gospel (see Appendix 96); while, in the other Gospels, the figure was
translated as being what it also meant, "the Kingdom of God".
Thus, while the same in a general sense, the two expressions are to be
distinguished in their meaning and in their interpretation, as follows :
The Kingdom (or Sovereignty) of HEAVEN
Has Messiah for its King;
It is from heaven; and under the heavens upon the earth;
It is limited in its scope;
It is political in its sphere;
It is Jewish and exclusive in its character;
It is national in its aspect;
It is the special subject of Old Testament prophecy;
And it is dispensational in its duration.
The Kingdom (or Sovereignty) of GOD
Has God for its Ruler;
It is in heaven, over the earth;
It is unlimited in its scope;
It is moral and spiritual in its sphere;
It is inclusive in its character (embracing the natural and spiritual
seeds of Abraham, "the heavenly calling", and the "Church" of the
Mystery). Hence,
It is universal in its aspect;
It is (in its wider aspect) the subject of New Testament revelation;
And will be eternal in its duration.
NOTE
1 The Kingdom of God occurs only five times in Matthew (6:33; 12:28;
19:24; 21:31, 43).
Misunderstood Bible Texts
THE SPIRITS IN PRISON"
(1 Peter 3:19).
A correct understanding of this passage may be obtained by noting the following facts:
- Men are never spoken of in Scripture as "spirits". Man has a spirit, but he is not "a spirit", for a spirit hath not flesh and bones". In this life man has "flesh and blood", a "natural" (or psychical) body. At death this spirit "returns to God Who gave it" (Ps. 31:5. Eccles. 12:7. Luke 23:46. Acts 7:59). In resurrection "God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him" (1Cor. 15:38). This is no longer a "natural" (or psychical) body, but a "spiritual body" (1Cor. 15:44).
- Angels are "spirits", and are so called (Heb. 1:7, 14).
- In 2Pet. 2:4 we read of "the angels that sinned"; and in 1Pet. 3:19, 20 of spirits "which sometime were disobedient ... in the days of Noah". In 2Pet. 2:4 we are further told that the fallen angels are reserved unto judgment, and delivered into chains (i.e. bondage or "prison"). Cp. Jude 6.
- The cause of their fall and the nature of their sin are particularly set forth by the Holy Spirit in Jude 6, 7.
- They "left their own habitation".
- This "habitation" is called (in Greek) oiketerion, which occurs again only in 2Cor. 5:2, where it is called our "house" (i.e. body) with which we earnestly long to be "clothed upon"; referring to the "change" which shall take place in resurrection. This is the spiritual resurrection body of 1Cor. 15:44.
- This spiritual body (or oiketerion) is what the angels "left" (whatever that may mean, and this we do not know). The word rendered "left", here, is peculiar. It is apoleipo = to leave behind, as in 2Tim. 4:13, 20, where Paul uses it of "the cloke" and the "parchments" which he left behind at Troas, and of Trophimus whom he left behind at Miletum. Occ. Heb. 4:6, 9; 10:26. Jude 6.
- They "kept not their first estate (arche)" in which they were placed when they were created.
- The nature of their sin is clearly stated. The sin of "Sodom and Gomorrha" is declared to be "in like manner" to that of the angels; and what that sin was is described as "giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh" (Jude 6, 7). The word "strange" here denotes other, i.e. different (Gr. heteros = different in kind. See Ap. 124. 2) What this could be, and how it could be, we are not told. We are not asked to understand it, but to believe it. (see further in App. 23 and 25).
- They "left their own habitation".
- In Gen. 6:1 ,2, 4 we have the historical record, which is referred to in the Epistles of Peter and Jude. There these "angels" are called "the sons of God". This expression in the Old Testament is used always of "angels", because they were not "begotten", but created, as Adam was created, and he is so called in Luke 3:38 (cp. Gen. 5:1). It is used of angels eight times: Gen. 6:2, (*1) 4. Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7. Ps. 29:1 (R.V.m.); and Dan. 3:25. In this last passage there is no article, and it does not mean "the Son of God", but "a son of God", i.e. an angel who was sent into the furnace (Dan. 3:28), as one was into the den of lions (Dan. 6:22). In one passage (Hos. 1:10) the English expression is used of men, but there the Hebrew is different, and it refers only to what men should be "called", not to what they were.
- Returning to 1Pet. 3:19, the expression "the spirits in prison" cannot be understood apart form the whole context. The passage commences with the word "For" (v. 17), and is introduced as the reason why "it is better, if the will of God should (so) will, to suffer for well-doing, than for evil-doing. FOR (v. 18) Christ also suffered for sins once (Gr. hapax) - a Just One for unjust ones - in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death indeed as to [His] flesh, but made alive as to [His] spirit." This can refer only to His spiritual resurrection body (1Cor. 15:45). In death His body was put in the grave (or sepulcher, i.e. Hades), Acts 2:31; but His spirit was "commended to God". Not until His spirit was reunited to the body in resurrection could He go elsewhere. And then He went not to "Gehenna", or back to Hades but to Tartarus (2Pet. 2:4. See Ap. 131. III), where "the angels who sinned" had been "delivered into chains". To these He proclaimed His victory.
- The word rendered "preached" is not the usual word euangelizo (Ap. 121. 4), but the emphatic word kerusso (Ap. 121. 1); which means to proclaim as a herald. Even so Christ heralded His victory over death, and the proclamation of this reached to the utmost bounds of creation.
It was "better" THEREFORE to suffer for well doing than for evil doing. He had suffered for well doing. He suffered, but He had a glorious triumph. "Therefore" (runs the exhortation), "if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye" (vs. 14), and it concludes "Forasmuch then as Christ suffered on our behalf as to the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind; for He that hath suffered in the flesh hath done with sin; no longer to live [our] remaining time according to men's lusts, but for God's will... For to this end, to those also who are now dead, were the glad tidings announced, that though (Gr. men) they might be judged according [to the will of] (*2) men, in [the] flesh, yet (Gr. de) they might live [again] according to [the will of] God, in [the] spirit" : i.e. in resurrection (1Pet. 4:1, 2, 6).
The above is suggested as the interpretation of the expression "the in-prison spirits", in the light of the whole of the nearer and remoter contexts. - Angels are "spirits", and are so called (Heb. 1:7, 14).
- In 2Pet. 2:4 we read of "the angels that sinned"; and in 1Pet. 3:19, 20 of spirits "which sometime were disobedient ... in the days of Noah". In 2Pet. 2:4 we are further told that the fallen angels are reserved unto judgment, and delivered into chains (i.e. bondage or "prison"). Cp. Jude 6.
- The cause of their fall and the nature of their sin are particularly set forth by the Holy Spirit in Jude 6, 7.
- They "left their own habitation".
- This "habitation" is called (in Greek) oiketerion, which occurs again only in 2Cor. 5:2, where it is called our "house" (i.e. body) with which we earnestly long to be "clothed upon"; referring to the "change" which shall take place in resurrection. This is the spiritual resurrection body of 1Cor. 15:44.
- This spiritual body (or oiketerion) is what the angels "left" (whatever that may mean, and this we do not know). The word rendered "left", here, is peculiar. It is apoleipo = to leave behind, as in 2Tim. 4:13, 20, where Paul uses it of "the cloke" and the "parchments" which he left behind at Troas, and of Trophimus whom he left behind at Miletum. Occ. Heb. 4:6, 9; 10:26. Jude 6.
- They "kept not their first estate (arche)" in which they were placed when they were created.
- The nature of their sin is clearly stated. The sin of "Sodom and Gomorrha" is declared to be "in like manner" to that of the angels; and what that sin was is described as "giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh" (Jude 6, 7). The word "strange" here denotes other, i.e. different (Gr. heteros = different in kind. See Ap. 124. 2) What this could be, and how it could be, we are not told. We are not asked to understand it, but to believe it. (see further in App. 23 and 25).
- They "left their own habitation".
- In Gen. 6:1 ,2, 4 we have the historical record, which is referred to in the Epistles of Peter and Jude. There these "angels" are called "the sons of God". This expression in the Old Testament is used always of "angels", because they were not "begotten", but created, as Adam was created, and he is so called in Luke 3:38 (cp. Gen. 5:1). It is used of angels eight times: Gen. 6:2, (*1) 4. Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7. Ps. 29:1 (R.V.m.); and Dan. 3:25. In this last passage there is no article, and it does not mean "the Son of God", but "a son of God", i.e. an angel who was sent into the furnace (Dan. 3:28), as one was into the den of lions (Dan. 6:22). In one passage (Hos. 1:10) the English expression is used of men, but there the Hebrew is different, and it refers only to what men should be "called", not to what they were.
- Returning to 1Pet. 3:19, the expression "the spirits in prison" cannot be understood apart form the whole context. The passage commences with the word "For" (v. 17), and is introduced as the reason why "it is better, if the will of God should (so) will, to suffer for well-doing, than for evil-doing. FOR (v. 18) Christ also suffered for sins once (Gr. hapax) - a Just One for unjust ones - in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death indeed as to [His] flesh, but made alive as to [His] spirit." This can refer only to His spiritual resurrection body (1Cor. 15:45). In death His body was put in the grave (or sepulcher, i.e. Hades), Acts 2:31; but His spirit was "commended to God". Not until His spirit was reunited to the body in resurrection could He go elsewhere. And then He went not to "Gehenna", or back to Hades but to Tartarus (2Pet. 2:4. See Ap. 131. III), where "the angels who sinned" had been "delivered into chains". To these He proclaimed His victory.
- The word rendered "preached" is not the usual word euangelizo (Ap. 121. 4), but the emphatic word kerusso (Ap. 121. 1); which means to proclaim as a herald. Even so Christ heralded His victory over death, and the proclamation of this reached to the utmost bounds of creation.
It was "better" THEREFORE to suffer for well doing than for evil doing. He had suffered for well doing. He suffered, but He had a glorious triumph. "Therefore" (runs the exhortation), "if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye" (vs. 14), and it concludes "Forasmuch then as Christ suffered on our behalf as to the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind; for He that hath suffered in the flesh hath done with sin; no longer to live [our] remaining time according to men's lusts, but for God's will... For to this end, to those also who are now dead, were the glad tidings announced, that though (Gr. men) they might be judged according [to the will of] (*2) men, in [the] flesh, yet (Gr. de) they might live [again] according to [the will of] God, in [the] spirit" : i.e. in resurrection (1Pet. 4:1, 2, 6).
The above is suggested as the interpretation of the expression "the in-prison spirits", in the light of the whole of the nearer and remoter contexts.
THE SPIRITS IN PRISON"
(1 Peter 3:19).
A correct understanding of this passage may be obtained by noting the following facts:
(*1) In the first passage (Gen. 6:2) the Alexandrine MS of the Septuagint has "angels" (not "sons"), showing how it was then understood.
(*2) For the supply of this ellipsis see Rom 8:27, 28, and cp. 1Pet 4:19.
Men are never spoken of in Scripture as "spirits". Man has a spirit, but he is not "a spirit", for a spirit hath not flesh and bones". In this life man has "flesh and blood", a "natural" (or psychical) body. At death this spirit "returns to God Who gave it" (Ps. 31:5. Eccles. 12:7. Luke 23:46. Acts 7:59). In resurrection "God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him" (1Cor. 15:38). This is no longer a "natural" (or psychical) body, but a "spiritual body" (1Cor. 15:44).
(*1) In the first passage (Gen. 6:2) the Alexandrine MS of the Septuagint has "angels" (not "sons"), showing how it was then understood.
(*2) For the supply of this ellipsis see Rom 8:27, 28, and cp. 1Pet 4:19.
"SHEOL".
HEBREW, SHEOL.
The first occurrence of this word is in Gen. 37:35, where it is rendered "grave". It occurs sixty-five times in the Hebrew of the Old Testament; and only by studying each passage by itself can the student hope to gather the Biblical usage of the word. All heathen or traditional usages are not only worthless, but mischievous. The following are all the passages where the word "Sheol" occurs, with the rendering in each passage indicated thus :
| 1 = Grave | 2 = Pit | 3 = Hell |
| 1. Gen. 37:35. | 3. Ps. 18:5. | 1. Ecc. 9:10. |
| 1. Gen. 42:38. | 1. Ps. 30:3. | 1. Song 8:6. |
| 1. Gen. 44:29, 31. | 1. Ps. 31:17. | 3. Isa. 5:14. |
| 2. Num. 16:30, 33. | 1. Ps. 49:14, 14, 15. | 3. Isa. 14:9 (marg. grave). |
| 3. Deut. 32:22. | 3. Ps. 55:15 (marg. grave). | 1. Isa. 14:11. |
| 1. 1Sam. 2:6. | 3. Ps. 86:13 (marg. grave). | 3. Isa. 14:15. |
| 3. 2Sam. 22:6. | 1. Ps. 88:3. | 3. Isa. 28:15, 18. |
| 1. 1Kings 2:6, 9. | 1. Ps. 89:48. | 1. Isa. 38:10. |
| 1. Job 7:9. | 3. Ps. 116:3. | 1. Isa. 38:18. |
| 3. Job 11:8. | 3. Ps. 139:8. | 3. Isa. 57:9. |
| 1. Job 14:13. | 1. Ps. 141.7. | 1. Ezek. 31:15. |
| 1. Job 17:13. | 1. Prov. 1:12. | 3. Ezek. 31:16, 17. |
| 2. Job 17:16. | 3. Prov. 5.5. | 3. Ezek. 32:21, 27. |
| 1. Job 21:13. | 3. Prov. 7:27. | 1. Hos. 13:14, 14. |
| 1. Job 24:19. | 3. Prov. 9:18. | 3. Amos 9:2. |
| 3. Job 26:6. | 3. Prov. 15:11, 24. | 3. Jonah 2:2 (marg. grave). |
| 1. Ps. 6:5. | 3. Prov. 23:14. | 3. Hab. 2:5. |
| 3. Ps. 9:17. | 3. Prov. 27:20. | |
| 3. Ps. 16:10. | 1. Prov. 30:16. |
As meaning "THE grave," it is to be distinguished from keber, A grave, or, burying-place (from kabar, to bury, first occurrence Gen. 23:4) : and bor, a pit, generally hewn in the rock, hence used of a cistern (Gen. 37:20) or a dungeon, &c., when dry. (See note on the word "well" in Gen. 21:19.)
Misunderstood Truth about the Church
By Dr. J. D. Watson Pastor/teacher
Grace Bible Church- Meeker, Colorado
Finally, one of the greatest burdens on my heart is the lack of knowledge and Truth in Christianity today. It is deeply tragic that many are caught up in these inadequate sources of Truth when the battle can only be won with the "sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of GOD" (Eph. 6:17). And what�s more, the major fault lies nowhere else than on the heads of preachers. One of the saddest realities in the Church are pastors who stand in the pulpit week after week and preach nothing but salvation messages, or at best, some shallow, syrupy devotional. Yes, salvation is the beginning, but it�s just that�the beginning. From there comes "the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." (Eph. 4:11-12). Paul went out of his way to specifically challenge the Ephesian elders to declare "all the counsel of God" and "to feed the church of God" (Acts 20:27-28). It is only by giving God�s people the Truth�predominately by expository preaching�that they can be equipped for living and become discerners of error. But tragically, that is not the norm today.
It is also for this reason that Paul entreated Timothy that the very mission of the Church is to be "the pillar and ground of the truth" (I Tim. 3:15). This was actually an extraordinary statement. Timothy was at that time the pastor of the Ephesian church. Paul had left him there to deal with several problems that had arisen. While we don�t readily understand this statement, Timothy and the Ephesians immediately recognized the imagery Paul uses.
The impressive temple of the goddess Diana (Artemis), one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was located in the city. William Barclay gives the following description of it:
One of its features was its pillars. It contained 127 pillars, every one of them the gift of a king. All were made of marble, and some were studded with jewels and overlaid with gold.[i]
Each pillar acted as a tribute to the king who donated it. The honorary significance of the pillars, however, was secondary to their obvious function of holding up the immense structure of the roof. Here, then, Paul says that the church�s mission is to hold up the Truth.
But Paul adds something else�that the church is also the ground of the Truth. Ground translates the Greek hedraioma, which appears only here in the New Testament and refers to "a stay, a prop, or a support." Some commentators maintain that the idea here is "foundation." The NIV even translates it as "foundation." But that is a very serious error. Gordon Clark points out by writing:
Were this word translated foundation, so the church would be the foundation of the truth, the connotation would be seriously in error. The Church does not invent the truth; the truth produces the church . . . The church is the pillar and seat, the mainstay, the bulwark, the support of the truth. In less metaphorical language this means the church proclaims, defends, and propagates the Gospel.[ii]
Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest gives the true comparison of pillar and ground by writing:
The word "ground" is hedraioma, "a stay, a prop." The kindred adjective is hedraios, "firm, stable." The words, "pillar" and "ground," are in apposition to [i.e., supplement] the word "church." The idea is that the church is the pillar, and as such, the prop or support of the truth.
So, in Paul�s metaphor the church is not the foundation of the Truth�the Truth is the foundation. Rather, the Church is the pillar, the mainstay, the chief support that holds up the Truth and proclaims it as the only Truth. As the pillars of the Temple of Diana were a testimony to the error of pagan false religion, so the Church is to be a testimony to God�s Truth. That is its mission, its very reason for existence.
In direct contradiction of Paul�s imagery, the mission of today�s churches is to be "user friendly," "purpose driven," and "seeker sensitive," but God said to just preach the Truth. It is the solemn responsibility of every church to solidly, immovably, unshakably, uncompromisingly uphold the Truth of God�s Word. Again, the Church is not to invent the Truth, as is being done today by everything from redefining the Gospel to reinventing Church ministry. Such people are treading on dangerous ground. As Revelation 22:18-19 declare, judgment awaits those who alter God�s Word:
For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
When John, the last of the apostles (and therefore the last person able to write Scripture), wrote those words, the Gnostics were already adding to and subtracting from the Word of God. The Roman Catholic Church has since added its traditions and the ex cathedra ("from the chair") pronouncements of its popes to the Word of God. The Mormons have added the nonsense concocted by Joseph Smith in The Book of Mormon. The so-called Christian Scientists have added the ramblings of Mary Baker Eddy. The Spiritists have added pronouncements derived from demons. In contrast to such additions, liberal textual critics have specialized in deleting great portions of Scripture. And the tampering goes on, in spite of God�s warning. In the end God will settle His own accounts with those He bluntly labels "liars" in Proverbs 30:5-6: "Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar."
If we may say it one more time�the Church�s mandate is not to invent the Truth, but to support and safeguard the Truth. It is to the Church that God has given the stewardship of Scripture. The Scripture is the most precious possession on earth, and it is the Church�s duty to guard It. Churches that tamper with Biblical Truth, misrepresent it, depreciate it, relegate it to a secondary place, or abandon it altogether destroy their only reason for existing and will experience impotence and judgment. I grieve every day over the fact that many (if not most) evangelical churches are not preaching the unadulterated, uncompromised Truth of God�s Word.
The most important gauge by which a church can be measured is not how large it is, how good its fellowship is, how interesting the pastor is, how good the music is, how well the grounds are kept up, or even how respected it is in the community. The measure of any church is how it handles the Word of God. Two questions should be our benchmark: First, does it teach the Truth? Second, does it live the Truth?
Let us emphasize once again that Truth is not relative. Unlike the world, Liberal Christianity, and even much of the Evangelical Church, the Scripture could not be clearer on this point. In Luke 9:50, the Lord Jesus said to His disciples, "He that is not against us is for us." Two chapters later (11:23) He said it in the reverse: "He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth." A person is either for Christ or against Christ. There is no middle ground between right and wrong, Truth and error, sound doctrine and heretical doctrine, true Gospel and false Gospel. Something is either true or it is a lie. In contrast to the prevalent and predominate attitude of our day, there is nothing in the middle. There is no "gray area."
Oh, Dear Christian Friend, no matter what the question, no matter what the issue, would that our motto be, "What saith the Scripture?" (Rom. 4:3; Gal. 4:30). Why? Because only It is Truth.
What a contrast there is between our day and the early days of Christianity! As Francis Schaeffer points out,[iii] the Romans threw those Christians to the lions for two reasons. First, they refused to worship Caesar. It didn�t matter who else you worshipped, as long as that did not interfere with the formal worship of Caesar. The early Christians, however, committed treason by worshipping only one God, which became a direct threat to state unity.
Second, and perhaps even more profound, is that they were persecuted because they looked to one source alone for their authority�God�s revelation. They were enemies of the state because they judged all things�including the state�by that single authority, and that simply could not be tolerated. In the eyes of Rome, in fact, they were no less than "rebels" who had to be destroyed.
How many Christians today are of the same stock as those who stood so uncompromisingly? How many are willing to be called "rebels," not because of political activism or "social awareness," but solely because God�s Word is their only authority?
Let us close with two other wonderful verses:
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (Jn. 8:32-33).
Will science make us free? No, we�re ever learning but never discovering. Will philosophy make us free? No, it drove Nietzsche mad. Will even religion make us free? No, the Law keeps us in bondage. It is only the Gospel of Christ that makes us free, and it is only in His Word that we find Truth.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[i] The Letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1975), p. 89.
[ii] Gordon Clark, The Pastoral Epistles.
[iii] Francis A. Schaefer, How Should We Then Live? (New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1976), pp. 24-25.
Dr. J. D. "Doc" Watson
Pastor-Teacher, Grace Bible Church
Sola Scriptura Ministries
PO Box 235 - 1350 Sage Ridge Rd.
Meeker, CO 81641
970-878-3228
docwatson3228@qwest.net
www.TheScriptureAlone.com
bravenet.com