Posts made in September, 2018


“Away with the Atheists!”

“Away with the Atheists!”


Posted By on Sep 29, 2018

“Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, in order that they might put Him to death”                              Matt. 26:59     The year was 155 A.D. when Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, (the same church as found in the book of Revelation), at eighty-six years of age, was martyred for his faith.  Moreover, he was a devout disciple of the Apostle John, who himself was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ.  Polycarp was brought before the Roman Proconsul,1 who sternly warned him to renounce his belief in Jesus Christ.  He was strongly advised to repent from his alleged “atheism” and to audibly proclaim, “Swear by the fortune of Caesar; repent, and say ‘Away with the atheists!'” [indicating the Christians].  Polycarp gazed intently at the godless, bloodthirsty and pagan multitude that filled the arena, and gesturing towards them, he said, “Away with the Atheists!”  The proconsul insisted; “Swear and I will set you free – revile Christ!”  Polycarp answered, “Eighty and six years I served Him and he has done me no wrong.  How can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?”  Polycarp displayed bold allegiance to Christ, in both his interrogation and in his martyrdom–while they attempted to burn him alive at the stake, they plunged a spear into him when the flames did not kill him quick enough.  Polycarp, more godly then all present including the proconsul, was accused of the most heinous form of evil that a Christian could be accused of, “atheism”.   In essence, Satan himself could not have written a better script. There never was a man as innocent as Jesus Christ and never will be, yet He was unjustly arrested, brutally beaten, and sentenced to be crucified.  Why, because the Jewish leaders hated Him and were envious of Him: “For he [Pontius Pilate] knew that because of envy they [Jewish leaders] had delivered Him up.” (Matt. 27:18–brackets added).  In the darkness of the night, Jesus was hurriedly subjected to a mock trial before the Sanhedrin [the highest Jewish court] and falsely accused of committing evil–even though no formal legal charges were brought against Him.  Two false witnesses were brought in to testify against Him and perjuring themselves, claimed: “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’ “ (Matt. 26:61).  Incomprehensibly, Jesus was accused of committing evil, when He was actually teaching the “good news” of God’s kingdom–for that He was executed! A few years after Jesus was crucified, Stephen, a devout follower of Jesus, was martyred by being stoned to death...

Read More
The Significance of Scripture

The Significance of Scripture


Posted By on Sep 14, 2018

“… The Scripture cannot be broken” (Jn. 10:35)   While away on a recent trip I was able to visit with a friend.  While sitting on a rushing river bank, we had a lengthy discussion of many things.  She seemed particularly distracted and as I pressed her, she confessed that she was concerned about her pastor.  She voiced concerns regarding her pastors’ exposition from the Old Testament, mainly she was worried about the potential danger of excluding the Gospel message.  Ironically, I have Jewish friends who hold to the Old Testament alone.  In this article, I wish to share a few things which helped my friend and which I hope is helpful to my sisters in Christ.  But in order to keep this brief, I will only touch on a few things in a very cursory manner, as this subject is complex, immense and the most relevant of all subjects. Therefore, please look to the theological resources at the end of this article. The first issue I believe is imperative to address is that both the Old and New Testament is inspired by God.  “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).  We tend to forget the supernatural nature of Scripture, that it is “God-breathed”.  As a “people of the book” we know that God divinely superintended the accurate recording of His divinely breathed truth by His divinely chosen human instruments.  All Scripture, meaning the words originally revealed and recorded, is God’s infallible and inerrant Word. God moved men to utter and write Scripture, this known as the doctrine of Inspiration, as they were allowed their own unique personality to come through, God controlled word for word what He wanted. “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Pet. 1:19-21). From the first author, Moses who wrote Genesis and every book unto to the very last, Revelation which was written by the Apostle John is the inerrant, infallible Word of God. There is no more revelation other than the words within the Bible and yet the Holy Spirit within each Christian, aids the meaning and understanding of Scriptures.  The Scriptures are the recorded history of God’s self revelation to His creation.  They are Word revelation and Event revelation, as the men who recorded Scripture recorded actual historical events.  Between the...

Read More
Redeem The Time

Redeem The Time


Posted By on Sep 14, 2018

“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”                                                             Eph. 5:15-16     There are ample exhortations in Scripture that indicate the Christian to be continuously fruitful–and that he or she is urged to “Be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18).  In fact, the original Greek of that clause in Eph. 5:18 is rendered, “Be being filled with the Spirit”; it’s to be a continuous, ongoing behavior in the life of a believer.  In other words, a believers duty is marked by life-long service to God, until he is called home to heaven and when the words “Well done, good and faithful slave“, are hopefully heard (Matt. 25:21, 23).  By perusing the Bible, one will see many stories regarding God’s servant’s service to Him, was a life-long endeavor that only terminated upon their death.  For example, God used Abraham and Sarah who were both well-advanced in years [100 and 90 years old–Gen. 17:15-16].  Although well past the childbearing age, God blessed Sarah with the capability to conceive and give birth to Isaac, the continuation of the promised “seed” (Gen. 17:9).  Abraham served God all the remaining years of his life and died at the age of one hundred and seventy five. Moses was eighty years old when God first appeared to him in the “burning bush.” (Ex. 3:2).  Obeying God’s call, Moses embarked on what would end up being a forty year “tour of duty”, as a faithful “servant of God”.  God choose him and his brother Aaron [also in his eighties], to deliver His people, the Israelites, from Egyptian slavery and subjugation.  Joshua, who faithfully served Moses, was forty years old when he spied out the “Promise Land” [Josh. 14:7] and was nearly eighty years old, when he had taken over leading the people [Moses died Deut. 34:5].  into the Promised Land.  David, God’s “chosen” king of Israel and “a man after God’s own heart” [1 Sam. 13:14, Ps. 89:20, Acts 13:22], fought and won many battles for God and His people.  He served God by loyally obeying His will until he died, having served as a great king of Israel for forty years (1 Kin. 2:10-11, Acts 13:22, 36). In the New Testament, Paul faithfully and diligently served God his entire life, until the time of his execution (cf. 2 Tim. 4:6).  During his first imprisonment he served the Lord by writing four inspired epistles [Ephesians, Philippians,...

Read More