LOVE & MARRIAGE

Love and Marriage

Runaway wagon. Image from Web.

There’s an old Sinatra song that alleges that love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage, that you can’t have one without the other. Is this true? What is love? What is marriage? As does marriage, love has it source in our Creator. ‘God is love’ (1 John 4:16). The LORD God, as it were, walked Adam’s bride down the aisle, ‘Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man’ Gen. 2:22). Was it love at first sight for Adam? ‘And Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh’ (Gen. 2:23-24). This is what came to be known as ‘leave and cleave’, i.e., leave parents and cling to spouse. We speak of marriage as getting hitched, hitching up.

Sin is when our love for God runs cold. When Adam sinned, God unhitched His carriage, i.e., Adam and the rest of humanity. He divorced humanity because of our unfaithfulness. He hates divorce (Mal. 2:16) but permits it because of our sin (Matt. 19:8-9). Nowadays love is symbolised by the shape of a heart. But Calvin says, ‘The human heart is a perpetual idol factory.’ We commit adultery with our legion of manufactured idols, false gods (Exod. 20:3-5; Jer. 3:6-9; Ezek. 16:32; Hos. 2:2). We’ve seen it many times in the old westerns, an unhitched wagon hurtling towards a cliff’s edge. God, do something or we’re all going to die!

‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life’ (John 3:16). God shows His love to us and for us by sending us His Son as a husband who loves us that much that He is willing to lay down His life for us. In marriage, we are to reflect this sacrificial love, ‘Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her … For we are members of His body, of His flesh and bones.’ (Eph. 5:25, 30). Those who believe are the new carriage that has been renewed by His love. Unbelievers are the wreckage at the bottom of the canyon. Food for the vultures and the cayotes. ‘Your carcasses shall be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and no one shall frighten them away’ (Deut. 28:26). God offers mankind life, yet the love of many has run so cold that they would rather choose death. For those who worship the LORD, ‘And they shall go forth and look upon the corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me. For their worm does not die, and their fire is not quenched. They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh’ (Isa. 66:24; cf. Mark 9:44-38).

Image from Web.

It’s at the mere suggestion of Hell that the idol factories start working overtime, ‘My god would never send anyone to Hell!’ ‘Your God is so cruel!’ ‘My god loves everyone regardless!’ And so, factory furnaces that produce their idols grow hotter and louder, thus drowning out God’s genuine offer of salvation in Christ. And so, the carriage continues over the cliff to its everlasting doom. Hell has no escape hatch. You’re in the fiery furnace without the Angel of the LORD to rescue you (Dan. 3:25, 28; cf. Psa. 34:7). 

Yes, it is Christ, the Messenger of the covenant (Mal, 3:1) who rescues His bride, the church. ‘“Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” Now Joshua … was standing before the Angel’ (Zech. 3:2b-3).

Love and marriage do go together like a horse and carriage. Show your love for God by making sure you’re in His Son’s carriage (2 Cor. 13:5).      

THE PROCLAMATION

 

THE PROCLAMATION

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Galatians 3:1-5.

Image from Web

Introduction

Paul, as it were, was nailing his “proclamation” to telegraph poles, church doors, and billboards. He was yelling it from rooftops, street corners, even in town squares throughout the land: “I bring good news from God!” He’d been all through Galatia. The Galatians had heard all about it. They had read all about it. So Paul is amazed at the Galatians for acting as if they never really heard and believed the good news. After he calls the Galatians “foolish” and “bewitched” he sets out to remind them what they had heard and had believed in the first place.

First off, we need to look at the general gist of what he proclaimed (the headlines) and was still proclaiming, then we’ll look a bit closer at the solid substance of what he was proclaiming, (the hardlines).

The Headlines

Paul reminds the Galatians that, “Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified” (Gal. 3:1). We need to zoom in on that word “portrayed”. What does it mean to portray something? My English dictionary says, firstly that it means: To represent by a drawing or painting etc. Does this mean that Paul painted a picture of the crucified Christ and showed it to the Galatians? Well, we have no biblical record of Paul walking around with a painting of Christ in his pocket. Therefore, he means that he has proclaimed the crucified Christ among them.

My dictionary gives another meaning for the word portray: To represent, as in a play etc. Did Paul walk around with a team of actors acting out a drama of the crucifixion? Well, there’s no biblical record of that either. My dictionary also gives another meaning which is a lot closer to the meaning in the Greek. It says, To describe or depict in words. Now we’re getting somewhere. The New Testament Greek word here has a few subtle shades of meaning. However the present context considered, the word means, “To placard publicly, set forth in a public proclamation so that all may read.” So, what Paul is saying is that the crucified Christ has been “placarded” publicly before the eyes of the Galatians. Therefore, we’re not talking about a Paul walking around holding up a Roman Catholic crucifix.

But what about the elements of the Lord’s Supper? Perhaps this is what Paul means when he says, “Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified.” “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me... This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” You must admit the crucified Christ is portrayed in the Lord’s Supper. But this is the very compelling reason why Paul is not referring to the Lord’s Supper. Because the Lord’s Supper is an ongoing ordinance, “...as often as you drink it...” And the crucified Christ was portrayed before their eyes, not is portrayed. Anyway, in chapter 4 of Galatians Paul reminds them that he preached the gospel to them. Therefore, though the Lord’s Supper is a portrayal of the crucified Christ, Paul isn’t referring to the Sacrament here. Paul is talking about a public “proclamation” that took place among the Galatians as a people!

He was in the streets of Galatia like an old “town crier” who says, “Hear ye! Hear ye!” Then he pulls out a scroll and he proceeds to make the proclamation. Well, this is the essence of what Paul had done publicly in Galatia.

Paul refers to this previous encounter with Galatians in chapter 4:13, where he says, “You know that because of physical infirmity I preached the gospel to you at first.” Maybe his infirmity was an eye problem. Paul says they would have plucked out their own eyes and given them to him if they could (4:15). And then in 6:11 he makes reference to writing in big letters. Perhaps he mentions the word “eyes” in chapter 3:1 to jolt their memories of the time Paul proclaimed the gospel to them.

So then, Paul didn’t produce a painting of the crucified Christ. Neither did he perform a drama depicting the crucifixion, but rather he proclaimed a documented event of history.

So what was the general gist of Paul’s public proclamation? He says “we preach Christ crucified” (1 Cor. 1:23). And in 1 Corinthians 2:2 he says, “For I determined to not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” So Paul then, is consistent. He preached Christ and Him crucified among the Galatians too. But does that mean the sum total of his preaching was what people nowadays call the simple gospel? By this they have in mind the stuff of evangelistic rallies and altar calls, where you tell them about Christ dying on a cross. You do it in such a way that people can’t help but they feel sorry for Christ. Then you try to get them to make a “decision” to follow Jesus while they’re feeling emotional.

There are many Christians who claim you’re not preaching the gospel unless you’re talking specifically about the cross. Therefore, they expect the preacher to do backflips and somersaults and land at the foot of the cross in every sermon they preach, otherwise the preacher has not preached the gospel.

It’s one of the great tragedies in the Church today that men have reduced the gospel to a few points. Then they trot out these points to parade them before people’s eyes. They preach the same old sermon every time because they think of these points as the sum total of the gospel. Is this what Paul was doing on the highways and byways? Did Paul condense the message of the cross to a few eye-catching headlines? Did He go around the land just yelling out headlines?

Headlines are just summaries encapsulating the story. They are just attention grabbers. They’re not the whole story. If you’re interested, you’re supposed to buy the whole newspaper and “read all about it.” But there are people today arguing that the headlines of the gospel are the whole story. And they accuse people (such as myself) of adding to the gospel when we say the whole Bible is the gospel. Well, the whole Bible is the Gospel, because the whole Bible speaks of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament speaks of what He was coming to do. The New Testament speaks of what He has done. He was coming to keep the Law as a Covenant of Works. Read all about it in the Old Testament and in the New, yes, the whole Bible. He was coming to keep God’s Law perfectly on behalf of those condemned by the Law. Read all about it in the Old and New Testaments, the Bible.

Here’s the general gist of what Paul the Town Crier was yelling out: “Hear ye! Hear ye! God the maker and creator of heaven and earth has sent His only begotten Son into the world to save the world! His Son never stopped being the Son of God, but also became the Son of Man. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and was born of a virgin. He was crucified at the hands of wicked men. His dead body was placed among the dead, but on the third day He rose again. After He revealed Himself to many people He ascended into heaven. He is now seated at the right hand of the Father. But this Man Jesus Christ is coming to judge you, whether you’re alive or dead at the time. And He has sent His Spirit to testify to the truth of the One I proclaim. Therefore, repent and believe in the Gospel!”

These are just some of the headlines, all of which have to do with the Gospel message. And those of you who know your creeds will have detected some of the so called Apostles’ Creed in some of those headlines. But all the other headlines can be summarized in the one big headline: Christ and Him crucified. And Paul has already portrayed this before the eyes of the foolish Galatians. Who have been listening to and believing what the trashy tabloids are putting out, you know, the ones that embellish the truth and make up things? But Paul is proclaiming only what has been written and recorded in all of God’s Word.

The Hardlines

Are you familiar with that portion of Scripture in John’s Gospel where Jesus was telling people that they had to eat His flesh and drink His blood? (John 6). Well, a whole bunch of His disciples departed from Him about that point! John 6:60 says, “Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can understand it?’” When they got down to brass tacks, when they got beyond the headlines, they didn’t like what Christ was saying. These hard sayings we are calling hard lines. Hard lines are the solid substance of the message.

Headlines are milk for babies. Hard lines are the meat. Paul said to the Corinthians, “I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it...” (1 Cor. 3:2). The Apostle Peter wrote, “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby” (1 Pet. 2:2). The idea is that people begin with just the headlines and then they progress onto the hard lines.

I almost compulsively bought a newspaper because I was intrigued by a headline. But I changed my mind. Why buy a paper for only one little article? I can’t be bothered with the sports section; the jobs section; the new homes section. I’m mainly interested mainly in the Editorial section. But this is exactly the way people treat the Bible. And I put it to you that they do this precisely because of their view of the gospel.

“What do Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy have to do with the Gospel?” is what they ask. “What does any of the Old Testament have to do with the Gospel? Nothing!” is what they say. “The Old Testament is the Law and what does the Law have to do with the Gospel?” is what they say.

The Galatians were in the process of departing from Christ, so what does Paul do? He writes them an Epistle explaining the purpose of the Law. But what does the Law have to do with the Gospel? It has everything to do with the Gospel. Why? Because we are saved by works of the Law! That’s why. But not by our own works, not by our owns works of the Law. But we are saved by Christ’s works of the Law.

Christ kept the Law as a Covenant of Works perfectly unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore, you cannot present Christ and Him crucified unless you explain why He was crucified. He was crucified because He was fulfilling the Law. Read all about in the Old Testament in the New Testament, i.e., the whole Bible.

Matthew 5:17-18 should suffice for now: Jesus said, “Do not think I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” Therefore, you cannot possibly know what Jesus did if you have no idea what the Law is. And you’ll never have any idea if you keep on thinking the Law has got nothing to do with the gospel.

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones put it this way, “A person who does not know his Old Testament is – forgive the expression – just a fool. You need your Old Testament; you cannot understand the New without it.” This is exactly what Paul is saying to the foolish Galatians. He’s preaching them the Gospel from the Old Testament. If you read ahead you’d see that he quotes from a few places in Genesis, from Exodus, Leviticus, places in Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Habakkuk, Malachi. He’s all over the Old Testament as he proclaims the crucified Christ to them.

Speaking of the Gospel Paul says to the Romans, “For in it [the gospel] is the righteousness of God is revealed” (Rom. 1:17). The righteousness of God is revealed in Jesus Christ. How is it revealed in Jesus Christ? It’s revealed by looking at what Christ did on the cross. Listen to how Jay Adams put it, “The cross was not merely an act of compassion and mercy directed toward mankind; it was a cosmic event in which God demonstrated who and what He is before all the universe.”

Are you getting the picture? Is it sinking in? THE CROSS IS A DEMONSTRATION OF WHO GOD IS! Who or what is this God who made the heaven and the earth and dwells in unapproachable light? Well, there’s the headline: “Man Dies On Cross!” But you have to own a Bible before you can read all about it.

Now, I’m sure we’ve all heard about Christians in foreign lands, where all they had was one page of the New Testament and this kind of thing? Or the story of the man who went into the Christian bookshop asking if Mark had written any other books because he enjoyed it so much. Well, it’s one of those vexing questions: How much of the Gospel does a man need to understand before he’s saved? Well, I want to put it to you that it’s not how much you understand, but rather how much can you reject and be saved.

You’ve probably heard that Martin Luther called the Epistle of James an epistle of straw! I’d like to defend his honour by saying that Luther did not reject James. He just, at the time, found what James seemed to him to be teaching, hard to swallow. Luther had gone from the headlines of the Gospel to the hard lines of James’ Epistle! Luther, it would seem, was struggling with something of what the Galatians were struggling. What is the proper use of the Law for the Christian? The Law is no longer a Covenant of Works to us who are saved by grace. So what is it then? Well, I’ll tell you again: - the Law is the revelation of who God is.

And if you want to see the revelation of who God is then look to the cross. For that is where the Law of God points you. But you won’t fully understand the cross without understanding the Law as a Covenant of Works. But neither will you fully understand the Law if it is devoid of the cross. That’s why there is Gospel in the Old Testament and Law in the New Testament. They go hand in hand. Remove the Law from the Gospel and you have Antinomianism. Remove the Gospel from the Law and you have Legalism. Therefore, read all about the cross in the whole Bible, Old and New Testaments.

What does Paul say to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4? “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you – unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures...”

Whatever Jesus Christ did then, He did in accordance to the Scriptures. In fact, Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me” (John 5:39). What Scriptures were Jesus talking about? He was talking to Pharisees. Therefore, Jesus was saying the Old Testament testified of Him. Something that testifies is a testament, isn’t it? No one would argue against the fact that the New Testament testifies of Jesus. Therefore, if Jesus Christ says the Old Testament is testifying of Him, then the Old Testament must be included as the gospel. And the Apostle Paul was using the OT as such. Edmund P Clowney says it like this: “If we are going to carry Bibles and not simply pocket Testaments, we should surely be using the Old Testament more than we do. The missionary Bible of the apostolic church was the Old Testament Scripture. Our Lord in the synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4), Peter at Pentecost (Acts 2), Paul in the synagogues of Asia Minor and Greece – these all preached the gospel from the Old Testament. During the time which the apostolic witness to Christ was still being recorded, the Old Testament was the Scripture from which the church preached Christ.”

Image from Web

Paul like any normal Christian going to tell people about Christ would surely take a Bible with him. The Old Testament had been translated into Greek, and some of the New Testament may have been available to him. Paul says to Timothy, “Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come – and the books, especially the parchments.” Listen to an excerpt of what he proclaimed when he went to Athens: “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31).

Conclusion

When it comes to proclaiming the Gospel it’s good to draw people’s attention to the headlines. But keep in mind that headlines are just that, headlines. Therefore, don’t forget to show people the hardlines too.

Have you been guilty of ignoring those parts of the Bible you deem as unimportant? Have you been neglecting books of the Old Testament? Perhaps you’ve been neglecting to read the whole of the Old Testament? If this is the case with you, isn’t it a bit like you’ve living on a diet of headlines? How do you expect to grow as a Christian? How deep is your understanding of Christ and Him crucified? You need to read the hardlines as well as the headlines in order to grow in Christ.

I would encourage you, whatever you thought the gospel was in the past, treat the whole Bible as the Gospel, for that’s what it is. For the whole Bible is the revelation of what God was going to do and has done in Christ. This is what Paul meant when he said he’s clearly portrayed the crucified Christ before the eyes of the Galatians.

WHY I'M NOT AN ATHEIST

 Preface

My father and mother were Marxists like their parents before them. The area where I grew up (Alexandria, Dunbartonshire) even had streets named after Marxists (such as Engels Street, named after Frederick Engels, who with Karl Marx wrote the Communist Manifesto). I started my working life in the early 70s in a shipyard on the “Red Clydeside” (i.e., “red” as in a Socialist/Communist area of) Glasgow.

It was during my study of the teachings of Marx that I discovered that he had no answer to the question regarding the origin of humanity. It seemed to me that if he was successfully to influence (manipulate?) the minds of men and women to his way of thinking (i.e., to think his thoughts after him) then he needed to base his model of social engineering on something more solid than the vague musings of Charles Darwin. Marxist Socialism is Social Darwinism. You cannot have one without the other. The World Socialist Website writes,

The two great historical theories of the 19^th century, of Darwin and Marx … have fundamentally changed our understanding of the world. They were part of the development of science in its broadest form – the desire to comprehend the natural and social worlds in order to change them for the benefit of mankind.[1]

If Darwin got it wrong then that which is based upon Darwinism must be wrong. From the tearing down of the Berlin Wall to the collapse of the Soviet Union, Socialism has been proven to be wrong. Examples of this truth could be multiplied. Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, and China garner no envy from those who love the freedoms we (used to) enjoy in the various Western democracies. Hitler’s form of government, like today’s China, was National Socialism. However, we are now not permitted by the Politically Correct Movement to connect Hitler with Socialism!!!, (nor the Ku Klux Klan for that matter). Hitler and KKK are portrayed as right-wing by the Social-Engineers of the “Department of Revisionist History”. Join in the fun and do a scientific social experiment: Ask your friends if Hitler (and the Ku Klux Klan) were Leftist.

It matters not to me whether Hitler or Ku Klux Klan members[2] or any other Socialists are called “far right” (Wikipedia) or even “far left”. What worries me is that these were violent Progressives. Socialism gave birth to Progressivism in which the umbilical cord is still very much attached!

In the West we have reached a point in history where our freedoms as law-abiding individuals are shrinking at an alarming rate as governments apply the Socialist theory of Political Correctness to attain their utopian classless society. Freedom of Speech is curtailed. Sodomy and buggery are accommodated, endorsed and even promoted by the State redefining marriage. This is Socialism socially engineering mankind in its own image and likeness. Progressives, whether Left or Right, remain Socialistic regardless of their political parties by virtue of their desire to have government redistribute the wealth of the individual in order to attain their vision for society. Adolf Hitler was as much a Socialist as was Stalin. In Socialism all must agree with the collective vision or be ostracised, demonised, imprisoned and… (take, for example, the carnage of the French Revolution). This is not God’s way, which is, in my humble opinion, a far better way.

It became clear to me through my studies of Marx and Marxism that he did not believe in the God of Scripture. Otherwise he would not have come up with his social theories. Marx was a Materialist like Hegel before him. Dialectical Materialism. Thus, I put down my copy of “The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists” (Robert Tressell) and picked up a copy of the Bible, the true inspiration for any philanthropic endeavour. Therein I discovered a better way, a better way to love my neighbour as myself.

What Socialism pretends to be, Biblical Christianity really is! Biblical Christianity is the reality of a caring society, a society in which justice is blind. First off, Christianity answers the question of origins, i.e., the: Who we are as individuals and What we are supposed to be as a society. And secondly, unlike Socialism which has been proven to fail over and over, Biblical Christianity really works when put into practice, e.g., democratic government, the rule of law, justice for all, individual rights (in line with the rule of law), Capitalism, schools, hospitals, public sanitation, the abolition of slavery, etc., etc., etc. One only has to study what John Calvin did for Geneva with Biblical Christianity to see how the teachings of the Bible apply to society.

In the (Biblical) Westminster system of government and public meetings there are those who speak for a motion (i.e., an issue) and those who speak against it. A moderator (or referee) ensures that the issue is sufficiently discussed before it is put to a vote. This is democracy! However, Socialism seeks to silence all dissenters from its collective Socialist thought. Thus, today’s Political Correctness Movement. In this the very foundations of the West presently are being destroyed by Socialism in its various forms. Socialism is Atheistic. Because it is rooted in the Atheism of Marx et al, Socialism is a blight on the fruit of Western freedom.

It is when a people forget God, that tyrants forge their chains.[3]

That “The pen is mightier than the sword” may be true, but some would use that mighty instrument to write vitriolic ad-hominem arguments instead of speaking directly to the issue at hand. I have no personal axe-to-grind with anyone. I desire only to state my own personal hang-ups with Atheism as a contemporary movement. Readers are free to agree/disagree with my take on it. However, please allow me freedom of thought and the freedom to express that thought in written form.

There is life after Marx. I am not an Atheist because of the grace of God. My father and mother also became Christians after Marx. Yes, it is hard to be a consistently Biblical Christian, especially for those having been previously heavily influenced by Socialism, and with so much of it permeating the society in which we currently live. Therefore, as Christians we need to keep on “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” Hebrews 12:2a.

It is with the following gracious teaching of Jesus in mind that I have written my little book called, “Why I am Not an Atheist”. Note the profound depth of grace contained in what Jesus says,

When His disciples James and John saw [that people were not receiving and believing in Jesus] they said, ‘Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?’ But He turned and rebuked them, and said, ‘You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.’ And they went to another village.[4]

May my manner herein and hereafter be of the Spirit of Christ! 

---

[1] https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2009/06/dar1-j17.html

[2] To be sure, a Democrat does not necessarily a (full blown) Socialist make. However, the point is that Democrats are Progressives, which, whether Left or the Right, is Socialistic. It is Socialism by another name.

“Most prominent in counties where the races were relatively balanced, the KKK engaged in terrorist raids against African Americans and white Republicans at night, employing intimidation, destruction of property, assault, and murder to achieve its aims and influence upcoming elections. In a few Southern states, Republicans organized militia units to break up the Klan.” - http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/kkk-founded

[3] Patrick Henry

[4] Luke 9:54-56, New King James Version.

THE APOSTLES' CREED

 

THE APOSTLES’ CREED 

I believe in God the Father Almighty,

Maker of heaven and earth;

and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,

which was conceived by the Holy Ghost,

Born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, dead, and buried;

He descended into hell;

the third day He arose again from the dead;

He ascended into heaven,

and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;

from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost;

the holy catholic church;

the communion of saints;

the forgiveness of sins;

the resurrection of the body;

 and the life everlasting. Amen.

The word ‘Creed’ comes from the Latin ‘credo’ which simply means ‘I believe.’ All words have meanings and histories. Like everything else, as far as words are concerned, context is most important. Therefore, the words of the Apostles’ Creed ought to be read in their proper context.

The historical context is not that the Apostles’ formulated this creed, but rather that the early Church Fathers formulated it in accordance with the teaching of the Apostles as recorded in Scripture. Therefore, the Apostles’ Creed is a brief statement of what the Bible says about God, Christ, the redemption He provided, and redemption’s access and application.

The Apostles’ Creed or Symbolum Apostolicum, is, as to its form, not the production of the Apostles, as was formerly believed, but an admirable popular summary of the Apostolic teaching, and in full harmony with the spirit and even the letter of the New Testament.[1]

Christianity is not subjective, but rather is objective. Christianity is based on truth, propositional truth, communicated by God through men and recorded in Scripture (i.e., the sixty-six books of the Holy Bible). Unlike Materialist belief-systems (e.g. neo-Darwinism), beginning with God, Christianity is solidly scientific.

To believe in something is to hold to the truthfulness of the object in which one believes. Therefore, those subscribing to the Apostles’ Creed are stating that the object of their belief is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – i.e., the three Persons who are one God, His actions, the redemption He has provided, what this means and to whom it applies. All of this is according to God’s Word, the Scriptures.

Christianity therefore is based on objective truth. Whereas the Atheistic presupposition is that the Father Almighty is not the Maker of heaven and earth, Christianity's touchstone is the presupposition that the sixty-six books of the Bible is the Father Almighty’s (written) revelation to fallen man.

 

The Apostles’ Creed … sums up in a few words the main points of our redemption, and thus may serve as a tablet for us upon which we see distinctly and point by point the things in Christ that we ought to heed … The whole history of our faith is summed up in it succinctly and in definite order, and it … contains nothing that is not vouched for by genuine testimonies of Scripture.[2]     

The external object of the Christian system of belief is the Triune God as revealed in Scripture, and His plan and execution of redemption revealed from Genesis to Revelation. Therefore, the Bible is redemptive-historical and God’s revelation therein is progressive.

Generally speaking, the Old Testament predicts Christ’s work of redemption. The Gospels record the events of Christ’s redemption. The Epistles explain what it all means and how we ought to live in light of redemption. The final book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, by much use of symbols, illustrates the success of Christ’s work of redemption and the certainty of the (future) new heavens and the new earth, in which all sin, evil and its effects are banished, and in which only righteousness dwells. The renewed earth is the Heaven in which the redeemed and resurrected will live forever with Christ. Those not redeemed will be resurrected but will be in hellish-torment forever. ‘Those who believe do not come into judgment (John 5:24); those who do not believe are already condemned and remain under God’s wrath (John 3:18, 36).’[3] 

Though brief descriptions of the Father and the Son are given in the Creed, the Holy Spirit is mentioned without detail. The Heidelberg Catechism dealing with articles of The Apostles’ Creed, under the heading “The Holy Trinity Lord’s Day 24” says,

24. How are these articles divided?

Into three parts: the first is of God the Father and our creation; the second, of God the Son and our redemption; the third of God the Holy Spirit and our sanctification. (1 Peter 1:2)

The object aimed at in the Apostles’ Creed is to state belief in:

a) The Triune God – as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

b) The Father – as Maker of Heaven and Earth.

c) The Son – as Redeemer, bringing redemption as Jesus Christ:

i. God’s only Son our Lord Jesus Christ.

ii. His conception by the work of the Holy Spirit.

iii. His being born of the Virgin Mary.

iv. His suffering under Pontius Pilate.

v. His being crucified, dead, and buried.

vi. His descending into Hell.

vii. His rising from the dead the third day.

viii. His ascendance into Heaven.

ix. His reigning with God in Heaven.

x. His coming from Heaven to judge the living and the dead.

d) The Holy Spirit.

e) The Holy Catholic Church.

f) The Communion of Saints.

g) The Forgiveness of Sins.

h) The Resurrection of the Body.

i) The Life Everlasting.

Available at Amazon near you: I BELIEVE! The Apostles' Creed : McKinlay, Neil Cullan: Amazon.com.au: Books

[1] Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, Volume 1, Baker Book House, Reprinted 1996, 14.

[2] John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 2:16:18, Battles Translation, Westminster Press, 1960.

[3] Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics – Holy Spirit, Church, and New Creation, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2008, 700.

COFFEE ANYONE?

 

COFFEE ANYONE?

(Excerpted from Jefferson’s Tears, pgs. 56-59)

Another couple of soldiers had drawn near to listen to the conversation. One of them said, “I never knew the Bible had all this interesting stuff in it!” 

“Neither did I,” replied the chaplain. “Neither did I until I started reading it in my early thirties and got converted.”

“Padre, can you get me one of those camouflage Bibles?” said one soldier.

“Me too?” said another. “I’d be glad to,” responded the chaplain as he took another sip of his coffee. He looked at his watch. He had a meeting to attend soon, so he was of two minds whether to introduce the new subject. But, because he was enjoying the present company, he went for it.

“We all like coffee, right?”

The other three men nodded in agreement.

“Well, in the spirit of entrepreneurialism, or you could say that here’s a Scotsman on the make, I’d like to pour out for you a cupful, nay, an overflowing mugful of aromatic success. It really is time for you guys to wake up and smell the coffee! Yeah, yeah, it may be true that coffee always smells better than it tastes. However, money never disappoints.” The chaplain was talking tongue in cheek while at the same time being half serious. His audience was all ears, even if a little bewildered. So he went on. “What’s my bottom line? Friends, people are willing to pay up to $80 for a cup of something found in soiled kitty litter. I kid you not. ‘Kopi luwak’ is the seeds of coffee berries that have been eaten and then defecated by the Asian palm civet. A civet is a cat-like beastie, a toddy-cat that you find in places like Sumatra, Bali, and the Philippines. Civet coffee comes from cat poo — well, the beans come from cat poo!”

Each of the men, including the chaplain, instinctively looked into his coffee cup. All except Jefferson screwed up their faces as they contemplated the process for making civet coffee.

“Are you getting a whiff of where we can go with this?” continued the chaplain. “Think about it. If coffee beans that have been passed through a cat’s digestive system can entice people to part with ultra-bucks for a cup of joe, then so will the same beans passed through a more attractive animal — such as a koala or a kangaroo, or maybe a bird such as the kookaburra or a cassowary.”

The chaplain could see that the others were enjoying his little sales pitch. They sat there wondering how to get a kangaroo or a koala to eat coffee beans.

“Now here’s the rub: There was a coffee expert who did a comparison between the same beans, some of which had passed through the intestines of the cat-like critter and some that hadn’t. He said that clearly the luwak coffee sold for its story, and not for the superior quality of coffee. He said the cat-poo coffee tasted stale and lifeless, something like soggy petrified dinosaur dung. I don’t know how he knows what petrified dinosaur doo-doos taste like. Anyway, it is more than clear that people buy this kind of coffee more for the novelty than the taste.” The chaplain drained his coffee cup as he gave his audience time to digest his words, then he went on, “Did you get that? It’s not about the actual taste. It’s about the story, the novelty. Oh, pennies from heaven! It’s raining gold doubloons! Your (coffee) cup runneth over! Are you hearing the ringing of tills? Kerching. Are you smelling the sweet smell of financial success? Try saying it slowly with meaning, Kangaroo Coffee, Koala Coffee, Kookaburra Coffee, Cassowary Coffee!”

“How about Crocodile Coffee?” added one of the others.

“Bottom line?” asked the chaplain. “The bottom line is that we can make big bucks by using Australian iconic birds and animals to help us sell coffee to the coffee-craving crowd. For the quality is more in the story than the coffee bean. Think about it: novelty needs no salesman.”

“Everyone would be happy. Animal lovers? Help us save the endangered koala and cassowary! Job hunters? Come work in our coffee plantation/animal farm! Coffee lovers? Would you like to step into the Outback? Smell the desert breeze? Bound across the plains? Climb a gum tree? Laugh among the treetops? Run through the bush? Then drink a cup of Australia!

“Good idea or what? Something to think about over your next cup of coffee? Let me know. And just remember that I thought of it first!”

At that he thanked Jefferson for the coffee and excused himself, saying that he’d return and continue the conversation some other time. The others looked at each other as if they were wondering what had just happened. They weren’t sure whether to laugh or to start making plans to start an exotic coffee business.

The chaplain chuckled to himself as he walked away. He had had a bit of fun. However, he had not gotten very far when he had to run for cover. The “War Games” had suddenly come to the camp and the rat-a-tat-tat of blank ammunition could be heard as the defenders defended the little camp against the attackers. And it was getting closer …

VISHAL MANGALWADI (A Couple of Interesting Videos)

The following are a few of my scribblings upon watching the Vishal Mangalwadi interview by Douglas Wilson. It’s best you watch the video for yourself, because my own interactions are interspersed among some of Dr Mangalwadi’s comments, so much so, that we wouldn’t wish him to get the blame for something I said. He provokes thought and I tend to think out loud.

Vishal mentioned that it was poetry, along with the Bible, that changed India. He mentioned Psalms 102 and 137 in particular (which, among other things, shows OT Israel’s attachment to land). He spoke of the English poets, mentioning Wordsworth and Longfellow. Longfellow is, of course, American. Therefore, is Vishal perhaps using the term English to refer to English speakers/writers as opposed to Englishmen? There is English Canada and there is French Canada. And, annoying as it is to Scots, Americans often refer to Great Britain as England. Here in Australia, I have been asked if I can do a British accent. Upon investigation I discovered that a British accent is more like an Etonian accent. Therefore, Scots and Scousers need not apply.

It is interesting that the word poet has to do with creating and making according to its Greek etymology. The word ποιητής originates from verb ποιώ (which means create). So, the Greek word for poet has to do with being a creator. God is the Creator who spoke creation into being. We are made in His image and likeness. Poets reflect Him in creating poems. (We are fallen, therefore, we are not always the best reflectors.) Wordsworth and Longfellow were Anglos in the sense that they wrote in English. Longfellow said, “All that I have is the Lord’s; not mine to give or withhold it; His, not mine, are the gifts, and only so far as I can make them mine, as in giving I add my heart to whatever is given.” “Glorious indeed is the world of God around us, but more glorious the world of God within us, there lies the land of song; there lies the poet’s native land.” The Psalms are inspired poetry. They speak of God. Wordsworth and Longfellow, though uninspired, spoke of God too. 

Vishal says that India had no concept of nationalism, until an Indian Hindu convert to Christianity began writing poetry. He was ‘inspired’ by the ‘English’ poets. Nationalism has ties to the land. It is a Jewish (OT) concept. Vishal maintains that Longfellow, Wordsworth etc. inspired Indian poets. Out of that came Indian nationalism, the concept of a nation. This came from reading English poetry and reading the Bible.

NT Greek did not have a word for nation. This has been misunderstood by American theologians and missiologists. “Go into all the world and disciple all nations (ethnoi)…” does not mean disciple people groups per se. Vishal says that though it is true that the Greeks did not have a word for nation, the (NT) Greek word needs to have the Hebrew (OT) theology poured into it to have its intended Biblical meaning, i.e., make nations great again. Vishal said that President Trump understands the meaning of the word nation much better than American missiologists do.

My own thought: Will we begin to see prayer return to the state schools and the Ten Commandments to the court buildings now that President Trump wants to give God back His rightful place, as rehearsed in the words in the pledge of allegiance “one nation under God”?

Vishal says that the idea of nation was a Jewish-Protestant idea, not Roman Catholic or Orthodox. Nation was God’s idea for peace. The Netherlands and Switzerland first and second (OT Jewish-Protestant) nations. America was third. Interestingly, there were thirteen tribes of Israel (Joseph had two sons), and America had thirteen states (or colonies). Just as the Christian Church was in the thirteen states, so the Levites were everywhere. They were the glue that held OT Israel together.

An empire is about conquest, which is bad. Imperialism is evil. According to the Bible, a great nation is something different to a mere nation. A great nation is defined as that which holds to God’s justice and law. The further any nation moves away from this, the less great it becomes.

The apostle Thomas went to India because there already was a Jewish community already there. Therefore, God had His witness in India.

American Christianity foolishly handed over education to the state. Therefore, a new encyclopedia cum university is needed. Free to everyone, K through 12. Using AI technology to bring to life Shakespeare to teach his own plays, Einstein to teach his own theories, Newton etc. (makes me think that this may be a precursor for something like Star Trek: The Next Generation’s “Holodeck”, where participants enter into the Globe Theatre or Einstein’s classroom to learn firsthand!) The world’s best curriculum, would be given away for free to home schoolers, filling the earth with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea. College level too, with BAs etc. offered. Editorial control would be by Christian scholars. A way to pay for it all has been anticipated. Now that the anti-Christian neo-Marxism is on the wane, the four-years Trump window of opportunity must not be squandered by Christians.

Post-DL Moody American Christianity is a defeated religion. It’s a theology in the silos. Instead of teaching all aspects of Christianity holos-bolos in universities, it now seeks only to win souls, hold little Prayer Groups and Bible Studies.  Vishal says that Billy Graham won tons of souls and lost America. The next four years can be a season for winning America back. The Church must do it, not the government.

My own thoughts: If Modernism degenerated into Postmodernism, now that Wokeism is dying, where are we now in the West with the obvious paradigm shift and new sense of optimism? Do we move back up the descending chain to Modernism or do we make our awakening nations great again? What makes a nation great? Again, as Vishal says, “that which holds to God’s justice and law.”