BLUE MOON

The contemporary meaning of the term ‘once in a blue moon’ is easier to understand than its origin! Nowadays a blue moon is commonly understood to be an extremely rare occurrence, perhaps never. However, apparently originally it did not refer to a second full moon in a month but to the third full moon in a season with four. The word month comes from moon. The reason the date for Easter varies each year is on account of Easter Sunday needing to be within a week of the first full moon of the spring season. Indeed, the Triune God had seasons in mind when He created the sun, the moon and the stars, ‘Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years’ Genesis 1:14. ‘He appointed the moon for seasons’ Psalm 104:19a.

The Apostle Paul refers to a ‘once in a blue moon’ occurrence where he says, ‘For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’ Romans 5:7-8. Grace is the hardest thing for human beings to understand! Jesus did not lay down His life for the righteous or those who work hard at trying to be good. He died for sinners, i.e. wicked people. ‘As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”’ Romans 3:10-12. My old theological professor used to say something like, ‘Grace is not receiving what you do deserve while receiving what you do not deserve.’

To sin is to break the law, God’s Law, in thought or word or deed. To break God’s Law is to incur God’s penalty, ‘The wages of sin is death’ Romans 6:23a. No human being escapes, ‘For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ Romans 3:23. However, here is the good news, here is the grace of God, in the second half of a verse just quoted ‘The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’ Romans 6:23. Eternal life is a gift!

Once in a blue moon will you meet a Christian today who has understood and can articulate that God saves sinners by His grace alone! Salvation is a gift that has been earned by Christ alone and is received through faith alone, ‘For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.’ Ephesians 2:8-9.

What Jesus did on the cross was a ‘blue moon’ occurrence. ‘Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy place once for all, having attained eternal redemption’ Hebrews 9:12. After celebrating the last Passover (which He transformed into the Lord’s Supper) He was arrested and crucified. As He hung on the tree we are told, ‘Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour’ Mark 15:33. We know that this darkness was not a solar eclipse because the Paschal Moon was a full moon. Solar eclipses cannot happen when the moon is full. The darkness symbolised spiritual darkness as the Father turned His face away from His Son on the cross. May He make His face to shine upon you.

HISTORY & FREEDOM

History and Freedom

Christians love the pun: History is His story. History is just another word for providence. If ‘Providence’ were a wooden ship, the Father’s hand is on the tiller, the Son, Jesus, is Captain and the Holy Spirit is the wind in her sails. History has to do with God’s sovereignty in all things. However, if God is sovereign how can there be any freedom?

The first couple of chapters of the Bible provide an historical record of God creating creation, summarised in Exodus 20:11 thus, ‘For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day.’ Therefore, history began with seven historical days, days in which God spoke and things that were not became things that are! Those days are about what God did. They are His story. He controlled history for at least those first six days. However, what happened after this? Like the Medes and Persians of old, some attempt to rewrite history. Revisionists try to expunge the name of the Sovereign from all records. They try to deny the historicity of the Bible and come up with theories on how creation came into being. Which is it? If God were in sovereign control then how come human beings have freedom to make up their own ‘histories’ of creation?

The God of history gave human beings freedom, otherwise known as ‘free will’. When God made the first man, Adam, He gave him the freedom either to believe and follow what God says, or not believe it and thereby go his own way. By choosing the latter Adam and his posterity, (which includes you and me), are conceived, born and live in a state of unbelief until and unless God converts us. Christian conversion is believing in God and the works He has done through His Son as He is revealed by the Holy Spirit in the sixty-six books of the Bible.

God’s sovereignty in history and humanity’s freedom is seen in the following, ‘[Jesus], being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.’ Acts 2:23-24. In this historical event God sacrificed His only begotten Son. The instrument He used was men exercising their free will. These men are accountable to God for their actions. God did not make them do it. They wanted to. They did it freely. Thus God even works evil for good! (Rom. 8:28).

From supernovas to dying budgies and receding hairlines every historical event is under the sovereign control of God. For, ‘He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name.’ Psalm 147:4. And, ‘Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.’ Matthew 10:29-30. ‘I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth—that God Governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?’ Benjamin Franklin, 28 June 1787.

What shall we do with God’s sovereignty and humanity’s freedom in history? We ought to keep them in proper tension and ‘Let God be true but every man a liar.’ Romans 3:4a. Let us climb aboard the good ship ‘Providence’ and seek to do His will on Earth as it is in Heaven.

TRANSFORMATION

Christianity is all about transformation (Rom. 12:2). The leaven of Christ’s kingdom is to permeate the whole batch of dough (Matt. 13:33), which means that Christians are to turn the whole world upside down by use of the Gospel (Acts 17:6). The Gospel began to spread from Jerusalem (Acts 8:1-5), especially with Philip’s and Peter’s missionary journeys (Acts 8:5-13; 26-40; 9:32-10:48). Then, beginning in earnest with the Apostle Paul’s missionary journeys, Christianity built the West as its influence grew through the centuries. However, because there is yet to be a “Christian era” it is wrong to speak of a “post-Christian” era.

Jesus says, ‘My kingdom is not of this world’ John 18:36a. ‘Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”’ Luke 17:20-21. Thus, the spread of Christ’s kingdom is invisible to the naked eye. It is spiritual, and, as such, is the domain of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit started His work right at the beginning of creation, shaping the world (Gen. 1:2) and working invisibly in the hearts of men even after the Fall (Gen. 6:3). Those who have been chosen by the Father (Eph. 1:3-6) also belong to the Son (John 17:6) and enter His kingdom as the Spirit enables them (John 3:5-8). However, those who do not belong to the kingdom always resist the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51). Thus the world consists of people who belong to the kingdom living side by side with people who belong to the evil one. The two kingdoms are described in the parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Matt. 13:24-30). Likewise the Lord’s Church on earth comprises of true believers and unbelievers (some of whom may be deluded). ‘They are not all Israel who are of Israel’ Romans 9:6b, and, ‘They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us’ 1 John 2:19.

So we see then that the Spirit is at work in the world transforming individuals who, collectively, make up the kingdom of God on earth. Thus, the kingdom of Heaven grows on earth as the Spirit works effectively with the Word in the hearts of believers. ‘He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ’ Philippians 1:6. ‘For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea’ Habakkuk 2:14.

Christ’s transforming kingdom began with the salvation of an individual, i.e., Adam, right after the Fall (Gen. 3:21). Like the mustard seed growing into a great tree it grew into a family in Abraham (Gen. 15:4-6). It continued to grow and became a nation in Jacob (Gen. 49:1-28). It became international, nay, cosmic, when Christ (the Seed of the Woman who was promised in Genesis 3:15 with Galatians 3:16) rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven from whence He and the Father sprinkled His Church, baptising her with the Holy Spirit. Thus, as the Spirit enables, Christ’s kingdom spreads, transforming whole nations.

‘And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God’ Romans 12:2.

THE ONCE AND FUTURE SCRIPTURES - Book Review

THE ONCE AND FUTURE SCRIPTURES

Exploring the Role of the Bible in the Contemporary Church

Edited by Gregory C. Jenks, Polebridge Press, 2013, 144 pages.
 

Critique and review by Neil Cullan McKinlay

Introduction

In the Foreword of THE ONCE AND FUTURE SCRIPTURES, Phillip Aspinall, Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane, says,

Is it possible for today’s Anglicans to hear God speaking through Scripture? After all, the whole point of listening to the Bible is to hear God speak. Is it possible in this day and age, knowing all that the Enlightenment, science and biblical criticism[1] have discovered, to read and hear the Bible intelligently and to hear through Scripture the voice of God? Resoundingly, yes![2]

Premise & Content

THE ONCE AND FUTURE SCRIPTURES is a blatant attack on the authority of the Bible and therefore is a denial of the Sufficiency of the Scriptures. For following Phillip Aspinall’s Foreword is an Introduction and a series of seven chapters written by different Anglican authors all seeking to undermine and contradict Aspinall’s affirmative statement (see above)!

Lest the reader of this critique and review be misled into thinking that Phillip Aspinall is defending Christianity against the attacks being made against it by the rest of the book’s contributors please consider the following. For here we see that clearly he also rejects the Bible as the very Word of God,

The Enlightenment and the rise of modern science raised a host of questions about the presuppositions behind biblical stories. If the assumptions on which the stories are based no longer hold, can the stories themselves still be regarded as conveying truth? The advent of biblical criticism in the nineteenth century shook the foundations again. Applying the methods of historical and literary criticisms to the Bible and setting aside a priori notions of sacredness and authority, in other words treating the Bible just like any other book, revealed its very human and fallible composition.[3]

Let’s see if we have it right, according to Aspinall’s presuppositions about the Bible Christians are to assume that the Book (that itself claims to be the very Word of God and was treated as such by Jesus, the Son of God!) to be a fallible composition and is to be treated like any other book. This is an astonishingly blatant attack on Christianity! And it is coming from a position inside the Lord’s Church on earth.

If anyone was wondering why unbelievers would bother getting out of bed on a Sunday morning to come and worship “the unknown god” (see Acts 17:23) then this book is a must-read! It quickly will become clear to the discerning reader that it is for the overthrowing of Christianity from within!

Attack On Christianity

When did these attacks on Christianity first begin? One has to look no further than the first book of the Bible where the devil, seeking to cast doubt on God’s Word, said to Eve, “Has God indeed said…” Genesis 3:1. However, Jesus defeated the devil in the wilderness by trusting in what God says, “It is written…” Then He would quote chapter and verse to the evil one (Matthew 4:1-11).

The Pharisees were the Bible “spin-doctors” when Jesus walked this earth. He used the Bible to correct their twistings as exampled throughout His Sermon On the Mount. Showing that He believed every word of the Old Testament Scriptures Jesus said, “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. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:18-19. Arguably, Biblical Criticism teaches people to break God’s Commandments.

Jesus also used the Bible to correct the erroneous beliefs of the Sadducees who didn’t believe in the resurrection, “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God … But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.’” Matthew 22:29; 31-32.

The Apostle Peter also warns Christians to watch out for the Scripture “spin-doctors” where he says, “Consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.” 2 Peter 3:15-16. Notice that Peter is placing Paul’s Epistles on par with the rest of Scripture. And yes, some things in Scripture are hard to understand. However, this doesn’t mean that we are to reject the bits we don’t like.

Like the earth’s north and south poles the Lord’s Church on earth has always had two outer regions that are cold to the God who has revealed Himself in His written Word: Legalists and Liberals. In the Bible the group known as the Pharisees were the Legalists and the Sadducees were the Liberals. THE ONCE AND FUTURE SCRIPTURES – Exploring the Role of the Bible in the Contemporary Church is written by those who have much in common with the latter category. “For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection—and no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both” Acts 23:8 (cf. Mark 12:18).

One only has to engage a Theological Liberal in a discussion about God, angels, spirit and the resurrection to discover that they are simply using theological language to describe something other than the plain teaching of Scripture on these and other subjects! Therefore Theological Liberals are modern-day Sadducees. “Then Jesus said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.’” Matthew 16:6.

If we keep in mind that the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees is the same leaven, i.e., Scripture-twisting, then we won’t be confused if we see commonalities between these two groups who, upon first sight, may seem poles apart. Truth be known, it is the Legalist/Liberal coalition that is against Christianity. It undermines that upon which Christianity is founded: the Word of God.

What do Christian Anglicans believe? For what it’s worth Anglican priests subscribe to the Thirty-Nine Articles and the Three Creeds. In other words, the Thirty-Nine Articles (and the Three Creeds) express what Anglicans believe about the Bible and what the Bible teaches. This means that Anglican priests hold a high view of God’s Word and its teaching. Articles VI – VIII illustrate this:
 

Article VI – Of the Sufficiency of the holy Scriptures for salvation

Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of the holy Scripture, we do understand those Canonical books of the Old and New Testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church … [Article VI goes on to list these Books].

Article VII – Of the Old Testament

The Old Testament is not contrary to the New: for both in the Old and New Testament everlasting life is offered to Mankind by Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and Man, being both God and Man. Wherefore there are not to be heard, which feign that the old Fathers did look only for transitory promises. Although the Law given from God by Moses, as touching Ceremonies and Rites, do not bind Christian men, nor the Civil precepts thereof ought of necessity to be received in any commonwealth; yet, notwithstanding, no Christian man whatsoever is free from the obedience of the Commandments which are called Moral.

Article VIII – Of the Three Creeds

The Three Creeds, Nicene Creed, Athanasius’s Creed, and that which is commonly called the Apostles’ Creed, ought thoroughly to be received and believed: for they may be proved by most certain warrants of holy Scripture.[4]

Under the suggestive head “The ‘Problem’ with the Bible” contributor Gregory C. Jenks says,

The continuing debates within both Australian Anglicanism and the international Anglican Communion indicate there is no consensus on what we mean when ascribing to God some role in the creation of the Bible. As the Bible itself is ambiguous over the matter, this confusion is not surprising.[5]

Wow! When did Christians ever doubt that the Word of God is the Word of God? Never! But here is someone in the Church blowing his own trumpet and confusing people.

Humanist Intrusion

Who are these unbelievers and what are they doing in the Lord’s Church? They are modern-day Humanists. The late Francis Schaeffer many years ago described the infiltration of Humanism into the Lord’s Church,
 

Liberal theology is only Humanism using theological terms, and that’s all it ever was, all the way back into Germany right after the Enlightenment.[6]

The mask of hypocrisy is removed. What we’re seeing in THE ONCE AND FUTURE SCRIPTURES is the infiltration of Humanism into the Lord’s Church. Schaeffer also says,

"The word Humanism should be carefully defined … Humanism means that the man is the measure of all things. Man is the measure of all things … You must realize that when we speak of man being the measure of all things under the Humanist label, the first thing is that man has only knowledge from himself. That he, being finite, limited, very faulty in his observation of many things, yet nevertheless, has no possible source of knowledge except what man, beginning from himself, can find out from his own observation. Specifically, in this view, there is no place for any knowledge from God."[7]

In his contribution to the book, under the head Scripture, Science, and the Big Story, Peter Catts espouses his Humanistic hermeneutic. Note that he refers to Christians as “creationists” and “fundamentalists,”

A group sought to use quasi-scientific methods to prove that the myths of the Bible were history and that the faith-based worldview was, in fact, scientific. [This group] saw “facts” being defended against the evidence. Modern-day deists and creationists encapsulate these understandings  ... Also inadequate is the push for the recapturing of the religion of our fore-fathers that sees religious fundamentalists worldwide clinging to a now dead story that leads them to contend that the findings of science are not true.[8]

Catts doesn’t define what he means by “quasi-scientific methods” or what he means by “scientific” or which “findings of science are not true” to Christians. However, it is clear that he rejects Scripture’s historicity and the Creator’s explanation of creation and its origins. In other words Catts is a Humanist.

Likewise Cathy Thomson in her contribution chapter titled Scripture as Normative Source in Theology, betrays that she too is a practicing Humanist when she says,

Scripture–that (sacred) book–has sacred possibility only through its human (yet graced) composition and compilation, and the holy susceptibility of the reader … It is with the blessed constraint of anticipating no possibility (of absolute truth) and every possibility (of God’s grace), and these at one and the same time that I, the theologian, take Holy Scripture into my hands.[9]

God’s grace or no, here Thomson has set herself up as the measure of Scripture! She anticipates no possibility of absolute truth! Wow! The Jesus Christians believe in says He is the Truth and He says that God’s Word is truth (John 14:6 and 17:17). The Bible itself claims to be true (Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32; Proverbs 30:5-6; 2 Timothy 3:16; Revelation 22:18-19). Give me Christianity over Humanism any day. At least Christ spoke (as Schaeffer liked to call it) true truth. Thomson continues,

The assertion that the Scriptures are somehow revealed truth, that they are inspired and therefore free from error, does not really circumvent the difficulties faced by biblical scholars and Christian theologians as they attempt to interpret their meaning. A faith community might choose to make truth claims about biblical inerrancy, but this is often done through what are considered to be illogical circularities, such as using the Bible itself to determine principles for interpretation for Scripture.[10]

Rather than begin with Scripture Thomson wants us to begin our “circular reasoning” with ourselves! It matters not where one begins. All reasoning is circular! Thus Thomson rejects what Christians believe as stated in the following 1636 Westminster Confession of Faith in chapter 1 paragraph IX:
 

The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture, is the Scripture itself; and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any scripture (which is not manifold, but one), it may be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly.

In his chapter, Scripture, God-Talk and Jesus, after saying that the Atheist Richard Dawkins “fixates on those particularly abhorrent depictions of the Deity that rightly deserved to be shelved.” Nigel Leaves immediately goes on to say,
 

It is also a common offence among those who are “agenda-driven” that they “cherry pick” biblical texts to support their preconceived thesis.[11]

He then goes on to define a little his take on “fundamentalism” by which (I think!) he means Christianity. Pardon me but isn’t cherry-picking another name for Liberal Theology? For isn’t their fixation and use of J, E, P, D Theory[12] not an exercise in the picking and choosing engaged in by an agenda-driven group with a preconceived thesis, i.e., that the Bible is not God-breathed?

Steven Ogden, in his chapter, Wisdom as well as Facts, offers us a little help what Humanists (a.k.a. Liberals) mean by “fundamentalism” where he says,

In general fundamentalists can be characterised by a particular view of truth, where truth is universal, absolute, identifiable, and in their possession.[13]

I must admit that this sounds very much like what Christians actually do believe! However, in typical Orwellian “double-speak” he also says,

In Australia, a “conservative evangelical” is not necessarily fundamentalist. The difference hinges largely on epistemology.[!!!?][14]

It was good to see the renowned, sensible and theologically sound Anglican Theologian J.I. Packer quoted from in this book. However, I am unhappy to see how Susan Crothers-Robertson ignores his sage advice in her chapter Scripture and Formation for Ministry,

James Packer is quite sure that biblical criticism has gone too far! He believes that “unbelief of the Bible is at a premium” in theological seminaries and continues: “In the seminaries, alas, there is a habit encouraging the way-out enterprising thinkers who follow this track of leaving the Bible behind, and developing their own theologies in the way that the learned people have been doing all the way through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries … Persons who get sent to theological teaching institutions where this is happening have their minds stuffed with this kind of theologizing and then, just like schoolmasters, they go out and teach what they were taught.” Packer goes so far as to say that teaching critical thinking and encouraging people to pay attention to the diversity within the Scriptures is a serious violation of Article 20[15]: [says Packer] “You do not need to tell me that the violation of this Article is one of the besetting sins of theological leaders today both in the Anglican Church and in the others.”[16]

Conclusion

I would agree with Packer that the authors of THE ONCE AND FUTURE SCRIPTURES – Exploring the Role of the Bible in the Contemporary Church seem to be placing their ordination vows into question along with the Anglican Church’s continued observance of the Fundamental Declaration and Ruling Principle of the Anglican Church of Australia.

See a review by Michael Bird): http://www.patheos.com/blogs/euangelion/2013/05/book-review-anglican-bibliology-for-a-progressive-audience/
 

---

[1] “Biblical Criticism” views Biblical texts as having human rather than supernatural origins.

[2] The Once and Future Scriptures – Exploring the Role of the Bible in the Contemporary Church, Polebridge Press, Salem, Oregon, 2013, p. xi.

[3] Ibid. pp. ix-x.

[4] All Thirty-Nine Articles may be viewed at: http://acl.asn.au/the-thirty-nine-articles/
[5] The Once and Future Scriptures – Exploring the Role of the Bible in the Contemporary Church, Polebridge Press, Salem, Oregon, 2013, pp. 22-23.
[6] Francis Schaeffer in a speech made at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, Florida. http://www.peopleforlife.org/francis.html
[7] Ibid.
[8] The Once and Future Scriptures – Exploring the Role of the Bible in the Contemporary Church, Polebridge Press, Salem, Oregon, 2013, pp. 120-21.
[9] Ibid. p. 26.
[10] Ibid. p. 30.
[11] Ibid. p. 64.
[12] The JEDP theory states that the first five books of the Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, were not written entirely by Moses, who died in the 1400's B.C., but also by different authors/compilers after Moses. Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/JEDP-theory.html#ixzz2RdP62lVM
[13] Ibid. p. 45.
[14] Ibid. Footnote 2, p. 59.
[15] Article XX – Of the Authority of the Church

The Church hath power to decree Rites or Ceremonies, and authority in Controversies of Faith: And yet it is not lawful for the Church to ordain anything contrary to God’s Word written, neither may it so expound one place of Scripture, that it be repugnant to another. Wherefore, although the Church be a witness and a keeper of holy Writ, yet, as it ought not to decree any thing against the same, so besides the same ought it not to enforce any thing to be believed for necessity of Salvation.
[16] The Once and Future Scriptures – Exploring the Role of the Bible in the Contemporary Church, Polebridge Press, Salem, Oregon, 2013, pp. 86-87.

The Rats of Tobruk 72nd Anniversay

Dorothy and I had the pleasure of dining with The Rats of Tobruk in Brisbane. The following was my contribution to the speeches:

Let us come before God to read His Word and to pray.
We find the following in Psalm 124,

 “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,” Let Israel now say—
² “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, When men rose up against us,
³ Then they would have swallowed us alive, When their wrath was kindled against us;
⁴ Then the waters would have overwhelmed us, The stream would have gone over our soul;
⁵ Then the swollen waters Would have gone over our soul.”

6Blessed be the Lord, Who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
⁷ Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers;
The snare is broken, and we have escaped.
⁸ Our help is in the name of the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.

 Let us pray: Almighty God, Maker of Heaven and Earth and all therein, who gave His Son Jesus Christ to redeem all who would believe in Him, who gave us the Holy Spirit to enable us to believe, we thank You for Your grace and mercy towards us.

 On this the 72^nd Anniversary of the Siege of Tobruk we thank You for all who served there in the cause of freedom and justice. We thank You for the gallant fight these men gave in the face of evil and insurmountable odds. For those who were wounded and maimed in their bodies, those who were afflicted in their mind and soul, we thank You that You in Your Word provided them with hope of a better, safer and peaceful future.

 For those loved ones who remained at home during these stressful times, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters – we also acknowledge the pain and suffering they went through and while praying for You to protect their loved ones as they sought to cut off the ugly head of evil that was raised in that foreign and sun-blistered land.

 Lord, war is Hell – Hell for those on the front lines and Hell for those who keep the home fires burning. Father, we long for that Great Day when You will cause all wars to cease!

 We pray for health and continued safety for all involved with the Rats of Tobruk. We pray for all the innocent who are suffering from the effects of wars. Ease their burden. Heal their wounds. Comfort the grieving. Be with the widows and orphans. And, today, be especially with those who are remembering fallen mates, family members, dearly loved ones. We come before You through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Let us pray together the words the Lord taught has us:

 Our Father, which art in heaven,

Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the Kingdom,
the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

As you know, the Rats of Tobruk valiantly held the Libyan port of Tobruk against the Afrika Corps led by Rommel. The Siege of Tobruk began on 10 April 1941. Holding Tobruk was crucial to the Allied war effort. And this was the first time that the advance of the German Panzers, (i.e., Rommel’s tanks and other armoured vehicles), had been halted in their double tracks.

Because of their remoteness the Rats of Tobruk had little air support. Therefore, supplies had to come by sea. Ships had to arrive, unload and depart under the cover of darkness. Arrival or withdrawal of troops had to be done under the cover of darkness. During times of war moonless nights, the cover of darkness, may be your friend. One is reminded of the old song, “Hello darkness my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again.”

As an Army Chaplain I have been involved in the occasional training exercise. I don’t know how many gum trees I’ve walked into in the dark. One time as I was trying to saw some logs in my sleeping bag our little platoon had to “stand to.” We were awakened by someone on piquet duty yelling, “Halt! Who goes there?” or words to that effect. So we all scrambled out of our scratchers and into our defensive positions only to be stood down. False alarm. The intruder turned out to be a curious big red kangaroo!

Darkness? I hate it! But again, sometimes darkness can be your best friend; especially in times of war. What is darkness anyway? What do you tell little Johnny when he asks, “What are shadows made of?” It’s not like we can put darkness in a bottle and uncork it and pour some into a glass! What is darkness? Can we fill potholes with darkness? Can we spread it like vegemite on a sandwich?

It’s a little easier when it comes to figuring out what light is made of. Isaac Newton advocated that light was made of particles. James Clerk Maxwell relied on a model of light as a wave. Albert Einstein called light particles “photons.” Nowadays quantum physicists believe that light is both particle and wave. But what is darkness made of? Is it some sort of sludge? Is it like bilge-water sloshing around in the bowels of a rusty old ship? Well, the Bible has a lot to say about darkness. Darkness gets a mention early on.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.” Genesis 1:1-5.

So we see that darkness was present when the earth was still shapeless and empty, back when God was forming the heavens and the earth. God introduced light and He called this light “good.” It would seem therefore that light has a big part to play in giving form to the formless and filling the void. Darkness therefore is the opposite of light. It is the absence of light.

Also, in the Bible darkness at times represents the forces of evil. Light is equated with the forces of good. Satan’s Kingdom of Darkness is at war with Christ’s Kingdom of Light. During WWII Germany under Adolph Hitler had been engulfed in darkness. And who would deny that Hitler was a puppet of Satan? The last we hear of Hitler is that he’s hiding in a bunker.

The Bible says that Jesus is the Light of the World. And Jesus says, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” John 3:19-21.

The idea then is that though at times we might have to work under the cover of darkness to accomplish something that is good, we don’t remain in the darkness. Rather we come to the light where our deeds can be plainly seen. Our deeds are wholesome not formless. Our deeds are of substance not void.

And so it is for the Rats of Tobruk. They bravely fought the forces of darkness so that we could retain our freedom. They were a light in a dark place in very a dark time. War is hell. Hell is the place of utter darkness. Thank God for the Rats of Tobruk and the part they played in retaining our freedom!

There’s a verse in the old hymn, “Holy, Holy, Holy” which goes, “Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee, / Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see; / Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee, / Perfect in power, in love, and purity.” It was God who made the light in the beginning. May we enter into that light and remain in His light that we may see His glory! May we never use the cover of darkness to try to hide from God.

Let me conclude by reading Psalm 139:7-12,

^7 “Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
⁸ If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
⁹ If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰ Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
¹² Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.”

 May the Lord be pleased to keep us in His light! Amen.

THE DEVIL?

Who is the devil? Why the confusion? The devil makes an early entrance in the Bible, in Genesis chapter three, to be exact. Then he pops his ugly head up all the way through Scripture. So, what’s the problem? Why don’t people just simply believe that the devil exists? Well, that is part of the problem, a huge part of the problem. The devil likes to keep humanity in the dark. Listen to the following, “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” 2 Corinthians 4:3-4. People don’t believe what the Scriptures say about the devil because the devil has blinded them to what the Scriptures say about the devil (and whole lot of other things)! If we believe God’s Word we’ve seen already that the devil is “the god of this age” and that he has “blinded” those who are perishing.

Jesus believes what the Scriptures say about the devil and He even used the Scriptures to defeat the devil in the wilderness. “Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:3-4. Here Jesus referred the devil to Deuteronomy 8:3. The devil didn’t come back at Jesus with, “Well, surely you don’t expect me to believe something from a book written by a bunch of ignorant sheepherders thousands of years ago?” No! As Jesus stood on the top of the Temple with the devil urging Him to jump. But instead of the usual remarks of unbelievers the devil quoted Scripture (albeit selectively), “It is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over You,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear You up, lest You dash Your foot against a stone.’” Matthew 4:6. Failing here too the devil showed and offered to Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus would only fall down and worship him. In other words, the devil was offering to Jesus what the Father had promised the Mediator if He would live a perfect life and die on the cross. Notice then that the devil is rightly called “the tempter.” What have learned about the devil? He is the god of this age, he has blinded all mankind, and he tempts us to do things?

The devil is a spirit being. And as such he is invisible. “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.” Ephesians 2:1-2. The devil doesn’t walk around dressed in red tights jabbing people with a pitchfork. He operates invisibly. At times he may even us e a prop such as the one he used when he tempted Eve in the Garden. “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:1-5. The devil here was not trying to help Adam and Eve but rather hinder them. Like Adam the devil knew that the penalty for eating the forbidden fruit was death. Therefore, the devil was out to murder Adam and Eve. Jesus said to some of the devil’s offspring”, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” John 8:44. What do we now know about the devil? The devil is the god of this age, he has blinded all mankind, he tempts us to do things, he is a murderer and he is the father of lies.

The devil has children and they look just like you and me. “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning … In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.  For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous. ” 1 John 3:8&10-12. Note that there are two types of people on the planet today: children of God and children of the devil. The latter are dead to God and under the influence of the devil while the former are dead to the devil and under the influence of God. Therefore, the children of God, i.e., true Christians ought to expect friction in the world. “Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.” 1 John 3:13. Jesus says, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.” John 15:18. We’re learning lots about the devil! He is the god of this age, he has blinded all mankind, he tempts us to do things, he is a murderer, he is the father of lies, he has children and they hate Jesus and His brothers and sisters.

Is the devil as powerful as God? Are the devil and God locked in combat? God alone is almighty, He is the Almighty. God alone is Creator. The devil, like us, is a creature (albeit a powerful creature). Unlike God, but like us, he cannot be everywhere at once. Look at this little exchange between the devil and God: “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” Job 1:6-7. Note that the devil moves “to and fro on the earth.” He walks back and forth. Therefore, unlike God, but like us, he cannot be everywhere at once. And notice too that he is called “Satan.” “The word means “Adversary.” The following speaks of the devil being cast out of heaven: “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.” Revelation 12:9-10. Let’s build on what we know about the devil thus far. He is the god of this age, he has blinded all mankind, he tempts us to do things, he is a murderer, he is the father of lies, he has children and they hate Jesus and His brothers and sisters, he is our Adversary and he is the accuser of the brethren.

Should Christians show any respect for the devil? Well, Michael the only Archangel mentioned as such in the Bible respected the devil when disputing with him over the dead body of Moses. “Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”  Jude 1:9. Therefore, the devil ought not to be mocked. It ought to be left to the Lord to rebuke him. Even though he is evil the devil has an important role to play in the redemption drama. Like Joshua the priest in the following passage all true Christians are brands plucked from the fire: “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” Zechariah 3:1-2. And we see that the Lord used the devil to keep humble the Apostle Paul post conversion: “And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.” 2 Corinthians 12:7. Who is the devil? He is the god of this age, he has blinded all mankind, he tempts us to do things, he is a murderer, he is the father of lies, he has children and they hate Jesus and His brothers and sisters, he is our Adversary, the accuser of the brethren, he is an instrument of God in redemption and he is to be respected.

Why did the Word become flesh? “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” What is the devil and his children’s fate? Jesus refers to it where He says, “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matthew 25:41. The Apostle John speaks of the same fate in the Book of Revelation: "The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Revelation 20:10.

What did we learn about the devil? He is the god of this age, he has blinded all mankind, he tempts us to do things, he is a murderer, he is the father of lies, he has children and they hate Jesus and His brothers and sisters, he is our Adversary, the accuser of the brethren, he is an instrument of God in redemption, he is to be respected, Jesus is destroying his works and he will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone to be tormented day and night foever.