Ask Mr Bible

Imagine the following situation:  You are in a church service listening to a sermon on the sin of pride.  Soon the Holy Spirit convicts you regarding this very failure in your own life.  Sitting there you inwardly confess this sin and determine to remedy it.  But just how does one go about this?  Are there certain steps to take in becoming humble?

Will you be like the man who wrote a book entitled, Humility and How I Attained It, which included a dozen pictures of the author with the final chapter boasting on how proud he now was of his humility?!

Actually, the antithesis of pride is not humility, but rather that of thanksgiving.  This is simply to say a thankful person is automatically a humble person.  Suppose a total stranger sees you in a shopping area carrying a large bundle of packages, attempting to open a door.  He quickly runs over, picks up the packages you have dropped, and opens the door for you.  Of course you thank him for this.  Why?  Well, because he was performing an act of kindness that you did not deserve or expect.  In essence, you are saying, “I appreciate this so much.  We’ve never met and you were under no obligation whatsoever to do what you did!”

In fact, thanklessness was the single one sin that caused the ancient world to degenerate into both idolatry and immorality.  Note Paul’s sad commentary on this:

“. . . . since they knew God but did not honor Him as God, nor did they thank Him.  Instead, their thoughts became total nonsense, and their ignorant hearts were darkened.  While claiming to be wise, they became fools; they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for the likeness of an image of mortals, and of birds, and of four-footed animals, and of crawling creatures.  And so, as they followed the lusts of their hearts, God handed them over to live immorally by dishonoring their bodies with one another.  He did this because they traded the truth of God for this lie, namely, they worshiped and served what was created instead of the Creator, who is blessed forever.  Amen! 

That is why God gave them up to shameful lusts.  Their women have even exchanged natural relations for the unnatural.  And men likewise have given up the natural relations with a woman and burned with lust for one another, men doing shameful acts with men and suffering in themselves the punishment they deserve for their perversion”  (Rom. 1:21-27, New Evangelical Translation). 

The following perhaps says it best:

·         Be Careful (Anxious) for NOTHING!

·       Be Prayerful for EVERYTHING!

·         Be Thankful for ANYTHING!

Jesus healed a blind man at Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26).

Jesus began this miracle by placing His hands on the man and spitting in his eyes.

The Savior: “Do you see anything?”
The sightless: “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”

Jesus touched the man’s eyes, causing him to now see clearly and completely.

SIGNIFICANCE

● This is Jesus’ only miracle accomplished in two stages.

SPIRITUAL TRUTHS

● The spiritual application here is crystal clear and sorely needed today.  We need that second touch by Jesus, allowing us to see “every man clearly” as God does.

● As can be seen later, Jesus’ disciples would often see men as “trees.”

1. Despicable trees

“And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village” (Luke 9:52-56).

2. Bothersome trees

“And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein” (Luke 18:15-17).

3. Competitive trees

“And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is on our part. For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward” (Mark 9:38-41).

4. Sinful trees

“And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him” (John 9:1-3).

5. Unclean trees

“On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: Wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common” (Acts 10:9-15).

● As can be seen today, Jesus’ disciples do often see men as trees.  Thus:

1. As a Christian leader, do I view my staff and associates simply as servant trees whose main task is to help me in building my own personal kingdom?

2. As a Christian layperson, do I view my family members and friends merely as enabling trees, existing primarily to meet my needs and enhance my goals?

This is illustrated by the account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:17-44).

Standing outside the tomb that contained the body of Lazarus, Jesus gives some specific and pointed instructions:

Here we see an example of that desired cooperation God seeks between the Savior and the soul winner in raising dead sinners to newness of life.  Jesus issued three commands in accomplishing this miracle.  The first and third were directed toward the friends of the corpse, while the second was given to the corpse itself.  Note:

1. ”Take ye away the stone” (John 11:39).  The job of the soul winner is to first remove all human barriers so that Christ can come in direct contact with a lost person.

2. ”Lazarus, come forth” (John 11:43).  Only Christ, of course, can do this.

3. ”Loose him, and let him go” (John 11:44).  In a word, this speaks of discipleship, that is, ministering to the new convert.

Today there is much discussion and scientific research in regard to the origin (big bang?), size and shape of our universe.  Here is the Divine Author’s account:

A. Who created the universe?

1. According to David, the Father created all things.  “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork” (Psa. 19:1).

2. However, John declares the Son did it.  “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:3-4).

3. Finally, in other passages, the Holy Spirit is said to have performed the initial act of creation.  “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” (Gen. 1:1, 2).

4. What are we to believe?  The answer is, of course, that all three persons in the Trinity had a part.  As an illustration let us consider an important executive who determines to build a spacious and expensive home.  He, thus, employs an architect to design the necessary plans for this home.  The architect then secures a competent contractor to follow his blueprints.  In this illustration the executive is the Father, the architect is the Son, and the contractor is the Holy Spirit.  The following verses then refer to the work of this Divine Contractor.  “Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth” (Psa. 104:30).  “By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent” (Job 26:13).  “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life” (Job 33.4).

B. How vast is our universe?  It is so vast that it takes a beam of light (which travels some 700 million miles per hour) over 100,000 years just to cover the distance across our galaxy called the Milky Way.  But our galaxy is only one among many billions in the known universe.  To illustrate the size of our universe, consider the following examples:

1. Paper tack model

● Let us say the thickness of a sheet of paper represents the distance from the earth to the sun (some 93 million miles).
● To represent the distance to the nearest star we would need a stack of paper 71 feet high.
● To cover the diameter of our Milky Way galaxy would require a stack 310 miles high.
● To reach the edge of the known universe would demand a pile of paper sheets 31 million miles high.

2. Orange and grain of sand model

● Here an orange would represent the sun.
● A grain of sand is the earth, circling the orange at a distance of 30 feet.
● Pluto, the most remote planet in our solar system, is another grain of sand, circling the orange at ten city blocks away.
● Alpha Centauri, the nearest star, is 1,300 miles away from the orange.

C. How minute is our universe?  Simply stated, it is as unbelievably small as it is big.  Consider the following:

1. All material in the universe consists of atoms.  Atoms in turn are made up of three “building blocks,” which are protons, neutrons (which two go to make up the center of an atom called the nucleus), and electrons (which circle the nucleus as our earth does the sun).

2. On the tip of a ballpoint pen are so many atoms that if they were carried by an army, marching four abreast, an atom to a man, it would take over 20,000 years for a march-past.

3. It would take 25 trillion protons laid side by side to span a linear inch.

4. There are as many protons in a cubic inch of copper as there are drops of water in the oceans of the world or grains of sand on the seashores of our earth.

5. The size of an electron is to a dust speck as the dust speck is to the entire earth.

6. The space between an electron and the nucleus is 10,000 times as great as the size of that nucleus.  For example, if the outer shell of electrons in an atom were the size of the Houston Astrodome, the nucleus would be the size of a ping-pong ball in the center of that stadium.

What was truly unique concerning Jesus Christ’s death on the cross?

 In the Old Testament two specific factors were involved in the offering up of an
 acceptable sacrifice.  The first was the service of a qualified priest (from the
 Tribe of Levi, Num. 3:5-8) and the second involved an acceptable victim (from
 the list of clean animals, Lev. 20:25).  

 On the cross Jesus functioned as both priest (even though He came from the
 Tribe of Judah, Heb. 7:14), and acceptable victim!

Author Ray Stedman writes:

 As a priest, Jesus Christ could find no unblemished sacrifice that He could offer except Himself, so He offered Himself as a sacrifice; there was found no other priest worthy of offering such a sacrifice, so Christ became both Priest and Victim.
 (What More Can God Say?, Regal Press, p. 115)

This dual arrangement can be seen by listening to His seven final sentences
while on the cross.  The first three demonstrate His priestly ministry while the
final four speak of His sacrificial role.

A. His priestly ministry.
 1. “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
 2. “Verily, I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).
3. “Woman, behold thy son! … Behold thy mother!” (John 19:26, 27).

 B. His sacrificial ministry:
  1. “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46).
  2. “I thirst” (John 19:28).
  3. “It is finished” (John 19:30).
  4. “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46).

When did Jesus Christ die?

 A. Historically speaking, He died on Friday (many believe), March 30, A.D. 33 at 3:00 P.M.
  “Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost”  (Matt. 27:50).

  “And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost” (Mark 15:37).

“And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost” (Luke 23:46).

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost” (John 19:30).

 B. Theologically speaking, He died before the foundation of the world.  At least four New Testament passages bring this out:

  “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love … In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph. 1:4, 7).

  “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God” (Heb. 10:4-7).

  “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (1 Peter 1:18-20).

  “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8).

Stated another way, in the mind and plan of God, the last Adam was already on the cross of Calvary before the first Adam was in the Garden of Eden!

1. How important is the death of Jesus Christ?

 Henry Thiessen writes:

The death of Christ has a prominent place in the New Testament.  The last three days of our Lord’s earthly life occupy about one-fifth of the narratives in the four Gospels.  If all the three and a half years of his public ministry had been written out as fully as the last three days, we would have a Life of Christ of some 8,400 pages!  Torrey claims that the death of Christ is mentioned directly in the New Testament more than 175 times.  Since there are 7,959 verses in the New Testament, this would mean that one out of every 53 verses refers to this theme.

The death of Christ is the essential thing in Christianity.  Other religions base their claim to recognition on the teaching of their founders; Christianity is distinguished from all of them by the importance it assigns to the death of its Founder.  Take away the death of Christ as interpreted by the Scriptures, and you reduce Christianity to the level of the ethic religions.  Though we would still have a higher system of ethics, were we to take away the cross of Christ, we would have no more salvation than these other religions.  Napoleon said, when banished to St. Helena, that Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and he had founded mighty kingdoms on force, but that Jesus Christ had founded his on love.  This is true, if we mean love expressed in his substitutionary death.

It is of Supreme Interest in Heaven.  The death of Christ is the subject of supreme interest in heaven.  We may expect those who have gone to heaven to have a fuller and truer conception of life’s values than those who are still limited in their vision by their existence in the body.  We are told that when Moses and Elijah appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration, they conversed with Christ about the decease which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem (Luke 9:30-31).  We also find that the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders sang the song of redemption through the death of Christ (Rev. 5:8-10).  Even the multitude of angels around the throne, though not in need of redemption themselves, joined in the song of the Lamb that was slain (Rev. 5:11-12).  Since those who have the veil of human limitations completely removed from their eyes—those who have entered into the fuller fruits of redemption through the blood of Christ—extol Christ’s death above everything else, we mortals ought to study into the true meaning of that death.
(Systematic Theology, pp. 313-314)

Consider the importance of Jesus’ death as viewed from another perspective.

A. There is a total of 89 chapters in the four-fold accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

B. Of these 89 chapters, only 4 are given over in recording the first thirty years (Luke 3:23) of Jesus’ earthly life (Matt. 1, 2; Luke 1, 2).

C. Of these 89 chapters, no less than 13 describe (in detail) those events surrounding His death (Matt. 26, 27; Mark 14, 15; Luke 22, 23; John 13-19).

D. We may thus correctly conclude that, according to the space afforded it in the divine record, the death of Jesus Christ was considered more than three times as important than the first thirty years of His life!

E. Unlike any other person in history, Jesus’ greatest gift to humanity was not His life, but rather His death!  Thus, He was born in Bethlehem that He might die at Calvary.  The manger would become the door leading to the cross!

A. It is the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights of the Christian faith.

B. It emphasizes the absolute uniqueness and utter superiority of the Christian faith. 

The founders of all other religions in human history eventually died.  But only the founder of Christianity (who also died) is alive and active today!  Thus, in one sense of the word, the empty tomb, not the cross, serves as the official sign of Christianity!

C. It is the final side making up the divine triangle of salvation. 

Thus:

1. Jesus’ birth made it possible.
2. Jesus’ death made it actual.
3. Jesus’ resurrection made it certain.

D. It serves as the official measurement of God’s power. 

We are all aware of how man measures power, using such units as candle power, horse power, atomic power, etc., but how is divine power measured?  In the scriptures there are two such standards of measurement.

1. In the Old Testament it is the power God used in bringing Israel out of Egypt.

 “And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore” (Exod. 14:26-31).

2. In the New Testament it is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

 “And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places” (Eph. 1:19, 20).

The Old Testament records the PREPARATION for the life of Jesus Christ.

“And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27).

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39).

“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope” (Rom. 15:4).

The Gospel accounts record the MANIFESTATION of the life of Jesus Christ.

“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7).

The Book of Acts records the PROPAGATION of the life of Jesus Christ.

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

“And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ” (Acts 5:42).

The Epistles record the INTERPRETATION of the life of Jesus Christ.

“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I an chief” (1 Tim. 1:15).

The Book of Revelation records the CORONATION OF KING JESUS CHRIST.

“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 11:15).

Dr. Walter Wilson, well known physician and Bible teacher in the Kansas City, Kansas area told the following story on himself.  He had just given a young university student a routine physical examination and felt constrained to share Christ with her before she left his office.  To his surprise however, she refused the gospel invitation stating that, in her opinion, no educated person could ever accept the Bible message.

When asked why this was so, she responded: “Tell me, Dr. Wilson, do you believe in the virgin birth?”  “Indeed I do,” he replied.  “Very well,” she continued, “now let me ask you two questions.  Let us suppose you tell me your physical examination has revealed that I am pregnant, but I respond by saying this cannot be, for I am a virgin.  However, your findings are correct and I give birth to a baby boy.  Now, Dr. Wilson, here are my two questions: First, would you believe I was truthful concerning my virginity, and, second, would you look upon my baby as the Son of God?”

Breathing a silent prayer for divine wisdom, Dr. Wilson answered: “Well, young lady, it would all depend on certain things.  Let us imagine that I was present at his birth and watched in amazement as farmers in the area came to your bedside and worshipped him, followed later by the arrival of foreign astronomers bringing him costly gifts.  Now, when he is twelve, I see him holding his own with America’s greatest theologians and philosophers.  Years later I follow him as he empties hospitals by healing the sick, disrupts cemeteries by raising the dead, reduces prison populations by changing lives, and reconciling enemies by his messages.  Finally, if I could look in horror as this incredible man was murdered by his foes, and, in great sorrow, officially pronounce him dead, but then, miracle of miracles, actually see him walking around several days later, then, young lady, yes.  I would say, you are a virgin, and yes, your baby would be the son of God!”