Month: September 2014

Temptation, Rebuke, Repentance, & Forgiveness

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Suffer the Children - Anthony van DyckWe’ve been spending a great deal of time discussing discernment matters and pointing out false teaching (and even some false teachers). While this is exceedingly important I don’t want to overlook the need for Christians to understand their call to forgive is just as strong as the call to repent. Today, let’s look at what Jesus taught concerning temptation, rebuke, repentance, and forgiveness.

In researching a couple of rather heavy blogs that are in the works, I came across a passage that really caught my attention and I thought it would be an excellent way to pause some of the other research for a bit. Our primary text will be short, but we will explore other texts to better understand how this passage works out in our day-to-day lives.

Luke 17:1-4 (ESV) | Temptations to Sin
1 And [Jesus] said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! 2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. 3 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents,forgive him, 4 and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

This portion in Luke is part of a series of parables and lessons taught by Jesus beginning roughly in Luke 15. Before we dive into the individual elements of this text, I want to reference Matthew 18 for clarity on who the “one of these little ones” was.

Matthew 18:1-7 (ESV) | Who Is the Greatest?
1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said,“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!

The two passages capture the same event, but in neither case do we have a verbatim account of all that Jesus said and did on that day (John 21:25 (ESV) “Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”); rather, what we have in Scripture is that the Holy Spirit recalled in the minds of the writers and inspired them to record for our eternal benefit.

Temptation to Sin

Jesus makes absolutely clear here that temptations to sin are going to come. In Matthew, we see Jesus add that in-fact the temptations to sin are necessary. It was necessary even in Jesus’s case where we see that immediately following His baptism the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted.

Matthew 4:1-3 (ESV) | The Temptation of Jesus
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”…

Jesus faithfully resists the devil (the tempter) and remains free of sin. I bring this up because while Jesus clearly teaches that temptation is bound to come, and is in-fact necessary, the sin is not. Why is the temptation necessary? I believe the answer to that question can be found in the first and greatest commandment:

Matthew 22:36-38 (ESV) 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment.

The temptation to sin, once faithfully resisted, becomes a demonstration of a love for the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Jesus is the only person who fulfilled the Law, to include the first and greatest commandment. He never wavered, He never faltered. In His perfection, He offered Himself as the Lamb of God, the ultimate sacrifice as payment for our sin. And in Him, by His Grace, a way was made for us to demonstrate our love for Him whenever we resist a temptation to sin. When we succumb to temptation and sin, then we are guilty of sin and must confess the sin and repent from it and ask for forgiveness in the Name of Jesus Christ.

Woe to the one…

The problem of sin is not limited to the one committing the sin. The one through whom the temptation to sin manifests itself bears extra responsibility. When Christ pronounces a “Woe” it’s no small matter.

Matthew 11:20-22 (ESV) | Woe to Unrepentant Cities
20 Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.

Tyre and Sidon will fare better on the day of judgment than Chorazin and Bethsaida… that is indeed a case for woe. Similarly, the one through whom temptation comes, causing one of the little ones to sin, is indeed woefully damned. The Sovereignty of God means that God’s Will shall be done in the earth, and He can use anyone, even those who don’t know Him to accomplish His will. We’ve seen that God used Balaam (an unbelieving practitioner of divination) to turn what would have been a curse against Israel into blessings, and we’ve also seen God bless and use King Cyrus to restore Israel and Jerusalem after the Exile into Babylon. However, Jesus makes clear that while temptation to sin will take place, the tempter is never doing the Will of God and bears a heavy burden of guilt. God does not compel men to tempt other men; rather, He knows the hearts of men and uses their actions and deeds to bring about His Will, and punishes those who reject God in the process. Balaam and Cyrus did not follow God, they continued in their sin and were rightfully judged by God. Jesus warns that it would be better to die than to be the cause for temptation for another believer’s sin. This thought is carried throughout the rest of the New Testament as we see time and time again the warnings against false teachers, false prophets, and doctrines of demons. We can see this concept fully in the Garden of Eden.

Genesis 3:9-13 (ESV) 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

In the punishment that followed, none were spared. Woe to the tempter who causes the little ones to sin. Though all of Creation was fully mature, it was yet extremely young when Adam fell.

This past Monday, we looked at the problem of placing a stumbling block in front of our brethren. It didn’t fit in that topic, but I want to look at how Paul taught this concept in his letter to the Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 8 (ESV) | Food Offered to Idols
8 Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. 2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. 4 Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” 5 For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. 7 However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9 But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? 11 And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12 Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

Wow. So while we who are in Christ, built up in the knowledge of the Scriptures and Maturing in the faith know that since there are no other gods but the One True God, are free to eat any food without it being a sin if we willfully exercise that “right” in such a manner that causes a less mature Christian to stumble then we have now sinned against our brother and against Christ. For Christ died for the weaker brother in the same way that He died for us. Anchoring this in the Luke text, even if our actions in-and-of themselves are not sinful, if they are done to tempt another to sin, then we have sinned. In today’s culture, we may struggle a bit with connecting to the matter of food, but what about drink? How about in clothing or entertainment? Take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.

Rebuke, Repent, & Forgive

Let’s take a look at the closing portion of our text in Luke.

Luke 17:3-4 (ESV) 3 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, 4 and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Now, today the warning, “Pay attention to yourselves”, seems to fit more as an end to verse 2 rather than the start of verse 3. But it could fit just as well at the end of verse 4. Jesus says very plainly that if your brother sins, rebuke him. That’s a command, a prescription, if you will. Rebuke him, out of love. The world would have you believe that a rebuke is the opposite of love. That is patently false. The only way a failure to rebuke sin could be a loving act is if there is no sin, or if there is no consequence for the sin. But we know that sin is clearly defined (the Law) and we know that no sin goes unpunished.

Romans 6:22-23 (ESV) 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Therefore, since we know that the wages of sin is death, we rebuke our brother who sins out of love for him and obedience to Christ. But the rebuke does not mark the limit of our responsibility. Jesus goes right on to say that if he repents, forgive him. Forgive him when he repents. He then says that if your brother sins against you (makes it personal) seven times a day and repents seven times, you must forgive him. While the Luke account records the commandment of Jesus, the Matthew 18 account sheds some light on what Jesus was addressing.

Matthew 18:21-35 (ESV) | The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Once again, we see Jesus flipping things around on us. At the start, Peter thought he was being generous in his guess at a 7 times a day limit for forgiving a brother who sins against us. In the end, Jesus not only declares that there be no such limit, but also stipulates that to the one who will not forgive, his own sin will not be forgiven. We know this to be a common theme since Jesus also taught of the connection between our receiving forgiveness in how we grant forgiveness when Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us”.

Conclusion

As we grow in God’s Word, we will undoubtedly be faced with many temptations. Temptations to sin, temptations to tempt others to sin, and temptations to despise rebuke for our sin. We will also be tempted to be unmerciful, unforgiving… essentially we will be tempted to walk according to the flesh. The truth of the parable of the unforgiving servant is that it is a daily thing for us. For our flesh isn’t just susceptible to sin, it craves it, for it is utterly depraved and fallen. Our flesh wages war against the Spirit. That is why it is so important that we remain in the Word and submit to the Spirit of God rather than our own flesh. We live in God’s Grace every day, and with that truth fully in mind, we must rely on the Holy Spirit to move us to forgive our brother from our hearts every time he repents, regardless of how often or how grievous we perceive his sin to be, for such a sin is minuscule when compared to the mercy and grace we have received from Jesus Christ on the cross.  But we must also not allow our freedom in Christ to become an occasion (or a snare, trap, stumbling block, temptation) for the young/weak in the faith to sin. Knowledge puffs up, but Love builds up.

2 Peter 1:5-8 (ESV)5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen. May the Lord bless you and keep you firmly in His will,
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

DiM | “Hope in Front of Me” by Danny Gokey

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Presentation1Today is “Discernment in Music” (DiM) day here at Faithful Stewardship.

2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (ESV)
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

At the time of this writing, the K-Love top songs chart had not been updated from last week; therefore, we will be using 20 the Countdown Magazine’s chart for today’s DiM post. I can’t tell how often this chart is updated, but the top song on the chart is Danny Gokey’s “Hope In Front Of Me”. As it turns out, this song was at #4 on the K-Love chart last week, and would have been the next song on our list to review anyway, so here we go. Let us begin with a refresher for those who might not have heard this song on the radio:

[youtube http://youtu.be/O5GFiDdGGGM]

 

Hope in Front of Me | Lyrics (via Metro Lyrics)

I’ve been running through rain
That I thought would never end
Trying to make it on faith
In a struggle against the wind
I’ve seen the dark and the broken places
But I know in my soul
No matter how bad it gets
I’ll be alright

There’s hope in front of me
There’s a light, I still see it
There’s a hand still holding me
Even when I don’t believe it
I might be down but I’m not dead
There’s better days still up ahead
Even after all I’ve seen
There’s hope in front of me

There’s a place at the end of the storm
You finally find
Where the hurt and the tears and the pain
All fall behind

You open up your eyes and up ahead
There’s a big sun shining
Right then and there you realize
You’ll be alright

There’s hope in front of me
There’s a light, I still see it
There’s a hand still holding me
Even when I don’t believe it
I might be down but I’m not dead
There’s better days still up ahead
Even after all I’ve seen
There’s hope in front of me

There’s a hope still burning
I can feel it rising through the night
And my world’s still turning
I can feel your love here by my side

You’re my hope
You’re the light, I still see it
Your hands are holding me
Even when I don’t believe it
I’ve got to believe
I still have hope
You are my hope

Songwriters
HERMS, BERNIE / JAMES, BRETT / GOKEY, DANIEL JAY

Published by
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Read more: Danny Gokey – Hope In Front Of Me Lyrics | MetroLyrics

Positive Elements

Well, it is definitely an attempt to give encouragement to any and all who are going through hard times. If you bring in the Official Music Video, you get a sense of rescue for those who are struggling with hopelessness in various circumstances… and then they end up broken down in the middle of a country road and just need to keep walking… *sigh*. The song is vague. Danny Gokey has professed to be a Christian, he did so while he was competing in American Idol (Season 8) where he finished in 3rd place, which is quite an accomplishment. He has an absolutely tremendous voice and a great sense of musical style and delivers his music with power and emotion. This song also points toward a wonderful community outreach of Sophia’s Heart Foundation, named in honor of his late first wife. What they do here is undoubtedly a good work for the poor and the down-trodden, and this song Hope in Front of Me is undoubtedly anthemic for those being touched by this ministry. These are all positive elements and deeply commendable, but the vagueness of the messaging still looms. Before we move on to specific concerns, I want to share a video from Danny Gokey’s Homepage that really helped me tie this song to the Sophia’s Heart Foundation.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffivEQpbUZA]

Concerns

Our goal here is to practice Biblical discernment in the songs we hear played on the radio (maybe even sing along with) so that we are fully aware of what we are filling our hearts and minds with. The song has some very strong religious/spiritual keywords such as: faith, soul, belief, hope, light, and love. Each of these words resonate with religions of all flavors, even the godless ones (e.g. humanism and buddism). The vagueness is a problem here because at no time in the song or in the Official Music Video is the object of the singers faith identified nor is the hope articulated beyond a generic positive confession of “better days” and “I’ll be alright”. There is also a quirk that pops up in the use of the pronoun “you”. As with most modern-day spiritual songs, the “you” is at times implying God (or at least a higher power) but might also refer to an earthly person (love interest), but the quirk comes in where “you” suddenly shifts to the hearer. Well, that’s a problem since we also have the other two possible “you”s in the song. Vagueness is the key issue with this song. The Gospel isn’t remotely vague. Scripture isn’t vague. “Spiritual songs” are vague to appeal to the widest possible audience for sales. The song does not provide any answers, no gospel, and not really any Law, just an appeal to Hope.

To get any meaning out of the song, you first have to put real meaning into it. Let’s see if we can’t manage some salvaging of the song from the Scriptures.

Faith. Faith is not a thing unto itself. If we are using a strictly Biblical definition of faith, only believers have faith. We see in Romans 10:17 (ESV) “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ”. Therefore, apart from the Gospel of Jesus Christ there can be no faith. In fact, when Paul describes the state of sin of mankind in Romans 1, he lists “faithlessness” as one of their attributes.

Romans 1:28-32 (ESV) 28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

In the modern-day church we often use “faith” and “belief” interchangeably. If we are to do that, then we need to understand that there is only one True faith (faith that comes from hearing the Word of God), and all other faiths (or beliefs) are false. For the sake of redeeming this song, we must hold to the Biblical definition of faith, that is, faith in the Person, Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Hope. Since this is the main thrust of the song, I want to focus on salvaging this term. I could not do so without first properly anchoring the term Faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the same way that faith requires an object, we need to properly identify the object of our hope. Our hope is in Christ, and in Christ we have a hope. I think Peter does a great job of encapsulating it in the introduction of 1 Peter.

1 Peter 1:1-12 (ESV) | Born Again to a Living Hope
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

Our hope is in an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading… and that inheritance is kept for us in heaven to be revealed in the last time. The hope of heaven, that we will gain entrance into heaven through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That this sinful flesh will finally be put away from us in death, and that by His blood we will join physically in His resurrection as He gives us perfect, new, sinless bodies as part of our inheritance. That is our hope. And it is so marvelous and such an occasion for rejoicing that the various trials may cause us grief in this life are brief and temporary. The Hope of Heaven and the Hope of the Great Day of Christ’s return is the Hope in Front of Me. Unfortunately, there are lines in the song that wrongfully anchor this hope in the temporal. I’m not saying there won’t be any good times while on this earth, the promise is that we who are in Christ will face trials of many kinds, and that our faith will be tested, for this fallen world Hates God. If your hope is anchored in this life, you’ve anchored it on a sandy floor that shifts with storms and seas. At the risk of belaboring the point, “your best life now” is NOT a Christian confession. Our inheritance (our Hope) is kept for us in Heaven. While on Earth, God the Holy Spirit comforts, helps, sustains, and nurtures us… but He does so for purposes that extend well beyond this present life, and beyond our own understanding. He is building up the Bride of Christ, of which we who believe are all members.

Conclusion

This song is vague, and at-best simply a spiritual song. It doesn’t really proclaim the Gospel or uphold the Law. It is a generically “positive” song, sung extremely well. I can become a teaching point if the conversation lends itself to you sharing the Gospel by explaining faith, hope, and love as they are defined by the Bible rather than humanism. But the song doesn’t do that on its own.

I was deeply moved by the EPK film, the background behind Sophia’s Heart Foundation… but even in that film we heard too much of “my story” rather than the Gospel. We touched on the problem of teaching that Christians are supposed to share “their story” rather than His when we reviewed Casting Crown’s teaching videos. I was moved by the good works of Sophia’s Heart Foundation, and I have no problem sharing what they are doing. But good works apart from the Gospel are temporal. Preach the Gospel, so that those who hear the words of Christ might obtain faith in Christ and through Christ be assured of the Hope that lies ahead, the hope of that upward call of Christ on the Last Day.

Jude 1:24-25 (ESV)
24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

In Christ,
Jorge

CTT | Give No Offense

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Last week, there was a great blog by Matt Walsh about “microaggressions” and our perpetually offended culture. As great as that blog was, I thought we should dig into an often misquoted or misinterpreted passage regarding offense.

2 Corinthians 6:3 (KJV) Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed:

Whenever this verse is quoted, much of the time it is presented as a command or a rebuke against someone who offended another person. It is used to prohibit Christians from disagreeing with questionable teaching, or practices, or even to suggest that we cannot point out out-right false teaching if doing so might offend the person. This verse is also sometimes used to justify the false notion that “we need to earn the right to speak truth” to those who are lost. Telling someone they are in sin, have sinned, or are teaching falsely might offend them or someone who believes in them; therefore, we dare not do that. But is that what this passage is about? Is that a notion that Paul taught elsewhere? Let’s take a look at the text.

The end of the verse isn’t the end of the thought. So, our first goal should be to complete the thought. We’ll do it in KJV and then transition to ESV.

2 Corinthians 6:1-10 (KJV) 6 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.
2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
3 Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed:
4 But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, 5 In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; 6 By pureness, by knowledge, by long suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, 7 By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, 8 By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true;
9 As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; 10 As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

2 Corinthians 6:1-10 (ESV) 6 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says,
“In a favorable time I listened to you,
and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”
Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 3 We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4 but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; 7 by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

By simply switching to a good translation that uses more modern English, we see a different meaning being conveyed by this verse. Now, placing a stumbling block before an individual does fit within the definition of “giving an offense” to that individual, but we don’t usually hear that meaning in common English. The Greek word being translated “offense” or “cause for offense” here is proskopē.  Here we see a real problem with the English word “offense” shifting a great deal from it’s KJV use. In fact, if we look up the term “offence”  in the Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, we see that every definition of the word relates to either a stumbling block, an occasion for sin, or a trap of some sort. Nowhere do we see the modern-day reference to “hurt feelings”.

Let’s also look beyond the word translations and finish the thought. In the KJV it ends in a colon, and in the ESV there is a comma. Clearly, Paul wasn’t finished with that thought, and if we trace the punctuation we see just how much he is packing into this idea. The ESV inserts a period in the middle of verse 8, but it seems to help to break up quite the run-on sentence.  Notice the “but” immediately following the verse 3 punctuation… everything that follows serves as the antithesis of “giving offence” or “putting an stumbling block”. In that list we see many things but I underlined things that caught my eye: Knowledge, Genuine Love, Truthful Speech, and Weapons of righteousness. Everything on the list is important, but when this verse is invoked to silence Truth, Knowledge (from the Word of God), genuine love (I really like the KJV’s “love unfeigned”) there is a major problem. The problem that arises is the notion that the truth, knowledge of Scriptures, might be the stumbling block. That is not what Paul is sharing here. The reference to weapons of righteousness in the right hand and left is very interesting. Later on in his letter, Paul comes back to this thought in an interesting way.

2 Corinthians 10:1-6 (ESV)10 I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!— 2 I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

We see here that Paul clarifies what it is we do with our weapons of righteousness. While he doesn’t use the full phrase again, he specifies that our weapons (hoplon) are not of the flesh before detailing what it is we do, which is to destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God. We take every thought captive to obey Christ and ready to punish every disobedience. To the individual is who is found in error, all of this might indeed “offend” in the modern-English sense, but none of it counts as “a stumbling block” in the Biblical sense to those who are in Christ.

Now, there are occasions in Scripture where “a stumbling block” is a good thing, in that it causes the wicked to stumble. Here, the Apostle Paul uses a different Greek word skandalon.

1 Corinthians 1:18-25 (ESV)| Christ the Wisdom and Power of God
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age?Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

That seems an odd distinction between the reaction of the Jews and that of the Gentiles toward the Word of the Cross. He says twice that the Gentiles regard it as folly, and yet for the Jews it is a stumbling block, or trap. Thankfully, we see in Scriptures some reactions to the Gospel that agree with the distinction Paul makes here.

Acts 5:17-33 (ESV) | The Apostles Arrested and Freed
17 But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy 18 they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20 “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people allthe words of this Life.” 21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. 22 But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, 23 “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.” 24 Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. 25 And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.”26 Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people. 27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit,whom God has given to those who obey him.” 33 When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.

What is so cool about this exchange is that the Sadducees rightly identified the message of the cross but completely missed it’s meaning. In their pride and arrogance, they missed the fact that the miraculous was pointing to Jesus as the Messiah, and they were trying to avoid being made guilty of putting Him to death. For it was the religious leaders who sent Jesus to the Romans for crucifixion, they paid blood money to Judas for the betrayal of Jesus, and yet the very message of the cross on which was prepared a way of salvation for them caused them to stumble for their sin. As for the folly to the Gentiles, we see this clearly when Paul taught in Athens and at the Areopagus.

Acts 17:18 (ESV) 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said,“What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.

Acts 17:32 (ESV) 32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said,“We will hear you again about this.”

The Word of the Cross is both a stumbling block to the Jews, and folly to the Gentiles. In closing out this thought, let us turn to 1 Peter 2.

1 Peter 2:1-12 (ESV) | A Living Stone and a Holy People
2 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture:

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,

“The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone,”

8 and

“A stone of stumbling,
    and a rock of offense.”

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Conclusion

As Christians, we have plenty of warning and exhortation to speak in love, humility, meekness, and patience so that the Gospel of Jesus Christ might not be hindered by our lack of love and self-control. However, nowhere can we say that we should remain silent in the face of wrong, or sin, or false teaching for the sake of not “offending anyone”. As Brad Stine said in one of his comedy skits, “if you’re offended by something I said, then I apologize, but if you’re offended by the TRUTH… well… that’s between you and God.”

I pray that you have a wonderful week. Do spend some time in God’s Word this week. May the Lord Bless and keep you firmly in His Will,
in Christ Jesus,
Jorge

CTT | Earn the Right to Speak Truth?

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This statement has been bugging me since Tuesday’s DiM post. This seems to be a prevalent notion among the “missional” or “relational” churches who push the notion that “living out the Gospel” is somehow preferable to “preaching the Gospel”.

We live in a society that extols the man-made virtue of “Freedom of Speech” especially in voicing one’s opinion; however, that freedom of speech is routinely abridged whenever the speech invokes God, the Bible, or preaching the Gospel. That is to be expected based on what Jesus taught His disciples:

John 15:18-20 (ESV) | The Hatred of the World
18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

What we should not have expected, was for the church to have accepted this upside-down concept of the Gospel, where we can freely share our opinions, but don’t you DARE share TRUTH without having earned the right to do so. What garbage, and again, it is completely upside down from what God’s Word teaches. Let’s look at what Scripture says regarding preaching, beginning with John the Baptist.

Matthew 3:1-12 (ESV) | John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’”

4 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan,confessing their sins. 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor andgather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Words… they are necessary for preaching. Let’s look at the start of Jesus’ Ministry after spending 40 days fasting in the wilderness, resisting the Devil.

Matthew 4:12-17 (ESV) | Jesus Begins His Ministry
12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.”

17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying,“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

So, one might object, “oh but John the Baptist was specially anointed and Jesus is the very Son of God”. Fair objection. Let’s move to Acts chapter 8.

Acts 8:4-17 (ESV) | Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria
4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city.

9 But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. 10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” 11 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.

14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.

We know that the signs and wonders were of God the Holy Spirit operating through Philip. Notice here, though, that words are needed (necessary) even in the presence of miraculous signs and wonders such as unclean spirits being cast out, and the lame and paralyzed being healed in their midst. Words are necessary, at all times, for the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One might argue, “but these are descriptive texts, you cannot make a prescription from them”… to that I would say, “you are mostly correct, and I’ll remember you pointed that out in future conversations”. Let’s look to some prescriptive texts regarding the preaching of the Gospel.

Romans 10:13-15 (ESV) 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written,“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

1 Corinthians 1:20-25 (ESV)20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age?Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Ephesians 3:8-12 (ESV)8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

2 Timothy 4:1-5 (ESV) | Preach the Word
1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Now, to be sure, if we do not submit to the Word of God we preach, then we work contrary to the Gospel, unless we also confess our sin one to another, repenting and forgiving as we have been forgiven by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this point, we will return to 1 Corinthians and better understand what it is Paul is teaching in chapter 9.

1 Corinthians 9:8-27 (ESV) 8 Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10 Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. 11 If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. 13 Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? 14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. 15 But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. 16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. 18 What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel. 19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Sorun that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

And this is why I boldly state that this idea that one must earn the right to speak Truth (often reinforced using the Francis of Assisi quote) is completely backward. The preaching of the Gospel requires words at all times. However, when such preaching opens a door for relationship or fellowship we must live in step with the Spirit, lest we disqualify ourselves for our lack of self-control.

Opinions… everyone has them

Let’s look at the difference between opinions and Truth. There is a difference and we need to be very careful how we divide the Word of God to “prove our point”. Scripture is very clear about a great many things, and it is also clear about opinions.

Romans 14:1-4 (ESV) | Do Not Pass Judgment on One Another
1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

Romans 14:13-19 (ESV) | Do Not Cause Another to Stumble
13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual up building.

That is NOT to say that all opinions are equally valid. As long as there is TRUTH (Scripture) then there is a standard by which we can declare certain opinions to be false, and we are not to simply allow every opinion that is false to go un-checked.

2 Corinthians 10:1-6 (ESV) | Paul Defends His Ministry
1 I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!— 2 I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience,when your obedience is complete.

Therefore, let us not compromise the Word of God for the sake of a short-lived, human-defined, sense of fellowship. We must preach the Gospel and by the Grace of God we must live out that Gospel in a manner that demonstrates the love of God, so that we are not disqualified. That doesn’t mean we have to live perfectly under the Law, though that should be our aim, it means that when we fall short of the Law we demonstrate repentance and embrace the Gospel that we preach. You are a sinner. I am a sinner. While we walk in our mortal, sinful flesh, we will sin. The Gospel isn’t that somehow we suddenly stopped sinning, but that in Christ Jesus we have the forgiveness of sin and the promise of a new body, one free of sin and death, that we will inherit either when we die or when Christ returns. That is the Gospel we must preach and live, and it words are always necessary, for faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Words of Christ (Romans 10:17).

May the Grace of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ fill your words, actions, and thoughts,
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

 

Prophetic Insight or Divination?

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propheticWe’ve allowed many to play fast and loose with the term “prophetic” whenever we see folks proclaim “prophetic insights” based on calendars (Hebrew and Modern). Is this Prophetic or merely divination by other spiritual means (numerology, astrology, omen reading).

Let us begin with what will undoubtedly be a season of supposed “prophetic words” that will capitalize on the upcoming Hebrew New Year (Rosh Hashana). It seems every year there is a “prophetic word for 20XX” that never gets reviewed or tested. A prophet of God must be 100% accurate or they are false and need to repent for their blasphemy. There is no in-between.

The Seventh Month

On our western calendar, Rosh Hashana falls on the evening of September 25. While it is called the “Hebrew New Year”, it doesn’t mark the first day of the calendar year as we westerners have come to think of “New Year”. It is in-fact the first day of the seventh month of the year. This is an important month in the Mosaic Covenant, so let us brush up a bit on what Scripture says regarding this month.

Leviticus 23:23-25 (ESV) | The Feast of Trumpets
23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25 You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall present a food offering to the Lord.”

Okay, so this is to be a Sabbath day in addition to the weekly Sabbath (since this calendar is based on both solar and lunar cycles to keep the seasons) the day on which Rosh Hashana falls varies from year to year. Keeping track of Sabbaths the months, the lunar cycles and the holy days was a priestly duty, but all of the people of Israel had to abide by them in order to keep the Law.

Leviticus 23:26-32 (ESV) | The Day of Atonement
26 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the Lord. 28 And you shall not do any work on that very day, for it is a Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. 29 For whoever is not afflicted on that very day shall be cut off from his people.30 And whoever does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy from among his people. 31 You shall not do any work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. 32 It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening shall you keep your Sabbath.”

Now in Numbers we see what sacrifices were to be brought for the Day of Atonement:

Numbers 29:7-11 (ESV) | Offerings for the Day of Atonement
7 “On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation and afflict yourselves. You shall do no work, 8 but you shall offer a burnt offering to the Lord, a pleasing aroma: one bull from the herd, one ram, seven male lambs a year old: see that they are without blemish. 9 And their grain offering shall be of fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths of an ephah for the bull, two tenths for the one ram, 10 a tenth for each of the seven lambs: 11 also one male goat for a sin offering, besides the sin offering of atonement, and the regular burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings.

The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) is arguably the most important day on the Hebrew calendar. Lots of sacrifices made to atone for the sins of the people of Israel. It marks the end of the High Holy days that begin on the first day of the seventh month. Let’s look at the historical significance of the Day of Atonement within the Mosaic Covenant.

Leviticus 16:1-10 (ESV) | The Day of Atonement
1 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died, 2 and the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. 3 But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on. 5 And he shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. 6 “Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. 7 Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 8 And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel. 9 And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and use it as a sin offering, 10 but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.

Okay, so we have now a full picture of what was required as far as sacrifices on the Day of Atonement. It was quite the bloody affair, and it was the only day when the High Priest could enter the Holy Place. The High Priest must first offer a sacrifice to atone for himself and his house, then he had to follow God’s commands to make atonement for the Holy Place because of the sins of the people, and then the tent of meeting and the altar. Then he would lay his hands on the live goat and confess over it all of the sins of the people (this is where the term “scapegoat” derives its meaning) so that it will carry away the sins of the people.

Everything we have discussed in the Law is a foreshadowing of the final sacrifice, the final Day of Atonement, the day that Jesus Christ died on the cross to atone for our sin forever.

Hebrews 9:19-28 (ESV) 19 For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” 21 And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. 22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

This is the significance of the Day of Atonement for those of us who are in Christ Jesus. Plainly taught in Scripture. We now have the great High Priest at the right hand of God the Father interceding on our behalf. No more animal sacrifices, no more waiting for the seventh month of the year, much less the 10th day of the seventh month.

Prophetic Insight or Divination?

There is an unquenchable drive within the community of self-appointed apostles and prophets to always have a “fresh” or “new” word of prophecy. There is very little Biblical teaching in that community. In fact, there is a sense that what is old is no longer relevant, so there is no point of going back to what the Scriptures teach. Oddly enough, when these individuals do go back to the Scriptures, they tend to dive into odd portions of the Old Testament to rip verses or promises out of context. Finally, what is often times presented as a “prophetic word” or “prophetic insight” is really no different from divination.

Numerology and Astrology presented as Prophecy

Why do accept the idea that God is in any way bound to a Calendar (Hebrew or Modern)? Were the feasts and the Sabbaths to be observed by God or by men? Was God bound to certain days on which He could speak to His prophets? No. God spoke when He chose to speak, through whom He chose to speak to whomever He chose to speak. The Lord God is Sovereign. If God is not bound by certain days of the Calendar while the Mosaic Covenant is in effect, He is definitely not bound by those days now that the Truth of Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the Son of the Living God has been revealed. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to dwell within us, and Paul taught that we, Christians, are now the temple of the Holy Spirit of God. If He dwells within us, then we needn’t wait for the Day of Atonement to approach the mercy-seat, or to confess our sins and be forgiven. So, why… WHY have we adopted the pagan practices of astrology and numerology in an attempt to divine the Will of God for “the New Year”?

We’ve already been dealing with false-prophesy in the form of astrology regarding John Hagee’s “4 Blood Moons” nonsense. The supposed tetrad of lunar eclipses that (depending on how you are trying to sell this ‘prophesy’) spell either doom or an opportunity for unlocking some secret blessing from God. Astrology.

Now, thanks in-part to the Hebrew-roots movement, we get 2 seasons of “annual prophetic words”, one for our modern New Year and another for the Hebrew Calendar New Year. We’ve already seen the Biblical significance of this month and how it points to Jesus, but the Hebrew year is also 5775. We’ll undoubtedly see ‘prophetic’ insights tied to some sort of divine significance of the numbers 5 and 7, and the fact that both numbers are doubled. (Rod Parsley and Chuck Pierce have apparently already done so). Numerology.

Neither of these forms of divination are Biblical nor are they Prophetic. While it is true that God repeats patterns of significance in His Word when He chose to work Creation in 6 days and rest on the 7th, it is God who sets the pattern, not the pattern that sets God. The pattern must point to God, or it is meaningless. For example, if I commit a sin (you pick one), there is no power in the number “7” or “10” that I can invoke to get God to forgive me, but if I remember that the Day of atonement (10th day of the 7th month) points to Christ on the Cross, then I can be reminded that Christ already made atonement for my sin, and that all that is required of me is to confess and repent from my sin. Nothing prophetic about your watch showing 7/7/77 as the date, or 7:55:07 as the time… there is no power of prophesy in the number, nor is God obligated to give a prophetic word just because the Calendar has a certain number or letter on it. Divination points to omens, not to the Living God, and not to Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Divination is not Powerless

The real problem here is not only that God is not bound by any calendar to give a word of prophesy, but that divination is prohibited. Remember the test of a prophet isn’t limited to whether or not the sign or wonder comes to pass. Both the Law and Jesus tell us that false prophets will also produce signs and wonders. We are NOT to listen to every spirit, but only God the Holy Spirit.

Deuteronomy 18:9-12 (ESV) | Abominable Practices
9 “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, 12 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you.

Acts 16:16-19 (ESV) 16 As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” 18 And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour. 19 But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers.

So here we reviewed what was in the Law and then jumped ahead to Acts 16. Notice here there is a slave girl who had an unclean spirit, a spirit of divination. Her owners made money off her divination. She followed Paul and Silas for days and what does the scripture record her crying out? That they were servants of the Most High God proclaiming the way of salvation. Was she telling the truth? Yes. Was she prophesying? No. She was calling attention to herself and to Paul and Silas, but was not seeking to honor the Most High God. For we know that it was a foul spirit. A demon. It was not of God, and that is a problem. I believe this example is recorded in scripture to demonstrate that even if the proclamation sounds right (and this one does seem right in written form) the spirit behind it was wrong. It did not bring glory to God, nor did it edify the Church.

Conclusion

Stop reading omens. Stop searching out others to read omens. Don’t accept divination as a counterfeit for prophesy. Seek first the Kingdom of God by reading His Word, revealed in the Bible. Scripture defines scripture. All scripture is God-breathed. God is unchanging. He will not speak now in a way that runs contrary to Scripture. We are awaiting the Return of Jesus Christ our King, and we have our marching orders, the foundation laid by the Apostles with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone. He is also the Head of His Church. Remember, that the Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy (Revelation 19:10). Test the spirits to know if they are of God or of error. The only test we have is Scripture.

One final thought… anyone who claims to speak Prophetically in the Name of the Lord and demands a fee from you in order for you to be blessed by God has flipped the Gospel upside down. Jesus didn’t give His life on the cross for you to earn forgiveness, much less blessing. The sacrifices in the Law don’t translate into “seed offerings” of money commensurate with your faith to believe for miracles from God. The offerings we reviewed for the Day of Atonement didn’t become the wealth of the priests, they were sacrificed to the Lord to atone for their sin. The High Priest faced certain death if he displeased the Lord God on this day. The false teachers of today who seek to sell you false-hope and take advantage of your desperation by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not teach (Titus 1:9-11).

Jude 1:24-25 (ESV)24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge