| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"UR Welcome! UR" |
| Date: |
20 Jul 2007 09:11:51 AM |
| Object: |
How Do I Become a Good Person? |
How Do I Become a Good Person?
Four Answers to the Question
This article is from the May 2006 BreakPoint WorldView magazine. Sign up
today to receive the free online edition 10 times a year!
Probably more than anyone else, parents are concerned with the question of
how people become morally good. Parents give so much of their lives to the
moral formation of their children. But it is also a matter of enduring
concern to moralists of all traditions and has been considered extensively
in the history of Christian thought.
In considering the question of how people become morally good, we run
immediately into concerns that the question itself is dangerous. Some
Christians fear that to ask it is to flirt with works-righteousness. But
this assumes that the only reason one might be interested in developing
moral goodness is to earn a ticket to heaven. There are many other reasons
to puzzle over how we can develop moral goodness, such as the Bible's
requirement of righteous living and the fact that the survival of any
human community depends on the development of moral virtue among its
members.
I want to offer four approaches to answering our question. Each has its
strengths and weaknesses, its adherents and adversaries.
'CHRISTIANS AREN'T PERFECT, JUST FORGIVEN.'
This old slogan remains a widely held belief. In one sense, it functions
as an answer to the question of how we become morally good people. We
don't. That's the answer.
Taken at face value, there is nothing untruthful about the statement that
"Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven." Both clauses are true.
Christians are not perfect, because they remain sinners. And they are
forgiven, because Jesus has paid the price for their sins. But there is a
kind of nonchalance about moral imperfection in this slogan that is
disturbing.
Those who take the Bible seriously should understand that sin is no small
concern. It wrecks lives, ruins relationships, and cost God a great price
to redeem. But today we casually claim God's forgiveness and go on with
our morally mediocre lives.
There is another strand of Christian thought that is much more serious
about sin than this, but in the end reaches the same conclusion. These
Christians believe that we can expect to make little or no progress
against sin in our lives as long as we are here in these bodies and on
this earth.
Think of Martin Luther. He was certainly very deeply impressed by the
wretchedness of sin. But he believed that through Jesus Christ God has
forgiven it. Luther did offer strenuous exhortations to Christians to obey
Jesus and live right. But he sadly observed that not one in a thousand
so-called Christians is a true one. So the Christian message is not that
somehow Jesus changes human nature, but that Jesus makes forgiveness
available to us, wretched sinners as we all are.
Still, there was more to it for Luther. Having come through the Catholic
monastic tradition, with its careful cataloguing of particular sins,
Luther was convinced that this whole approach put the believer's attention
on himself rather than on Christ. Emphasizing human efforts to overcome
sin and attain virtue, Luther feared, leads to self-centeredness, pride
(or self-loathing), and dependence on self rather than dependence on God.
Luther was certainly right in seeing the depth of our depravity and the
wonder of God's forgiving grace. Yet the New Testament itself reveals that
God's grace is experienced both as forgiveness and as power-the power to
change. God does not just pardon; He liberates. He does not just acquit;
He transforms (Romans 12:1-2). Both are themes in the New Testament, and
the abandonment of the theme of transformation has had disastrous effects
in the Church.
'I THINK I CAN, I THINK I CAN.'
On the other end of the spectrum is what might be called the "I think I
can, I think I can" approach-like the "Little Engine That Could." This
approach emphasizes sheer willpower and raw determination, working harder
and becoming more moral through our own efforts.
The goal of achieving real change in our lives is an advance over the
approach we have just considered. It is also true that hard work is a part
of any process of personal growth. But most of us who have attempted to
achieve some kind of objective purely on the basis of teeth-gritting
effort have soon discovered the frustrating limits of our willpower. We
know what we ought to do, but the inner forces of resistance are just too
strong.
The Christian tradition has been consistent in claiming that the human
will is unable to accomplish its own good apart from the help of God. "I
can do all things," Paul says, but this occurs "through Christ who
strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). Paul is realistic about how difficult
it is to grow and get it right even with the power of the Holy Spirit in
our lives. That's what he is agonizing about in Romans 7: "The good that I
would do, I do not; the evil that I would not do, that I do." He reminds
us that we will not become morally good people apart from the active
intervention of God in our lives.
'I ONCE WAS BLIND, BUT NOW I SEE.'
As early as the 18th century, revivalist preachers proclaimed the need for
authentic conversion to faith in Jesus Christ. A major part of their
message was that such a conversion would also bring about dramatic moral
changes. The power of God demonstrated in personal salvation was also
available for personal transformation.
Some revivalists had rich moral messages, imploring their listeners to
come to Christ and having done so to abandon slavery, treat all women with
respect, be tender to their children, stop drinking, refrain from lawless
violence, be kind to the poor, and in general change their lives for the
better. There can be no question that personal religious conversion
leading to dramatic moral change is a significant motif in our religious
history. "I once was blind but now I see" aptly symbolizes the moral
transformation revivalists expected.
This tradition also has clear biblical roots. Think of the prophet
Nathan's confrontation of King David after David's horrendous chain of
sins (2 Samuel 11). When Nathan finds a way to reach David's heart and
challenge him for his sins, David is struck to the depths of his soul (2
Samuel 12). He knows that he has done wrong and is willing to pay the
price for his sins. David already knows God, but here he experiences a
profound sorrow for his sins that leads to repentance and moral change.
In the New Testament, John the Baptist proclaims his fiery message of
repentance for sin, and people repent in droves (Luke 3:7-14). Jesus calls
tax collectors and prostitutes to Him, and they abandon their former sins
as they follow Him. Perhaps the most famous convert of all is Paul
himself, a murderous persecutor of Christians who becomes the leading
apostle in the early Church.
But those of us who have spent our lives within revivalist traditions also
know the very real limits of this approach.
"I once was blind, but now I see" is an imperfect paradigm for dealing
with children and teenagers who have been raised in the Christian
tradition. What do you tell someone who has never been "blind" in any
obvious way, never been the prodigal away on a sinful binge, but instead
is a pretty responsible 12-year-old? What if they cannot recall a specific
dramatic moment in which they crossed over from darkness to light, sin to
repentance, and unbelief to faith?
What tends to happen in such cases is that kids feel that they must
manufacture some kind of dramatic conversion experience in order to be
truly "saved." Many have launched into a time of rebellion as if they
needed it as validation for their later "conversion." Churchgoing young
people who don't "get lost" also often experience an agonizing and pitiful
quest for certainty about their salvation.
Another major problem with this approach is that it can lead to dramatic
but shallow and ultimately fruitless conversions-or purported conversions.
Everyone who is a part of a revivalist tradition is familiar with the
pattern: If it's April, it must be revival time, and so you can count on
old Joe to walk down the aisle and say he's found Jesus and is going to
live right from now on. This feels good to the traveling evangelist, but
everyone in the community knows that old Joe does this every year, and in
the end he never changes at all. Conversion is, at best, a start on the
moral journey. The convert will need discipleship to sustain life's moral
journey over the long term.
Is there a model for moral growth that can absorb the truths in each of
the previous three views while avoiding their weaknesses?
GRADUAL MORAL FORMATION IN JESUS CHRIST
The most complete and workable model emphasizes gradual moral formation in
Jesus Christ.* The heart of this approach is the belief that with God's
help, Christians can grow into ever-increasing conformity with the example
of Jesus Christ.
The starting point is the concept of the imago Dei (Genesis 1:27-28).
Because we are made in God's image, within all of us is the dim awareness
that we have a divine Creator, and, somehow, a divinely ordained purpose
and destiny. We were made for relationship with God, and made to find our
highest fulfillment in doing God's will. As Augustine so famously wrote:
"You made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in
Thee."
Part of being made in God's image is that we have the rational capacity to
understand "the order of things established by the Creator" (Romans
1:18-32). We have sufficient free will to be capable of directing
ourselves toward the true good for which we were made and to make morally
meaningful choices. We have the capacity to "recognize the voice of God"
that urges us "to do what is good and avoid what is evil" (Genesis 4:7).
This voice is heard in our conscience, which also reflects the divine
image (Romans 2:12-16).
Sin is real and has real consequences. It does not destroy our freedom, or
our moral capacity, or the divine image in us as a whole, but it does
damage it, and it does mean that we are "now inclined to evil and subject
to error." There is a deep internal division in us. We may still desire
what is good, but a contrary force within us pulls us in the other
direction (Romans 7).
For Christians, the grace of God in Jesus Christ "delivered us from Satan
and from sin." Therefore, "his grace restores what sin has damaged in us."
Those who believe in Christ become sons and daughters of God. This
transforms us by giving us the ability to follow Christ's example. We are
capable of acting rightly, doing good, and maturing into holiness. The end
of this path of spiritual/moral growth is "the glory of heaven."
This approach strongly emphasizes the surviving moral capacity of human
beings, despite sin. Sin wounds our nature and inclines our will to evil
and our thinking to error. The unredeemed sinner, however, is understood
as a divided self rather than a self wholly inclined to evil. What Jesus
Christ makes available, then, is deliverance from this condition of
internal division, restoration of what sin has damaged, and therefore a
return of all that God intended for us all along.
As we grow in grace, our divided self becomes more whole, more "capable of
acting rightly and doing good." Such growth in grace is only possible as
we remain "in union with [our] Savior." As we draw spiritually upon the
power of Jesus Christ, with whom we are in a deep and abiding
relationship, new life blossoms in us (John 15:1-7). We grow in holiness
and become more fitted for life in the eternal presence of God.
It is indeed possible to become a morally good person through a process of
gradual transformation in Jesus Christ. We will certainly never be
perfect, but growth toward goodness is possible. We need not accept the
way we are. We can do better, with God's Spirit motivating, empowering,
and strengthening our moral effort.
Paul wrote: "This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in
knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is
best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with
the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory
and praise of God" (Philippians 1:9-11). This prayer asks for more than
forgiveness, more than willpower, and more than dramatic conversion
experiences. It asks for gradual moral formation of God's people through
Jesus Christ. This is how we become morally good people.
By David P. Gushee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
David P. Gushee, a Wilberforce Forum fellow, is university fellow and
Graves Professor of Moral Philosophy at Union University. This essay is
adapted from his most recent book, Only Human: Christian Reflections on
the Journey Toward Wholeness.
* Quotations in this section are from the Roman Catholic Catechism,
although this concept is also expressed well elsewhere.
.
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| User: "The Chief Instigator" |
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| Title: Re: How Do I Become a Good Person? |
20 Jul 2007 04:33:09 PM |
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"UR Welcome!" <UR Welcome!_fan_club@yahoo.com> writes:
How Do I Become a Good Person?
I've done it by staying away from organized religion. As for how you do
it...maybe going along with the next probe launched towards the Oort Cloud.
--
Patrick "The Chief Instigator" Humphrey (patrick@io.com) Houston, Texas
chiefinstigator.us.tt/aeros.php (TCI's 2006-07 Houston Aeros) AA#2273
LAST GAME: San Antonio 4, Houston 2 (April 15)
NEXT GAME: October 2007, date/place/opponent TBA
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| User: "UR Welcome! UR" |
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| Title: Re: How Do I Become a Good Person? |
21 Jul 2007 05:51:16 PM |
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"The Chief Instigator" <patrick@fnord.io.com> wrote in message news:szk3azig3qi.fsf@fnord.io.com...
"UR Welcome!" <UR Welcome!_fan_club@yahoo.com> writes:
How Do I Become a Good Person?
I've done it by staying away from organized religion. As for how you do
it...maybe going along with the next probe launched towards the Oort Cloud.
Don't be silly, there is not a lot of time left!
.. Ancient Evidence for Jesus from Non-Christian Sources
Introduction
There are a few references to Jesus in 1st-century Roman
and Jewish sources. Documents indicate that within a few
years of Jesus' death, Romans were aware that someone
named Chrestus (a slight misspelling of Christus) had been
responsible for disturbances in the Jewish community in
Rome (Suetonius, The Life of the Deified Claudius 25.4).
Twenty years later, according to Tacitus, Christians in
Rome were prominent enough to be persecuted by Nero,
and it was known that they were devoted to Christus,
whom Pilate had executed (Annals 15.44). This knowledge
of Jesus, however, was dependent on familiarity with
early Christianity and does not provide independent
evidence about Jesus. Josephus wrote a paragraph
about Jesus (The Antiquities of the Jews 18.63ff.),
as he did about Theudas, the Egyptian, and other
charismatic leaders (History of the Jewish War 2.258-263;
The Antiquities of the Jews 20.97-99, 167-172),
but it has been heavily revised by Christian scribes,
and Josephus's original remarks cannot be discerned.
http://bibleweb.info/external-references-to-jesus-01.pdf
Articles Included in this Report:
o Ancient Evidence for Jesus from Non-Christian Sources
o The Inspiration of the Bible
o No Lost Books
o Authority of the Bible
o Are the Biblical Documents Reliable?
o Did Jesus Claim to Be God?
o If Christ Has Not Been Raised: Reasoning Through the Resurrection
o Religious Stew
o Only Two Religions: Meditations on Religious Pluralism
o Is the Church Ready to Engage the World for Christ?
o The Resurrection: Fact or Fiction?
o Is Christianity Based on Fraud?
o Spotlight on the Narrow Path
o Witnessing to Liberals
o Christianity's Real Record
o Why Does God Make Atheists?
o The Historic Alliance of Christianity and Science
o General & Special Revelation - A Match Made In Heaven
o Miracles
o Additional References Taken From: "The Resurrection of Jesus",
Also:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
.. Why This Gospel of John Was Written
(John 20:30-31 NASB)
.. Why This Gospel Was Written
30 ?a?Therefore many other ?1??b?signs Jesus also performed
in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this
book;
31 but these have been written ?a?so that you may believe
that Jesus is ?1?the Christ, ?b?the Son of God; and that
?c?believing you may have life in His name.
[1]
.. The Purpose of John's Gospel (20:30, 31)
Not all the miracles performed by Jesus are recorded in John's
Gospel. The Holy Spirit selected those signs which would best serve
His purpose.
Here we have John's object in writing the book. It was so that his
readers may believe that Jesus is the true Messiah and the Son of
God. Believing, they will have eternal life in His name.
Have you believed?
[2]
This is the key to the gospel. The Lord did many things that are not
recorded. He healed multitudes. I think John also means that He did
many other things after His resurrection which are not recorded.
John has been selective in his writing of this gospel. He has chosen
the material which he has written because he had a definite purpose
in mind.
John did not attempt to write a biography of Jesus Christ. He did
not even attempt to fill in the life of Christ in areas not covered
by the other gospels. He wrote so that you might "believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life
through his name." It is through believing that you receive life and
are born again. You become a child of God through faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ.
[3]
"Therefore" ties this statement to what immediately precedes it.
John wrote his Gospel because those who believe on Jesus without
seeing Him in the flesh are acceptable to God. He wrote, therefore,
that people may believe and so enjoy eternal life. There were many
other evidences of Jesus' deity that John could have presented.
However, he chose those that he recorded here to lead his readers to
the type of faith that Thomas just articulated and that Jesus just
commended. That was John's strategy in composing this Gospel under
the Holy Spirit's inspiration.
What did John have in mind when he referred to other "signs?"
Perhaps he meant the seven miracles that he featured, the
significance of which Jesus usually explained in the context (chs.
2-12).
[4]
A Summary of the Seven Signs in John
Sign
Significance659
Belief
Unbelief
Reference
Changing water to wine
Jesus' power over quality
The disciples
2:1-11
Healing the official's son
Jesus' power over space
The official and his household
4:46-54
Healing the paralytic
Jesus' power over time
The paralytic?
The Jews
5:1-9
Feeding the 5,000
Jesus' power over quantity
Some people in the crowd
6:1-15
Walking on the water
Jesus' power over nature
The disciples
6:16-21
Healing a man born blind
Jesus' power over misfortune
The blind man
The Pharisees
9:1-12
Raising Lazarus
Jesus' power over death
Martha, Mary, and many Jews
The Jewish authorities
11:1-16
It seems more probable that John meant to include the Resurrection
since it was the greatest of all the demonstrations of Jesus' deity.
Jesus explained the significance of this miracle in the Upper Room
Discourse (chs. 13-16).
20:31 This verse unites many of the most important themes in the
fourth Gospel. John's purpose was clearly evangelistic. His Gospel
is an excellent portion of Scripture to give to an unbeliever. It is
probably the most effective evangelistic tool available. Its impact
on the reader is strongest when one reads it through at one sitting,
which takes less than two hours for most people. This document can
also deepen and establish the faith of any believer. However that is
more a comment on its result than its purpose.
The implication of this purpose is that John meant unbelievers when
he wrote "you." Did he have a particular group of unbelievers in
mind, or was he addressing any reader? Some commentators have tried
to identify a particular audience from statements in the text. Yet
it seems more probable that John wrote for a general audience since
he did not identify his intended audience specifically. His
presentation of Jesus as the divine Son of God certainly has
universal application.
"There cannot be any doubt but that John conceived of Jesus as the
very incarnation of God."660
John's purpose was not academic. It was not simply that people might
believe intellectually that Jesus is the divine Messiah. It was
rather that they might believe those foundational truths so they
could possess and experience the life of God fully (cf. 10:10). This
divine life affects the whole person, not just the intellect.
Moreover it affects him or her forever, not just during that
person's present lifetime.
John's clear purpose statement concludes the body of this Gospel.
[5]
.. The 7 I AM Statements
.. in the Gospel According to John
Twenty-three times [23 times] in all we find our Lord's
meaningful I AM (ego eimi, Gr.) in the
Greek text of this gospel
In John ...
(4:26; 6:20,35,41,48,51; 8:12,18,24,28,58;
10:7,9,11,14; 11:25; 13:19; 14:6; 15:1,5;
18:5,6,8).
In several of these, He joins His I AM with
seven tremendous metaphors which are expressive
of His saving relationship toward the world.
I AM the Bread of life (6:35, 41, 48, 51)
I AM the Light of the world (8:12)
I AM the Door of the sheep (10:7, 9)
I AM the Good Shepherd (10:11, 14)
I AM the Resurrection and the Life (11:25)
I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life (14:6)
I AM the true Vine (15:1, 5)
-------------------------------------------------------
4 Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1996).
Nelson's complete book of Bible maps & charts : Old and New
Testaments.
"Completely revised and updated comfort print edition"; Includes
indexes.
(Rev. and updated ed.). Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson.
20:30-31. John explained His purpose in writing this Gospel, that
people might contemplate and perceive the theological significance
of Jesus' miracles (semeia, "signs"). Many people today ignore,
deny, or rationalize Jesus' miracles. Even in Jesus' day some people
attributed them to God whereas others attributed them to Satan (3:2;
9:33; Matt. 12:24). To ignore, deny, or rationalize them in that day
was impossible because the miracles were manifold and manifest. John
indicated He was aware of the Synoptic miracles: Jesus did many
other miraculous signs. In fact, 35 different miracles are recorded
in the four Gospels (see the list at John 2:1-11). John selected 7
for special consideration in order that people might come to believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah, and the Son of God.
(The niv marg. reading, "may continue to believe," is probably not
the correct textual reading; the niv text correctly renders the Gr.
by the words may believe.)
[6]
Conclusion (20:30-31). It is evident that this is a natural
conclusion to the Gospel (on chap. 21, see below). The fourth
Evangelist stresses the purpose of his Gospel: that we might believe
(the verb has two readings which the niv marg. notes: "to begin to
believe" [aorist] and "to continue to believe" [present]; the former
implies an evangelistic purpose, the latter a pastoral intent for
those who already believe). The Gospel is a record of signs-of
evidences-which the reader must weigh. It stems from Jesus'
disciples who are trustworthy witnesses (see 19:35) and in
particular from the testimony of John (21:24). Its aim is to lead us
to faith in Christ because in him alone can we find life.
[7]
John 20:30, 31
THE PARTIALNESS AND THE PURPOSE OF THE EVANGELIC RECORD
(The Ascension.-Bethany.-Mark xvi. 19, 20; Luke xxiv. 50-53; John
xx. 30, 31.)
"And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His
disciples."
Exegetical Remarks.-Ver. 30.-"And many other signs truly (r.v.
Therefore) did Jesus in the presence of His (r.v. The) disciples."
The Greek here for "signs" is often rendered miracles, for the
miracles of Jesus were all signs indicating the Divinity of their
Author. The signs were not merely those referring to the
resurrection, but included, no doubt, all the manifestations of His
power both before and after His resurrection. They refer to His
whole work. "Which are not written in this book." The evangelical
record then of Christ's life is only partial. It is said in the last
verse of the next chapter: "There are also many other things which
Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose
that even the world itself could not contain the books that should
be written." "This," says Dr. Brown, "is to be taken as something
more than a merely parabolical expression which would hardly comport
with the sublime simplicity of this writer. It is intended to let
his reader know that even now when he had done, he felt his
materials so far from being exhausted, that he was still running
over, and could multiply gospels to almost any extent within the
strict limits of what Jesus did. But in the limitation of these
matchless histories, in point of length and number alike -there is
as much of that Divine wisdom which has presided over, and pervades,
the living oracles, as in their variety and fulness."
Ver. 31.-"But these are written, that ye might (r.v. May) believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye
might (r.v. May) have life through (r.v. In) His name." This "ye"
addresses every reader, to the end of the world. It speaks from John
to the person that now reads the words, inviting him to believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ, and have life through His name. Jesus is the
Christ, the Messiah. Christ lived, His apostles preached, and His
evangelists wrote, that the world might shape its conceptions to the
true idea of the Messiah, not as the Emancipator of the nation, but
as the Saviour of the world." We have in these two verses what the
best scholars of modern times consider to be a proper summary and
ending of the book. The chapter which follows has been considered a
later addition.
[8]
Cross References Are Numerous
30. many other. f166, Mt +1:17. Jn 21:25. Lk 1:3, 4. 3:18. Ro *15:4.
1 Co 10:11. 2 Ti m3:15-17. 2 P 3:1, 2. 1 J 1:3, 4. m5:13. signs. Jn
+2:11, 23. in the presence. Ac 10:41. this book. Ac +1:20.
31. these. ver. 28. Jn 1:49. 6:69, 70. 9:35-38. 19:35. Ps *2:7, 12.
Mt *16:16. +*27:54n. Lk 1:4. Ac *8:37. 9:20. Ro 1:3, 4. 1 J 4:15.
5:1, 10, 20. 2 J *9. Re 2:18. written, that. T#1041. Ro m10:17.
might believe. ver. 29. Jn +11:27. that Jesus is. Mt +1:1. Mk +8:29.
the Son of God. Mt +14:33. believing. Jn m3:15, 16, 18, 36. *5:24,
39, 40. 6:40. 10:10. Mk *16:16. Ac 8:37. 1 P 1:9. 1 J 2:23-25.
m5:10-13. have life. Jn 6:53. +8:12. 1 J m5:13. through. Lk *24:47.
Ac 3:16. *10:43. *13:38, 39. 1 Co *6:11. his name. f121T1, Dt
+28:58. Jn +1:12. +14:13. 17:11, 12. Ac +3:6. 15:26. 1 Co 1:10.
[9]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
a John 21:25
1 Or attesting miracles
b John 2:11
a John 19:35
1 I.e. the Messiah
b Matt 4:3
c John 3:15
[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Jn 20:30-31).
LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[2]MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible
Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Jn 21:1). Nashville: Thomas
Nelson.
[3]McGee, J. V. (1997, c1981). Thru the Bible commentary. Based on
the Thru the Bible radio program. (electronic ed.) (4:500).
Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[4]Tom Constable. (2003; 2003). Tom Constable's Expository Notes on
the Bible (Jn 20:30). Galaxie Software.
659 659. Idem, John: The Gospel . . ., p. 312.
660 660. Morris, p. 756.
[5]Tom Constable. (2003; 2003). Tom Constable's Expository Notes on
the Bible (Jn 20:30-31). Galaxie Software.
marg. margin, marginal reading
Gr. Greek
[6]Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary.
(1983-c1985). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the
scriptures (2:344). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
niv New International Version
[7]Elwell, W. A. (1996, c1989). Vol. 3: Evangelical commentary on
the Bible. Baker reference library (Jn 20:30). Grand Rapids, Mich.:
Baker Book House.
[8]Thomas, D. (1997). The genius of the fourth Gospel : A
homiletical commentary on the Gospel of John. Reprint of the 1885
ed. published by R. D. Dickinson, London under title: The genius of
the fourth Gospel.; Includes index. Kregel Bible study classics
(186). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
+ + More references at verse indicated
* * Clear cross reference
m m Critical, significant cross reference
T#1041 1041. Producing faith. Jn +20:31.
[9]Smith, J. H. (1992; Published in electronic form, 1996). The new
treasury of scripture knowledge : The most complete listing of cross
references available anywhere- every verse, every theme, every
important word (1228). Nashville TN: Thomas Nelson.
-- +Sig+
Don't be a jackanapes!
http://76.162.173.93/stj.jpg
Use alias: St. Jackanapes as a basis for counterfeit.
"Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your
pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot
and turn to attack you." (Matthew 7:6 RSV)
.. The Total Collapse (Death) Of Atheism
http://76.162.173.93/uit/coa/
.. Marx/Lennon (Liberal Socialism)
http://76.162.173.93/uit/mls/
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.. http://76.162.173.93/members/hswtl.html
.. login: guest password: guest
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.. Romans Audio Bible Study
http://76.162.173.93/bible-study/=CD-R=romans/
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's
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flout him, for he cannot bear scorn."
.. Heaven & Hell
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.. The Way - http://john-14-6.com/john-14-6.pdf
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.. How to Spot a Counterfeit
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But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there
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.. Scriptural Christianity
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| User: "Al Klein" |
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| Title: Re: How Do I Become a Good Person? |
20 Jul 2007 11:54:59 PM |
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On 20 Jul 2007 16:33:09 -0500, The Chief Instigator
<patrick@fnord.io.com> wrote:
"UR Welcome!" <UR Welcome!_fan_club@yahoo.com> writes:
How Do I Become a Good Person?
I've done it by staying away from organized religion. As for how you do
it...maybe going along with the next probe launched towards the Oort Cloud.
Wrong direction - God is hiding in the sun this millennium.
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| User: "Ron Baker, Pluralitas!" |
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| Title: Re: How Do I Become a Good Person? |
20 Jul 2007 09:30:14 AM |
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"UR Welcome!" <UR Welcome!_fan_club@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:13n5d9.9s5.19.1@news.alt.net...
How Do I Become a Good Person?
Stop harassing people who don't believe in
your sky fairy.
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| User: "UR Welcome! UR" |
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| Title: Re: How Do I Become a Good Person? |
20 Jul 2007 01:41:14 PM |
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"Ron Baker, Pluralitas!" <this@aint.me> wrote in message news:46a0c690$0$20575$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
"UR Welcome!" <UR Welcome!_fan_club@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:13n5d9.9s5.19.1@news.alt.net...
How Do I Become a Good Person?
Stop harassing people who don't believe in
your sky fairy.
Are You Going to Heaven?
http://76.162.173.93/misc/aygth.wmv
If you know you are going to Hell, or if you deny there is any Heaven
or Hell, we strongly urge you to consider your situation very
carefully. We are convinced that Hell is a very real place. See why,
and learn why you will want to avoid it at all costs. We know the topic
is unpleasant, but this issue is much too important to ignore.
- Is there an actual place called “Hell”?
- Why was Hell made?
- Is there anyone in Hell today?
- Will there literally be a burning fire in Hell?
- What should you be willing to do to stay out of Hell?
- How can a God of love send anybody to Hell?
- What if I don't believe in Hell?
- Beware, although most people say “yes” or “I think so”
when asked “Are you going to Heaven?”, many are sadly
incorrect about their ultimate destination.
- Most believe they qualify for Heaven because of one of the
following wrong reasons.
"I'm basically a good person" (60%) When you say you believe you are a
pretty decent person, keep in mind that it is because you are
comparing yourself on man's scale, not on God's. If you compare
yourself to Hitler or Charles Manson, certainly you seem to be "good".
But what if you compared yourself to Mother Teresa? Most people fall
somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. The Bible teaches that
no one is good (Romans 3:10). Not you. Not me. Not Mother Teresa. Not
the Catholic saints. Not even the Prophets God sent to earth in
centuries past. Only God is good. (Luke 18:18-20)
Do you realize that it is impossible for a good, holy, perfect,
truthful God to have in His presence anyone who has even made one
mistake? Since that is the case, we have a problem: how can we come to
live with a Holy God?
"I've never hurt anyone" (2% response) Are you sure you've never hurt
anyone? Have you considered the things you speak to others? Jesus
warns in Matthew 5:21-22 that even being unjustly angry with someone
puts you in danger of judgment. Also, how many people have you hurt
because of things you failed to do?
"I've tried to keep the 10 Commandments" (5%) First, take a look at
this before answering: What does God expect of me? Now can you
honestly say you've never lied--even a "little white lie"? Never
stolen--even just a paper clip? Perhaps you've never committed
adultery in the physical act, but did you know that Jesus said that
lusting after someone is the same to God?
If you've broken even just one law one time, that makes you a
lawbreaker. If you will listen, your own conscience will tell you that
you are certainly a law breaker. See: Am I good enough for heaven?
"I go to church" (8%) Going to church is a good thing. (See >> Why
should Christians go to church? and >> How can I find a good church?)
But if you think that just going to church is good enough to earn your
way to heaven, take a look at Romans 3:27 and Ephesians 2:8. These
passages are clear that nothing we can do on earth (like trying to go
to church to gain merit with God) can make us righteous in His
never-failing sight. Jesus had strong words for the Pharisees of His
day. They tried to merit favor with God by acting religious. But Jesus
called them "a brood of vipers". See also Matthew 9:11, 12:39, 16:1-4;
Luke 7:39, 18:11.
"I believe in God" (10%) Perhaps you think that belief in God is good
enough to get you to heaven. But consider this: since Satan and his
demons believe that God is real, does that mean they too will be in
heaven? (James 2:19) See also Romans 1:20.
"I've done the best I could" (15%) Maybe you have tried to do the
right thing for the most part. You've made some mistakes, and if God
weighs your good deeds vs. your bad deeds, you hope you will come out
ok. Again, we have the problem that if you have only sinned once in
your life, you've still broken God's law and are a lawbreaker. God
sees our righteousness as "filthy rags". When we think of God's
standard of holiness, we don't even come close! (See >> How good is
good enough?) We have all broken God's laws and stand guilty before a
holy God.
Just as a human judge must enforce justice and punish evildoers, God,
who is completely just, holy and righteous, must also punish sin.
What is the answer?
When this life is over, we will each stand before God on Judgment Day
and give an account for our life. No matter how good we tried to be,
our best efforts will all be as "filthy rags" in God's sight, that is,
if the sin separating us from God has not been removed.
God, who is holy and just, and therefore must punish sin, is also
loving and merciful and does not want to punish us.
To solve this problem, God sent His only Son Jesus Christ as God
incarnate, fully God and fully man, to pay our sin debt for us.
Learn more about Jesus Christ! The only way to get to Heaven is to put
our faith in Jesus Christ. Why is Jesus so important? He is the only
one who lived on earth a sinless life. As fully God and fully man, he
was tempted as we are yet was without sin. A fellow sinner could never
set you free from God's judgment by taking your penalty on himself.
Only Jesus could qualify to do that.
With the sentence of death upon us, 2,000 years ago, God came in the
flesh, stepped into our courtroom, and paid our sin debt Himself. Like
a compassionate judge giving his own life to save the guilty, Jesus
Christ took upon Himself the sins of the world - the just dying for the
unjust.
This GIFT is absolutely FREE. Like any other true gift, it is not
earned or deserved.
The gift of eternal life is received by faith.
Realizing that we cannot save ourselves, and that we deserve God's
judgment for our sins, we come to Him by faith. With a heart willing to
obey God, fully dependent upon Him, we place our faith and trust in
Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
"For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.
It is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one can boast." You can
receive the gift of eternal life right now.
Accept Jesus - I want to accept Christ. If you don't know how to accept
Christ, see this. The Bible says that “If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.” Repent to God. Read Psalm 51. (Also, please contact
us.)
If you have trusted in Christ, WELCOME to the family of God! We love
you and want God's very best for your life! May God bless you and your
family, and may He use YOU to light your world!
Reject Jesus - I don't believe any of this. I'm still skeptical.
Rededicate - I'm already a follower of Christ, but I want to rededicate
my life.
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| User: "*nemo*" |
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| Title: Re: How Do I Become a Good Person? |
20 Jul 2007 05:18:22 PM |
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In article <13n5d9.9s5.19.1@news.alt.net>,
"UR Welcome!" <UR Welcome!_fan_club@yahoo.com> wrote:
How Do I Become a Good Person?
Empathy. Now -- was that really so hard?
--
Nemo - EAC Commissioner for Bible Belt Underwater Operations.
Atheist #1331 (the Palindrome of doom!)
BAAWA Knight! - One of those warm Southern Knights, y'all!
Charter member, SMASH!!
http://home.earthlink.net/~jehdjh/Relpg.html
Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus
Quotemeister since March 2002
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| User: "UR Welcome! UR" |
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| Title: Re: How Do I Become a Good Person? |
21 Jul 2007 03:16:47 PM |
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"*nemo*" <nemo0037@earthlink.dieSPAM.net> wrote in message news:nemo0037-2F82E1.18182120072007@news.west.earthlink.net...
wrote:
Journey of the Heart
Related Audio/Video Downloads
http://www.breakpoint.org/media/dkContent/6354/040407_BP.mp3
Let it not be said that nothing good ever comes out of public television. Although
Christians have sometimes had reason to criticize PBS and its programming—I
have, anyway—they have also given us a lot to celebrate. Their newest offering
that I can recommend is a documentary that many PBS stations across the country
are airing this Easter season, “Journey of the Heart: The Life of Henri Nouwen.”
Nouwen, before his untimely death a few years ago, was one of the most
influential Christian thinkers and writers of recent times. I had the great pleasure to
meet him when he was teaching at Harvard. After I had given my testimony and a
little apologetic message to the students at Harvard Divinity School, we went back
to Nouwen’s apartment for coffee. He questioned my use of apologetics, turned
to my wife, Patty, who was with me, and said, “Why don’t you just say you love
Jesus the way you love Patty?”
I said, “But they’ve just met Patty. They know she exists.”
He was something of an existentialist, but he was an inspiring man. At the peak of
a brilliant career, he took time out to live at the community of L’Arche Daybreak
in Canada and help care for the physically and mentally disabled—serving the least
of these.
Now, of course, the fear is that when such a figure is profiled on PBS—or any TV
station, for that matter—that his faith will be watered down and his message
diluted into some vague feel-good pap deemed acceptable to the multiculturally
minded. I am happy to report that that is not the case at all in this documentary.
The emphasis is often on Henri’s message of God’s love for humanity and the fact
that each of us is God’s “beloved child”—a message that, tragically, is often
distorted today to make it sound as if God loves us so much that He does not care
what we do.
But Nouwen did not make that mistake, and the film doesn’t either. “Journey of
the Heart” emphasizes repeatedly that the source of Nouwen’s faith, calling, and
identity was Jesus Christ. And the cost of discipleship in Henri’s life—to borrow a
phrase from another great Christian thinker—is also very much on display here.
Many people interviewed for the film discuss his struggles with depression or “self-
rejection.” It is made clear that the reason for his emphasis on God’s love, and his
ability to identify with the broken and wounded, was precisely that he often felt
unloved and unworthy.
Now, the film acknowledges that Henri Nouwen was no perfect saint. But the way
he lived out Christ’s love should be an inspiration to all of us. One of the most
moving parts of the “Journey of the Heart” is when disabled members of the
L’Arche Daybreak community talk about how much Nouwen meant to them and
how much they still love and miss him. What an example of the truth that Christ
spoke when He said, “By their fruits you shall know them.”
If “Journey of the Heart” airs in your area this Easter season, why don’t you take a
moment to contact your PBS station and thank them? If it’s not airing in your area,
contact your station and ask them to air it. You will find a list of stations with their
contact information below. Public response is key here, and PBS needs to know
that the message of Christ’s love, as lived out by one of His modern-day
followers, is a message to which many of us gladly and thankfully respond.
By Chuck Colson
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Good Life: Seeking Purpose, Meaning, and Truth in Your Life by Charles
Colson with Harold Fickett.
Learn more about Henri Nouwen and find out whether and when “Journey of the
Heart” airs on your local PBS station. Find resources for “Journey of the Heart”
here.
Learn more about L’Arche Daybreak.
Harry Forbes, “‘Journey of the Heart,’ Film on Henri Nouwen, to Air on PBS,”
Tidings, 30 March 2007.
Henri Nouwen, Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World
(Crossroad, tenth anniversary ed., 2002).
Henri Nouwen, Here and Now: Living in the Spirit (Crossroad, 2002).
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| User: "duke" |
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| Title: Re: How Do I Become a Good Person? |
20 Jul 2007 12:02:35 PM |
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On Fri, 20 Jul 2007 10:11:51 -0400, "UR Welcome!" <UR
Welcome!_fan_club@yahoo.com> wrote:
Probably more than anyone else, parents are concerned with the question of
how people become morally good.
Make God a part of your life.
duke, American-American
*****
"The Mass is the most perfect form of Prayer."
Pope Paul VI
*****
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| User: "Kate" |
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| Title: Re: How Do I Become a Good Person? |
20 Jul 2007 01:00:45 PM |
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On Jul 20, 10:02 am, duke <duckgumb...@cox.net> wrote:
On Fri, 20 Jul 2007 10:11:51 -0400, "UR Welcome!" <UR
Welcome!_fan_c...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Probably more than anyone else, parents are concerned with the question of
how people become morally good.
Make God a part of your life.
duke, American-American
*****
"The Mass is the most perfect form of Prayer."
Pope Paul VI
*****
Didn't work for you, now did it?
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| User: "Al Klein" |
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| Title: Re: How Do I Become a Good Person? |
20 Jul 2007 11:52:45 PM |
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On Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:00:45 -0700, Kate <Kate@twoangryliberals.com>
wrote:
[piggybacking]
Welcome!_fan_c...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Probably more than anyone else, parents are concerned with the question of
how people become morally good.
That's like being concerned with how people become naturally
left-handed. You make sure you get a mother who conceives a moral
child. Or you stop asking ridiculous questions.
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| User: "duke" |
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| Title: Re: How Do I Become a Good Person? |
20 Jul 2007 04:33:11 PM |
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On Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:00:45 -0700, Kate <Kate@twoangryliberals.com> wrote:
On Jul 20, 10:02 am, duke <duckgumb...@cox.net> wrote:
On Fri, 20 Jul 2007 10:11:51 -0400, "UR Welcome!" <UR
Welcome!_fan_c...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Probably more than anyone else, parents are concerned with the question of
how people become morally good.
Make God a part of your life.
Didn't work for you, now did it?
You better believe it did.
duke, American-American
*****
"The Mass is the most perfect form of Prayer."
Pope Paul VI
*****
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| User: "Hatter" |
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| Title: Re: How Do I Become a Good Person? |
20 Jul 2007 02:55:22 PM |
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On Jul 20, 2:00 pm, Kate <K...@twoangryliberals.com> wrote:
On Jul 20, 10:02 am, duke <duckgumb...@cox.net> wrote:
On Fri, 20 Jul 2007 10:11:51 -0400, "UR Welcome!" <UR
Welcome!_fan_c...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Probably more than anyone else, parents are concerned with the question of
how people become morally good.
Make God a part of your life.
duke, American-American
*****
"The Mass is the most perfect form of Prayer."
Pope Paul VI
*****
Didn't work for you, now did it?
Since God soen't exist, God = 0. Dukes life + 0 still equal dukes
life. ***** before, and still ***** after adding 0.
Hatter
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| User: "UR Welcome! UR" |
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| Title: Re: How Do I Become a Good Person? |
20 Jul 2007 03:53:46 PM |
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"Hatter" <Hatter23@gmail.com> wrote in message news:1184961322.090933.147630@n60g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
Probably more than anyone else, parents are concerned with the question of
how people become morally good.
Make God a part of your life.
duke, American-American
*****
"The Mass is the most perfect form of Prayer."
Pope Paul VI
*****
Didn't work for you, now did it?
Since God soen't exist, God = 0. Dukes life + 0 still equal dukes
life. ***** before, and still ***** after adding 0.
Hatter
And what is Hatter'' testimony on life?
.. The Christian Family
The family has come under heavy attack in today's
society. On television, father's are often depicted as
buffoons. Mothers are typically depicted as career
minded and in control. Parents in general are
characterized as dim wits who aren't "with it."
In too many families, in order to make ends meet, the
mother must work and entrust the care of her children
to strangers. Children are independent, arrogant, and
disrespectful. Everywhere you look society is offering
quick and easy fixes, sexual promiscuity, "safe sex,"
and promises of freedom without penalty.
Divorce destroys 50% of all marriages.
Gangs are growing.
Sexual molestations by parents of their own children is
increasing as are acts of violence.
Amidst all the depressing facts there is a ray of hope:
the Bible. God has given us the instruction book for
families. He has defined the family, taught us the
roles of each of the family members, and has promised
to bless those who adhere to His will. Praise God! We
need it!
1. What is the Family?
a. The Family is God's covenant arrangement where two
people, male and female, are joined to one flesh, "For this
cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall
cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh" (Gen.
2:24). It is a covenant in that it is an agreement, a promise
made between the couple getting married. This covenant is
before God and is binding until death (or adultery) breaks
the union.
b. The family does not consist of a homosexual or
lesbian relationship where the two people of the same sex
seek to be married. This is against scripture: "And God
created man in His own image, in the image of God He created
him; male and female He created them. 28 And God blessed
them; and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and
fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the
sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living
thing that moves on the earth" (Gen. 1:27-28).
2. Where did the Family begin?
a. The Family was instituted by God in the Garden of
Eden Genesis chapter 1:26-31 and Gen. 2:18-25.
i. Gen 1:26-31 is the declaration of Man's creation with
the command to be fruitful and multiply. Concluding the
section is God's declaration that it was very good.
ii. Gen. 2:18-25 is the account of Adam looking for a
helper and God then making Eve from Adam's rib and
instituting marriage.
3. What is the purpose of the Family?
a. To multiply and fill the earth -- Gen. 1:28, ". . .Be
fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it."
b. Marriage
c. Procreation -- Gen. 1:28
i. Continuing the covenant -- through procreation, the
covenant between Adam and God is continued.
ii. Fulfilling God's command to multiply and fill the
earth
iii. Fulfilling God's command to subdue the earth
d. Sexual union - 1 Cor. 7:3-5
e. Sexual Fidelity and Purity - Exodus 20:14
4. The Important role of the Family in Society
a. Building Block of Society.
b. Place of learning.
c. Society reflects the family.
5. Scriptures concerning the family
1. Concerning Husband and Wife
i. The husband is the head: 1 Cor. 11:3 - But I want you
to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the
man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.
ii. The husband is the leader: Gen. 18:19 -- For I have
chosen him, in order that he may command his children and
his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing
righteousness and justice; in order that the Lord may bring
upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.
iii. Wife is subject to husband: Col. 3:18 -- Wives, be
subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. cf.,
Eph. 5:22-24
iv. Husband is to love his wife: Eph. 5:25, Husbands,
love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and
gave Himself up for her;
v. Sexual duty: 1 Cor. 7:3 Let the husband fulfill his
duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband.
vi. Sexual Purity: Exodus 20:14 - You shall not commit
adultery.
2. Concerning Children
a. Honor: Exodus 20:12 - Honor your father and mother.
b. Obedience: Eph. 6:1 Children, obey your parents in
the Lord, for this is right.
c. Child rearing: Eph. 6:4 - And, fathers, do not
provoke your children to anger; but bring them up in the
discipline and instruction of the Lord.
3. Polygamy Permitted in the O.T.: Gen. 4:19 - And Lamech took
two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the
other, Zillah.
a. Condemned in the N.T.: 1 Tim. 3:2,12; Titus 1:6.
4. Miscellaneous Scriptures Prov. 12:4, An excellent wife is the crown of
her husband, but she who shames him is as rottenness in his bones
a. Prov. 14:1, The wise woman builds her house, but the
foolish tears it down with her own hands.
b. Prov. 19:13, A foolish son is destruction to his
father, And the contentions of a wife are a constant
dripping.
The Bible has much to say about the Family. God takes
it very seriously. As Christians, we should too. . .
especially the fathers.
.
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| User: "duke" |
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| Title: Re: How Do I Become a Good Person? |
20 Jul 2007 04:34:42 PM |
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On Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:53:46 -0400, "UR Welcome!" <UR
Welcome!_fan_club@yahoo.com> wrote:
And what is Hatter'' testimony on life?
An atheist wannabe loser.
duke, American-American
*****
"The Mass is the most perfect form of Prayer."
Pope Paul VI
*****
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| User: "Al Klein" |
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| Title: Re: How Do I Become a Good Person? |
20 Jul 2007 11:53:52 PM |
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On Fri, 20 Jul 2007 19:55:22 -0000, Hatter <Hatter23@gmail.com> wrote:
On Jul 20, 2:00 pm, Kate <K...@twoangryliberals.com> wrote:
On Jul 20, 10:02 am, duke <duckgumb...@cox.net> wrote:
On Fri, 20 Jul 2007 10:11:51 -0400, "UR Welcome!" <UR
Welcome!_fan_c...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Probably more than anyone else, parents are concerned with the question of
how people become morally good.
Make God a part of your life.
duke, American-American
*****
"The Mass is the most perfect form of Prayer."
Pope Paul VI
*****
Didn't work for you, now did it?
Since God soen't exist, God = 0. Dukes life + 0 still equal dukes
life. ***** before, and still ***** after adding 0.
Except for the fact that he doesn't have a life, so 0 + 0 = 0.
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| User: "duke" |
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| Title: Re: How Do I Become a Good Person? |
20 Jul 2007 04:34:08 PM |
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On Fri, 20 Jul 2007 19:55:22 -0000, Hatter <Hatter23@gmail.com> wrote:
Didn't work for you, now did it?
Since God soen't exist, God = 0. Dukes life + 0 still equal dukes
life. ***** before, and still ***** after adding 0.
Hatter
I like God's arithmetic better: 1+1+1=1.
duke, American-American
*****
"The Mass is the most perfect form of Prayer."
Pope Paul VI
*****
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| User: "Velvet Elvis" |
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| Title: Re: How Do I Become a Good Person? |
20 Jul 2007 06:45:27 PM |
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On Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:34:08 -0500, duke <duckgumbo32@cox.net> wrote:
On Fri, 20 Jul 2007 19:55:22 -0000, Hatter <Hatter23@gmail.com> wrote:
Didn't work for you, now did it?
Since God soen't exist, God = 0. Dukes life + 0 still equal dukes
life. ***** before, and still ***** after adding 0.
Hatter
I like God's arithmetic better: 1+1+1=1.
His formula for Pi sucked however.
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| User: "Hatter" |
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| Title: Re: How Do I Become a Good Person? |
22 Jul 2007 07:06:07 PM |
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On Jul 20, 5:34 pm, duke <duckgumb...@cox.net> wrote:
On Fri, 20 Jul 2007 19:55:22 -0000, Hatter <Hatte...@gmail.com> wrote:
Didn't work for you, now did it?
Since God soen't exist, God = 0. Dukes life + 0 still equal dukes
life. ***** before, and still ***** after adding 0.
Hatter
I like God's arithmetic better: 1+1+1=1.
duke, American-American
*****
"The Mass is the most perfect form of Prayer."
Pope Paul VI
*****
Well that would sum up about your intellectual development. Bad math.
Hatter
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| User: "Syd M." |
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| Title: Re: How Do I Become a Good Person? |
20 Jul 2007 02:23:27 PM |
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On Jul 20, 1:02 pm, duke <duckgumb...@cox.net> wrote:
On Fri, 20 Jul 2007 10:11:51 -0400, "UR Welcome!" <UR
Welcome!_fan_c...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Probably more than anyone else, parents are concerned with the question of
how people become morally good.
Make God a part of your life.
If your a successful example of that, then I'll pass..
PDW
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| User: "UR Welcome! UR" |
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| Title: Re: How Do I Become a Good Person? |
20 Jul 2007 02:31:56 PM |
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"Syd M." <pdwright42@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:1184959407.248917.304540@r34g2000hsd.googlegroups.com...
On Jul 20, 1:02 pm, duke <duckgumb...@cox.net> wrote:
On Fri, 20 Jul 2007 10:11:51 -0400, "UR Welcome!" <UR
Welcome!_fan_c...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Probably more than anyone else, parents are concerned with the question of
how people become morally good.
Make God a part of your life.
If your a successful example of that, then I'll pass..
.. Christianity - The Only Hope
(Acts 1:1-3 NASB)
1 The first account I ?1?composed, ?a?Theophilus, about all that
Jesus ?b?began to do and teach,
2 until the day when He ?a?was taken up to heaven, after He
?b?had ?1?by the Holy Spirit given orders to ?c?the apostles whom He
had ?d?chosen.
3 To ?1?these ?a?He also presented Himself alive after His
suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period
of forty days and speaking of ?b?the things concerning the kingdom of
God.
[1]
The Risen Lord's Promise of the Spirit (1:1-5)
1:1 The Book of Acts opens with a reminder. Luke, the beloved physician,
had written to Theophilus previously-a writing which we now know as The
Gospel According to Luke (see Luke 1:1-4). In the last verses of that
Gospel, he had told Theophilus that immediately prior to His Ascension,
the Lord Jesus had promised His disciples that they would be baptized with
the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:48-53).
Now Luke is going to continue the narrative, so he goes back to this
thrilling promise as a starting point. And it is fitting that he should do
so, because in that promise of the Spirit lay concealed in germ form all
the spiritual triumphs unfolded in the Book of the Acts. Luke describes
his Gospel as the former account, or the first book. In it he had recorded
the things that Jesus began both to do and teach. In Acts he carries on
the record by recounting the things that Jesus continued to do and teach
through the Holy Spirit after His Ascension.
Notice that the Lord's ministry was one of both doing and teaching. It was
not doctrine without duty, or creed without conduct. The Savior was the
living embodiment of what He taught. He practiced what He preached.
1:2 Theophilus would remember that Luke's previous book ended with the
account of the Savior's Ascension, here described as His being taken up.
He would also remember the tender last instructions the Lord had given the
eleven apostles before He left.
1:3 For the forty days between His resurrection and Ascension, the Lord
had appeared to His disciples, offering the strongest possible proofs of
His bod ily resurrection (see John 20:19, 26; 21:1, 14).
During this time, He had also discussed with them the affairs of the
kingdom of God. His primary concern was not with the kingdoms of this
world, but with the realm or sphere where God is acknowledged as King.
The kingdom is not to be confused with the church. The Lord Jesus offered
Himself to the nation of Israel as King but was rejected (Matt. 23:37).
His literal kingdom on earth was therefore postponed until Israel repents
and receives Him as Messiah (Acts 3:19-21).
At the present time, the King is absent. However, He does have an
invisible kingdom on earth (Col. 1:13). It is made up of all who profess
allegiance to Him (Matt. 25:1-12). In one sense it consists of everyone
who claims to be a Christian; that is its outward aspect (Matt. 13:1-52).
But in its inward reality it includes only those who have been born again
(John 3:3, 5). The kingdom in its present condition is described in the
parables of Matthew 13.
The church is something entirely new. It was not the subject of ?OT?
prophecy (Eph. 3:5). It is composed of all believers from Pentecost to the
Rapture. As the Bride of Christ, the church will reign with Him in the
Millennium and share His glory forever. Christ will return as King at the
end of the Great Tribulation, destroy His foes, and set up His reign of
righteousness over all the earth (Ps. 72:8).
Although His reign from Jerusalem lasts for only one thousand years (Rev.
20:4), yet the kingdom is everlasting in the sense that all of God's foes
will have been finally destroyed, and He will reign eternally in heaven
without opposition or hindrances (2 Pet. 1:11).
1:4 Luke now relates a meeting of the Lord with His disciples as they
assembled together in a room in Jerusalem. The risen Redeemer commanded
them to remain in Jerusalem. But why in Jerusalem, they might well wonder!
To them it was a city of hatred, violence, and persecution!
Yes, the fulfillment of that Promise of the Father would occur in
Jerusalem. The coming of the Spirit would take place in the very city
where the Savior had been crucified. The presence of the Spirit there
would bear testimony to man's rejection of the Son of God. The Spirit of
truth would reprove the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment-and this
would take place first in Jerusalem. And the disciples would receive the
Holy Spirit in the city where they themselves had forsaken the Lord and
had fled to save their own skins. They would be made strong and fearless
in the place where they had shown themselves to be weak and cowardly.
This was not the first time the disciples had heard of the Promise of the
Father from the Savior's lips. Throughout His earthly ministry, and
especially in His Upper Room Discourse, He had told them of the Helper who
would come (see Luke 24:49; John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7, 13).
1:5 Now, in His last meeting with them, He repeats the promise. Some, if
not all of them had already been baptized by John with water. But John's
baptism was outward and physical. Before many days would pass,? 2 they
would be baptized with the Holy Spirit, and this baptism would be inward
and spiritual. The first baptism identified them outwardly with the
repentant portion of the nation of Israel. The second would incorporate
them into the church, the Body of Christ, and would empower them for
service.
Jesus promised that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many
days from now, but there is no mention of the baptism in fire (Matt. 3:11,
12; Luke 3:16, 17). The latter is a baptism of judgment for unbelievers
only and is still future.
[2]
There can be no more urgent question at this present time than just this:
What is Christianity? I say that because this Gospel is the only hope in
the world today. Everything else has been tried and found wanting.
Everything else has failed. You will not find hope with the philosophers
or with the statesmen, and you will not find it in the so-called religions
of the world. Here is hope, and here alone.
"But," someone may say, "surely you can't claim that there is any hope in
the Gospel either, because it has been tried now for 2,000 years and has
obviously failed quite as much as the various other things to which you've
referred."
The only reply to that is the one that was given so perfectly by the late
G. K. Chesterton when he reminded us, "Christianity has not been tried and
found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried." That is the
simple truth. The world, speaking generally, has never tried Christianity.
It has talked a lot about it, but it has not really tried it. So I argue
that this is still the only hope for the world. Therefore it is urgent
that we should ask what Christianity is. Or, to put the question another
way, what is the Christian church? What is her business, and what is her
message?
It can be put like this: Why am I, or why is anyone else, a preacher of
the Gospel? There is only one answer to that question. I am a preacher
because I believe I have been called; because in my little way God has
given me a burden; because I know by personal experience, by the
experience of others, and by experience garnered from the reading of
history that there is nothing under heaven that can enable men and women
to conquer and to master life and to have a hope that cannot be dimmed
except this Gospel. Therefore, the most urgent task in the world today is
to make the Gospel known to men and women. And this is the function of the
Christian church.
But as we all know, the great tragedy is that there is utter confusion
with regard to what the Gospel is, what the church is, and what Christians
are supposed to do. I call your attention to this, God knows, not because
I am anxious to be controversial but because I have a burden for the souls
of men and women. I would not be a preacher were it not for that. That is
what originally put me in the ministry and makes me go on. I see the
confusion. I see men and women bewildered, asking, "What is Christianity?
What is the church?" And I am not surprised that they are bewildered.
Furthermore, this confusion is not confined to men and women outside the
church. Indeed, I have an increasing fear that the confusion of those
outside has been produced mainly by the so-called Christian church
herself. A man who has held the highest position in one of the religious
denominations and is well-known as one who speaks in the name of
Christianity has recently said that he thinks certain things should be
done at once, and the first is that the church must give up the foolish
habit of having two services on a Sunday. "One is enough," he says, "and
let's have it at nine o'clock in the morning so that having got that out
of the way, we can then give ourselves to what we want to do." He also
says that if he had the power, he would decree that there should be no
reading of the Bible at all for twelve months-this in the name of the
church and of Christianity! And then he says that any preaching that is
done in the one and only service at nine o'clock in the morning should,
for at least a year, be on a political text alone.
I call attention to this because it is so typical of what is being said at
the present time. Is it surprising that men and women are in a state of
confusion? Speaking generally, the current idea is that the Christian
message is, after all, nothing but a kind of teaching with regard to how
our affairs should be ordered-that is why it is held that all texts should
be political. It is said that the main business of the church is to deal
with injustices and to do the work of reform and that in the Sermon on the
Mount we have a kind of social charter. People who say this are never
interested in the Old Testament; they generally dismiss it in toto, and
they have no use for the apostle Paul. Instead, they point to the ethical
teaching of Jesus. "There's your political program," they say. "There's
your political charter, and all you must do is apply it as best you can.
You must not even read the Bible, but pick up these general principles,
and try to put them into practice."
Others say that Christianity is mainly an elevated, optimistic view of
life, a sort of philosophy. Having found out how life can be lived on a
higher plane and having experienced a moral uplift, you try to get others
to adopt these principles.
And then there are others who, perhaps nearer to the Christian position,
regard Christianity as being mainly a matter of morals and of conduct.
They say that what makes people Christians is that they have adopted this
ethical teaching and put it into practice. So by living a good life, they
have made themselves Christians.
Common to all those teachings is the view that what really matters is the
kernel of moral teaching that is to be found in this book that we call the
Bible. Unfortunately, the Bible is cluttered up with a lot of unimportant
history. Most of it is false, with a lot about miracles that obviously are
not true and that no one with any scientific understanding can possibly
believe for a moment. We must get rid of all that, they say, and find this
kernel that is hidden away in all the husks and straw. Having extracted
this kernel, we can ignore the Bible and start with the political or moral
situation. Then we must try to persuade people to put these things into
practice. That is the common idea of the Christian message and the common
notion with respect to the function of the Christian church.
Now I want to deal with all this, and that is why I am calling your
attention to the first three verses in the book of the Acts of the
Apostles. Look at it like this: What is the origin of the Christian
church? Surely that is the question to ask. You do not start with the
twentieth century. Here is something that can be traced back nearly 2,000
years. So surely, if you want to know what the church is and what
Christianity is, your duty is to go back to the very beginning and
discover how the church started and what she did.
I think you will agree with me that the question of authority is primary
and fundamental. When people think they have the right to announce, "This
is what I think Christianity is, and this is what the church should do,"
then we have the right to ask, "Can that be fitted into what we have here
in the book of Acts? What is our authority in these matters? Are we
competent to decide what the Christian church is? Can we divorce ourselves
from the history of nearly 2,000 years and say that we do not care what
happened in the past, this is what we say now?" Of course, you can say
that if you like, but the question is: Have you any right to call that
Christianity?
Surely, common honesty demands that we say that we have only one authority
on the origin of the church, and it is the authority of the Bible. Here in
the Acts of the Apostles a man is writing who is undoubtedly Luke, the
evangelist. He says, "The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus." This
is a reference to the Gospel of Luke, which has a similar introduction.
In Luke 1:1-4 Luke writes:
Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration
of those things which are most surely believed among us, even as they
delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and
ministers of the word; it seemed good to me also, having had perfect
understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in
order, most excellent Theophilus, that thou mightest know the certainty of
those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
Two words are important in this passage and should not be passed over.
"Eyewitness" is the Greek word autoptai-auto meaning "that which is of
itself," and opsomai meaning "to see." "To see for yourself" would be an
eyewitness. It is a medical term which means to make an autopsy. In fact,
what Dr. Luke is trying to say is, "We are eyewitnesses who made an
autopsy, and I am writing to you about what we found."
The second important word Dr. Luke uses is ministers, which is the Greek
huperatai, meaning "an under-rower on a boat." In a hospital the
"under-rower" is the intern. Dr. Luke is saying that all of them were just
interns under the Great Physician. What Dr. Luke is telling us is that as
a physician and a scholar, he made an autopsy of the records of those who
had been eyewitnesses.
The first four verses of this chapter form a tremendous beginning. Luke
wrote his gospel to give people certainty and assurance about the Lord
Jesus Christ.
My friend, how much assurance do you have? Do you know that you are a
child of God through faith in Jesus Christ? Do you know that the Bible is
the Word of God? I feel sorry for the person who is not sure about these
things. Do you wobble back and forth and say, "I am not sure about my
salvation or the Bible. I guess I do not have enough faith." Not having
enough faith may not be your problem. Your problem may be that you do not
know enough. You see, ". faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word
of God" (Rom. 10:17). If you really knew the Word of God, you would
believe it. Those who are ignorant of the Bible have the problems. The
problem is not with the Bible or with the Lord Jesus Christ; the problem
lies with us.
[3]
That is why these books were written. We do not have exact information
concerning Theophilus, but it is generally assumed that he was a man in
some prominent position, a man of culture and of learning, who had heard
various reports about Christianity and wanted to know more. He found Luke,
a doctor and a most competent historian, who had accompanied the apostle
Paul and so was in a very good position to know exactly what the story
was. They got in touch, and Luke wrote to Theophilus saying in effect, "I
will give you an account of exactly what happened. I will tell you why we
believe what we believe. I will tell you the story." And he did it in two
parts-the first, the Gospel, and the second, this book of the Acts of the
Apostles. My argument is that we must go back and consider this story. We
are not only honor-bound to do that, but we must, if we want to understand
it.
What is the story? Well, there were a handful of people whom the
authorities in Jerusalem regarded as ordinary, simple, unlettered, and
ignorant men and women. There were just twelve men essentially, and a
number of others with them. They had nothing to recommend them, no great
names, no degrees, no money, no means of communication or of advertising.
They had nothing at all-they were nobodies. And yet what we know to be a
fact is that this handful of ignorant and unlettered people "turned the
world upside down," to use Luke's phrase in chapter 17:6. Within about two
centuries Christianity became the most powerful force in the great Roman
Empire. By the beginning of the third century it had become such a
powerful force that a Roman emperor named Constantine deemed it a wise
move to make the Roman Empire officially Christian.
I am not concerned to consider that fact now. All I want to ask is: How
was it that this small group of people ever got into a position in which
they could shake the whole Roman Empire so that it became officially
Christian within such a short space of time? Was it because they preached
politics that these people turned the ancient world upside-down?
Christianity is a phenomenon of history. It is a fact. The Christian
church is one of the most vital facts in the total history of the world.
We cannot understand that history without bringing in the story of the
church. But does this modern idea as to what the church is and what her
message is account for what has already happened? My answer is that it
does not. So not only do honesty and common sense tell us to come back to
Acts, but if we really want to have an understanding of what Christianity
means, we are compelled to come back here. Only one thing can account for
the phenomenon of the Christian church and this amazing history that has
continued through the centuries, in spite of the world, the flesh, and the
devil and the malignity of men and of hell, and it is the explanation
given in this book of Acts.
Therefore I propose to hold the message of Acts before you. I shall not
preach systematically through the book, but I shall pick out certain
themes that are put before us here. I feel that the modern world is very
much in the position of Theophilus. At any rate, anyone considering these
things who is not a Christian is in the position of Theophilus. You have
become interested. You want to know what Christianity is. Perhaps you are
in trouble in your moral life or in your married life. Perhaps you have
some running sore of the soul, something that gets you down. And you say,
"I've tried this and that-I wonder what the Christian church has to
offer."
All right, Theophilus, you want to know, and fortunately we are able to
tell you. I am not here to tell you what I think about Christianity. I am
not here to tell you what I think the Christian church should do. I am in
the position of Charles Wesley, saying, "O for a thousand tongues to sing
my great Redeemer's praise." My own personal opinion is that even two
services on a Sunday are not enough. How can people be satisfied with but
one statement? The world is dying all around us, and it needs to hear the
Word of God. These early Christians went everywhere, and they spoke and
they preached, and that is the explanation of this tremendous phenomenon
of the church.
So let us see what Acts has to say to us. First, what was the message that
these people preached? Luke told Theophilus quite plainly.
That is a summary of the whole of the Gospel of Luke and also of the other
Gospels. What does it mean? Here are some of the great principles.
The starting point, the fundamental thing, is that Christianity is about
Jesus. "I've written to you already about Him," said Luke in effect, "and
I'm going to tell you more about Him." Christianity is not a teaching-it
is a person. It is not merely a moral outlook that is to be applied in the
realm of politics. You start with a historical person. Luke was a pure
historian. He was giving an account of events and of facts.
The Lord Jesus Christ was the theme of the preaching of the early church.
He is the theme of the Gospel of Luke. He is the theme of the Acts of the
Apostles. This is the tragic thing that has been forgotten at the present
time. "What we need," people say, "is the application of His teaching."
But it is not. What you need is to know Him and to come into a
relationship with Him. You do not start with His teaching-you start with
Him. This is the message: "All that Jesus began both to do and teach." Our
Lord Himself said to his disciples, "Ye shall be witnesses unto me" (Acts
1:8). He was sending these men out to preach. He said, "You are not simply
going to preach My teaching. You are going to preach about Me."
As you read the book of Acts, you will find that our Lord's disciples
always preached "Jesus, and the resurrection" (Acts 17:18). They went to
people and told them about this person. This was the whole of their
teaching. You never find them starting with the political or social
situations. They said, "Listen, we have something to tell you about a
person whose name is Jesus."
And what did the disciples say about Him? The facts are all-important. In
the Gospel Luke gave facts, and here in Acts he gives them again. But he
does not stop at that; he is equally concerned about the meaning, the
significance, of these facts. And he expounds that. He writes not only
about all that Jesus did, but also all that He taught. The two must always
go together-our Lord's acts and His teaching.
There is also this most extraordinary addition that our Lord himself made:
"Ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in
Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8). This is
truly staggering. Here was a Jew, born in poverty, one who worked as a
carpenter, who began to preach at the age of thirty and after some three
years was crucified on a cross, dying in utter weakness, and was laid in a
tomb. But here he was, telling these men they would be witnesses to Him
"unto the uttermost part of the earth." Here is a message for the whole
world.
I emphasize that because there are people who say that the Christian faith
is all right if you happen to be interested in religion, but if you do not
happen to have a religious mentality and outlook, then it does not matter,
you can just take up what you like. But that is shown to be a lie by our
Lord's words. Here is a message that is to be proclaimed to the ends of
the earth. Why? Because something happened in this person, Jesus, that
affects every single individual who ever has been or ever shall be in this
world of time.
Now if Christianity were merely a philosophy or a political idea, no one
would be bound to believe it. There are rival schools of philosophy; there
are rival teachings and theories, and one person believes this and another
that. But what we are facing here is not what you and I believe, but
facts, and the facts are about this person called Jesus-what He did and
what He said and the meaning of His person. So there is nothing more
tragic than when men and women say, "Shut your Bibles; the facts don't
matter at all. What does it matter whether Jesus was a man, or God as well
as man?" They have got it all wrong. It is the person who matters most of
all.
So let us go on and follow what Luke says. We have seen that he begins,
"The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began
both to do and teach." And that word "began" is emphatic. Luke is saying
to Theophilus that all that he has written in the Gospel is nothing but
the beginning. This is vital. It is why Luke wrote his Gospel. Here was a
man interested in Christianity who wanted to know what it was all about.
"I'll tell you," said Luke. And he told the story that is unfolded in the
twenty-four chapters of his Gospel. And here he sums it all up in two
words-it is all that "Jesus began both to do and teach."
You may say to me that you know about Jesus. Do you? Do you realize what
His life means? Do you realize its significance? What did Jesus begin to
do? In his Gospel Luke tells us who Jesus was. And the first thing we want
to know is how He was born. Was He a man like every other man? Luke's
answer is that He was not. Luke tells us how the angel Gabriel went to
Mary and told her that she was supremely blessed among women, that she was
going to bear the Son of the Highest, and that He would be great. He would
occupy the throne of His father David, and of His kingdom there would be
no end. Read it all in the first chapter of Luke's Gospel. Mary was
perplexed and asked how this could be since she was a virgin. Gabriel
said:
The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall
overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of
thee shall be called the Son of God.
.. -Luke 1:35
That is what Luke tells us, and this means that Jesus came into the world.
He was not just born like everybody else. He came out of eternity into
time; he came from heaven to earth. This is Christianity. Whatever may be
your moral and political views, the question confronting you is this: How
are you related to the fact that the babe of Bethlehem is the eternal Son
of God?
But He not only came into the world, He did many other things. He worked
miracles. Oh yes, that is an essential part of the gospel message.
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