“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.” Ephesians 4:1
“He didn’t beg for money, though, but for people to follow Christ”. I'm not certain that "beg" is the best translation of the word here. Parakalew is the same word that is used of what the Spirit of God does in our lives in ministry. He comes alongside to help us. He urges us, He encourages, He perhaps beseeches, but I am not certain at all that begging is not a stretch. Perhaps it is simply that the word "beg" has a negative connotation in our minds, but I think we are better with the way that the more literal translations have given the verse to us. I don't think that Paul is begging them, rather that he is urging them in the strongest terms. He is indeed "pleading with them", but in the sense that a preacher or a prophet would plead, not in the sense that a beggar would do so. I don't believe this to be matter of ego or a case of being unwilling to humble self. I just don't believe the word goes there.
“Paul pleaded with many people”. But the word used in this passage is a different Greek word than that which is used in Ephesians 4:1. This word does indeed mean to implore or beg. It is never used of the Spirit's ministry. It is, on the other hand, used of our prayers to God, seeking blessing from Him. The idea contained here is a totally different idea from a totally different word and it is not fair to tie the two words together.
Further, Paul is speaking, on the one hand, to an unbeliever, concerning his salvation; and on the other, to a group of redeemed forlks, concerning their King. That makes a big difference.
“I urge you therefore, brethren…” This is, indeed a use of the same word as was used in Ephesians 4:1. We would simply note that there is more of a sense of strong exhortation here than there is a sense of begging.
“We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God”. Though this passage carries with it the sense of grief and a clear atmosphere of begging, we would note that it is not the same word as is used in Ephesians 4:1, but rather the word used in Acts 26 in reference to Paul before Agrippa. In the matter concerning the Corinthians Paul was surely not hesitant to beg the them to submit themselves to God.
“When Paul was committed to some principle of divine truth, he implored people to respond. He didn’t approach the ministry with detachment or indifference.” The above aside, there is no question that our approach to the presentation of the Gospel must, simply must be one that is one of passion and enthusiasm. It must be one that is not a matter of ritual and matter of fact dryness and every-day course. We must communicate the reality of what God has done in our lives and be sure that those to whom God has lead us and given us the privilege of bearing witness clearly see that God is both real and One to be reckoned with. We cannot, as the world does, leave it with them as a matter of opinion, up to them.
“…walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.” Again we note that this is written to believers. Paul called to the redeemed as well as to the lost. You and I need this call as often as the unredeemed do. Surely it is a different call, with very different content to be sure, but we need it none-the-less. It is all to easy to put things on autopilot. We need God to startle us and to jar us into self-examination and being certain that the passion for Christ that ought to be there, really IS there!
“Because when you don’t walk worthy, God is not glorified in your life, you are not fully blessed, the church cannot fully function, and therefore the world cannot see Jesus Christ for who He is.” This four-part chain is really a cycle. God is glorified - I am blessed - the church functions - Christ (God) is seen to be Who He truly is and thus God is glorified. and that strats the chain over again. All of that cycle rests upon the "working worthy" that Paul mentions. Now we have to remember that this is not an idolated verse or we end up with a works salvation and a works sanctification. We are able to "walk worthy" because we are redeemed and God has effected a change in us. Our nature is different. We were inextricably chained to sin and dishonoring God; now we are not. Now we desire to please Him.
That in turn rests on the redemption that was accomplished, finished completely at the Cross of Calvary. All of this was developed fully, doctrinally in chapters 1-3 of Ephesians. That's what the "Therefore" in 4:1 is there for. It ties the doctrine of Chapters 1-3 to the practical application of Chapters 4-6. But we cannot forget the truths of chapters 1-3 are always there holding up these practical applications as their foundation.
And so the cycle takes its' course and we glorify God, are blessed, the organic church functions as God intended, and there world sees Christ for Who He really is and thus gives glory to God. If we do not "walk worthily" - that chain breaks down.
“…it is our desire to be like Christ that compels us toward righteousness.” Calvinists are, many times, accused of preaching a Christianity that divorces spiritual hard work from Christian Living. We get accused of saying that spirituality somehow comes automatically and other silly things. Actually, nothing is further from the truth.
What we are guilty of is teaching that spirituality is not a matter of our own merit or goodness, now or ever. However, we must work hard and put the time and the effort in in order to produce the "effect" of spirituality. It does not produce itself. The Word of God is very clear that we must pursue God and that this is matter of hard and diligent, continual work on the part of the believer. What the Calvinist is very careful to continually keep at center in his vision is that too is a result of the work of the Spirit of God alone and not of his own effort.
So while it is our desire to be like Christ that compels us toward righteousness, as Dr. MacArthur has very ably taught elsewhere, that very desire is, itself, a function of redemption that has been built into us by the work of God. We are doing what God has enabled us to do and must be careful to remember and also keep that in the front of our minds, lest, sadly, as many of our Baptist friends and brethren have, we become prideful and even arrogant in the accomplishment of spirituality. What we have done is done because, and only because of the gracious and merciful work of a loving Lord. Humility can be the only response.
_______________________________
[1] This year I am often using MacArthur’s devotional “Strength for Today” as a starting point for my comments. Quotes from MacArthur’s Devotional are in boldface.
“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.” - Ephesians 4:11
MacArthur begins by asking a wonderfully penetrating question: “If Paul was a prisoner of Rome. Why then did he call himself “the prisoner of the Lord”? The sovereignty of God is a matter that involves itself in all of the affairs of life. Paul clearly understood that the affairs of men were under the control of the hand of God Who rules all things. Hence the control that men exerted over his affairs was but secondary. He saw that it was the God of heaven that stood in full control, final control over all of the affairs of his life.
This is very reminiscent of the Lord Jesus and His interaction with Pilate in John 19:10-11: 10:
Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?” 11 Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above...”
This is the truth that ruled our Lord's life and it is the principle that must rule our own.
He goes on suggests, speaking of the things that happening life, that we ought to asking: “What does this mean, God?” and “How does this affect You?” This is exactly the opposite of what both our nature and our culture tells us that our first questions ought to be. They tell us that those questions ought to be concerning self and the effect that things will have on me and my experience in the world. That is important certainly but it is not most significant. Most significant, as well as a huge "tell" concerning the level of our spirituality and the place we are at in our walk in the Lord, is how we view things in terms, first, of the affect upon God and His reputation and standing before men. This is immensely different than what is normal for most men.
Dr. MacArthur tells us that all too we think only on the earthly level. Or perhaps it is not "only" but first, with the first obscuring or eclipsing the more significant matter of God's point of view. Either way, the effect is the same. God takes second place and that is unacceptable.
Further, he says that we ought to sure to focus on asking “What is God trying to teach me? How can I glorify Him in this?” As we have noted, this is not an easy task, nor is it an easy habit as it, because of our natures, easily slides from our fingers and we fall back into our old fleshly ways. This is why we hold that this takes both constant effort and attention and constant prayer that god will enable and encourage us, reminding and empowering us to be sure that our focus is where it ought to be - on upholding and uplift His magnificent Name.
He has come up with one of the best definitions of Christian maturity I’ve head: “Automatically seeing things in light of the divine perspective.” We will agree with MacArthur with this definition (Of course, it is not the only possible definition - but it suits from this point of view). The emphasis here would be on the word "automatically". This does not mean without effort, but rather it means that this maturity comes as a result of pursuit of God via the study of His Word, meditation of what is found there and the illumination and application of that information by His Spirit over time.
What it is important to understand as we have said, is that is not simply something that "happens", but rather it is something that MUST be developed, cultivated and, as a result, the the response built in the believer becomes an automatic consideration of God's desire and glory first, before the consideration one's own wants and desires.
He underscores that “…the only right way for Christians to live”. It is not indelicate to use the word "only" here. There are not multiple ways to live that are acceptable to God. We MUST live dedicated to God's glory, anything less is, by definition, unacceptable to Him and ought to unacceptable to us as His servants. We do not live in a multiple choice system.
There was a reason for his imprisonment. MacArthur cites Philippians 1:12-14 and uses it to speak of the truth that things that men perceive as "evil" occurrences are often really "good" things from Gods' POV. This is not a new idea - reaching as far back as Joseph in Egypt. Joseph told his brothers after his father's death and they feared retribution in Genesis 50:19-20: "19 Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? 20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive." This is precisely the kind of reaction, interpretation we are referring to.
We note his use of the phrase “…wasn’t preoccupied…”. The word preoccupy by definition comes from two pieces - "prœ", meaning before, and "occupo", meaning to seize. It means "to take possession before another; as, to preoccupy a country or land not before occupied. It can also mean to prepossess; to occupy by anticipation or prejudices. Men are naturally preoccupied with sin and with self. That is a function of the fall that is present in all men. It is only redemption and the outworking of the Spirit's work in our pursuit of Christ that can break the bondage to sin and can destroy that "preoccupation" in us!
God causes all things to work together for good It is this assurance that allows us stand, calm and quiet, even when, as Joseph and Paul, we are prisoners of men, in the worst of circumstances, because we know that God is ultimately in control, working all things out for His Own glory, and for the best interests of the individual in question.
_______________________________
[1] This year I am often using MacArthur’s devotional “Strength for Today” as a starting point for my comments.
“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.” Ephesians 4:1
This year I am often using MacArthur’s devotional “Strength for Today” as a starting point for my comments.
It is interesting to see the parallel between the ideas of a law and a doctrine. A Law is simply the secular world's parallel to religious doctrine. Now, of course, it is not a one-to-one relationship in the way of a parallel. There are indeed some differences, but the comparison serves. Particularly in the realm in which we are speaking at this point - authority decrees and those under authority must obey.
“Paul understood that, so he always taught doctrine before duty…” - Blind obedience is always an insufficient basis for erecting a paradigm. In fact, the Law is not the paradigm upon which God raised His own paradigm was it? It was only a part of it. The "Law" part of the paradigm in God's plan was only a portion of the plan, and a portion that rested firmly on the should of our Lord Jesus. It was He Who would come and fulfill that Law, fulfill it perfectly and then raise that offering to God on our behalf, communicating that righteousness to us by means of imputation so that we might stand beside Him before the Father fully justified where we would not have before.
“Therefore” in Ephesians 4:1 links the doctrine of chapters 1–3 to the duty of chapters 4–6.” - There is always a "link" between doctrine and action. But the link must always and carefully be held to work in the direction that this link runs. doctrine first, then action. The Roman Catholic church has erected that link backwards - works first, then some manner of doctrine and that arrangement does not work - the result is a failed system and lost souls. We must fist some to the knowledge of truth and then, and only then can we live rightly before God.
“…duty always flows out of doctrine.” - And this is a matter of both ability and "want to". Before we are reborn we neither wish to server God nor are we able to serve God. The same dynamic holds true after we are redeemed. As we come to better know the truth of God our character becomes molded to the character of Christ and we become more and more able to serve Him and more and more willing to do so.
“Right living is based on right principles.” - How could we serve him rightly unless we know how to do so rightly? If the Word of God is the "manual" for Christian living in the world, so to speak; then how can we serve God vigorously and effectively in that world unless we know what it says? If holiness and personal righteous is key to walking God's daily blessing then how can we receive that blessing unless we are willing and seeking that blessing both continually and with all our energy? How can we succeed in the Christian life unless we know the principle upon which that Christian Life is built upon? Of course, the answer is that we cannot.
“We have not ceased to pray for you” - This is one of those "slap yourself in the head" things. The NT is filled with these kinds of statements. Paul (and other NT authors) continually prayed for their people to be filled with knowledge of God's will and other similar ideas. The reason, at least from one angle, given what we have been talking about, is obvious. They need to know God's mind and desire so that they could obey and serve Him in the place they were in! That is exactly what Paul tells the Colossians in Col. 1:10. They needed to "know" so they could "walk".
I came across a blog the other day was a discussion of Catherine of Sienna and other Medieval ascetics. She is entertained today and a "great mystic" and followed as one of the great figures in church history. Her writing are read and devoured by many and many consider her to have heard from God in a powerful way.
The problem is that she likely never read the Word of God for herself, women, even nuns, weren't allowed at that time. She was a bulimic and an extreme ascetic who eventually starved herself to death to, in her mind, do penance for the sins of the church. All she "knew" of God she got from "visions" and was within the Roman Catholic framework of the 14th Century.
I mention this because this is the other side of the coin. This is what happens when men don't know. They make up spirituality. We see it today in the dogs that call themselves teachers, but who are really devouring the church in the Prosperity field. They are making it up as they go. Paul said that Duty arise from out of knowledge, duty out of doctrine.
Many of our Baptist friends don't get off either - they go to the opposite side - to legalism and duty with doctrine. You must use the KJV or you'll end in Judgment! Those and other similar things are troublesome aren't they? The Reformers had it right. Luther said it best - Unless you convince from the Word of God concerning the matter, then I must refuse you. Doctrine before practice. As we think about our worthy walk, let’s avoid emotionalism and legalism, and instead focus on living what we learn from a thorough and personal study of God’s Word.
Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. (Matthew 1:19)
What does it mean that Joseph was a "Just man"? The phrase"a just..." appears 12 times in the Scripture (OT & NT). It is applies not only to just men, but to "just Judges" (Psalm 7:11); "just causes" (Psalm 17:17); yielding a "just weight" (Proverbs 11:1);
The phrase “a just man” is a Hebraism suggesting that he was a true believer in God who had thereby been declared righteous, and who carefully obeyed the law (see Gen. 6:9). Hebrews 2:2 speaks of a "just reward". Isaiah 45:21 calls God a "Just God", only one of His great Names in Isaiah.
Eccles. 7:15 speaks of the "just man" who perishes in his righteousness alongside of the wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness. Solomon begged God to give instruction to the "just man" in Proverbs 9:9, arguing that he will be still wiser and he that will increase in learning because that fear of the Lord was the beginning of all wisdom. Noah, John the Baptist and Cornelius are all men who are labeled "just men in the Bible. so Joseph travels in very good company!
"Just" is the very word used later in the NT to speak of the righteous of Christ communicated to us by grace through faith. there is every reason to think that Joseph is the very epitome of an OT saint, a justified man, standing righteous before his God in pattern of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, David, Job and others.
Stoning was the legal prescription for this sort of adultery (Deut. 22:23, 24). Joseph’s righteousness meant he was also merciful; thus he did not intend to make Mary “a public example.”
“Was Minded to put her away privately…” -
The idea that there was a rigid set of laws that left no room for discretion is a fallacy. There were surely laws and requirements. But as Joseph demonstrates, there was also room for a "just man" to do as his heart and his mind directed him without violating that Law.
We also need to address the issue of Divorce at this point in our thinking. The Law allows for divorce the instance of unfaithfulness, the breaking of the covenant. Note that Joseph's righteousness is nonnect to the practical action of not putting her away. This is an import and obvious thing, once we notice it! As with believers to day, our theological righteousness, our justification must always be seen to work itself out into practical terms as Joseph's did here. Joseph’s “righteousness” consists either in that he follows the appropriate halakah and divorces his bride, or in that he does not want to shame Mary the suspected adulteress by subjecting her to a trial for adultery—thus in his kindness and gentleness.
Though he is an OT saint, we can see that he, in a manner of speak, shows for the character of Christ! He is meek and gentle of spirit! It is interesting that there is no evidence that Joseph felt anger, resentment, or bitterness. He had been shamed (if what he assumed had been true), but his concern was not for his own shame but for Mary’s. He was not wanting to disgrace her by public exposure of her supposed sin. Because he loved her so deeply he determined simply to put her away secretly.
Oh that you and, as believers, might show that depth of character and manifest that clearly the character of Christ in our every day life!
This year I am often using MacArthur’s devotional “Strength for Today” as a starting point for my comments.
“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.” - EPHESIANS 4:1[2]
MacArthur begins his January 1st devotional by saying “Just as organizations have rules their members must follow, God has standards Christians must live by. When someone is part of a group, he or she is obligated to follow its laws or standards.”
The images that the Word of God uses are interesting. They are not all, at times, politically correct, or even people friendly. The Greek word used for prisoner is used of one who is bound, often in chains, but often in any kind of bondage. It is not a friendly kind of word. To use this word of our relationship with God is not something that modern man would do, yet Paul readily does it.
Of course, he is speaking of the fact that he is in bondage to men on account his testimony of God to them. But yet, he clearly says that his bondage is to the Lord and not to them. His trust is in the God Who holds all things in His hand. Bondage to men is incidental (speaking broadly of course) in Paul's mind; or at the very least is secondary. God is in control of all that happens to him.
A bit later he says “Most of us want to be part of a group because with belonging comes acceptance. This desire to conform can be quite strong, sometimes dangerously so.” This is not a popular idea in our culture. Personal liberty and the freedom to do as we please, even at the expense of the greater good is often seen as the "summum bonum" and is pursued with great vigor in modern society. I will have what I want and that is all that there is to it! Self satisfaction and achievement is the goal of many lives. When the conflict between this and the laws of society occurs, there is often consternation and confusion. In some areas the line is clear, but in others, it is becoming increasingly blurred.
Morality and ethics is one of those areas. As we erase lines in the area of moral truth, the definition of what is right and what is wrong disappears. With it, the structure of society disappears. Sadly, we see this occurring, more and more rapidly in our society.
He speaks of the “desire to conform” and says it “can be quite strong, sometimes dangerously so.” It can be so strong, that without proper guidance and anchor, namely, the Word of God. The illusion, cherished by unredeemed man, that his own perception of what is good and what is not will carry him trough to an acceptable conclusion to life is a fairy tale. Men pursue that dream vigorously, some more vigorously than others and exert pressure on those around them to embrace their truth as fact when it is not so. This is dangerous in a wealth of ways.
Society doesn't work the way man wishes it would work. People don't work the way they wish they would. Economies don't function the way economist and politicians would like them to. Nature won't knuckle under and obey popular political ideas. You get the idea. The world that God made, man and beast included, does what God designed (that's right, I said "designed") it to do whether or not it does so willingly or not.
The only question is whether or not men will recognize God's Lordship openly and bow their knee in life, or wait to do so in death and as a function of judgment.
Addressing the reason for their compromise He says: “lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God”. He clearly points out the reason that underlies all of the gobblety-gook that stands over why men do such things by citing John 12:42-43:
42 Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.[2]
They put the praise (or, in this case, the disdain) of men over above the praise of God. What an indictment! It is, at the same time terrible and universal! It is something that we all fall prey to, to one degree or another. Thus it is something that we all must, MUST guard against.
Speaking of the modern church, MacArthur some people think belonging to the church is different though. They want the blessings, rights, and privileges of being a child of God, but they’re unwilling to conform to biblical standards. Some think that God is willing to take anyone and everyone that He can get. They feel like He is either desperate and that He has no standards. All one needs to do is have the impulse to be religious and that is good enough for the doddering old fool. As he goes on to say, they are self-interested, as they are in all things, and want benefit, with no expenditure. They want to reap from God, without any effort on their part.
MacArthur concludes “…but they’re unwilling to conform to biblical standards.” This is little more than the attitude that has been present in the unredeemed all throughout history. I will be what I want to be and God has nothing to say about it. He will take me as I am. I will be the determiner of how I come to Him and He will like it! He will take my offering! Oh, wait! that's a quote from Cain! Never mind!
It is well that MacArthur reminds us of 2 Thess. 3:6 and the need to keep apart from unruly brethren. Note that in that verse Paul specifically underscores that the standard for behavior is the Word, the "Tradition which you received from us."
There are rules. They are God's rules - His standards and they must stand over ours - that's why they are called standards! ____________________________________________________________
[1] All Devotional Quotes are from MacArthur, J. (1997). Strength for today. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books.
“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” — Hebrews 12:14
Objection: Some may object, and say, We see that no persons on earth are exposed to such troubles, dangers, afflictions, and persecutions, as those are exposed to who mind holiness, who follow after holiness. These are days wherein men labor to frown holiness out of the world, and to scorn and kick holiness out of the world; and do you think that we are mad now to pursue after holiness? Now to this great and sore objection, I shall give these following answers
We’ve seen three of those answers to this point:
First, It must be granted that afflictions and persecutions has been the common lot and portion of the people of God in this world.
Secondly, Christ and his apostles hath long since foretold us that afflictions and persecutions will attend us in this world.
Thirdly, I answer, That all the troubles, afflictions, and persecutions that do befall you for holiness' sake, shall never hurt you nor harm you, they shall never prejudice you, nor wrong you in your main and great concernments:
4. Fourthly, I answer, That the condition of persecutors, of all conditions under heaven, is the most sad and deplorable condition; and this will appear by the consideration of these five things:
[A.] First, By the prayers and indictments that the saints have preferred against them in the highest court of justice, I mean in the parliament of heaven:
[B] Secondly, Persecutions do but raise, whet, and stir up a more earnest and vehement spirit of prayer among the persecuted saints:
Moving on we see the third of these five points:
Thirdly, It will appear that the condition of persecutors is the most sad and deplorable condition of all conditions under heaven, if you will but seriously consider and lay to heart the sore judgments that are threatened, and that have been executed upon them: Deuteronomy 30:7,
“And the Lord thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them which hate thee, which persecuted thee;”
Nehemiah 9:9-11,
“And didst see the afflictions of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red Sea: and shewed signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on the people of his land; for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst thou get thee a name, as it is this day. And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.”
Pharaoh and his princes and people were very great oppressors and persecutors of God's Israel, and therefore God visited them with ten dreadful plagues, one after another; but when, after all these plagues, God saw that their enmity against his people was as great, or rather greater than ever, and that they were still set upon persecuting of his people, then God takes up Pharaoh and his mighty host, and throws them as a stone into the mighty waters, (Exo 15:10).
God whets before he strikes, he bends his bow before he shoots, he prepares instruments of death before he brings men down to the grave, his hand takes hold on judgment before his judgments take hold of men; but if all these warnings will not serve their turns, God will overturn them with a witness. “He ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors,” or as the Hebrew has it, “against the hot burning persecutors.” God hath his hot burning arrows for hot burning persecutors. Let persecutors be never so hot against the saints, God will be as hot against them; and let them be never so much inflamed against the people of God, God will be as much inflamed against them.
When malicious and mischievous persecutors have done all they can to vex and fret, to daunt and affright, to dismay and discourage the people of God, then God will terrify the most terrible among them, and “they shall not prevail nor prosper, yea, they shall stumble and fall, they shall be ashamed and confounded.” When the time is expired that God has pre fixed for his people's sufferings, then God will retaliate upon their persecutors, then they that spoiled his people shall be spoiled, and they that dealt perfidiously[1] and treacherously with them, shall be dealt perfidiously and treacherously withal: 2 Thessalonians 1:6, “Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you.” It is but justice that God should trouble those that are the troublers of his people.
And God has even in this life been a swift witness against the persecutors of his people. Cain was a persecutor, and his brother's blood pursued him to hell; Pharaoh was a great oppressor and persecutor of his people, and God followed him with plague upon plague, and judgment upon judgment, till he had overthrown him in the Red Sea; Saul was a persecutor, and falls by his own sword; Haman was a great persecutor of the saints, and he was feasted with the king one day, and made a feast for crows the next; Pashur was a great persecutor, he smote the prophet Jeremiah, and put him in the stocks, and God threatened to make him a Magor-missabib, a terror to himself and to all his friends, Jeremiah 20:1-3; Zedekiah was a persecutor, he smote the prophet Micaiah on the cheek for dealing plainly and faithfully with the kings, and in the day of trouble and distress he goes from chamber to chamber to hide himself (1Ki 22); Jezebel was a great persecutor, she slew the prophets of God, and she was thrown out of a window, and eaten up of dogs, (1Ki 18:4-13; 2Ki 9:30); Herod the Great, who caused the babes of Bethlehem to be slain, hoping thereby to destroy Christ, shortly after was plagued by God with an incurable disease, having a slow and slack fire continually tormenting his inward parts; he had a vehement and greedy desire to eat, and yet nothing would satisfy him; his inward bowels rotted, his breath was short and stinking, some of his members rotted, and in all his members he had so violent a cramp that nature was not able to bear it; and so growing mad with pain, he died miserably.
__________________________________________
[1] From Crown and Glory of Christianity, Thomas Brooks, The Works of Thomas Brooks, Vol IV, pp. 261-300, reprinted by Banner of Truth. Thomas Brook s (1608-1680) Nonconformist preacher and advocate of the Congregational way. Born into a Puritan family, he was sent to Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Author of Precious Remedies against Satan's Devices, The Mute Christian under the Smarting Rod, and others. He was buried in Bunhill Fields.
“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” — Hebrews 12:14
Objection: Some may object, and say, We see that no persons on earth are exposed to such troubles, dangers, afflictions, and persecutions, as those are exposed to who mind holiness, who follow after holiness. These are days wherein men labor to frown holiness out of the world, and to scorn and kick holiness out of the world; and do you think that we are mad now to pursue after holiness? Now to this great and sore objection, I shall give these following answers
We’ve seen three of those answers to this point:
First, It must be granted that afflictions and persecutions has been the common lot and portion of the people of God in this world.
Secondly, Christ and his apostles hath long since foretold us that afflictions and persecutions will attend us in this world.
Thirdly, I answer, That all the troubles, afflictions, and persecutions that do befall you for holiness' sake, shall never hurt you nor harm you, they shall never prejudice you, nor wrong you in your main and great concernments:
4. Fourthly, I answer, That the condition of persecutors, of all conditions under heaven, is the most sad and deplorable condition; and this will appear by the consideration of these five things:
[A.] First, By the prayers and indictments that the saints have preferred against them in the highest court of justice, I mean in the parliament of heaven: Psalm 35:3-9,
“Draw out the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt. Let them be as chaff before the wind; and let the angel of the Lord chase them. Let their way be dark and slippery, [or darkness and slipperiness;]and let the angel of the Lord persecute them. For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul. Let destruction come upon him at unawares; and let his net that he hath hid catch himself: into that very destruction let him fall.”
Lamentations 3:61, seq.,
“Thou hast heard their reproach, O Lord, and all their imaginations against me. The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day. Behold their sitting down, and their rising up, I am their music, [or I am their song.] Render unto them a recompense, O Lord, according to the work of their hands. Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them. Persecute and destroy them in anger, from under the heavens of the Lord:”
2 Timothy 4:14,
“Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil; the Lord reward him according to his works.”
Thus you see how the hearts of the saints have been drawn out against their persecutors. Prayers are the arms that in times of persecution the saints have still had recourse to. But,
[B.] Secondly, Persecutions do but raise, whet, and stir up a more earnest and vehement spirit of prayer among the persecuted saints: Revelation 6:9, 10,
“And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? ”
The blood of the persecuted cries aloud for vengeance upon the persecutors. There is no blood that cries so loud, and that makes so great a noise in heaven, as the blood of the martyrs, as the blood of butchered persecuted saints. Persecutors, like these Roman emperors, in all ages have causelessly and cruelly destroyed the people of God; they delight in the blood of saints, they love to wallow in the blood of saints, they take pleasure in glutting themselves with the blood of saints, they make no conscience of watering the earth, nor of coloring the sea, nor of quenching the flames with the blood of the saints, yea, if it were possible, they would willingly swim to heaven through their hearts' blood, whom Christ has purchased with his own most precious blood.
Persecution puts an edge, yea, a sharp edge, upon the prayers of the saints: Acts 12:5,
“Peter therefore was kept in prison; but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.”
The Greek word ektenes signifies earnest and stretched-out prayer. When Peter was in prison, sleeping between two soldiers, and bound with two chains, and the keepers standing before the prison door, oh, how earnest! Oh, how instant! Oh, how fervent! Oh, how vehement! Oh, how constant were the saints in their prayers for his deliverance! Oh, their hearts, their souls, their spirits were in their prayers! Oh, their prayers were no cold prayers, no formal prayers, no lukewarm prayers, nor no dull or drowsy prayers, but their prayers were full of life, and full of warmth, and full of heat. They knew Herod's bloody intention to destroy this holy apostle by his imprisoning of him, and by the chains that were put on him, and by the strong guards that, were set upon him, and by his bathing of his sword in the, innocent blood of James, that his hand might be the more apt and ready for further acts of murder and cruelty; and oh, how did the consideration of these things whet and provoke their spirits to prayer! Oh, now they will have no nay, now they will give God no rest, till he has overturned the tyrant's counsel and designs, and sent his angel to open the prison doors, and to knock off Peter's chains, and to deliver him from the wrath and fury of Herod; and their prayers were successful, as is evident in the 12th verse,
“And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying, [or rather, as the original has it,] where many thronged together to pray.”
The violence and rage of their persecutors did so raise, whet, and encourage them to prayer, that they throng together, they crowded together to pray, yea, when others were a-sleeping they were a-praying, and their prayers were no sleepy prayers, they were no lazy dronish prayers, nor they were no book-prayers, but they were powerful and prevalent prayers; for as so many Jacobs, or as so many princes, they prevailed with God; they prayed and wept, and wept and prayed; they called and cried, and cried and called; they begged and bounced, and they bounced and begged; and they never left knocking at heaven's gates till Peter's chains were knocked off, and Peter given into their arms, yea, their bosoms, as an answer of prayer. Oh the power and force of joint prayer, when Christians do not only beseech God, but besiege him, and beset him too, and when they will not let him go till he has blessed them, and answered their prayers and the desires of their souls!
I have read that Mary Queen of Scots, that was mother to King James, was wont to say that she was more afraid of Mr. Knox's prayers, and the prayers of those Christians that walked with him, than she was of a knocking army of ten thousand men.
_____________________________
[1] From Crown and Glory of Christianity, Thomas Brooks, The Works of Thomas Brooks, Vol IV, pp. 261-300, reprinted by Banner of Truth. Thomas Brook s (1608-1680) Nonconformist preacher and advocate of the Congregational way. Born into a Puritan family, he was sent to Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Author of Precious Remedies against Satan's Devices, The Mute Christian under the Smarting Rod, and others. He was buried in Bunhill Fields.
“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” — Hebrews 12:14
Thirdly, I answer, That all the troubles, afflictions, and persecutions that do befall you for holiness' sake, shall never hurt you nor harm you, they shall never prejudice you, nor wrong you in your main and great concernments:
Exodus 3:2,
“And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.”
Here you have a bush, a dry bush, a bramble-bush all on a-light fire, and yet not consumed. This burning bush was an excellent emblem of the church in the fire of tribulation and persecution. Though the church may seem to be all on fire by reason of afflictions and persecutions, yet it shall be preserved, it shall not be destroyed. God would not suffer his anointed ones, his sanctified ones, so much as to be touched, hurt, or harmed by those who had malice enough in their hearts, and power enough in their hands, not only to hurt them, but even to destroy them. Sanctified persons are sacred persons, and they that touch them touch the apple of God's eye, and whosoever shall be so bold to touch the apple of God's eye shall dearly smart for it.
It was no small affliction to have no settled habitation. To fly from place to place, from kingdom to kingdom, and from nation to nation, was without all peradventure an afflicted condition. Doubtless many fears and frights, many hazards and dangers did attend them, when they considered that they were as lilies among the thorns, and as a few sheep among a multitude of wolves. In the land of Canaan there were seven mighty nations (Deu 7:1). Now for the people of God, who were so few in number that they might easily and quickly be told, to sojourn and wander among these, could not but be very dangerous and perilous; and yet such was the love of God to them, and the care of God over them, that he suffered no man, whether he was high or low, honorable or base, rich or poor, civil or profane, to hurt or harm them: Daniel 3:25, 27,
“And the king answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt, and the form of the fourth is like unto the Son of God. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.”
Though these holy men were cast into a furnace, into a fiery furnace, into the midst of a hot fiery furnace, yet God will work a miracle, yea, a glorious miracle, rather than the fire shall in the least hurt or harm them. God gives a commission to the fire to burn those mighty men that made the fire, and that cast his children into the fire, and whom the king would have to be spared and saved; and he lays a law of restraint upon the fire, that it should not hurt nor harm them whom the king would have destroyed.
Those, whom the King of kings will not have hurt, shall not be hurt, let kings and princes do their worst; that fire that burnt their bonds had no power to burn, no nor to touch, their bodies. God would not suffer the fire to singe a hair of their heads, nor to change the colour of their coats, nor to leave so much as an ill smell upon his people, that those heathen princes might see how tender he was of them, and how willing he was to put forth his almighty power rather than he would see them wronged or harmed. So chapters 6:21-23,
“Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angels, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.”
Holiness, innocency, and integrity will preserve a man even among lions. Daniel preferred the worship of his God before his life. He made no great reckoning of his life when it stood in competition with divine glory, and therefore, rather than Daniel shall be hurt, God will by a miracle preserve him, he will stop the mouths of the hungry lions, and he will tame their rage, and overmaster their cruelty, rather than a hair of Daniel's head shall perish. When Daniel was taken out of the den, there was no hurt, no wound, no sore, no bruise found upon him. Daniel was a harmless man, and God keeps him from harms in the midst of harms.
Acts 18:9, 10,
“Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee; for I have much people in this city.”
Paul met with many trials and troubles, bonds and prisons, oppositions and persecutions, and yet none of all these hurt him, but God miraculously preserved him even to old age (Act 20:23). All the troubles, afflictions, and persecutions that attends holiness, can never reach a Christian's soul, they can never diminish a Christian's treasure; they reach the shell, not the kernel; the case, not the jewel; the lumber, not the goods; the outhouse,[2] not the palace; the ribbon in the hat, not the gold in the purse. The most fiery trials and persecutions can never deprive a Christian of the special presence of God, nor of the light of his countenance, nor of the testimony of a good conscience, nor of the joys of the Spirit, nor of the pardon of sin, nor of fellowship with Christ, nor of the exercise of grace, nor of the hopes of glory (Psa 23:4; 2Co 1:8,9,12); and therefore certainly they can't hurt a Christian, they can't wrong a Christian in his greatest and chiefest concernments.
O Christian, let persecutors do their worst, they can't reach thy soul, thy God, thy comfort, thy crown, thy paradise, &c.; and therefore let no man be kept off from pursuing after holiness because of afflictions or persecutions, seeing none of these can reach a Christian's great concernments.
[1] From Crown and Glory of Christianity, Thomas Brooks, The Works of Thomas Brooks, Vol IV, pp. 261-300, reprinted by Banner of Truth. Thomas Brook s (1608-1680) Nonconformist preacher and advocate of the Congregational way. Born into a Puritan family, he was sent to Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Author of Precious Remedies against Satan's Devices, The Mute Christian under the Smarting Rod, and others. He was buried in Bunhill Fields.
Haunted houses, ghosts, demons—our Western culture can’t seem to get enough of the spirit world. The latest Gallup poll indicates that 42% of Americans believe in demon possession, 37% believe in haunted houses, and 32% believe in ghosts. (Not just Americans are enthralled—40% of the British believe in haunted houses, too.)
Though interest in the paranormal is widespread, the majority of people are skeptical. They discount all spirit activity, going so far as to deny the existence of Satan and demons. Atheists stated this view succinctly in a sign they planted next to a manger scene last Christmas at the capitol building in Olympia, Washington:
“There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world.”
What is the Christian position?
First and foremost, we must remember that the non-Christian position is, indeed, just that, non-Christian! It is the position of non-Christians with all that this implies. From the inability to know and understand God, to the inability to know and understand their own heart, to outright animosity to God and spiritual things. It is their nature to to do that which is antagonistic to God and seek to rebel against Him. It is not surprising, then, that there is a “holiday” that celebrates all that is the diametric opposite of holiness, making light of the things of darkness and seeking make them seem inoffensive and harmless. Nor is it unusual, in light of this, that this holiday should come on the eve of the remembrance of the Reformation in this country when we remembrance the resurgence of the doctrine of Justification be Grace through Faith.
Clearly, outright denial of Satan and demons is not the answer. That view rejects the revelation in the Bible and the phenomena witnessed clearly and broadly in many lands and societies. The first- and second-world countries, not just third-world countries, experience demonic powers, whether knowingly or unknowingly. Of course Dr. Dickason is 100% on the money here. The tendency in the church, along with the rest of the rationalistic 20th Century, has been to discount all such activity in times past, and that has been a tragic error. There clearly are demonic power, Dickason observes and the Bible asserts, and they are active in the world.
As the former chairman of the theology department at Moody Bible Institute and author of “Demon Possession & the Christian”, I have carefully studied such topics. Demons are real and need to be taken seriously, even if many claims about evil spirits are fabricated or exaggerated. Sadly, in many conservative, fundamental churches, these ideas are dismissed as marginal, hysterical or as Charismatic. This is a terrible mistake. There is no reason to think that Satan and His forces are any less active today than they were in the time of Christ.
Unless we have a biblical view of God, mankind, and the spirit world, we will not have the perspective to understand the evil that plagues our world. I can say no less than a hearty “Amen!” to Dr. Dickasen’s statement here. At the same time, I know that this thinking is radical and foreign and may open one to attack from those around us as primitive and superstitious. And that is precisely what Satan would wish them to think!
Biblical Perspective on Satan’s Role
How does the Bible throw light on this problem? The biblical answer is connected to the fall of Satan and his angels and his role in the fall of the head of all mankind, Adam.
How could a good and powerful God allow evil spirits to trouble us since the very beginning?
First, let’s recall several truths about the nature of God, the limitations on fallen angels, and God’s final judgment. As always, an excellent place to start! The sovereignty of God – His control of His world and limitations His nature and power place on His world is the best to begin our understanding of any subject. To begin in the middle of any subject will only frustrate our search for truth – and to begin, as the unredeemed begin, without a starting place, is fruitless!
The God Factor. The same Bible that presents the inception and continuation of sin and evil also presents God as One who is holy, righteous, and perfect in all His ways and who hates evil (Deuteronomy 32:3–4). He is sovereign, omnipotent, and in control. He has no potential successful rival (Isaiah 41:4, 43:13; Revelation 4:11). Evil did not rise up apart from His control; otherwise, He would not be God.
It seems best to say that God, for good reasons, allowed evil to come into being. Believers confess that God is the Author of a plan, a perfect plan, that included allowing His creatures to choose to sin (Isaiah 45:7; Acts 14:16). His ultimate good purpose must be best served by such a plan.
Perhaps He allowed angels to sin so that He might give a concrete example of the wretchedness and degradation of sin. Perhaps He used the test to gain a group of angels to serve Him from choice and love while others fell. By this means He could show in specific form His hatred and judgment of sin, as in Pharaoh’s case (Romans 9:17–18). We would never know the magnitude of God’s grace in preserving most of the angels and in the costly redemption of unworthy, sinful man. The price of our redemption is the death of the eternal Son of God, who became our God-man Redeemer.
The Angel Factor. Satan was the lead angel, but in pride he deliberately chose to sin against his Creator. The responsibility falls on him, not on God in any way. The angels who joined Satan planned their rebellion despite all they knew of the greatness and goodness of God.
Moreover, Scripture reveals that God is sovereign over these evil spirits and has always limited the expression of their sin and its devastating effects. He allows it for only a finite time between Satan’s fall and His coming judgment. Further, He controls the magnitude of Satan’s evil even within that time frame (Psalm 11:4–7, 96:1–13; Romans 2:1–16).
The Judgment Factor. God in His righteousness has condemned sin in the fullest sense. He has judged it throughout human history. He also judged it in awesome dimensions in the sacrifice of His eternal Son, a sacrificial punishment more than all creatures combined could ever suffer. Ultimately, God will forever punish Satan, his demonic hordes, and all other evildoers in the lake of fire, and He will banish sin forever from the universe when He makes all things new in the new heavens and earth (Revelation 20:10–15, 21:4–5).
So scripture guarantees that God is in full control of His creation; He did not cause evil, and He will judge all evil. I would only add that all that has transpired is clearly within the plan of God that was within His mind from eternity past. Nothing has caught Him by surprise. There have been no alterations and no amendments to the plan, no last minute changes. Though it is certainly true that God did not “cause” evil, He did allow it to take place. He could have prevented it; He chose not to do so for reasons of His own that He has, in turn, chosen not to reveal to us in any detail. While that may not seem fail to us, as the Creator, it is His privilege so to do.
Demons Through the Ages
Demons have always opposed God, His purposes, and His people. In the Old Testament days, demons brought attacks against God’s nation, Israel. Demons also oppose the Church, Christ’s body.
They promote false doctrine and divisions, they produce false teachers and followers, and they incite persecution. No other religion of the world receives such opposition and deadly persecution. Satan and demons hate the Messiah—the Creator who became the Savior—and anyone who follows Him. It is important to remember this. They are not merely neutral. Neutrality may be a thing that is true on a personal level, but it is not so spiritually. Spiritually they are antagonistic to all that God desires and thus to all that His people stand for. There is no middle ground here. There is no place for any compromise. Either one is for what God has declared, or one is against it. It quite literally that simple. It is not subjective, it not up to the machinations of our spirit or the development of opinion. God has given us an objective standard by which to measure, that being His Word. That standard is nowhere near as difficult to understand and interpret as many would have us think. It speaks plainly and clearly. In these areas it is clear and frank.
Satan and demons have not faded from the scene. They continue their evil activity. Their activity is more blatant in some places than others, but their presence is still experienced worldwide. The Bible warns that their activity will reach new heights in the future. The pinnacle of satanic activity will be embodied in Antichrist and his program (2 Thessalonians 2:9). However, Satan and his fallen angels will ultimately be defeated, and God will throw Satan and his angels into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:7–10; Matthew 25:41).
God will create new heavens and a new earth in which believers will enjoy His presence and provisions forever. Throughout eternal ages, righteousness will permanently rule on earth (2 Peter 3:13); and Satan, demons, and human evildoers will be forever punished. By God’s goodness and grace, those who place their trust in Christ will enjoy a wonderful world where there are no more fears, tears, pains, or deaths. There will be no recycling of evil. Evil will be forever banished (Revelation 21–22).
Demonic Activity in the World
Demons are alive and active today, but we can rest in the reality of our Father’s gracious and powerful control.According to the Bible, demons are real spiritual and personal beings, not just forces or phenomena in the physical and psychological realm. Various Bible passages reveal that they have intellect, emotions, and will. They think, hate, and choose plans of action against God, Christ, and mankind. They especially hate believers in Christ because believers belong to Christ and are foes of Satan.
The Scriptures provide many details about demons. They are spirit beings created by God and responsible to God (Colossians 1:16). They are creatures limited in space, time, and powers. They have become morally perverted and are called “unclean spirits” (Matthew 10:1) or “evil spirits” (Luke 7:21). They promote immoral and sensuous lifestyles (2 Peter 2:1–18). They cause false teachers of depraved minds to oppose the truth and appeal to carnal and selfish impulses (2 Timothy 3:6). They sow false followers of Christ in the world (Matthew 13:37–42). They blind the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing God’s salvation through faith in His Son (2 Corinthians 4:3–4).
Demons promote primitive religions, magic, superstition, and worship of evil spirits. They are the dynamic behind idolatry and their devotees, whether worshipers of the gods Marduk, Asher, Zeus, Jupiter, Apollo, Ra, Diana, Aphrodite, or a host of lesser manmade deities. Witchcraft and astrology are among the earliest false religions that they have inspired in the minds of men. Satanism stands out among their more recent promotions.
The Bible reveals that demons may invade and seek to control humans (Luke 22:3–4). The Greek word for “demon possession” denotes “demon-caused passivity.” It is used of an internal control manifest in either physical or psychological problems. Once again, we must make clear that this is not a popular notion and will open the believer to both ridicule and the charge of being extreme and old fashioned. In the modern world, such things are looked down upon and dismissed as a part of the old world, the uneducated world, superstition and the like. To embrace and cheerfully put such ideas forth as fact is much akin to upholding the idea of a young earth or opposing global warming – you are view as an idiot and dismissed as lacking in intelligence and overwhelmed by religious zeal. But, in reality, it is the holders of the other viewpoint that are the ones overwhelmed by the “religious” zeal, the zeal of the unredeemed!
Demonic Opposition to Believers
I’ve long chuckled at those who espouse the detailed and hysterical conspiracy theories that surround our government and the things that occur from time to time. It is amazing the things that fly sometimes. There are huge conspiracy theories, for instance, about what happened on 9/11. Many would swear that George Bush, the Republican Congress and the others in Corporate America engineered the attack and made it look like Islam to draw us into an attack on the Middle East for the sake of oil; a ridiculous theory. I’ve chuckled, not because there are no conspiracies, but because those conspiracies are not human, they are Satanic! Satan and his angels have long targeted God and His people, and any people or nation that remotely honors Him for destruction. Anything they can do to detract attention from the Gospel they’ll do. Anything they can do to subvert and detract money away from missions and from the support of the work of Gospel they will do.
Demons—those rebellious angels who followed Satan—especially target true believers who are a threat to them. At least sixteen passages in the New Testament address demonic opposition to Christians. Perhaps their greatest deceptive device is that of counterfeiting (2 Corinthians 11:13–15). Satan sought to be like God, and so he imitates some of God’s powers (as did the magicians in Pharaoh’s court) and distorts God’s message.
Perhaps demons’ greatest deceptive device is that of counterfeiting. They promote legalism as well as license.Christians must beware of any changes to the gospel of God’s saving grace in Christ. Satan promotes legalism, as well as license (Galatians 5:1–4, 13–14). So Christians must guard their lives by following God’s truth and depending upon the Holy Spirit, lest they let their sinful desires overrule God’s will.
Demons tempt and seek to lead true believers astray from following Christ (2 Corinthians 11:13–15). They promote rebellion and posit slander against God and men (Genesis 3:1–6; Revelation 12:9). They abhor the grace of God and attack the character of God by causing people to think of Him as dominating, restricting, and vengeful. They attack a Christian’s confidence and commitment to Christ, and in their place they insert accusing thoughts.1 They tempt people to lie, to commit sexual sins, to be preoccupied with this world’s values, to rely on human wisdom, to be proud in spiritual matters. They bring discouragement and division, both doctrinal and relational. They incite persecution, prevent service, and infiltrate the church. In each case, we have a choice to make—to give in or stand firm in Christ.
The Time of Satan’s Fall [3]
Job 38:7 says all of God’s angels rejoiced in seeing God’s creation of the world. Satan and his angels must have witnessed the creation of man, in particular, because one of Satan’s desires was to rule over man (Isaiah 14:13). So we have some idea about when Satan was created—prior to the creation of Adam. But when did he fall?
Obviously, Satan must have fallen before he tempted Eve and Adam (Genesis 3). Since God pronounced all His creation “very good” at the end of Creation Week (Genesis 1:31), the implication is that Satan had not yet rebelled against God. So it appears that Satan fell after Day Six of creation but before Adam’s sin.
After Satan rebelled, his character was corrupted as “the evil one” (1 John 3:12), his power became perverted, and God cast him and his followers out of heaven (Isaiah 14:12).
[1] This is a Reprint of an article received by forward in email. It is attributed as best I was able. Comments by Pastor Farrow are in Red
[2] C. Fred Dickason is the former chairman of the theology department at Moody Bible Institute and is the author of numerous books on angels and demons. He holds a ThM in theology and a ThD in New Testament literature and Exegesis from Dallas Theological Seminary.
[3] C. F. Dickason, Angels: Elect and Evil (Moody Publishers, 1995), pp. 155–159.
“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” — Hebrews 12:14
Secondly, Christ and his apostles hath long since foretold us that afflictions and persecutions will attend us in this world.
The Lord hath long since forewarned us, that we may be forearmed, and not surprised on a sudden when they come. Christ hath shot off many a warning piece in his word, and sent many a harbinger,[1] that so we may stand upon our guard, and not be surprised nor astonished when afflictions and persecutions overtake us: Matthew 10:22,
“And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.” Chapter 16:24,
“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”
Luke 21:12,
“But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.”
John 15:20,
“Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than the lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.”
Ah Christians, since they have crowned your head with thorns, there is no reason why you should expect to be crowned with rosebuds. John 16:33,
“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
Acts 14:21, 22,
“And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”
As there was no way to paradise but by the flaming sword, nor no way to Canaan but through a wilderness; so there is no way to heaven but by the gates of hell, there is no way to a glorious exaltation but through a sea of tribulation. They do but dream and deceive their own souls who think to go to heaven upon beds of down, or in a soft and delicate way, or that think to be attended to glory with mirth and music, or with singing or dancing. The way to happiness is not strewed with roses, but full of thorns and briers, as those of whom this world was not worthy have experienced.
Ecclesiastical histories tell us that all the apostles died violent deaths. Peter was crucified with his heels upward — Christ was crucified with his head upwards, but Peter thought this was too great an honour for him to be crucified as his Lord, and therefore he chose to be crucified with his heels upward; and Andrew was crucified by Egeus, king of Edessa; and James the son of Zebedee was slain by Herod with the sword, (Act 12:2); and Philip was crucified at Hierapolis in Asia; and while Bartholomew was preaching the glad tidings of salvation, multitudes fell upon him and beat him down with staves, and then crucified him, and after all this, his skin was flayed off, and he beheaded; Thomas was slain with a dart [2] at Calumina in India; and Matthew was slain with a spear, say some, others say he was run through with a sword; and James the son of Alpheus, who was called the Just, was thrown down from off a pinnacle of the temple, and yet having some life left in him, he was brained with a fuller's club; Lebbeus was slain by Agbarus, king of Edessa; and Paul was beheaded at Rome under Nero; and Simon the Canaanite was crucified in Egypt, say some, others say that he and Jude were slain in a tumult of the people; and Matthias was stoned to death; and John was banished into Patmos, (Rev 1:9), and afterwards, as some histories tell us, he was by that cruel tyrant Domitian cast into a tun [3] of scalding lead, and yet delivered by a miracle. Thus all these precious servants of God, except John, died violent deaths, and so through sufferings entered into glory; they found in their own experience the truth of what Christ had foretold concerning their sufferings and persecutions.
When Mr. Bradford was told that his chain was a-buying, and that he must be burnt, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, “I thank God for it; I have looked for this a long time; it comes not to me suddenly, but as a thing waited for every day, yea, every hour in the day; the Lord make me worthy thereof.” If upon God's warning you will but prepare for sufferings, you will never fear nor faint under sufferings, yea, then you will be able under the greatest persecutions to bear up bravely, and with holy Bradford bless the Lord that has called you to so high an honour as to count you worthy to suffer for his name.
_________________________________
[1] harbinger – that which precedes and gives notice of the expected arrival of something else.
[2] dart – a short lance.
[3] tun – a large cask.
[a] From Crown and Glory of Christianity, Thomas Brooks, The Works of Thomas Brooks, Vol IV, pp. 261-300, reprinted by Banner of Truth. Thomas Brook s (1608-1680) Nonconformist preacher and advocate of the Congregational way. Born into a Puritan family, he was sent to Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Author of Precious Remedies against Satan's Devices, The Mute Christian under the Smarting Rod, and others. He was buried in Bunhill Fields.
It’s amazing what one finds when one stops parroting others and reads the Bible for one’s self. [Of course, this is a common failing in our society. We’d rather do anything but work for ourselves. Pascal said that men:
"Being unable to cure death, wretchedness, and ignorance men have decided, in order to be happy, not to think about such things."[1]
Sadly, men's minds must be occupied with something! And so, they occupy it with trivialities. Things that do not matter in the long run. That. in turn crowds out the things that do matter. The greatest of these matters are the things of God with the result that men do not know the very God is their Creator.
A friend [of Brother Thornton] tells the story of how, when he and his wife began to discover the real truths of God’s character and who He really is, his wife proclaimed, “That was not in my Bible before!” I remember having that same epiphany myself some years back. But, I must sadly confess that the more people I talk to, the more I realize that the professing church is in a very sad state of affairs. [How true it is, and how shocking! people are startlingly illiterate of the things of God and embarrassingly unembarrassed about the ignorance! It is bad enough that the society at large has little knowledge of the things of God, but the professing Church has virtually just as little.]
It is one rooted in biblical illiteracy, and it results in people professing the name of Christ who do not really know the Jesus of Scripture. The god they worship is, sadly, a figment of their imagination. He exists only as an apparition in their minds. He has been conjured up out of thin air. In the words of Andy from Shawshank Redemption, “He’s a phantom, an apparition, second cousin to Harvey the rabbit…”. [I fear many would dismiss this as radical and judgmental. They would view it as harsh and condemning and find any number of ways to cast Brian's opinion aside as irrelevant and immaterial. But He is correct in His assertion. The God that many, even in most Bible-preaching churches today, is not the God of the Bible; and the Jesus Whom most people profess to follow is not the Christ of the Scripture.]
What I want to do in this post and maybe a couple of others is to display the real Jesus, the Jesus of Scripture. [There is nothing more that any preacher CAN or OUGHT to do!] Quite honestly, I want to quash the Jesus that is prevalent in so many minds and rules in so many churches. This will not be a comprehensive or exhaustive look at Christ, for the whole world would not be able to contain the books that would be required to do such an examination. My plan is simply to reveal some things that I am convinced people who profess faith in Jesus don’t even know or realize is true about Him. [How could they, as they rarely, if ever look at the only thing that could reveal those to them, that being the Word of God, the Bible?] Who knows, even you may come away from this exclaiming, “That Jesus was not in my Bible before!”
After Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by the devil, He begins His earthly ministry by returning to Galilee and the surrounding country, teaching in the synagogues and being “glorified by all”. When He comes to Nazareth, though, something different happens. As in all the surrounding areas, He goes to the synagogue and begins reading from the Scriptures and speaking to the people. One would think that He probably preached a message of hope and encouragement, or perhaps one of forgiveness and acceptance. No. Not here. In Nazareth, Jesus opens His mouth and preaches on the doctrine of election in two sentences. And what He says infuriates the people so much that they try to throw Him off a cliff! [It is scenes like that we OUGHT to be using to model our ministries after and using to shape our outreach strategies on; but no, we are shaping them using the world’s techniques. Somehow we have confused the need to be like Christ with the need to achieve results and accomplish a goal. Christ has not called us to get the result, but to be faithful to the calling.]
Here is what He said that made the people so mad:
But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian. When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. – Luke 4:25-29
Why did the people get so angry at this? All He was doing was recounting a couple of Old Testament stories about Elijah and Elisha and how they each had healed someone. What’s the big deal? The big deal was that the person healed in each instance was not Jewish. They were outsiders. They were the scum of the earth in the eyes of Israel. here is what John Gill says about what Jesus was preaching that day regarding starving widows and lepers:
to none of the poor widows in the land of Israel was the prophet sent, to supply them with food, and relieve them in their famishing circumstances, as might most reasonably have been expected…Our Lord meant to observe, by this instance…that God bestows his favors on persons in a sovereign way, and sometimes upon the most unlikely; as in a time of famine, he overlooked the poor widows in Israel, his peculiar people, and sent his prophet to a Gentile woman in one of the cities of Sidon
In other words, God chose one person over and above some others. He demonstrated His favor over one person at the expense of some others. [Of course, that doctrine always lights the fires in the hearts of fleshly people. Those who are thinking more of men than of the glory of God are upset when men are not at the center of the plan, even when it is clear that God is the One that is at the center of that plan.] Consider also Gill’s comments on Jesus reference to the lepers in Elisha’s day:
and none of them was cleansed; from their leprosy, by any direction of the prophet, but Naaman, who was not an Israelite, but a Syrian: he was cleansed and cured of his leprosy, being ordered by Elisha to dip himself seven times in Jordan, which he did, and was healed
Why did Jesus do this? Why did He not preach a message of love and acceptance and tolerance for all people? Why was He not positive in His message? What kind of evangelist was this, anyway? Surely He knew that what He was about to say was going to incite the people. [An interesting question…the only conclusion is that He deliberately provoked them – a fascinating concept given the popular conceptions of God] Yet truth is truth, and God is God. Jesus asserted the sovereignty of God in His sermon that day. He showed that God is the one who does the choosing – He alone determines on whom his favor will rest – and the people hated Him for it. Consider these final thoughts from Gill:
these two instances of Elijah and Elisha, the one supplying the wants of a Sidonian woman, and the other healing a Syrian leper, when no notice were taken by them of poor widows and lepers in Israel:for by these instances they perceived, that they were compared to the Israelites in the times of wicked Ahab and Jezebel; and that no miracles were to be wrought among them, or benefits conferred on them, though they were his townsmen; yea, that the Gentiles were preferred unto them: and indeed the calling of the Gentiles was here plainly intimated, which was always ungrateful and provoking to the Jews; and it was suggested, that the favors of God, and grace of the Messiah, are dispensed in a sovereign and discriminating way, than which nothing is more offensive to carnal minds.
Is that offensive to you? Do you rail against the idea that God chooses one over the other? Bow your will to Scripture, for the Word of God is saturated with that truth from Genesis to Revelation. Don’t shoot the messenger. It’s there. Go read it for yourself. This is the Jesus most Christians don’t know. [This is, indeed a Christ that most people do not know, a deliberately confrontive, even offensive Christ. One Who stands before people and calls them to think forcefully and even offensively (though surely not vulgarly). It is the Christ that appears time and again during the Gospels. It is the Christ that appeared to both the people and to the leaders. It is the Christ that was eventually crucified!]
___________________________________
[1]Blasé Pascal, Pensees, (Penguin Books: New York, 1966), 37.
“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” — Hebrews 12:14
Objection: Some may object, and say, We see that no persons on earth are exposed to such troubles, dangers, afflictions, and persecutions, as those are exposed to who mind holiness, who follow after holiness. These are days wherein men labor to frown holiness out of the world, and to scorn and kick holiness out of the world; and do you think that we are mad now to pursue after holiness? Now to this great and sore objection, I shall give these following answers
1. First, It must be granted that afflictions and persecutions has been the common lot and portion of the people of God in this world.
Abel was persecuted by Cain, (1Jo 3:12), and Isaac by Ishmael, (Gal 4:29). That seems to be a standing law,
“All that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution,” (2Ti 3:12).
A man may have many faint wishes and cold desires after godliness, and yet escape persecution; yea, he may make some essays[2] and attempts as if he would be godly, and yet escape persecution; but when a man is thoroughly resolved to be godly, and sets himself in good earnest upon pursuing after holiness and living a life of godliness, then he must expect to meet with afflictions and persecutions.
It is neither a Christian's gifts nor his graces, it is neither his duties nor his services that can secure him. Whoever escapes, the godly man shall not escape persecution in one kind or another, in one degree or another. He that will live up to holy rules, and live out holy principles, must prepare for sufferings. All the roses of holiness are surrounded with pricking briers.
The history of the ten persecutions, and that little book of martyrs, the 11th of the Hebrews, and Mr. Foxe his Acts and Monuments,[3] with many other treatises that are extant, do abundantly evidence that from age to age, and from one generation to another, they that have been born after the flesh have persecuted them that have been born after the Spirit, (Gal 4:20), and that the seed of the serpent have been still a-multiplying of troubles upon the seed of the woman.
Would any man take the church's picture, saith Luther, then let him paint a poor silly maid sitting in a wilderness, compassed about with hungry lions, wolves, boars, and bears, and with all manner of other cruel, hurtful beasts, and in the midst of a great many furious men assaulting her every moment and minute, for this is her condition in the world. As certain as the night follows the day, so certain will that black angel, persecution, follow holiness wherever it goes.
In the last of the ten persecutions, seventeen thousand holy martyrs were slain in the space of one month. And in Queen Mary's days, or, if you will, in the Marian days, not of blessed, but of most abhorred memory, the Popish prelates[4] in less than four years sacrificed the lives of eight hundred innocents to their idols! And oh that that precious innocent blood did not still cry to heaven for vengeance against this nation!
[1] From Crown and Glory of Christianity, Thomas Brooks, The Works of Thomas Brooks, Vol IV, pp. 261-300, reprinted by Banner of Truth. Thomas Brook s (1608-1680) Nonconformist preacher and advocate of the Congregational way. Born into a Puritan family, he was sent to Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Author of Precious Remedies against Satan's Devices, The Mute Christian under the Smarting Rod, and others. He was buried in Bunhill Fields.
[3] Acts and Monuments – a reference to the great work by John Foxe (1516-1587) originally entitled Actes and Monuments of These Latter Perilous Days, known to us as Foxe's Book of Martyrs.
[4] prelate – a minister or priest of the higher order, as an archbishop, bishop, or patriarch.
Oh Lord, I confess and weep over my omissions of duty, my neglect of it and trifling in it, and that I have done so little since I came into the world of the great work I was sent into the world about, so very little to answer the end of my creation or of my redemption, of my birth and of my baptism; and that I have profited no more by the means of grace. I have been as a fig tree planted in the vineyard, and you have come many years seeking fruit from me but have found none; and therefore I might justly be cut down and thrown into the fire Matthew 3:10(ESV) for using up the ground: Luke 13:6-7(ESV) - But Lord, You have exercised grace and patience!
You have come looking for grapes, but beheld wild grapes; Isaiah 5:4(ESV) for I have been an empty vine bringing forth fruit to myself. Hosea 10:1(ESV), but again Lord, Your eyes were patient , look to that One Who came in my stead. Lord, I have time and again known the right thing to do, but have failed to do it. James 4:17(ESV) I have hid my Master’s money, so to speak, Matthew 25:18(ESV) and therefore, like the wicked and slothful servant deserve the doom of my Master. Matthew 25:26(ESV) but once again Lord, Your eyes are not on me, but on the crucified One. I have been an unfaithful steward who has wasted my Lord’s possessions; Luke 16:1(ESV) for as You Word says: "one sinner destroys much good". Ecclesiastes 9:18(ESV) Lord, often there has been money in my hand to buy wisdom, yet I have had no sense to, Proverbs 17:16(ESV) or like the fool my heart has been inclined to the left. Ecclesiastes 10:2(ESV)
My youth and dawn of life were vanity, Ecclesiastes 11:10(ESV) and I have brought my years to an end like a sigh. Psalm 90:9(ESV) I have not known or improved the day of my visitation; Luke 19:44(ESV) I haven't prepared bread in summer nor gathered food in harvest, though I have given much... Proverbs 6:7-8(ESV) I am slow of heart to understand and believe; Luke 24:25(ESV) Lord, I have much yet to learn the basic principles of the oracles of God: I have much need of milk, and there is much evidence that I cannot bear solid food. Hebrews 5:12(ESV)
Lord, It is frequently true that I have done away with the fear of God and hindered meditation before God; Job 15:4(ESV) I often do not called upon your name, or roused myself to take hold of you. Isaiah 64:7(ESV) To my shame I have come to you as your people come, and have sat before you as your people sit, and have heard what you have said, when my heart at the same time has been set after gain. Ezekiel 33:31(ESV) And thus have I brought the torn and the lame and the sick for sacrifice, have presented to my God that which I would not have presented to my governor; Malachi 1:8(ESV) and have vowed and sacrificed to the Lord what is blemished, when I had better in my flock. Malachi 1:14(ESV) But all of this Lord, all of it is under Your torn flesh and Your shed blood…
And thanks be to God, for apart from that truth there would be not hope, I would have not hope at all. How could I hope to make amends for even one offense, let alone for the enormity of all of my offense together? Oh Lord - thanks be to Your mercy and to Your grace - given before the world ever began...
“I am the Lord, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me, That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting That there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.’ (Is 45:5-7).
O Lord - what glorious words - they are high and lifted up - how can we even begin to appreciate them? Surely Lord you do those things that we cannot and would not do ourselves! You made the earth, You created man on it. You—Your hands—stretched out the heavens, and all their host You have commanded. (Isaiah 45:12) It is You Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited.
You have proclaimed time and again: “I am the Lord, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, In a dark place of the earth; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in vain’.
I, the Lord, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right (Isaiah 45:18-19). Indeed Lord, Your hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and Your right hand has stretched out the heavens. When You call to those heavens, they stand up together. (Isaiah 48:13)
Time and again we heard the preacher say those words from Isaiah’s mouth: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool.” Truly we understand the what was said to David; “Where is the house that you will build Me? Where is the place of My rest?” We remember that Stephen cited this passage before the Sanhedrin in reminding them that You do not in stone and Golden palaces. “For all those things My hand has made, And all those things exist,” You say O Lord. “But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word. O Lord it is our desire to be that people! Give us a that poor and contrite heart and let us tremble, truly tremble and the sound of Your voice this morning! For Lord, we know that that is where godliness lay…
Meet with us and let us know that we have met with You…
We stand alone Lord. We stand as Your people among the peoples of the earth. You have placed us as Your beacon among nations and asked us to shine among them. Hear, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see. (Isaiah 37:16-17a) For they raise their voices and their fists against you. Hear all the words of the unredeemed, which have raised up a reproach the living God. (Isaiah 37:b).
How can they stand against You O Lord? Who of them has measured the waters in the hollow of Your hand or measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Which of them has weighed the mountains in scales or the hills in a balance?
Their pride drives their mouths to striking blasphemies Father, but yet, Who has directed the You, or as You counselor has taught You? With which of them did You ask opinion in any matter, and who instructed You and taught You in the path of what is just? Who has knowledge of anything that You do not already have and can show You the way of understanding?
Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales. You lift up the very islands as a very little thing! The entire forests of Lebanon are not sufficient to burn, nor are its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering. Lord, all nations before You are as nothing. In truth, they are counted as less than nothing and worthless compared to Your worth. (Isaiah 40:12-17).
Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number. Lord, You call them all by name, by the greatness of Your might and the strength of His power, not one of the called are missing. (Isaiah 40:26)
We hear what Isaiah says and we wonder at its’ beauty Lord!
