|
|
|
“Infallible Proofs” By Shane Williams The Bible says that Jesus "presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs" (Acts 1:3). This is more than just a passing statement made by Luke. It is a challenge to all critics who would deny the literal bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Luke made the startling statement that Jesus was alive. He was seen by a great multitude of people, and His resurrection was confirmed by a great number of convincing proofs. There was plenty of opposition to this type of thinking in ancient times. 1). The ancient Greeks despised the notion that the body could ever be raised. So when Paul spoke concerning "the resurrection of the dead" in Athens, his message was mocked (Acts 17:32). 2). During the time of Jesus, the Sadducees denied the resurrection of the body (Matt. 22:23; Acts 23:6-8). 3). Even some Christians in the early church (Corinthians) had fallen for this error, and affirmed; "There is no resurrection of the dead" (1 Cor. 15:12) -- a falsehood which Paul corrected. 4). Later in the first century, a group known as Gnostics arose, denying the resurrection of the body. Today, nearly 2,000 years later, there are still many critics that attack the bodily resurrection of our Lord. With Jesus' resurrection the whole of Christianity stands or falls. The devil certainly knows this, and so some of his earliest attacks on the truth of Christ were against His bodily resurrection. We still see it present today. It is obvious from Jesus' own words in John 2:19-21 that He would arise from the dead: "Jesus answered and said to them, 'Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.' The Jews therefore said, 'It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?' But He was speaking of the temple of His body." How can anyone read Paul's great discussion in 1 Cor. 15 and not believe in the resurrection? Paul convincingly pled for the fact of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ on the basis of numerous eyewitnesses of the risen Lord. On one occasion, this consisted of more than 500 people at once (15:1-11). Let us be convinced by the "infallible proofs" of the Scriptures. [The Lilbourn Light, Vol. 8, No. 9, Jan., 2008.] & Closet Convictions By Dan Shipley John 12:42-43 says: “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; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” From its beginning, the cause of Christ has suffered because of disciples with closet convictions; the kind of men who know and believe the truth but will not stand up for it. Consider, for example, these influential rulers of our text. Potentially, their worth to the cause of their un-confessed Christ was immeasurable; effectively, however, they contributed absolutely nothing. Worse, their influence remained where they did, as must always be the case. What a testimonial to the tremendous swaying power of cowardice and pride! It keeps them among those whom they oppose and puts them in opposition to their own faith and convictions. “But after all”, they may have reasoned, “we do have our standing in the community to think about.” And, besides, how could we ever explain to our friends of the synagogue circle about what we really believe? Why, what would they think?” So goes people-pleasing religion. And so stay the people-pleasers in religion --- in their “synagogues” of compromise and out of God’s kingdom. But most of them do not see their “going along” as being all that serious, let alone as jeopardizing salvation. For example, it is not unusual to meet denominationalists who freely admit certain unscriptural practices espoused by their church, but will not speak out against them. They know and believe certain Bible truths, but will not practice them, for fear....? Now, what is the essential difference between these and the elders of our text? Is it less honorable to deny Christ than His word? The false idea that men can honor Christ while ignoring, perverting and desecrating His doctrine is of the devil! “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him-- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day” (John 12:48). Man’s part in gaining a right standing with God lies in his knowing, believing, and obeying gospel truth (John 6:45; 8:32; Mark 16:16; Romans 6:17; James 1:21-22). Every right relationship with God is a truth-determined relationship! All that God requires of man and all that man can ever do to please and glorify God is made known in His word (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 John 9). He who shuns it, compromises it, or adds to it reflects on the God who gave it (1 Thess. 4:13), whether a Jew, denominationalist or Christian. In recent years, many members of the church of Christ have “awakened” to find themselves in “synagogues” of liberalism. They share the dilemma of the rulers to some extent. “Shall we speak out and risk being put out --- or shall we go along to get along?” May God help them to see the seriousness and importance of standing up for the Lord by standing for His truth. To continue “going along” is to continue violating conscience and fellowshiping error. Friend, your influence is where you are. Demonstrate your allegiance to Christ and His truth while you can! Stand! &
The Gift of the Holy Spirit By Bob Myhan God promised through His prophet, Joel, that He would one day pour out His Spirit upon mankind, without regard to nationality, age, gender or social position. "And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. "And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the Lord has said, Among the remnant whom the Lord calls. (Joel 2:28-32) On the first Day of Pentecost, following the ascension of Jesus back to heaven, the apostles were baptized in the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues. Then [the people] were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, "Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs--we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God." So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "Whatever could this mean?" Others mocking said, "They are full of new wine." (Acts 2:7-13) Peter then quoted the prophecy of Joel and explained that it was being fulfilled. The Holy Spirit had begun to be poured out on mankind (Acts 2:14-21). The people asked the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:37-38) But what did Peter mean by the phrase, “the gift of the Holy Spirit”? Did he mean “the gift which is the Holy Spirit” or “the gift which the Holy Spirit will give”? Grammatically, it could be either, in both English and Greek. We will consider this next week. & |