In that particular story, demonic forces certainly attack him but never in such a way that he looses control of his character or consciousness.

I decided to look up this topic I found something of interest. Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology on page 423 states:

“The term demonic possession is an unfortunate term that has found its way into some English translations of the Bible but is not really reflected in the Greek text. The Greek New Testament can speak of people who ‘have a demon’ (Matt. 11:18; Luke 7:33; 8:27; John 7:20; 8:48; 49; 52; 10:20), or it can speak of people who are suffering from demonic influence (Gk. daimonizanai), but it never uses language that suggests that a demon actually ‘possesses’ someone.

The problem with the terms demon possession and demonized is that they give the nuance of such strong demonic influence that they seem to imply that the person who is under demonic attack has no choice but to succumb to it. They suggest that hte person is unable any longer to exercise his or her will and is completely under the dominatio of the evil spirit. While this mayhave been true in extreme cases such as that of the Gerasene demonic (see Mark 5:1-20; note that after Jesus cast the demons out of him, he was then ‘in his right mind,’ v. 15), it is certainly not true with many cases of demonic attack or conflict with demons in many people’s lives.”

Page 425 also states:

“It is interesting to note that in one case when Jesus healed an epileptic he did it by casting out a demon (Matt. 17:14-18), but elsewhere epileptics are distinguished from those who are under demonic influence: ‘They brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them.’ (Matt. 4:24). So it is with other cases of physical sickness: in some cases, Jesus simply prayed for the person or spoke a word and the person was healed. In other cases there are hints or implicit statements of demonic influence in the affliction: a woman who had had ‘a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years’ (Luke 13:11) was healed by Jesus, and then he explicitly said that she was ‘a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years’ (Luke 13:16). In healing Peter’s mother-in-law, Jesus ‘rebuked the fever, and it left her’ (Luke 4:39), suggesting that there was some personal influence that was capable of receiving a rebuke from Jesus.”

After saying all of that I want to add one more thing. I am not one to believe that absolutely everything bad that happens is the result of demonic forces. Some bad things happen simply because this is a fallen and sinful world. Can demons influence it and make certain situations worse? Sure. Can we blame everything bad that happens to us on Satan? Nope.

After everything said, I still feel I need to state again that this is not an area of theology I have spent much time studying unlike some other areas. Thus, I have some things to work out still.

[QUOTE="WtFDragon"]

Notice the sleight of hand being played at here, however. He quotes one passage that would seem to assault his stance, but then dismisses it with a broad statement about “the rest of Scripture.” I am sure that if you asked him whether Scripture was self-contradictory, he would deny that it was in quite vocal terms. Yet here he is, playing up an apparent contradiction for the sake of his tenuous point.

mindstorm, you seem to be trapped in a kind of binary thinking — either one is justified, or one is not. You seem incapable of realizing the reality of imputed justification, of understanding that we are not either 100% justified or merely 0% justified. Yet that is exactly the case: our justification in Christ is not an “instant on” sort of thing, but rather a gradual process we and He work at throughout our entire lives. We move forward, we backslide, we rise up, and we fall down again. Justification is not instantaneous; it is imputed over time.

[/QUOTE]

To an extent, I agree.  However, I disagree with the terms you are using.  I do believe that there is a single instance in time when we are made right with God, a time when we are born again.  However, where you are using the word justified, I’d say that would be our time of sanctification.

[QUOTE="WtFDragon"][QUOTE="mindstorm"]Instead, I hold that if one does not hold true and faithful until the end, one was never justified from the beginning.[/QUOTE]

Typical Calvinist claptrap, nowhere indicated in the cited passage or in all of Scripture. This is not a Biblical view in the slightest.[/QUOTE]

And that makes it untrue how?  If we hold that both Hebrews 3:13 (We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.) and Romans 8:38-39 (…[nothing] will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.) then what would a better explanation be?

[QUOTE="WtFDragon"]

Now you are contradicting yourself again, however. Of what need has faith for “strengthening” if faith gives instant, lasting, permanent justification to a person? Of what danger is there that such a person’s faith might weaken, given your own stated views on the impossibility of genuine faith lapsing? If you genuinely believe that true faith endures without failing every sling and arrow of outrageous fortune, you must admit that there is no need for that faith to be bolstered or strengthened; equipped as it is to outlast all tribulation, it is already as strong as it could be.

Likewise, if you hold that faith with does lapse is not true faith to begin with, or not faith at all, why do you say faith needs strengthening? For is not faith which lapses or weakens a false faith to begin with, by your own logic

[/QUOTE]

Again, we seem to be simply disagreeing with the definition of justification.  One is first justified, then sanctified, and then glorified.  At our justification we are made in a right relationship with God.  At sanfictication we become more holy through a gradual process.  Not until our glorification are we made perfect.

[QUOTE="WtFDragon"]

[QUOTE="mindstorm"]The evidence of the Christian truly partaking of Christ’s salvation involves endurance “to the end.”  The condition (“if needed”) has been understood in various ways.  Some have argued that the condition indicates that true Christians can lose their salvation.  However, from what I see of Scripture, I believe that to be impossible (we’ll get to that).[/QUOTE]

I think you should first and foremost stop here and explain by what authority your teachings & interpretations on this matter are correct, in the face of the vast body of Christian theology and interpretation which disagrees with you and them. That is to say: what authority have you, above all Christendom, to argue that your personal & private interpretation is more correct than the learned interpretation and teaching of over a thousand years of Christian doctrinal tradition?

I’m not the only person across the past 2000 years to believe this. o_O

However, tradition is not my authority, Scripture is.  If I’m shown a more right view according to Scripture, then I shall change my mind.

[QUOTE="WtFDragon"]

Again, typical Calvinist claptrap. You began this comment of yours with the statement that you had come to a middle ground, yet all the evidence of your own words points to the reality that you remain mired down in Calvinist error. You have come to no middle ground; you remain at the same philosophical point you were at a week ago, or a month ago.

[/QUOTE]

In relationship to the people I’ve been debating with about this very same topic across this past week, this is a middle ground.

[QUOTE="WtFDragon"]

This view of yours is unnecessarily cruel, to the point of being un-Christian. It is easy, temptingly easy, to simply dismiss one who struggles in faith as someone who was never a true Christian; it saves you from having to show compassion to that person. But what if that person you dismiss one day returns to the faith? Do you simply say that you were in error about them and their faith…do you simply wash your hands of your cruel dismissal of them as ingenuinely Christian and say that they were, in fact, genuinely Christian the whole time, even through the dark night of the soul that you refused to help them through?

Such a stance is worth nothing save being spit upon.

[/QUOTE]

I do not see how it’s cruel.  If someone finishes the race with their eyes on Christ, they have truly been followers all along.  Also, I do not ever claim that someone has turned from the faith for I cannot know a person’s heart.

My typical approach is to never assume someone is a Christian regardless of their works, deeds, or profession.  One can say the right things, do the right things, but still be very far from God.  That’s why we should always be an encouragement to one another, exorting one another in the path that we should follow.

[QUOTE="WtFDragon"]

[QUOTE="mindstorm"]The ongoing experience of perseverance results in “confidence” and assurance that one does in fact “share in Christ.”  This verse then provides a grave warning to everyone who claims to be saved—that is, to examine oneself carefully to be sure that one is in fact a genuine believer, because if there is no evidence of perseverance in faith and obedience, then there is a real reason to doubt that such a person has ever been saved.[/QUOTE]

A remoresless, compassionless view. Granted, it containes granules of truth; we can know much about a person by the fruit they bear. But even so, it is amusing to me how you have twisted an exhortation to show compassion to those who struggle in faith into a dire warning devoid of all compassion. How very Christ-like.

I would wonder at what you would define “perseverance” as? Does it include theological orthodoxy?

[/QUOTE]

I’d define perseverance as following Christ until the end, much like Paul does in 2 Tim. 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Also, I’m in no way saying how we are to respond to one another.  As stated above, we should always be an encouragement to one another, exorting one another in the path that we should follow.

[QUOTE="WtFDragon"]

[QUOTE="mindstorm"]I say all of this because I do not believe that according to Scripture that one can lose our salvation.  Here are just a few passages that I believe show that.

John 10:27-29 states, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has give them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them our of the Father’s hand.”

Thus, would it not be said that those who are “snatched away” were never his to begin with?[/QUOTE]

If that were the only case, yes. But there is another case which your interpretation fails to consider: what of those who, for various reasons, demand to be let go by their words or actions? It is one thing to consider sheep within the flock, another to consider sheep outside of the flock…but what about sheep who leave the flock for some reason, and for some duration? How do you address this case, which at present you have not? How does Scripture address this case?

[/QUOTE]

“Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” – 1 Tim. 4:16.

[QUOTE="WtFDragon"]

[QUOTE="mindstorm"]Ephesians 1:4, “He chose us in him before the foundations of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.”

If God chose us before the foundations of the earth, does that mean he changes his mind when we “fall from his grace.”  Or perhaps, were we never his to begin with?[/QUOTE]

Or perhaps this passage speaks to the desire of God to see all humanity perfected in Himself, while not explicitly mentioning the reality that God’s gift to us of free will and the ability to make choices — informed and uninformed alike — means that some of us will choose, in the end, against becoming perfected, even if at some point prior to that we had chosen to strive toward becoming perfected? [/QUOTE]

Some will choose by their own free will to never follow Christ and are held accountable to that choice.  However, those who do choose Christ were predestined to do so by the power of his grace and mercy.

[QUOTE="WtFDragon"]

[QUOTE="mindstorm"]Romans 8:38-39 goes as far as to say, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

With that said, if we have had the grace of God lavished upon us, how can we separate ourselves from it?[/QUOTE]

I have already spoken to this reality. Nothing can separate us from the love of God…this is true. But love is sometimes about, however painfully, letting a loved one suffer the consequences of the choices he makes. God loves all humanity, and desires that all be saved. Nothing can separate even the lowest, most wretched man from the love of God.

But, out of love, God will not force us toward an eternal fate we do not choose. If we do not choose Heaven, or if at some point we choose against Heaven, God will not force us to enter into that kingdom. That’s the shattering, terrifying reality of the final judgement…that it is so pure and righteous, so truthful and rational, that we would willingly admit ourselves into Hell itself

[/QUOTE]

I agree.  However, I do not even believe our choices can separate us from the Father.

[QUOTE="WtFDragon"]

[QUOTE="mindstorm"]Scripture also speaks about how those who are in Christ are “born again,” that their “hearts are circumcised.”  Does this not mean that if we have truly been justified before the Father, that if we were to “fall from grace” then we would literally be changing back to our old nature.[/QUOTE]

Not exactly, no. There are aspects of our nature that are inexorably changed. Baptism is once and for life. But equally, there are aspects of our nature that remain as they were; we continue to be concupiscent. Which means that either justification is imputed to us over time, and so it is possible to backslide, or else justification is “all at once” and we effectively have a license to sin…because we will still sin.

[/QUOTE]

It seems you define justification as not only becoming right with God but turning from our sin.  I’d say the latter part is sanctication and not a part of justiciation but merely the result of justification.

[QUOTE="WtFDragon"]

[QUOTE="mindstorm"]The only way this would be possible is if we could willfully change back and forth between our old selves and our new selves.  Is it not God through his Holy Spirit who changes us?  If not, then would we not be able to live a sinless existence apart from the help of God?[/QUOTE]

You honestly believe any man save for Christ is capable of living sinlessly?

[/QUOTE]

Not remotely, that’s an idea that I’m trying to defeat.  Our hearts are made new at justification (and thus gain the desire of sinlessness) but we are not completely sinless until our glorification when our bodies are made new.

[QUOTE="WtFDragon"]

[QUOTE="mindstorm"]All of this that I have said, I believe, defeats two mindsets: that we can “fall from God’s grace,” and that we are saved by a prayer we made when we are 10.[/QUOTE]

Do you believe in “once saved, always saved,” or don’t you? Because if you don’t, you have to accept that falling from grace is possible, even if we do so only temporarily. If you do, then you’re really in no position to criticize the 10-year old’s prayer.

[/QUOTE]

I’m not trying to criticize a 10-year old’s prayer.  Heck, I lead a 12-year old through said prayer last Saturday night!  However, we cannot know if he is truly one of Christ’s until he lives the rest of his life.

[QUOTE="WtFDragon"]

[QUOTE="mindstorm"]You see, if we are truly justified before the Father, then would we not follow through with sanctification and glorification?  Other than for those who come to Christ on their deathbeds, I do not believe there would be any exception to this.[/QUOTE]

This is true in the end, but we still have to discuss the nature of justification. Is it instantaneous, or imputed over time? What does Scripture say?

[/QUOTE]

I tend to separate justification and sanctification into two separate things.  Thus, it could be either depending upon your definition.  It’s merely a debate about semantics.

[QUOTE="WtFDragon"]

[QUOTE="mindstorm"]“Once saved always saved” is true but we are only saved if we finish the race that has been set before us.[/QUOTE]

This is called “having your cake and eating it too.”

Either OSAS is true, or it is true that we must “finish the race.” If OSAS is true, then if we are “saved” mid-race, what need have we to “finish” it? What does finishing it even mean? If OSAS is true, then the race ends, for us, when we become “saved” (even if that’s at age 10, per your above remark), and the rest of our life is just a victory lap in which no other actions we undertake even matter.

OR it is the case that we are, in fact, called upon to run the race to the end of our days, and that we are judged based upon the conduct of our whole life. At which point, OSAS cannot be true. [/QUOTE]

If we are “saved” mid-race, as you put it, then we are going to finish the race. However, I’m not very fond of the language used in speaking about how there is a moment when we “were saved.”  We are in a process of “being saved.”  If that process starts, it will finish.

[QUOTE="WtFDragon"]

[QUOTE="mindstorm"]Our confidence is not placed in a prayer we once prayed but in Christ through our own repentant, believing, and obedient heart.

[/QUOTE]

But under OSAS, what need is there to repent? We’re already saved, our sins already covered…so what does it matter if we sin again, and why have we need to repent? What consequence is levied against us if we don’t repent, since we are already assuredly and inexorably saved?

[/QUOTE]

When we are made right with God, our very desires change and we gain a repentant and changed heart through the power of the Holy Spirit.

I do not like the idea of trying to persuade someone that they are “saved.” It’s much better to question our salvation while living in obedience for the rest of our lives than place our faith in a past event while living in disobedience.

Rather, we should all simply have a repentant and humble heart toward God through the rest of our lives.  Whether we believe that there was a specific time when we wereborn again doesn’t matter.  What matters is that we currently have our eyes on Christ and obediently follow him throughout the rest of our days.

Recently I’ve been studying for a Bible study that I will be leading at my church for college age people. I’m doing the study on Acts 1:1-11 and I noticed something in the very first verse that I found quite amazing. Acts 1:1 simply reads:

In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach.

Just this passage alone has so much “preaching material” that I’ve grown giddy with excitement. For this blog I simply wish to give you an exposition of this single passage.

“In my former book,” – Here we see that this book is the second of two books, the first being the Gospel of Luke. Simple enough.

“Theophilus,” – This is the name of the person Luke writes to in both this book and his previous. The introduction to Luke reads as follows:

(1) Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, (2) just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. (3) Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, (4) so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

We see that in both books the person Luke is writing to is both the same individual, Theophilus. Some try to argue that this is but a title, one given to any who is a friend of God. The very name literally means “friend of God.” ‘Theo’ means God while ‘philus’ comes from the same root as Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. This could very well mean that Luke is addressing any who describe themselves as a friend of God, or one who is seeking after God in some manner.

I take a different view. As seen in Luke 1:3, Theophilus is given the title of “most excellent.” This would imply that this is not only a singular individual but is also someone of political influence. The only other times Luke uses this phrase is in Acts 24:3 and Acts 26:25, both times speaking of an individual of high political standing. Because of this I do believe Theophilus is an actual and singular person, possibly the one who financed Luke’s investigations as mentioned in the introduction to his first book. However, Theophilus might not be his true name but merely a title given to him for safety reasons as converting to Christianity would not be of benefit to anyone in politics until the time of Constantine many years later.

However, one could also argue that this title has double meaning. It could very well mean that the books are both specifically addressed to this singular individual and any who might be searching after God. If the latter is not true then that does not mean the book was not intended for anyone else however. One can see this from looking at Acts’s universal acceptance as divine Scripture throughout the early church.

“I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach.” – Now here is where I truly become giddy. We see here that Luke did not say, “I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught.” Rather, he points out that the work of Jesus Christ from birth, to death, to resurrection was only the beginning of his work and teaching as it continues through the book of Acts until today. This is something to be excited about!

You see, Jesus did not merely live a life of miracles and resurrect from the dead but he is alive and well, continuing a good work in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. This introduction is extremely fitting for a book such as Acts, a book that addresses some of the actions of the early church as they first work in Jerusalem, then in all Judea and Samaria, and finally with Paul to “the ends of the earth.”

We see clearly here that in his life, Jesus had only just begun his work. But what did he begin to do? Well let’s see what Doctor Luke says about it in Luke 24:26-27:

He [Jesus] told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”

He obviously did more in his life as be performed miricles and taught but this passage in his conclusion to his previous book certainly does give an overview verly much related to Acts 1:1.

If you were to study the book of Acts, you can see quickly that throughout the book the Apostles first start in Jerusalem and eventually spread out all across the Roman Empire. Some early church documents even say that some even went as far as India and parts of Africa.

This growth of the kingdom of God does not end in the book of Acts but has continued to this day. Jesus Christ has not yet finished his work upon the earth and has not yet finished teaching through his Word and Holy Spirit. Not until repentance and forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ is preached to every nation, every tongue, every tribe, every person, will this be finished.

With that, I shall leave you with one of Jesus’ many parables from Mark 4:30-32:

What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade.

Though I have been a follower of Christ for many years prior, only a few years ago did I have a spiritual renewal that led me to become obsessed with the grace of God. Though I had already accepted the Gospel message, I had then begun to truly love the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. The thought that God would save me despite my sin has caused many grateful tears. Every since that transition I’ve made many mistakes and my love was not always apparent (if to anyone but me). Regardless, I’ve grown greatly in my walk with Christ.

However, the last few months I have not been content. I’ve tried to read my Bible as much as I should, I’ve tried to be active, and I’ve tried to pray as much as I should. Even with that, something has been missing lately. Even though I’ve been studying under some brilliant minds, I have not been satisfied with that alone.

As a result of this dissatisfaction, I began to grow rather absentminded, antisocial, and lazy. I did the bare minimum that was required of me, I let people down, and did nothing about it aside from evading the issue while living in denial.

Today, I shall renew the joy of my salvation (Psalms 51:12) but with that, add something more: reinvigorate my desire for others to find the joy of their own salvation. Yes, we should watch for our own spiritual welfare but we are also to “assemble the people—men, women and children, and the aliens living in your towns—so they can listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and follow carefully all the words of this law” (Deut. 31:21).

I have “gone with the flow” in the past and brought up Christ whenever possible, but I never intentionally seek people out so that they Gospel message might be presented to them. I’ve been aware of the task we have been called and I’ve gained a burning desire for others to know Christ. However, it has not been the same obsession that I’ve had for my own welfare. Why have I not had the same passion as Paul: “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers” (Romans 9:2-3a)?

Why oh why have I been so concerned with my welfare alone? Should not my passion for others be greater than for myself?

The last few years I’ve obsessed with the grace that God has bestowed upon me. Today I shall begin a new obsession, seeing the grace of God bestowed upon others. Join me.

Jerram Barrs has also said, “Our work in any field of the arts will be imitative. We will be thinking God’s thoughts after Him — painting with His colors; speaking with His gift of language; exploring and expressing His sounds and harmonies; working with His creation in all its glory, diversity, and in-built inventiveness. In addition, we will find ourselves longing to make known the beauty of life as it once was in Paradise, the tragedy of its present marring, and the hope of our final redemption. All great art will contain this element of being an echo of Eden: Eden in its original glory, Eden that is lost to us, and Eden restored.”

There was a time within Western culture that the vast majority of the visual arts were done by those within the church. Even those that did not claim to be Christian were often commissioned by the church and used overtly religious content. With the Reformation came a desire to live holy lives and with this renewed fear of idolatry came a renewed fear of the visual arts. Also, the visual arts were a way of teaching Scripture to those who could not read. A major component of Protestantism was teaching people to read the Bible for themselves. As such, Protestantism especially has removed a major form of emotional expression of the Gospel in favor of pragmatism and sometimes legalism.

From the standpoint of convenience, art may very well not appear to be a time-productive, but a lack of literally seeing the beauty and emotional outpouring of the Gospel message very often creates feelings of irrelevance and emotional barrenness towards Christianity. While producing visual arts may very well keep one isolated for lengthy periods of time, the visual arts can also be an expression of thought and emotion that cannot be carried out in words alone. Just as the Divine Creator develops awe-inspiring beauty within his creation, humanity too has been given creative tendencies which can be used to produce awe towards the Divine Creator himself. To refute these tendencies would be to nullify gifts that He has given His people.

As far as art form a moral standpoint, there very well can be a danger to it and it brings up many questions. Scripture states that the followers of God must not contain the invisible God within an image. Does this include Jesus as well? Scripture never gives an explicit, answer but the church has found a basis for visually depicting Jesus within His incarnation. Jesus is the image of the invisible God and thus this image is shown in reality and can be shown in art. So long as this artwork is not worshiped by either the artist or the viewer then it is not to be considered idolatry. An idol is thus something that takes the place of God, not a statue or painting. Art should also never be used in such a way that it detracts from the written and spoken word.

As a whole, the visual arts can very well be beneficial to expressing the Christian faith, but it does come with certain dangers, as does everything else. Every good thing can be twisted in such a way that it either hinders the message of the Gospel or it becomes corrupt in its nature. This corruption is especially seen within the current art culture. There is far less religious works and admiration for God’s creation and an increase in corrupt depictions of what is unholy. Rather than having a painting that expresses one’s desperate call toward God, a typical work of art shows one’s desperate need for sanctification due to a wealth of lustful passions, vulgarity, and violence within the content of the works. Visually, the modern art world has some great works of art but from a moral standpoint, much of it has become corrupted.

Being that Christians are to be a repentant and sanctified people, those who consider themselves artists should seek to redeem this art world. Very rarely is there any great works of art being displayed that teach Christian truth outside of the “Christian culture.” Right now there is much talk within Christian life about needing to become missional, that is, entering into the world with the intention of sharing the Gospel and redeeming that world as opposed to simply waiting for unbelievers to come to the church. This same missional stance should also be taken by Christian artists. Enter into the secular art culture and display the glory of God through the visual arts!

What Nehemiah experienced is what I hope to experience. I know that, just as Nehemiah, I have been shaped for a purpose. My experiences, abilities, and passions are not in vain, and I know God will use those to his advantage, I only seek to know what for. I want to see the artistic masterpiece that God is creating, but I’ve only seen portions of it.

As it is, I know I want to minister in an area of the United States that is not in the Bible Belt, likely somewhere up north between Seattle and New York (at least I narrowed it down to half of the US). I have now seen the need in New York for Gospel-centered churches, and I literally weep over that city. Scripture says of Jesus in Luke 19:41 “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it.” I still have not been given my Jerusalem, the Jerusalem that I am supposed to bear my cross for.

Even though I have wept over New York City and mourn for its lack of faith in Christ, I’m not sure if I’m specifically called to that one city. I desperately desire a city that I too can weep over like Jesus and rebuild like Nehemiah. I pray that God will open my eyes to a place that I can marry, a city that I can love, build up, and devote my life to.

The Bible does not specifically condemn the practice of slavery. It gives instructions on how slaves should be treated (Deuteronomy 15:12-15; Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 4:1), but does not outlaw slavery altogether. Many have seen this to mean that the Bible authorizes all forms of slavery. What many fail to understand is that slavery in biblical times was very different from the slavery that was practiced in the past few centuries in many parts of the world. The slavery in the Bible was not based exclusively on race. People were not enslaved because of their nationality or the color of their skin. In Bible times, slavery was more a matter of social status. People sold themselves as slaves when they could not pay their debts or provide for their families. In New Testament times, sometimes doctors, lawyers, and even politicians were slaves of someone else. Some people actually chose to be slaves so as to have all their needs provided for by their masters.

The slavery of the past few centuries was often based exclusively on skin color. In the United States, many black people were considered slaves because of their nationality; many slave owners truly believed black people to be inferior human beings. The Bible most definitely does condemn race-based slavery. Consider the slavery the Hebrews experienced when they were in Egypt. The Hebrew were slaves, not by choice, but because they were Hebrews (Exodus 13:14). The plagues God poured out on Egypt demonstrate how God feels about racial slavery (Exodus 7-11). So, yes, the Bible does condemn some forms of slavery. At the same time, the Bible does seem to allow for other forms. The key issue is that the slavery the Bible allowed for in no way resembled the racial slavery that plagued our world in the past few centuries.

In addition, both the Old and New Testaments condemn the practice of “man-stealing” which is what happened in Africa in the 19th century. Africans were rounded up by slave-hunters, who sold them to slave-traders, who brought them to the New World to work on plantations and farms. This practice is abhorrent to God. In fact, the penalty for such a crime in the Mosaic Law was death: “Anyone who kidnaps another and either sells him or still has him when he is caught must be put to death” (Exodus 21:16). Similarly, in the New Testament, slave-traders are listed among those who are “ungodly and sinful” and are in the same category as those who kill their fathers or mothers, murderers, adulterers and perverts, and liars and perjurers (1 Timothy 1:8-10).

Another crucial point is that the purpose of the Bible is to point the way to salvation, not to reform society. The Bible often approaches issues from the inside out. If a person experiences the love, mercy, and grace of God by receiving His salvation, God will reform his soul, changing the way he thinks and acts. A person who has experienced God’s gift of salvation and freedom from the slavery of sin, as God reforms his soul, will realize that enslaving another human being is wrong. A person who has truly experienced God’s grace will in turn be gracious towards others. That would be the Bible’s prescription for ending slavery.

Social historian Rodney Stark states, “Although it has been fashionable to deny it, anti-slavery doctrines began to appear in Christian theology soon after the decline of Rome were accompanied by the eventual disappearance of slavery in all but the fringes of Christian Europe.  When Europeans subsequently instituted slavery in the New World, they did so over strenuous papal opposition, a fact that was conveniently ‘lost’ from history until recently.  Finally, the abolition of New World slavery was initiated and achieved by Christian activists.”

Christians began to work for abolition not because of some general understanding of human rights, but because they say it as violating the will of God.  Older forms of indentured servant-hood and bond-service of Biblical times had often been harsh, but Christian abolitionists concluded that race-based, life-long slavery, established through kidnapping, could not be found in alignment with Biblical teaching.  Christian activists such as William Wilberforce in Great Britain (btw, the movie about him entitled Amazing Grace is amazing), John Woolman in America, and many others devoted their entire lives, in the name of Christ, to ending slavery.  At the same time the slave trade was so financially rewarding that many within the church greedily sought to justify it.

When the abolitionists finally had British society ready to abolish slavery across the empire, many in the colonies said the price of commodities would skyrocket catastrophically.  This did not deter the abolitionists.  The House of Commons agreed to compensate the planters for all freed slaves, a sum which equaled to half of all the British government’s annual budget.  The Act of Emancipation passed in 1933, and the costs were so high to the British people that some have referred to the voluntary abolition of slavery in Britain as “voluntary econocide.”

Many have tried to understand why so many political figures would act so selfishly to do away with the act.  Why self-interest would they have in this act of abolition?  Rodney Stark has argued that the only reason why this sacrificial behavior ever took place was because it was Christian leaders who were in the forefront of this movement.  Many within Christianity had allowed this inhuman behavior to continue but being the “repentant religion” that Christianity is, many sought to correct this move.

Very much related to this topic, Martin Luther King Jr. realized that it was behaving more like a Christian would do away with such things as racial injustice.  He believed that it was a deeper and truer Christianity that would help change the face of America.  David L. Chappell believes that the Civil Rights was primarily a religious and spiritual movement as opposed to simply political.   He argues that white Northern liberals who were the allies of the African-American civil rights leaders were not proponents of civil disobedience or of a direct attack on segregation.  Because of their secular belief in the goodness of human nature, they thought that education and enlightenment would bring about inevitable social and racial progress.  Black leaders were instead much more rooted in the Biblical understanding of the sinfulness of the human heart and in the denunciations of injustice that they read in the Hebrew prophets.  The Civil Rights movement was a religious revival.

Alright, many might have read what I’ve stated and say, “What of the passages in Scripture that seem to be in favor of slavery?”  What do you do with passages like Ephesians 6:5 which states, “slaves obey your masters”?  Many times when people come across a passage like this they immediately disregard the Bible completely without understanding the text.

Often times when a passage like this seems so offensive, consider that it might not actually teach what it appears to be teaching.  Many texts people find like this can be cleared up with a decent commentary that puts the issue into its historical context.  Ephesians 6:5, for example, is often immediately understood in our culture to be parallel with the African slave trade, human trafficking, and sexual slavery practiced in many places today.  To believe this is simply ignoring the cultural context of that passage.

In the first-century Roman empire, when the New Testament was written, there was not a great different between slaves and the average free person.  Slaves were not distinguishable from others by race, speech, or clothing.  They looked and lived like everyone else, and were not segregated from the rest of society in any way.  Financially, slaves made the same wages as free laborers, and therefore not usually poor.  Slaves could even buy themselves out of slavery which almost always happened, very few slaves remained slaves for life.  Most could reasonably hope to be released within ten or fifteen years, or by their late thirties at most.  Also, these slaves were not owned completely but only their time and skills were owned by the master for a temporary amount of time.  There was, in essence, no difference between a slave and servant (the word is actually the same – δουλος).  It must also be noted once again that when this form of servant-hood is in place, it must be done according to the moral teachings of Scripture so that none shall be oppressed.

Even with all of this said, many people still find this to be offensive.  My advice in this respect is to simply consider that their problem with some texts might be based on an unexamined belief in the superiority of their historical moment above all others.  To reject the Bible as regressive is to assume that they have now arrived at the ultimate historic moment.  That belief is surely as narrow and exclusive as the views in the Bible that they regard as offensive.  Essentially, I’m advising you all to beware of the thought that you have progressed above other cultures.  In many ways, it is probably better that we do not have this type of servant-hood within our culture.  However, being that we live in such an anti-servant culture, such a thought becomes offensive to us (to a fault).  A common thought within this current historic moment is that we deserve to be served.  Such a belief has caused us to detest the thought of all types of serving.

With that said, many would find that offensive and thus believe that I’m advocating slavery.  By no means is that my intention!  I’m merely expressing that just as Jesus came as a servant, we too should serve our fellow man and free the captives.

Christocentric preaching takes this style of preaching and adapts it.  Instead of simply preaching the David and Goliath story with the idea that “you too can defeat your giants,” christocentric preaching instead would say, “Like David against impossible odds gained victory over Goliath, Jesus against impossible odds gained victory over death.”

This christocentric preaching style seeks to compare Old Testament narratives to the Grand Narrative.  Essentially, show how one event in the Old Testament is a foreshadowing of something to come. This way of going about teaching the Scriptures does essentially what Jesus did in Luke 24:27, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”  Such preaching is designed to “open the Scriptures” as verse 32 later says.  Luke 24:45 says that in this event, “He [Jesus] opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.”  From Jesus’ perspective, they knew the Scriptures but never grasped the essential character of that text, himself!

In Matthew 5:17 Jesus states, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”  In many ways, it seems as though many preachers do just that; they either refuse to acknowledge these fulfillments when preaching or they refuse to acknowledge the Scriptures fulfill anything.  I wonder how many times I’ve listened to a pastor preach an Old Testament text and never once mention how the New Testament speaks of that exact passage. The text is about Jesus!

As an example, how could we ever preach Isaiah 6 without mentioning Jesus? A portion of that text (6:1-6) states, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.  And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.’ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. ‘Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.’”

Many pastors will preach this text and speak of how holy God is, how great and awesome he is, etc. but why do we never mention Jesus here?  In John 12 immediately after Jesus quoted another section of Isaiah 6, he states in verse 41, “Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.”  This text is about Jesus!  In fact, all of Scripture is about the glorious holiness of Jesus Christ.

So many “religious people” study Scripture earnestly seeking to find God’s grace through it, but we often forget that it is through Jesus Christ as spoken of in that word that we are saved. John 5:39 states, “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me.”  It is not through our own works, our rituals, or even our beliefs that Scripture is true that we gain salvation but purely the grace of Jesus Christ.  He alone gives salvation and He alone can change our hearts, minds, and attitudes.

How sad it is that I so often seeing people claiming that they are Christians and yet believe they are right with God simply because they do the right stuff.  They believe that through a high moral standard, becoming holy, reading Scripture, going to church, doing ministry, and telling people about Jesus that they are saved.  No, as Ephesians 2:8-9 states, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”  Not by our vain attempts do we become right with God but solely through repenting before Jesus Christ – of our sin and of our pride.  All Scripture attests to the miraculous work of Jesus and only through Jesus do we gain salvation.

Just think about this concept a while, let it rattle through your mind.  The infinite, all-knowing, all-powerful God of the universe humbles himself to work in the lives of people who have no significance in relation to Himself.  In fact, these people are fallen depraved creatures who have rejected their Creator and often reject His various existence.  Why would such an almighty God do such a thing?  He had no need for us.  We can do nothing for Him or provide something for Him that He does not already possess.

He needs no fellowship that desire is made complete in His Trinitarian nature, not to mention the heavenly hosts of beings which worship Him.  Nothing we do puts Him in our dept, nothing we can ever do would mean God would require anything from us.  He is God.

Examining His greatness and our inferiority, it is not wonder that many non-Christians reject such a God.  Such a God that would humble Himself defies all human logic.  God has no need for us, why even acknowledge us?

While many might find this concept to be a stumbling block, the Christian finds this concept as a cause for rejoicing!  The almighty God and Creator of the universe humbled Himself to not only care for us but to become one of us!  God entered human existence by humbling himself to become a man, be born of a virgin, live the sinless life, be rejected by men, die on the cross, raise from the grave, ascend into heaven, and be glorified in all grandeur at the right hand of the Father – all according to the Scriptures.

Oh what a cause for rejoicing! Our Emmanuel, God with us, has come and brings salvation to all who believe and accept Him as Lord!

Philippians 2:5-11 states, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

(1) Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. (2) This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” (3) Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (4) Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (5) Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (7) Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ (8) The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” (10) Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?

We see within this passage a very religious person coming to Jesus by the name of Nicodemus.  He was by all means perceived to be righteous by others and by himself.  However, he came to Jesus with a question that according to Jesus he should already know (e.g. “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?”).

Nicodemus, being the pharisee that he was, would have memorized the Torah at a very young age.  He taught the things in Scripture and yet did not understand what he was talking about.  This problem is a common problem that many “hyper-religious people” often have.  He had heard these teachings his entire life but he never understood the true message.  Even his understanding of Jesus’ statements is hyper-religious as seen by his extremely literal interpretation of Jesus’ every word.

What was it Nicodemus was missing?  Even though he knew the Scriptures, he did not know them.  You see, this idea of becoming “born-again” is not a new concept.  Let’s take a look at some passages that Nicodemus should have known, the first being Deuteronomy 30:6.

And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

This concept of becoming born-again is simply not a new concept in Scripture.  Jeremiah 31:33 is another example.

But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Ezekiel 36:26 is yet another example.

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

We now clearly see that this concept should not have been new to Nicodemus being as he was a teacher of such Scriptures.   What was it that blinded him to the truth?  Pride is the most clear answer and this pride could very well be within himself.

Being as all of us are sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God, even the most religious person cannot escape from sin apart from Christ.  For the hyper-religious person, pride in one’s own apparent righteousness becomes a stumbling block for even feeling the need to seek Christ.  Jesus refers to this type of person differently than he does most.  When working with someone who needs mercy, he gives mercy.  For someone who thinks himself righteous, he humbles him.  He does this in Matthew 23.  As an example from that passage, here is verses 27-28:

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

We see here Jesus humbling the religious person who thinks himself righteous.  Often times the best way of building someone up is to first tear them down.  With that said, very often the “Christian who is better than everyone else” needs to be torn down as well.  We are all in need of Christ and his mercy.  All of us.  Being born in a Christian home does not stop our need.  Going to church does not save us.

Nothing we can do saves us apart from faith in Christ given to us by his grace and his grace alone.  Through Christ and Christ alone can our hearts be made right with God.  We all need to seek after Christ an his mercy continually and continually repent before God.

But for the person like Nicodemus, possibly even you who are reading this, he knows these things.  He may have even heard it his entire life.  Does that mean he has experienced the mercies of God?  Has his eyes been blind to these truths?  How do you know that you are not just like Nicodemus?