1 TIMOTHY 3: ELDERS; Rebuking elders

On December 4, 2024 By nrfaughtLeave a comment

Let’s look at the office of elders in the church. First, a little word study. 1 Timothy 3:1 It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. The Greek for overseer is episkopé: Oversight, visitation, office of a bishop. It is the word that the Episcopalian church used to describe their “bishops”. The Episcopal Church is structured around bishops, who oversee geographic areas called dioceses. Bishops are considered the primary shepherds of the church, and their authority is equal to that of the Apostles. An overseer here is obviously the same as an elder in Titus 1 and 1 Peter 5:1 but a different Greek word is used there. Titus 1:⁵This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you. 1 Peter 5:1 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder …” Both times the Greek word is presbuteros: elder, older, presbyter (emphasis on an older man). The Presbyterian Church has presbyters. The word “Presbyterian” comes from the Greek word πρεσβύτερος (presbyteros), meaning “elder.” Accordingly, Presbyterian church government is elder-ruled church government, as we see clearly taught in the New Testament. BTW 1 Timothy 5:17 ¹⁷Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. The word for elders here is presbuteros, so that shows that the overseers in 1 Timothy 3:1 are the same as elders. Then in Titus 1:7 ⁷For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain.” The word for overseer is episkopos which is the same office as presbuteros translated elder in Titus 1:5. So they are the same office.

There is a 3rd word for elders. (AI) “The Greek word for pastor is poimēn (poy-MAYN). It appears in the New Testament 18 times, but is translated as “shepherd” in every instance except Ephesians 4:11, where it is translated as “pastor”. Poimēn is a noun that means “one who shepherds” or “one who serves as guardian or leader”. The verb form of the word is poimaino, which means “to tend a flock as a shepherd”. In the Bible, the terms “pastor,” “bishop,” and “elder” are used interchangeably to refer to the same office. Ephesians 4:¹¹And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds (or some translations “pastors”) and teachers. The work of elders is to shepherd the flock. 1 Peter 5:²shepherd (poimanate) the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight (episkopountes), not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; ³not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. Again, that equates the elders (presbuteros) of 1 Peter 5:1 with the overseers (episkopos) of 1 Peter 5:3 as being the same office. Acts 20 combines all 3 words. Paul has called the elders from the church at Ephesus to come meet him at Miletus. Acts 20:¹⁷Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders (presbuteros) of the church to come to him. ¹⁸And when they came to him, he said to them… ²⁸Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers (episkopos), to shepherd (poimainein)the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. So elders (presbuteros), overseers (episkopos), and pastors or shepherds (poimen) all refer to the same office although some churches have separated them. Some churches call the preachers “pastors” but unless they are qualified elders, that is not the Biblical use of the word.

The early church met in house churches. The structure was simple. Each church hopefully had some qualified men as elders and some lesser qualified men as deacons. Philippians 1:Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons. That was it. There might have been some elders who shepherded all the house churches in a given city. Paul told Titus in Titus 1:⁵For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you” but that could mean elders in every house church in every city and not elders over all the house churches in every city. I do think that it is God’s plan for every house church to have elders and deacons. I don’t think it was God’s plan to have paid preachers, church groups owning property and buildings, etc. After all, nowadays churches have “trustees” and are incorporated. Where is that in the New Testament? Do the trustees make major decisions? Technically they probably due based on the church’s “charter”.

“During the 2nd century, the Christian church leadership transitioned from a system of multiple elders to a more centralized structure with a single bishop at the head of each congregation, assisted by a group of presbyters (elders) and deacons, marking a significant shift towards a more formal “episcopal” style of leadership; this development is particularly evident in writings from figures like Ignatius of Antioch.” This is not the scriptural organization of church leadership. “Kruger then points to evidence from the Didache, 1 Clement, and the Shepherd of Hermas to show that during the first century a plurality of elders leading a local church was the most common pattern.” (The Simple Pastor) It evolved after the 2nd century to eventually be the Catholic church organization: (AI) The Catholic Church has a hierarchical structure with several levels of leadership: Pope: The head of the Catholic Church and God’s representative on Earth. Cardinals: A group of close advisors to the Pope who usually choose the next Pope when the current one dies or resigns. Archbishops and bishops: Oversee multiple churches in a region. Priests: In charge of individual churches. Deacons: Assist with practical works of charity and have a more limited liturgical role. This is not the scriptural pattern of church organization either.

That’s a lot, but important info on elders. Now let’s look at the qualifications of elders. The first elders had miraculous gifts. Ephesians 4:11 ¹¹And He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers.” These are 5 miraculously gifted leadership positions in the early church. Paul established churches in Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe on his first missionary journey, and immediately backtracked through those cities appointing elders. Acts 14:²³When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they entrusted them to the Lord in whom they had believed.” They did not have the New Testament. 1 Timothy 3:6 says the elders could not be a “new convert” but these new elders were new converts. The only way they could shepherd the church and protect it against false teachers was to have those miraculous gifs. James 5 is probably talking about some of those miraculously gifted elders who could heal people. James 5:¹⁴Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; ¹⁵and the prayer of faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.By the time Paul wrote 1 Timothy, the church would have access to almost all of the New Testament books so the need for miraculously gifted elders would have diminished.

The qualifications: 1 Timothy 3:1 It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. ²An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, skillful in teaching, ³not overindulging in wine, not a bully, but gentle, not contentious, free from the love of money. ⁴He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity ⁵(but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), ⁶and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into condemnation incurred by the devil. ⁷And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into ^[f]disgrace and the snare of the devil.”

Titus 1 has these qualifications: ⁵For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you, ⁶namely, if any man is beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of indecent behavior or rebellion. ⁷For the overseer must be beyond reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not overindulging in wine, not a bully, not greedy for money, ⁸but hospitable, loving what is good, self-controlled, righteous, holy, disciplined, ⁹holding firmly the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.

I think most of these are self explanatory. All Christian men should have most of these. The ones that are unique to elders: 1) Husband of one wife. 2) Skillful in teaching. 3) Believing children. 4) Not a new convert. 5) Manages his own household well keeping his children under control (to prove that he can manage the household of God). 6) Able to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it. This last one is very important if the elders are to fulfill what Paul asked elders to do in Titus 1:9 and Acts 20:²⁸Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you ^[u]overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. ²⁹I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; ³⁰and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them.”

It might be surprising to some that elders could drink wine, just not be addicted to or overindulge in wine. Several questions might arise. What if a man is divorced and remarries? He is the husband of one wife, but is he stll quallified? What if his wife dies? Do all of his children have to be “believing”? Does that mean baptized believing children? If a man becomes an elder but one or more of his believing children leave the faith after he becomes an elder, should he resign? What if there are two elders in a church and one dies or resigns: should the remaining elder resign?

The main work of elders is to “shepherd” (poimen) the flock. Ezekiel has a scathing rebuke against the elders of Israel: Ezekiel 34:34 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, ‘This is what the Lord ^[b]God says: “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should the shepherds not feed the flock? ³You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep ^[e]without feeding the flock. ⁴Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you searched for the lost; but with force and with violence you have dominated them. ⁵They scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every animal of the field and scattered. ⁶My flock strayed through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was no one to search or seek for them.”’” The work of the elders of Israel was to shepherd. To make sure the flock is fed well. To strengthen the sickly. To heal the diseased. To bind up the broken. To search for and bring back the lost sheep. They had not done these things. They “dominated” the sheep: the Hebrew is “with force (chozqah: Strength, power, might) you have ruled (radah: To rule, to have dominion, to subdue)”. Peter talks about that in 1 Peter 5:²shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not with greed but with eagerness; ³nor yet as domineering (katakurieuó: to exercise dominion over: also translated “not lording it over”) over those assigned to your care, but by proving to be examples to the flock.” Elders are not to act like dictators over the flock. They must not be carried away with power over the flock. Instead they should be “examples”: the Greek word is tupos: the mark (of a blow), an impression, stamp (made by a die). They should be such good examples of what a Christian should be that the sheep want to be an exact imprint just like them.

Too often men are appointed as elders in a church just b/c they are important in their worldly occupations. The eldership becomes a “board of directors” whose main job is to “control” the flock. They push their opinions on the flock and shut out those who disagree. They don’t personally shepherd the sheep. They become the business managers of the church instead of shepherds. They spend more time in elders’ meetings than they do in shepherding. Lynn Anderson wrote the best book I have ever read of elders: They Smell Like Sheep. He told of a man who resigned from a “board of directors” eldership so he could actually shepherd the flock. He told of changing such an eldership from a “board of directors” model to a shepherding model. He told of a church having just a few elders even though there were many more men qualified to be shepherds, men who in some way were. shepherding at least a few of the sheep. That church went from 5 elders to 25 elders. They turned the business of the church over to deacons and trustees so that they could spend their time shepherding. They met rarely, and when they did, it wasn’t a business meeting: instead it was a prayer meeting and discussion of how to shepherd the flock better. I know of a church of 1,000 memers with 7 elders. That church no doubt had 30 or 40 men who were not elders but were just as qualified to be elders as those 7 elders. When that church added any elders, it was always adding 2 or 3 that totally agreed with the way the elders were doing business. I asked one of those 7 elders, “why don’t you appoint all those 30 or 40 qualified men as elders”? He said, “we might lose control if we did that”. 7 elders can control a flock as a board of directors but they can’t effectively shepherd the flock. 30 or 40 elders could divided the flock of 1,000 into small groups and actually effectively shepherd each group they are assigned to with small house church type groups. Each shepherd could have a small group that he could actually know the physical and spiritual needs of that group and shepherd that group. I know of a church that had several men who were not elders but were continually shepherding sheep in the flock, taking care of members. But those men, though fully qualified, would not allow the flock to make appoint them as elders. They saw the elders as a board of directors whose job was to make decisions for the flock and control the flock and they didn’t want that responsibility to be that type of an elder. So that church has 3 elders when they could have 15 elders.

Another important point is “how long should elders be appointed for”? Is it like a supreme court justice: appointed for life? The church I was raised in had no procedure to assess whether elders were doing a good job or not. The church voted them in as elders, but had no way of voting them out if need be. Some churches therefore have a “reup” each year or some time interval where they vote to reaffirm the current elders, which sounds like a good idea. Elders must have the confidence of the flock if they are to shepherd well.

That brings us to 1 Timothy 5: ¹⁷The elders who lead well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. ¹⁸For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle the ox while it is threshing,” and “The laborer is worthy of his wages.” ¹⁹Do not accept an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses. ²⁰Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning. ²¹I solemnly exhort you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality. ²²Do not lay hands upon anyone too quickly and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.” “Double honor” would be the honor of serving as an elder but also getting some monetary help if need be. An elder might need supplemental income from the flock if he is devoting so much time to both shepherding and preaching. But where would they “preach” in addition to shepherding? In the New Testament, the word “preach” comes from the Greek word kerusso, which means to proclaim, to declare, to announce, or to herald a message. It was the message proclaimed by the kerux, who was the official spokesman or herald of a king.Used to describe the act of proclaiming the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.” It would not be the word used of an elder shepherding his house flock, although he might preach the gospel basics if a non Christian is visiting the group gathering. Apparently some elders would go to surrounding locations and actually preach the core gospel message to those who were not Christians. That might take time from their trade and incoome to support their family. The paid preacher system is not Biblical, but paying shepherds in some cases (rare) actually is. Most elders have full time jobs and don’t need any financial help from the flock.

Paul cautions about receiving an accusation against an elder unless there are 2 or.3 witnesses to some specific sin of an elder. It is easy for some sheep to sit back and overly criticize the elders. On the other hand, elders could and should be rebuked publicly if necessary. Remember, however, that Timothy was inspired by the Holy Spirit and would have miraculous guidance from the Spirit in rebuking an elder. An uninspired person might try to rebuke an elder in some kind of a power struggle. If, after a correctly done rebuking of an elder, he continues to sin, then he should be forced to resign. There should be no partiality in dealing with elders. If an elder sins, he should be rebuked whether we like the man or not. He should not be given any preferential treatment.

We do not have miraculously gifted elders as they did in the very early church (AD 30-70). Elders must realize that when making decisions. They must refute heresy, but they must be careful in what they deem to be “heresy”. I know of a church that forced an elder out b/c they said he was teaching heresy, but what he was teaching was not “heaven or hell” doctrine. Very few doctrines are “heaven or hell” essential doctrines. Elders must be careful not to force their opinions on non-essential on the flock. Elders must be very wise. I know a church where the elders made a very unwise decision that caused the church to split unecessaily. There was a way that the elders could have kept the flock together in love but they chose not to do that. They were more interested in controlling the flock.

I hope this is a beneficial study of elders.

JOSHUA: COURAGEOUS LEADER

On December 3, 2024 By nrfaughtLeave a comment

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HISTORICAL:

God had promised Abraham the land of Canaan (Gen 12:1-3) and repeated that promise to Isaac and Jacob. God told Abraham that his descendants would be in slavery in a foreign land for 400 years (Gen 15:13-16) before they would come out and occupy the land. Moses led them out of slavery, but was not allowed to go into Canaan. He appointed Joshua to lead them into Canaan. In about 7 years, Israel defeated all the major forces of the cities of Canaan, starting with Jericho in the central part, then the conquest of southern Canaan, and finally the conquest of northern Canaan. The land was divided between the 12 tribes. The Levites received 48 Levitical cities (ch 21) spread throughout the land so they could teach the Law to all 12 tribes, but they did not get a “tribe portion” of the land. Instead, the 2 sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, received a “tribe portion” of the land since Jacob had ultimately given Joseph the firstborn portion (Gen 48:21,22) which means that he would receive twice as much land as his brothers. There were 6 cities of refuge (ch 20). The 12 tribes then went to their respective parts of the land, and were commanded to finish utterly destroying the Canaanites. They did not utterly destroy them, but they did possess the land such that Joshua 21:43-45 says, “So the Lord gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.”

BIOGRAPHICAL:

Joshua has often been pictured as a type of Christ. Why is that? In 2 main ways. First, his name. Moses changed his name from Hoshea (“salvation” in Hebrew) to Joshua. “Jesus” is the Septuagint (LXX) spelling of Joshua, and Mary was told, “You shall call your son Jesus, for he shall save His people from their sins” (Mat 1:21). Secondly, Joshua led the Israelites to victory over all their enemies and enabled them to enter their “rest” (Jos 22:4) in Canaan. Their rest was a time of no more war with the Canaanites, and a time of prosperity as they took over all the wealth of the Canaanites. Read Deut 8:7-10 for a full description of the “rest” that they were allowed to enjoy in Canaan. Moses delivered them from Egypt (a type of our deliverance from the slavery of sin), but it was Joshua who led them to victory over all enemies and occupying the land, entering the “rest”. Many Israelites did not enter that rest due to unbelief and died in the 40 years in the wilderness (Heb 3), but the next generation under Joshua did enter the “rest”. Joshua was a 2nd type of Jesus in that Jesus overcame all enemies and led the 1st Christians to enter the Messianic “rest” after 40 years of testing and tribulation (not all made it as seen in the Hebrews warnings). Read Isaiah 65:17-25 for a great description of the “rest” that would be given Christians when the Messiah would come. That was fulfilled in a spiritual way in the spiritual blessings in the church of Jesus Christ, body of the save. Hebrews 4 pictures that Messianic rest as still future at the time of writing, so it must be referring to the final victory at 70 AD. It is unfortunate that many are still waiting for a physical fulfillment of that prophecy. Heb 10:35 says that they would get their reward, that rest, in a “very little while”. Joshua, of the tribe of Ephraim, died at 110 years old (24:29)

Here is a great topical outline of Joshua,n

Outline of Joshua

Kathryn M. Schifferdecker

Revised by Monica Melanchthon (07/23)

1. Introduction (Joshua 1:1-18)

A. The Lord Commissions Joshua (Joshua 1:1-9)

God commands Joshua to be strong and courageous. There are giants in the land and each city has an army to defend it. But God promises to be with him and give him success.

From Pastor Dave Martine:

B. Joshua Prepares the People (Joshua 1:10-18)

The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh had requested land east of the Jordan and were not planning on crossing the Jordan. Joshua commanded the three tribes to first help their fellow Israelites in conquering the land west of the Jordan before they could settle east of the Jordan..

2. The Israelite Spies and Rahab (Joshua 2:1-24)

The 2 Israelite spies enter Jericho and meet Rahab, a prositute. She tells them how terrified the people are of Israel and their god, YHWH. They all had heard how YHWH defeated all the gods of Egypt in the 10 plagues and the drowning of Pharoah’s army in the Red Sea. She is ready to put her trust in the one true God of Israel, YHWH. BTW that tells us that every Canaanite had the same opportunity to turn from their false gods and turn to YHWH, but only Rahab did. God was just in wiping out the Canaanites due to their idolatry even though it seems like genocide to. us. The spies promises to spare her family.

By Diane Norton:

3. Israel Crosses the Jordan River (Joshua 3:1-5:1)

The Israelites cross the Jordan River, into the land of promise, following the priests who carry the ark of the covenant. As at the Red Sea, God stops the flowing of the Jordan waters for the Israelites so that they cross on dry ground. Joshua and the Israelites set up twelve stones as a memorial at Gilgal, where they camp after crossing the Jordan. The leaders of Canaan hear of the drying of the waters of the Jordan and fear the Israelites. This crossing of the Joran confirmed to Israel that Joshua had taken over leading Israel just as the parting of the Red Sea confirmed Moses as leader.

4. Circumcision and Passover (Joshua 5:2-12)

Those men born during the 40 years in the wilderness had not been circumcised, so Israel paused to circumcise them even though that would leave them vulnerable to attack from the Canaanites (as Simeon and Levi attacked and killed the Shechemites after they had been circumcised. The place where they were circumcised is named, Gibeath Haaraloth translated as the “hill of foreskins.” They celebrate the Passover and start eating the produce of the land. The supply of manna that sustained them in the wilderness for 40 years ceases.

5. The Commander of the Army of the Lord (Joshua 5:13-15)

A man wielding a sword, the commander of the Lord’s army , appears to Joshua who falls on his face to the ground and requests instruction.The soldier tells tells Joshua to remove the sandals from his feet, for the ground upon which he is standing is holy. This soldier is probably the angel of the Lord, an appearance of God Himself in human form. He gives Joshua the battle plan for taking Jericho.

6. The Conquest and Destruction of Jericho (Joshua 6:1-27)

The Israelite people march around the city of Jericho, once each day for days, with seven priests carrying the ark and blowing on trumpets of ram’s horns continually. In front of the ark are the armed men, while the rear guard follow the ark. On the seventh day, they march around the city seven times. Joshua tells them that they are to destroy the city and should not covet or take anything (silver, gold, iron, bronze, or garments). During the seventh march around the city, the people hear the long blast of the ram’s horn and shout as instructed. The walls of the city miraculously fall, giving access to the Israelites who destroy Jericho and everyone and everything in it (both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys), except for Rahab and her family. Anyone who attempts to rebuild the city now stands cursed. Joshua’s fame spreads.

7. The Sin of Achan (Joshua 7:1-26)

The spies sent to scout out Ai return and inform Joshua that it is a small city and that only a few soldiers need to be sent to take it. 3,000 Israelite men go to fight Ai and are defeated, losing 36 of their men.. Joshua is terribly disturbed b/c the Canannites would now think that Israel could be defeated. God tells Joshua that the defeat is due to “sin in the camp”: one of the Israelites has taken booty (a beautiful mantle from Shinar and 200 shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels), from Jericho God reveals the culprit (by casting lots) to be Achan, of the tribe of Judah. He and his entire household (women, children, slaves, and livestock) are stoned, burned, and killed as punishment. A heap of stones is raised on the site, which to this day is named “the valley of Achor,” meaning “calamity.” This might sound like “group punishment” (punishing the whole group for the sin of one person) and I suppose that it is. God sometimes has to make an example for everyone to see what happens if he disobeys God. This reminds us of 1 Corinthians 5, where Paul rebukes the church for tolerating the sin of one member, and tells them to withdraw from him.

8. The Destruction of the City of Ai (Joshua 8:1-29)

Joshua and an army (30,000 in number) march against Ai and destroy it as they did Jericho. God tells them how to ambush and capturing the city of Ai. They kill all its inhabitants (12,000 in total). YHWH allows them to take livestock and other booty from the city as spoils of war. Ai is burnt and the king of Ai is hung; at sundown his body is taken down and thrown down at the city gates. Stones are raised into a heap on his body.

9. Covenant Renewal (Joshua 8:30-35)

The Israelites fulfill Moses’ instructions God had given Moses in Deuteronomy 27 to hold a covenant renewal ceremony at Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. 6 of the tribes read the curses of disobedience from Mt. Ebal and the other 6 tribes read the blessings of obedience from Mt Gerizim. Joshua builds an altar of unhewn stones at Shechem, and the priests offer sacrifices. Joshua cuts out a copy of the law of Moses in stone and reads it to the Israelites.

10. Treaty with the Gibeonites (Joshua 9:1-27)

The Gibeonites of central Canaan persuade the Israelites to make a peace treaty with them, so that they and their cities will not be destroyed. The Israelites were commanded to destroy all the nations in Canaan but they could make a treaty with nations outside of Canaan. They present themselves as having come from afar, showing their dry bread and dusty footwear as evidence. When the Israelites discover the trick, they honor the treaty, but consign the Gibeonites to be “hewers of wood and drawers of water” for the tabernacle.

11. Continued War with the Peoples of the Land (Joshua 10:1-11:23)

A. The Sun Stands Still as Israel Fights the Amorites (Joshua 10:1-15)

5 Canaanite kings attack the Gibeonites b/c they made a treaty with Israel instead of fighting Israel. Joshua honors his word given to the Gibeonites and marches all night to defend them. The Israelites defeat the five Amorite kings (of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon) who have attacked Gibeon. At Joshua’s request, the sun stands still for a day so that the Israelites can have more time to completely kill the attacking armies. 10:14 ¹⁴There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel.

B. Five Amorite Kings Killed (Joshua 10:16-27)

“The five Amorite kings flee and hide in a cave. Joshua finds them and has large stones rolled over the mouth of the cave, imprisoning them there until their armies are destroyed. The five kings are then brought to Joshua, and they are killed as a symbol of what will happen to all of Israel’s enemies. Their bodies are hung until sundown and then thrown into the same cave where they had hidden themselves and stones are set over the mouth of the cave.”

C. Victories for Israel (Joshua 10:28-11:15)

Joshua and the Israelites capture and destroy many cities in the South – Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Gezer, Eglon, Hebron, and Debir. They leave no survivors as instructed by God. From Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, the whole land of Goshen as far as Gibeon, the highlands, and the arid southern plains are all also struck down.

Word of their victory spreads to the north and the Canaanite kings in the North mobilize a large army (“as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore”) to attack the Israelites but they are defeated and the territory in the North is captured, the cities plundered, and the people wiped out.. In all this, Joshua is obeying the commands of the Lord to Moses (11:15).

D. Summary of Joshua’s Victories (Joshua 11:16-23)

These verses are a summary statement of all the land that Joshua and the Israelites conquer in Canaan just as was promised to Moses. However, the Anakim survived and are confined to the cities of Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod. The passage describes the boundaries of Israel at the height of the Davidic kingdom. The summary ends, “And the land had rest from war” (11:23).

E. The Kings Conquered by Moses (Joshua 12:1-6)

These verses list the lands and kings conquered by Moses and the Israelites east of the Jordan River. This land was given as property to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

F. The Kings Conquered by Joshua (Joshua 12:7-24)

These verses list the lands and the 31 kings conquered by Joshua and the Israelites west of the Jordan River.

12. Dividing the Land for an Inheritance (Joshua 13:1-21:45)

The land captured by Israel, both east and west of the Jordan River, is divided and distributed by lots among the twelve tribes of Israel according to God’s will.

A. Introduction: The Land Still Unconquered and the Command to Divide the Land (Joshua 13:1-7)

The Lord lists for Joshua the parts of Canaan still unconquered by the Israelites and promises to drive out the inhabitants of those lands. The Lord also commands Joshua to divide the land of Canaan for an inheritance to nine tribes plus one half-tribe of Israel.

B. The Land East of the Jordan Given by Moses to Israelite Tribes (Joshua 13:8-33)

The text lists the lands and cities east of the Jordan River given by Moses to the other two tribes and a half-tribe of Israel: Reuben (15-23), Gad (24-28), and the half-tribe of Manasseh (29-33).

C. The Land West of the Jordan Given by Eleazar and Joshua to Israelite Tribes (Joshua 14:1-19:51)

The land of Canaan, west of the Jordan, is divided by lot and given by Joshua and the priest Eleazar (son of Aaron) to nine Israelite tribes plus a half-tribe: Judah (15:1-12; the list of Judahite cities 20-63), Ephraim (16:1-10), the other half-tribe of Manasseh (17), Benjamin (18:11-28), Simeon (19:1-9), Zebulun (19:10-16), Issachar (19:17-23), Asher (19:24-31), Naphtali (19:32-39), and Dan (19:40-48). Joshua and Caleb, the only two people still living of the generation that came out of Egypt, are given their own individual allotments of land. Caleb is allotted Hebron (14:6-15); and he gives Kiriath-sepher to his daughter Achsah and Othniel his son-in-law (15:13-19); Joshua is given Timnath-serah in the highlands of Ephraim (19:49-51).

D. The Cities of Refuge (Joshua 20:1-9)

The Lord commands Israel to set aside “cities of refuge,” where a person who has killed someone unintentionally can take refuge from those who would seek revenge. The Israelites designate six cities, strategically located throughout their territory, as cities of refuge.

E. Cities for the Levites (Joshua 21:1-42)

The priestly tribe of Levi, is given no land because “the LORD God of Israel is their inheritance” (13:33). The tribe of Levi is allotted 48 towns scattered throughout the territory of the other tribes. These towns include the six cities of refuge.

F. Promises Fulfilled (Joshua 21:43-45)

These verses are a summary statement of the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel concerning the land. It ends, “Not one of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass” (21:45).

13. An Altar Built and a War Prevented (Joshua 22:1-34)

The eastern tribes–Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh–return to their territory after having helped the other tribes conquer Canaan. They build a memorial altar on the western bank of the Jordan River. The other tribes interpret the building of the altar as rebellion against the Lord and threaten war, but the eastern tribes explain that the altar is meant to serve as a witness in generations to come that they, too, worship the same God as the rest of Israel.

14. Joshua’s Exhortation (Joshua 23:1-16)

Joshua has grown old and is about to die. He calls all Israel to him and exhorts them to obey the commands of the book of the law of Moses, so that they might not be enticed by the nations around them to forsake the covenant.

15. Covenant Ceremony (Joshua 24:1-28)

Joshua calls all Israel to him at Shechem, where he asks them to serve the Lord–the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob–rather than other gods. They reaffirm their allegiance to the Lord, and Joshua makes a covenant with them there, erecting a stone as a memorial of the covenant.

16. Death of Joshua and Death of Eleazar (Joshua 24:29-33)

Joshua dies at 110 years of age and is buried in the land he received as an inheritance. The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites brought out of Egypt, are buried at Shechem. The priest Eleazar, son of Aaron, dies and is buried at Gibeah.

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1 TIMOTHY 2:8-10: How should godly women dress? What is “modest” dress? What about wearing jewelry?

On December 3, 2024 By nrfaughtLeave a comment

Instructions for Believers 2:8-15

1 Timothy 2:⁸Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger and dispute. ⁹Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or expensive apparel, ¹⁰but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness. ¹¹A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. ¹²But I do not allow a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. ¹³For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. ¹⁴And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a wrongdoer. ¹⁵But women will be preserved through childbirth—if they continue in faith, love, and sanctity, with moderation.”

I decided to make this a separate blog article b/c of the current discussions about the role of women in the church today. I believe that these instructions in these verses refer to the role of the men leaders when the church gathers, which was in house churches. As Guzik says: “Makes it clear Paul assumed men would take the lead at meetings of the congregation. Since the lifting up of hands was a common posture of prayer in ancient cultures, this text speaks of men leading public prayer — men representing the congregation before God’s throne.” Prayers without anger (having no vindictive feeling against any person; harboring no unforgiving spirit) or disputes (dialogismos: Reasoning, thought, argument, debate, doubt). Regardless of one’s views on the role of women in the church, surely we can agree that God wants male leadership in the church. Often women have to step up to leadership roles just b/c the men are not leading like they should. Deborah became the only woman judge b/c no men would step up. Barak reluctantly agreed to help her figt the Midianites, but Deborah said the glory of victory would be given to a women, and not to him. That was fulfilled when the woman Jael drove a tent peg through the temple of the Midianite commander Sisera as he slept in her tent.

So what about the role of women in the church? Paul says that topic really starts with the way they dress. First of all, I don’t think these verses apply to the role of women in society. He is not talking about women principals in schools, women elected to public offices, etc. Notice the most important thing he tells the women church members about their role is the way they dress before he even discusses them being silent. Sometimes the way Christian women dress speaks more loudly than what they say verbally. 1 Timothy 2:⁹Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or expensive apparel, ¹⁰but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness. It is their dress: modestly (aidós: Modesty, reverence, shame, respect, i.e. dressing in a way that would honor God) and discreetly (kosmios: Orderly, respectable, well-behaved: For early Christians, adopting a “kosmios” lifestyle was a way to distinguish themselves from the surrounding pagan culture and to bear witness to the transformative power of the Gospel.) We tend to think of “modest dress” as length of skirts, but here it seems to refer more to not dressing lavishly in vanity. Of course, a woman honoring God would not wear short skirts or tops that reveal too much, but skirt lengths standards do vary. (AI) “Pilgrim women were expected to dress modestly, which meant their clothing covered their ankles completely, as showing any part of the leg was considered inappropriate according to the societal norms of the time.” Is that still modest dress today? Is a skirt length just below the knee modest today? Most would say so. So each Christian woman must decide on how she will dress. Will she dress in the latest style with dresses way above the knee? She must decide if that is still honoring God? What about length of shorts? Which brings up another issue. Moms and dads, how will you allow your daughters to dress? Will you allow them to wear really short shorts? As a teacher, we have a dress code during school hours. But away from those school hours, you see good Christian girls wearing really short shorts. Is that honoring God? Have their parents talked about that with them? Have their parents set limits?

Not with braided hair, gold, pearls, or expensive apparel. Is this a command that all Christian women should obey? No pearls or gold jewelry? No expensive dresses? No $100/month to go to beauty parlor for your hair? No hours of doing makeup? The Church of God was known for taking these commands literally. Of course, the rest of us say we can pick and choose which commands are for us today, and which can be interpreted in some other way that the obvious. For example, Jesus commanded his disciples to wash one another’s feet in John 13:¹⁴If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.” Most of us say that can be fulfilled by just serving one another. So the commands for women here: can we just interpret that to mean “don’t overdress with expensive jewelry and clothes; don’t be known for your outward dress”? Maybe. Instead, ladies be known by your good works (helping the poor, taking care of the sick and elderly, raising children for the Lord, being a godly submissive wife). That is what you would expect from women living for God and not for the vanity of this life. Peter says about the same thing. 1 Peter 3:Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, ²when they see your respectful and pure conduct. ³Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— ⁴but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. ⁵For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, ⁶as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.” Peter focuses on the gentle and quiet spirit of a submissive godly wife, with Sarah as the chief example. He says that is the way you can convert an unbelieving husband to the Lord.

I know styles change. But ladies, don’t let the world dictate how you dress. You might not appear as attractively, worldly speaking, if you dress like an Almish woman. (AI) “mish women typically wear solid-color dresses with long sleeves and a full skirt, covered with a cape on the bodice. Some less conservative groups allow the women to wear short sleeved dresses but never sleeveless. Clothing is fastened with straight pins or snaps, stockings are black cotton and shoes are also black.” But maybe the Almish are wiser than we are (in some ways). It is a real challenge for Christian women to mix in with modern society and fashion and yet dress “modestly and discreetly”. But it gets back to “why” you dress like you do? To honor God or to be fashionable even if it draws more attention to your body that God would want? Even if it looks like your main concern is dressing lavishly with jewelry and clothes or with good works? A woman going to do the dirty work of helping a poor, elderly person would probably dress pretty modestly and simple.

Maybe the church of God had it right. No jewelry allowed. Many women have thousands of dollars in jewelry in very nice jewelry boxes. Is that a sin? I don’t think so. But it might say a lot about what a woman values. Or how many pairs of shoes can a woman need? Or how many purses can a woman need? Ok, now I am meddling and getting in trouble with women readers! But it is something to think about. We won’t talk about how many shoes a man should have or how many big boy toys he should buy to play with or how much he should spend on watching his favorite college football team! We’ll save that for another time!

I know I have given a lot of opinion in this article. You can decide on how valid my opinions are. There is a lot of talk about men being “misogynists” today. I hope I am not one of those, just trying to keep women in outdated submissive roles. I hope I am just teaching the roles for women as God laid out in scripture.

Thanks for reading.

1 TIMOTHY 2:11-15: Women’s silent in the church?Women elders and preachers?

On December 3, 2024December 3, 2024 By nrfaughtLeave a comment

Continuing the study of 1 Timothy 2:8-15, let’s get to the controversial part. ¹¹A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. ¹²But I do not allow a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. ¹³For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. ¹⁴And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a wrongdoer. ¹⁵But women will be preserved through childbirth—if they continue in faith, love, and sanctity, with moderation.” The word “quietly” in 2:11 and “quiet” in 2:12 is hésuchia: Quietness, silence, tranquility. In the New Testament, “hésuchia” refers to a state of quietness or tranquility, often in the context of demeanor or lifestyle. It implies a peaceful and calm disposition, free from disturbance or agitation. This term is used to describe both an external quietness and an internal peace of mind.” I don’t think it means absolute silence at all times, although silence could be included at times. A submissive women in marriage or in the church will have a peaceful, calm demeanor and not be aggressively speaking out or challenging their husbands or the men in the church leadership. She cannot “teach or exercise authority over the man”. All this does not mean that the women could not speak in church gatherings. In 1 Corinthians 11, the women were told that they could pray and prophesy in a mixed men/women group if they would wear a veil to show that they were in submission and not trying to take over from the men. That has to be vocal prayer (prayer in silence would make no sense) and prophesying was vocal. This was based on the order given in 1 Cor 11:³But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.” That order would apply to the home and church. But in 1 Cor 14:²⁶What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.” Paul gives some guidelines for “when you come together” in any group of Christians, house church, small group, church building. This would have to include women who had a miraculous gift like prophecy b/c he had just told the women they could use their gift of prophecy as long as they wore a veil. So the women could use their gifts in a mixed assembly to teach or prophecy or pray aloud (maybe in tongues) or sing a solo song, etc. But in 1 Cor 14:33 As in all the churches of the saints, ³⁴the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. ³⁵If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.” The forbidden “speaking” here is sigaó: To be silent, to keep silence, to hold one’s peace. Guzik: “Some have said the reason for this is because in these ancient cultures (as well as some present-day cultures), men and women sat in separate sections. The thought is that women interrupted the church service by shouting questions and comments to their husbands during the service. Clarke expresses this idea: “It was lawful for men in public assemblies to ask questions, or even interrupt the speaker when there was any matter in his speech which they did not understand; but this liberty was not granted to women.” So the context of 1 Cor 14:34 women not speaking is indeed silence but silence under certain circumstances and not some general rule that in the assembly the women can’t use their gifts aloud at all, which would be a contradiction of 1 Cor 11.

I was raised in a church that used 1 Cor 14:34 to say that the women could not pray aloud in the assembly *even if veiled) or share a teaching in the assembly. I think that is a unbiblical restriction of the use of gifts that women in the church have to edify the church. Plus my church was so inconsistent on applying the rule. Women could sing in the assembly, but that goes against their literalist interprestion of not speaking at all. They could share a truth in a mixed Bible class before the assembly began but could not do the exact same thing once everyone went into the “sanctuary”. The early church only met in house churches, and there would be no such distinction between a Bible classroom and the sanctuary. The male leaders of the church are allowing the women to use their gifts in a mixed group gathering. The women are not “usurping” the authority of the men, trying to take charge, when they modestly use their gifts, yielding to the male leadership when need be.

BTW I need to add this. If women did lead prayer in a mixed group, I don’t think they would need to wear a veil to show submission. That was a cultural way in the first century of showing submission but that is not our culture here in the U.S. I think a woman could lead a prayer in a mixed group without a veil. I think it is obvious if a woman praying is being submissive or not without a veil. It is interesting that some of our churches of Christ stil encourage the ladies to wear little doillies during the assemblies. That is weird really since they are not even allowed to pray out loud, which is the reason for wearing a veil in 1 Cor 11, i..e. only if a woman is praying aloud in a mixed group. If a woman’s conscience tells her to wear a doillie like that, then she should follow her conscience. Hopefully she would not judge others who choose not to do so, and those who choose not to do so would not judge her (Romans 14:1-3).

Does this mean that women can’t be elders and preachers? The elder part of that question is obvious to me. 1 Timothy 3: one of the. qualifications of an elder is “husband of one wife”. Unless you are a LGBQT proponent of a wife having only one wife, that rules out women being elders. Sometimes I see unwise elders making terrible decisions for the flock and I wish some of the wise women in the. pews could be the elders instead, but we must trust God’s wisdom on this matter. What about women preachers? That is a little more difficult to answer. I concede that a woman can come into the gathering (even the main church assembly in the sanctuary) and share a teaching aloud to the flock as long as she does not try to usurp authority and take over from the men leaders. Then could the men agree to allow her to. preach a 30 minute sermon in the same assembly. Technically, I guess so. But this brings us back to a bigger issue. Why do we have a 30 minute sermon, even by some man preacher?

In the early church, there were many miraculous gifts for mutual edification. 1 Cor 12:⁴Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; ⁵and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; ⁶and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. ⁷To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ⁸For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, ⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” Then in 1 Cor 14 Paul gives instructions on how to use those gifts in any assembly or gathering of sainst. 1 Cor 14:²⁶What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. ²⁷If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. ²⁸But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. ²⁹Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. ³⁰If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. ³¹For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, ³²and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. ³³For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.”

No one gift dominated the time in the assemblies. We don’t have those miraculous gifts, but “prophecy” might be close to our concept of preaching today since the preacher is doing what the prophets did, which is revealing the word of God to people (although not miraculously like the prophets). So, 2 or 3 prophets, and apparently, if one of them goes too long and takes over the time, then a prophet sitting in the flock, then the long winded prophet was to “be silent” and let the one sitting speak. Apply that to church preachers today. Can you imagine 10 minutes into the preacher’s 30 minute sermon some man in the pews telling him that he has a teaching from the word of God that needs to be preached. He tells the main preacher to sit down and then he speaks for 10 minutes. Bottom line, the way we do it is not not scriptural. The assembly should be using our gifts (even if not miraculous gifts) to edify the flock. Use diverstiy of gifts: we don’t need more than 2 or 3 of any gift. Do not let any one gifted person dominate the time, even a paid preacher.

Which brings to a bigger question. Why do we have paid preachers in congregations? In the early church, you had house churches with elders (hopefully) in each group. You had miraculously gifted elders and teachers in each group. You would never think to hire a paid full time preacher for the group. If anything, 1 Timothy 5 will say that an elder might need supplemental income from the flock if he is devoting so much time to shepherding and preaching. 1 Timothy 5:¹⁷Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.” But where would they “preach” in addition to shepherding? In the New Testament, the word “preach” comes from the Greek word kerusso, which means to proclaim, to declare, to announce, or to herald a message. It was the message proclaimed by the kerux, who was the official spokesman or herald of a king.Used to describe the act of proclaiming the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.” It would not be the word used of an elder shepherding his house flock, although he might preach the gospel basics if a non Christian is visiting the group gathering. Apparently some elders would go to surrounding locations and actually preach the core gospel message to those who were not Christians. That might take time from their trade and incoome to support their family.

The “evangelists” in the early church would go to different places for limited periods of time. Paul left the evangelists Timothy in Ephesus and Titus in Crete to work with those churches. The church might give them food and clothing, but they did not become full time paid preachers. They would stay for a while and then move on to preach the gospel somewhere else, establish a church, or work to correct a church that needed help (like Ephesus or Crete). The Didache (late 1st century church manual) says that if they stayed more than 2 or 3 days, they were false teachers preaching only for money! Didache Chapter 11 “Travelling teachers — Apostles — Prophets: 3 And concerning the Apostles and Prophets, act thus according to the ordinance of the Gospel. 4 Let every Apostle who comes to you be received as the Lord, 5 but let him not stay more than one day, or if need be a second as well; but if he stay three days, he is a false prophet. 6 And when an Apostle goes forth let him accept nothing but bread till he reach his night’s lodging; but if he ask for money, he is a false prophet.” So already in the first century they had problems with men preaching for money!

I know we are discussing whether women should be full time paid preachers. The bigger question: should anyone, man or woman, be a full time paid preacher. My answer is no. There are some full time paid preachers who have done a lot of good, but overall the full time paid preacher system has been a negative. It has killed mutual edificatioin in church assemblies. It has put too much power in the preacher, his talents, his opinions, his influence. It has become a job for many. It has become a real problem when the preacher commits some money or sex scandal. Very few paid preachers are out preaching the core gospel message to unconverted sinners. Most of what they preach is just edifying messages from the word but there are most likely several men who could do that, for free, with short messages without a 30 minute sermon.

But how could a big church with a building, a budget, etc. function without a full time paid preacher that draws the crowds? It probably can’t, although I would love to see an established big church try to do without a paid preacher. Do you see the problem? The house church is growing, using mutual edification and no paid preachers, so we decide to rent a bigger place to meet. Then we get even bigger and decide to build a church building. Then we decide to hire a full time paid preacher who can give us 30 minute sermons instead of mutual edification. We have now done what Israel did: ” Give us a king so that we can be like the other nations”. We have enetered the big church business competition. Some get a talented paid preacher that can draw new members (usually not new converts but Christians coming from other churches). Do you see the problem? So to correct all that, do we disband big churches, sell the property and use the money to drill wells overseas and print Bibles for mission work, and encourage members to start meeting in house churches? Or, do we just try to make the best of it, live with the system, hire good men to preach good edifying messages, and allow the flock to love and serve one another within the current system? (BTW I still fill in to preach an occasional sermon at our church). Or do I pull away from the big church and start a house church in my home, hoping to draw even non Christians to our group? And if our group gets too large, then split and start another evangelistic house church.

Enough said on that! The questions was “should women be preachers”? If we mean, full time paid preachers (as I think the question would imply), then “no”. But maybe neither men or women should be full time paid preachers. I guess if you decide to use unscriptural full time paid preachers, then you are making up your own rules for doing church work. If you do that, then I guess the argument could be made to allow men or women full time paid preachers. The problem even there might be if she is considered to be the “senior pastor” as many denominations do. The word for “pastor” in the New Testament refers to elders, so a woman can’t be a senior pastor elder. The male elders might have to rebuke false teacher men in the flock. A woman elder might have to do that, which would be usurping authority over men, which is forbidden. If a woman preachers is considered to be the senior pastor, even if not appointed as an elder, then she would perhaps need to rebuke false teacher men in the flock. Do you see the problem?

In conclusion, Paul gives the reasons that women are not to usurp authority over the men. 1 Timothy 2:¹²But I do not allow a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. ¹³For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. ¹⁴And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a wrongdoer. ¹⁵But women will be preserved through childbirth—if they continue in faith, love, and sanctity, with moderation.” The chain of authority is 1 Cor 11:³But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.” But is this just a first century cultural thing? In 1 Timothy 2, Paul says that this order goes back to the creation story in Genesis 1-3. 1) The order in which Adam and Eve were created. Adam was created and then Eve was created to be a “helper” to Adam. An electrician has an apprentice helper, but you can’t have 2 heads, 2 people in charge. The main electrician is the one in charge. 2) Eve was deceived by Satan, but Adam was not deceived. So what? The implication, to me, is that women might the more likely of the two to be deceived in spiritual matters. Why might that be? B/c God has given women some unique qualities for birthing, nursing, and caring for little children while men out working in the weeds to provide for the family. Men think with their head, and women think with their heart. So, yes, women might be more easily deceived. So the men are given the responsibility of leading the home and making the tough spiritual decisions and women are to be in submission. Paul says this same logic would mean that women were not to usurp authority over the men in the church also. BTW Paul added this about the subject: 2 Timothy 3:⁶For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, ⁷always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.”

Thanks for reading.

1 TIMOTHY 2:1-7 A CALL TO PRAYER FOR ALL PEOPLE

On December 2, 2024December 2, 2024 By nrfaughtLeave a comment

Here is the David Guzik commentary on 1 Timothy 2. I encourage you to read this:

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/1-timothy/1-timothy-2.cfm

A Call to Prayer 2:1-7

1 Timothy 2:1 First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made in behalf of all people, ²for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. ³This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁵For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. ⁷For this I was appointed as a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.”

Our prayers tend to focus on ourselves, our friends, our fellow church members, and our families. But we must remember to pray for “all people” around the world, especially for rulers all over the world that have the power to create war or peace. Peace is good since the gospel can spread better and can fulfill God’s plan for “all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth”. I don’t know how God works to answer our prayers for all people and for rulers, but providentially He does work. My prayers each day should include the people in the Ukraine/Russian war zones, the oppressed people in Communist North Korea, the people in Communist China, the people in Lebanon, Gaza strip, and Israel caught up in the Middle East Crisis facing the terrorists group that create constant war among them, the people in Venezuela due to Venezuela due to the high risk of wrongful detentions, terrorism, kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, poor health infrastructure, the people facing militant Islamist violence in Africa, the people in Iran most of whom would probably like to do away with their Shia Muslim leadership that is determined to destroy Israel as they await the return of the Imam Mahdi to establish worldwide Islamic rule, the people in India as Hinduism is so predominate that it is hard to search for the truth of Jesus, the people in Muslim controlled countries who are persecuted if they become Christians, the people in the U.S as our country is spiralling into moral and doctrinal decline, the people in Africa who don’t have clean water for good health, the people in refugee camps caught up in the middle of war torn regions, etc.

We should pray for rulers all over the world, even for evil dictators, atheistic regimes, or radical Islamist leaders. Guzik said this: “The early church leader Tertullian explained: “We pray for all the emperors, that God may grant them long life, a secure government, a prosperous family, vigorous troops, a faithful senate, an obedient people; that the whole world may be in peace; and that God may grant, both to Caesar and to every man, the accomplishment of their just desires.” (Clarke)

We should pray for the people all over the world, even in peaceful regions, that they may come to be saved by Jesus who “gave Himself as a ransom (antilutron: Ransom, Redemption Price: used only here in the New Testament. (AI) “ In the Greco-Roman world, the concept of a ransom was well understood. It was a price paid to free a slave or a prisoner of war. The idea of a ransom also appears in the Old Testament, where it is associated with the redemption of individuals or property. In the New Testament, this concept is applied to the spiritual realm, where Christ’s death is seen as the ultimate ransom that liberates believers from the bondage of sin and death.” The Greek word for “redemption” in the New Testament is “apolutrosis” (ἀπολύτρωσις). “Aplutrosis” essentially means “deliverance” or “being set free by the payment of a ransom,” which aligns with the Christian concept of redemption through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice. It is used in Romans 3:24, Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 2:14 of our redemption through the blood of Jesus (which was the “antilutron” redemption price paid to God Himself to satisfy His wrath against our sins and to free us from the captivity of sin and death. Ephesians 1:⁷In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, ⁸which he lavished upon us.” I have a little prayer pad, but my prayer requests are for friends, family, and church members. I am not praying for all people as Paul told Timothy to do. I plan to include all people in future prayers, including those I just mentioned above. Again, I don’t know how the providence of God can answer those prayers, but I believe He will. One way such prayers work is to get us aware of the spiritual and physical needs of people all over the world. That might get us to be directly involved in mission trips or humanitarian trips around the world. Or it might get us to use our vast monetary resources to help people all over the world, often through agencies like Healing Hands International. Or agencies like Eastern European Missions who print the Bible in the major world languages so people can learn about Jesus dying for their sins. Don’t forget to pray for missionaries who are preaching the gospel all over the world, even in Muslim countries.

There is one mediator between God and man, i.e. Jesus Christ. The term “mesités” refers to a mediator, one who intervenes between two parties to restore peace, make a covenant, or ratify an agreement. In the New Testament, it is primarily used to describe Jesus Christ as the mediator between God and humanity, highlighting His role in reconciling sinful humans to a holy God through His sacrificial death and resurrection. The Greek word for “reconciliation” in the New Testament is “katallage” (καταλλαγή). Meaning:“Katallage” literally means “exchange” or “adjustment of a difference,” and in the context of the Bible, it refers to the act of restoring a broken relationship, particularly between God and humanity through Jesus Christ. It is used in 2 Corinthians 5:¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ¹⁸All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

I decided to split 1 Timothy 2 into 2 articles. I just want this first part, the call to prayer for all people and rulers all over the world, to be something that we all need to do more of. I plan to try to answer that call better in the future.

How about you?

1 TIMOTHY CHAPTER 1

On December 2, 2024December 2, 2024 By nrfaughtLeave a comment

First, let’s establish the time of writing and circumstances of writing. These charts help:

Acts closes with Paul in Rome during those 2 years. He was released, traveled widely over the Roman Empire for 2-3 years, going perhaps as far as Spain, before his last imprisonment and martyrdom. He wrote 1 Timothy from Macedonia (1 Tim 1:3) in 66 AD (on his way to Nicopolis, Tit 3:12) to Timothy who was in Ephesus. He states a desire to visit Timothy (1 Tim 3:14,15;4:13). The style and subject matter are very different, but it would make sense that, as Paul nears death and the end of the miraculous period is nearing, he directs Timothy (and Titus later also) in matters like public prayer, the subjective position of women, qualifications for future elders and deacons, church support of widows, rebuking of elders, and the use of wealth. He also condemns the Law teaching Judaizers, Hymenaeus and Alexander by name (2 Tim 2:17), warns of an apostasy, warns against worldly fables, warns about false teachers who have a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words and constant friction who are preaching for gain (6:3ff), and tells him to guard what was entrusted to him, avoiding arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge” (1 Tim 6:20-21). This last heresy was already developing in Colossians, a Jewish prre-gnostic heresy. He also gives personal encouragement to Timothy in this ministry of teaching and preaching the word, stressing personal purity and faithfulness to his ministry (1 Tim 4:11ff; 6:11ff).

Here is a map of Paul’s last journey after release from Roman house arrest (Acts 28) without showing a visit to Spain (tradition says he did that trip).

Here’s another map that include the possible visit to Spain before he heads to Crete.

There are some good commentaries on 1 Timothy such as: blueletterbible.org is good by David Guzik. This is an intro:

https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/eo/1ti/1ti000.cfm. Then it has studies of each individual chapter.

My goal is to try to examine how each chapter applies to us and to “church” today.

Chapter 1

Warning Against False Teachers 1:3-11

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/1-timothy/1-timothy-1.cfm by David Guzik

1:³As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, ⁴nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.”

The church at Ephesus has quite a history. Paul established the church there in Acts 19 on his 3rd missionary journey (53-57 AD: see the chart above). He stayed 3 years there. After a riot led by Demetrius the silversmith who made idols of the goddess Diana (or Artemis), he left for Macedonia. He returned near Ephesus at Miletus where he called for the elders of the Ephesian church to come. He warned them: Acts 20:²⁸Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. ²⁹I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; ³⁰and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. ³¹Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. ³²And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” He wrote the letter to the Ephesians while in 2 years of house arrest (Acts 28) in Rome (60-62 AD), but there is no mention of false teachers in that letter. But it is not surprising, as he warned, that false teachers, even from among the elders, would arise in the church by the time he wrote this letter, 1 Timothy, to Timothy in Ephesus in 63 AD, about 5 years after he established the church there. On his missionary journey after he was released from house arrest in Rome, he passed near or through Ephesus (probably only near Ephesus) and left Timothy there to deal with the false teachers.

It was about this same time, 63 AD, that John the apostle wrote Revelation. In Revelation 2: “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

²“‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. ³I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. ⁴But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. ⁵Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. ⁶Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ⁷He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’ John commends the church at Ephesus, led by its elders, for identifying and refuting false apostles there, even the Nicolaitans. The church must have become very rigid about fighting false teachers and maintaining doctrinal purity. The Nicolaitans were a heretical group of Christians in the early church who were known for their immoral and idolatrous practices. John did rebuke the church at Ephesus for leaving their “first love”. We can only wonder if the church at Ephesus heeded John’s warning and returned to their first love. Some say the church died out in the 2nd century, although I have seen no hard proof of that. It is possible today to have a church today that is committed to fighting doctrinal error but one that has lost the love that Jesus wanted his followers to be known for (John 13:³⁴A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. ³⁵By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” I was raised in a church that kinda fits that description. My church was so intent on fighting doctrinal error that it ended up creating its own sectarian legalism, unlovingly judging and condemning any who disagreed with their sectarian teaching.

Guzik: “Perhaps the endless genealogies (1 Timothy 1:4) had to do with Gnostic-type theories of “emanations” from God. Perhaps they were connected with Jewish-type legalism that sought righteousness by virtue of one’s ancestry. Or perhaps he had in mind doctrinal systems based on mystic readings of Old Testament genealogies. Ancient Jewish writings have been discovered which dig into the most complex genealogies, connecting them with wild speculations about spiritual mysteries. A consuming interest in these kinds of things will crowd out godly edification which is in faith.”

Christian history is full of such false doctrines over the past 2,000 years. Church of God of prophecy claims to have traced the the genealogy of the ‘lost 10 tribes” of the northern kingdom of Israel, with Ephraim being Great Britain and Manasseh being the U.S. Mormons add the Book of Mormon to the same authority as the New Testament. Latter-day Saints believe the Book of Mormon to be a record of God’s dealings principally with another group of Israelites he brought to the Western Hemisphere from Jerusalem about 600 b.c. They anticipated the birth and coming of Jesus Christ and believed in his Atonement and gospel. Such false doctrines lead to speculation since none of them can be verified. They distract from “the stewardship of God which is by faith”. Paul spoke of this stewardship (oikonomia: Stewardship, administration, management, dispensation) in Ephesians 3:1 “For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— ²assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, ³how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly.” A person would be appointed to manage the estate or affairs of someone. Paul, by the direct revelation of the Holy Spirit, was made a steward to tell the Gentiles about the mystery (musterion) of the gospel, i.e. uniting Jew and Gentile believers in the one body of the saved, i.e. the church. The other apostles had been led to “all truth” by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13; 14:26). Paul was an apostles of equal authority. The New Testament contains all the truth that we need to not be tossed about by every wind of doctrine. Ephesians 4:¹³until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” Beware of any doctrine that is not clearly taught in the New Testament.

1 Timothy 1:⁵The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. ⁶Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, ⁷desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.” Those who teach the revealed gospel (whether it is the original apostles and Paul or us today) are charged (paraggelia: Command, instruction, charge) to teach the gospel without changing or adding to it. Those teaching must have pure motives: a pure heart, good conscience, and a sincere faith. The motives of most false teachers are lust, money, sex, and power. The paid preacher system can put preachers on a pedestal that leads them to scandals involving sex or money. The cult leaders are key examples of impure motives of sex, money, and power.

1:⁸Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, ⁹understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, ¹⁰the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, ¹¹in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.”

“Sound (hugiainó: To be sound, to be healthy, to be well; often used of someone bein in good physical health) doctrine”: in other words, teachings that will promote good spiritual health. Apparently the false teachers in Ephesus taught unhealthy doctrines that promoted the sins listed in these verses. Apparently they tolerated or allowed these sins. Does that sound like many of the liberal Christian denominations today? For example, “homosexuality” is arsenokoites: Homosexual, sodomite: Derived from ἄρσην (arsen, meaning “male”) and κοίτη (koite, meaning “bed” or “lying down”), indicating a male engaging in sexual activity with another male. This is the same word used in 1 Corinthians 6:9 list of sins. Paul was “entrusted” with teaching the gospel but the gospel called for repenting of sins. But what is sin in the eyes of God? People might define sin based on their opinions and emotions, but sin must be defined based of God’s word as given us by, in this passage, Paul. Of course, many liberals say that Paul was not inspired by the Holy Spirit, that he was just giving his homophobic opinions that we don’t have to follow today. But Paul was an inspired apostle. At the same time, almost all would say that Peter was an inspired apostle. But Peter wrote this in 2 Peter 3:¹⁵And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, ¹⁶as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. ¹⁷You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. ¹⁸But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” The apostle Peter is saying that Paul’s writings are “scripture” just like the other scriptures (old testament scriptures). The writings of Paul, Peter, John, Matthew, and others would be considered scriptures also. So if you accept Peter as an apostle, and few Christians question that, then you have to accept Paul as an apostle.

Christ Jesus Came to Save Sinners 1:12-20

1:¹²I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, ¹³though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, ¹⁴and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. ¹⁶But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. ¹⁷To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

In this section Paul seems to be telling how and why he was entrusted with the gospel even though he was formerly a “blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent (hubristés: Insolent, violent, arrogant, one who behaves with wanton violence or outrage)”. Paul began persecuting Christians in Acts 7:⁵⁸Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. Then some time later, Acts 9:1 And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. ²Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. ³But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Acts 9:1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest ²and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.” He told Agrippa in Acts 26:⁹“I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. ¹¹And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities. Acts 22:⁴I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women. It was on his way to Damascus that the resurrected Jesus appeared to him. He became a believer in Jesus, was baptized by Ananias in Damascus (Acts 22:¹⁶And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name), and began his ministry to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. He returned to Jerusalem but Jesus appeared to him again, telling him to get out of Jerusalem b/c the Jews there would not listen to his preaching. Acts 22: ¹⁹And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. ²⁰And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’ ²¹And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’” Galatians 1:¹³For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it.”

But Paul received mercy b/c he acted “ignorantly in unbelief”. He thought that the Jewish Christians were blasphemers b/c Jesus claimed to be equal with God (John 5:¹⁸This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.) He sincerely thought that he was doing what God waned him to do by killing Christians. He became a mass murderer and torturer of Christians, entering homes to find Jewish Christians to beat them. But in 1 Timothy 1:¹⁴ the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” All his past sins were “washed away” when he was baptized (Acts 22:16).

Baptism alone does not save, but it is part of saving faith. It is an act of faith; it is not a work that one does to earn salvation. We believe the gospel, confess Jesus to be the Son of God, repent of our sins, but it is in baptism that our sins are washed away. Saul (Paul) was not saved on the road to Damascus when he saw Jesus. He was saved when he was baptized. This is what Jesus, after he was raised from the dead, told the apostles in Mark 16:¹⁵And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. ¹⁶Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Peter told those asking “what must we do to be saved”, Acts 2:³⁸And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Forgiveness of sins comes after baptism, not before (as some teach). It is an act of faith: Colossians 2:¹²having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. ¹³And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses”. Baptism is the moment of being raised from being spiritually dead (also raised up from the water) to walk in newness of life. Romans 6:³Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

Some think that we are teaching a works salvation when we teach that one is not saved till they are baptized, but we are not. We are just saying that the Scriptures teach that baptism is an essential part of saving faith, just like repentance and confess. Peter is the apostle who taught that forgiveness comes after baptism (Acts 2:38 above). Later in one of Peter’s letters Peter even used the phrasse, “baptism now saves you”. 1 Peter 3:¹⁸For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, ¹⁹in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, ²⁰because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. ²¹Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²²who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.” Was Peter teaching baptism only saves? No, but he was teaching that it is at baptism that one is saved by water, just as Noah and his family were saved by water from the sinful society that surrounded them. I’v heard many preachers say, “baptism doesn’t save”, but Peter plainly said “baptism now saves you”. In context, we understand why Peter could say that. I always compare baptism to Namaan’s dipping in the Jordan River 7 times to be healed of leprosy. That was what Elisha the prophet had told him to do, and he was reluctant at first. He did go dip 7 times and was healed of his leprosy. Was it the water that healed him? No. Was it the number of times he dipped? No. Could Elijah have just healed him without the dipping in water? Yes, but he didn’t. But the fact remains, he was healed after he obeyed in faith the command to be dipped 7 times in the Jordan River. I think baptism is an act of faith similar to the story of Namaan.

Please remember that baptism in the name of Jesus (also in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) was only a command for salvation for those living after the death of Jesus. It was a new covenant command. That’s why the thief on. the cross could be saved while on his cross without being baptized. Someone will say, “what if someone is on his way to be baptized and falls dead before he gets to the water?” That doesn’t change what the scriptures teach about baptism and salvation. I do feel, however, that God is a gracious God so I will leave that person’s salvation up to God. What if a person is sprinkled instead of immersed? The Greek word for baptism is baptizó: To baptize, to immerse, to dip. I know I would want to do exactly what Jesus said, to be immersed. Namaan was told to “dip in the Jordan River”, not to just pour some water on his head. Again, though, I will leave to God the salvation of a person who is sprinkled with water instead of immersed. Mother Teresa, being a Cathholic, ws probably sprinkled as a child instead of adult believer immersion, but I would hope that would not keep her out of heaven! If she doesn’t make it, how can I? What if a person does the “sinner’s prayer”, asking Jesus to come into his heart and save him before baptism, later to be baptized as an outward sign showing that he was saved? Again, surely God would still saved that person even if that isn’t exactly the way it was done in the book of Acts. As you can tell, I am pretty convicted that the scriptures teach that baptism is essential to salvation, but I am pretty tolerant of those who don’t understand baptism the way I do.

Back to 1 Timothy1:12-17. Paul said that the grace and mercy that saved him, the “chief of sinners b/c of his killing Christians, confirmed the saying: ¹⁵The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” If God’s grace could saved Paul in spite of his sins, then God’s grace can save anyone. Paul said that his salvation was “an example” for others for all time. John Newton was a slave trader, but was saved.

Paul closes chapter 1 with ¹⁸This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, ¹⁹holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, ²⁰among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
Apparently some prophet had predicted that Timothy would be an evangelist, preaching the gospel. Paul told him to have that “sincere faith and good conscience” that he mentioned in 1:5. We don’t know the exact sins of Hymenaeus and Alexander except that it was bad enough for Paul to hand them over to Satan, i.e. to withdraw fellowship from them as heretics. 2 Tim 2:17 does mention a Hymenaeus who was teaching that the resurrection of the dead had already happened, so that might be the same Hymenaeus here in 1 Timothy 1, and that might be his heretical sin.

Again, I encourage you to study this chapter using the blueletterbible.org site by David Guzak. I encourage you to be saved just as Paul was in order to receive the grace of God no matter how sinful you have been. I encourage you, as part of your saving faith, to be baptized (immersed) in water for the forgiveness of sins just as Paul was (Acts 22:16). I hope you would study the subject of baptism in the new testament if need be to get your own conviction of what baptism should be.

Thanks for reading.

A review of martyrs facing death and how Jesus faced His death. How will I face death?

On December 1, 2024 By nrfaughtLeave a comment

Have you thought much about actually facing the moment you know you are dying or about to die? How do you think you will feel? Afraid? Peaceful? Confident? Relieved? Excited?

As I get older (soon to be 75), I think a lot about facing death. I watched my dad face death when the docs told him he had 2 years to live (72 at the time) and there was no cure for his lung disease. I think he found a much deeper faith and peace during that 2 years. I watched my mom die at 90? I think she was relieved. She told me, “I am tired of living (b/c of the pain)”? She was ready to go. I watched my wife’s dad die of Alzheimer’s. As many of you know, a terrible way to die. A self made man, WWII vet, always the one who was strong and took care of others. But left to have others take care of him and be totally dependent on others with no quality of life.

Of course, I don’t know how I will die. Many have died for their faith over the 2,000 years of Christian history. Jesus spoke of those killed by the Jews for their faith in the Old Testament. Matthew 23:²⁹“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³²Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. ³³You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? ³⁴Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, ³⁵so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. ³⁶Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.” God avenged the death of those martyrs in 70 AD when He sent the Romans to destory the temple and Jerusalem, killing one million wicked Jews. Abel, Zechariah (2 Chronicles 24:20-21 a Zechariah son of Jehoida was stoned for condemning the sins of the king but he wasn’t the son of Barachiah so who is the Zechariah Jesus spoke of?), Uriah (killed by King Jehoiakim in Jeremiah 26:20-23), Isaiah (if tradition is true and he was sawn into, Hebrews 11:37), and many others that we don’t know about. Elijah spoke of martyrs: 1 Kings 19:⁹There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁰He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” Wicked Jezebel killed the prophets: 1 Kings 18:⁴and when Jezebel cut off (karath: To cut, cut off, cut down, make a covenant: probably means killed in this verse b/c Obadiah hid 100 prophets from her) the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.)

John the Baptist was beheaded for condemning Herod’s marriage. Stephen was the first New Testament martyr for faith in Jesus that we know about (Acts 7), followed by James the apostle (Acts 12), Antipas (Rev 2:12,13). Tradition says that Paul was beheaded by Nero and Peter was crucified upside down, considering himself to be unworthy of dying in exact same manner that Jesus died. Tradition says that all the apostles died a martyr’s death (https://www.usfra.org/groups/ChaplainsCorner/blogs/how-the-apostles-died). John the apostle died a martyr’s death contrary to many saying that he lived to the age of 100 and died a peaceful death. Jesus predicted his martyrdom (Mark 10:39 And Jesus said to them (i.e. the apostle brothers James and John), “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized,” That cup can only be death since Jesus prayed in the Garden “Father, let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39). The early church father Papias (60-130 AD said that John the apostle did die a martyrs death by a group of Jews. He doesn’t give the date of John’s death, but he says that John died a martyr just as Jesus predicted for the 2 brothers. I think the time of his death could only be before 70 AD when the Jews had the ability to kill Christians. Tradition says they killed James the Lord’s brother just before 70 AD. The Jews would not have been able to martry Cristians around 100 AD. Be that as it may, he died a martyr’s death of else Jesus’s prediction was false. John’s brother James the apostle died a martyr in Acts 12. BTW this tells us that all of John’s gospel and letters (1,2,3 John and Revelation) were written before he died before 70 AD.

Then there were the famous martyrs of early Christian history. Polycarp of Smyrna in 203 AD: According to the Martyrdom of Polycarp, he died a martyr, bound and burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed to consume his body. Justin Martyr in 165 AD. Perpetua and Felicity (her slave servant who was pregant): Perpetua, age 22; had an infant son (still nursing, but gave the child to Christians to keep), killed at military games in honor of the emperor. The 40 martyrs of Sebaste: in 320 AD: this story is so interesting that I am quoting it from Wikipedia:”According to Basil, forty soldiers who had openly confessed themselves Christians were condemned by the prefect to be exposed naked upon a frozen pond near Sebaste on a bitterly cold night, that they might freeze to death. Among the confessors, one yielded and, leaving his companions, sought the warm baths near the lake which had been prepared for any who might prove inconstant. Upon immersion into the cauldron, the one who yielded went into shock and immediately died. One of the guards, Aglaius, was set to keep watch over the martyrs and beheld at this moment a supernatural brilliancy overshadowing them. He at once proclaimed himself a Christian, threw off his garments, and joined the remaining thirty-nine.^[3] Thus the number of forty remained complete. At daybreak, the stiffened bodies of the confessors, which still showed signs of life, were burned and the ashes cast into a river. Christians, however, collected the precious remains, and the relics were distributed throughout many cities. Veneration of the Forty Martyrs became widespread.^[1] “Forty Martyrs of Sebaste”. Oxford Reference. Retrieved 10 March 2024. Agnes of Rome: A virgin, her high-ranking suitors, slighted by her resolute devotion to religious purity, sought to persecute her for her beliefs. Her father urged her to deny God, but she refused, and she was dragged naked through the streets to a brothel, then tried and sentenced to death. She was eventually beheaded,” in 304 AD. (Wikipedia)

The Middle Ages: Jan Huss: 1415, he was burned at the stake for heresy against the teachings of the Catholic Church. Joan of Arc: She was put on trial by Bishop Pierre Cauchon on accusations of heresy, which included blaspheming by wearing men’s clothes, acting upon visions that were demonic, and refusing to submit her words and deeds to the judgment of the church. She was declared guilty and burned at the stake on 30 May 1431, aged about nineteen. Girolamo Savonarola: In 1498 he was condemned, hanged and his body burned. William Tyndale:

The Reformation Period. Willaim Tyndate: Tyndale “was strangled to death^[e] while tied at the stake, and then his dead body was burned”.^[43] His final words, spoken “at the stake with a fervent zeal, and a loud voice”, were reported later as “Lord! Open the King of England’s eyes.”^[44][45]

While the aforementioned martyrs are some of the most famous martyrs, the statistics for modern Christian martyrdom is unbelievable. Here is a great site: http://theestherproject.com/statistics/

Sharing some of those stats from that site: More than 70 million Christians have been martyred in the course of history (some question that statistic, saying that much of the killing was ethnic related than Christian martyrdom). More than half were martyred in the 20th century under communist and fascist government (Gordon-Conwell Resources).In the 21st century, roughly 100,000 to 160,000 Christians were killed each year (Gordon-Conwell Resources and World Christian Database, respectively). Roughly 1,093,000 Christians were martyred, worldwide, between 2000 and 2010 (World Christian Database). 800,000 Christians were targeted for their faith and martyred in the Democratic Republic of Congo between 1998 and 2007, in the time surrounding their civil war (World Christian Database). Roughly 50,000 Christians were martyred during the North-South Sudan violence that officially ended in 2003 (World Christian Database). An estimated 700,000 Christians were killed in North Korean prison camps between 1948 and 1987 (Crimson Crucible).

The organization Voice of the Martyrs has since 1967 been telling the story of persecuted Christians all over the world, inspiring efforts to relieve their suffering in many ways. The organization was founded by Richard Wurmbrand, a Romanian pastor who experienced severe persecution under the communist regime in his country, which likely influenced the choice of the name. Indeed, many of the VOM stories are martyrs, killed for their faith. After all, 322 Christians are killed for their faith worldwide each month.

This article began as my own feelings about facing my death. Reading my own research about Christian martyrs, past and present, makes me a little ashamed. All those martyrs courageously died for their faith, looking forward to eternal life with God. I don’t think any of them ever had any doubts about how they would face death. Hebrews 12:Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ²looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. “For the joy set before Him”. I never thought of it like this, but Jesus was a martyr. Early Christians considered Jesus to be the first and greatest martyr because of his crucifixion. Someone might disagree with that b/c Jesus said that his was giving up his life voluntarily (John 10:¹⁸No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”), but he was still killed for his faith in the Father, so I think that is martyrdom.

How did Jesus face death? Matthew 26:36-46 New American Standard Bible

The Garden of Gethsemane

³⁶Then Jesus *came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and *told His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷And He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with Him, and began to be grieved and distressed. ³⁸Then He *said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.”

³⁹And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” ⁴⁰And He *came to the disciples and *found them sleeping, and He *said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? ⁴¹Keep watching and praying, so that you do not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

⁴²He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cup cannot pass away unless I drink from it, Your will be done.” ⁴³Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. ⁴⁵Then He *came to the disciples and *said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶Get up, let’s go; behold, the one who is betraying Me is near!”

“Deeply grieved and distressed to the point of death”. (AI) “Jesus was suffering in his soul and body, overwhelmed and sorrowful as he was betrayed and abandoned. He experienced grief, rejection, humiliation, and ridicule. He opened himself to hatred and hostility, persecution, and threats on his life”. From Christina Williams: “He confesses a deeply troubled state of mind. Jesus describes this as being so distressed that He almost feels the emotion would kill Him. Jesus’ language describing His distress resembles some of what David wrote in the Psalms. For instance, David wrote in Psalm 143:3–4, “For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled.” Jesus even felt forsaken by the Father. “My God, my God, what hast thou forsaken me?” He knew he was volunteering to die for the sins of the world. He knew he was doing it for His Father. He was “taking one for the team”. He was obeying the Father. Hebrews 5:^{7 ”}In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. ⁸Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. ⁹And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.” The Hebrew writer adds “with loud cries and tears” to the gospel accounts of that last night in the Garden of Gethsemane. How loud were his cries in the Garden? The disciples still didn’t wake up. Can you just imagine that scene? Your friend and master is “a little ways” off from you. He has told you to “keep watch” for him. He is crying “loudly” in agony, and yet you fall asleep. Jesus returns and rebukes them, and goes off again. 3 times he this is repeated, and you fall asleep each time. Truly, “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”.

Jesus found no “joy” while he suffered and while he was being crucified. But “for the joy set before him”, knowing that after his death he would be raised from the dead and ascend back to the Father to be restored to the glory he had with the Father before the world began. John 17:⁴I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. ⁵And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” He no doubt kept thinking about that as he was suffering on the cross.

I hope that I would have the courage to die as a martyr for my faith if it came to that. In America, I don’t think we really think that is possible. In North Korea, for example, that is a real possibility. Maybe I will die by an accident of some kind, but most likely I will some day die of some disease. Again, I can’t predict who I will handle that. Hopefully, my thoughts about this world will leave me. I won’t be worried about things b/c they won’t matter any more. I won’t be worried about “what if” b/c the “what if” is finally here. Time to face the music. Hopefully my thoughts will focus on the “joy set before me”, the joy of eternal life. The joy of seeing my parents again. Will we know each other? I don’t know, but I think so. The joy of being reunited with other loved ones and people I helped lead to Jesus over the years. Hopefully with the courage to face death that will be an example to my kids and grandkids and others to encourage them to give their lives to Jesus to prepare for their death some day.

This article was for me, but I hope it was encouraging for you.

THANKSGIVING 2024

On November 27, 2024 By nrfaughtLeave a comment

I love that!

THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE

Think of all the people you love. Then think of all the people who love you! My parents loved me, but never expressed it verbally or with hugs. My mom spent a major part of her life putting my needs ahead of her needs (pretty much spoiling me!). My dad worked 50 hrs/wk to provide for me: he took me fishing a lot and watched every baseball game I ever played in. But neither said “I love you” or hugged until my dad was 72 and was given 2 years to live (lung disease). Both said “I love you” a lot more after that. I still struggle with loving her b/c I am so selfish, and I struggled with showing emotion. My poor wife has lived with that for 54 years now. Unfortunately I am like the old man whose old wife asked him why he never tells her that he loves her. He told her, “Woman, I told you I loved the night we got married; I’ll let you know if I change my mind”. You’ve heard that one, huh? I do try to express love and hug, but it is still difficult. I’m thankful that my wife and 3 children are far more loving than I am. I’m thankful for all the people that have loved me along life’s journey. They all kinda tolerate my grumpy disposition! I know the Spirit of God can help us do and feel things that are not in our normal character and disposition. When you love someone whom you normally dislike, then God is glorified for what His Spirit is doing in you. I’ll keep working on it. I thank God that He has put so many people in my life that loved me.

THE PLACES YOU’VE SEEN

Again, my poor wife. I don’t like to travel. I get stressed out easily about every little thing or situation or “what if” that might happen or happens on a trip. My family dread traveling with me b/c fo that. I’ve gotten a little better, but still I really don’t want to travel. My wife loves to travel. Anywhere, it doesn’t matter where. Fortunately, the Lord pushed me out of the nest, and instead of going to Vietnam (I almost was drafted, I was 1A when I finished my engineering degree) my wife and I went to Trinidad, West Indies for 3 years (maybe the best years of my ministry) and then 2 years in Colombia, South America. Since then we have made trips to Vancouver, Italy, Honduras, back to Trinidad with some of my kids, Costa Rica (20 years ago), and Baja, Mexico. Recently we have made trips with our entire family to Puerto Rico and to Costa Rica. Each of those trip created memories that I hope I never forget. (AI) “Travel Is Fatal To Prejudice, Bigotry, And Narrow-Mindedness. So Is Returning Home. Mark Twain wrote, “Travel is fatal to prejuidce, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.” I needed those trips to get me to experience some great things in life that I would have missed otherwise. I got to see the Coliseum in Rome where Christians were persecuted, Pompeii where Mt Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, the Butchart Gardens in Vancouver, Volcano Arenal in Costa Rica, and many other places. I thank God that he pushed me out of my nest to go to all these places.

MEMORIES YOU’VE MADE ALONG THE WAY

God has given me many good memories during my 75 years (along with the travel memories). As stated, the travel created many memories: snorkling among coral reefs in the Caribbean Sea, the Butchart Gardens in Vancouver, a lady peeling tomatillos in a barrel of freezing weater for $1/hr in Baja Mexico, visiting Hugh and Dorothy Minor in Vancouver, teaching in a Saturday school of preaching for local leaders in Trinidad, our parents visiting us in Colombia South America, driving to the beaches in Vieques Island Puerto Rico with the kids, the family staying on the beach in Tamarindo Costa Rica, eating a great breakfast with family at our very nice place right at the foot of Volcano Arenal in Costa Rica, the wedding ceremonies of our 3 children- all finding godly mates, as a principal at a fledgling but great Christian school in Birmingham Alabama, courting and dating my current wife from the time she was in the 9th grade, playing baseball at the famous Rickwood Field in Birmingham (180 Hall of Fame MLB players have played there), fishing at Smith Lake where we built two cabins and spent most of my high school weekends, 2 years of nothing but bible study at a school of preaching in West Monro Louisiana, and on and on I could go. It is Thanksgiving, 2024, and I want to thank God for all these memories. I have several bad memories, but the good far outweigh the bad.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

This article is all about me with people, places, and memories that mean nothing to you, the reader. But I have enjoyed thinking about the people I love (and those who loved me), the places I have been, and the memories made along the way. I would encourage you, right now after reading this article, to write down your people you have loved, places you have been, and memories you have made along the way. I assure you it wil make you even more grateful during this Thanksgiving season.

GETTING OLDER and SEASONS OF LIFE (ALSO DISCUSSION OF ABORTION)

On November 26, 2024 By nrfaughtLeave a comment

I guess I am writing this article for my own sake as I am about to turn 75 on 12/10/2024. I told my Bible students at MA that I was about to enter the 4th quarter of life (75-100 age). (AI) “The average life expectancy for men in the United States in 2024 is 76.1 years. This is five years less than the average life expectancy for women, which is 81.1 years.” One of my students reminded me that my life expectancy is only 76.1 years. In other words, if this were a football game, I would be in the 2 minute period of the 4th quarter (not just starting the 4th quarter as I had told them. If I make it another year past 2025, I will be in “overtime” and that doesn’t last long (a few plays and your done one way or the other). So in my “morning musings” I decided to do an article, maybe to cheer me up.

Isaiah 46: 3“Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,

who have been borne by me from before your birth,
    carried from the womb;
⁴even to your old age I am he,
    and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
    I will carry and will save.”

“Before your birth”? I.e., in the womb. God guided the entire gestation process for 9 months. He put the DNA that is unique to each person in that fetus and it began to program out the development of every part of the baby till birth.

Psalm 139:13 For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.^[a]
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.

Abortion. I read this on AI:

“Some people argue that abortion is the killing of a life because they believe a fetus is a person with a right to life. This line of reasoning is based on the following ideas:

A fetus is a person
People have a right to life
Therefore, a fetus has a right to life
It is wrong to kill a being with a right to life
Therefore, it is wrong to kill a fetus

Some people believe that a fetus is a person from the moment of conception. They argue that a fetus is an innocent human being with its own DNA, and that abortion is the murder of an innocent life.” So then I asked AI (my new Siri), “is there life in the womb?” I was surprised to get this answer. “Yes, according to the scientific consensus, life in the womb exists from the moment of conception when a sperm fertilizes an egg, forming a single cell called a zygote, which marks the beginning of a new human life; this developing organism is considered a fetus throughout pregnancy and is considered to be “alive” within the womb.” “Scientific evidence that indicates life within the womb includes: the presence of a unique DNA distinct from the mother’s at conception, continuous cell division and development into a complex organism with organs like a beating heart, brain activity, movement, response to stimuli like sound and light, and the ability to learn and recognize sounds and patterns while still in the womb, all starting from the moment of fertilization when a sperm meets an egg to form a zygote; essentially, a fetus exhibits all the biological criteria considered indicative of life.”

“The most definitive sign of a living fetus, usually detectable via ultrasound around 6-7 weeks of pregnancy.” Surely the pro-abortion advocates would agree that if there is a heartbeat, then there is life (or would they?). So, for the same of argument, we can at least say life begins at 6-7 weeks (about 1 1/2 months). The fetus has a heart by that time for sure. So that heart has been devloping from conception, programmed by the baby’s DNA. At what point during that first 6-7 weeks are you going to say that you do not think there was life in the fetus? At 5 weeks? At 4 weeks? At 3, or 2 weeks? In which week before 6-7 weeks would you say, “there is no life in this fetus so we can abort the feetus without killing a living fetus baby?” I can’t iimagine being the abortion doctor and having to decide in an abortion I am doing in week 4 of a pregnant woman, “am I just removing some non-living tissues or am I killing a living fetus baby?” How can a pregnant woman make that decision to allow the doctor to do the abortion without being sure if the fetus if living or not?”

As I said, I was surprised at the AI answer (which I think was taken verbatim from some pro-life articles), but how would God answer that question, “is there life in the womb”, and if so, “when does that life begin”. Back to Psalm 139:13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. ¹⁶Your eyes saw my unformed substance” When did God begin “knitting together the inward parts of the yet unformed (not fully formed baby yet) substance”? As science has shown, and no rational pro-abortionists could refute this, all the DNA is present when the sperm and egg. unite to form a zygote at conception. So I think Psalm 139 is God saying that life begins at conception. God even says that he knew certain individuals while they were in the womb. Jeremiah 1:4-5: “Then the word of the Lord came to me saying ‘Before you were born I knew you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations'” Paul said, Galatians 1:¹⁵But when he who had set me apart before I was born.”

But perhaps the strongest case from the Bible that God says that life is in the womb is from Exodus 21:²²“When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. ²³But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, ²⁴eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” In. other words, if striking the pregnant woman causes her child to to born dead (stillborn or miscarriage), then the one who struck the woman (even if unintentional) will die, life for life (stoned to death?). The pro-abortionists might say, “well that might be a pregnancy in the third trimester (6th – 9th week of pregnancy”. But does God say, “if the fetus is 6 weeks or more, then life for life” in these verses? The verses just specify, “a pregnant woman”. So if the woman is pregant at all, then the punishment applied. So, in my opinion, the verses teach that God considers all of the 9 months of pregnancy to be life in the womb. I found this in article, saying that pro-abortionists see these verses as proving just the opposite. “Exodus 21, for example, suggests that a pregnant woman’s life is more valuable than the fetus’s. This text describes a scenario in which men who are fighting strike a pregnant woman and cause her to miscarry. A monetary fine is imposed if the woman suffers no other harm beyond the miscarriage. However, if the woman suffers additional harm, the perpetrator’s punishment is to suffer reciprocal harm, up to life for life.” (From theconversation.com). They try to say that these verses show that life in the womb is considered by God to be of less importance that the mother’s life. I don’t see that at all!!!!!!!

Bottom line, since even most pro-abortionists believe that life begins at some point in the womb (maybe in the third trimester since often that was when even they believed that abortions should be banned), then how can someone say when in the gestation that life actually began (what month). If that be the case, how could someone abort a fetus or perform an abortion knowing that uncertainty exists?

Isaiah 46 jumps from “before your birth, carried from your womb (birth), to “old ages and gray hairs”. BTW Proverbs 16:31“Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness”. This verse suggests that gray hair is a sign of a life well lived and a commitment to righteousness. Proverbs 20:29“The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old”. This verse suggests that gray hair is a sign of wisdom and honor.” Do you remember that 1980 Clairol commercial with the song “I’m gonna wash that gray right outa my hair”? Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc6f0M7h9b4I understand, but why be ashamed of the gray hair of old age? Why try to make yourself look young when you aren’t? Aren’t you satisfied with that last old age stage of life that God gives you without trying to hold on to younger stages? I must admit, I did use some of that but only once!!!!!!!!! I tell my wife all that and she still spend $75 once a month to color her hair from gray to brown. No one listens to me!

So what about that stage between birth and old age, Isaiah? Start with childhood. The pain and yet the joy of childbirth: “When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world” (John 16:21).”Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.”(Psalm 127:3-5). Apparently children under the “age of accountability” are pure and free of sin: But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:16). Of course that refutes the idea that babies are born inheriting Adam’s sin, called “original sin”, from the fall. Catholicism has always taught that babies need to be born quickly to get rid of that inherited sin or else they will go to Catholic purgatory for babies which is called limbo. I found this to be very interesting from AI: In Catholic theology, limbo is the place where souls who die in original sin but are not condemned to hell reside. It is a border area between heaven and hell where souls are not punished but are also not able to experience eternal happiness with God in heaven. The concept of limbo developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Medieval theologians believed that limbo was divided into two parts:

Limbo of the Fathers: The place where Old Testament saints were thought to reside until Christ’s “descent into hell”
Limbo of the Infants: The place where unbaptized children and the mentally impaired reside

The Catholic Church’s official catechism, published in 1992, did not mention limbo. The International Theological Commission (ITC) issued a document in 2007 that reduced the teaching of limbo from “common doctrine” to “a possible theological hypothesis”. The ITC concluded that there is less certainty about the salvation of infants who die without baptism than for those who are baptized.” In other words, Catholicism may be backing off the idea that unbaptized babies who die go to limbo. It’s funny how Catholics can something is the word of God through the pope and then later say it isn’t exactly so! Romans 5: ¹²Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned”. A person only dies spiritually when he chooses to sin, not when he is born with original sin. BTW Jesus said “he that believes and is baptized shall be saved ” (Mark 16:16). Christian baptism is only for those who can believe. What good does it do to baptize a child who can’t believe? The book of Acts gives several cases of baptized believers, but not infant baptism. It might be countered that the jailor and “all his household” were baptized (Acts 16:³³And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. ³⁴Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.”). But that would have to assume that he had underage children, and it still wouldn’t change the fact that only believers could be baptized.

At what age is a child considered responsible for choosing sin? That depends on the individual child, of course. Many think the age of 12 or so? This was interesting: “In Judaism, a Bar Mitzvah is typically celebrated at age 13 for boys because it marks the age when they are considered mature enough to fully take on the responsibilities of Jewish adulthood, including observing religious laws and being held accountable for their actions, which is often associated with the onset of puberty; the female equivalent, a Bat Mitzvah, is often celebrated at age 12, also signifying the coming of age based on maturity levels.” I’ve always said that teenage girls mature sooner than boys! I have surely experienced that dealing with immature boys in my Bible classes who sit in desks right next to mature young girls of the same age! Very frustrating! God will bless little children. They have a “guardian angel”. Matthew 18:10 Christ says, “See that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven”. I assume they still have those! But what about when a young child dies? That doesn’t mean that the child’s angel isn’t looking after the child. It may just be that God is allowing that child to die (regardless of why), but that God will take care of that child for eternity in a much better place in heaven. I always think of “The Shack” movie. That little girl went through a hellish nightmare when she was abducted and killed, but Mac was able to later see her playing in the fields with Jesus. God took care of her. Too many parents have become atheists when a child of theirs dies. I know it takes a lot of faith to see your deceased child in heaven, but be assured that it is so. People have always had a tendency to look down on youth b/c young people do a lot of bad, stupid things. Proverbs 20:11 “Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.” Christians youth should be different, and an example to others. Ecclesiastes 11:⁹Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. ¹⁰Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain^[c] from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.” Those verses imply that young people are going to do bad things that can bring the judgment of God on them. They “sow their wild oats”. “Youth and the dawn of life” are called “vanity” (the Hebrew word for vapor, breath: they appear to mean something but in the long run they are a vapor off a steam kettle that lasts for a short while and then disappear). Then the admonition in Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”

What about the “young man or young woman” stage in between birth and old age? Proverbs 20:29 “The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.” The “young men” refer to young people in the prime of their physical strength, essentially signifying the glory of youth as being their physical vitality and energy. I think Timothy was in that “young man” stage when Paul told him in 1 Timothy 4:¹²Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” Paul then told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:22 “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” Passions do run wild in young men when the testosterone is peaking. 1 John 2:14 “I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” It is always good to see young adult Christian men step up to lead, serve, and be mentors to young people. Titus 2:6-8 “Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.” So many young adults lack self control. They act “wild”. They seem to think it is cool to act wild. The young adult Christian man’s goal should be to act like Jesus did in his young adult stage: Luke 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” Psalm 71:5 For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth.”Proverbs 1:8-9 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.” 1 Peter 5:5-7 “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Daniel 1:¹⁷As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.” Those 3 Hebrew “children” were young male adults who defied the king’s command to worship the image even as they were thrown into the fire. They had such faith and courage. Daniel 3:¹⁶Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. ¹⁸But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” We need Christian young men to step up in this world of sin. A lot of young adults live for drinking, sex, materialism, pleasure, and wild times. Let’s not forget about young adult females. Titus 2:4-8 “And so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.” Too many young adult Christian ladies are influenced by fashion, drinking, bar-hopping, one night stands, materialism, pleasure, vanity of how you look, jewelry, etc. Many are more interested in their careers than they are in being godly wives, mothers, homemakers, and examples to others. Many would rather work in their careers than stay home and raise their children in those early formative years, so they turn their very young children over to the grandparents (who often gladly take care of those children) or some day care services. I know there may be extenuating circumstances that require a young mother to work outside the home, but hopefully she can at least stay home with those very young children for those formative years. (Just my opinion). Remember Proverbs 31:30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. ³¹Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.” I laugh when I read proverbs 31 description of the woman who fears the Lord, the ideal godly woman. He describes what that woman should be like, but adds 31:10 An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.” It is like, “this is what she would look like but you won’t find one like this!” Solomon could be a little misogynistic. Ecclesiastes 7:28 “One man among a thousand have I found, but a woman among all those have I not found.” Maybe his experiences with his thousand wives and concubines leading him to idolatry made him pessimistic about women! I do feel sorry for young Christian adults, men and women, trying to find a godly mate today. The field of prospects seems to be very limited. But God will lead you to that right mate, along with listening to good advice from older Christians.

Ok, we finally get to the last stage of Isaiah 46: “old age and gray hairs”. Job 12:12: “So with old age is wisdom, and with length of days understanding”. Older people are not always wiser but often Job is right. In the church, elders were to be older men, proven Christian men (1 Timothy 3) who had “managed their own households”. Yet Paul tells Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:¹⁹Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. ²⁰As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear.” Some of the elders in the church that I have known in my 50 years of ministry were not wise, and really needed to be rebuked. Psalm 71:9: “Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent”. I know what that means. I used to be able to work 12-14 hours a day painting. I would be sore, but recover quickly in the morning. Not so now at 75. I can still work hard and long but not nearly as hard and long as earlier in life. 2 Corinthians 4: ¹⁶So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” Old age and getting “older” should be time that, even as you watch your outer self wasting away, you begin to look forward to your new eternal body in heaven. So we groan with our aches and pains, but look forward. 2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ²For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling”. Psalm 90:10 “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.” That sounds like I’ve got 5 years left at the most! Psalm 37:25 “I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.” Passages like this one bother me a little. Surely David had seen a righteous man and his children being poor and begging.for bread, maybe during one of the famiines God sent on Israel b/c of their sins. I think this is just a general rule but there might be exceptions. Titus 2:2,3 “Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good.” Titus has such good practical advice for young men and women and older men and women. Old age doesn’t mean that we can’g still bear fruit. Psalm 92:14 They will still yield fruit in advanced age; They will be full of sap and very green”

Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low— they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets— “. Is that accurate or what? Eyesight dims, hearing gets bad, bent over walking, teeth decay, legs get weak, hands tremble, you lose the desire to even go out of the house, depression clouds set in, can’t sleep. I have all the symptoms! He says all this is “b/c man is going to his eternal home”. In other words, he is dying. Death is right around the corner. They will be having you funeral in a short while. Psalm 71:17-18 “O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.” As we get older we feel the need to ground our grandchildren in the faith, maybe even our children although hopefully we did that when they were little. Timothy’s mother and grandmother passed down their faith to Timothy. 2 Timothy 1:⁵I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.” Old age may be a time when you reminise about the “good old days”, but Ecclesiastes 7:10 Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.” Anna was 84 and in the temple: Luke 2:36-38 ” And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.” Old age might be a time of prayer and thanks, like Anna did.

Old age is a time of looking back at our life, our accomplishments and our failures. Jacob struggled spiritually all his years: he wrestled with God (thus his name change to Israel) at Penuel and during his whole life. He was about 110 when he moved his family to Egypt to be with Joseph. He was 130 when he told Pharoah: Genesus 47:⁹So Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my living abroad are 130; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their living abroad.” How sad that Jacob looked back at this life and summed up his 130 years as “unpleasant”. They were unpleasant b/c for most of his years he lied to his father, cheated his brother, trusted in his own cunning instead of God, was fearful and cowardly. I hope I don’t end up like that. At least he told Joseph as he was blessing Joseph’s 2 sons: Genesis 48:15 ““The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, ¹⁶The angel who has redeemed me from all evil. That indicates that he finally realized that it was God’s wisdom and power, not his own cunning and strength, that had given him many blessings in life. Some find that awareness of God’s working in their lives as they are on their deathbed.

Psalm 39:5 “Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah” A handbreath is the width of a hand, maybe 6 inches. I look back and it just seems like yesterday that I was young. It seems like a few handbreaths, not 75 years.

Ecclesiastes 6:3 ” If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life’s good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.” Solomon’s phlosophy of life in Ecclesiastes is “eat, drink, and be merry”, enjoy the life God has given you. Put your trust in God and live every day for Him. In that way you will be satisfied with this life when you died, like Abraham. Genesis 25:⁸Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and satisfied with life; and he was gathered to his people. I hope I can one day when I die look back and be satisfied with the life God has given me and ready for the next life in eternity.

This has been long, but 75 years of relection takes a lot of writing.

ISAIAH 44 THE FOLLY OF IDOLATRY; MODERN IDOLATRY

On November 25, 2024 By nrfaughtLeave a comment

In an earlier blog on Isaiah 41-45, Isaiah challenged the gods of the pagan idols to prove their very existence (41:1 set forth your case) by predicting the future (with 100% accuracy). He then gives several predictions about the temple being destroyed (586 BC, 120 years in the future), the return from Babylonian captivity to rebuild the temple (536 BC, 160 years in the future) allowed by Cyrus the king of Persia, naming Cyrus by name about 100 years before he was even born. I gave many other prophecies about nations that were fulfilled in the old testament.

But not only does Isaiah show that the pagan gods cannot predict the future, he then goes on to show the “futility of idol worship” (the foolishness).

Isaiah 44:⁹All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. ¹⁰Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? ¹¹Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.

¹²The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. ¹³The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. ¹⁴He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. ¹⁵Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. ¹⁶Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” ¹⁷And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”

¹⁸They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. ¹⁹No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” ²⁰He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

There is not much need of commentary here. Isaiah scoffs at the idea of a man planting and growing a tree, cutting it down after it is grown, using half of the fallen tree to make fires to rost his meat, and uses the other half to make into a delicately and lavishly carved wooden idol to worhip his pagan god.

We must go to Romans 1 for commentary.

Romans 1:¹⁸For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. ²¹For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²²Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

²⁴Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”

Paul is saying that there is no excuse for not believing in God who created everything. While his attributes of eternal power and divine nature should be “clearly perceived” by all. Read my blog article “Praising the God of creation” for all the arguments for the existence of God (intelligent design of all animals and plants, the periodic table, the human body, the many constants of math and physics that must be finely tuned to have life on earth, etc.). That is called “natural revelation” (nature reveals that there is a creator God). The psalmist said “the fool has said there is no god” (Psalm 19:1). But let us suppose that someone does perceive that the universe and life could not just come into existence from nothing. That would not tell us about that God who created everything. That would take “special revelation”, i.e. that creator God would reveal himself and his plans through inspired messengers or prophets by miraculous inspiration. But suppose that person believes there must be a creator God but doesn’t have access to any of God’s special revelation of HIs word through prophets. He might decide to. start worshipping God through what God created. This could be “animism”: Animism is the doctrine that every natural thing in the universe has a soul. If you believe in animism, you believe that ostriches, cactuses, mountains, and thunder are all spiritual beings. Animism comes from the Latin word anima, meaning life, or soul. Animists believe in innumerable spiritual beings that are concerned with human affairs and capable of helping or harming human interests. Animistic rituals are a variety of practices that serve to maintain relationships between humans and spirits, such as sacrifices, taboos, ancestor worship, shamanism (witch doctors), etc. You can undersand in remote areas of Africans the practice of animism by sincere worshipers of the Creator God when they don’t have the word of God. It is the church’s responsibility to get the word of God to them in their own languages, which many have tried to do, often leding to their deaths.

Idolatry is different than animism. A great AI (I love AI b/c it usually says things better than I do and in less words!) distinction: “While both terms are related to the worship of something other than a single, supreme deity, idolatry specifically refers to the act of worshipping a physical object like a statue as a god, while animism is the belief that all things in nature, including animals, plants, and even inanimate objects, possess a spirit or soul, and can be interacted with on a spiritual level; essentially, animism is a broader concept that encompasses the idea of spiritual agency in all things, not just physical representations of deities like in idolatry.” For example, Ancient Egypt: The polytheistic religion of ancient Egypt featured large idols that were often animals or included animal parts. Bull and cow, cat and dog, ram and goat were considered to be the incarnations of different deities, and so were lion and lioness, jackal and scorpion, crocodile and hippopotamus, the poisonous cobra (also called the “uraeus” serpent) and several birds, among them the falcon and the vulture. They worshipped the sun god Ra and many other gods but focused on the animals. Ancient Greece: The Greek civilization favored human forms for divine representation. The ancient Greeks worshipped many gods, including the 12 Olympians, who lived on Mount Olympus (Zeus- the main god, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Hermes, and either Hestia or Dionysus.). They worshipped idols that were a representation of the gods themselves. The most important group of deities of the Romans were the Deii Consentes, the twelve gods and goddesses of the Roman pantheon: Jupiter (the main god) and Juno, Neptune and Minerva, Mars and Venus, Apollo and Diana, Vulcan and Vesta, Mercury and Ceres. The Romans basically worshipped the same gods that the Romans did, they just changed the names. Isolatry has existed in all cultures. The Canaanites practiced polytheism, which is the worship of multiple gods. Their gods included: Astarte: A war goddess. Baal: A fertility deity and one of the most important gods in the Canaanite pantheon. Asherah: The wife of El, also known as Athirat. Anat: A war goddess. Many, many other examples of idolatry and false pagan gods could be given.

Paul sums up idolatry in Romans 1:²²Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. ²⁵because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. Idolaters made images of “man and animals”, worshipping the things the creator created instead of the creator Himself. Isaiah says this is just downright folly of foolishness. Even if you don’t have special revelation, it just doesn’t make sense to make up different false gods and then create idols to worhip them by. Again, it is the church’s responsibility to get the word of God to them, but there would be no excuse for the Greeks and Romans discussed above. The Jews had collected the 39 books (scrolls) of the old testament by the time the Greeks and the Romans came into existence. Those books condemned idolatry, a sin that Israael itself continued to practice. They could have turned from idolatry just as Rahab turned from the worship of the Canaanite gods like Baal to worship the one true god YHWH of Israel. I think that is probably true for all idolaters in the world. Hinduism in India is full of worhsip of many gods and goddesses with idols. But the word of God has been preached in India for centuries. If a person was seeking the truth about God, he could find it in India if he really wanted to. Buddhism has its many statues of Buddha and follow his teaching. They actually don’t worship Buddha himself or his statue, but for all practical purposes they do. But the word of God has been in Buddhist countries for centuries. Islam only began in the 7th century AD, about 600 years after Jesus lived and dead and 600 years after the New Testament was completed. Muslims definitely had the word of God but chose instead to follow Mohommed and the Koran. At least hey don’t practice idolatry, however, but they do deny that Jesus is the Son of God.

Jeremiah condemns the folly of idolatry: 10:1 Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. ²Thus says the Lord: “Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them, ³for the customs of the peoples are vanity.
A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. ⁴They decorate it with silver and gold they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. ⁵Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.” ⁶There is none like you, O Lord; you are great, and your name is great in might. ⁷Who would not fear you, O King of the nations? For this is your due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms
there is none like you. ⁸They are both stupid and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood!

(AI) “n the Bible, Ezekiel saw several examples of idolatry in the temple in Ezekiel 8, including:

1) An idol outside the temple: Ezekiel saw a foreign idol standing in front of the temple’s northern gate. This idol was a symbol of Israel’s rejection of God. Maybe a giant idol off Asherah? or Baal?
2) Idols on the walls: Ezekiel saw images of crawling animals, detestable creatures, and idols of the house of Israel on the temple walls. This would be from Egyptian gods probably.
3) Women weeping for Tammuz: Ezekiel saw women weeping for Tammuz, a Babylonian god of fertility. Ezekiel sees several other sacrilegious things, but Tammuz is the only deity mentioned in the vision, showing one of the foreign gods Israel had strayed after.
4) Men worshiping the sun: Ezekiel saw 25 men facing east and worshiping the sun. Sun worship has been practiced in many cultures throughout history, including:
- Ancient Egypt: The sun god Ra was worshipped, and the ancient Egyptian god of creation, Amun, was believed to reside in the sun.
- Ancient Greece: The sun god Helios was worshipped.
- Ancient Rome: The sun god Sol was worshipped.
- Ancient Persia: The sun god Mithra was worshipped.
- Ancient India: The sun gods Surya, Savitr, and Mithra were worshipped.
- Ancient Sumer: The sun god Utu was worshipped.
- Ancient Babylon: The sun god Shamash was worshipped.
- Inca civilization: The sun god Inti was worshipped, and the ruler of Peru was considered an incarnation of Inti.
- Aztec religion: The sun gods Huitzilopochtli and Tezcatlipoca demanded human sacrifice.
- Japanese Shintoism: The sun goddess Amaterasu was worshipped, and sun symbols are still used to represent the Japanese state.
- Albanian tradition: The sun god Dielli is worshipped, and the sun and moon are sacred elements of Albanian tradition.
- Native American tribes: Some tribes still practice a sun dance to renew their connection with the earth and the growing season.
- Siberian cultures: The sun goddess is worshipped by the Taymyr Samoyed and the Tungus.
- The concept of sun worship is likely as old as humanity itself. In societies that were dependent on the sun for life and sustenance, it’s not surprising that the sun became deified.
5) Leaders offering incense sacrifices: Ezekiel saw leaders offering incense sacrifices to false gods.
Ezekiel’s vision of idolatry in the temple was a condemnation of these practices and explained why God’s glory departed from the temple later in the vision.

God condemned idolatry as the 2nd of the 10 commandments: Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me 4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. It is amazing that Israel practiced idolatry all through their history up to the Babylonian captivity ( the exile seemed to cure them of idolatry after that). It is amazing that Solomon (the wisest man on earth) practiced idolatry. 1 Kings 11:1 ” King Solomon loved many foreign women in addition to Pharaoh’s daughter. He loved Hittite women and women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon. ²They came from the nations about which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “Never intermarry with them. They will surely tempt you to follow their gods.” But Solomon was obsessed with their love. ³He had 700 wives who were princesses and 300 wives who were concubines. ⁴In his old age, his wives tempted him to follow other gods. He was no longer committed to the Lord his God as his father David had been. ⁵Solomon followed Astarte (the goddess of the Sidonians) and Milcom (the disgusting idol of the Ammonites). ⁶So Solomon did what the Lord considered evil. He did not wholeheartedly follow the Lord as his father David had done. ⁷Then Solomon built an illegal worship site on the hill east of Jerusalem for Chemosh (the disgusting idol of Moab) and for Molech (the disgusting idol of the Ammonites). ⁸He did these things for each of his foreign wives who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.”

Jereoboam I and King Ahab of the Northern Kingdom of Israel are known for practicing idolatry: Jeroboam IThe first king of the Northern Kingdom, Jeroboam established new places of worship, including golden calves in Bethel and Dan, to divert his people away from the temple in Judah. He also appointed his own priests. Jeroboam’s actions were motivated by a fear that his subjects would become sympathetic to the Southern Kingdom and its king, In the Bible, the prophet Amos condemned idolatry in the northern kingdom of Israel in the book of Amos, specifically in Amos 5:4-5: Amos 5:4-5: Amos tells the Israelites to renounce their idolatry and not enter the idolatrous temples of Bethel and Gilgal. Amos was sent to preach in Bethel of Israel by God to condemn the sins of the northern kingdom, including idolatry, greed, social injustice, and political corruption. Amos’s messages announced God’s anger and impending judgment on Israel. The idolatry of the northern kingdom eventually led to being carried into Assyrian captivity in 722 BC after 19 evil kings.

In the southern kingdom of Judah, several kings practiced idolatry but the worst if probably Manasseh. Known as the “Evil King”, Manasseh’s reign was marked by paganism, including human sacrifice and the worship of Baal and Asherah. He also sponsored the Assyrian astral cult. In contrast, King Josiah led Judah in a reform movement that broke the pattern of idol worship in his family. Josiah’s reforms included: Breaking down altars made by Manasseh, Defiling high places dedicated to foreign gods, and Breaking pillars and Asherim. But idolatry was too ingrained in the people. Josiah’s reforms did not stop the evil practices of Judah, which led the them being carried into Babylonian captivity in 3 exilles in 606 BC, 596 BC, and 586 BC when the temple and Jerusalem were destroyed by Nebuchadnezzer. There was no more idolatry of Judah after the exile, so God’s punishment worked.

I feel good that I don’t practice idolatry since it is such a bad sin. Really? Notice these new testament verses. 1 Corinthians 10:14 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. 1 John 5:21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols. Colossians 3:⁵Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. ⁶On account of these the wrath of God is coming. Ephesians 5:⁵For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. ⁶Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. What is “modern day idolatry” and some examples?

Modern-day idolatry is the act of misdirecting worship and giving more affection to something created than the Creator. It can take many forms, including:

Materialism: Buying more and more things to build our egos
Pride and ego: Obsessing over careers and jobs
Self-aggrandizement: Self-indulgence through alcohol, drugs, sexual sins, and food
Identity: Placing our identity in something or someone other than God, such as our social media following, our position at work, or our abilities
Entertainment: Being obsessed with being entertained, such as through Netflix, vacations, video games, or podcasts
Comfort: Being promised an easier or simpler or more comfortable life through products
Phones: Becoming addicted to smartphones

Idols can be anything that we look to for things that only God can give. They can be things that we believe will fulfill our desires, such as love, joy, peace, freedom, status, identity, control, happiness, security, fulfillment, significance, acceptance, and respect.

Ouch! I might not be worshipping some idol in my house or in a Hindu temple, but maybe I am just as much of an idolater as they are! “Turn away from idols” is a phrase that appears in the Bible, and it is a call to stop worshiping idols and to serve the true God: Ezekiel 14:6: “Repent and turn away from your idols and turn your faces away from all your disgusting and vile acts” . Genesis 35:2-3 So Jacob told everyone in his household, “Get rid of all your pagan idols, purify yourselves, and put on clean clothing. We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress.” Some of his family had brought with them the household idols of Laban from his 20 years in Haran. Rachel hid hers from Laban when he caught up with Jacob fleeing Haran, searching for his household idols that had been stolen. So before Jacob could build an altar to worship God at Bethel, he made everyone put away their pagan altars. Maybe that’s what we need to do before we worship. Too many Christians go to some church assembly to worship with songs and praise, but then they go right back to their time, energy, and money being dominated by their modern idolatry idols listed above. God is a “jealous God”. Joshua 24:19“And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins”. Joshua knew that the Israelites would worship the Canaanite gods after his death. In the Bible, God is described as jealous because he wants exclusive devotion from his people and commands that they love and worship him alone. He wants the same exclusive devotion that married mates would want from each other.

Am I an idolater? Are you an idolater?