Jonathan Goforth was the first Canadian Presbyterian missionary to China, serving there for nearly forty-seven years (over half of his 77 years of life). A couple of stories tell you about the conviction of this man to “go forth” with the gospel to China. He told his wife to be Rosalind that he could not give her an engagement ring b/c he needed every penney to distribute Testaments and tracts. After a year in China, their house burned with all their possessions. He told his distraught wife “My dear, do not grieve so. After all, they’re just things.” Their first two children died in China which caused them great sorrow, but their hearts ached even more over the Chinese masses who lived without the hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ. They later built a bungalow with a pump to draw water from a well and a chimney to send smoke up out of the house. As many as 2,000 in a day would pass. through the bungalow to see these novelties and Jonathan would preach Christ to them as they passed through. He had a passion for developing converts to Pauline New Testament Christians who met in indigenous house churches. He would put a red dot on a map for each house church established. By May of 1900 there were over 50 of these red dots.

Then came the infamous Boxer Rebellion. Have you ever heard of the Boxer Rebellion? AI: “The Boxer Rebellion was a Chinese nationalist uprising in 1899-1900 against foreign powers’ encroachment on China’s sovereignty and increasing influence. The rebellion was led by a secret society known as the Boxers (nicknamed that b/c of their expertise in martial arts), who targeted foreigners, Christian missionaries, and Chinese converts to Christianity (burning churches and foreign residences). The rebellion was sparked by a combination of factors, including economic hardship, resentment towards foreign powers, and the spread of Christianity. Perhaps a total of up to 100,000 or more people died in the conflict, although estimates on casualties have varied widely. The great majority of those killed were civilians, including thousands of Chinese Christians and approximately 200 to 250 foreign nationals (mostly Christian missionaries).”

One of those missionaries that was caught up in the Boxer Rebellion was Jonathan Goforth, his wife, and 4 children. They managed to make a long, hazardous, intense heat, 4 week journey to Shanghai and then safely to Canada, constantly threatened by cries of “kill the foreign devils”. A mob almost killed Jonathan with stones. The Boxer Rebellion lasted about 2 years and then the Goforths went back to China for 36 more years of mission work during which all their possessions were destroyed 4 times and where 4 of their children were buried. Spurred on by Charles Finney’s revivals in Wales, Jonathan began revivals all over China and Manchuria. On a single day, he baptized 960 soldiers. Many thriving churches were established. He suffered much hardship and pain, but always his soul was aglow with “the fulness of the Christ-life through the Holy Spirit’s indwelling”. He died as he slept on October 8, 1936.

I continue to be amazed as I read these stories of great Christian missionaries of the 1800’s, often called the “Great Century of Missions”. Their determination and sacrifice to spread the gospel in spite of suffering and obstacles is just amazing. They lived with one purpose in life, i.e. to convert people to Christ. My 5 years in mission work in Trinidad, West Indies and Colombia, South America are like a vacation compared to the tough foreign fields those missionaries worked in.

But that is not to minimize your efforts to reach people for Christ right here in the U.S., right here where you live and work. Not everyone is called to be a foreign missionary. You can share Christ with co-workers, relatives, friends, people you do business with, people you meet all day long. You might be called to take care of an aging parent or an orphan or a widow, but your example of love might inspire someone to become a Christian. You might be blessed with money which allows you to support missionaries or organizations that drill wells for clean water, print Bibles in the major languages for distribution all over the world, or provide food and medicine for the oppressed poor caught up in the many wars or famines in 3rd world countries.

I pray that God will bless you with the zeal and determination to focus on what really matters in life, which is the saving of souls for Jesus Christ, in whatever role and place God has put you in. Be courageous and not afraid to boldly share Jesus with everyone you are around. I think we are hesitant to do that b/c we don’t want to look like overzealous Christians or we fear getting a negative response from someone. “Just do it” and leave the fruit bearing or rejection to God. At least try to bring God and Jesus into every conversation all day.

God bless you.

How would you like a vacation to one of the many islands in the South Pacific? Bora Bora, Fiji, Cook Islands, Tahiti, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and thousands of other islands, unspoiled beaches. Henry Knott did not take a paradise vacation to Tahiti. He was an English bricklayer who set sail for Tahiti in 1796 to bring Christianity to the island. A beautiful island but the island was full of war, brutal killing of enemies, idol worship, human sacrifices even of children, drunkenness. 30 years earlier British explorer Captain Cook visited Tahiti. He said, “There is an abyss of dissolute sensuality into which these people have sunk, wholly unknown to every other nation and which no imagination could possibly conceive.” The population had declined by 90% since Cooke’s visit due probably to diseases brought in to the island by crews of foreign vessels. Henry Knott said there was not in Tahiti a girl of twelve years who had escaped moral and physical contamination. The people were threatened with complete extinction. 2/3 of all babies were killed at birth. Euthanasia was practiced. Those whose infirmities made them a burden were buried alive. The king Pomare, who had sacrificed 2,000 humans to his idols, rejected Knott’s message from John 3:16. Knott translated John 3:16 into the language of Tahiti. The missionaries in Tahiti was persecuted and threatened, often having their goods stolen by natives (there was a god who was worshipped by stealing). Many of them left the island in fear for their lives, leaving Knott there all alone. Knott kept preaching the love of God from John 3:16.

Finally in 1813 King Pomare II, son of King Pomare, turned from idolatry. Hundreds began to turn from idols. Idols were cut into firewood, even the idol of the main god Oro. Thousands later came to hear Knott’s sermons in a big church building built by Pomare II. Laws were enacted to stop heathen practices. On Sunday, May 16, 1819 King Pomare II in the presence of 5,000 people was baptized. After 22 years of hardship and disappointments, this was the first baptism in Tahiti. During the ensuing decade hundreds were converted to Christianity. A building formerly used for human sacrifices was turned into a church building. During his 50 years of mission work, Knott only returned to England twice. He finished translating the Bible into the Tahitian language around 1838. He presented the Tahitian Bible to Queen Victoria and, at her request, he read John 3:16 in Tahitian.

AI: “Christianity remains the dominant religion in Tahiti, with a majority (84%) of the population identifying as Christian, particularly Protestant. The Maohi Protestant Church, deeply rooted in Tahitian culture, is the largest and most influential Protestant denomination. While Christianity is prevalent, traditional Tahitian beliefs and practices continue to exist, often blended with Christian traditions”. There is a large Mormon presence in Tahiti. Don’t you know that Henry Knott is looking down from heaven with great joy as he sees the continuing legacy of his work???????

Knott said, “The only sure and efficacious remedy for the ignorance, the depravities, the sorrows and sins of mankind, is to be found in the gospel of John 3:16.”

As I read about Henry Knott, I think of two things. One, why is the church not more focused on mission work in the world, especially among the unreached peoples groups. It is estimated that of the 8.08 billion people alive in the world today, 3.42 billion of them live in unreached people groups with little or no access to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Why do churches keep pouring millions of dollars into buildings for our comfort and staffs “preaching to the choir” instead of printing Bibles into the major languages and sending missionaries out? Henry Knott was a bricklayer! But he spread Christianity to an unreached people group in Tahiti that eventually led to an island being 84% Christian. Maybe you are not a missionary to go to foreign fields, but you can still support financially and prayerfully the organizations and missionaries who do that.

But my second thought is John 3:16. Henry Knott wasn’t caught up in eschatology or church doctrine although he was probably of the Calvinistic Reformed theology. Apparently the love of God was the primary motivation for him to love others and sacrifice so much to share God’s love with the Tahitians. There is a song, “I love you with the love of the Lord”. When you feel how much God loves you, it just makes you want to love other people and share God’s love with them. There are so many people who just don’t feel that love. Many feel worthless and unloved, maybe due to a lack of love shown them by parents. Many seek love in the wrong places in the pursuit of materialism and hedonism. They might not even feel the need for God’s love.

I personally tend to major in doctrinal and exegetical Biblical studies, as you can see from my blog articles. But how much does John 3:16 really mean to me? Do I feel God’s love? Do I get up every morning and say “God love me”? Do I thank God often every day for sending His Son Jesus to die on the cross for me? Do I try to share God’s love with everyone I am around every day? Do I see people who are struggling with life and share God’s love with them? Do I tell people that God loves them? Do I share John 3:16 with those who aren’t Christians? Do I use my resources to try to spread the love of God and the message of John 3:16 to the world, especially to those unreached people’s groups?

What does John 3:16 really mean to you?

I don’t know if I can do justice to this chapter in which Paul has some deep, deep statements about our being “dead to sin”.

Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? ² Far from it! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? ³ Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. ⁵ For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, ⁶ knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; ⁷ for the one who has died is freed from sin.

⁸ Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, ⁹ knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. ¹⁰ For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all time; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. ¹¹ So you too, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

I want to make this really simple and applicable to our struggle with the flesh and sin. But it’s like laparoscopic surgery: AI “A surgical procedure where the fix is simple but requires access to deeper body parts could be described as a minimally invasive surgery or a laparoscopic surgery according to Yale Medicine. These procedures use small incisions and specialized instruments, allowing surgeons to reach the area needing repair with minimal disruption to surrounding tissues. It is frequently used for abdominal procedures, including hernia repairs and other conditions requiring access to the abdominal cavity. Surgeons insert a laparoscope (a thin, lighted tube with a camera) through small incisions, allowing them to visualize the surgical area and perform the repair.” A very simple repair but the surgeon has to get deep into the body to do the repair. In Romans 6 Paul takes us deep in order to give us a simple fix to the power of sin in our lives.

Paul made a statement in chapter 5 that led to the discussion in chapter 6. Romans 5:²⁰ The Law came in so that the offense would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, ²¹ so that, as sin reigned in death, so also grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Grace covers all sin. Jesus said in Luke 7:47 “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but the one who is forgiven little, loves little.” Two sinners are both forgiven by the grace of God: one has 1,000 sins forgiven, the other has 100. One might be tempted to say that the one forgiven 1,000 sins received more grace, which is true in a way. But then someone might say, “well, if you get more grace when you sin more, then now that I have grace to cover my sins then why not just sin more and get more grace. It grace covers us no matter how much we sin, then why not just sin more after you become a Christian.”

Technically, you would be forgiven more if you sin more as a Christian. So why not just keep sinning and get even more grace. But Paul refutes the temptation to think like this. Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? ² Far from it! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” Paul goes on to say 3 times, “you died to sin”. When did you die to sin? When you were buried with Christ in baptism. The word “baptism” in the Greek means “to immerse, to dip”. It is not a sprinkling or pouring of water over a person. It is a burial, just as Jesus was buried in the tomb. Someone might say, “what difference does it make how much water is used?” Ask Namaan the leper that question. He hesitated when told to dip in the river Jordan 7 times to be cleansed of his leprosy, but he finally humbled himself and obeyed and was cleansed. The fact is that Jesus said, “he that believes and is baptized (immersed, dipped in water) shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). That’s enough for me! I chose to be immersed in water in my baptism just to obey Jesus and be safe. I did it when I was old enough to know what I was doing. But baptism is more than just a command to be obeyed. It is a beautiful picture of our old “body of sin” was buried and then raised from the water (again, implying immersion first) to “walk in newness of life just as Jesus’ dead body was buried but then raised to live again, never to die again. Paul said in Ephesians 2:1 “you were dead in your trespasses and sins” but in 2: ⁵ even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶ and raised us up with Him. When we are baptism we are raised from the dead spiritually. We have eternal life and, unless we fall from grace (which is possible), we will never die spiritually again. Our new resurrected body will contine to live eternally even when we die physically. We will have “immortality” which is only promised to believers in Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:53-36). John 11:²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies (physical death), ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die (spiritually).”

So why should I try so hard to not sin after being baptized if grace will cover me (unless I fall from grace) no matter if I keep on sinning a lot? This is a mental thing. I have crawled under my 2 foot high crawl space 50 times (it seems) getting out buckets of water from a terrible irresponsible plumbing mistake when the house was first built 17 years ago. I crawled in the mud trying to pull the plastic vapor barrier back and dry out the mud that dumping many gallons of tub water poured directly into the crawl space because of that mistake. When I finally dried out most of the mud and pulled the plastic vapor barrier back over the mud, my pants and shirt (I always used the same ones to crawl under with) were so caked in mud that I asked my wife if she should wash them for me (she still washes my clothes, sorry ladies if that bothers you!) or if I should just throw them away. She said “throw them away” and I did. My old clothes went into the garbage bin outside and were carried far away to the dump a few days later. It felt so good to get rid of those muddy clothes once for all. Do you think that I even wanted to go get them back out of the garbage bin and wear them again? Do you think that I ever wanted to go to the city dump and retrieve them and wear them again? Of course not.

Ok, we did the spiritual laparoscopic surgery. We got deep, and now the fix is simple. The fix is a mental thing, howbeit hard to apply in real life. My old self (the muddy shirt and pants) were thrown away at baptism. You will be forgiven for future sins after that (unless you fall from grace), but why would you ever want to put that old self of sin back on again. Of course, the reason you might want to do that is because of your flesh and lusts that are always tempting you. But every time you are tempted to sin, you must say “no, I am not going to put those old muddy clothes back on; I am done with sin”. Our lusts still have the power to get us to sin after baptism, but sin no longer has the power to kill me spiritually. Hebrews 2:¹⁴ Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, so that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.” 1 Corinthians 15:⁵⁴ But when this perishable (our physical body)puts on the imperishable (eternal life spiritual body), and this mortal (physical body) puts on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written: “Death (spiritual death) has been swallowed up in victory. ⁵⁵ Where, O Death (spiritual death) is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?” ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law; ⁵⁷ but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 John 5:¹⁸ We know that no one who has been born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. ¹⁹ We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” The devil, even if he is still active (which is debatable since he was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone in 70 AD when Jerusalem was destroyed), can get you to sin (maybe just indirectly through his getting you to sin by yielding to your lusts). James says in James 1:¹⁴ But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. ¹⁵ Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it has run its course, brings forth death (spiritual death).”

This is not a one time surgery like repairing a hernia with laparoscopic surgery, solving the problem permanently. This is a constant ongoing war of the flesh and the spirit with many battles (losing a lot of those battles). Galatians 5:¹⁶ But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, in order to keep you from doing whatever you want.” This is a constant ongoing war, often losing many battles, for mind control. Romans 7:²¹ I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. ²² For I joyfully agree with the law of God in the inner person, ²³ but I see a different law in the parts of my body waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin, the law which is in my body’s parts. ²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from ^[y]the body of this death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.” Romans 8: ⁵ For those who are in accord with the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are in accord with the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. ⁶ For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, ⁷ because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, ⁸ and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

That’s where the Spirit of God comes in to help you win battles and win the war with sin. I was never really tempted to go get those muddy clothes out of the garbage bin, but I am often tempted to put back on my old self of sin and its many lusts. Paul said that we are “freed from sin” (Romans 6:7). He is not saying that we are freed from ever committing sin, but that we are freed from the power of sin to kill us spiritually ever again (unless we fall from grace). Hopefully we will never make the “practice of sin” a habit in our lives after baptism. 1 John 3:⁴ Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. ⁵ You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. ⁶ No one who remains in Him sins continually; no one who sins continually has seen Him or knows Him. ⁷ Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; ⁸ the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. ⁹ No one who has been born of God practices sin, because His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin continually, because he has been born of God.” Again, a mental thing. I still help coach volleyball. It’s one thing to go to the gym and hit a few volleyballs, but it’s another thing to start volleyball practice where we want to keep hitting volleyballs because we enjoy volleyball and want to get better at it.” John makes a strong statement in these verses. The truly born again baptized believer will not practice sin or sin “continually” (NASB). He will sin, but he will fight the flesh and try not to sin, certainly not to practice sin. John even says he “cannot sin” continually. He is not saying that one truly born again is no longer capable of committing sin or that the Spirit will keep him from ever sinning again after baptism. John had already said that it was possible for us to sin after being born again: I once had a neighbor who said that he (and his fellow church members) could not sin. He said that even if he commited adultery, it wasn’t a sin (he told his wife that) b/c he was filled with the Spirit. 1 John 1: ⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.” John is saying that a truly born again believer just can’t practice sin or sin “continually”. His new resolve will just keep him from doing so. Not that it is impossible for him to do so, but that he will draw a line and say to his lusts, “I just can’t do that; you got me to yield to you a few times, but that’s it: I’m putting my foot down; I just can’t and won’t keep yielding to you! Jesus died to save me from sin and gave me a new nature and practicing sin goes against everything that Jesus did for me!” You have to talk to your lusts!

In the meantime while you are talking to your lusts and rebuking your lusts, the Spirit is telling you, “stand up to your lusts! Practicing sin is not your new self, your new forgiven nature.” The Spirit keeps reminding you how muddy and yucky those old muddy clothes were and asking you “why do you want to get them out of the garbage and wear them again?” It’s a mental thing. The Spirit is telling you, “Do you remember what it felt like wearing clothes caked in mud? How yucky you felt? How glad you felt to take them off and throw them away and take a hot shower?” The Spirit is our counselor to help us fight the battle of the mind control, the war with sin. But we must always be listening to the Spirit talking to us through the word and in whatever way that you feel that the Spirit speaks to you.

Peter gave the qualities of the Christian growth ladder in 2 Peter 2 and then said: 2:⁸ For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they do not make you useless nor unproductive in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ For the one who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. ¹⁰ Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choice of you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; ¹¹ for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.” Do you remember how great it felt to get saved from your sins when you were baptized? You came up out of that water with a smile, hugging everyone. You probably made a resolve to try to never sin again. Later you do sin, but hopefully you feel sorry about your sins b/c you know Jesus died for your sins, and you repent of any sin and ask forgiveness. But Peter is saying that through the practice of sin and the lack of practicing righteousness that you have “forgotten your purification from former sins”. You have forgotten how yucky the muddy clothes felt. You have forgotten how sorrowful you once were over your sinful condition. You are “short-sighted” or “nearsighted” spiritually. AI: “Nearsightedness, also known as myopia, is a condition where you can see objects close up clearly but have difficulty seeing objects that are far away.” You can see your sin really close up, you feel the urge to sin, your lusts are actively working on you can’t see or remember how bad that sin made you feel long ago when you decided to seek forgiveness for sin. “Spiritual nearsightedness, spiritual myopia.”

I know this has been long. It just kept growing one thought after another. The fix to keep us from practicing sin is a mental thing, but it is hard to apply in real life. After writing this article, I am going to try to “practice what I preach”. Every time I am tempted to give in to my lusts, I am going to try to listen to the Spirit telling me to stand up to my lusts and rebuke them. Have you ever had lustful sinful thoughts and emotions and yet you just kinda hid them b/c no one could see them, no one knew about them except you? So you didn’t really fight those sinful lusts and emotions. You just let them hang out in your mind and heart. Eventually those thoughts and emotions will lead to sinful action. I want to put those lusts out of my mind and replace them with pure thoughts. Paul talked about that. Philippians 4:⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹ As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” The peace of God, spiritual peace that comes from knowing the you have been saved by grace through the death of Jesus, will “guard” your heart (your emotions) and your mind (your thoughts). A guard stands at a house not allowing anyone or anything bad to get in the house. But the key is to replace those lustful thoughts and emotions with things that are pure, lovely, etc. I am going to try to do that.

What about you? Can you hear the Spirit telling you right now to let Him help you win the war?


 

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” My daughter gave me a 12k flashlight that is amazing! It will blast up to 12,000 lumens of bright light up to 721 feet away. But I thought, “when will I ever use a flashlight that bright?” Well I found out “when” I started crawling under my 2 feet high (3 block high) crawl space b/c the plumber 17 years ago did not even connect two tub drain pipes and we were pouring many gallons of water directly onto the crawl space! 1st world problem but one that has to be dealt with. God has blessed me to find the problem before it got even worse. Fortunately we didn’t use those two tubs much at all since we built the house 17 years ago.

Back to the flashlight. That 12k brightens up the whole crawl space! I can see clearly how to crawl all over setting my my fans, checking wood moisture and humidity, avoiding hitting water lines, examining the drains and plumbing. God’s word is like that. It is not just a lamp and light, but a brilliant shining light that will clearly show you exactly what God wants you to do and what His promises are for you.

1 Corinthians 14:33 “God is not a God of confusion”. Many think that the Bible can’t be understood. There are passages that are hard to understand. Peter said “our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, ¹⁶ as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which there are some things that are hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.” (2 Peter 3) “Hard” but not “impossible”. The “untaught” and “unstable” will take the hard to understand passages and distort them to their own advantage (to gain power, sex, or money). But the basic truths that we need for salvation, wisdom, and guidance are not hard to understand.

God reveals Himself and His plans in His word. There is “general revelation” from God in nature. Romans 1:¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, ¹⁹ because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” (NASB) Paul is saying that it should be clear to all that there is a supernatural creator God. There is no excuse for someone being an atheist. Intelligent design of the universe, the human body, DNA, the periodic table, etc should convince the greatest skeptic that there is a creator God.

But perceiving that there is a creator God does not tell you what that God is like or what His plans are. In Hinduism, Brahma is the creator god. He is part of the Trimurti, a trinity of supreme divinity that also includes Vishnu (the preserver) and Shiva (the destroyer). In Zoroastrianism, the primary deity is Ahura Mazda, the “Wise Lord,” who is the creator and sustainer of the universe. So God had to reveal Himself to man. He did so through His messages to the prophets who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1:¹⁹ And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. ²⁰ But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture becomes a matter of someone’s own interpretation, ²¹ for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” There’s that “lamp” (Psalm 119:105) that shines showing us what God is like and what His plans are for us. The prophets made known the nature of God, what kind of a God is he? AI: “While not constantly fighting in a war-like sense, the Greek gods in mythology were prone to conflict and rivalry. They often argued, quarreled, and even fought among themselves over various issues, including power, love, and honor. These conflicts were a defining characteristic of Greek mythology, making the pantheon a dynamic and entertaining collection of characters.” Is the creator God like that? From bible.org “he attributes of Sovereignty, Holiness, Omnipotence, Omniscience, and Immutability, Wrath, and Love, set God apart from the false Gods of pagans.” God is holy and just, and He must punish sin. But His great love and mercy has provided forgiveness for sin through the sacrifice of Jesus His son on the cross. He is opposed by Satan and evil demonic princes but He has conquered them through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.  in Jewish tradition, God is often described with 13 attributes, also known as the “13 Middot” (ways). These attributes, found in Exodus 34:6-7, emphasize God’s compassion, mercy, grace, and other positive characteristics. The Lord told Moses as he hid behind the rock, ⁶ “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in faithfulness and truth; ⁷ who keeps faithfulness for thousands, who forgives wrongdoing, violation of His Law, and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, inflicting the punishment of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” 

So the prophets told man what their creator God is like, His attributes. But what are His plans for man? The Bible is “progressive revelation”. AI: “the concept of progressive revelation suggests that God revealed Himself and His plan to humanity gradually over time, rather than all at once. This means the Old Testament provides foundational truths, and the New Testament, especially through Jesus and the apostles, builds upon and clarifies those truths. It’s not that the Old Testament is wrong, but rather that the full understanding of God’s plan and nature is revealed more completely in the New Testament.” The Law of Moses of the Old Testament was never intended to be God’s permanent plan of salvation for all mankind. Paul told the Jews who were under the Law: Galatians 3:²³ But before faith came, we (Jews) were kept in custody under the Law, being confined for the faith that was destined to be revealed. ²⁴ Therefore the Law has become our guardian to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. ²⁵ But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.” AI: “Progressive revelation doesn’t imply a change in God’s character or plan. God’s nature is constant, and His plan unfolds progressively. Understanding progressive revelation can help us interpret Scripture more fully, recognizing that earlier revelations were foundational and preparatory to the ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ.”

So we come to the New Testament.  AI: “The doctrine of justification by grace through Jesus’ atoning sacrifice, and the inclusion of Gentiles in God’s plan are examples of truths that are hinted at in the Old Testament but are more fully revealed in the New Testament.” God’s primary revelation of His final plan of salvation comes through His Son Jesus in HIs teachings. Hebrews 1:1 “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, ² in these last days (i.e. the last days of the Jewish Age from 30 AD to 70 AD) has spoken to us in His Son”. (NASB) Jesus tells us that He is “the way, the truth, and the life: no one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6). He predicts that He will suffer, be “lifted up” in his death (crucifixion) like the bronze serpent in the wilderness, and be raised from the dead. He tells us that we can have eternal life if we believe in Him, God’s son. He tells us that His kingdom is “not of this world” but a spiritual kingdom, the church (John 18:36; Matthew 16:16-18). The Spirit of God confirms that He is God’s Son and spokesman. Acts 2:22 “Jesus the Nazarene, a Man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst.”

But God’s progressive revelation continues after Jesus ascends to heaven. He left the Spirit with the apostles to complete progressive revelation. John 16: ¹³ “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” They delivered the final truths of God’s plans through their preaching and writings in the New Testament book of Acts and the Epistles. Paul wrote 13 of those epistles defining justification, redemption, and sanctification through Jesus. He gave the central core message of eternal life: Ephesians 2:⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast”, and defended that core teachings against the constant legalistic threat of the Judaizer Jewish Christians who kept trying to make Gentile converts keep the Law of Moses. He explains what it means in daily practical living what the Christian “walk” is (Ephesians 4-6). He gives rules and guidelines for Christian assemblies.

Paul says that the apostles’ teaching and writing are from the Spirit of God. 1 Corinthians 2:¹³ We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.” Thus the concept of “verbal plenary inspiration”: AI “Verbal plenary inspiration of scripture is the belief that God inspired every word of the Bible, not just the ideas, and that the original manuscripts were perfectly preserved, making the Bible God’s authoritative and inerrant word.” We don’t have those original manuscripts, but the copies and translations have been shown to be totally reliable. AI: “While there’s no universally agreed upon percentage for the accuracy of the Bible, many scholars believe that we can be reasonably confident in its accuracy, with estimates ranging from 95% to 99.9%. This confidence stems from the vast amount of textual evidence, internal consistency within the texts, and external confirmation from archaeological and historical findings.” You can trust your translation of the Bible.

Finally, the finality of “progressive revelation”. After the New Testament writing of the apostles, did God continue to give more revelation after that first century (all the NT gospels, Acts, and epistles were written before 70 AD)? Did He continue to speak after the apostles through the Pope? Paul told us what the miraculously gifted leadership of the New Testament was: Ephesians 4:¹¹ And He (Jesus) gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors (elders of the churches) and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ; ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. ¹⁴ As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of people, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; ¹⁵ but speaking the truth in love.” Notice there is no pope as the head of the church in 4:11. Don’t you think that there would be a mention of any such office if God was going to continue to speak through a pope for the next 2,000 years? Paul is telling us that the teachings and writings of the apostles and prophets are totally sufficient to keep Christians unified (Ephesians 4: ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one hope of your calling; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all). They are sufficient to keep us from being carried away by false teachers and prophets.

So there is no pope who continues to give progressive revalation after the first century. But is there “apostolic succession”? AI: “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), commonly known as Mormons, claims to have a valid apostolic succession. They believe this line of succession was restored through Joseph Smith, who they claim received priesthood authority from biblical prophets and apostles.” In choosing a replacement for the apostle Judas, Peter gave the qualifications of an apostle: Acts 1:²¹ Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us— ²² beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection (and an apostle).” I once asked 2 Mormon elders: do your apostles meet these qualifications? Paul was the only apostle who was not with Jesus from His baptism to His ascension but Jesus made a special post resurrection appearance to Him on the road to Damascus, qualifying him to be an apostle (1 Corinthians 15:7). Paul claimed equal authority to the other original apostles. 2 Corinthians 12: 11 “Actually I should have been commended by you, since I was in no respect inferior to the most eminent apostles, even though I am a nobody. ¹² The distinguishing marks of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs, wonders, and miracles.” His miracles prove that he was equal to the original apostles even though he became an apostle years after the others did. It always amazes me to hear some say that Paul’s writings are not authoritative for us today. That mainly comes b/c his writings clearly condemn homosexuality and many don’t want to accept that (the LBGQT movement).

There is no more “progressive revelation”. The Spirit can still speak to us individually but there are no more inspired writings of scripture after the first century. There are no more inspired prophets who give us direct messages from God. A prophet was always confirmed by his ability to predict the future with 100% accuracy and there are no prophets today who can do that. There are no “latter day prophets”. The Mormons claim to have latter day prophets, beginning with their founder Joseph Smith, with equal authority to the apostles and prophets of the first century. Thus they claim that the Book of Mormon is equal in authority to the New Testament. There have been many “latter day prophets” over the past 2,000 years, all claiming to have messages from God separate from the original scriptures. They have started many cults. Such as Ellen G. White of the Seventh Day Adventists, David Karesh of the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas, Jim Jones (the Guyana tragedy), Rutherford and Russell of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mary Baker Eddy of Christian Science, and many, many more. These latter day prophets always made predictions of the future, especially of the 2nd coming of Jesus, that failed to come to pass, thus proving them to be false prophets. They introduced doctrines not in the New Testament and contrary to the teachings of the original apostles. Nowhere did Jesus or the Scriptures give authority to them to speak messages from God. So complete was the final progressive revelation completed with the writing and collection of the New Testament that Jude would say: Jude 3 “³ Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all time handed down to the saints.” The Bible claims 2 things: 1) The “once for all time sacrifice of Jesus”. Hebrews 10:10 ” we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.” 2) The “once for all time” completion and delivery of the final NT writings in the first century (Jude 3).

I hope this helps in some way. So we need to follow the example of the Thessalonians as Paul preached the gospel to them: 1 Thessalonians 2:¹³ For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of mere men, but as what it really is, the word of God, which also is at work in you who believe.” We need to follow the example of the Bereans: Acts 17:¹¹ Now these people were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” We need to heed the advice of the apostle John: 1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

We do need to keep studying, not only the basic core teachings of the Bible, but also those “hard to understand” sections like those dealing with eschatology and the Book of Revelation. Why? B/c there are so many false prophets predicting the 2nd coming of Jesus and the fulfillment of Revelation in events occurring today. You can refer to my other articles dealing with that. Yes, we need to keep studying doctrinal issues like Calvinism. Does God really only predestine a. certain number to be saved and sinners can not just be converted by their own free will choice (as Calvinism claims). Will saved sinners never fall from grace (as Calvinism claims). What is the nature of Jesus (fully God and fully man?)? But even if you never come to an opinon on the fulfillment of the book of Revelation, that’s ok. You don’t need that to be saved by the blood of Jesus. Basic faith in Jesus and Christian living is more important than understand eschatology (the study of last times).