manthano

This is number 2 in a summary of the BJU Bible Conference messages.

The Sunday evening message was brought by Dr. Kevin Bauder, president of Central Baptist Theological Seminary. He preached from John 1:1.

John 1:1 shows us three things about Jesus, the Word.

1. His Eternity - He is the eternal One (”in the beginning was the Word”)
   The word was does not mean “came to be,” it means “always existed.” Likewise, the word begetting does not and cannot mean “beginning.” (Acts 13:33). Also, the word beginning is indefinite; whatever point you consider “the beginning,” at that point the Word already was.
   This has a theololgical implicatation - The Word is self-existent. He doesn’t depend on anyone or anything; He is the source of all things. This then has a practical ramification: If He is the source of all things, including life, if we want that life we must get it from Him.
2. His Trinity - He is the other One (”and the Word was with God”)
   The Word is with God, there is something that is God that is not the Word. Our finite minds cannot grasp a three-person single being, but that’s what God is.
   What exactly does the word with mean? In Greek, the language of the New Testament, there are several words for with. The one used here is the most intimate one, pros (προς), it can literally mean, “face to face with.” What are the Father and the Word doing together? They are fellowshipping and enjoying one another’s presence. He is also resting from His creative work (Gen. 2:2-3).
   There is also a practical ramification of the Word being with the Father. He is our intercessor and advocate “with” God. He is Someone Who is God Who stands between us and God.
3. His Deity - He is God (”and the Word was God”)
   Dr. Bauder related a story of an oppotunity he had to witness to a Jehovah’s Witness (JW). JW’s believe, due to their theology that Jesus is not Jehovah, that the last phrase of John 1:1 should be translated “and the Word was a god” because the word God (theos) lacks the definite article (english: the) in the Greek. Dr. Bauder showed this JW three other instances in John 1 (John 1:6, 12, 18) where God (theos) lacks the article, and the JW agreed that these 3 places referred to Jehovah.
   The fact that there is no article, does not mean that God is indefinite (a god), but it instead means that the Word has all the qualities or essence of God, and obviously One Who has all the qualities or essence of God is God. It could not be a definite article because then it would mean that the Word and God are completely equivalent, and this is not the case because there is a part of God that is not the Word (the Father and the Holy Spirit).

Disclaimer: This is my unofficial summary of the message; it may or may not be entirely accurate as to what the speaker actually said. Any errors are almost certainly the fault of my summary, not what the speaker said.

This is the first of what I hope will be a summary of all the Bible Conference messages here at BJU. For those who don’t already know, Bible conference is special time of the semester that the school sets aside for spiritual refreshment. They bring in excellent preachers to give us, the students, and visiting graduates the opportunity to hear and learn from these men of God.  A recording of each of these messages (mp3, audio CD, tape cassette) is available from the BJU campus store.

The first message Sunday morning was by Dr. Bob, chancellor of the university. His topic was lukewarmness, using the illustration of the Laodicean church (Rev. 3:13-20). As he was reading this passage, the thought struck him that later became the title for his message - Jesus wouldn’t have attended the Laodicean church!

The letter to the Laodicean church was addressed to the messenger (trans. “angel” in the KJV) or pastor of the church. The letter came from One who refers to Himself as the Amen, the Faithful One, the True One, and the source of all things. And His certain, faithful,and true judgment had revealed the Laodicean church to be lukewarm, neither cold and hard to spiritual things or hot and on fire spiritually. How do we know when we are lukewarm, what are the warning signs? It can be hard to know when we are lukewarm, because part of being lukewarm is not being aware that there has been a change in our spirituality.

1. We boast in ourselves, not Christ. (v. 17) We says things like, “We have a great church / school / etc,” instead of, “We have a great God and Savior!” The only thing/one worth boasting in or about is Jesus Christ.
2. We have an absence of a sense of need for cleansing (v. 18)

He gave this quote:

To our grandfathers, Christianity was an experience; to our fathers, a heritage; to us, a convenience; and to our children, a nuisance.

But despite our lukewarmness, Jesus is still compassionate to us, and wants us to open to His knocking (v. 20).

Disclaimer: This is my unofficial summary of the message; it may or may not be entirely accurate as to what the speaker actually said. Any errors are almost certainly the fault of my summary, not what the speaker said.

I try to keep up with the news while I’m here at school, and it was with sadness and disgust I read the story of David Ludwig and the double murder of the parents of his girlfriend Kara Borden. Then this story hit a little closer to home, when I found out that I had met David 3 years ago. Since then a particular verse from the Bible has taken on a whole new meaning. I Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (ESV). Why this verse basically whacked me upside the head this week, is because of the story of what happened to someone else who knows this verse, David Ludwig, now under arrest for a double murder committed last week. How do I know he knows this verse? Read on…

I know he knows this verse, because of where I met him. Yes, I’ve met an alleged double murderer. We met at a Bible quiz between about 5 churches in our area. The Bible quiz was over the book of I Peter. In order to effectively compete in this competition, you basically had to have the entire book memorized, and be able to quote word-perfect any verse in it. He and I were on two of the top 5 teams that year, so I that’s how I know he had that verse memorized.

So how does a bible quizzer become a murderer? It’s really not as difficult as you might think. To quote our former school president, “Anyone is capable of committing any sin, given the proper provocation.” “Who me,” you ask? “I’ll never murder anyone!” I didn’t say you would, I just said we were capable of it. I pray that no one that’s reading this will do such a thing, but it’s not impossible.

Although David professed to be saved, he was devoured by Satan. So what’s the lesson for us? How can we keep from being devoured - chewed up and spit out - like David was? Ironically enough, or maybe not so, it comes from I Peter 5:8-9, some of the very verses David memorized for that quiz. If you know Jesus Christ, these verses give four things you should do in order to avoid being devoured.

1. “Be sober-minded” - Be serious minded. Have the right attitude toward sin. Sin is not a joke. Sin is not something to play around with. Sin is serious business, and God hates it. That should be our attitude too.
2. “Be watchful” - Be alert. Don’t let down your guard just because you’re in an insulated Christian environment. Satan knows where your weak points are, and he knows how to attack them in order to get you to fall. Don’t let him!
3. “Resist him” - Don’t let him have an avenue into your life. Don’t just keep away from sin, keep away from temptation. Don’t even give Satan a chance to destroy your life. Use the “Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” That’s the only weapon we have - learn how to use it!
4. “Firm in your faith” - Know God’s Word. This goes along with the previous point. Be steadfast, or firm, or sure in your faith - know what God’s Word says. This is the only way we are going to have consistent victory over Satan.

But you know what, if you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior, if there has never been a point in time when you acknowledged your sin before Him, and trusted Him to be your Savior, then you don’t have to worry about being devoured by Satan.

“I don’t?!” you ask.

Nope, because Satan already has you right where he wants, you - on the way to hell. Why does Satan want you to go to hell? Because he knows that’s where he’s going to be for all eternity, and he wants to bring as many as he can with him. Satan hates your guts. He doesn’t want you to be in heaven forever, enjoying the presence of God. He wants you miserable, like he is. And there’s nothing we have to do in order to be condemned to hell, other than to be born on this earth. That’s our natural destination from birth.

But even if hell weren’t our natural destination we’d all be condemned there anyway because we have all sinned. Romans 3:10 says, “None is righteous, no, not one.” and Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned.”

So is there anyway we can change our destination? I don’t know about you, but I have no desire to go to hell, a place the Bible describes as a place of eternal fire and darkness and torment (Luke 16). Thankfully, God has provided a way for us to go to heaven. That way is through His Son, Jesus Christ. Nothing good that we do can get us to heaven, for the Bible says that our good deeds are no better than filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Only through Jesus Christ can we get to heaven. He Himself says in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

But what has Jesus done that allows me to go to heaven? He paid the penalty for your sin through one of the most gruesome forms of death known to mankind, Roman crucifixion. He was nailed to a cross, and there died in order save us. The Bible says in Romans 6:23, “The wages [or payment] of sin is death.” Someone had to die for our sin, so Christ sacrificed Himself for us, that we might escape that penalty.

But the good news, as you may know, it that Christ didn’t stay dead. After being a tomb for 3 days, he arose from the dead, and was seen by over 500 witnesses. The most extreme situations in a court of law require only 7 witnesses in order for something to be certified, yet there were over 70 times that many witnesses of Christ’s resurrection. His resurrection - His coming back to life - defeated death, and because of that He can give us eternal life. And that life is with Him forever in heaven.

That’s how you can know for sure that you are on your way to heaven and not hell. If there has never been a specific time in your life when you have trusted Christ to save you from your sin, and have entered into a personal relationship with Him, you can pray right now and place your trust in Him. If you would like more information on how you can know for sure that you are on your way to heaven, leave a comment, and be sure to fill in your email address (only I will see it, so don’t worry about spam bots harvesting it).

Don’t let Satan devour you.

We at BJU
had the priviledge of hearing Judge Billy Wilkins Chief Judge of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals at a special convocation tonight. He has been on the short list for Supreme Court justices multiple times. He spoke on the Proper Role of Judges on the Bench.
He stated that he had spent much time in preparing what he was going to say, but he had difficulty in how he wanted to present his remarks. He finally decided on a question and answer session, in which he gave both the answers and the questions. These were his questions.

Q 1: What exactly do judges do?
A: He first addressed what judges do not do. The judiciary branch was not designed to run society, it was designed to prevent society from getting out of control. Ultimately, “the judge’s role is that of an interpreter.” He presented a story about Oliver Wendell Holmes’s reply to the remark of a friend, “Do justice, sir.” Holmes’s reply was that his job was not to “do justice,” but to enforce the rules of law, whether he liked them or not.

Q 2: Why give judges life tenure?
A: Life tenure insulates them from the pressure of public opinion. However, they still should benefit from informed criticism.

Q 3: Do I have any role as a citizen in shaping the federal judiciary?
A: Yes! Public opinion leads to the election of presidents who then appoint judges as they retire from their terms. Although the system is not perfect, it has worked for well over 200 years.

Q 4: With all this lawyer bashing, what kind of profession is the legal profession anyway?
A: He answered this question by listing many famous statesmen, all of whom were lawyers, and their contributions to our great nation. Men like John Adams, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Marshall, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt. Every major political advance in our country be it abolition of slavery, suffrage for women, etc. has been spearheaded by a lawyer.

He closed his remarks with a poem about an old country preacher’s prayer for the leaders of our country. The poem stated that more prayers for judges were not what was necessary. Then the poem and Judge Wilkins’s remarks ended with this line
More praying judges is what we need.

manthano - koine greek for “I am learning.” That’s what this blog is about, what I am learning - be it about the Bible, computers, etc.

So why koine Greek? Koine Greek is the language I am learning right now at school. I’m leaming it so I can study the Bible (at least the NT) in it’s original language. I have had a year of it so far, and I will continue learning it this year.

Another cool word is mathetes. This word is the noun form of manthano. It literally means “learner.” In the Bible it is usually translated “disciple.” It is used of the original 12 as well as others who followed Christ. That is what I desire to be, one who follows Christ, a mathetes. I am still learning.