Bunyan's "Holy War"

We just finished listening to "The Holy War"  by John Bunyan. Since this book was a blessing to me, I want  to encourage you to read or listen to the entire book. This allegorical book was written in 1682. It is lesser known than Bunyan's more famous book, "Pilgrim's Progress." But "The Holy War" is just as rich in spiritual truth, if not more so. Both these books have more solid theology than 99% of the books in your local Christian bookstore. "The Holy War" teaches many great truths of scripture such as, the fall and corruption of man, the work of the law and the gospel, the use of the conscience, forgiveness and redemption, sanctification and glorification. This book is almost a treatise on sanctification for you will learn about the putting to death of sin, resisting temptation, and how to grow in holiness. Many more truths from the Bible are found in this book under the guise of this allegorical story, which can't all be related here.

A summary of the book is as follows: King Shaddai built a city called Mansoul in the country called Universe. All things are well and good until Diabolus shows up. By using deception, he convinces the town of Mansoul to let him in to the city so he can rule over them instead of Shaddai and his son Emmanuel. Diabolus corrupts the town of Mansoul in every possible way. When Shaddai hears of it, he sends some of his army to take the town back. While this attack does some good, the city is even more set on rebellion than before. So Emmanuel is sent with an army to take the town. This attack is successful. Diabolus is humiliated and banished from town. In a marvelous act of grace, Emmanuel pardons the town and begins to reign over them. But there is a problem, for among the natural inhabitants of Mansoul, there are Diabolonians. These are men inside Mansoul who are Diabolus' people seeking to bring Mansoul back under the bondage of Diabolus. All is well between Emmanuel and Mansoul until the people start to listen to the wicked ideas of some Diabolonians. Then Emmanuel leaves his Mansoul for a time. Diabolus hearing of Mansoul's low condition, raises an army to take back Mansoul. Poor Mansoul! She is attacked from without by Diabolus and from within by the Diabolonians. So the rest of the book records this great struggle; the ending of which I will not tell you as I hope you will find out by reading the book.

The Holy War is worth the effort to read. It is a little tedious at times and the language is old and archaic (I am an Old English Only when it comes to these books; no modern updates for me), but plod on. Digging for diamonds takes hard work, but it is worth the effort. Glorious truths are illustrated in new and fresh ways. There are countless illustrations that can be used to color your sermons, Bible lessons, and conversation. And if you ever hear me teach, you will understand all the references I make to "The Holy War" and "Pilgrim's Progress" and then I won't have to explain them. So take the time to read or listen (it is an audio book) to "The Holy War" and then read "Pilgrim's Progress" while you are on a roll.

-Brad

In honor of this John Bunyan themed post, We are giving away a CD. It is called "Pilgrim's Praise" by Judy Rogers and Craig Pitman. It has a number of songs based on "Pilgrim's Progress." You can find out more about Judy Rogers at her website. If you want the CD, leave a comment below and we'll draw someone's name at random in a few days.

The Lord's Day

This is the last post in a series on the Sabbath. As we have seen before the Sabbath day was for the people of Israel under the Mosaic covenant as a sign of that covenant. It pointed them back to the creation rest and redemption from slavery in Egypt. The Sabbath was a type and shadow that pointed them forward to the spiritual rest and liberty in Christ. We have seen from Colossians 2:16,17 that we are not required to keep the Sabbath. So in this post we will look at the Lord's day. Is there any connection between it and the Sabbath? Is the Sunday our new day of rest? I will answer these questions as best as I can from scripture. If you disagree that is fine, just make sure you back up your conviction with scripture, not tradition.

 The basis for worship on the first day of the week comes from the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The first day of the week is when Christ rose from the dead. Salvation was completed. Death was defeated. Our Savior is alive. Oh! There have been few days so filled with joy as that day. The apostles went from the deepest depths of despair to an incredulous joy. The resurrection is the pillar of Christianity. For if Jesus did not rise, then our faith is vain. His resurrection ushered in a new era. To celebrate a finished salvation, Christians started to meet on the first day of the week to worship.

The first reference to meeting on the first day of the week is found in Acts 20:7. "On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day....." Here we read of believers gathering together on the first day of the week to take communion and to hear the preaching of God's word. The next time we read of the first day of the week is found in 1 Corinthians 16:1,2. "Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up,....." This verses teaches that it was Paul's frequent instruction to churches that each Sunday, they collect an offering for other needy believers. This also implies that every first day of the week believers were gathering together for worship. One part of that worship was giving financially. The last reference to the first day of the week or Sunday is found in Revelation 1:10. There we find that on the Lord's day, John saw a vision of Jesus Christ. The Lord's day is a reference to the first day of the week. It seems likely that John was worshiping on the first day of the week as was the pattern of the church, even while he was alone on the island of Patmos. These verses are the only references in the New Testament to believers gathering together to worship on the first day of the week. This pattern of worshiping on the first day of the week continues on through the early church and through out church history.

Now I think we can agree that the first day of the week is a day of worship, joy, and fellowship. But is it a day of rest? Did the Sabbath day become the Sunday? If it did, what proof do we have? Nothing I have found in the New Testament has made a link with the Sabbath and the Sunday in regard to resting. Now the Sabbath was a day when the Jews would worship in the synagogues. The synagogues were meeting places where the Jews came together to be taught God's word. These came into being during the exile. Now on this point of worship, there is a connection between the Sabbath and the Sunday. But as to the Sunday being a day of rest that replaces the Sabbath; nothing is said. If the Sunday was a replacement, then where is that clearly laid out? The Sabbath had clear rules on what couldn't be done and how to punish Sabbath breakers. Are those laws still in force or are they changed? The Sunday is not a day of rest like the Sabbath is, rather it is a day to rejoice in the rest we have in Christ together with God's people.

Do we have no day of rest? I believe that there is a principle in the Sabbath that should be applied to our lives. We need to rest physically. We can't continue working until we drop. Our bodies and minds need time to rest and relax. Jesus understood this and tried to give His disciples a time for rest. We would be wise to take time to rest; to take a day off from work. Sunday is one of the best days to do that. It a normal day off for most people and if we are to worship on Sunday, we need to take time away from our work to do that. Thus we don't have a day of rest or rules laid down for us to follow for resting, we have a principle we can apply to our lives. If you can, rest on Sunday. If you can't, find another time to rest on. Just let us remember the command to "not neglecting to meet  together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." Hebrew 10:25

Lastly, if you disagree with all that I have written concerning the Sabbath and Sunday, that is all right, provided you are fully convinced from God's word about your position. You have freedom in this matter and I will respect that freedom. But also allow me my freedom in this matter as well.
 Romans 14:5-6 says, "One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord.."

-Brad

The Shadowy Sabbath

In the last post I wrote about the Sabbath day, I looked at a large overview of the Sabbath day in the Bible and even into early church history. I explained that for those who live in the New Covenant, we are not obligated to keep the Sabbath day. I want to show from scripture the meaning of the Sabbath day as it will help us understand why it is only a temporary law for Israel. Let us look at the purpose of the Sabbath day.

 Every covenant has a sign to confirm it. The covenant with Noah had the rainbow as a sign of God's promise. The Abrahamic covenant had circumcision. The New covenant has baptism. And the Mosaic covenant had the Sabbath day. "Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you through out your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you." Exodus 31:13  And in verse 17, "It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed." This point is also made in Ezekiel 20:10-12, "So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. I gave them my statues and made known to them my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live. Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them."  The Sabbath day was to function for Israel as a reminder that they were set apart by God to be His people. The Mosaic covenant was where the Lord formally entered into covenant with His people. There He set the terms of the covenant, one of which was keeping the Sabbath day, which was something new, even to the people of Israel.

  There are two reasons given why Israel was to rest on the Sabbath day. One is given in the 10 commandments given in Exodus 20:1-17 and the other is given in Deuteronomy 5:6-21. In the Exodus version of the 10 commandments the reason given for the Sabbath day is the Lord's rest on the seventh day. The 10 commandments in Deuteronomy the reason given is the Lord's deliverance of the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt. These two reasons explain the meaning of the Sabbath day for Israel.

 The people of Israel were to rest on the Sabbath day because God rested on the seventh day. God did not rest on the seventh day because He was tired. His rest was a cessation of His labors and an invitation for man to enjoy this rest with God. Man was to enjoy fellowship and harmony with his Creator in this true rest. But sin came into the world and this rest was lost. Sin makes us restless. Sin destroys our peace with God. Fallen human nature cannot rest, but tries to work to find salvation. As Israel rested physically on the Sabbath they were to remember this spiritual rest that was lost because of sin. The Sabbath day was to direct their hearts to come back to God in true faith and repentance to find that true rest. We know from Hebrews 4 that this rest of God's was to be restored in Christ. He is our rest. Christ has fulfilled the Sabbath. "So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from His." Heb 4:9-10.

The Sabbath day was also to remind Israel of their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. Israel was for many years a nation of slaves. They worked and worked to build cities in Egypt. Slavery is tiring business. You don't get to pick your hours or vacations. They were owned by a very strong nation. They were oppressed and worked almost to death. I am sure they would have loved just one day to rest from their hard labor. The Lord stepped in to save His people. He destroyed their oppressors by 10 plagues. He delivered them from Egypt and led them to freedom. Yet in a sense they were still slaves, just of a different owner. The Lord now owned this people. But He is a good owner. He gave His people many good things. One of the many festivals and holidays was the Sabbath day. As they rested on that day, they were to remember their hard labor in Egypt and how God delivered them. Thus Israel would be thankful to their God for His liberation. They would remember that they were His people and they were called to live to His standards. Even this reason for the Sabbath day was to point to something greater. The freedom given in the exodus is a picture of a greater freedom found in Christ. He delivers us from the power of sin and Satan. We were slaves to sin, but now we are free to be slaves of Christ and righteousness. Thus resting on the Sabbath should have directed the minds of the Israelites to seek a greater freedom; a freedom from slavery to sin.

The Sabbath day was full of types and shadows that are all fulfilled in Christ.See Col 2:16,17. It was a sign of God's covenant with Israel. Now that Christ has come it is no longer binding on Christians. For us to observe the Sabbath would be like sewing a new patch on an old garment. It just doesn't work in this New Covenant age of grace.

So what about Sunday? Is that our new day of rest? Do we have a day of rest? Well in the next and last post in this series I will examine what the Bible says concerning the Sunday and our need for physical rest.

-Brad-

Infant Baptism Exposed! Part 2

 This is part two of a series that aims to put infant baptism under the microscope of scripture. Last post I considered if there indeed is a covenant of grace made with believer's and their children, which is the foundation of infant baptism. So I examined the Abrahamic covenant and circumcision and did not find evidence of a covenant made with believers and their children. But perhaps there is evidence of this covenant of grace in the new covenant. So in this post I plan to focus on the new covenant. I realize this is a little long but this is needed to understand the new covenant. So bear with me.

 The Jewish nation of Israel lived under the Mosaic covenant. This covenant was supposed to be temporary. It was there to reveal their sinfulness, to teach them the gospel in pictures, and to lead them to God's Messiah, High Priest, Prophet, and Lamb. While the people promised confidently that they could keep God's covenant, they failed, and failed, and failed all the way into exile and beyond. God knew that would happen and in Deut 30:1-10 God promised that one day He was going to make them all able to keep His law and covenant so they would experience His blessings. Now at this point this promise is not called a covenant, but when we examine other passages that more clearly refer to the new covenant, than we can see that this promise in Deuteronomy 30 is indeed referring to the new covenant. When we look at the whole of the Old Testament, we see many passages that promise a new covenant. Almost all the prophets reveal aspects of this new and glorious covenant. For example look at Ezekiel 11:14-21, Ezekiel 36 22-36, Ezekiel 37: 15-28, Hosea 2:14-23, Hosea 14. But the clearest passage that explains the new covenant is found in Jeremiah 31:31-40. Part of this passage is quoted in Hebrew 8:8-12. We will look carefully at this new covenant for it reveals to us why we baptize only believers.

  It is clear from scripture that we who are Christians live in the new covenant. At the first Lord's Supper, Jesus, when He was about to pass the cup of wine, stated that, " This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood." Luke 22:20 In Hebrews 9: 15-22, we learn that a will or covenant cannot come into effect without the death of the one who made the will. The death of Christ opened up to us God's will or covenant. The death of Christ instituted the new covenant. Again Hebrews 8 makes it clear that we enjoy the benefits of living in this new covenant.

  It is important to remember that this new covenant was originally promised to Israel. The new covenant was to be the fulfillment of all the other covenants. What the Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants promised, the new covenant delivers. When you look closely at all the passages about the new covenant you will see a consistent pattern in what is promised. The new covenant promises a great return of Jews to their own land. There in the land they will be ruled by the Son of David. It will be a time of great peace, blessing, and prosperity. But before this can happen there will be a great conversion of Jews. It will be a national repentance; a nation as a whole being born again, something the law could not give. See Ezekiel 37. The Holy Spirit is also promised in the new covenant for it is He who will work this great internal change. So we see material or physical blessings promised in the new covenant but also spiritual blessings. But since Israel has rejected her Messiah, she lives outside the blessings of the new covenant. Now Gentiles and believing Jews can participate in the spiritual blessings of new covenant though faith in Jesus Christ, the Seed of Abraham.  (Romans 11) So while the new covenant is instituted or begun, there remains a complete fulfillment. This will happen when the nation of Israel is born again and gathered into their promised land under the rule of Jesus the Son of David. This full fulfillment we, Gentiles, will experience as well during the blessed reign of Christ.

  Now let us look at Hebrews 8:8-12 to see in detail what God promises to give to those now in the new covenant. 
1) This covenant is unbreakable.
  We can see this in verses 8 and 9. There is a comparison between the new covenant and the old mosaic covenant. The people of Israel did not continue in the covenant God made with them at Sinai. They could not keep its demands. They were unable to do all that God commanded them. But this was to change in the new covenant for God was going to change the people internally. Notice all the "I wills", God promises to provide in Christ all that was needed for his people to keep this covenant. There are no covenant obligation for those in this covenant. Christ has done it all.

2) God promises to give His people a new heart. verse 10a
 The Mosaic covenant had laws written on stone tablets. But now the law would be written on the hearts of His people. Having the law written on a person's heart or mind means that God's law would become the driving force of our beliefs, affections, words, and deeds. We will delight to do God's law. We approve of God's law. We look at God's law as God sees it. This is what happens at regeneration. This is what is promised in Ezekiel 36:26 " I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."

3) God promises reconciliation and restoration. verse 10b
God promises that He will be their God and they shall be my people. This promise is found through- out the Bible. In Leviticus 26:12 God promised this if His people would keep His law. In Hosea 1:9, God says that He is not Israel's God and they are not His people because of their sins. But yet in the next verse promises a time when this relationship will be restored. In 2 Cor 6:16, this promise is also applied to individual believers, who were separated from God by their sins but now are reconciled to Him though Christ. In Rev 21:3 and 7, God promises that in the new heavens and earth there will be unhindered fellowship with Him.

4) Everyone in the new covenant will know the Lord. verse 11
To know the Lord is not to simply know about God, but to have a close personal relationship with God. The sons of Eli did not know the Lord. 1 Sam 2:12 Samuel who worked in the temple did not know the Lord before God appeared to him. 1 Sam 3:7 A theme in the book of Hosea is that Israel did not know the Lord, in spite of their apparent religious devotion. We can see something of the meaning  of this expression when it used to describe sexual intimacy. Adam knew his wife Eve. Gen 4:1  In Matt 7:23, Jesus says to those who did many mighty works in His name, that He never knew them. These were self deceived unbelievers who knew about Christ but did not know Him. Jesus knows about them, but He doesn't know them. In the old covenant there were people who did know God. But most of the time most  Jews did not know God. Many had no personal saving relationship with God. But in the new covenant it is promised that all people will know God. To put it another way, In old covenant Israel there were covenant members who needed to be evangelized. In the new covenant all members are saved; we don't need to evangelize covenant members.

5) God promises complete and irrevocable forgiveness. verse 12
 Forgiveness was given in the Old Testament based on the promise of a coming Savior who would suffer the punishment that we deserved for our sins. In the new covenant God gives forgiveness based on the finished work of Christ on the cross. This once for all sacrifice washes away our sins forever.

6) God promises the indwelling of the Spirit
It is important to note that in Ezekiel 36:27, which is also a promise of a new covenant, God promises to put His Spirit in them. "And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statues and be careful to obey my rules." So we see at Pentecost that the Spirit of God comes upon His people. see Joel 2: 28-32 Every time a person is born again the Holy Spirit indwells them and gives them spiritual gifts. This outpouring of the Spirit will also happen to Israel in her future national conversion.

 Infant baptism fails on every characteristic of this new covenant. Every point listed above prevents the idea that children of believers or any unconverted person can be part of this new covenant. Only those who are born again, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, forgiven, and reconciled to know the Lord are members of this new covenant. Baptism is a sign of this glorious covenant. So baptism is to be administered only to those who show the evidences of the new birth.

This post became longer than I planned and it really is only a brief explanation of the new covenant. So, I will explain what baptism means in the next post in this series.

Brad

Hitting the Bull's Eye in the Baptism Debate

  When  I was about 20, I realized not all Baptists were Arminians as I was told for many year. Some Baptists were Calvinists. I felt that I was lied to and this made me search for answers that eventually led some 6 years later to me rejecting infant baptism. It took me years of study to understand what lies at the heart of the differences between infant baptism and believer's baptism. It was often very confusing and frustrating. Part of the problem is some people don't understand the other side or they set up a straw man argument. Anyone can destroy a straw man. A straw man doesn't fight back. He can't defend himself.  Too often in theological debates, we make straw men of the other side's position. We make their position look simplistic or we misrepresent it and so make our position seem more logical or biblical. Then we seek to do battle with the theological straw man. We cut and hack that idea to pieces. Then we raise our hands in triumph and celebrate our glorious victory. Surely we have won, haven't we?

 In the baptism debate, I have seen straw men made on both sides. Unfortunately when this happens real understanding of the issue is lost. In this blog post I want to mention the straw men often used by paedobaptists and then I want to show where the bulls eye in the baptism debate is. I hope this will benefit both sides of the debate from wasting time and energy on the secondary issues.

This debate over baptism is not about Calvinism vs Arminianism. It is not about God choosing you or you choosing God. Too often I have read people saying that believer's baptism is a testimony to a person's faith. It is about the individual choosing God rather than God choosing you. Or it is said that believer's baptism is  a sign of your faith. On the other hand, it is stated, infant baptism is all about God choosing you. But this debate has nothing to do with Calvinism. Anyone who says otherwise doesn't understand the Baptist's position. This debate is not about Old Testament vs New Testament. Paedobaptists believe the Old and New Testaments and Baptists believe only the New Testament, or so I was told. People have said that Baptists believe they can obtain a perfect believer's only church. This also is not true. This debate is not about the salvation of our children. Baptism doesn't save anyone. There are likely other ideas not mentioned. But let us get to the very heart of the issue, the bull's eye.

Covenant. Baptism is all about how we understand the covenants. This is the key that unlocks the door to really understanding this debate. Infant baptism is based on an understanding of the covenants.  The Baptist's understanding of the covenants differs. Both these understandings of the covenants lead to different conclusions on who should and should not be baptized. Before we debate on baptism, we need to remember to start at this crucial issue. You need to look at the Abrahamic and Mosaic Covenants and then move on to discuss the New Covenant. In fact we don't even need to go to the New Testament in this debate. For when we understand the covenants rightly, all the other pieces will fall into place. There will be no need to discuss the household baptisms, 1 Cor 7:14, or any of the other texts. The debate over infants being baptized  needs to start here at the covenants.  This is the bulls eye that we need to aim for. 

In the next week or two, we hope to put on our blog a revised article by my wife which critiques infant baptism. The truth matters, even on a secondary issue like infant baptism.

Note: The infant baptism that I am referring to is that which is held by most Reformed/Presbyterians. Catholics, Lutherans and some others baptize infants for other reasons.

-Brad