Tracing The Finger Of God

Over the past few weeks I have had the opportunity to listen to some talks on the lives of godly men of the past. I have heard of men like David Brainerd, Jonathan Edwards, John Newton, John Paton and William Carey. It has been an enriching time for my soul. Looking into God's past dealing with His children has strengthened my faith. I have marveled at the wisdom, faithfulness and sovereignty of God and I hope this post will help you do that as well.

David Brainerd was missionary to the Indians in the American Colonies. His life was short due to sickness. He died in Jonathan Edwards' house and Edwards was so moved by this man's godliness that he published David's journal and diary. God used this book to move many other people to leave all to bring the gospel to other lands. Men like William Carey and Henry Martyn and other well known men were inspired by this weak man. David Brainerd's impact on missions is hard to overemphasis.

  John Paton was a missionary to the South Sea Islands. For four years he lived and worked on the island of Tanna. He had little success and much danger and heart ache. He lost his wife and son on this island and he was sick often. Eventually he was driven off the island. A few years later a book was written about his trials and adventures in the mission field. It was used greatly by God to stir up his own denomination and the worldwide church to bring the gospel to the lost peoples of this world. Later John Paton went to another island where most of the island was eventually converted. He also traveled around the world to awaken the church to missions. Yet this could not have happen without his losses and trials on the island of Tanna.

 John Newton was known for being a wise counselor and a hymn writer. His letters are filled with wisdom and grace. He gave counsel to William Carey who became a missionary to India and the father of Modern Missions. John Newton mentored William Wilberforce, who led the movement to abolish the slave trade in Britain. Newton also befriended William Cowper who was a very depressed man. This friendship was a great blessing to Cowper. Together they wrote hymns together which have been sung all over the world by generations of Christians. Newton's Amazing Grace is one of the most well known hymns ever sung. God did all this and more through a man who once was a slave trader and a blasphemer.

 Over the last few weeks I have been looking back on our trips to Cuba for the purpose of writing a short book. It has been wonderful to look back on how God has taught us and provided for us. How patiently did God teach us so that His work would be done more effectively. I see the times He answered our prayers and the prayers of the Cubans. God brought the right people into our lives so that His goals would be accomplished. How often did He protect us from harm! Opportunities to go to Cuba were provided in way that only can be traced to the providence of God. Writing this account has led me to worship such a great and good God.

  Isn't this remembering the past deeds of God what the Psalmist often did. Just consider Psalm 105 verse 5, "Remember the wonderful works He has done, His wonders, and the judgments he has pronounced."  In a time of  crisis, Asaph said in Psalm 77, "I will remember the LORD's works; yes I will remember your ancient wonders. I will reflect on all you have done and meditate on your actions." verses 11-12  When he did this, his faith grew strong. Instead of doubt and despair, there was hope and worship.

The past can teach us how God uses the blacks and grays on his painting of our lives. We may not see all the picture, but looking back on what is done will help us appreciate the wisdom of the Divine painter in choosing the colors that He did. One day when we look back from heaven, God's work of art will be seen to be a masterpiece.

 Remembering the past to see the providence of God is medicine for the soul. Do you do this? Do you see how God has led you, taught you, cared for you or protected you? When you see in the past your unfaithfulness and unworthiness, how gracious is our God! Do you study history, especially the history of the church? You should. What lessons would you learn! Consider the past, not to glory in you, but to glory in a glorious Lord.

Brad

Worship and Music

Music in the church; it is one of those topics that generate brisk and heated discussions. Some say we should only sing Psalms from the Bible. Some says we should not have any instruments. Some churches put on a rock concert every service. Should we sing only old hymns or new hymns and songs too? What instruments can we use?  Endless questions that can be confusing to sort through. These differences about music in church services can cause church splits. Part of the challenge is that God has given us some freedom on this issue and so differences are not necessarily wrong. I believe that God has given us principles about cooperate worship that we need to apply. Let try to look at some of them. Now I have to admit that I can't sing well or play any instrument with any level of skill. But I don't think that hinders me in understanding Biblical principles.

Worship is not just something we do in a Sunday church service. Worship is all of life. Worship can be cleaning your house or fixing a car. But on the first day of the week we gather to worship God together as a body of believers.This is not an option as we learn from Hebrews 10:25 where we are warned not to forsake meeting together, which usually happened on the first day of the week.

What is to happen when we meet together for worship?
 1) Prayer 1 Tim 2:8
2) Reading the Scriptures and preaching 1 Tim 4:13
3) Giving 1 Cor 16:2
 4) Regular celebration of Lord Supper  1 Cor 11:17-34
 5) Baptisms  Matt 28:19
6) Singing and Music Eph. 5:19

These are the elements that are to make up our worship service. All these elements are to be guided by scripture. We need Biblical preaching and singing. Baptism and Lord Supper are to be done as the Bible has instructed us. Prayer is shaped by the truth of God's word.

These different parts of a worship service are to be done together. That doesn't mean that everyone should be preaching or praying. The worship service is not a spectator sport. We are all involved even in the preaching for then our minds need to be engaged in listening. When there is praying, we ought to listen along and affirm what is being prayed in our own hearts. Even in baptism, those who are watching can be instructed and edified as they think of the beautiful picture of baptism and remember the saving grace of God in their lives. Singing praises to the Lord is to be done together as well. This is important for it helps us develop a Biblical guide to music.

The main principle for music in the church is that congregational singing guides the tune and the instruments. The instruments used and kind of music chosen must support and help the congregation sing. Any instrument can be used in a worship service so long as it helps rather than hinders the congregation to sing. If the instruments drown out the voices of the congregation, then it hinders the congregation's worship in song. Some instruments are more conducive to congregational singing. This will guide us when we consider what instruments should be used.

If this is a worship service and we are to worship together then the tune must be simple enough so that everyone can sing it. Most music written today is not easy for everyone to sing.Neither are they written for congregational singing. Some people can sing well, others only sing in one tone or croak like a frog. The tune must be simple enough that most if not all people can sing along without too much trouble.

The next principle for music in the church can be found in John 4;24. "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." The last word of this text is important. We must worship God with the truth. The truth fuels worship. Look at Col 3:16. "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God." The truth of Scripture should permeate every part of our lives, especially our singing as you can see in the later part of the verse.
So then our songs must be theologically rich and accurate. We need to sing our theology. Too many of the songs used in churches today are like a thin watery soup instead of a rich meal of meat and potatoes. Some of these songs use a lot of words to say very little that is meaningful or they use endless repetition. We can't worship God well when our music has little truth in it. These theological bare bones lyrics reflects our current age's lack of interest in doctrine and expository preaching. While I believe it would be well for the church to sing the Psalms so long as we recognize the different context, the Psalms also provide for a pattern or template with which to write our hymns.

Lastly, even if we have theologically rich songs with good congregational singing and a balanced use of instruments, we still might fail to worship God in our music. The second part of John 4:24 says we are to worship Him in spirit. That is we are to worship Him from the heart. Our singing must flow from a thankful and reverent heart that loves God. We need heart worship; not just singing the words but really meaning what we are singing. God cares much more about what goes on inside us than outside. Both are important, but if our hearts are far from God, we aren't worshiping Him. I think we can all see how we have failed in this. Let us pray that God will make us passionate worshipers of our Great Lord and Savior.

"Hallelujah! Sing to the LORD a new song, His praise in the assembly of the godly." 

Psalm 149:1

Brad

No Shoes, No Clothes, No Idolatry?

In your time of need, where do you look for help first? When faced with difficulties or a need, who is the person you go to first? The truth is we often look to people or to ourselves first. We have idols that seem more able to save than the Lord God. But as we will see in this post idols will always disappoint us, but our God is an ever present help in trouble.

It would be helpful as you read this post that you turn in your Bible to Isaiah 20. It is short chapter, but it is very instructive. The previous chapter explained the fall of the Egyptians. Egypt was a super power in this area of the world at the time and Israel and Judah often looked to Egypt for help in their wars with Assyria and later Babylon. In 711 B.C. the Assyrians attacked the Philistine city of Ashdod and captured it. During this battle, the word of the Lord came to Isaiah and it was no ordinary word. Isaiah was told to take off his clothes and sandals, and walk around in this condition for three years. Being a prophet was not easy. Often the prophets were called to do strange things like this. See the strange actions of Ezekiel. The way of a Christian can be filled with tasks and situations that are hard and humiliating. Like our Lord, we may become an object of scorn. Yet God has a purpose in it all for us and for those watching us. We are theaters that display the glory of God in jars of clay. This was true for Isaiah.

Now it is likely that Isaiah was not completely naked as that would violate good morals. Also the word naked doesn't necessarily means completely without clothes. He may not have walked around in this state all the time, but at times through out the span of three years. Exposing any part of your skin was a great shame in that culture. Can you imagine what people would say? Most would laugh and call him crazy. Others though may have asked why he was dressed like this. Then Isaiah would have an opportunity to explain why God wanted him to walk around partially naked. This living sign was a way to get people's attention to the word of God.

God's message was that just as Isaiah was walking barefoot and naked, so the Egyptians and Cushites would walk barefoot and naked as prisoners of war, led into exile by the Assyrians. The great super power Egypt and her close relative Cush would soon be defeated and humiliated before the terrible Assyrians.

 Why act out this sign at this time when Ashdod fell? It seems, like Judah, Ashdod and the Philistines relied on Egypt for military assistance. but in Ashdod's greatest need, Egypt failed to deliver her. Not only was Egypt unable to help her allies, one day she would be crushed in defeat as well. The lesson for Judah is very simple. Don't trust in Egypt to save you from your enemies. She can't help you. Your greatest enemy and  your greatest savior is the Lord. If you return to Him in repentance and obedience, then He will look upon you in favor. Only He can deliver you from the raging nations around you. Put all your hope and trust in the eternal and almighty God. But if you don't you will face the wrath of God, who will make you naked captives to a merciless foe.

So what about us? Do we have idols like Judah? How often do we look to man for help instead of God? When faced with a problem, do we trust our own wisdom and skill to get us out of the trouble? Or do we first pray to our God for help and wisdom? Maybe you think the only way for your loneliness and dissatisfaction to disappear would be to find that perfect person to get married to. Or if only you had children, your life would be great. Do we rely primarily on people to get us out of various troubles, or is our first reaction prayer? Do we look to good politicians to save our country? We often first try to solve our problems and dissatisfaction on our own or though others, and when our idols fails, then we turn to God for help.  I encourage you to try apply this further to your life.

Idolatry is a serious sin against God. When we sin by trusting in others rather than God, we are showing that we don't believe God is able or willing to help us. Our idolatry is a insult to the Holy One. Would it not parents be grieved if their little children went to their little foolish friends for help instead of them?  Thankfully if we repent of our idolatry, there is grace and forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

"Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horseman because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the LORD!" 

Isaiah 31:1 

-Brad 

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

Beef Up Your Prayers

Are there times when your prayer life is a little thin?  When all you can say are vague requests to bless so and so or be with Grandma? What can you do to put some meat on the bones of your prayers? Studying the Lord's prayer is a good place to begin, but it is also most helpful to look at the prayers that Paul recorded for us in some of the letters he wrote to churches. Paul's prayers help us to know what to pray for others and for ourselves.

Now I would first say that when praying for others we need to know if that person is a believer or an unbeliever. If the person is an unbeliever, there really is only one prayer for them. It is to pray for the salvation of this unconverted person. So if an unbeliever is sick, I will pray that this sickness would be used by God to show this person the disease of sin in their hearts and the healing that is found in the great Physician Jesus Christ. It is best not to pray that God would comfort them or heal, unless this situation would lead to their salvation. For what good is it if a person lived to 100 years old and then died and entered the fires of hell?

 One of Paul's prayers for the church is found in Colossians 1:9-14. While Paul did not plant this church he deeply cared for this church. He prayed regularly for those whom he never met. Lets look at a few aspects of what Paul prayed for this church.

1)  Knowledge and wisdom

Paul prayed that God would fill them with the knowledge of His will. Paul wanted God to teach the Colossians the great truths of the Word of God. God's word reveals His will for us. But we need Him to teach us these truth for we cannot understand them apart from His Spirit. There are many hard truths to understand. It is easy to mistreat or misunderstand God's word. One doesn't became wise and discerning over night. Being able to correctly handle the word of God doesn't come in an instant. We need to pray desperately that God would make us and others understand His word as He intended. But more than praying that the Colossians would understand God's word, Paul prays that they would have the wisdom to apply it to the many and varied situations that they would come into. Knowledge or understanding of truth is not enough. We need the skill to bring the truth to bear on the situation at hand.  All this teaches us the importance of the scriptures in our sanctification. God uses His word by His Spirit to conform us into the image of Christ. We need to read, study and meditate on His word if we hope to grow as Christians.

2) A fruitful life of holiness

This request flows out of the last two. A right theology and a right understanding of how to apply it should lead to us living a life that pleases God. We need to put our theology to work. Paul desires that they should live a godly life; a life filled with the fruit of the Spirit. A life in which we serve others with our spiritual gifts. Evangelizing the lost, giving our money to the cause of Christ, and praising and thanking God are all ways in which we can bear much fruit. All Christians will bear some fruit, but our desire should be that we and others should bear much fruit.

3) Knowledge of God

As we know God's word better we will learn more about Him. As we walk with Him in holiness, we will come to know Him in a more practical and experiential way. Knowing facts about God is not enough, we must have a deeper relationship with our God. According to 1 John 1;13, a mature Christian is one who knows "him who is from the beginning."

4) Strength

Paul knows that a fruitful and godly life lived with God is more than we can manage on our own. We need God's power to help us to live this way. So Paul prays that God would strengthen them with His almighty power. This power is infinite and never diminishing. That power is always there for His people. Paul asks God that He would strengthen His people with this power so that they can live in a manner worthy of the Lord and so that they may continue to live in this way till their earthly life is done. We persevere because God ,with His almighty power, holds us in His hands and will not let us go. We should always be praying for God's power to help us live for His glory.

5) Thankfulness

We should always be thankful. We have been taken out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. God has redeemed us from slavery to sin and the devil. God has forgiven us all our sins through Christ. He has blessed us with all spiritual blessings. We have a glorious and never ending inheritance that can never be taken away which is in heaven for us. Besides this, every moment and situation of our life God is using for our good. Even the most terrible situations are for our good. We can indeed always rejoice and be thankful to God.

I hope and pray that this will help you to beef up your gaunt prayers for the glory of our King and His kingdom.

-Brad

Christmas and Missions

Christmas is a good time to reflect on the incarnation of our Saviour and to renew our commitment to foreign missions. I would like to show why in this post.

Christmas is all about the eternal Son of God coming down to earth to become a man so He could save sinners by suffering their punishment on the cross and rising again. God the Son left the glories and comforts of heaven to come to this sin infested world. In heaven He was praised and adored by all the angels. But on earth He would be cursed by men. He is the infinite, self sufficient, all knowing, and all powerful God. But in coming to this world as a baby, he became dependent on others. He had to learn and grow. He was weak. He got tired, hungry and thirsty. He felt pain and hardship. He was tempted and learned obedience. The Holy One who dwells in unapproachable light, now lived among sinful men, with sinful words and deeds all around Him. We could spend years meditating on this subject and not exhaust its depths.

Imagine for a moment if I owned a worm farm. One day I realized that my worms were going to die from some horrible red robin. The only way to save the worms was to become a worm and fight this great beast. So I become a worm and defeated the robin, but in the process became mortally wounded and died. Perhaps you would be impressed by my sacrifice, after all, who would actually stoop that low to save a bunch of worms? I doubt anyone would do such a thing. Yet this picture only slightly illustrates what Jesus did for us. He came to save sinners, who are less than worms. We are rebels against God. We hate Him by nature and would joyfully kill God if we could get our hands on Him. I am sure all heaven would have sighed in relief to see me and all other sinners sentenced to an eternity in Hell. "At last justice is done, no longer would these sinners curse and dishonour the only Blessed God," they would say. Yet Jesus came to save these sinners. Those who are worthless and vile, are the ones He came to redeem. God looked with love and compassion on the miserable plight of men and provided a Savior. This is Christmas. It is the story of God's love and sacrifice to an unworthy people.

Missions is all about sacrificing to show God's love in the proclamation of the gospel. The missionary who leaves his home country or culture to go to a foreign land to bring the light of the gospel is in a very small way doing what Jesus did in His first coming. The missionary leaves his home, his family, his friends and all that is familiar. He often leaves his comforts and safety to enter a new world. There in this new culture he must learn many things over again. He must speak a new language, learn new customs, eat new foods, and find new friends. Maybe he will become poor. New sicknesses are a danger. Plus he brings a message that is foolishness to this world. Men may hate him, scoff at him and even injure or kill him. There is mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual difficulties that are all around him and his family. Yet he and they suffer all this so that sinners can hear the only cure for their sin disease. This gospel message is powerful for the salvation of sinners. This he believes and so he continue on in his work, confident that God's word will be effective. To one degree or more, this is what all those who are involved in missions go through. Only the love of Jesus Christ would compel any to go through such hardships. And yet these hardships are only a flicker of light compared to the great suffering of Jesus Christ to save sinners. We can never suffer more for Christ than He did for us.

On this Christmas season, spend some time thinking of the glory of Christ and His humiliation. Consider the hardships that missionaries go though. Pray more for the missionaries that your church supports or for an organization that sends or supports missionaries. Give financially to those faithful missionaries. Also, consider if God is calling you to go and proclaim the good tidings of great joy to those who live in darkness.

Brad

Aztecs, Mayans, Incas, and the Glory of the Lord

I was recently reading a little about the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas. These were civilisations in South and Central America. They flourished for a time until ultimately they were conquered by the Spanish. But what struck me as I read, was their bloody religion. Each of these empires sacrificed humans. This was not just once and awhile, but often. In fact, many of their wars were launched for the sole purpose of getting captives to be sacrificed to their gods. Often the best victims were taken up a pyramid on top of which was a temple. There the victim was held down and his heart cut out by the priest. The heart was then placed on the altar to please the gods and the body was thrown down the steps. Men, old women, and children were all sacrificed to please the gods. Even the worshippers of these gods would cut themselves and present their own blood to the gods. Their gods were angry gods. They needed to be appeased by the death of people. What horrible religions!

When we look at the religions that the heart of man has come up with, we see in most cases that his gods are horrible beings. The gods of the Greeks and Romans were sinful and wicked. Allah is cold and distant. The god of the Jehovah Witnesses and the god of the Mormons demand good works for salvation with no assurance of salvation. These are gods made in the image of man. In many religions the spirits are out to get people and must be appeased. People live in great fear that the spirit will harm or kill them. The gods of the nations are cruel to their worshippers. The worshippers find no peace of conscience by rituals.

Here in our modern culture, we have cruel gods too. We worship the god of Self. This god also demands us to sacrifice others. Sometimes it is a literal sacrifice, where babies are sacrificed by abortion to meet the selfish demands of the god, Self. Sometimes the sacrifices are not so literal but still very real. We sacrifice the feelings, plans, interests, and hopes of others to make the god Self happy. All our modern gods are not much different than the gods of the ancients. Yet in every case man-made religions and idols are oppressive to people. Strange as it is, it is true. But what a difference there is in the true God and His worship.

The true and living God is so glorious and good. His love is infinite. His laws are good laws intended for our joy.  He is good to His enemies. He should make a quick and painful end to all rebels. But He does something more glorious; He becomes a sacrifice for them. He came to earth, took on a human nature, and lived among His creatures. Then He suffered in their place for their sins. He died for them and then rose to give them eternal life. How different is our God than the gods of men. All that is needed for salvation, He accomplishes for us. We don't have to appease Him. We simply give to Him in love and gratitude our lives in holy service. The life, salvation, and peace that God gives are real and powerful.

Reading about the gods of the Aztecs, Mayans and Incas made me worship our great God who is so different. I hope you will join in worship to the Lord as well.

Psalm 96:2-6

Sing to the Lord, bless His name;

Tell of His salvation from day to day.

Declare His glory among the nations,

His marvelous works among the nations!

For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;

He is to be fear above all gods.

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idol,

But the Lord made the heavens.

Splendor and majesty are before Him;

Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

 

-Brad-

Eschatology and Sanctification Part 4

While this will be the last post on this topic, much more could be said. But I hope that these posts will help to see the importance of eschatology and lead you to give  more time to study and meditate on this truth.

We should study eschatology so that we will be discerning when it comes to unbiblical ideas about the last things and so that we will have a proper perspective on the events that go on around us. Knowing what the Bible teaches concerning the end times is important so when you come across end time errors, you will be able to spot them. It was end time errors that lead Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 and 2 Thessalonians 2 to teach the truth about the end times. Often false teachers and cults have wild and strange understandings of the last things. Think of Jehovah Witnesses or Seventh Day Adventists or the latest false teacher who predicts when Jesus shall return. Jesus warned us that many false christs would come in his name to lead people astray. Matthew 24:4. So we must be on our guard and one way we do that is to know from the scripture what the coming of Christ and the events around that time will look like. These truths will give us a proper perspective on current events. In Matthew 24, Jesus teaches us this world will get worse. He tells us what to expect in this age. Wars, famines, earthquakes, false prophets and lawlessness will increase. Paul warns of the increase in the wickedness of men and of times of difficulty in the last days in 2 Timothy 3:1-5. The Bible clearly teaches not to hope for a golden era of the church before the coming of our Lord. This world will increase in wickedness. Things will get worse. But the fact that God knows this, means He is in control of the future and He will use it to do what is best.  To be forewarned is to be forearmed. 

 The study of the end times will bring comfort. We are comforted in death, persecution and trials of various sorts. Paul told the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 about the coming of the Lord and our  being caught up to Him in the air for the purpose of comforting them when someone died. All Christians will  rise together and meet the Lord in the air. Then we will always be with the Lord. At Christian funerals, people often read from Revelation 21-22 concerning the new heaven and the new earth. For those in Christ, death is only a door to a glorious future with the Lord and His people. We are comforted in persecution. God will judge our enemies. We leave vengeance to Him and do good to them that hurt us. In Hebrews 11:35 it says that "some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life." We can endure persecution knowing that this is only for a short time and that we will rise again from the dead and receive our reward for having stood firm till the end. Revelation 3:10-12 and Matthew 5:12.  Connected to this is the comfort we will have in trials. We can persevere in trials by fixing our eyes of faith on the things to come. This the great heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 did. Paul says the same thing in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison as 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."  We must pray that God may increase our faith so we see the unseen world and find strength and comfort in all our trials.

Finally, the study of Eschatology will lead to worship. We will worship God for His grace and mercy to us in Christ. How unworthy we are of the honours and glories of the world to come. How thankful we should be to be saved from eternal punishment in Hell. We will see more clearly the glorious salvation we have. What a Saviour we have. What a King we have as we see Him, by faith, destroy all His enemies and reign forever as King. We will worship God for His perfect justice, His patience and wisdom. We will praise Him for being faithful to His promises to Israel His people as He brings them as a nation into the New Covenant; providing them with new hearts in the land He promised to give them. Thousands of years do not change God's promises. Nothing can prevent them from coming to pass. We will see the importance of worship. One day, only God will be honoured and glorified. His glory will cover the earth. If it will be so in eternity, we should strive to bring glory to God alone here on earth. Eschatology is all about worship. Faith sees the things to come as certain as if they have already happened. See what the result of prophecy is in Revelation 19:1-10. Hallelujah! The multitudes in heaven worship God for what He will do. They and we can and will worship Him for His judgement on this wicked world, for His avenging His people, for His future reign on this earth, for the future blest communion God will have with His people. This is a good ending to this series. This is the greatest motivation for the study of eschatology.

In order to help you begin to study eschatology, I provide this link to an old free book on the subject.

-Brad-

The Unfortunate Malady of the Veneration of Protestant Saints and its Cure

Last week I met someone famous. It was a famous preacher. We got to talk to him for a number of minutes. I shook his hand too. I haven't washed my hands since and I have kept a hair of his in a glass shrine. I am kidding about the last part. But the way we act around those who are well known in the church makes you wonder sometimes. It isn't only Catholics that worship saints and relics.  Some Protestants do so too, although to a lesser degree and in less obvious ways. We can see this in a number of ways. Some want their picture taken with a famous preacher, leader or musician. Some even ask for his autograph. We try to show our good side to them. We desire them to like us. We desire them to admire us. We crave their attention and affirmation. We boast of our achievements.  Maybe our favorite Christian leader's words are treated like they were the words of God. Whatever form it takes, we make our Christian leaders of the past and present into idols and we sin by pursuing the praise of men.  I know that these sins happen, because I have seen these sins in my own heart and seen these sins in others. These things should not be.
It is too bad people make celebrities out of preachers. We should treat our leaders with respect, but they are still sinful men. Think about your favorite preacher or pastor. He is a sinner who deserves the fires of hell, but through God's grace has been saved. Like all of us he is unworthy of any good thing, especially not salvation. Even more his gift that you enjoy so much, comes from God. That gift has been given by the Lord for the benefit of the church. Famous Christians are still sinners too. They struggle with sins just like us common people. Consider also that maybe that famous Christian is not so faithful to God as you imagine. Maybe in God's eyes there are countless mothers, plumbers, office workers and elders who please God more by their faithful and holy life than the famous Christian you adore. God looks at the heart and views people differently than we tend to do. 'But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."'(1 Samuel 16:7) We are called to give honour to those to whom it is due (1 Tim 5:17). But praise and worship belongs to God alone. See Acts 10:25-26  where Cornelius worshipped Peter who then said, "Stand up! I myself am also a man." So, worship God for the gifts he has given to others.

-Brad-