Righteousness & You
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6
I’ve been a pastor a long time, long enough to have learned some things about professing Christians. One of those things is: not many of them hunger and thirst after righteousness. When you do come across such a person, you are actually taken aback by how much he or she stands out from the crowd. Your reaction is, “Wow, now that’s the way this Christianity thing is supposed to work. That’s the kind of person it’s set up to produce.”
I take no pleasure in reporting that a high percentage of professing Christians are only interested in living righteously enough to keep God from getting too ticked off at them. The time they spend in prayer is minimal. Their Bible study is barely a blip on the radar. They attend church only if all the planets align and nothing else comes up. They give sparingly and many times even begrudge that (2 Corinthians 9:6-7). They’ve never witnessed to anyone in their lives.
Even those who do better in some of these areas typically fall short when it comes to actually repenting of sins and making needed changes in their lives. I’ve known professing Christians who were at church every time the doors were open, but they were petty, bitter people who refused to forgive any perceived slight. I’ve known others who made prayer a vital part of their lives but didn’t mind engaging in pre-marital sex or “shacking up.” Others would give generously to the church but spend even more on alcohol or drugs. To all of these people, the idea of hungering and thirsting after righteousness was foreign. They had just enough religion to keep them at peace with themselves and certainly didn’t have a burning desire for anything more than that.
Imagine a man who hasn’t eaten for two days. He gets the opportunity to sit down at a buffet filled with delicious food. The way that man’s eyes dance over that food is the way the Christian’s eyes should dance over righteousness. The way he craves that food is the way the Christian should crave righteousness.
Imagine a woman who has been stranded in the desert for hours. When she is rescued, a rescue worker hands her a bottle of water. At that moment, there is nothing on earth she wants more. That’s how the Christian should thirst after righteousness.
Christian, when you are obsessively hungering and thirsting after righteousness, when righteousness is what you are chasing in life, you won’t have to be goaded into coming to church. You won’t have to be begged to pray. Your pastor won’t have to chide you into Bible study. It won’t take a ten-sermon series on stewardship to get you to give generously. You won’t have to be coerced into telling others about Jesus and inviting them to church. All of that will come as naturally to you as breathing. It will flow effortlessly out of your hungering and thirsting for righteousness. 1 John 2:29 describes this as “practicing” righteousness: “If you know that He (God) is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him” (1 John 5:1; John 3:1-8).
And, furthermore, Jesus promises that your pursuit of righteousness will not be in vain. He says you shall be filled. I see a two-fold meaning in this promise. First, it only makes the sense that the more you devote your life to righteousness, the more righteousness will be exhibited in your life. Second, as for your eternal standing with God, the moment you realize that your life is stained by unrighteousness and you place your belief (faith) in Jesus as Savior, God actually imparts to you His spotless righteousness (Romans 1:16-17; 3:21-26; Philippians 3:7-9). That is an even more important filling.
So, Christian, how hungry are you? How thirsty? Are you burdened enough about righteousness to do some repenting? Will you commit to moving up to a higher level of practicing righteousness in your daily life? When you get hungry and thirsty enough to actually make some changes in how you conduct yourself, you’ll find Jesus standing ready to help you. He’ll be right there with the never-ending buffet and bottomless well. You will be filled, no doubt about that. But never forget that no one can be filled who is already full enough to suit them.
How Watching The Lifetime Movie Network Can Lead To A Bible Study
Last night Tonya and I watched one of those dreaded Lifetime Movie Network movies. I use the word “dreaded” because the Lifetime Movie Network isn’t typically associated with wholesome. As best I can tell, the channel is run by women who pretty much think that every man is an adulterer, bully, spouse abuser, or serial killer. In the movie we watched, the guy was a serial killer.
Actually, the movie was based on the true-life story of Gary Ridgway, the infamous Green River killer. On November 5, 2003, Ridgway entered a guilty plea to 48 charges of aggravated first degree murder. That was a plea bargain deal that allowed him to avoid the death penalty. He was sentenced to 48 life sentences to be served consecutively with no possibility of parole. He also received an additional 10 years for tampering with the evidence in each of the killings. That added another 480 years to his 48 life sentences. As part of the deal, he agreed to help the police locate the bodies of many other missing girls. That is what spared his life.
No one, perhaps not even Ridgway himself, knows how many young women he actually killed. He was convicted of the 48 murders, but he confessed to as high as 71 in police interviews following his plea bargain. It is generally presumed, though, that the number was much higher, perhaps over 90.
If we had it to do over again, I don’t think Tonya and I would watch the movie. As the closing credits were rolling, I said to her, “I feel like I need a shower and a brillo pad.” You know, it was just one of those seemingly harmless situations. Tonya had recorded the movie on DVR a few weeks ago because she thought it sounded interesting. She asked me if I wanted to watch it with her. Then once you get started with it, you kind of want to see how it ends. I had heard the name Gary Ridgway before and I knew he was a serial killer, but I didn’t know he was the subject of that movie. I thought it was just one of those fictional Lifetime pieces that majors on melodrama and bad acting.
Anyway, what I took from the movie was that Gary Ridgway should have been executed. No plea bargain deal should have been offered. In the end, he only lead police to three more bodies. While I realize that finding those bodies was of incalculable value to the families, if you are going to have capital punishment at all you must carry it out on the likes of Ridgway. He is sitting in the Washington State Prison in Walla, Walla Washington right now, while the decomposing remains of so many of his victims still lie in unmarked graves around the cities of Seattle and Tacoma.
A lot of people don’t like the whole notion of the death penalty, but it is definitely a Bible teaching. Just as God sanctions human government, He sanctions capital punishment being administered through human governments. We see this in both the Old Testament and the New Testament.
It all begins in Genesis 9:1-6. Not long after Noah and his family climbed off the ark, God said to them, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed. For in the image of God He made man.”
Centuries later, when it came time for God to give His law to Moses and the Israelites, He built the death penalty into that law by way of passages such as Exodus 21:12-17. Under that law, offenses such as murder, rape, incest, sodomy, witchcraft, adultery, blasphemy, and even disobedience to parents were considered capital punishment crimes. I’m not suggesting that all of these offenses should still carry the death penalty. I’m simply pointing out some of the specifics of that Old Testament law that God gave to Israel.
It should be understood that the law required at least two witnesses for those crimes and the punishment was to be carried out through what could be called Israel’s government. The point is, no Israelite was to take the law into his own hands. The death penalty was only administered through proper avenues. This understanding of how capital punishment should work still applies today.
Obviously, it helps if one’s legal system is fair, honest, and godly. If a legal system isn’t those things, then the administering of the death penalty can sometimes become questionable. That’s where we are today in America. But there is nothing wrong with the basic concept of the death penalty. It is a Bible concept, and Gary Ridgway was certainly a candidate for it.
I say that because of two passages from the New Testament. The first one is Romans 13:1-7, which says:
“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.”
In these verses, rulers and governing authorities are described as being the instruments through which evil people are put to death. That’s what verse 4 means when it says the governing authority doesn’t bear the sword in vain. It’s also why verse 7 speaks of rendering fear to the authority. Verse 3 calls rulers a terror to evil works. Verse 4 says if you do evil, be afraid. It also calls the ruler or governing authority “God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.” All of this plainly speaks of God-sanctioned, government-administered capital punishment.
The second passage is 1 Peter 2:13-14. These verses say:
“Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.”
Again, the teaching is that the rulers or governing authorities have the God-sanctioned role of the “punishment of evildoers.” That punishment can be the death penalty, if the situation warrants it. And if it didn’t warrant it in the case of Gary Ridgway, it can’t be warranted in any case. That’s what I took from that movie.
Contemporary Vs. Traditional
(This article ran in the January, 2010 regional edition of The Blue Ridge Christian News.)
At Disciples Road Church, we feature a balanced blend of music. Unlike churches that offer separate traditional and contemporary services, we just throw everybody together and ask them to sing classic hymns and contemporary worship songs. Since having preferences is a part of being human, our members have theirs. With a few exceptions, the lines fall exactly as you would think: The kids like the contemporary songs best, but the adults like the classics.
The truth is, I can’t blame the kids for favoring the contemporary songs. Have you ever really paid attention to some of the words of the old hymns? The second verse of Holy, Holy, Holy has the line: “Cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee.” That’s a glorious thought, but how many youth know that cherubim and seraphim are two categories of angels? (And, yes, I’ve taught on that subject at the church). The first verse of All Hail The Power of Jesus’ Name reads: “Let angels prostrate fall; Bring forth the royal diadem.” When does a ten-year old hear the word “prostrate” or “diadem” other than in that song? The second verse of Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing begins with: “Here I raise mine Ebenezer; Hither by thy help I come.” That line is a reference to 1 Samuel 7:12, but a teenager sings it and thinks, “What’s an Ebenezer?” I’ve got to admit that even my initial reaction to the word has more to do with the Ebenezer Scrooge of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol than the great prophet Samuel. And I won’t even get into their reactions to “hither” and “thy”.
You say, “Russell, you’re just singing the wrong hymns. You need to quit trying to be ‘high church.’ Just stick to old standbys like At Calvary, What A Friend We Have In Jesus, and Leaning On The Everlasting Arms.” Well, I must report that we even run into some problems with these seemingly simple songs. At Calvary contains words such as “spurned”, “imploring”, and “raptured”. What A Friend We Have In Jesus gives us “laden”, “cumbered”, and “solace”. Leaning On The Everlasting Arms talks about walking in this “pilgrim way” and being safe and secure from all “alarms”. Any child who knows about getting up early for school knows what an alarm is and is left to wonder how God keeps us secure from them.
Do you understand the point I’m making? Oftentimes it takes an elderly theologian to grasp doctrinal truths that are presented in language from the 1700s, 1800s, and 1900s. There’s a reason why Bible-school songs sound so much different from our classic hymns. Yes, the quicker beat helps keep the attention of hyperactive kids, but the unsophisticated words are a major draw too. Children are like adults in that they want to be able to understand what they are singing.
My son Ryan is twelve years old. He is a straight-A student who has been raised in church. He knows Jesus as his Savior and wasn’t baptized by me until I was thoroughly convinced that his salvation was genuine. It has only been over the last three years that he has been introduced to contemporary Christian music. Before that, he only sung such songs during Bible school. Everything else was classic hymnology. What I’m saying is, if any kid should be able to handle the old songs, it’s Ryan.
Nevertheless, a few weeks ago, after our church had sung Victory In Jesus, Ryan asked me something that really opened my eyes. His question was, “Daddy, what’s a ‘wretch’?” You see, if that song had said, “I heard an old, old story, how a Savior came from glory, how he gave his life on Calvary to save a sinner like me,” Ryan would have understood completely. But that word “wretch” confused him, even though he’d also sung it before in the opening words of Amazing Grace. You see, he is a “wretch” who has been saved by God’s amazing grace via Christ’s death on Calvary, but he needs a song that expresses that great truth in words that he can grasp.
A couple of weeks later I had a similar experience with Royce, my nine-year old. For several months now Tonya has been working to get him to remain in the worship service for its entirety, which includes his daddy’s sermon. She’s taken longer to make that transition with him than she did with Ryan because he has matured at a different rate than Ryan. I’ve tried to help by encouraging Royce to really sing out when we sing our songs. I always try to get the kids to participate in the service. It helps them and it helps the service. Since Royce likes singing, he has become one of the loudest voices in our church. (We’ll work at staying on key and in tempo later.)
Well, I don’t remember exactly what we were singing that morning, but I could hear Royce’s loud voice coming in and out of the song. It was obvious what was happening: He was singing loud until he came to a word he didn’t know. If I hadn’t figured that out during the song, Royce certainly let me hear about it at the song’s conclusion. He said, for all the congregation to hear, “Those words are too hard!” Everybody laughed, but I knew the little fellow was simply voicing a frustration that has been felt by thousands of young people at some point during their church lives.
Under this same category, we also find the debate concerning the use of modern translations of the Bible. Just as words such as “wretch”, “prostrate”, “diadem”, “cumbered”, and “solace” are completely foreign to today’s youth, so are K.J.V. words such as:
“chambering” (Romans 13:13); “sackbut” (Daniel 3:5); “clouted” (Joshua 9:5); “glede“ (Deuteronomy 14:13); “ouches” (Exodus 28:11); “brigandines” (Jeremiah 46:4); “chode“ (Numbers 20:3); “nitre” (Proverbs 25:20); “purtenance” (Exodus 12:9); “choler“ (Daniel 8:7); “scall” (Leviticus 13:30); “amerce” (Deuteronomy 22:19); “tabret” (Genesis 31:27); “neesings” (Job 41:18); “suretiship“ (Proverbs 11:15); “collops” (Job 15:27); “trow” (Luke 17:9); “cieled” (Haggai 1:4); “blains” (Exodus 9:9); “wen” (Leviticus 22:22); “cotes” (2 Chronicles 32:28); “crookbackt” (Leviticus 21:20); “wantonness” (Romans 13:13); “ambassage” (Luke 14:32); “wimples” (Isaiah 3:22); and “habergeon” (Exodus 28:32).
I’ve been preaching for seventeen years, but even I have to work hard to figure out what these words mean. I can only imagine what young people think of the Bible when they run into such words while reading it. Since translation teams devote their lives to putting the Bible into the common languages of indigenous groups around the world, shouldn’t we do the same for our young folks here at home?
Frankly, I don’t claim to have all the answers in the traditional vs. contemporary debate. But what I do know is that if we want our kids to understand the word of God and the great doctrinal truths it conveys, we have to give them translations and spiritual songs that speak the way they do. The critic would call this more of the “dumbing down” of our society, but I just can’t justify holding 21st century kids (or adults for that matter) to the language standards of the 17th, 18th, or 19th centuries.
If I know anything about God, I know that He is alive and vibrant, always pushing ahead and moving on to the next thing. Jesus refused to be trapped by so many of the “traditions” of His day, and He hasn’t changed. Our Lord is in the business of reaching all people with His message, and as such He doesn’t want to be held hostage to archaic language that doesn’t speak in a clear, easily understood way to the people of the day. That is especially true when it comes to highly impressionable young people. I’m not saying that we should abandon the time-honored hymns or the K.J.V. translation. As long as large numbers of people still prefer these, there’s no reason to exclusively embrace the contemporary. But, on the other hand, let’s not drive into the other ditch by automatically labeling anything “new” as “bad.” Our young folks need us to be more discerning than that.
Blessedness
Psalm 1:1-3 says:
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in it season, whose leaf also shall not wither. And whatever he does shall prosper.”
I’d like to point out that the proper pronunciation of the first word of this passage is “bless-ed,” not “blessed.” The Bible uses one Hebrew word to refer to “bless-ed” and another to refer to “blessed.” The Hebrew word for “blessed” is barak. It is used in passages such as Genesis 1:28, which says of Adam and Eve, “And God blessed them.”
But the Hebrew word that is used here in Psalm 1:1 is esher. This word carries with it various shades of meaning. It can mean happy, fortunate, enviable, or prosperous.
Actually, esher is plural. That’s why it’s been suggested that it could accurately be translated as “blessednesses.” You see, this is not just one blessing that is being described. This is talking about abiding in a continual state of experiencing blessing after blessing after blessing. There is a multiplicity of blessings that rest upon the bless-ed person. I’d rather be “bless-ed” than just “blessed.”
Now, this passage gives us three main thoughts about the blessed. Let’s walk through these together. There is some awesome spiritual stuff here.
First, in verse 1 we are given a clear word about the blessed person in relation to separation. Blessed people are marked by things they do not do. You see, the book of Psalms opens by dispelling the notion that the sinful life is the good life.
Three negatives are mentioned. Negative #1 is: Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly. Who do you look to for advice? Is that person a godly person? Is that person living under the lordship of Jesus Christ? Is that person highly knowledgeable of what the Bible teaches? Is that person wise in applying the Bible to everyday life? Is that person really in tune with the Lord?
Negative #2 is: Blessed is the man who does not stand in the path of sinners. There is a path of sin in which the ungodly stand. The fact that they stand in this path shows that their sinfulness isn’t just a one-time slip up. These people are engaged in a daily, continual lifestyle of sin. They aren’t trying to get off the path of sinners. To the contrary, they continually stand in it.
Negative #3 is: Blessed is the man who does not sit in the seat of the scornful. The Hebrew word that is translated as “scornful” is luwts. It can also be translated as “mockers” or “scoffers.” These scorners are people who have contempt for God, His ways, and His standards. The verse talks about the seat of the scornful because these people are settled and fixed in their disgust towards God.
The passage’s second main thought concerns the blessed person in relation to scripture. Verse 2 says of the blessed man: “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” The phrase “the law of the Lord” refers to the law that God gave the Israelites through Moses. That law was written down. We might say it was the “Bible” by which the Israelites lived. These words actually apply to us all the more then because we have so much more of the holy scriptures than the Israelites did. If you would be blessed, love the scriptures and learn the scriptures.
And then the text’s third main thought deals with the blessed person in relation to success. Verse 3 says: “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season; whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.”
The blessed person is compared to a beautiful, bountiful tree. This tree is not withering away from a lack of water because it is planted by rivers of water. That ensures that it will continuingly thrive. Not surprisingly, this tree is not barren. It brings forth its fruit in season just when it should. Its leaf does not wither away either. The tree is strong and healthy. All of this is a beautiful description of the blessed person.
Then the description gets even better. The end of the verse says that whatever the blessed person does shall prosper. Of course, some people run off way too far with this idea. The “health and wealth” preachers that dominate religious television use verses like this to promote a wrong doctrine that can be summed up as “name it and claim it.” Just take your wish list to God, have the necessary amount of faith, and God will give you all the things that are on your wish list. But the truth is, God’s idea of prospering isn’t so simplistic.
I can best explain “whatever he does shall prosper” by pointing us to Joseph. Did you know that even when Joseph was wrongly sold into slavery God called him a prosperous man and caused whatever he did to prosper? Genesis 39:2-3 says:
“The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand. So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority.”
The Hebrew word that is used there to describe the prosperity that God gave to Joseph is the exact same Hebrew word that is used in verse 3 of our text. So, when you understand what God did for Joseph, even as Joseph was a servant in the house of Potiphar, you will understand the kind of prosperity that God bestows upon the blessed person.
When Joseph was a servant in Potiphar’s house, did he have a lot of money in his bank account? Absolutely not! Did he have a wife and children? No. Was he a man of prestige and standing in the community? No way. Nevertheless, God described him as a prosperous man.
Ultimately, Joseph did become rich beyond his wildest dreams as God made him the second most powerful man in all of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself. Also, God gave him a wife and two fine sons. But the fact is that Joseph was blessed and prosperous even before the power, wealth, and beautiful family. So it is with any person who truly lives out the requirements of Psalm 1:1-3.
The Gradual Revelation Of Christ’s Birth
Christmas is over but I’ve got one leftover gift for you. It’s a short Bible study about how God gradually revealed the specifics of the Savior’s birth. Here goes.
1. The gradual revelation began when God said to Satan (who was possessing Eden’s serpent at the time), “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed. He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22-23). So, the Savior would be born to a woman, specifically a virgin.
2. The gradual revelation progressed when God promised Abram (Abraham), “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3; Galatians 3:16). So, the Savior would be born to a virgin, and He would be a Jew.
3. The gradual revelation progressed further when the elderly Jacob (Abraham’s grandson) prophesied that the Messiah would come through the line of Jacob’s son Judah (Genesis 49:10; Hebrews 7:14; Revelation 5:5). So, the Savior would be born to a virgin. He would be a Jew. And He would be born from the tribe of Judah.
4. The gradual revelation progressed further when God promised King David that He would establish the throne of his son’s kingdom forever (2 Samuel 7:12-13; Matthew 1:1; Luke 1:26-27; Romans 1:3). So, the Savior would be born to a virgin. He would be a Jew. He would be from the tribe of Judah. And He would be born from the line of David.
5. The gradual revelation progressed further when Micah prophesied that the Messiah would be born in the small town of Bethlehem (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1-6). So, the Savior would be born to a virgn. He would be a Jew. He would be from the tribe of Judah. He would be from the line of David. And He would be born in the town of Bethlehem.
6. The gradual revelation finally concluded when an angel said to Joseph, “And she (Mary) will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). So, the Savior would be born a virgin. He would be a Jew. He would be from the tribe of Judah. He would be from the line of David. He would be born in the town of Bethlehem. And He would be named Jesus.
You see, down through the eons of human history, God kept getting more and more specific regarding the details of the birth of the Savior of the human race. A plan was always in place, and God was always working His plan. That plan culminated on that night so long ago in the birth of that little baby that lay there in that manger.
Take The Christmas Quiz
Here are 20 questions (actually 21) that come out of the Bible’s Christmas story. I gave this quiz to the folks at my church. You take it and see how you do. Each question is worth 5 points and the extra credit question is worth 10. The answers are given after the last question.
# 1. On what day was Jesus born?
a. January 1st
b. July 4th
c. we can’t be sure of the exact date
d. December 25
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#2. Joseph and Mary lived in what city?
a. Dallas, Texas
b. Nazareth
c. Capernaum
d. Jerusalem
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#3. In what city was Jesus born?
a. Bethlehem
b. we can’t be sure of the exact city
c. Miami, Florida
d. Nazareth
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#4. Why were Joseph and Mary in that city?
a. they lived there
b. it was the closest place with a doctor
c. it was where their donkey broke down
d. they had to be registered for taxation purposes
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#5. What was the relationship between Joseph and Mary?
a. they were husband and wife
b. Mary was betrothed to be Joseph’s wife
c. they were brother and sister
d. they had dated in college
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#6. What was so unique about Mary giving birth to Jesus?
a. she was still a virgin
b. she rode to the hospital in a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer
c. she was 70 years old at the time
d. she thought she was giving birth to a girl
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#7. What is our best guess as to the specific site of Christ’s birth?
a. a tavern
b. an inn
c. a shopping mall
d. a stall, stable, or cave where livestock was kept
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#8. Not long after Jesus was born, what did Mary wrap Him in?
a. her family quilt
b. a new blanket from Babies ’R Us
c. cloths
d. the sheet from the bed
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#9. Once Mary had wrapped Jesus up, where did she lay Him?
a. in the backseat of her car
b. in an animal’s feeding trough
c. in a crib that Joseph had built
d. on some straw on the ground
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#10. Who were the first people to hear that Jesus had been born?
a. some shepherds in a nearby field
b. the people who helped with the birth
c. Mary’s parents
d. the little drummer boy and his animals
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#11. How did they hear that Jesus had been born?
a. they heard a baby’s cry and followed the sound
b. it was a news broadcast that interrupted “It’s A Wonderful Life”
c. they were there on scene when He was born
d. an angel suddenly appeared to them and told them
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#12. Once they had found baby Jesus, what did they do with the news of His birth?
a. they kept quite about it because they were afraid
b. they went and told a lot of people in the surrounding area
c. they sold the scoop to the National Enquirer for $100
d. they only talked about it amongst themselves
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#13. Then what did they do?
a. they went back to what they had been doing before
b. they sold all their possessions to follow Jesus
c. they began to doubt what they had seen
d. they wrote a Christmas hymn about their experience
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#14. When did the wise men come to see Jesus?
a. when they had earned enough money to make the trip
b. at least several months after his birth, possibly even two years
c. when they got laid off from their jobs and had some spare time
d. the night of His birth
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#15. How many wise men were there?
a. three
b. none, any woman can tell you that no man is all that wise
c. twelve
d. the Bible doesn’t tell us
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#16. Where was Jesus when the wise men found Him?
a. working at WalMart
b. lying in a manger
c. in Mary’s arms
d. in a house
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#17. What gifts did the wise men bring to Jesus?
a. gold, frankincense, and myrrh
b. a Playstation III, an X Box, and a laptop
c. a shepherd’s staff, a sling, and a pouch
d. a white stallion, a king’s robe, and a crown
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#18. What was the occupation of the wise men?
a. they were shepherds
b. they were astrologers who studied the stars and natural sciences
c. they operated a chain of Christmas tree lots across the land
d. they were kings
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#19. What is our best guess as to where the wise men lived?
a. the city of Jerusalem
b. the city of Rome
c. the Babylon-Persia region
d. Los Angeles, California
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#20. The star that prompted the wise men to begin their journey was seen in what part of the sky?
a. the section directly over Santa’s workshop at the North Pole
b. the west
c. the south
d. the east
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(extra credit question): We find the Christmas story in what parts of the Bible?
A. the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)
B. the gospels of Matthew and Luke
C. the table of contents
D. the books of Genesis and The Revelation
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answers:
1.c 2.b (Luke 2:4) 3.a (Luke 2:4-5) 4.d (Luke 2:1-5)
5.b (Luke 2:4-5) 6.a (Matthew 1:18,22-25) 7.d (Luke 2:7)
8.c (Luke 2:7) 9.b (Luke 2:7) 10.a (Luke 2:8)
11.d (Luke 2:9-14) 12.b (Luke 2:15-18) 13.a (Luke 2:20)
14.b (Matthew 2:16) 15.d (Matthew 2:1) 16.d (Matthew 2:11a)
17.a (Matthew 2:11) 18.b (Matthew 2:2)
19.c (Matthew 2:1; they lived in a land east of Jerusalem)
20.b (Matthew 2:2; they were in the east and followed the star west toward Jerusalem and Bethlehem)
extra credit question: b
Oral Roberts & “Seed Faith” Giving
Oral Roberts died this past Tuesday. The famous faith-healer and evangelist was 91. He died in Newport Beach, California from complications of pneumonia. He had been hospitalized after a recent fall.
As we look back over the totality of Roberts’ life, it isn’t hard to spot both good and bad. On the good side of the ledger, he preached Jesus, reminded people of what the Bible teaches about Christ’s miracle working power, and played a major role in bringing the church into the age of television.
On the bad side, he gave many prophecies that turned out to be false, claimed to have performed literal resurrections and other miraculous healings, founded a religious empire that has been frequently associated with accusations of financial malfeasance, and was the originator of the “seed faith” philosophy of giving. It is that “seed faith” philosophy that I want to focus upon in this post.
The basic idea with “seed faith” giving goes like this:
1. The Christian generously gives his money to support a ministry (for example, the Oral Roberts ministry).
2. The Christian has faith that God will return to him a greater harvest than the original amount. (This greater harvest can come by way of job promotion, sudden windfall, etc.)
3. God rewards the faith and sends the greater harvest.
4. With the increased wealth, the Christian can begin the process all over again by giving an increased amount to the ministry.
5. With more “seed” with which to work, God can reward the Christian with a harvest that is even bigger than the first one.
6. Out of that greater harvest, the Christian can send another increased amount of money to the ministry and, subsequently, see an even bigger harvest.
7. From there it’s etc., etc., etc. as the cumalitive process keeps rolling along and the Christian, as well as the ministry, keeps geting wealthier and wealthier.
Oral Roberts claimed that Jesus Himself revealed the “seed faith” principle to him. Among other things, Roberts said that Jesus told him how to rightly interpret Acts 20:35, the verse that quotes Jesus as saying, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” According to Roberts, Jesus said those words don’t properly convey what He meant. Jesus supposedly said, “I meant it is more PRODUCTIVE to give than to receive.”
Roberts taught “seed faith” giving for many decades. He wrote over 130 books, most of which were variations on this foundational teaching. When he resigned as the head of Oral Roberts University (a university that has turned out “seed faith” preachers for over 40 years), his son Richard took over the reins.
Several years ago, I read Ashes To Gold, a book that was written by Patti Roberts, Richard’s former wife. In that book, Patti looks back on her days as Oral’s daughter-in-law. She talks about how guilty she felt about the excessive wealth the Roberts family enjoyed, and she seriously questions the “seed-faith” idea of giving. She says the “seed faith” teaching:
“bothered me a great deal because I saw that, when taken to extremes, it reduced God to a sugar daddy. If you wanted His blessings and His love, you paid Him off. Over and over again we heard Oral say, ‘Give out of your need.’ I began to question the motivation that kind of giving implied. Were we giving to God out of our love and gratitude to Him or were we bartering with Him?”
In the book, Patti Roberts also points out that the teaching of “seed faith” was given on every Roberts’ television broadcast, whereas the Gospel itself was rarely given. Here’s a typical quote from Richard Roberts: “Sow a seed (to the Roberts ministry) on your MasterCard, your Visa or your American Express, and then when you do, expect God to open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing.”
Please understand, though, that Oral Roberts and his ministry were merely the fountainhead of “seed faith” preaching. Over the years, the water quickly flowed out to wherever Pentecostal and Charismatic churches and ministries were found. Paul and Jan Crouch’s TBN broadcasting empire has sent the Roberts’ doctrine around the world, and thousands of “prosperity preachers” now preach “seed faith” giving every bit as fervently as Oral Roberts ever did.
But, of course, the central question in all this is, Is the “seed faith” philosophy Biblical? In one corner, we’ve heard from Oral Roberts. In another corner, we’ve heard from his former daughter-in-law, Patti. But what does God say? Well, His ruling is, the “seed faith” way of giving, a way that should lead to great wealth, is a lie. Let me prove that to you.
First, I’ll describe the earthly life of Jesus. Luke 9:57-58 says:
“Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, ‘Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.’”
These verses certainly don’t describe an earthly life of wealth, do they? Jesus didn’t own a house. He didn’t have a lot of money. He didn’t live lavishly.
As you read the gospels, you will see that He ate with anyone who would invite Him to eat, spent many a night outside, and probably had just one set of clothes. He rode into Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey. He and His disciples observed the Lord’s Supper in a borrowed room. After His death, His body was laid in a borrowed tomb.
As a matter of fact, rather than promoting the importance of worldly wealth, Jesus warned of the dangers of it. He said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19-20). He said, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:23-24).
These quotes certainly don’t sound like the words of one who was preaching earthly prosperity as a byproduct of salvation, do they? The fact is, you won’t find a verse where Jesus says, “Follow me, and I’ll put money in your pockets.” You won’t find a verse where He says, “Believe in me as Savior, and your financial woes will be over.”
Instead, what you will find is Christ’s constant downplaying of money. In His story of the beggar Lazarus and the rich man, it is the rich man whose soul ends up in Hell (Luke 16:19-31). In His story of the rich man who planned to tear down his overflowing barns and build bigger barns, God comes to that rich man and says, “You fool, this night your soul will be required of you: then whose shall these things be?” (Luke 12:13-21).
This was the earthly life of Christ, and it certainly doesn’t line up with the idea that God wants to make every Christian rich. If anything, Jesus taught that the love of money is one of the primary hindrances to people being all that God wants them to be.
Second, I’ll describe the lives of the apostles. In 1 Corinthians 4:9-13, we find some verses in which Paul vividly describes the life of an apostle. He writes:
“For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.”
Tell me, does this description sound like the apostles lived lives of wealth, ease, and luxury? Of course, it doesn’t! Well, was that because they just didn’t understand about “seed faith” giving? No, it was because it is not God’s will for all Christians to be monetarily rich.
Third, I’ll describe the lives of the Smyrna Christians. In Revelation 2:8-9, the risen, glorified Jesus gives a message for the apostle John to relay to the Christians who were living in Smyrna. That message was:
“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life: ‘I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.’”
Notice that Jesus said to those Christians, “I know your poverty, but, actually, you are rich.” The interpretation isn’t difficult. Those Christians were poor in an earthly sense but rich in an eternal sense through the treasures laid up for them in heaven.
Jesus didn’t say to those people, “If you will give in faith, you will get that gift back with an increase.” He didn’t even say to them, “I know your poverty, and I’m going to do something about it.” What He said was, “I know your poverty, but don’t forget that you are actually rich.” For many Christians today, this same “Smyrna truth” applies: poor on earth but rich in heaven.
Fourth, I’ll describe the life of Timothy. In 1 Timothy 6: 3-10, Paul has some very telling things to say about money and worldly riches. He writes:
“If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wrangling of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself. Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
Whatever else we might bring out of these verses, let’s at least get it settled that Paul did not say, “Timothy, God wants you to be rich in the wealth of the world. Why aren’t you?” What he said was, “Timothy, work on being content with having food and clothing.”
On the subject of “prosperity preachers,” let me say that I especially like the way the New Living Translation describes those false teachers to whom Paul was referring. In verse 5, it reads:
“These people always cause trouble. Their minds are corrupt, and they don’t tell the truth. To them religion is just a way to get rich.”
Now, as I begin to close, I’d like to point out that the Bible gives us many examples of believers who were rich by the standards of the world. Abraham was rich. Joseph was rich. Job was rich. Solomon was rich. Joseph of Arimathea was rich. So, I’m not saying that it isn’t God’s will for any Christian to be monetarily rich. I’m saying that no Christian has a right to expect God to make him rich or demand that God make him rich. Worldly wealth isn’t a matter of the Christian getting under the teaching of the right preacher, and it certainly isn’t a matter of lining up with the ”seed faith” plan of giving.
When it comes to attaining worldly wealth, the Bible talks about things like: hard work, saving, giving a right portion back to God, paying your bills, giving to the poor, and avoiding sin. There’s even a bit here and there about wise investing. These things are the building blocks to getting rich in this world. It’s not about sending $100 to the Oral Roberts ministry.
Think about it, Roberts’ philosophy didn’t even work for him. In 1989, his City of Faith Medical Center was forced to close due to a lack of funds. The Center, which cost $250 million to build, reportedly drained the Roberts organization of $30 to $40 million per year. This was the cause of Oral’s now infamous 1989 fundraising drive in which he announced to a television audience that God would “call him home” if $8 million weren’t raised by March. Even though $9.1 million was raised, the City of Faith still closed not long afterwards.
Later on, in 2007, Richard was forced to resign as president of Oral Roberts University amid allegations of financial indiscretions. The scandal reportedly left the school with more than $50 million of debt. In light of such financial shortcomings, one is left to presume that either the Roberts family didn’t practice what they preached in regards to “seed faith” giving or the whole philosophy simply doesn’t work. As for me, my money is on both.
Bible Prophecy Demands That We Believe In The Virgin Birth
(Post 2 of a series of 3)
This is the second post in a three-part series on why we should believe in Christ’s virgin birth. With the first post, I explained that we should believe in the virgin birth because scripture demands it. With this one I want to show that we should believe in it because Bible prophecy demands it.
In Matthew 1:22-23, Matthew weaves an Old Testament prophecy into his God-inspired writing. He writes: “So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet saying: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.’”
This prophecy was given by the prophet Isaiah some 700 years before Jesus was born. We find the story in Isaiah chapter 7. The Lord instructed Ahaz, the king of Judah (Israel’s two southern tribes), to ask for a sign as proof that the allied forces of Syria and Israel (Israel’s ten northern tribes) would not invade and conquer Judah. God said the sign could be anything on earth or in the heavens. Ahaz, however, refused to name a sign. His problem was that he had pretty much already set his heart on getting his help from another group of people, the Assyrians.
The Lord was displeased with Ahaz’s refusal, and He went ahead and named a sign anyway. God said, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” That is the part of the prophecy that Matthew quotes in his gospel.
However, for the rest of the prophecy, God went on to say other things about the child. First, the child would eat curds and honey. Second, before the child would be old enough to know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the kings of Syria and Israel would meet their doom and the king of Assyria would invade the land of Judah.
There is much debate as to how God’s sign actually played out in the life of King Ahaz. It seems clear, though, that if the sign was only fulfilled in Christ’s birth that wouldn’t have been any sign to Ahaz. After all, Ahaz lived centuries before Jesus was born.
Therefore, the sign surely had some kind of partial fulfillment in Ahaz’s time. Perhaps a virgin that Ahaz knew got married shortly after God gave this sign. Perhaps then the newly married virgin got pregnant by her husband and gave birth to a son in less than a year. Some even contend that the woman was Isaiah’s second wife, his first wife having died.
Frankly, we just don’t know the exact details of how God’s sign played out to King Ahaz. What we do know is how the sign was ultimately and perfectly fulfilled. Matthew leaves no doubt about that. That final fulfillment came when Jesus was born to the virgin Mary.
And here again we see in the careful wording of the Old Testament text that Mary was a virgin when she bore Jesus. The Hebrew word that is used to define the young mother in the Isaiah passage is almah. This word comes from the root word alam, which means “to hide or conceal.” This shows us that the word specifically refers to a virgin. One writer has said: “The name was given to a virgin because she is said to be hidden or concealed in the family of the parents.” And so, based upon Matthew’s use of the prophetic passage from Isaiah, we can say assuredly that Bible prophecy demanded the virgin birth.
Before we move on, though, let me tell you about another prophecy that Christ’s birth fulfilled. This one goes all the way back to the garden of Eden. According to Genesis 3:15, after Adam and Eve had sinned in the garden, God said to Satan (who was inside the serpent at the time), “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He (her Seed) shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
What jumps out at us as we read this prophecy is the strange idea of a woman having reproductive seed. That isn’t the way the human reproductive system works, is it? So why did God prophesy to Satan about the Seed of the woman?
He did it as a way of telling Satan about the virgin birth. Thousands of years from that fateful day, Jesus (the One who would strike a blow to Satan’s head) would be conceived in the womb of a virgin. He wouldn’t be the product of the seed of a man; He would be history’s only seed of a woman. This is why that Genesis 3:15 prophecy is called “the first gospel.” And that prophecy, along with the one from Isaiah chapter 7, is undeniable proof that we should believe in the virgin birth because Bible prophecy demands it.
Scripture Demands That We Believe In The Virgin Birth
(Post 1 of a series of 3)
In the December 25th devotion from his classic devotional My Utmost For His Highest, Oswald Chambers writes: “Jesus Christ was born into this world; not from it. He did not emerge out of history; He came into history from the outside. Jesus Christ is not the best human being the human race can boast of – He is a Being for whom the human race can take no credit at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate – God coming into human flesh from outside it. His life is the highest and the holiest entering through the most humble of doors.”
I want you to take careful notice of that last line: “His life is the highest and the holiest entering through the most humble of doors.” What was that most humble of doors? It was the womb of a young Jewish virgin.
I dare say that none of us can fully wrap our minds around this truth. Jesus (the son of God, God the Son) laid aside His power and glory, left heaven, invaded time and history, and in some miraculous way that we cannot fathom became a human fetus in the belly of young Jewish girl who was not officially married and had never had sexual relations with a man.
Is it any wonder that the liberals and skeptics have a hard time swallowing that? They say, “Oh, what a fantasy! What a fairy tale for adults!” Or they say, “The whole notion is just Christianity’s way of mimicking the traditions of the pagan religions in which the mythic gods and heroes supposedly sprang from supernatural sources.”
Sadly, such criticisms have surely taken their toll. Even amongst certain preachers of our day, there are some who say, “It doesn’t really matter whether or not you believe that Jesus was born to a virgin. The important thing is just to believe in Him. Let’s not make a big deal out of the virgin birth. At best, it is a minor issue and a secondary doctrine.”
But is this the attitude that we should take? Certainly not! Christ’s virgin birth is not a minor issue or a secondary doctrine. Not only is it a major issue, it is also a foundational doctrine. And this is what I’m going to show you through the three posts of a series I’m calling ”Why We Should Believe In The Virgin Birth.”
Now, with this first post I want to say that we should believe in the virgin birth because scripture demands it. You need to know that the Bible distinctly teaches that Mary was a virgin when she conceived baby Jesus in her womb. Follow with me and I’ll give you the references.
First, in Matthew 1:18, the Bible says: “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.”
Second, in Matthew 1: 24-25, we read: “Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.”
Third, Luke 1:26-27 says: “Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.”
Fourth, Luke 1:34 says of Mary after Gabriel had told her that she was going to conceive a son: “Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?’”
By the way, in these New Testament passages that specifically use the word “virgin”, the Greek word that is translated is parthenos. It is the same word that was used in the naming of the famous Parthenon, which was the Greek temple dedicated to the virgin goddess Athena. So, yes, the Bible really does teach that Mary was a virgin when Jesus was conceived in her womb.
Of course, I hope that quoting these passages from the gospels of Matthew and Luke is enough evidence for you to agree that scripture demands that we believe in the virgin birth. Sadly, however, it isn’t enough evidence for some people. Consider the following example.
Harry Rimmer, who was a well-known Presbyterian minister of his day, once found himself in a sad situation as he served as a member of the ordination council that was examining a certain young man for ordination into the ministry. To Rimmer’s astonishment the young man boldly stated that he did not believe in the virgin birth of Christ. Even more astonishingly, when some of the other ministers began to sternly question the young man about his position, an older minister from the council spoke up and said, “I don’t want this council to make a big point of this because I don’t accept the virgin birth either.” To that, one of the other ministers asked, “Why not?” The older minister replied, “Because it is only found on two pages of the New Testament. Matthew and Luke are the only ones who ever mention it. In all of the writings of Paul, he never introduces the question of the virgin birth.”
It was at this point that Dr. Rimmer could no longer keep quite. He stood up and said to the older minister, “Tell us then, what do you teach and preach?” The man answered, “The Sermon on the Mount. That is enough for anyone.” Dr. Rimmer said, “It’s not enough for me. I don’t believe in the Sermon on the Mount.” The older minister asked, “Why not?” Dr. Rimmer said, “Because it only occurs on two pages of the New Testament and Matthew and Luke are the only Gospels who mention it.”
Do you see how absurd the older minister’s argument was? Yes, it’s true that Mark never mentions the virgin birth of Christ, but Mark never mentions the birth of Christ at all! Can we assume then that because Mark’s gospel doesn’t mention Christ’s actual birth that Jesus was not born? Of course not! Do you see how absurd it is to say of any doctrine, “That can’t be scriptural because it is only mentioned in two places in the Bible”? How many times does God have to record something for it to become a legitimate doctrine or teaching? So, to sum up, we should believe in the virgin birth because scripture demands it.
Brief Bio
My name is Russell McKinney. I am 43 years old and have served as an ordained pastor for the past sixteen years. I’ve been married to my wife, Tonya, for sixteen years. We have two great kids – our sons Ryan (13) and Royce (9).
What do I do? As a husband, I love my wife, empty the dishwasher, take the clothes out of the dryer, and remember our anniversary. As a father, I love my boys, help coach their ball teams, enforce the house rules, and splurge for a night at the movies every now and then. As a pastor, I love my church members, preach, counsel, and visit.
When I was a young man, I believed in Christ as my Savior and was “born again” (John 3:1-16). But I didn’t fully sell out to Him with all of my heart, mind, and body until I was in my early twenties. Since then I’ve sought to do His will in every area of my life. Sometimes I’ve failed Him, but He’s never let me stay down long.
I try to be ”salt and light” (Matthew 5:13-16) whatever the situation I’m in, and I try to do whatever I do “in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:17) and “to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). I don’t have all the answers, but I am willing to learn. I’m far from perfect, but I’m always striving to improve.
Straight Talk About God’s Will (The Book)
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