The God of Nothing

The god of nothing.

I read the atheist's posts. I try to understand their motives, their "push" to get their views across. What is it that they have in common? It is the god of nothing. They worship nothing. Their theology is nothing. Their rituals are nothing. Their standards are nothing. Their temple is nothing. Their sacrifices are nothing. Their commandments are nothing and are based on nothing. Their scriptures are nothing. Their priests are nothing. They believe in the last judgment of nothing. After they die, they go to their nothing. They are positive of nothing. They evangelize diligently for their religion of nothing. They write for nothing. Their sin is nothing, yet they accuse of everything. Their guilt is nothing. Their punishment is nothing. Their god has nothing, does nothing, thinks nothing, is nothing. Yet, they all preach nothing. Their nothing permeates everything. Their worldview is based on nothing. Their logic is based on nothing. Their science is orderly on nothing. Their purpose in life is nothing. They will leave nothing. They came from nothing. They go to nothing. Everything is nothing. Their nothing is so important that they do everything they can to promote nothing.

They mock others who have something to try to get others to believe in nothing. They have a fellowship of nothing. The rules of their fellowship on based on nothing. When they're thankful, they thankful to nothing. When they're blessed, they are blessed by nothing. They get their comfort in sorrow from nothing. They pray to nothing. They vent their frustrations to nothing. They blame everything on nothing. They teach nothing. Their mental and emotional wholeness is based on nothing. Their social needs are on nothing. Their environmental harmony is on nothing. The great benefits in life are based on nothing.

Jesus is something. He is a person. He has a standard. He has good judgment. He is my God. They can have their god of nothing. I worship Jesus Christ. I say with Thomas, "Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28).

The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who refuses to believe in the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him. (John 3:36)

"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!" (Revelation 5:12)

Rent or redeemed?

Rent or given, not appreciated or held in high value.

Paid for, appreciated and cared for.

Jesus paid for us with his own blood.

A former pastor gave this illustration about the Lord Jesus and His care for us.

Many times I rent some equipment I need for a special job. I might think I don't have to treat it right, that I can abuse it. After all it is a rental; it's not my own. But if I own it and have paid for it, I will treat it more gently and carefully.

Jesus didn't rent us, nor were we just given to him. He, himself, redeemed us from our sins with His own blood. He cares for us in a special way, because we are his own.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7)

Our Helper to Do and to Observe

And you shall remember that you were a bondman in Egypt: and you shall observe and do these statutes. (Deuteronomy 16:12)

 

Three points:

 

1. Moses was reviewing the entire history and laws from the past 40 years. He reminded them that they were slaves in Egypt. When things go well we sometimes forget what the past was. We need to remember the past sometimes, as the life of Jesus of Nazareth, his birth, death, resurrection, and ascension. We also need to remember what we were before we repented and trusted in the Lord Jesus for our salvation. We were slaves of sin. "Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed." (Romans 6:16-17, ESV)

 

2. Observe means to guard, protect, attend to, so has the idea of knowing, pay attention to, as in observing the speed limit, that is, we look at the speedometer to know our speed, then we can obey the speed limit. So we must read the Bible to know the rules, compare our lives to the standard, and obey. Today the Christian observes the rules in the New Testament.

 

3. Do. This means obey. If the Scriptures tell us not to lie, then we do not lie. We do not tell white lies, black lies, and half-truths, whatever. A lie is a type of deceiving.

 

But he answered and said,

It is written,

Man shall not live by bread alone,

But by every word

That proceedeth

Out of the mouth of God. Matthew 4:4

We need God's help and indeed, we have it.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalms 46:1)

And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may abide with you forever, (John 14:16)

Will We Fail?

The Bible has a lot to say about failure and people who started well but failed. We think of Adam, King Saul, King Solomon, and Judas.

We are saved by faith. Faith is believing God. All the above stopped believing. Adam either stopped believing or didn't care when he ate the forbidden fruit. King Saul repeatedly failed God's tests as to waiting, dealing with various enemies and so on. King Solomon started strong. At first he was seen in his love for God (1 King 3:3), but at the end it was his love of women (1 Kings 11:1). Judas was an Apostle of Jesus Christ but his love for the Lord Jesus was less than his love for money.

Will we fail?

We fail God when:

• We refuse to call to God for help. We should always seek God's wisdom first then others. Isaiah 50:2 GNB "Why did my people fail to respond when I went to them to save them? Why did they not answer when I called? Am I too weak to save them? I can dry up the sea with a command and turn rivers into a desert, so that the fish in them die for lack of water." Isaiah 50:2 GNB
  
• We are tested and fail to do what God wants us to do. We may be tempted to lie to save ourselves, but it is wrong. The Lord Jesus does help us in these times. "But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail. And when you turn back to me, you must strengthen your brothers." Luke 22:32 GNB
  
• We grow weary of following God's ways as outlined in the New Testament and quit believing and acting as Christians. "Let us, then, do our best to receive that rest, so that no one of us will fail as they did because of their lack of faith." Hebrews 4:11 GNB
  

God helps us. Consider:

• He knows how to keep us from failing/falling. "To him who is able to keep you from falling and to bring you faultless and joyful before his glorious presence--- (25) to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, might, and authority, from all ages past, and now, and forever and ever! Amen." Jude 1:24-25 GNB
  
• To do more than we can ask or think. "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly more than all the things which we ask or think, according to the power which is working in us" Ephesians 3:20 EMTV
  
• We can have confidence and faith in God's ability to keep us. "And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen! 2" Timothy 4:18 EMTV
  

Our prayer and hope should be as Paul's. We can have strong assurance of God's ever present help.

• "According to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I will be ashamed, but with utmost boldness, as always, now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death." Philippians 1:20 EMTV
  
• "Let your way of life be without loving money, being satisfied with what you have. For He Himself has said, "By no means shall I desert you, nor in any way shall I forsake you;" 6) so that being confident, we may say: "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" Hebrews 13:5-6 EMTV

Jesus Defends God’s Honor and Rebuke False Teachers.

 

A1 Objectives

B1 Describe Jesus's reacting to dishonoring the Father.

B2 Distinguish between righteous and unrighteous anger.

 

A2 Scriptures

B1 John 2:13-25

B2 Matthew 23:1-36

 

A3 Notes

B1 John 2:13-25

C1 Setting

D1 Near the time for the Passover.

E1 Took place starting on the evening of the 14th of Abib (later called Nisan).

F1 The evening of 3 April 2015

F2 And celebrated most of 4 April 2015 until evening.

F3 This celebrated the Passover over of the Lord's angel which killed all the firstborn in Egypt except where the Passover lamb's blood had been placed on the door posts and lintel.

F4 This was the last meal of Israel in Egypt.

F5 The Passover was celebrated by (Exodus 12:1-23).

G1 The family chooses a lamb or kid without any flaws on the 10th of the month.

G2 This lamb/kid was killed the eve of the 14th.

G3 The lamb's blood was sprinkled on the door posts and lintels of the house where the Passover lamb/kid was to be eaten.

G4 The lamb/kid was roasted with fire. The only way it could be cooked was by roasting.

G5 It was roasted with its head, legs, and innards.

G6 It was eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

G7 It was eaten quickly with a person's traveling clothes on and their staff.

G8 The people stayed in the house until the morning.

G9 Everything that was left over was to be completely burned up with fire. It could only be eaten during the night.

G10 The Passover of the Lamb is the evening doings.

G11 The Passover Feast/Festival is during the next day starting at dawn and lasting until evening.

E2 Then was the 7 day period of Unleavened Bread.

F1 This celebrated the first week of the Exodus from Egypt.

F2 The people had left in haste and only ate unleavened bread.

E3 Most likely this was the first Passover that Jesus attended after starting His ministry.

"This was the first Passover after Christ's baptism. The second is mentioned, Luke 6:1. The third, John 6:4. And the fourth, which was that at which he was crucified, John 11:55. From which it appears, 1. That our blessed Lord continued his public ministry about three years and a half, according to the prophecy of Daniel, Daniel 9:27. And, 2. That, having been baptized about the beginning of his thirtieth year, he was crucified precisely in the middle of his thirty-third." Clarke Commentary on passage.

D2 Jesus goes to Jerusalem. The Law required all males to attend the Passover.

D3 Jesus in the Temple.

E1 Josephus makes a comment that when Titus came and overthrew Jerusalem in 70 AD, it was at the time of the Passover and that there were around 3 million Jews there.

E2 During that week Josephus mentions that there were 260,000 sheep killed for the Passover as well as oxen.

D4 In the Temple people are found selling cattle, sheep, and pigeons. Compare Deuteronomy 14:23-26.

E1 People bought here the necessary needs for the Passover because they were from far away.

E2 The problem was that it was IN the Temple.

E3 One commentator mentions that even if the people had brought their own unblemished lamb, the priests would have decreed that animal as unfit. Thus the people had no recourse but to buy one at the Temple. These animals were owned by the priests. They had the market corned.

E4 Another mentions that the doves sold for $4 when the real, normal price of 5 cents.

E5 The sounds in the Temple were of animals, people haggling over the price of an animals, the clinking of coins with money changers. The sounds that should have been there were singing and prayer.

E6 "Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming," Says the LORD of hosts. "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire And like launderers' soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness. (Malachi 3:1-3)

D4 Also found were moneychangers.

E1 People from other countries would need local currency to spend.

E2 The people would exchange it because all currency had a pagan ruler on it.

E3 This was unacceptable to the Jews.

E4 So they exchanged it for the half-shekel which did not have these offensive images.

C2 Action

D1 Jesus made a small whip to move the animals (even sheep and cattle) from the Temple. the whip was made of rushes, which were probably the straw used to bed the animals.

D2 Then overturned the moneychangers tables.

D3 Ordered the dove sellers to leave. The reason was not to make His Father's house a market.

D4 Memory. The disciples remembered the verse in Psalm 69:9. Zeal

E1 In Greek has the idea of passion, heat

E2 In Hebrew it has the idea of jealous, envy

E3 Jesus has

F1 Zeal for His Father's house.

F2 Zeal for the Word of God--Scripture (My zeal has consumed me, Because my enemies have forgotten Your words. (Psalms 119:139, NKJV)

F3 Zeal to punish those who persecute the nation of Israel (and Jews) Psalm 79:5

F4 A zeal for Messiah's Kingdom. Isaiah 9:7

F5 A zeal to punish the wicked Isaiah 59:17

E4 We use it for a passion. We will speak up when what we hold dear is defamed or hurt. We are zealous for our family as in if someone steps up to hurt them in some way, we will speak up, "Hey, wait just a minute!"

E5 Examples

F1 Moses when he came down from the mount after receiving the Lord's commandments. Exodus 32:19-20

F2 Starting worship Baal. Phineas intervened and administered justice to an evil man. Numbers 25:7-13

F3 The people in Corinth. 2 Corinthians 7:10-11 (godly sorrow and worldly sorrow. Godly sorrow and a genuine contrition, but worldly sorrow is sorrow only because they got caught. Simon Peter had godly sorrow after denying Jesus; Judas had only worldly sorrow).

D5 The Jews there wanted a sign. (John 2:18)

C3 Some believe that the things Jesus did in the Temple in John 2:13-25 is the same incident recorded in Matthew 21:12-17.

B1 Matthew 23:1-36

C1 The Pharisees and Scribes (teachers of the Law) are the authorized teachers (sit in Moses' seat).

D1 Jesus tells the crowd to

E1 Obey the teachers.

E2 Follow the teachers.

E3 Do NOT imitate the teachers.

F1 They do not practice what they teach.

F2 They place loads on people's backs and do not help the people take those loads off.

F3 They are attention seeking.

F4 They think of themselves having more honor in society then what is true (seek the best, most honorable seats at feasts).

F5 They like the honor of being called "Teacher".

E4 To NOT call these or anyone Rabbi, Father, or Teacher. In Matthew 23:9 the word "your" in "your Father" is plural probably indicating that Jesus is referring to using father as a spiritual father. It is OK to call your dad--Father.

C2 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. (Matthew 23:13-14, KJV)

D1 Many translations do not have Matthew 23:14 concerning the evil efforts towards widows.

D2 The KJV and NKJV have the blocking to heaven passage first and the widow following.

D3 The English Majority Text Version, Pickering's translations and others have the widow passage first then the blocking one following.

D4 Pickering notes, "They are already condemned, but are making it worse. Perhaps 2% of the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, omit this verse (as in NIV, [NASB], LB, [TEV], etc.). A very small minority, perhaps another 1%, reverse the order of verses 13 and 14 (as in KJV and NKJV)." Note on the widow passage.

C3 The 8 woe verses.

D1 Given by the judge himself--Jesus Christ

D2 Woe for stealing from widows and yet make long prayers. (Matthew 23:14)

D3 Woe for stopping people from going to heaven. (Matthew 23:13)

D4 Woe for making disciples that are even more evil than yourselves. (Matthew 23:15)

D5 Woe for making the gold of higher importance than the Altar of God. (Matthew 23:16-22)

D6 Woe for making tithes more importance than justice, mercy, and faith. (Matthew 23:23-24)

D7 Woe for being righteous outwardly but evil and rotten to the core inside. (Matthew 23:25-26)

D8 Woe for being righteous outwardly in obeying the Law but inside disobey the Law. (Matthew 23:27-28)

D9 Woe for being hypocrites in appearing to holy and innocent by building monuments in honor of the prophets, while being disobedient to the message of those very prophets. (Matthew 23:29-32)

 

A4 Questions

B1 What is Jesus interested in that He does these things? He wants pure worship.

B2 What was so special about the Temple that Jesus drove the animals out, overturned the moneychangers tables, and preached on why He was doing this? How can we relate to this today? Are there things in Christianity that are against God's rules?

B3 Is anger wrong? What kind of anger would be OK? (The things that God is angry about).

B4 Was the Lord Jesus out of control?

B5 Did Jesus drive all the people out (John 2:15)? (No, the verse says "both the sheep and the cattle).

B6 Why didn't someone stop Jesus?

B7 What do we have zeal for?

B8 What is a sign as in John 2:18? Why do these leaders demand a sign? Were they genuine or faking it?

C1 A sign is doing a miracle to prove God's will in this matter.

C2 They wanted a sign, because they had a false idea of what Messiah would be like.

C3 They were faking it. They wanted him to stop, and they thought that he would fear the authorities.

B9 What sign did Jesus give them? (John 2:19)

C1 The resurrection.

C2 Not the physical temple. How do we know that He spoke of the physical? John 2:21

C3 Did Jesus express anger at these questioners?

B10 Are the incidents in John 2 the same as Matthew 21?

 

John 2:13-25   1 Wedding in Cana of Galilee 2 Met with Nico D Mus 3 Went into Galilee 4 Sheep and oxen driven out 5 Poured money out 6 Overturned the money changers' tables 7 Said, "Take this outta here. Do not make my Father's house a house of merchandise." 8 Religious leaders ask for a sign 9 Jesus spoke of the resurrection 10 Many believed

Matthew 21:12-17   1 Triumphal entry 2 Left and went to Bethany 3 No mention of sheep or cattle 4 Throws everyone out who were buying and selling 5 Overturned money changers tables 6 Overturned dove seller's tables 7 House of prayer 8 Den of thieves 9 Healed lots of people 10 Children shouting Hosanna

 

B11 Why did Jesus call the Scribes and Pharisees the authorized teachers of the Law?

B12 Jesus is speaking to the crowd when telling them point about authorized teachers. Is Jesus an authorized teacher of the Law? Why?

B13 Jesus tells them to obey and follow the teachers. Is this wise? As long as they taught correctly.

B14 Jesus tells the crowd not to imitate these teachers. What is the heart issue with them? What does Jesus tell them not to imitate them? (They are hypocrites. The teach but do not practice what they teach). Does this make those teachers happy?

B15 What are the loads (burdens) these teachers place on people's backs?

B16 Why can't we call our preacher "Father Jacob"?

B17 Who is our one and only teacher/rabbi/theologian? (The Lord Jesus)

B18 Jesus condemns the Pharisees of doing their deeds before ours, yet He commands us to "letting your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works". Is there a contradiction?

C1 No

C2 SUMMARY

"All ambition for distinction above other common disciples of Jesus is condemned, whether this expresses itself by ostentation in dress, by prestigious titles or by positions of public honor. Such ambition despises the common brotherhood of all believers, ignores Him who is truly Father, and abases the Christ as unique leader. True superiority in God's Kingdom is decided on the superiority of one's humble service. Humiliation and punishment await those who crush others to promote their own interests." College Press commentary author comment on this reference.

C3 It is a matter of motive.

B19 Jesus and anger. Is Jesus still righteous even though He is obviously angry? (Anger without a cause is important. Most translations do not have it, so making the Lord Jesus a vile, sinning hypocrite. "God hates injustice and will judge it. Less than 2% of the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, omit "without cause" (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.). NIV, NASB and LB favor us with a footnote informing us that "some manuscripts" add 'without cause'--by "some" they mean 98% of them!! More serious, the shorter text has the effect of forbidding anger, which would contradict other Scriptures (Ephesians 4:26, Psalm 4:4) and the Lord's own example (Mark 3:5)." Wilbur Pickering's note on the passage.)

B20 What is more important outward or inward righteousness? Some people say, "God looks at the heart," thus excusing their outward disregard for God's rules. Is that a good argument?

C1 Both are important. It shows consistency. As our Lord teaches if the inward is right, then the outward will be right.

C2 If the outward is wrong, then it is most reasonable that the inward is evil.

B21 Is it OK to point out false teaching and false teachers?

B22 How to we know what is false and true?

B23 When Jesus pronounces these woe and calls them snakes, is He being loving? (Yes, He is warning them that to believe and follow wrong teaching and false teachers, we will not know or do the truth of God).

B24 What is the balance between confront someone or just ignoring them?

 

 

Having It Both Ways

"Evolution is a fact," says J. William Schopf, UCLA professor of earth, planetary and space sciences.

For proof from this one study is if there is change, there is evolution, and if there is no change, there is evolution. Both ways. No matter what is observed in science, it is true. Hum…

Something I think is wrong with this.

Here is the link to the article: Sulfur Bacteria, Uncharged for Billions of Years, Confirm Darwinian Evolution. Come Again?

Now Christians who take the Bible in its plain, normal sense know that real science does not support evolution. See here and here
for example.

Well worth the couple of minutes to read.

In six days I, the LORD, made the earth, the sky, the seas, and everything in them, but on the seventh day I rested. That is why I, the LORD, blessed the Sabbath and made it holy. (Exodus 20:11, GNB92)

How To Know If Your Bible Teacher Is Truly Biblical?

 

How To Know If Your Bible Teacher Is Truly Biblical?

 

There is a simple way to know if your Bible teacher is focused on teaching the Bible or not. These simple rules are easy to use.

1. Expository Preaching.

Does your Bible teacher…

This is a good checklist. It is simple. We can also apply it to ourselves. Is our Bible study Biblical?