Q & A by Gary Rose

The world is not as it seems: Evil abounds and Good seems powerless before it! Wrong. God is NOT POWERLESS!!! In the prophetic book of Ezekiel, God shows that HE has the power over life and death; and even though things may look hopeless, they are not.

The question and answer of the picture are only PART of the story...

Ezekiel, Chapter 37 (WEB)

 ¹ The hand of Yahweh was on me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of Yahweh, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. ² He caused me to pass by them all around: and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and behold, they were very dry.  ³ He said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? I answered, Lord Yahweh, you know.  ⁴ Again he said to me, Prophesy over these bones, and tell them, you dry bones, hear Yahweh’s word.  ⁵ Thus says the Lord Yahweh to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.  ⁶ I will lay sinews on you, and will bring up flesh on you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am Yahweh.  ⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, an earthquake; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. ⁸ I saw, and, behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh came up, and skin covered them above; but there was no breath in them.  ⁹ Then he said to me, Prophesy to the wind, prophesy, son of man, and tell the wind, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Come from the four winds, breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.  ¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up on their feet, an exceedingly great army.  ¹¹ Then he said to me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.  ¹² Therefore prophesy, and tell them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, my people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. 

(emp. added GDR)

Almighty GOD uses PEOPLE to accomplish his will!!! He can raise up (no pun intended) the likes of a George Washington, an Abraham Lincoln or even a Donald Trump to confront evil and overcome it.

Israel came out of captivity and never practiced Idolatry again. There is hope of life when there seems to be no hope. Jesus is living proof of this FACT!!! Still have some doubts? Re-read John 11:1-44, if Jesus can raise a four day old corpse (Lazarus), he can overcome any evil, anywhere!!!

Bible Reading June 15 by Gary Rose

Bible Reading June 15 (The World English Bible)

June 15

1 Samuel 23, 24

1Sa 23:1 They told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and are robbing the threshing floors.

1Sa 23:2 Therefore David inquired of Yahweh, saying, Shall I go and strike these Philistines? Yahweh said to David, Go, and strike the Philistines, and save Keilah.

1Sa 23:3 David's men said to him, Behold, we are afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?

1Sa 23:4 Then David inquired of Yahweh yet again. Yahweh answered him, and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.

1Sa 23:5 David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their livestock, and killed them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

1Sa 23:6 It happened, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.

1Sa 23:7 It was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. Saul said, God has delivered him into my hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that has gates and bars.

1Sa 23:8 Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.

1Sa 23:9 David knew that Saul was devising mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring here the ephod.

1Sa 23:10 Then said David, O Yahweh, the God of Israel, your servant has surely heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake.

1Sa 23:11 Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? Yahweh, the God of Israel, I beg you, tell your servant. Yahweh said, He will come down.

1Sa 23:12 Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver up to me and my men into the hand of Saul? Yahweh said, They will deliver you up.

1Sa 23:13 Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went wherever they could go. It was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he gave up going there.

1Sa 23:14 David abode in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God didn't deliver him into his hand.

1Sa 23:15 David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in the wood.

1Sa 23:16 Jonathan, Saul's son, arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God.

1Sa 23:17 He said to him, Don't be afraid; for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you; and you shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you; and that also Saul my father knows.

1Sa 23:18 They two made a covenant before Yahweh: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.

1Sa 23:19 Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doesn't David hide himself with us in the strongholds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of the desert?

1Sa 23:20 Now therefore, O king, come down, according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him up into the king's hand.

1Sa 23:21 Saul said, You are blessed by Yahweh; for you have had compassion on me.

1Sa 23:22 Please go make yet more sure, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who has seen him there; for it is told me that he deals very subtly.

1Sa 23:23 See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides himself, and come again to me with certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall happen, if he is in the land, that I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.

1Sa 23:24 They arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah on the south of the desert.

1Sa 23:25 Saul and his men went to seek him. When David was told, he went down to the rock, and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.

1Sa 23:26 Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men surrounded David and his men to take them.

1Sa 23:27 But a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Hurry and come; for the Philistines have made a raid on the land!"

1Sa 23:28 So Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Sela Hammahlekoth.

1Sa 23:29 David went up from there, and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.

1Sa 24:1 It happened, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of En Gedi.

1Sa 24:2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the rocks of the wild goats.

1Sa 24:3 He came to the sheep pens by the way, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were abiding in the innermost parts of the cave.

1Sa 24:4 The men of David said to him, Behold, the day of which Yahweh said to you, Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe secretly.

1Sa 24:5 It happened afterward, that David's heart struck him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt.

1Sa 24:6 He said to his men, Yahweh forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, Yahweh's anointed, to put forth my hand against him, seeing he is Yahweh's anointed.

1Sa 24:7 So David checked his men with these words, and didn't allow them to rise against Saul. Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way.

1Sa 24:8 David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. When Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth, and did obeisance.

1Sa 24:9 David said to Saul, Why do you listen to men's words, saying, Behold, David seeks your hurt?

1Sa 24:10 Behold, this day your eyes have seen how that Yahweh had delivered you today into my hand in the cave: and some urged me to kill you; but I spared you; and I said, I will not put forth my hand against my lord; for he is Yahweh's anointed.

1Sa 24:11 Moreover, my father, behold, yes, see the skirt of your robe in my hand; for in that I cut off the skirt of your robe, and didn't kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor disobedience in my hand, and I have not sinned against you, though you hunt for my life to take it.

1Sa 24:12 May Yahweh judge between me and you, and may Yahweh avenge me of you; but my hand shall not be on you.

1Sa 24:13 As the proverb of the ancients says, Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness; but my hand shall not be on you.

1Sa 24:14 Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A flea?

1Sa 24:15 May Yahweh therefore be judge, and give sentence between me and you, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of your hand.

1Sa 24:16 It came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, Is this your voice, my son David? Saul lifted up his voice, and wept.

1Sa 24:17 He said to David, You are more righteous than I; for you have done good to me, whereas I have done evil to you.

1Sa 24:18 You have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, because when Yahweh had delivered me up into your hand, you didn't kill me.

1Sa 24:19 For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away unharmed? Therefore may Yahweh reward you good for that which you have done to me this day.

1Sa 24:20 Now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.

1Sa 24:21 Swear now therefore to me by Yahweh, that you will not cut off my seed after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father's house.

1Sa 24:22 David swore to Saul. Saul went home; but David and his men got them up to the stronghold.

Jun. 15, 16

John 16

Joh 16:1 "These things have I spoken to you, so that you wouldn't be caused to stumble.

Joh 16:2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the time comes that whoever kills you will think that he offers service to God.

Joh 16:3 They will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.

Joh 16:4 But I have told you these things, so that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you about them. I didn't tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you.

Joh 16:5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?'

Joh 16:6 But because I have told you these things, sorrow has filled your heart.

Joh 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I don't go away, the Counselor won't come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

Joh 16:8 When he has come, he will convict the world about sin, about righteousness, and about judgment;

Joh 16:9 about sin, because they don't believe in me;

Joh 16:10 about righteousness, because I am going to my Father, and you won't see me any more;

Joh 16:11 about judgment, because the prince of this world has been judged.

Joh 16:12 "I have yet many things to tell you, but you can't bear them now.

Joh 16:13 However when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak from himself; but whatever he hears, he will speak. He will declare to you things that are coming.

Joh 16:14 He will glorify me, for he will take from what is mine, and will declare it to you.

Joh 16:15 All things whatever the Father has are mine; therefore I said that he takes of mine, and will declare it to you.

Joh 16:16 A little while, and you will not see me. Again a little while, and you will see me."

Joh 16:17 Some of his disciples therefore said to one another, "What is this that he says to us, 'A little while, and you won't see me, and again a little while, and you will see me;' and, 'Because I go to the Father?' "

Joh 16:18 They said therefore, "What is this that he says, 'A little while?' We don't know what he is saying."

Joh 16:19 Therefore Jesus perceived that they wanted to ask him, and he said to them, "Do you inquire among yourselves concerning this, that I said, 'A little while, and you won't see me, and again a little while, and you will see me?'

Joh 16:20 Most certainly I tell you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.

Joh 16:21 A woman, when she gives birth, has sorrow, because her time has come. But when she has delivered the child, she doesn't remember the anguish any more, for the joy that a human being is born into the world.

Joh 16:22 Therefore you now have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.

Joh 16:23 "In that day you will ask me no questions. Most certainly I tell you, whatever you may ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.

Joh 16:24 Until now, you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be made full.

Joh 16:25 I have spoken these things to you in figures of speech. But the time is coming when I will no more speak to you in figures of speech, but will tell you plainly about the Father.

Joh 16:26 In that day you will ask in my name; and I don't say to you, that I will pray to the Father for you,

Joh 16:27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came forth from God.

Joh 16:28 I came out from the Father, and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world, and go to the Father."

Joh 16:29 His disciples said to him, "Behold, now you speak plainly, and speak no figures of speech.

Joh 16:30 Now we know that you know all things, and don't need for anyone to question you. By this we believe that you came forth from God."

Joh 16:31 Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe?

Joh 16:32 Behold, the time is coming, yes, and has now come, that you will be scattered, everyone to his own place, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.

Joh 16:33 I have told you these things, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have oppression; but cheer up! I have overcome the world."

Suffering by J.C. Bailey

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Bailey/John/Carlos/1903/Articles/suffer.html

Suffering

In a recent issue of the Latin American Crier my name was mentioned as one that suffered for Christ. I WONDER. There is a passage that when I read it I always have an uneasy feeling. Here is the passage: "After these things I saw, and behold a great multitude which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes and tongues, standing before the throne, and before the Lamb with palms in their hands...and one of the elders answered, saying unto me, These that are arrayed in white robes, who are they, and whence came they? And I say unto him, My Lord, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they that come out of the great tribulation, and they washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Rev. 7:9-14). Can I say that I have come out of the great tribulation? Yes, I may have suffered a LITTLE, but this says that those who stand before God have come out of the GREAT TRIBULATION.

True, as a young preacher in Montana more than 60 years ago some men told me that if I baptized a certain woman that I would never get out of the water alive. Yes, I was scared but I told them that if she desired to be baptized that I would baptize her and told them the place where she would be baptized. The poor woman, they frightened her to the place that she said to me that she would be baptized later. Long since she has gone to her reward. She never obeyed the gospel. So SAD. Then there was one time that on a bitter day in the winter I took five young men with me and went to Lambton for the Sunday service. It was so stormy most of the brethren did not get there. The Collection was 40 cents. On the way home the gas line froze up. We shoved the car the last mile. Holding my hands against the back of that car in that cold cut off the circulation and when I got into the heat the pain in my hands was almost unbearable.

We might tell a few more things in America but we shall turn to India. I went to Mondapeta from Kakinada. It was 33 hours from the time I left Kakinada until I was back in Kakinada. In that time I had preached 9 sermons. There had been 101 baptized. I came home at 2 a.m. I was so tired that I could hardly crawl into bed. A few hours of sleep did not seem to rest me. I told the sister in the morning when I came downstairs, I think I am going to die. Then there was the time that I said that if we could get the Indians to meet on time that we could have five meetings in a day. A brother assured me that we could have SIX meetings. We came in at ten in the evening. I don't know how he did it but this brother got the people to assemble in six villages for services that day. We rode in the jeep. It was hot and it was dusty. I WAS SO TIRED that I never suggested to this brother that he arrange that many meetings in one day again.

Let me tell you about the time when I probably suffered more than any one time. A brother told me that a certain Hindu village wanted to become Christians and wanted me to accompany him to this village. I told him that I would be very glad to do this. It was a hot day. We drove as far as the hard-top lasted. We drove as far as the gravel lasted. Then we came to a dirt road. I do not need to tell you that I had driven tens of thousands of miles on dirt roads in the early days in Saskatchewan. There was a problem though. It had rained for hours just before we got to this road. It was impossible even for an ox cart. WE WALKED for eight miles. These villagers had painted a crude cross on a piece of cloth and put it on the longest pole they could find and erected it in the village to advertise that they were going to become Christians. I preached a sermon. There were some 22 or 23 people that expressed a desire to be baptized. They were baptized.

Then, as it was Sunday, we had the Lord's Supper. Then they suggested that we have some food. We ate and then just as we started out the sun went down. It is one thing to walk in the mud in daylight. It was another thing to walk in the dark. I had gone about one mile when I had trouble with one leg. In the dark we met a shepherd with his goats. We bought his shepherd's staff. I used that for a cane and while I was in pain we continued our journey. About one mile from our destination, my other leg became very painful. DID YOU EVER TRY LIMPING ON BOTH LEGS AT ONE TIME? I remembered that Paul said that we were to REJOICE in our sufferings (Col. 1:24). I remembered that Job said one time that he would like to argue with God, I can bear this, but was it not too much for you to say I should REJOICE in it?

I can rejoice in it now. When that tidal wave struck in India in 1977, that village was in the path of that terrible destructive force. It is a wonder that a few lived and not that many perished that were members of the body. I visited there after the disaster and thanked God I had taken the gospel to that village.

I know that Paul said that we as evangelists were to suffer hardships (II Tim. 4:5). Will what I have suffered compare with the three preachers in the Phillipines who went on preaching all during World War II? They knew that any morning they could have been shot as American spies. Not only think of these men but think of their wives. When they went out to preach, the wives never knew if they would come back. When they came back, the wives never knew at what hour of the night the military police might come and take them away. I have never suffered as they suffered.

Let us turn to India: a young couple were married in India. Shortly after they were married and she became a Christian, her husband was furious. First he tried to coax her to come back to Hinduism. This did not work. Then he threatened her. When she still would not renounce her faith in Christ Jesus, he poured kerosene over her and burned her to death. Then there is the story that reads like a story. It is a story but a TRUE one. When this woman obeyed the gospel her husband tried to burn her to death. He did not succeed but she has terrible scars. He was converted to Christ the next year and then shortly after that he died in Christ.

We have heard a great deal about the Sikhs in India these days, but there was one Sikh that obeyed the gospel. His own brother beat him cruelly but he refused to renounce his faith in Christ. He is faithfully preaching the gospel in North India today.

I shall tell of the young preacher in Africa who was captured by so-called Freedom Fighters. They told him that he had to take a drink of liquor. He told them he was a Christian, and that he did not drink. They told him that if he did not take a drink, they would shoot him. He refused to take the drink and THEY SHOT HIM.

I could turn back to what is personal again. I left for a meeting after I had filled up my gas tank with gas that was charged. I had two dollars. I left my wife home with seven children and half of the money. During this trip some young people were baptized who are faithful members of the church today.

I preached all during the Thirties. The children never went to bed hungry nor did they ever miss school for lack of clothes. They had a good bed to sleep on. My wife made mattresses. She made shoes. Part of the time we milked our own cow. We grew our own potatoes, etc. I have tried to remember and believe I Timothy 6:7,8. "For we brought nothing into the world, for neither can we carry anything out; but having food and covering we shall be therewith content." I have four tailor made suits. Indian brethren had three of them made for me. I have a good car but one of my sons gave it to me.

We have lived below what the government says is the Poverty Line most of our lives. We have had no money for tobacco, liquor, movies or extended holidays but what the Lord has promised He has provided. I might add my wife has never used any money for MAKE-UP either. I still feel short of the requirements of the GREAT TRIBULATION. I have the assurance that His grace will be sufficient. May I with Paul say: "for which cause I suffer these things, yet I am not ashamed, for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed unto him against that day" (II Tim. 1:12).

J.C. Bailey (1985, Bengough, Saskatchewan)

Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)

The Bible's Teaching on Baptism: Contradictory or Complementary? by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/AllegedDiscrepancies.aspx?article=806&b=Mark

The Bible's Teaching on Baptism: Contradictory or Complementary?

by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

According to numerous skeptics, the Bible is inconsistent regarding whether or not water baptism is necessary (e.g., Drange, 1996; Morgan, 2003; cf. Wells, 2001). In Dennis McKinsey’s book, Biblical Errancy (2000), he lists several verses that teach the need for one to be baptized in order to be saved (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 1 Peter 3:21; etc.), but then he lists four verses (John 4:2; 1 Corinthians 1:14,16,17) which allegedly teach that baptism “is not a necessity” (p. 61). According to these men, Jesus and Paul were confused regarding the purpose of baptism.

There is no doubt that Jesus and His apostles taught the essentiality of being immersed in water for salvation. After Jesus commissioned His apostles to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature,” He stated that “he who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16; cf. Matthew 28:19). The Jews who had murdered Christ, and to whom Peter spoke on the Day of Pentecost when he ushered in the Christian age, were told: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). Before becoming a Christian, Saul of Tarsus was commanded to “arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16). The biblical solution to the problem of soul-damning sin is that the person who has heard the Gospel, who has believed its message, who has repented of past sins, and who has confessed Christ as Lord must then—in order to receive remission (forgiveness) of sins—be baptized. [The English word “baptize” is a transliteration of the Greek word baptizo, meaning to immerse, dip, plunge beneath, or submerge (Thayer, 1958, p. 94).] According to Peter, “baptism,” corresponding to Noah’s salvation through water, “now saves us…(not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21). Although baptism is no less, nor more, important than any other of God’s commands regarding what to do to be saved, the New Testament clearly teaches that water immersion is the point at which a person is saved by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

If it is the case then that baptism is essential for salvation, then why did the apostle John write: “Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee” (John 4:1-3, emp. added)? And why did the apostle Paul write to the church at Corinth: “I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name…. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel” (1 Corinthians 1:14-17, emp. added)? Do these statements indicate that baptism is not necessary for a person to be saved as skeptics allege? No, they do not.

First, John did not indicate that Jesus thought baptism was unnecessary; he merely stated the fact that Jesus did not personally do the baptizing; rather, His disciples did (John 4:2). The phrase in 4:1 regarding Jesus “baptizing” more disciples than John is simply a figure of speech where a person is represented as doing something when, in fact, he merely supplies the means for doing it. For example, Joseph indicated on one occasion that his brothers sold him into Egypt (Genesis 45:4-5; cf. Acts 7:9), when actually they sold him to the Ishmaelites (who then sold him into Egypt). This is a well-known principle in law—a person who acts through another to break the law (e.g., paying someone to commit murder) is deemed by authorities to be guilty of breaking the law himself. Similarly, Jesus did not personally baptize anyone. But, His teaching and influencecaused it to be done. Jesus, the subject, is mentioned, but it is the circumstance of His influence that is intended. His teaching was responsible for people being baptized. Thus, this passage actually implies that Jesus commanded that His listeners be baptized. It in no way contradicts teachings found elsewhere in the Bible.

Second, Paul’s statements in his letter to the church at Corinth must be taken in their proper context in order to understand their true meaning. In 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, Paul was dealing with the division that was plaguing the Corinthian Christians. He had heard of the controversy in Corinth, and begged them to stand united, and resolve their differences.

Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect (1 Corinthians 1:10-17).

Later, Paul added:

For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase (1 Corinthians 3:3-7).

When a person reads 1 Corinthians 1:14-17 in view of the problem of division in Corinth that Paul was addressing in chapter one and throughout this letter, he or she has a better understanding of Paul’s statements regarding baptism. He was not indicating that baptism was unnecessary, but that people should not glory in the one who baptizes them. Some of the Corinthians were putting more emphasis on who baptized them, than on the one body of Christ to which a person is added when he or she is baptized (cf. Acts 2:41,47; Ephesians 4:4). Paul was thankful that he did not personally baptize any more Corinthians than he did, lest they boast in his name, rather than in the name of Christ (1:15). Likely, this is the same reason why “Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples.” As Albert Barnes surmised: “[I]f he [Jesus—EL] had baptized, it might have made unhappy divisions among his followers: those might have considered themselves most worthy or honoured who had been baptized by him” (1956, p. 213, emp. in orig.). Paul understood that the fewer people he personally baptized, the less likely they were to rejoice in his name. [In 1 Corinthians 1:13, Paul implied that the only way to be saved is to be baptized into the name of Christ, saying, “Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”] Paul’s desire was for converts to tie themselves to the Savior, and not to himself. He knew that “there is salvation in no one else” but Jesus; “for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Paul concerned himself with preaching, and, like Jesus, left others to do the baptizing.

When Paul stated: “Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel,” he meant that preaching was his main work, and that others could immerse the converts. He did not mean by this statement that baptism is unimportant, but that thebaptizer is inconsequential. Consider this: If Paul did not baptize, but preached, and, if others baptized those who heard Paul’s teachings, what can we infer about the content of Paul’s teachings? The truth is, at some point, he must have instructed the unsaved to be baptized (which is exactly what occurred in Corinth—read Acts 18:1-11; 1 Corinthians 6:11). Similar to how we logically infer from the Ethiopian eunuch’s baptism (Acts 8:36-39), that when Philip “preached Jesus to him” (8:35), he informed the eunuch of the essentiality of baptism, we can truthfully affirm that Paul taught that baptism is essential for salvation. The allegation that Paul and Jesus ever considered baptism non-essential, simply is unfounded.

REFERENCES

Barnes, Albert (1956), Notes on the Old and New Testaments: Luke and John (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker).

Drange, Theodore M. (1996), “The Argument from the Bible,” [On-line], URL: http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/theodore_drange/bible.html.

McKinsey, C. Dennis (2000), Biblical Errancy (Amherst, NY: Prometheus).

Morgan, Donald (2003), “Biblical Inconsistencies,” [On-line], URL: http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/donald_morgan/inconsistencies.shtml.

Thayer, J.H. (1958 reprint), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark).

Wells, Steve (2001), Skeptic’s Annotated Bible, [On-line], URL: http://www.Skepticsannotatedbible.com.

U.S. House Honors Islam: The Destructive Corrosion of Diversity by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=7&article=2380

U.S. House Honors Islam: The Destructive Corrosion of Diversity

by	Dave Miller, Ph.D.

In an unprecedented action, by a vote of 376-0, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution in honor of the Islamic celebration Ramadan (“U.S. House Passes...,” 2007). Forty-one Republicans and one Democrat refused to participate in the vote (“Final Vote Results...,” 2007). The resolution reads in part:

Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives (1) recognizes the Islamic faith as one of the great religions of the world; (2) expresses friendship andsupport for Muslims in the United States and worldwide; (3) acknowledges the onset of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting and spiritual renewal, and conveys its respect to Muslims in the United States and throughout the world on this occasion.... (“The United States...,” 2007, emp. added).

Representative William Pascrell stated:

Despite what others may say, we should have no qualms about electing a Muslim to any elected office in the United States, for our Nation was founded on the principle that there can be no religious test for holding office, only a test of that individual’s character (“The United States...,” emp. added).

Representative Thomas Davis added: As our Founding Fathers recognized, the strength of this great Nation derives from the tolerance we espouse. America builds strength from its diversity(“The United States...,” emp. added). The sponsor of the bill, Eddie Bernice Johnson, insisted that “American pluralistic ideals, democratic institutions and multi-culturalism are expanded and strengthened by the contribution of Muslim American civic participation” (“The United States...,” emp. added).

One can only assume that these politicians have not gone back and read what the Founders actually said. Their actions are additional examples of political liberalism misrepresenting the Founders in order to perpetrate the propaganda of pluralism and political correctness, while abandoning the priority of the Christian worldview as the glue that cemented the nation together from the beginning. The architects of the American political system would be unhappy with such endorsements. Contrary to current claims that the Founding Fathers of America advocated “pluralism,” “diversity,” “multi-culturalism,” and equal acceptance of all religions, ideologies, and philosophies, the truth is that they feared for the future of the nation should its Christian foundation be compromised. They well knew and believed that one’s religious beliefs affects a person’s character and moral values. They insisted that the nation draws its strength from the God of the Bible and the moral precepts He enjoins on a people.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice James Iredell, who was appointed to the Court by President George Washington, reflected this concern in 1788, though he felt confident that Islam would never be allowed to infiltrate America:

But it is objected that the people of America may perhaps choose representatives who have no religion at all, and that pagans and Mahometans may be admitted into offices.... But it is never to be supposed that the people of America will trust their dearest rights to persons who have no religion at all, or a religion materially different from their own (1836, 4:194, emp. added).

Similarly, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story, appointed by President James Madison in 1811, and considered the founder of Harvard Law School and one of two men known as the Fathers of American Jurisprudence, in his Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, clarified the meaning of the First Amendment as it relates to religious toleration and Islam:

The real object of the [First—DM] [A]mendment was not to countenance, much less to advance Mahometanism, or Judaism, or infidelity by prostrating Christianity; but to exclude all rivalry among Christian sects and to prevent any national ecclesiastical establishment which should give to a hierarchy [of one denomination—DM] the exclusive patronage of the national government (1833, 3.44.728.1871, emp. added).

The other “Father of American Jurisprudence” was New York State Supreme Court Chief Justice James Kent, who, in penning the opinion of the court in The People v. Ruggles in 1811, reiterated the national attitude toward Islam that existed from the inception of the country. In a case that resulted in the punishment of an individual who publicly maligned and denounced the Christian religion, Kent acknowledged the right of “free and decent discussions on any religious subject,” but nevertheless insisted:

Nor are we bound, by any expressions in the constitution, as some have strangely supposed, either not to punish at all, or to punish indiscriminately the like attacks uponthe religion of Mahomet or of the Grand Lama; and for this plain reason, that the case assumes that we are a Christian people, and the morality of the country is deeply engrafted upon Christianity, and not upon the doctrines or worship of those imposters(8 Johns 290).

While America generally has welcomed all nationalities of people to her shores regardless of their personal beliefs, alternative ideologies and religions were never intended to be given credence and allowed to transform the nation into either a religionless or non-Christian society. Nor did the Founders intend that American civilization be adjusted to accommodate religious principles that contradict the original foundations of the nation. America welcomes people to live in freedom within her borders—as long as they do so peaceably. That is the “tolerance” that the Founders envisioned. But they did not intend for the nation’s social parameters to be adjusted in public life (government, schools, and communities) to accommodate divergent religions. They believed that doing so would inevitably weaken, not strengthen, the ability of America to sustain herself. Noah Webster articulated this indisputable fact in a letter to James Madison on October 29, 1829:

[T]he Christian religion, in its purity, is the basis, or rather the source of all genuine freedom in government.... and I am persuaded that no civil government of a republican form can exist and be durable in which the principles of that religion have not a controlling influence (as quoted in Snyder, 1990, p. 253, emp. added).

In the long ago, the psalmist said it well: “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain” (127:1). Make no mistake: the day is coming when America will be punished, and the reason will be apparent: “Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers...and embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this calamity on them” (2 Chronicles 7:22).

REFERENCES

“Final Vote Results for Roll Call 928” (2007), House Resolution 635: Recognizing the Commencement of Ramadan, October 2, [On-line], URL:http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll928.xml.

“U.S. House Passes Historic Ramadan Resolution” (2007), American Muslim Perspective, October 5, [On-line], URL:http://www.amperspective.com/html/house_ramadan_reolution.html.

Iredell, James (1836), The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution, ed. Jonathan Elliot (Washington, D.C.: Jonathan Elliot).

The People v. Ruggles (1811), 8 Johns 290 (Sup. Ct. NY.), N.Y. Lexis 124.

Snyder, K. Alan (1990), Defining Noah Webster: Mind and Morals in the Early Republic (New York: University Press of America).

Story, Joseph (1833), Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States (Boston, MA: Hilliard, Gray, & Co.).

The United States House of Representatives (2007), “Recognizing Commencement of Ramadan and Commending Muslims for their Faith,” Congressional Record, H11087, Section 36, House Resolution 635, October 2, [On-line], URL: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/record.xpd?id=110-h20071002-36.

Where Would You Expect to Find Flood Fossils? by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=2526

Where Would You Expect to Find Flood Fossils?

by	Dave Miller, Ph.D.

If the Bible is the inspired Word of God, its record of the global Flood is completely factual (Genesis 6-9). If the entire world was at one time covered in water for over a year, then one would expect to find evidence of sea life on mountains all over the world. If, on the other hand, the Bible is dismissed out of hand as fiction, one would have to postulate alternative explanations to account for the physical evidence on Earth that point to a global Flood. Rather than interpreting this evidence in the context of catastrophic turbulence that occurred quickly and briefly, one would have to cling persistently to the notion of naturalistic forces operating slowly over long periods of geologic time. This tactic is precisely what commands (or shall we say strangles?) the thinking of geologists, biologists, and other scientists who assume an evolutionary hypothesis.

One recent example of this blind commitment to bias is a research team’s evaluation of a recent discovery. Researchers were “surprised to find thick layers of ancient lake sediment filled with plant, fish and animal fossils typical of far lower elevations and warmer, wetter climates” (“Fossils Found...,” 2008). The fossil evidence was found 15,000 feet high on Tibet’s desolate Himalayan-Tibetan Plateau, the rock desert and cold, treeless steppes comprising Earth’s highest land mass (“Fossils Found...”). According to the lead researcher, the finding, which “calls into question the validity of methods commonly used by scientists to reconstruct the past elevations of the region,” “has yielded surprising results that are inconsistent with the popular view of Tibetan uplift” (“Fossils Found...,” emp. added).

It never seems to bother evolutionary scientists to put forth their imaginary machinations to account for the condition of the Earth and life on it, to do so with an air of scientific certainty, even infallibility, and have their claims transmitted to school textbooks for children to absorb as scientific fact, only to recant their original assertions as “called into question” and “inconsistent with the popular view.” Since time and again, yesterday’s scientific “fact” has become today’s superstition, with “scientific” theories relegated to the dust bin of ignorance, why give credence to today’s half-baked conjuring?

Understand, you senseless among the people; and you fools, when will you be wise? He who planted the ear, shall He not hear? He who formed the eye, shall He not see? He who instructs the nations, shall He not correct, He who teaches man knowledge? The Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are futile. Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O Lord, and teach out of Your law (Psalm 94:8-12).

Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile” (1 Corinthians 3:18-20).

REFERENCES

“Fossils Found in Tibet Revise History of Elevation, Climate” (2008), Science Daily, June 12, [On-line], URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080611144021.htm.

The Only True God by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=10&article=5014

The Only True God

by	Eric Lyons, M.Min.

The Bible is full of scriptures that, when quoted without any consideration of the immediate and remote contexts, a person can misuse in all sorts of ways. As proof that we do not have to work to provide for our family’s material needs, some may quote Jesus’ statement, “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life” (John 6:27). In order to show that Jesus was a liar, the Bible critic might quote Jesus’ acknowledgement: “If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true” (John 5:31). Those who exclude baptism from God’s plan of salvation often quote John 4:2: “Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples.” When the Bible reader is “rightly dividing” (2 Timothy 2:15, NKJV) or “handling accurately the word of truth” (NASB), however, he will remember that “[t]he sum of thy [God’s] word is truth” (Psalm 119:160, emp. added). Since the Bible teaches “if anyone will not work, neither shall he eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10; cf. 1 Timothy 5:8), Jesus never implied that working to help feed one’s family is wrong (John 6:27). “He simply was saying that spiritual food is more important than physical food, and as such, should be given a higher priority” (Butt, 2003, emp. in orig.). Jesus did not confess wrongdoing in John 5:31. He simply acknowledged that, in accordance with the law (cf. Deuteronomy 19:15), His testimony apart from other witnesses would be considered invalid or insufficient to establish truth (cf. John 8:13-20; see Lyons, 2004). Likewise, Jesus never taught that baptism was unnecessary for salvation. In fact, He taught the very opposite (cf. John 3:3,5; Mark 16:16; Matthew 28:18-20; see Lyons, 2003).

Consider another proof text from the Gospel of John regarding the nature of Christ. Some (e.g., Jehovah’s Witnesses) contend that Jesus was not deity since, on one occasion, He prayed to the Father: “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3; cf. “Should You Believe...?,” 2000). Allegedly, by calling the Father, “the only true God,” Jesus excluded Himself from being deity. Such an interpretation of John 17:3, however, contradicts numerous other passages within John’s own gospel account. From beginning to end, John bore witness to the deity of Christ. Some of the evidence from the Gospel of John includes the following:

• In the very first verse of John, the apostle testified: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (emp. added; cf. 1:14,17).
• Two verses later the reader learns that “[a]ll things came into being by Him [the Word], and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being” (John 1:3, NASB).
• Still in the first chapter of John, the apostle testified that John the Baptizer was the one whom Isaiah foretold would “prepare...the way of Jehovah” (Isaiah 40:3; John 1:23; cf. 14:6). For Whom did John the Baptizer come to prepare the way? Isaiah called Him “Jehovah.” The apostle John, as well as John the Baptizer, referred to Jehovah as “Jesus” (John 1:17), “the Christ” (3:28), “the Word” (1:1), “the Light” (1:17), “the Lamb” (1:29), “the Truth” (5:33), etc.
• When the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well told Jesus, “I know that Messiah is coming” (John 4:25), Jesus responded, “I who speak to you am He” (vs. 26). Isaiah foretold that the Messiah would be called “Mighty God” (9:6) and “Jehovah” (40:3). Thus, by claiming to be the Messiah, Jesus was claiming to be God.
• In John chapter nine, Jesus miraculously healed a man with congenital blindness (vs. 1). When this man appeared before various Jews in the synagogue and called Jesus a prophet (vs. 17), he was instructed to “give glory to God,” not Jesus, because allegedly Jesus “is a sinner” (vs. 24). Later, after the man born blind was cast out of the synagogue, he confessed faith in Jesus and worshiped (Greek proskuneo) Him (vs. 38). In the Gospel of John, this word (proskuneo) is found 11 times: nine times in reference to worshiping the Father (John 4:2-24), once in reference to Greeks who came to “worship” in Jerusalem during Passover (12:20), and once in reference to the worship Jesus received from a man whom He had miraculously healed, and who had just confessed faith in Jesus. Indeed, by accepting worship Jesus acknowledged His deity (cf. Matthew 4:10; Hebrews 1:6).
• While at the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, Jesus claimed: “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30). “Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him” (vs. 31). Why did Jesus’ enemies want to stone Him? The Jews said to Christ: “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God” (vs. 33, emp. added; cf. 5:17-18).
• After Jesus rose from the dead, the apostle Thomas called Jesus, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). Jesus responded: “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (vs. 29). Notice that Jesus did not deny His deity, rather He acknowledged Thomas’ faith and commended future believers. Believers in what? In that which Thomas had just confessed—that Jesus is Lord and God.

It was in the overall context of John’s gospel account, which is filled with statements testifying of Jesus’ deity, that the apostle recorded Jesus’ prayer to His Father the night of His betrayal (John 17). But how can Jesus’ statement about His Father being “the only true God” (17:3) be harmonized with statements by Jesus, the apostle John, John the Baptizer, Thomas, etc. affirming the deity of Christ? When a person understands that Jesus’ statement was made in opposition to the world’s false gods, and not Himself, the reference to the Father being “the only true God” harmonizes perfectly with the many scriptures that attest to the deity of Christ (including those outside of the book of John; cf. Matthew 1:23; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:5-13). On the eve of Jesus’ crucifixion, it was completely natural for Him to pray that “all flesh/people” (John 17:2, NKJV/NIV), many of whom were (and still are) pagan idolaters, would come to know “the only true God” and receive eternal life (17:3). Thus, Jesus contrasted Himself not with the Father, but “with all forms of pagan polytheism, mystic pantheism, and philosophic naturalism” (Jamieson, et al., 1997).

Furthermore, if Jesus’ reference to the Father being “the only true God” somehow excludes Jesus from being deity, then (to be consistent) Jesus also must be disqualified from being man’s Savior. Jehovah said: “Besides me there is no savior” (Isaiah 43:11; cf. Hosea 13:4; Jude 25). Yet, Paul and Peter referred to Jesus as our “Savior” several times in their inspired writings (Ephesians 5:23; Philippians 3:20; 2 Timothy 1:10; 2 Peter 1:1,11; 2:20; etc.). Also, if Jesus is excluded from Godhood (based on a misinterpretation of John 17:3), then, pray tell, must God the Father be excluded from being man’s Lord? To the church at Ephesus, Paul wrote that there is “one Lord” (4:4, emp. added), and, according to Jude 4 (using Jehovah’s Witnesses own New World Translation) “our only Owner and Lord” is “Jesus Christ” (emp. added). Yet, in addition to Jesus being called Lord throughout the New Testament, so is God the Father (Matthew 11:25; Luke 1:32; Acts 1:25) and the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:17).

Obviously, when the Bible reveals that there is only one God, one Savior, one Lord, one Creator (Isaiah 44:24; John 1:3), etc., reason and revelation demand that we understand the inspired writers to be excluding everyone and everything—other than the triune God. As former Jehovah’s Witness David Reed explained: “Jesus’ being called our ‘only’ Lord does not rule out the Lordship of the Father and the Holy Spirit, and the Father’s being called the ‘only’ true God does not exclude the Son and the Holy Spirit from deity” (1986, p. 82).

REFERENCES

Butt, Kyle (2003), “Wearing Gold and Braided Hair,” Apologetics Press,http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2264.

Jamieson, Robert, et al. (1997), Jamieson, Faussett, Brown Bible Commentary (Electronic Database: Biblesoft).

Lyons, Eric (2003), “The Bible’s Teaching on Baptism: Contradictory or Complementary?” Apologetics Press, http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/617.

Lyons, Eric (2004), “Was Jesus Trustworthy?” Apologetics Press,http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/516.

Reed, David (1986), Jehovah’s Witnesses Answered Verse by Verse (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker).

“Should You Believe in the Trinity?” (2000), The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.