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Tag: Christ

We are Beggars in the House of God
Begging for Blessing

You may have had a beggar at your door recently. My new neighbor asked me if he should expect any ‘trick or treaters’ invading our neighborhood. Probably not, I responded. We generally have sweets here for ourselves that I could give away to a beggar, I assured. But he thought it might be best to go out and buy some treats just in case.

My neighbor then left to buy some sweets so as to not disappoint some little child at his door expecting a blessing.

ACTS of Simon Peter

Building a New Synagogue of Simon – שִׁמְעוֹן

Continuing in Jerusalem from where we last left Peter:

You may ask what my neighbor buying a treat to bless some little beggar at his door has to do with Peter and the Apostles as they enter into the gates and public courtyards of the Temple in Jerusalem.

I can think of more than one parallel to our 21st century walk as disciples of Jesus Christ.

So as we resume our journey with Simon Peter in Acts of the Apostles, don’t miss the Apostles’ hearts of graciousness accompanying the powerful signs of the Holy Spirit continuing to attract crowds to yet another sermon by Peter.

Acts of the Apostles

What has happened so far?

Miracles, Wonders & Signs: Peter’s Amazing Answer

Luke’s account begins with a brief look back at his first account, the Gospel.
- To these [the Apostles] He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days.. – Acts 1:3a
- [The risen Christ Jesus had assured them] “..but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.” – Acts 1:8
The Apostle Simon Peter has already preached to the crowds:
- Peter stood up among the brothers and sisters (a group of about 120 people was there together) [in an upper room in Jerusalem]. – Acts 1:15b
- And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. – Acts 2:2
- .. they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with different [languages], as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out.. [Those in the crowds of Jerusalem were amazed and asked each other] And how is it that we each hear them in our own [dialect in] which we were born? – Acts 2:4,7,8 excerpt
- But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, [preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit from Old Testament scripture]:
And it shall be in the last days,’ God says,
‘That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;
Acts 2:14a, 17a – Simon Peter preaching to the crowds of Pentecost in Jerusalem from the prophet Joel
- [Simon tells the crowds: ] ..he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay. It is this Jesus whom God raised up, a fact to which we are all witnesses. – Acts 2:32
.. the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He has poured out this which you both see and hear.

Into this context and setting in first century Jerusalem we continue with Simon Peter and the Eleven as they obediently have remained in Jerusalem and the church continues to grow.
Be saved from this perverse generation!

Peter said to them,
“Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.

44 And all the believers were together
and had all things in common;
45 and they would sell their property and possessions
and share them with all, to the extent that anyone had need.
46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple,
and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and
having favor with all the people.

HERE ARE SINNERS REPENTANT, BLESSING EACH OTHER AND OTHERS — DAILY — IN WORSHIP AND COMMUNITY.

THIS is the WITNESS OF THE CHURCH to ALL who encounter them, THAT, an evidence and sign in itself.

And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
ACTS of the apostles 2:47b

A Beggar at the Temple Door

ACTS 3:

Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.

The Day of Pentecost is past and three thousand souls have been worshiping day by day with the Apostles.
And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple
What will be the next ACT of the Apostles Peter and John?

Christian Witness with an Everyday Beggar

Imagine it — this is no child at your door, a costumed beggar charming you out of some candy.

NO, these desperate men of no means were as familiar at the entrances and exits of the public places as defeated men by the highway having no place to go with temporary signs – beggars asking alms of ANY who might help the invisible poor.

Yet Luke reveals that this beggar must had friends. They carried him to the place of worship daily. Or perhaps these men were part of his family who relied on his help by generated mercy of others.

The crowds who passed him by knew who he was; NOT a child, but a man handicapped from birth. No fault of his, but what could they do?

And mostly, their alms on occasion made them feel a little better about their own charity to him.
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Note: Peter and John do not simply give the man something (or look away from him and move on, but the Apostles engage this beggar in conversation of lasting consequence.
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Peter and John had witnessed the power of Jesus’ compassion

Luke 10:

The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; but the one who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”

Now the seventy-two returned with joy, saying,

“Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name!”

Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see the things you see..

Eternal Life

25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

26 He said unto him, What is written in the law?

Jesus engages the man in conversation, meaningful conversation which the Lord illustrates with the now familiar to us parable of the Good Samaritan. (Remember, Judeans did not particularly like the Jews from Samaria and those from other distant states or regions.)

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers..
But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion.”
Gospel of Luke 10:30b,33 CSB + Jesus addressing the question: ‘Who is my neighbor?’

This man who was robbed on his journey to Jericho was no beggar. But Jesus points out that he certainly needs help.

Jesus asks, ‘Which of the the three helped the man;’ that is, ‘who was his neighbor’?

The Apostles knew both the parable and the accompanying miracles. Seventy-two disciples of Jesus had just worked many miracles when the lawyer had asked what to do to inherit eternal life.
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Returning now to Peter and John headed to the temple for worship:
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Peter’s ACT of compassion

Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked for alms.
Acts of the Apostles 3:3 RSV

And Peter directed his gaze at him, with John, and said, “Look at us.”

The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money.

But Peter said, “I do not have silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you:
Acts of the Apostles 3:6a NASB20

Do you suppose the two-way conversation between the eyes of the lame beggar and Peter continues in intense anticipation here?

You are the beggar at the door and the man says ‘I have no money.’

Peter is a neighbor who has gone out of his way to give a sweet blessing to this poor man…

So many do little or just pass by.. YOU lay there HELPLESS still.. you, a poor lame beggar.

Yet Peter and John continue with their own intense and compassionate stares…

They ACT personally, as if the two are alone in their transaction..

Then the man who has NOT passed by you, helpless at the gate of the place of worship continues:

In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk!”
The command of Peter: Acts 3:6b

Peter had witnessed Jesus Christ the Nazarene make a man walk!

And Simon Peter had touched and seen the Lord’s hands and feet which had been nailed to a Cross!

Peter and John had a commission from Christ to build His church once receiving the Holy Spirit.

Yet another sign of the Holy Spirit

With John at his side, as they had both been observers of Jesus healing a man like this lowered by friends into a room full of Jews listening to Jesus preach, Peter now reaches down to the man near the crowds before him:

And grasping him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.
Act of Peter reaching down to a man lame from birth + Acts 3:7

Recalling Christ’s Authority to Heal

Luke 5:

Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s…

But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying,

“Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” ..

And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear; from now on you will be catching people.”

When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.

This had been three years ago. Since then, Peter and John have seen MANY more miraculous things — unexplainable signs from God — ACTS of Jesus’ power and authority over men and creation.
- While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” And He reached out with His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him.
- One day He was teaching, and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the Law sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea, and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. And some men were carrying a man on a stretcher who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. But when they did not find any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus.
Simon Peter and John had witnessed the power of God through Jesus many times.

A Beggar Worshiping with the Apostles

And leaping up, he stood and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
And all the people saw him walking and praising God; and they recognized him as being the very one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg for charitable gifts, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
Acts of the Apostles 3:8-10 NASB

The very sight of this crippled man everyone knew LEAPING UP must have taken away the breath of those who witnessed this great sign!
- REMEMBER the lame man lowered by his friends into a crowded room so that Jesus could heal him?
- What was it the Lord had said?
And seeing their faith, He said,
“Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” .. “I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
Gospel of Luke 5:20, 24b NASB + Jesus commanding a Lame man to walk

Peter and John saw a beggar’s faith

And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.
Acts of the Apostles 3:11 Authorized Version

Friend, your sins are forgiven you, or at least they could be — IF only you would come to the Lord Jesus Christ.

For by our admitted failings, like Peter, we are all sinful men and sinful women.

In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk!”
The command of Peter: Acts 3:6b

Won’t you walk on in witness in the name of Jesus Christ beside John and Simon Peter and the Apostles? For they were, after all, just sinners like you and like me.

ALL are beggars before the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will greet us at the gate.
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NEXT: Simon Peter walks to Solomon's Portico to preach to the crowds
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November 3, 2021
Sola Protestants: 5 Differences
ONLY FIVE – 5 Sola’s of the Protestant Reformation

You likely understand something of the history of the Church, especially if you’ve followed my previous Saturday posts on Doctrine or our current series in ACTS. Sola in celebration of ‘Reformation Day’ of the Protestant Church, I’ll ask: ‘Do you know what Protestants were protesting about the ‘Catholic Church?’

Jesus changes how sinners give glory to God.

The Apostles then set out on the sola journey of the faith grounded in Scripture and in Christ.

You may know about The Great Schism and certainly know something about a doctrinal line in the sand which marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door at Wittenberg, on 31 October, A.D. 1517.

Today, however, I will nail just two doctrinal questions about the teaching of your ‘church’ to the door of your thinking:

Do you know the 5 Sola’s of the Protestant Reformation?
How have these five doctrines defined differences even today between those professing other faiths (including Roman Catholics) and Protestants?
TALKOFJESUS.COM – DOCTRINE – email your question or comment to: Roger@talkofJESUS.com

WHAT IF THE CHURCH IS WRONG?
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HERE is a bit of researched HISTORY about October 31, in the year of our Lord 1517 AND events leading up to the PROTEST against the authority of 'The Church' from Rome.
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Luther

Luther originally had no intention of breaking from the Catholic church, assuming that his call for theological and ecclesiastical reform would be heard, and ordinarily his theses would have been of interest only to professional theologians. However, various political and religious situations of the time, and the fact that printing had been invented, combined to make the theses known throughout Germany within a few weeks. Luther did not give them to the people, although he did send copies to the archbishop of Mainz and to the bishop of Brandenburg. Others, however, translated them into German and had them printed and circulated. Thus, they became a manifesto that turned a protest about an indulgence scandal into the greatest crisis in the history of the Western Christian church, and ultimately Luther and his followers were excommunicated.
Source: https://www.britannica.com/event/Ninety-five-Theses

Luther’s 95 complaints to the Church concerned indulgences and other imperfections of a politically-driven Papacy. He was by no means the only cleric who objected to Church corruption, defects in doctrine and cardinal crimes.

The Roman Catholic Church survived the fifth century fall of Rome by an authoritarian political intervention of an aristocratic league of bishops led by the Bishop of Rome.

In fact, by the fifteenth century the common people of Europe no longer had to rely on certain corrupt church officials who intentionally misinterpreted the Holy Bible.

The movable type of Gutenberg’s printing press lit the light of the Renaissance with its rebirth of Scripture in the hands of everyday saints, written in their everyday vernacular rather than ancient Latin.

The Protestant Reformation

“The Reformers did not see themselves as inventors, discoverers, or creators,” according to historian Stephen Nichols. “Instead, they saw their efforts as rediscovery. They weren’t making something from scratch but were reviving what had become dead. They looked back to the Bible and to the apostolic era, as well as to early church fathers such as Augustine (354–430) for the mold by which they could shape the church and re-form it. The Reformers had a saying, ‘Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda,’ meaning ‘the church reformed, always reforming.’”
Source: Steve Nichols – Ligionier.org

Did you know?

PROTESTANT REFORM did not begin with just one Catholic (Luther) with 95 complaints, but Many Men with 5 Principles.
The Bible in print:

A.D. 1381-1382 – John Wycliffe & associates in English, but not mass produced
1450’s Gutenberg Bible [German]
Valencian Bible
Latin (1448), German (1466) and Italian (1471), Catalan [Spain] (1478)
1522 Martin Luther translates New Testament into German
1525 Tyndale Bible [English]
A.D. 1560 – The Geneva Bible is printed in Geneva, Switzerland. *

Source & more dates:
- It is translated by English refugees and published by John Calvin’s brother-in-law, William Whittingham. The Geneva Bible is the first English Bible to add numbered verses to the chapters. It becomes the Bible of the Protestant Reformation, more popular than the 1611 King James Version for decades after its original release.
To answer my first question to name five solas, first you must know what a sola is.
- from Latin:– solus, sola, solum – alone, only, unique.. (similar to ‘solo,’ meaning one);
  - plural: solas or solae (similar to soli, i.e. multiple soloists)
    consequently, each of the five ‘Solas’ has a singular focus.
Sola – a Singular focus

In time, the message of the Reformers became encapsulated in five slogans known as the solas of the Reformation: sola Scriptura (“Scripture alone”), solus Christus (“Christ alone”), sola gratia (“grace alone”), sola fide (“faith alone“), and soli Deo gloria (“the glory of God alone”).
https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/reformation-and-men-behind-it

5 Sola’s of the Protestant Reformation
- sola Scriptura (“Scripture alone”),
- solus Christus (“Christ alone”),
- sola gratia (“grace alone”),
- sola fide (“faith alone”), and
- soli Deo gloria (“the glory of God alone”).
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You may encounter the five solas in different orders, but keep in mind the equal importance of EACH singular issue to the reformers of the Church we now call 'Protestants.' - RH
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I can only speak briefly to each of these five solas; therefore we will address EACH as part of an ANSWER to my more difficult second question:

How do these five doctrines define differences even today between those professing other faiths and Protestants?
email your answers and questions to Roger@talkofJESUS.com or comment on this post as you share it.

by Scripture alone

Scripture of the HOLY BIBLE:

All Scripture is [God-breathed] inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for [reprimand or proof] rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness;
2 Timothy 3:16 πᾶσα γραφὴ θεόπνευστος καὶ ὠφέλιμος πρὸς διδασκαλίαν πρὸς ἐλεγμόν πρὸς ἐπανόρθωσιν πρὸς παιδείαν τὴν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ

The short answer of Luther and the reformers is that IF HOLY SCRIPTURE is “God-breathed,” THEN it contains the final and only (sola) Authority of what God says; THEREFORE

NO Pope, Bishop, Priest or Preacher may cling to ANY authority to over-rule the Written Word of God.

sola Scriptura – ONLY Scripture, by the Holy Spirit of Almighty God can interpret Holy Scripture.

ONLY SCRIPTURE: The Highest Authority of GOD!

Learn more from my earlier post linked here: sola scriptura = ONLY SCRIPTURE: The Highest Authority of GOD!
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* NOTE: For each of the 5 Sola's I will provide secure links for your further study to both the Hebrew & Greek roots containing additional Biblical references using the same word, as well as definitions.
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Strong’s H3791 – kᵊṯāḇ

כְּתָב γραφή – Strong’s G1124 – graphē
- SCRIPTURE in both the Hebrew and the Greek means WRITTEN.
But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, since you do not [know] understand the Scriptures^G1124 nor the power of God.
Gospel of Matthew 22:29 NASB20

by Grace Alone

Grace, favor and Thanks giving.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
Ephesians 2:8 ESV

חֵן H2580 – ḥēn is GRACE in the Hebrew,
- meaning FAVOR, CHARM, ELEGANCE OR ACCEPTANCE.
Psalm 84 attributes the gifts of grace and glory both to the LORD God, that is: Yᵊhōvâ ‘ĕlōhîm.

כִּ֤י שֶׁ֨מֶשׁ וּמָגֵן֮ יְהוָ֪ה אֱלֹ֫הִ֥ים חֵ֣ן וְ֭כָבֹוד יִתֵּ֣ן יְהוָ֑ה לֹ֥א יִמְנַע־֝טֹ֗וב לַֽהֹלְכִ֥ים בְּתָמִֽים׃
For the LORD God is a sun and a shield. The LORD will give grace and glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly.
Tehillim 84:12 WLC; Psalm 84:11 HNV

Using this same Hebrew word for favor Zechariah prophesies:

“And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of pleading, so that they will look at Me whom they pierced; and they will mourn for Him, like one mourning for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
Zechariah 12:10

Christians, of course, bring the Good News [Gospel] of grace through Jesus Christ to the world primarily from the (Greek) writings of the New Testament.

χάρις – Strong’s G5485 – charis

For of His fullness we have all received, and grace^G5485 upon grace^G5485. For the Law was given through Moses; grace^G5485and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
Gospel of John 1:16-17 NASB20 – His emphasis on grace

The KJV translates Strong’s G5485 in the following manner: GRACE(130x), FAVOR favour (6x), THANKS (4x), THANK (4x), thank (with G2192) (3x)[*quoted below], PLEASURE (2x), miscellaneous (7x).

And I thank [καί echō g2192 – {to have, i.e. to hold} charis G5485 {with grace}] Christ Jesus our Lord [christos iēsous hēmōn kyrios], who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry
1 Timothy 1:12 KJV Καὶ Χάριν ἔχω τῷ ἐνδυναμώσαντί με Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ κυρίῳ ἡμῶν ὅτι πιστόν με ἡγήσατο θέμενος εἰς διακονίαν – Greek Textus Receptus with Strong’s links from blueletterbible.org

through Faith Alone

Faith is NOT just an unfounded belief, as some would accuse God’s faithful.

אֱמוּנָה Strong’s H530 – ‘ĕmûnâ
- FIRMNESS, FIDELITY, STEADFASTNESS, STEADINESS
Habakkuk 2:3b–4 Greek version reads:

If the vision is delayed, wait patiently,
for it will surely come and not delay.
I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.
But the righteous person will live by my faith.
[or alternately: But the righteous one will live by his faith]^H530.
Compare Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:37-38.

πίστις – Strong’s G4102 – pistis
- conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it
  - relating to God, relating to Christ, the religious beliefs of Christians, belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God or in Christ, springing from faith in the same
  - fidelity, faithfulness
  - the character of one who can be relied on
Biblical faith was not changed from the Old Testament to the New or by challenges from faithful Protestant Reformers.
Roger@TalkofJESUS.com

Faithful Roman Catholic clerics like Martin Luther struggled with this.

Old Testament Prophet like Habakkuk and New Testament letters to Rome, Galatia and to the Hebrews (throughout the Roman world) ALL pointed through Scripture that the righteous will live by FAITH!

Even though Catholic Bishops with their emphasis on works (to fund their great cathedrals of worship) may have quoted James as Jesus’ brother writes to the church:

You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

As a Catholic cleric Luther had a Bible. He recognized that by taking Scripture out of context, FAITH can be discounted to the unread saints of the church in order that ALL will believe the Overseers of Church Authority.

Yet Luther and many more who READ and studied SCRIPTURE understood James’ context and a critical connection between FAITH and works.

For James wrote to saints under persecution, just as the Protestant reformers would soon suffer.

Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith^G4102 produces [steadfastness] endurance. And let endurance have its perfect [Lit work] result, so that you may be [mature] perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
James 1:2-4 NASB20 – Jesus’ half-brother & ‘bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,’ leader of the Jerusalem church

to the glory of God Alone

כָּבוֹד – Strong’s H3519 – kāḇôḏ

GLORY (156x), HONOUR (32x), GLORIOUS (10x), GLORIOUSLY (1x), HONOURABLE (1x)

The glory^H3519 of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. And to the eyes of the sons of Israel, the appearance of the glory^H3519 of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the mountain top.
Shmot (Exodus) 24:16-17 – יְהֹוָה כָּבוֹד

The prophet Jeremiah preaches of glory with contemporary conviction applicable even today:

הַהֵימִיר גּוֹי אֱלֹהִים וְהֵמָּה לֹא אֱלֹהִים וְעַמִּי הֵמִיר כְּבוֹדוֹ בְּלוֹא יוֹעִֽיל׃
“Has a nation changed gods,
When they were not gods?
But My people have exchanged their glory
For that which is of no benefit.
Yermiyahu (Jeremiah) 2:11

Give glory^H3519 to the LORD your God

Before He brings darkness
And before your feet stumble
On the mountains in the dark,
And while you are hoping for light
He makes it into gloom,
And turns it into thick darkness.
Yermiyahu (Jeremiah) 13:16

תְּנוּ לַיהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם כָּבוֹד בְּטֶרֶם יַחְשִׁךְ וּבְטֶרֶם יִֽתְנַגְּפוּ רַגְלֵיכֶם עַל־הָרֵי נָשֶׁף וְקִוִּיתֶם לְאוֹר וְשָׂמָהּ לְצַלְמָוֶת ישית לַעֲרָפֶֽל׃
Yermiyahu (Jeremiah) 13:16

δόξα – doxa – Strong’s G1391

Dignity, Dignities:

primarily denotes “an opinion, estimation, repute;” in the NT, always “good opinion, praise, honor, glory, an appearance commanding respect, magnificence, excellence, manifestation of glory;” hence, of angelic powers, in respect of their state as commanding recognition, “dignities,” 2Pe 2:10; Jud 1:8.
See GLORY, HONOR, PRAISE, WORSHIP.

SHALL GLORY be given to a mere man in the pulpit?
To a Bishop over Bishops — a Shepherd of this world — a Saint long gone?
SHALL GLORY be given to a Father confessor —
Or as worship of a mortal mother who served the Son of God?

THESE are the questions of the Protesters and Reformers who asked for Soli Deo gloria – GLORY to GOD ALONE!
Roger@TalkofJESUS.COM

in Christ Alone

Χριστός – Strong’s G5547 – christos

Christ:

.. for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ^G5547 the Lord.
Gospel of Luke 2:11

– Source: Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words

“anointed,” translates, in the Sept., the word “Messiah,” a term applied to the priests who were anointed with the hol for today in the city of David, oil, particularly the High Priest, e.g., Lev 4:3, 5, 16.
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The prophets are called hoi christoi Theou, "the anointed of God," .. 
The title ho Christos, "the Christ," is not used of Christ in the Sept. version of the Inspired Books of the OT. In the NT the word is frequently used with the article, of the Lord Jesus, as an appellative rather than a title, e.g., Mat 2:4; Act 2:31; without the article, Luk 2:11; 23:2; Jhn 1:41. Three times the title was expressly accepted by the Lord Himself, Mat 16:17; Mar 14:61, 62; Jhn 4:26.
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It is added as an appellative to the proper name “Jesus,” e.g., Jhn 17:3, the only time when the Lord so spoke of Himself; Act 9:34; 1Cr 3:11; 1Jo 5:6.
- It is distinctly a proper name in many passages, whether with the article, e.g., Mat 1:17; 11:2; Rom 7:4; 9:5; 15:19; 1Cr 1:6, or without the article, Mar 9:41; Rom 6:4; 8:9, 17; 1Cr 1:12; Gal 2:16.
- The single title Christos is sometimes used without the article to signify the One who by His Holy Spirit and power indwells believers and molds their character in conformity to His likeness, Rom 8:10; Gal 2:20; 4:19; Eph 3:17.
As to the use or absence of the article,
- the title with the article specifies the Lord Jesus as “the Christ;”
- the title without the article stresses His character and His relationship with believers.
  - Again, speaking generally, when the title is the subject of a sentence it has the article; when it forms part of the predicate the article is absent. See also JESUS.
מָשִׁיחַ – Strong’s H4899 – māšîaḥ
- The KJV translates Strong’s H4899 in the following manner: anointed (37x), Messiah (2x).
The High Priestly Prayer

These things Jesus spake, and when he had cast up his eyes into heaven [and the eyes lifted up to heaven], he said, Father, the hour cometh, clarify thy Son, that thy Son clarify thee.
John 17:1 Wycliffe Bible

As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to all them that thou hast given him.
John 17:2 + 1599 Geneva Bible

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
John 17:3 King James Version

The Incomparable Christ
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Excerpts from Scripture in the letter from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, and Timothy,


Note the small 's' in saints, the faithful worshipers in Christ Jesus who are His Church. - RH
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To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ who are at Colossae:

We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; because of the hope reserved for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel..

For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation:
.. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
Colossians 1:15,17 NASB20
- He is also the head of the body, the church;
- and He is the beginning,
- the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
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.. I was made a minister of this church according to the commission from God granted to me for your benefit, 
so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God,
that is, the mystery which had been hidden from the past ages and generations, 
but now has been revealed to His saints,
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to whom God willed to make known what the wealth of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles is, the mystery that is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Colossians 1:27

You Are Built Up in Christ

.. Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over every ruler and authority..

Put On the New Self

Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

Let the peace of Christ, to which you were indeed called in one body, rule in your hearts; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Colossians 3:15-16 NASB20

“.. specifically seen in Colossians 3 when Paul commands the Church to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly when we meet together, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.” – Keith Getty

Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
from the letter to the saints at Collosae 3:17

sola: + by Scripture alone + by Grace Alone + through Faith Alone + to the glory of God Alone + in Christ Alone

The TEACHING & sola DOCTRINES OF GOD, CHRIST, GRACE, FAITH and SCRIPTURE as taught by JESUS and the APOSTLES remain foundational for THE CHURCH.
Amen.
October 30, 2021
Does YOUR church preach Christ Jesus?
.. but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness..
1 Corinthians 1:23

Times of Difficulty – 5

Times of Difficulty – from 9/11/2017

Remembering the souls of the victims of 9/11/2001.
An unbeliever walks into your church and what do they seek?

Good teaching for their kids?
Perhaps a trendy King opening heaven’s wide gate?

Does your Shepherd preach Christ Jesus?

The Apostles did!

They preached the Lord Jesus Christ faithfully, even though the first century church faced some of the same challenges we do.
Peter – Preaching Christ to believers in Sodom

Simeon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ:
To those who have received a faith equal to ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:1 CSB

Simon Peter, who had denied Christ three times during the Lord’s trial but was then restored by Jesus after the resurrection, introduces himself as a servant [bond-servant] and Apostle of Jesus Christ. He speaks of Jesus in the present tense, for Christ has shown Himself to many alive and risen from death!

Peter is a bond-servant of the Living God in the Person of Christ Jesus. And the Apostle writes not to all, but to those chosen by God to receive ‘the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.’

2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Peter builds up believers in their faith, assuring them:

18 We ourselves heard this voice when it came from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain.

THE JUDGMENT OF FALSE TEACHERS

The Apostle then cautions the church of false teaching.

YES, even from the first days of Christ’s Church, built on a foundation of His Apostles, some sought to destroy the Good News of the Lord’s resurrection and restoration of sinners by distorting the way, the truth and the life of Christ Jesus our Lord.

Peter warns:

There were indeed false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.
They will bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved ways, and the way of truth will be maligned because of them.
2 Peter 2:1-2 CSB

The King James Version then pointedly follows Peter’s warning translated thusly:

And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
2 Peter 2:3 KJV

Thou Shalt Not Covet. Do you remember the Commandment?
- greedy desire to have more, covetousness, avarice
These false teachers with insincere words make merchandise of those who would believe Christ Jesus.

Then the Apostle Peter uses the strongest language of their inevitable demise:

and their damnation slumbereth not.

The Lord Jesus had said (using the same Greek word for damnation):

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction,^G684 and many there be which go in thereat:
Matthew 7:13 KJV – Strong’s G684 (damnation)

Christ then concluded this caution by stating:

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Matthew 7:14 KJV

FEW find the strait gate and the narrow way leading to eternal life. FALSE teachers WILL NOT teach that, though our Lord Christ Jesus preached this challenging truth.

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Matthew 7:15

Returning to Peter’s analogy of Sodom

The Apostle acknowledges the challenges of believers living in a world of sin and disbelief.

Peter preaches that God cast angels down to hell and did not spare ANY in a sinful world, except Noah and his family.

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, held for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example of what is coming for the ungodly..
2 Peter 2:4-6 NASB Bolded emphasis mine. – RH

The Apostle of the Lord Jesus then encourages the church to be faithful, as were Noah and Lot.

So what is the Apostle’s encouragement to believers who persevere in their own difficult challenges of the first century? (Or, I might add, equally applied for the believer of this 21st century?)

.. and if He rescued righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the perverted conduct of unscrupulous people..
.. then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from a trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt passion, and despise authority.
2 Peter 2:7, 9a NASB20 Bolded emphasis mine. – RH

A (parenthetical) pain of the righteous

We are righteous in Christ Jesus, beloved believer, (though we were condemned as sinners).
- Did you notice my omission of verse (8) above from Peter’s encouragement?
Here the Apostle shows our empathy for Lot as he lived in Sodom.

(for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds)
2 Peter 2:8 NASB20 – speaking of Lot living in Sodom before its destruction by the LORD
- Is the city of your church a Sodom of sorts?
- (Of course it is.) Here we feel the same compassion for Lot which Peter points out.
Further Description of False Teachers

For your own instruction you may want to read some characteristics of false teachers who will not preach Christ Jesus crucified and risen. READ the rest of the Apostle Peter’s second letter {below}.

2 Peter 2-3

Then consider if YOUR church, your Bible study, your ‘church group,’ and the children’s ministry of YOUR church all preach Christ Jesus.

The Lord Jesus’ Apostle, Simon Peter closes his letter to the church with this:

17 Therefore, dear friends, since you know this in advance, be on your guard, so that you are not led away by the error of lawless people and fall from your own stable position.

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.
Second Letter of the Apostle Peter to the Church 3:18 CSB

Paul – Peaching Christ to Believers in Sodom

Paul, Apostle to the gentiles, though a rabbinically trained Jew of high learning, Paulos of Tarseus {his Greek name}, after encountering Christ Jesus personally on a road to Damascus, also wrote to the Church with encouragement and cautions against false teachers.

In an intellectual environment of Athens where Paul could well have debated hours on end with its idolatrous and worldly philosophers and political leaders, this Apostle to the gentiles chose to defend Jesus Christ our risen Lord as ‘the unknown god.’
- IS CHRIST JESUS the unknown god in YOUR city?
- Who do you preach in your church?
- Do you preach Christ OR some unknown ‘Jesus‘?
We glance back at scenes of the Son of Man, Christ Jesus, walking with Peter and the Twelve throughout all of Galilee, Samaria, Judea and other places – bringing the Good News to all who would believe.

Many of us who grew up in the instruction of a faithful church heard stories of evangelists like John Wesley and others riding further distances into unknown towns on horseback, preaching Christ Jesus and planting churches. These faithful preachers of Christ followed a model of the Apostle Paul of the first century Church.

Some even sailed into new lands as did Paul.

So whether in Athens, Corinth, Rome, London, New York, Washington DC — even Cincinnati or the ‘sin city’ where you reside:

We see Sodom in the mirror of our neighborhood, don’t we?

Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates known for luxury shopping, ultramodern architecture and a lively nightlife scene. Burj Khalifa, an 830m-tall tower, dominates the skyscraper-filled skyline.

Source: Google Maps – Photo – Pexels.com

Acts 17:

16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.

.. The God who made the world and everything in it —he is Lord of heaven and earth—does not live in shrines made by hands. Neither is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives everyone life and breath and all things..

So having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now proclaiming to mankind that all people everywhere are to repent, because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead.”
Acts 17:30-31 NASB

The Apostle preaches to the idolaters of their ignorance of the Living God! Paul then preaches God’s mercy in overlooking their past sins. And the Apostle to the gentiles warns:

God is now proclaiming to mankind that all people everywhere are to repent, because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead.”

This ‘unknown god’ to those on Mars Hill who sought Paul’s teachings is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Does your church preach THAT?

So we hear Paul preach Christ crucified and risen from city to city.

Those young saints of the first century Church did repent and believe in the Lord. They often suffered and frequently died for their faith — a true faith — in the One God and risen Lord Jesus Christ — NOT an idolatrous faith in a god of war (Mars), a temple prostitute priestess, or a false prophet promising sinful bliss.

Paul – Writing to the saints in Sodom

Again, I direct our look back at Scripture to understand the heart of those preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

(Oh, how our Lord was so grieved over an unrepentant Jerusalem and all the other cities which witnessed the many proofs (signs and miracles) of the Son of Man, the Messiah Jesus.)

As the Apostle to the gentiles sustains the saints of The Way, Paul writes to believers in cities such as Corinth.

(Of course Athens and Rome were NOT the only sin cities of Paul’s missionary journeys.) The manifest sin of these cities tormented Paul’s heart as such unrighteous men had troubled Noah and Lot and in the Apostles’ time, Christ Jesus.

The city of Corinth was prominent in the first century. It is located in Greece on an isthmus between the Aegean and Ionian Seas, which guaranteed its importance both militarily and commercially. Corinth was the capital of the Roman province Achaia. It was a prosperous city but also known for its immorality. Because of Corinth’s sordid reputation, a new Greek word was coined, korinthiazomai, which meant “to live immorally like a Corinthian.”
https://www.gotquestions.org/church-in-Corinth.html
Paulos, To the ekklēsia theos (church of God) at Korinthos,

to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus,
saints by calling,
with all who in every place
call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:
Do you have ANY question to whom Paul writes?

TO the saints of the church of God, separated TO GOD in Christ Jesus — those brothers and sisters of the Church who Name (also as He IS for us) Jesus Christ Lord.
- (It is not an earthly name; i.e. Caesar, King, Governor, Prefect, Premier, President, Emperor, Iman or Pope.)
χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:3
- The Apostle Paul speaks of Jesus by Name forty-three [43] times in his two letters to the Corinthians.
- He calls our Savior Jesus Christ (meaning Yeshua the Messiah to Jews) seventeen [17] times AND
  - Christ Jesus an additional nine [9] times,
  - once adding ‘the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us..’
- Paul’s frequent reference to our Master (and his, as a ‘bond-servant’) is Lord Jesus Christ [49 times in 15 verses] & specifically eight times in 1 Corinthians, as well as four times in 2 Corinthians.
- The Apostle further makes some of his most pointed arguments for our Lord Jesus using His Messianic title in Greek: Christ.
- The Church will always hear Paul preach Christ Jesus. The Apostle always serves our Lord Jesus testifying to the truth of His Gospel.
1 Corinthians 15:
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NASB; KJV; CSB; ΠΡΟΣ ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΟΥΣ Α΄ 15
SBL Greek New Testament
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12 Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

Paul frequently warns of the false teachers who preach this heresy boldly or in the guise of interpreting ‘God’s word.’

.. no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is in vain.

“IF,’ Paul preaches — IF these things are true, THEN the Gospel of Jesus Christ is false. YET some false ‘christian’ denominations preach and teach this heresy.

Paul says in effect, “You may as well go home and stop calling your self a ‘christian’ or a ‘believer.’

.. ¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised; ¹⁷and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.

You know what some preach? No resurrection to the judgment or condemnation to hell. Sounds nice, doesn’t it?

But IF God is good and just, how can He just save all to heaven (if indeed life beyond the grave is even possible)?

Many are the heresies which have crept into ‘christian’ thinking over the millennia of these last days.

What about all those funerals?

¹⁸Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

¹⁹If we have hoped in Christ only in this life, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Are we celebrating (a last time) the lives of the dead? OR

Do our final days and death proclaim Christ?

But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep..
1 Corinthians 15:20 NASB

Do YOU preach Christ?

& Does your church teach Christ Jesus?

Paul has much more to say about the Lord Jesus Christ, as do all the Apostles.

IF you are not fully convinced, dear brother or sister in Christ, READ more of the letters to the Corinthians.

OR even HEAR 1 Corinthians 15 read from Paul’s letter.

2 Corinthians 4:

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,

in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they will not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:6 NASB20

.. for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. For we know that if our earthly tent which is our house is torn down,
we have a building from God, a house not made by hands, eternal in the heavens.
2 Corinthians 4:18b-5:1 NASB20

Second Coming of CHRIST Foretold

The Gospel of Jesus Christ recorded by Luke

“And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so will it also be in the days of the Son of Man..

“It was the same as happened in the days of Lot..

but on the day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone [burning sulfur] from heaven and destroyed them all.
“It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed [apokalyptō].
Luke 17:29 NASB20 – Jesus answering as to when the kingdom of God was coming

He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

from the Apocalypses [Revelation] of Jesus Christ to the Apostle John 22:20 KJV
September 11, 2021