Suba aqui!

Coletânea de textos

Você está a todo vapor com pelo menos um problema de grande porte (ou vários) que o consomem.

O que fazer nessa situação?

O melhor é encarar os problemas em vez de correr deles. Todos sabem disso.

Mas aqueles de nós [que acreditamos] na intervenção sobrenatural de Deus emnosso favor, para Sua glória talvez digam que existe uma terceira opção, muito melhor:

Tomar a decisão guiada pelo Espírito de se elevar acima do problema antes de tratar da questão. Qualquer que seja a questão que precise tratar hoje, decida primeiro considerar a perspectiva que inclui as promessas e a presença de Cristo.

Agora está pronto para lidar com a questão a partir do ponto mais alto, ou seja, na altitude, no espaço aéreo de Deus. Lá de cima, de onde suas dúvidas e preocupações vão parecer menores.

Se estiver no mesmo nível do assunto a ser tratado, vício, déficit, temor, tentação, ou seja o que for, vai ficar intimidado com a cena e desistir antes de ter a chance de lutar.

Mas se elevar-se acima da questão e se recusar a lutar com ela no lamaçal do pensamento egocêntrico e da estratégia sem fé, a sua abordagem vai mudar em todos os sentidos.

Eu adoro o relato no livro do Apocalipse quando João, no meio de uma perseguição e de uma incerteza que o deixava perplexo, recebeu de Jesus um simples passo: “Suba aqui...”[1]

Jesus sabia algo a respeito de João que se aplica a você e a mim:

Se subirmos até onde Jesus está, teremos a visão dEle.

Quando virmos as coisas a partir do ponto de vista dEle, saberemos o que Ele sabe...

E seremos capacitados para fazer o que Ele nos pedir.

Quando nos assentamos em lugares celestiais com Cristo, nos concentrando nEle, nos entregando a Ele, e confiando nEle, podemos descer até os nossos problemas com confiança divina.

Muitas vezes o nosso problema principal não é o problema. O maior problema é a nossa perspectiva.

Afaste-se do nível de combate físico. Você não tem forças para esse tipo de luta.

Em vez disso, coloque tudo nas mãos do Senhor em oração. Então lance um ataque aéreo contra o diabo que o mandará de volta dez mil quilômetros de distância dos planos de Deus para você..—Pastor Steven Furtick

*

Superar significa que algo que aparentemente deveria ser de certa forma, não tem que ser assim, porque as circunstâncias físicas não vão impedi-lo nem tolhê-lo. O ambiente ou até a sua situação não deveriam ditar as suas reações, vitória, fruto, unção ou felicidade.

É claro que existem momentos difíceis quando você é afetado pelas circunstâncias ou sente a pressão e o estresse da situação. É uma reação humana e normal. Mas com certeza você pode optar por superar, pois é uma opção que coloquei à sua disposição. Em nenhum momento você tem que ser limitado pelas coisas da carne, porque agora tem o poder para sempre superar.

Sempre terá a opção de olhar para cima e deixar a conexão que temos elevá-lo.

Você tem que decidir que vai buscar a Minha face. Tem que optar por parar de olhar para as circunstâncias e condições, por mais que elas exijam ou necessitem atenção, por mais depressivas ou preocupantes que sejam. Tem que optar por ver além disso tudo e para cima, para Mim. Quando faz isso, a nossa conexão se torna poderosa.

É a sua decisão de olhar além disso tudo e para cima, para Mim, em fé, que fortalece a nossa conexão. Mesmo que não sinta a fé, a sua obediência em fazer isso é um passo ou uma declaração de fé, e posso então erguê-lo e unir o seu espírito ao Meu para que possa ver como Eu vejo, sentir como Eu sinto, e ter o Meu coração e Espírito habitando muito mais em você. Dessa forma, instantaneamente terá mais fé, uma maior unção, uma perspectiva muito mais ampla, e a fé e confiança que precisa.

A verdade é que, se você sempre tivesse a Minha perspectiva, teria muito menos motivo para se preocupar. Você se regozijaria no Meu perfeito plano. Você se alegraria com cada novo passo que Eu lhe apresentasse. Descansaria seguro sob os Meus cuidados, previsão e proteção. A maneira de manter essa atitude de fé e de realismo é estar superando, ou seja, vendo as coisas como verdadeiramente são no espírito.

Sempre haverá coisas difíceis de suportar. O Inimigo sempre usará algo para tentar distrai-lo. Sempre permitirei certas coisas para o humilhar e o manter fervoroso Comigo. Mas a intenção não é que você fique preso a elas ou chafurdando nelas, mas sim que as supere! Quando fizer isso, verá que está ainda mais forte do que antes.—Jesus falando em profecia[2]

*

Deixe a Mente Divina fluir na sua mente, e ficará mais feliz. Descobri que a maior força do universo é o poder da oração. Não existe dúvida disso. Falo por experiência.—Cecil B. DeMille

*

O que determina a diferença entre uma montanha e um montículo é a sua perspectiva. Al Neuharth[3]

*

Muitas vezes é preciso mais uma mudança de atitude do que de lugar.—Arthur Christopher Benson

*

No Lugar Secreto é que se travam as batalhas permanentes
E onde o Salvador se faz presente
É onde o amor subjuga a vontade
E nossa fé no Seu amor é renovada.

No Lugar Secreto ganhamos as vitórias permanentes
Nos entregamos e ganhamos Sua graça de presente,
Sem forças, o Seu poder é clamado,
E conquistamos no seu nome bem-aventurado.

No Lugar Secreto nos esperam glórias,
Nossos rogos se tornam hinos de vitória,
Aprendemos a maravilha de estar quietos,
E nos entregarmos à Sua vontade por completo!

Oh Senhor, me guarda no Lugar Secreto!
Conserva-me no caminho correto!
Olhando só para Ti para alcançar
A graça, o poder e vitória.
—Avis B. Christiansen

Publicado na Âncora em novembro de 2012. Tradução Hebe Rondon Flandoli.


[1] Apocalipse 4:1.

[2] Publicado originalmente em novembro de 2001.

[3] Colunista/Editor Americano, fundador da revista USA Today.

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Forgiveness and Salvation

By Peter Amsterdam

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When Jesus said, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses,” He was not speaking of the forgiveness of sins that we receive when we accept Jesus as our Savior and get saved.1 Jesus died on the cross for our salvation so that we would be redeemed, so that our sins—past, present, and future—would be forgiven.

Anyone who has received Jesus as their Savior possesses forgiveness for their sins. The saved are justified before God through Jesus’ death on the cross. This does not mean that as Christians we are no longer sinners—for we all sin throughout our lives—but we are justified sinners, sinners for whom Jesus died, who have accepted Him as our Savior, and who are now the holders of everlasting life. Our initial forgiveness, however, does not give us license to continue sinning; rather we are to confess our sins to the Lord, seek His forgiveness, and strive to change those things that we know are not acceptable to Him.

In a sense, accepting Jesus as our Savior brings us into God’s family, and we become adopted children of God. Adoption is a legal term which expresses that a child is now legally part of a family, and similarly, salvation can be seen as a legal right that you possess. Your position in relationship to God changes when you receive salvation—you are no longer someone who is not a child of God, but someone who is now legally part of His family.

John 1:12 expresses it this way: “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”2 As justified sinners, we are God’s adopted children, thus we can call God our Father. When we die, we have the legal right to enter heaven as one of His children. So the forgiveness of our sins at salvation can be seen as changing our legal position to that of adopted children. … Even though we are saved and have the legal right of being God’s children through adoption, when we sin it affects our fellowship and personal relationship with God.

When Jesus taught His disciples, in the Lord’s Prayer, to ask the Father to forgive them for their trespasses or debts, He was teaching them to repair any damage their daily sin had caused to their relationship with God. Our sins cause a breach in our personal relationship with God, similar to what occurs when a son knowingly and deeply offends his earthly father. Even though his legal position as son would remain the same and the father’s love toward the child may be unchanged, the relationship between father and son would suffer some damage and would need repair or restoration.

When Jesus said that God won’t forgive our trespasses if we don’t forgive those who trespass against us, He was saying that God’s response to us is connected to how we treat others. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we are specifically asking God to forgive us in the same manner as we forgive others. “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”3 We are praying that God will treat us in our sins as we have treated others in theirs. We are meant to then put feet to our prayers and actively forgive others, which positively affects God’s treatment of us.

Sin has an effect on our relationship to God, so it is important to not only forgive others who sin against us, but also to confess our sins to God and ask for His forgiveness on a regular basis. Doing so helps us maintain a right relationship with Him.

The Bible sometimes depicts our relationship with God with language expressing nearness or distance. He is “near” us, or His presence is “with us” when we have a right relationship with Him; and He “departs” from us or is “distant” from us when we distance ourselves from Him through sin.

James 4:8 expresses it in the positive:

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”4

Then there are scriptures about how we create distance:

“Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God.”5

“The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.”6

To understand how relational forgiveness works, it might be helpful to think in terms of the relationships you have with others—your spouse or significant other, your close friends, your siblings, your parents, or your children. If you have a big argument or major disagreement with one of them, or if one of you has offended another or has deeply hurt the other in some way, then there is a distance between you. Even if you are still in physical proximity, there is a separation between you emotionally and spiritually. This separation disappears once something is done to repair the relationship, and generally when it’s repaired, the close connection is present once again. However, if the breach is not repaired, then the distance remains and can even increase.

When we sin, we commit an offense against God; we are distancing ourselves from Him, and this hurts our relationship with Him. Like with a friend or a spouse, something needs to be done in order to fix the relationship, and that something is us confessing our sin to Him and asking for His forgiveness, along with working to change our behavior and not continuing to do the same thing that displeased Him.

If you have done something to hurt someone you love and you want to make amends, then you generally have to go to that person and say that you were wrong and you are sorry, and ask forgiveness—and try not to do it again. It’s that way with God as well. When we confess, we are forgiven, and the distance between us dissipates. That’s how we repair our relationship with Him when we’ve damaged it with sin.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”7

But it’s also important to remember what Jesus said about forgiving others:

“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”8

The “nearness” or “distance” of our relationship with God is affected by how we forgive or don’t forgive others. So if someone has offended you, forgive them—no matter what their attitude or whether they continue to transgress against you. Forgiveness benefits both your relationship with others and your relationship with God.

It’s wise to forgive. It’s loving. It’s Christlike. God’s nature is loving, and forgiveness is part of His love. He gave His only Son for the forgiveness of our sins, and Jesus gave His life so that we could be forgiven. If you forgive others, which is an act of love on your part, then you are reflecting God; you are being like Jesus. And that’s a good thing to be.

To close, here is a beautiful example of a prayer of confession and petition to God for forgiveness, prayed by a man who committed horrible sins, who repented, and whom God called a man after His own heart … King David of old:



Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice.

Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.

O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.9

Originally published March 2011. Republished on Anchor November 2012.


1 Matthew 6:14–15 ESV.

2 ESV.

3 Matthew 6:12 ESV.

4 ESV.

5 Isaiah 59:2 ESV.

6 Proverbs 15:29 ESV.

7 1 John 1:9 ESV.

8 Matthew 6:14–15 ESV.

9 Psalm 51:1–17 ESV.

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Rejoice, as a Partaker

Encouragement during times of illness
By Jesus, speaking in prophecy

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Think it not strange concerning the fiery trials that are trying you. Rejoice that through these sufferings, I am refining your faith.1

The breakings, remakings, and humblings of life are never joyous, but rather grievous. Yet afterwards they yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them who are exercised thereby.2 If you look up the word “grievous” in the dictionary, it gives detailed insight into what these breakings, remakings, and humblings are like. They are “extremely serious or significant,” “severe,” “very bad.” Sound familiar?

When you find yourself in a situation where there is little in the natural to praise Me about, it’s My desire for you to be able to rejoice in your difficulties, even through your tears, because you know I’m going to do a beautiful work in your life through them. Then when My glory is revealed through you, “you may be glad also with exceeding joy.”3

When you have no strength of your own, then My strength can be made perfect in your weakness.4 This is great strength. This is great dependence upon Me. You are learning to master the art of endurance.

Not by works of righteousness which you have done, but through My mercy I will save you from this fiery trial.5 It honors Me when you endure an affliction and still proclaim your love for Me, your trust in Me, your faith that I do all things well.6

Think about the verse “These all died in faith, not having received the promises.”7Some of My children who have come into My arms were given promises of deliverance and of healing, but they did not obtain the results of those promises while on earth. Yet they died in faith, believing that what I had promised, I was able to perform.8 I did perform what I had promised. I gave them the ultimate healing. And when they were reunited with Me, what rejoicing there was when their eyes were open to just how I fulfilled My promises, and great was their reward for being “faithful unto death.”9

Faith isn’t always accompanied by some glorious feeling, or some wonderful sensation, as some may think. It’s taking Me at My word. Faith is dependence on My truthfulness and faithfulness.

The seed of faith is encapsulated in the words, “Not as I will, but as Thou wilt.”10When you are sick, it is saying through your tears, “I will glory in my infirmities, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of me.”11That is how you can be “troubled on every side, yet not distressed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.”12

You are My treasure. I have not forsaken you. I have not forgotten you. I am with you in all these things that you are going through.

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Lift your heart in a song of praise, and I will strengthen your feeble knees and lift your hands that hang low.13 When you face a rough moment, think of a song that you can sing. Then sing it, hum it, listen to it.

It’s very difficult to do anything that requires mental, physical, and spiritual energy when you are down and you feel lousy. But there is always something to praise Me for. Even if it’s a one-word praise, even if it’s through your tears, even if you think it’s not from your heart, praise Me anyway. As you do, it will accomplish something in your spirit; it will make a difference in how you feel and how you deal with your pain and discomfort.

Faith is not necessarily a feeling or an emotion. It has physical manifestations, and I will give you those at times. But you can’t count on those “manifestations,” because they won’t always be present. The manifestations of faith are nice, and something to be grateful for, but great honor is given to those who keep the faith without them. “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”14

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Just as inventors, explorers, and world changers have to be willing to venture out and go beyond what is known to them, so does it greatly honor Me when you are in the midst of great difficulty and yet you’re willing to trust Me beyond what you can understand or comprehend with your mind.

Believing in My promises of healing even when your body remains weak, wounded, or diseased requires great faith—faith that goes far beyond physical reality. Out there in the midst of that uncharted sea, often at the mercy of ferocious storms and in great peril, is where miracles take place.

If you could understand all about the way I work, what need would there be for faith? Even though you might feel as if you don’t have much or any faith, even though you may feel like your ship is being destroyed by the waves and is about to sink, hang on and keep on believing. You will emerge from this test stronger in some way, you’ll see. You won’t sink, I promise.

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My strength is made perfect in your weakness; there is simply no other way to realize and experience this unless you are weak sometimes.15

There are instances in the Word where this principle is expressed—when someone felt or experienced great weakness. It was said that Abraham’s body was “as good as dead,”16 and there’s the apostle Paul’s impassioned cry, “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”17 Desperation is often a necessary ingredient in the mix for miracles and My will being accomplished.

I know that the difficulties of the earth life can be a struggle, because I experienced the earth life. You might say that there’s not a lot in the Bible about My physical condition during the days of My ministry on earth. But if you pause to think and compare My physical state with what I was used to in the halls of heaven, I think you’d agree that the “downgrade” I took upon Myself during My days on earth enabled Me to be touched with the feelings of your weakness. It was said of Me that I cried out to My Father with strong crying and tears, and that I feared.18 I can relate to the tests you are experiencing with this illness.

I’ll be with you every step of the way, giving you sufficient grace for every test and battle. I know at times it will probably seem like you’re being helped with very “little help,”19 but I promise that My help and grace will be sufficient to bear you up and carry you.

Think about what a testimony of faith it will be as you face the winds of adversity that blow against you, and watch Me come through for you!

Published on Anchor November 2012. Read by David Salas.
Music by John Listen.


1 1 Peter 4:12, 13.

2 Hebrews 12:11.

3 1 Peter 4:13.

4 2 Corinthians 12:9.

5 Titus 3:5.

6 Mark 7:37.

7 Hebrews 11:13.

8 Hebrews 11.

9 Revelation 2:10.

10 Matthew 26:39.

11 2 Corinthians 12:9; 4:7.

12 2 Corinthians 4:8, 9.

13 Hebrews 12:12.

14 John 20:29.

15 2 Corinthians 12:9.

16 Hebrews 11:12

17 Romans 7:24.

18 Hebrews 5:7.

19 Daniel 11:34.

Posted in: Audio, Comfort,

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The Heart of It All: Salvation

By Peter Amsterdam

November 13, 2012
Results—Justification, Adoption, and Regeneration

In the previous articles about salvation, we have looked at four concepts that illustrate how God’s plan of redemption works—how it reconciles us with God and saves us from the punishment for our sins. God’s love for us is the motivation behind His plan of salvation, and that love was manifested in the death of His Son, Jesus, as a propitiation for our sins. The sacrificial death of Jesus resulted in a changed relationship between God and us. The price Jesus paid for our salvation was the supreme price; the sacrifice was immeasurable. Our redemption is due to the boundless love of God—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Three significant results of Jesus’ death and resurrection are justification, adoption, and regeneration. These results bring about massive change in the lives of those who become reconciled to God through Jesus. Justification refers to our “legal” status before God, adoption speaks to our personal familial relationship with Him, and regeneration to a change in our spiritual nature.


Justification

Through Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross, God forgives our sins. They have been imputed to Christ, meaning they became His and are no longer ours. At the same time, Jesus’ righteousness has been imputed to those who receive Him and accept His gift of salvation, so God no longer sees us as sinners worthy of punishment, but rather as righteous in His sight. Our “legal” guilt and condemnation are removed, and the separation between God and us is no longer there.

The word justify used in the New Testament is the Greek word dikaioo. One of its definitions is to declare or pronounce someone to be righteous. Our justification means that God declares us righteous, or declares us no longer guilty and condemned. This doesn’t mean that we who have received His gift of salvation are now sinless, as we are all still sinners, but it means that “legally” we are seen by God as righteous. As our sins were imputed to Jesus, and thus are seen as His, so is His righteousness imputed to us, and His righteousness is seen by God as ours.

All of this is God’s work, not our own. There is nothing we could do or achieve to deserve this forgiveness and righteousness. It’s a gift from God. In His love He made the way for us to be righteous in His sight—not by our works or good deeds, but by His grace, mercy, and love. It’s a gift of love, costly on God’s side, free on ours.



By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.[1]

Scripture makes it clear that people are not saved by being good or doing good works or keeping the laws of Moses—or anything we do ourselves. Salvation, which results in justification, depends solely on God and His plan. All we have to do is believe that God has made it available through Jesus, and accept it by faith.



If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.[2]

We know that a person is not justified by works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.[3]

A beautiful feature of justification is that, as Christians, we no longer need to feel anxiety regarding our standing with God. Though we still sin, our status of having the righteousness of Christ does not change. We no longer need to question whether we’ve done enough or are close enough to God to merit salvation. God has done it all, and through Jesus’ death and resurrection we are and will always be seen as righteous by God.

When we sin, we need to repent and ask God to forgive us, as well as actively strive to become stronger in resisting temptation. However, the key point of justification is that if we are in Christ, our sins are forgiven, and through Jesus, we are declared righteous in God’s eyes. This doesn’t mean that there will not be consequences for sin. Scripture teaches that God disciplines His children, and sin can result in God’s discipline in our lives. Unrepented sin can bring about disruption in our relationship with God and loss of blessings. The Bible also teaches that we will appear before the judgment seat of Christ in the afterlife. However, sin doesn’t cause us to lose salvation or justification, and “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

The love and sacrifice of God, through Jesus’ death on the cross, has resulted in our justification before God. It has removed our separation and has reconciled us with Him. What a precious and valuable gift has been offered by the God of love to humanity!

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.[4]
Adoption

Besides the “legal” change we experience in justification, whereby we are seen by God as righteous due to Jesus’ sacrifice, we experience another significant change in our position and relationship with God through salvation. With sin no longer separating us from God, our relationship with God changes, as we become part of God’s family—we become His children.



As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.[5]

This change of relationship, this entry into God’s family as His children, is called adoption. We are not the sons and daughters of God in the same sense as Jesus, who is the only begotten Son, but we are adopted into His family. In one sense this change is a legal one, since as God’s children we become heirs of God with all the rights of heirs. But more than that, we now have a relationship based on being members of God’s family. God is our Father.

When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.[6]

All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.[7]

In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.[8]

While God was seen as Father in the Old Testament, the emphasis was more on God’s holiness, and that holiness largely defined the relationship between humans and God. The general portrayal of God is that He is mighty, holy, pure, and separate, and sinful humans need to be humble before Him, obey Him, and venerate Him.

When speaking of the Old Testament relationship with God, J. I. Packer wrote:

Religion was “the fear of the Lord”—a matter of knowing your own littleness, of confessing your faults and abasing yourself in God’s presence, of sheltering thankfully under His promise of mercy, and of taking care above all things to avoid presumptuous sins. Again and again it was stressed that we must keep our place, and our distance, in the presence of a holy God. This emphasis overshadowed everything else.[9]

Redemption through Jesus changed this relationship to a much more personal one. We can now relate to God as a child relates to his or her loving father. It is a much more intimate relationship than what existed in Old Testament times. This closeness to God as Father, and His love for us, is seen in things that Jesus said about His Father:

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?[10]

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him![11]

All the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.[12]

My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.[13]

If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.[14]

Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father.[15]

Whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He will give it to you.[16]

The Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God.[17]

We see God’s deep love in our adoption. He didn’t have to invite us into His family, He didn’t have to adopt us, but He did. Adoption is an act of love by someone who is not obligated to take in, care for, and love a child—it is by choice. God doesn’t adopt us because of how great or wonderful we are, or because we do good things for Him. He adopts us because He loves us—He loves humanity. He made it possible—at great personal cost to Himself—for sinners, separated from Him, to be redeemed, to be forgiven, and to enter His family. This is the love, mercy, and kindness of our God, who is love.

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.[18]



J. I. Packer expresses God’s love in adoption like this:

Adoption is a family idea, conceived in terms of love, and viewing God as father. In adoption, God takes us into His family and fellowship—He establishes us as His children and heirs. Closeness, affection, and generosity are at the heart of the relationship. To be right with God the Judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is a greater.[19]



As His children, His heirs, we can be sure of our inheritance of eternal life. Scripture states that we are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.[20] Adoption brings us into God’s family and gives us rights as heirs. This means that the blessings of salvation both in this life and the next are ours. The apostle Paul makes reference to the blessings received after the suffering of this life.

If children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.[21]
Regeneration

Another result of Jesus’ death and resurrection in the lives of believers is a spiritual change which is referred to in the following ways: being born again,[22] rebirth,[23] regeneration,[24] being born of the Spirit,[25] and becoming a new creation.[26]

All of these concepts generally refer to a spiritual change which occurs in the heart of one who is redeemed by Christ. While justification brings a change in our “legal” standing with God, regeneration, or new birth, brings a change in our spiritual nature. The Holy Spirit transforms the redeemed person’s sinful nature in a way that renews them and brings a spiritual change in the person. This new birth is the clean slate or fresh foundation on which the new Christian begins his or her spiritual life, and from that point forward can grow in it.

Being born again, or born of the Spirit, is a key element in salvation. Jesus told Nicodemus that without it one can’t see or enter the kingdom of God.



Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”[27]

This rebirth is a result of belief in and acceptance of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice for us. When someone believes in and accepts God’s plan of salvation, when they acknowledge that Jesus is their Savior, they are reborn. The person may or may not feel the change, but the change has occurred. They are born of God because they have believed in Him.



Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.[28]



To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.[29]

Throughout church history there have been differing views in regard to when the new birth or regeneration occurs. Some see it as happening in some form upon infant baptism. Others consider it to occur just prior to actual salvation, as in one is first reborn and is then able to make the decision to believe and receive Jesus. Others believe that rebirth happens when you accept Jesus as your Savior. The latter, rebirth upon acceptance of Jesus, is the most widely embraced interpretation.

Becoming a new creation doesn’t mean that the original created nature of the individual no longer exists and is replaced, but rather signifies his or her sinful nature being changed or re-created.[30] It’s a spiritual or moral renewal of the redeemed individual’s nature. It’s a new self that is in alignment with the likeness of God.



If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.[31]

To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.[32]

We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.[33]

The spiritual rebirth of a Christian is also seen as being brought to life from spiritual death through belief in the risen Jesus.

God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.[34]



You, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross.[35]

Regeneration is generally referred to in the Bible as a work of the Holy Spirit, as Jesus spoke of being born of the Spirit. The apostle Paul made reference to this being the work of the Holy Spirit as well.



So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.[36]



But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior…[37]

There are other verses which also speak of the Father’s role in the new birth.



Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead …[38]



Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all He created.[39]

Both God the Father and God the Holy Spirit have a role in the new birth and regeneration, which was foreshadowed in the Old Testament.



I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you …[40]

Upon receiving Jesus as our Savior we are given new life, a rebirth, a regeneration as well as everlasting life.

God’s loving plan of salvation has justified us so that we are seen by Him as righteous. We have become His children by adoption. We are members of His family and no longer separated from Him. We are heirs of eternal salvation and of God’s other promises. We also become a new creation, as we are born again. These precious gifts are the fruits of God’s costly love, of Jesus laying down His life for us. We have been reconciled to God, and nothing will change that.

I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.[41]

May we truly understand and appreciate the deep love God has for humanity through all He has done for us. May we also be ever aware of and concerned for the people around us who don’t know or understand that they can become justified and adopted by God, that they can become His children. And may we have the love and conviction to share this good news with them, to invite them to become God’s children.



[1] Ephesians 2:8–9.


[2] Romans 10:9–10.


[3] Galatians 2:16.


[4] Romans 5:1.


[5] John 1:12 NKJV.


[6] Galatians 4:4–7.


[7] Romans 8:14–17.


[8] Galatians 3:26.


[9] J. I. Packer, Knowing God (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 203.


[10] Matthew 6:26.


[11] Matthew 7:11.


[12] Luke 12:30–31.


[13] John 10:29.


[14] John 12:26.


[15] John 14:21.


[16] John 16:23.


[17] John 16:27.


[18] 1 John 3:1.


[19] J. I. Packer, Knowing God (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 207.


[20] Romans 8:17.


[21] Romans 8:17–18.


[22] John 3:3–8.


[23] Titus 3:5 NIV.


[24] Titus 3:5.


[25] John 3:6–8.


[26] 2 Corinthians 5:17.


[27] John 3:3–8.


[28] 1 John 5:1.


[29] John 1:12–13 NIV.


[30] James Leo Garrett, Jr., Systematic Theology, Biblical, Historical, and Evangelical, Vol. 2 (N. Richland Hills: BIBAL Press, 2000), 309.


[31] 2 Corinthians 5:17–18.


[32] Ephesians 4:22–24.


[33] Ephesians 2:10.


[34] Ephesians 2:4–6.


[35] Colossians 2:13–14.


[36] John 3:8.


[37] Titus 3:4–6.


[38] 1 Peter 1:3.


[39] James 1:17–18 NIV.


[40] Ezekiel 36:26–27.


[41] Romans 8:38–39.



Copyright © 2012 The Family International.

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Bacteria Evolve "Key Innovation" or Not? Georgia Purdom

Bacteria Evolve “Key Innovation” or Not?
Published on November 8, 2012 in Science.


Four years ago, I wrote an article titled “A Poke in the Eye? Lenski and the adaptive acrobatics of E. coli.” The article highlighted the work of evolutionary biologist Richard Lenski and his discovery of bacteria that had reportedly evolved a new complex trait. During the recent Bill Nye controversy (see here and here), Huff Post decried my supposed ignorance of Lenski’s work that they acknowledged as “evolution that has been observed in a laboratory setting.” Obviously, as I stated in a response to Huff Post, they didn’t do their homework!

Interestingly, as all this was going on, Lenski released a new paper showing the genetic changes that had occurred in E. coli. First, let’s review what Lenski reported in 2008.[1] E. coli (such as those found in our gut or in the soil outside our home) have the ability to utilize citrate as a carbon and energy source when oxygen levels are low. They transport citrate into the cell and break it down. Lenski’s lab reported that the E. coli they had been culturing in the lab for many years could now utilize citrate under normal oxygen levels. It’s fairly easy to see that this was not “a major innovation” or the “making of a rare and complex new trait”; it was simply a change in the regulation of when citrate was used by E. coli.

In Lenski’s 2012 paper he shows the genetic mechanism that caused E. coli to make this change.[2] The E. coli that had been cultured for many years in his lab had a duplication of a portion of their DNA that included the citrate transporter gene called citT. The citT gene encodes a protein that transports citrate into the cell. The duplicated citT gene was under different regulatory control than the original citT gene. This allowed the citrate transporter to be produced and citrate to be utilized under normal oxygen levels.

Clearly this is not a case of adding new genetic information as the DNA that already existed in the bacteria was merely duplicated. It’s also not an example of the gain of a new function because the bacteria could already utilize citrate under certain conditions. There was a definite loss of regulation as the original citT gene was only expressed under low oxygen levels. These types of changes do not provide a mechanism for adding the new genetic information required for the evolutionary “novelties” necessary for molecules-to-man evolution.

Lenski also noted that certain mutations occurred before and after the duplication event. Those before were deemed necessary to “potentiate” the duplication event and those after were deemed necessary to “refine” the duplication event. I was amazed at just how many changes were necessary to allow the bacteria to perform a pre-existing function (using citrate) under different conditions (normal oxygen levels). Imagine how many changes would be necessary to generate truly novel proteins with truly novel functions necessary for molecules-to-man evolution. Impossible!

Lenski concluded in his recent paper, “The evolution of citrate use in an experimental E. colipopulation provided an unusual opportunity to study the multi-step origin of a key innovation.” No, it did not. It did provide further understanding of mechanisms that bacteria use to adapt to varying environmental conditions. God designed bacteria to be “master adapters” to survive and thrive in a post-Fall, post-Flood world. At times this can be to our detriment when bacteria cause disease, but this ability to adapt can also be put to good use for bioremediation and cleaning up our planet.

Keep fighting the good fight of the faith![1] Zachary Blount, et al., “Historical contingency and the evolution of a key innovation in an experimental population of Escherichia coli,” PNAS 105 (2008): 7899–7906.



[2] Zachary Blount, et al., “Genomic analysis of a key innovation in an experimentalEscherichia coli population,” Nature 489 (2012): 513-518.

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Dinosaur Discoveries Rock Evolution

Bruce Malone:

Only seven Tyrannosaurus Rex specimens have been found which are more than 50% complete. Because these fossils are assumed to be over 60 million years old, evolution believers have historically failed to look for non-fossilized material within the bones. Dinosaur bones are generally found in a fossilized condition with silica and other minerals having completely replaced the carbon structure of the original bones—although bones with the appearance of recent burial have been documented.[1] Fossilization is a well understood process that can take place very rapidly under proper conditions. There are many documented cases of the rapid fossilization of organic matter in silica rich water exposure.[2]

Yet, a recent T. Rex discovery sent shockwaves through the scientific community. Evolution believer, Mary H. Schweitzer, of North Carolina State University has discovered flexible blood vessels inside the fossilized bones of a “68-70 million year old” T. Rex from the Hell Creek formation in eastern Montana.[3] In fresh bones, any weak acid can be used to remove the calcium, leaving only organic material such as fibrous connective tissue, blood vessels and various cells. By comparison, if one were to use acid to demineralize a typical mineralized fossil, nothing would be left because everything has been turned to stone. Yet, this acid-treated T. Rex bone fragment left flexible and elastic structures very similar to what one would get from a fresh bone which appeared, “so flexible and resilient that when stretched would return to its original shape”[4]

Close examination of the broken thigh bone also revealed round microscopic structures that appear to be blood cells inside hollow vessels. Dr. Schweitzer stated, “I am quite aware that according to conventional wisdom and models of fossilization, these structures aren’t supposed to be there, but there they are. I was pretty shocked.”[5]

The entire evolutionary community should be far more than shocked. They should be rethinking their dogmatic faith system requiring millions of years of earth history. How could a fossilized bone, buried under enormous heat and pressure, and after millions of years exposure to the environment have intact organic structures? The soft tissue would have completely degraded, no matter how fortuitous the preservation process.

This is not the first soft tissue to be unearthed. Nucleic acid (DNA) with up to 800 base pairs has been taken from “fossil” magnolia leaves allegedly “17-20 million years old.”[6]  Yet, DNA exposed to water and oxygen rapidly degrades. A “25-40 million year old” bee was also found encased in amber containing living bacteria spores.[7] Dr. Cano, the discoverer, took careful measures to avoid contamination and his analysis of the bacteria showed it to be very similar to the DNA found in modern “bee bacteria.”

These finds -- soft tissue, bacteria spores, and DNA in fossils and amber -- are not isolated examples, but part of a growing number of scientific discoveries which are rocking the evolutionary time frame to its core! However, don’t expect to hear about them in your child’s textbook, popular science magazines, or museums any time soon. Why? Because it is easier to deny, ignore, or explain away the implications of these finds rather than to admit that the pre-suppositional assumptions of the evolutionary belief system -- huge periods of time, no recent worldwide flood, and no interaction of God with creation -- could be wrong.

Footnotes:

1. Buddy Davis, Mike Liston, John Whitmore, The Great Alaskian Dinosaur Adventure, Master Books, 1998.

2. Carl Wieland, ‘The Earth: How Old Does it Look?’, Creation ex nihilo 23(1):8–13, December 2000.

3. Schweitzer, M. H., et al.,Science, 307, no. 5717, pp. 1952-1955, 25 March 2005.

4. www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7285683/, March 2005.

5. Boswell, E., Montana State University News Service, 24 March 2005.

6. Golenberg, E., et al., Nature 344:656-8.

7. Cano, S., Science, vol. 268, no. 5213, p. 977, Research News, 19 May 1995.

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Just One Life

Just One Life! By Maria Fontaine

Do you ever ask yourself, “What can I do that will change this world for the better? How can I make a positive impact on others? What meaning can my life have in the context of the world and mankind? For my life to actually matter, do I have to do something truly earthshaking? How much difference can one life make in a world of billions?”

Here’s an account of one man’s life which began in obscurity, was lived without power or popularity as man measures it, and was terminated ignominiously. Yet this one life brought something extraordinary into this world.

He was born in an obscure hill town in a small Mideastern country. In early childhood his family had to flee as refugees from political injustice and attempted infanticide.[1]

The son of a manual laborer,[2] he showed little promise of greatness. He had no opportunity for higher education as we know it, never learned anything about technology, never even possessed a TV, a computer, cell phone, or mp3 player. There is no record of him owning a home or even any form of transportation.

In his thirties he was living hand to mouth,[3] wandering from town to town, never going more than 100 miles from where he grew up. Yet his deep and caring love for mankind inspired a small group of others to travel with him to learn more.[4] He often spent his time around social outcasts and the seamier side of society.[5]

For a period of three years he managed to gather some crowds through the use of what some called miracles. But false charges[6] that he associated with suspected terrorist elements seeking to overthrow the government, and accusations that he was claiming to be the king of his own nation resulted in his arrest, torture, and subsequent execution[7] at the behest of some influential enemies.

His friends and associates claimed that the charges were trumped up and that the whole incident had been a conspiracy by top religious and political elements to discredit what they saw as their competition, but none were ever brought to justice for what happened.

His life on this earth ended as it had been lived: focused on giving all that he had in order to rescue others. From a life of obscurity, poverty, and oppression, he showed that the simple truth was greater than the greatest intellect. Through his love and care for the weakest and neediest, he proved that power and wealth were truly weak and worthless unless used for God.

Instead of his death being the end of an obscure life, his subsequent resurrection triggered a kind of uprising in the hearts of men, a revolution of freedom and truth and mercy[8] that the armies of the earth throughout history have been unable to crush, that the superpowers have been powerless to suppress, and that the deceits of greed, malice, and hatred have never been able to silence.

The attempt to stifle his voice by a torturous and brutal death was futile. It has burst out in the voices of those whose lives down through the ages have been transformed by the truth he gave and the spirit he provided and the love he instilled in their hearts. What he gave to those who chose to live the example he set has proven to be greater than all the forces that have tried to prevent it spreading throughout the earth.

The result: All the powers that have tried to sway this world throughout history, all the wealth of nations and influence of kings and queens, czars and emperors, presidents and dictators, and all the revolutions and wars combined have failed to have as great an impact on the lives and hearts of mankind as this one extraordinary life.[9]



How could this one life, lived two thousand years ago, continue to have such a monumental effect on the world to this very day? Because this was the life of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, whose purpose in coming to earth was to help us understand what the nature of God is.

“For God loved each one of us so much that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” God sacrificed His Son, and Jesus sacrificed His life in payment for our sins to show us the love and mercy of God. Jesus rose from the dead to offer us the chance to return to the full relationship with God that sin had severed. Receiving this gift is as simple as the simplicity of that life that provided it. It is yours to accept by allowing His love to become a part of your life now and in the life to come.

That seemingly insignificant life that had little to offer, according to how man judges things, possessed the ability to change the world through the lives of His followers and to change the hearts of billions down through the centuries.

You ask, how will this help me to make a difference in this world? The answer is that He has provided a way for His followers to carry on His legacy. He can empower you with His Spirit and work through you to continue His mission of changing lives. If you are His follower, you can continue to change the world through Him. His mission can become your mission. Having His Spirit working through you to change the hearts and lives of others brings lasting change—change that life’s troubles cannot take away.


You might not get to see the outward results in every person, but as you do your part to share the love and purpose you have found with all who will receive it, you will know that this world is a better place because you’ve been here.



[1] Matthew 2:13–23.


[2] Matthew 13:55.


[3] Matthew 8:20.


[4] Matthew 10:2–4.


[5] Mark 2:16, Matthew 9:10, Luke 15:1.


[6] Matthew 26:60–61; 27:18, 40; Mark 14:56, 58, 62–64; Luke 23:2, 5, 10, 14; John 19:7, 12.


[7] John 19:1–16, Luke 22:63–65, Luke 23:2–5, Isaiah 53:9.


[8] John 8:32..


[9] Adapted from the essay “One Solitary Life” by Dr. James Allan Francis, 1926.



Copyright © 2012 The Family International

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The Heart of It All: Salvation

Propitiation and Redemption

In the previous article we saw that God’s plan for the redemption of humans was set in place before the creation of humanity, and that it was rooted in His love, mercy, and grace, which are part of His nature.

Now we’ll look at some specific insights as to how Jesus’ death on the cross brings forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God—how His death results in our atonement.
Atonement

The word atonement in the Bible is the translation of the Hebrew word kippur, which is derived from the word kaphar, meaning to cover, cover over, or be covered.

J. I. Packer defines it as follows:

Atonement means making amends, blotting out the offense, and giving satisfaction for wrong done; thus reconciling to oneself the alienated other and restoring the disrupted relationship.[1]

The biblical concept of atonement refers to the revealed way to reconciliation with God through the mediation of His Son.[2]

In the New Testament it’s very clear that the death of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection is central to His mission on earth. Matthew devotes about one-third of his Gospel to the last week of Jesus’ life, Mark over one-third, Luke one-fourth, and John just under half.[3]

Jesus’ death on the cross, His shedding His blood for us as the Lamb of God, brought something unique into the world of humanity: eternal reconciliation with God. From that point on, human beings could be permanently reconciled with their Creator.

A question that is often asked is: Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? What did His death do that brought us forgiveness of sin and reconciliation with God? A combination of four scriptural concepts gives a well-rounded understanding of how Jesus’ death saves us from the punishment of our sins and reconciles us to God. These four concepts look at the same picture from different angles.
Propitiation

The first concept is propitiation. The basic meaning of propitiation is an offering that turns away wrath. This concept has to do with the wrath of God, in that due to His holiness and righteousness, God must judge and punish sin. However, the sacrificial offering of Jesus’ death, like the sacrifices made in the Old Testament, propitiates or satisfies God’s wrath. In His love for us, God made a way to pardon our sin, while remaining true to His nature.



He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.[4]



All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith.[5]

How was it that Jesus’ death turned away the wrath of God from us? He turned it away from us by taking it upon Himself. We justly deserve God’s wrath, but Jesus took the guilt of our sin upon Himself and suffered the penalty for our sins. He bore the wrath of God in our place for our sins.

Authors Lewis and Demarest explain it this way:

The Judge of the world, whose moral law is constantly violated, found us guilty and pronounced the just sentence of death. Then, leaving heaven, the Son became a man, lived without sin, and paid in full the inestimable penalty for our sins. To demonstrate how He remains just while justifying the ungodly who believe, the Father sent the Son as a sacrifice of Atonement. The Judge who found us guilty came in the person of His own Son to atone for our sins.[6]

Some people object to the concept of an innocent person taking the punishment of the guilty, saying that it’s immoral. However, in this case, a member of the Trinity—God the Son—is the one taking the punishment. So God, who is the one that has been sinned against, is both the Judge who is passing judgment and also the one who is paying the penalty for the sin. The sacrifice of God’s Son is the propitiation that satisfies God. The wrath of God, His righteous judgment, is poured out on sin, but God Himself, having taken on the form of a man, bears that wrath in our place. This is something far beyond fairness and justice—it is the compassionate and loving plan of our very loving God.
Redemption

Another biblical concept which helps to explain how Jesus’ death has brought us salvation is redemption. The words translated to redeem and redemption come from the Greek family of words lutron in the noun form and lutroo in the verb form, which means to loose, to set free through a ransom payment, to ransom. Other variations are a ransom price, the act of ransoming, to pay a ransom price. Some of the verses using these words are:

Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.[7]

There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.[8]

Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works.[9]

Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.[10]

The use of the words ransom or redeem in these verses expresses the concept of paying a price, a ransom, to set someone free, to remove them from bondage or dominion.

Theologian Jack Cottrell gives clarity to this concept by explaining the redemption of the firstborn males in the Old Testament. He wrote:

The Old Testament practice providing the sharpest background for understanding Christ’s redeeming work is the redemption of the first-born males from their status of special consecration to God. God decreed that every first-born male, man or beast, belonged to Him. From those animals classified as clean, the first-born was to be sacrificed as an offering to God. With unclean animals such as a donkey, there was a choice. One could either break its neck, thus destroying it; or he could redeem it—buy it back—by paying the price of a lamb to be sacrificed in its place (Exodus 13:13). It was expected that everyone would choose the second option (Numbers 18:15). With regard to human beings, there was no choice. Every first-born male had to be redeemed—bought back from God—by paying the “money of the redemption,” five shekels of silver (about two and one-half ounces). This practice demonstrates the basic meaning of redemption; i.e., the payment of a price to set someone or something free.[11]



In the verses quoted above, Jesus said He came to give His life as a ransom for many. Through His sacrificial death, His blood shed for us, we are redeemed or ransomed. He paid for our freedom from the penalty for our sins by taking the punishment in our place.

The ransom is paid to God the Father, since He is the one who has put the penalty in place. Jesus, God’s Son, pays the ransom by way of His death. It is as if the judge passes a guilty verdict on a criminal, then he leaves his judgment seat and goes and pays the fine for the criminal. The criminal is judged guilty and by law must pay the penalty, but the price is paid by the judge. Justice is done, the penalty for the crime is paid, and the guilty one is now free. The guilty one is not only declared innocent, but is also transformed into a new creature, and ideally begins to live a life of love for God and others in gratitude for receiving God’s great gift.

We see in the above analogies that due to God’s love for us, He both judges and redeems us. His plan satisfies the need for righteous judgment, but God the Judge has also paid the price for our redemption by the shedding of the blood of His only Son.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.[12]


[1] J. I. Packer, Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs (Chicago, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1993), 134.


[2] W. H. Griffith Thomas, The Principles of Theology (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock, 2005), 51.


[3] W. H. Griffith Thomas, The Principles of Theology (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock, 2005), 52.


[4] 1 John 2:2.


[5] Romans 3:23–25.


[6] Gordon R. Lewis and Bruce A. Demarest, Integrative Theology, Volume 2 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1996), 399.


[7] Matthew 20:28.


[8] 1 Timothy 2:5–6.


[9] Titus 2:13–14.


[10] 1 Peter 1:18–19.


[11] Jack Cottrell, What the Bible Says About God the Redeemer (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1983), 438–439.


[12] John 3:16–17

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The Holy War!

By David Brandt Berg

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We are all in a holy war together. We are fighting together for our faith, truth, and freedom! We are determined that the poor of the world shall be fed, clothed, housed, and be enabled to labor in freedom, peace, health, and happiness to obtain their needs. We have pledged ourselves to lay down our lives in love for our brothers and sisters around the world. We have dedicated our all that all may be free to live lives of happiness together in cooperation.

Freedom from want, freedom from bondage, freedom from pain, freedom from evil, and freedom from fear—these are our united goals. Mankind cannot be happy when enslaved by oppression, tyranny, and exploitation, robbed by the rich, suffering the pains and pangs of hunger, malnutrition, disease, ill health, overwork, evil abuse, the tortures of war and constant conflict, and nightmares of perpetual fearful insecurity.

We believe that all of these evils are caused by men’s lack of love for God and each other, and their defiance of His laws of love and faith and peace and harmony with Him, each other, and His whole creation, which are the basic beliefs of true faith and every true believer in God and His love and His concern for His creations.

But we must not only know what we are fighting for and against, but also how we must fight. This is not a war of weapons and armies and bodies of men. This is not a war between man and man, nation and nation, race and race, rich and poor, socialism and capitalism, political and economic systems, societies and cultures, religions and faiths. This is not a war of hate and bitterness, killing and slaughter, revenge and vindictiveness, torture, dying and death.

This is not a war for the bodies and possessions and lands and pride of man. Such carnal wars of man have seldom ever settled anything or solved the basic problems of mankind. They have usually only resulted in more suffering, more agony, more pain, more hunger, more slavery, more bitterness, more vengeance, more fighting, more torture, more privation, more destruction, more waste, more misery, more poverty, and more death.

Ours is a war of the spirit in faith and love to win the minds and hearts and spirits and save the souls as well as the bodies of men. Ours is a war to free men from the evils of the spirit and mind and heart of man which cause them to be selfish and unloving and vicious and cruel and unkind to each other, man’s inhumanity to man because of his lack of understanding of how to be happy due to his lack of knowledge of the love and faith and power of God and loving laws of God designed for our eternal happiness.

Ours is a war to free men’s minds and hearts and spirits from the bondage of evil and the soul-slavery of the Devil which bring all these miseries upon us. We are in a war of the worlds—a war between good and evil, God and the Devil, goodness and wickedness, flesh and spirit, angels and devils, love and hate, life and death, joy and misery. Ours is a war of the universe between the good spirits of heaven and the evil spirits of hell contending for our souls as well as our bodies, not only on this earth but also in the spirit world.

Therefore we must fight the much greater warfare of the spirit with the far more powerful weapons of faith, love, compassion, and words and deeds of kindness. We must free men from fear with faith. We must free them from hatred with love. We must free them from sorrow with joy. We must free them from war with peace. We must free them from poverty with plenty, and we must free them from death with eternal heavenly happiness.

The pen is mightier than the sword. Ours is a war of words and ideas to thrill men’s minds with faith and hope, and fill their hearts with love and peace and joy to set their spirits free, as well as acts of love and deeds of kindness to free their bodies from pain. We must therefore wage a war of words against the ideas of evil, a war of faith against fear, a war of hope against doubt. We must inspire men’s spirits to believe in God and His love and His plan for the glorious future of man in the kingdom of God on earth run by the righteous, in which there shall soon be no more sorrow nor crying nor pain nor death, but all shall be light and health and happiness and peace and plenty for everyone.

We must teach them the loving, life-giving words of God Himself through His holy prophets in His holy book, the Bible, that they might have His life and love and happiness forever. Mighty empires of the sword have come and gone, but His words of love and life go on forever and continue to give joy and peace and love and life and hope to billions for generations. The Alexanders and Caesars and Genghis Khans and Napoleons and Hitlers have come and gone, but the words and ideas and religions of the philosophers and the prophets of God live on forever.

They know no boundaries, no nation, no race nor empire, and are not bound by time or space, nor limited by man or war or force of arms, but embrace all mankind and unite their hearts and minds and spirits in faith and love of God and each other for the good of all. The philosophers, teachers, prophets, and men of God seldom ruled empires, but they won worlds of men with their words, faith, and ideas which captured hearts, minds, and spirits and set them forever free. The followers of God are numbered in billions for millenniums, and God’s eternal kingdom of His words of life and love has conquered worlds of men’s eternal spirits, far greater, longer lasting, and happier than man’s mere worldly empires of the sword.

We cannot force men to be good; we cannot legislate righteousness. We must persuade their minds, win their hearts, inspire their spirits, and save their souls so that they will willingly want to do good and not to do evil. You cannot change the world of man without changing his mind, and you cannot change his mind unless you change his heart, and you cannot change his heart without the inspiration of God’s Spirit to save his soul and not only his body.

We must work to save all of man, not merely his body and his environment. He will never be happy with a heavy heart, a troubled mind, a discouraged spirit, and an unsaved soul. We must work to save the whole man, not just part of him. We must work to save the whole world, not just part of it. We must work to save them for eternity, not just for this present time.

Only the power and life and light and love and words of God can do this. We must get His words to all men by every means available throughout the earth. We must convey His ideas, hopes, faith, love and plans for His creations to the eyes and minds and thoughts of all men everywhere, that all hearts may be changed and all spirits inspired and all souls be saved.

We must have a world vision of universal salvation of all mankind. We must not confine ourselves only to the mere matters of the moment and the cares of this life and environment, or those of only one people or one nation or one race or one culture or one ideology or one political view or one economic system of East or West or North or South.

The salvation of man must be for all if it is for any and must include everyone if all are to be happy. Though ninety-and-nine were in the fold, the Good Shepherd was not content until the last lost one was found and saved and rescued.1 Their number was not complete and they could not have been completely happy as long as there was still one unhappy one astray. We must search and find them all, all of His lost sheep, with His loving words of life and faith and duty to both God and man, and we must bring them all into His fold that they may be of one fold with one Shepherd forever.

We must tell all, even though all will not listen nor respond nor be saved. We owe the message of God and His life of love to every man.

If God be for us, no man can stand against us, however great their power or numbers. “Have faith in God.”2 “If God be for us, who can be against us?”3 If you do good, who is he that will stop you?4 None can withstand the power of God nor His forces of heaven if He is on your side and you are on His, doing that which is right.

We are in a fight to the finish, and the victory is ours, praise be to God! We may lose a few battles, but we’re winning the war and the world will soon be won for God and His kingdom. Never give up. Be not discouraged, but be of good faith and of good cheer, for if God is with you, you cannot fail. “If God be for us, who can be against us?”5 We are bound to win, for God is with us, and we fight a holy, right, and just war of faith and love for God and others, and love never fails, for God is love.6

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but His words shall never pass away.7 They are settled forever in heaven8, and none can deny nor defy them forever. So use them andspread them and His love through every means at your command to give people light and hope and life and love and peace and heavenly happiness forever.

You are no fool to give a life you cannot keep for a love you will never lose.

Originally published May 1975. Updated and republished August 2012.
Read by Peter Amsterdam.


1 Luke 15:4.

2 Mark 11:22.

3 Romans 8:31.

4 1 Peter 3:13.

5 Romans 8:31.

6 1 Corinthians 13:8; 1 John 4:8.

7 Mark 13:31.

8 Psalm 119:89.

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War crimes and the fantasy of controlling Syria´s rebels

By Dan Murphy, CS Monitor, November 2, 2012

If US officials think they’re going to find Syrian allies to prevent war atrocities, or be able to take swift control of Syria in the event of Assad’s defeat and steer it in a pro-US direction, they are going to be sorely disappointed.

As evidenced by a graphic video uploaded to YouTube yesterday that shows a terrified group of at least a dozen men, defeated fighters for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, huddled together on a bare concrete floor in a battle-scared building in the market town of Saraqeb, Syria, the other day as their scowling captors kicked and cursed them into a pile before executing them.

The jumpy footage shows the following: Men in rags, many stripped of their shoes. Some appear dazed from the wounds of a battle they’d just lost. Others appear to be hyperventilating out their last prayers and thoughts. One pleads for his life. A rebel walks among the prisoners, getting in a few last kicks to the head of one of them.

Then, the cries of “God is great” from the triumphant murderers are drowned out by a buzzsaw of automatic rifle fire.

This latest atrocity is hardly out of character for Syria’s civil war. (Both sides have been guilty of atrocities. War is man at his worst. It´s man´s inhumanity to man.)

Looking for good guys in this war? They are few and far between.

The execution appears to have been carried out by one of the jihadi militias that have grown ever more prevalent in the fight against Assad. Even the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based group that supports the uprising against Syria’s Baathist regime, suggests that the murders were carried out by an Al Qaeda-inspired rebel group. Rami Abdelrahman of the observatory told Reuters that the killings were carried out by the Jabhat al-Nusra militia.

But what happened at Saraqeb is about more than the prevalence of jihadis in Syria’s civil war. The “Free Syrian Army” is a nice concept. In practice, however, the fighters against Assad are a loosely affiliated patchwork of militias, with no unified command.

The behavior of these irregular units varies widely, as do their sources of funding. Some groups have received a trickle of communications and non-lethal aid from the likes of the US. Others have received weapons from states like Qatar or right private donors in fellow Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia.

The influence of the exiled Syrian National Council—which Secretary Clinton declared a failure Wednesday when she announced that the US was withdrawing support—over fighters on the ground is near zero.

So in that sense, the Obama administration is right to look to spend its money and political influence elsewhere. But if Clinton or anyone else in the government thinks they are going to find Syrian allies to steer it in a pro-US direction, they are going to be disappointed.

You have only to look to Libya to understand how difficult it is to exert influence after a triumphant rebellion in states where politics has merely been another word for patronage for decades, where the lust for revenge is strong, and where the rebellion itself is backed with Islamist militants who not very long ago were fighting US forces in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Libyan militias, it turns out, have ideas of their own about the future. They have fought among themselves over the spoils of victory, and continue to wield guns in what was hoped to be Libya’s emerging democratic politics.

Scott Peterson wrote for us yesterday from Aleppo:

In the final debate last week, President Obama said that the US was doing “everything we can” to help the opposition, but warned that “to get more entangled militarily in Syria is a serious step,” and that the US had to be “absolutely certain that we know who we are helping.” Likewise, Republican candidate Mitt Romney said he would “make sure they have the arms necessary to defend themselves,” as long as weapons don’t get into “the wrong hands. Those arms could be used to hurt us down the road.”

But on the ground, many Syrians say the US reluctance to support their cause is yielding more jihadists, and more radical ones. And it’s questionable whether American reluctance is significantly hampering the flow of weapons to jihadists.

The Syrian war, its factions and regional implications, grow more entangled and complicated by the day. Can the intervention of outside powers tip the outcome in favor of the rebels, in a general sense? Certainly. Will the weapons provided end up being used in further atrocities? Quite likely.

Atrocities happen in war, and far more frequently when there aren’t accountable officers to stop it. Perhaps that’s a price worth paying to be rid of Assad. (This type of callous comment shows this writer has no first hand knowledge of war nor compassion on those caught in its midst. What is the agenda of this writer? Is he a neutral? War is hell and those that promote it will suffer some day as God´s word warns us. We will reap what we have sown. Are you sowing love or hate? Are you supporting the war mongers? Dennis)

But trying to shape what comes next is another matter. Recent history indicates that usually eludes the grasp of America and its allies. ("Man purposes, but God disposes," said the Ambassador from Russia  to Napolian before his "conquest" of Russia.)

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