Monthly Archives: May 2013

May 31 2013

The Martyrdom of Apostle Peter

There is considerable evidence, biblical and extra-biblical, that apostle Peter was martyred for his Christian faith.

Jesus told Peter regarding his death in John 21:18-19:

“18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.)”

This is one of the passages in the Bible which demonstrates that martyrdom for faith in God is an act of glorification of God.  If this brief conversation at the end of John’s gospel was the only one referencing Peter’s martyrdom, we would still be believe in the martyrdom of Peter because it is found in the Bible.

But there are also a number of non-canonical and historical accounts which mention Peter’s execution.

Peter was approximately 65 years old when he died in Rome, probably in 64 AD, possibly during the Neronian persecution in the months that followed the Great Fire of Rome.

Clement of Rome (d. 101 AD) who was likely ordained pastor (bishop/pope) by Peter wrote in his Letter to the Corinthians:

“Let us take the noble examples of our own generation. Through jealousy and envy the greatest and most just pillars of the Church were persecuted, and came even unto death… Peter, through unjust envy, endured not one or two but many labours, and at last, having delivered his testimony, departed unto the place of glory due to him.“

Christian writer Tertullian (160–c. 225 AD) wrote:

“Since, moreover, you are close upon Italy, you have Rome, from which there comes even into our own hands the very authority (of apostles themselves). How happy is its church, on which apostles poured forth all their doctrine along with their blood; where Peter endures a passion like his Lord’s“

Origen (185 – 254 AD) wrote in Eusebius, Church History III.1:

“Peter was crucified at Rome with his head downwards, as he himself had desired to suffer.”

According to this account, Peter did not deem himself worthy to die in the same manner as his Savior, but willingly endured an upside down crucifixion.

How did Peter end up in Rome during Nero’s persecution?

Apocryphal writings and church tradition say that Peter saw Jesus in a vision and Peter inquired “where are you going, Master?” to which Jesus answered “I am going to Rome to be crucified, again.”  Tradition says this is when Peter made the decision to go back to Rome and accept martyrdom.

We will look at the martyrdom and persecution of other apostles in upcoming posts.

to be continued…

May 29 2013

LeBron James Compared to… God

LEBRON JAMES

Huh?

The judgement and theological statements coming out of the NBA these days must be exposed in order to see the kind of concept folks have about God.

Indiana Pacers point guard George Hill compared LeBron James to God:

“It’s only like one person that’s more scarier than that and that’s God,” Hill said after Pacer’s 97-93 Game 2 win last week against James’ team.

The Miami Heat star responded by saying he is  “nowhere near close” to being God because “I made two mistakes tonight that hurt our team…”

The funny thing here is not the comparison to the Divine.

The funny, ridiculous, crazy, and blasphemous development is that LeBron James actually entertained the concept of being compared to the Great I AM.

This guy might be capable of really thinking he might achieve divinity if he had a perfect game or season.

Being a physical specimen that drives down the lane like a locomotive and having more money than all my readers put together multiplied by 1,000 can certainly awaken the idolatry of Romans 1.

Idolatry of self is at the core of our fallen race.  The idea of being like God put us in our current trouble when two less than content people in Eden decided it would be cool to be like God.

Even the statement “nowhere near close” to being God is irrelevant in this context because it raises the possibility of actually arriving at divinity.

So for now we will just enjoy watching the Bron play (also pray?) above the rim.

Because if we could see God play, we would die in less than an instant.

image Corey Sipkin

May 28 2013

The Advent of Fetal Surgery Strengthens the Pro-Life Position

Womb

The procedures and steps taken during fetal surgery provide overwhelming support to the Pro-Life stance.

The picture above shows an incision in a pregnant uterus and the hand of a 21-week fetus exhibiting the grasp reflex.  Parents of newborns know this reflex very well because the baby will squeeze tight when his/her palms are stimulated.

That is exactly what this unanesthetized fetus is doing in this picture.  

Which brings us to the next point… Why would the surgeon and anesthesiologist need to anesthetize the fetus if he/she is not a person and supposedly does not feel pain until week 24 as claimed by many experts?  

The answer is that fetal anesthesia is necessary during fetal surgery because the fetus withdraws from the painful stimuli, providing strong evidence that he/she feels pain.  It has been shown that placing needles in the fetal hepatic vein releases stress hormones in fetal blood (here).  It has also been shown that anesthesia blunts this type of response. 

If this is true, and we know it is true based on peer-reviewed literature in PubMed, imagine how much worse is the pain of tearing limbs during second trimester abortions!

How drastic is the contrast between these two scenarios: on one hand a fetal surgeon skillfully operates on a baby’s spine when still in the womb, while on the other hand an abortionist crushes the skull using a metal clamp still in the womb!  The former is considered a miracle of modern medicine, while the later is a choice by the ignorant mother and a merciless butcher. 

Delight in Truth continues to expose the idea that if the American public would have first hand information with respect to the miracles of fetal surgery, the films of babies playing in-utero, the testimony of abortion survivors, and ultimately the horrors of abortion, the American public would be overwhelmingly Pro-Life.  

But for now ignorance is bliss on this topic.  Gosnell’s trial and the exposition of his clinic have hopefully started to shake up the public slumber on this topic.

Delight in Truth will continue to champion the right to life as guaranteed by the constitutional slogan “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” and ultimately by our Creator, because His Spirit is called the Spirit of Life.

photo by Michael Clancy

May 27 2013

On Memorial Day: The Martyrdom of Saint Justin

Justin was a second century Christian who was killed by the Romans for his faith.  Read the proceedings from his trial below detailed in the “Acts of the Martyrdom of Saint Justin and His Companions:”

“The saints were seized and brought before the prefect of Rome, whose name was Rusticus. As they stood before the judgment seat, Rusticus the prefect said to Justin, “Above all, have faith in the gods and obey the emperors.”

Justin replied, “We cannot be accused or condemned for obeying the commands of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”

Rusticus said, “What system of teaching do you profess?”

Justin said, “I have tried to learn about every system, but I have accepted the true doctrines of the Christians, though these are not approved by those who are held fast by error.”

The prefect Rusticus said, “Are those doctrines approved by you, wretch that you are?”

Justin said, “Yes, for I follow them with their correct teaching.”

The prefect Rusticus said, “What sort of teaching is that?”

Justin said, “Worship the God of the Christians. We hold him to be from the beginning the one creator and maker of the whole creation, of things seen and things unseen. We worship also the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

Rusticus said, “You are a Christian, then?”

Justin said, “Yes, I am a Christian.”

The prefect said to Justin, “You are called a learned man and think you know what is true teaching. Listen: if you were scourged and beheaded, are you convinced that you would go up to heaven?”

Justin said, “I hope that I shall enter God’s house if I suffer in that way. For I know that God’s favor is stored up until the end of the whole world for all who have lived good lives.”

The prefect Rusticus said, “Do you have an idea that you will go up to heaven to receive some suitable rewards?”

Justin said, “It is not an idea that I have; it is something I know well and hold to be most certain.”

The prefect Rusticus said, “Now let us come to the point at issue, which is necessary and urgent. Gather round then and with one accord offer sacrifice to the gods.”

Justin said, “No one who is right-thinking stoops from true worship to false worship.”

The prefect Rusticus said, “If you do not do as you are commanded you will be tortured without mercy.”

Justin said, “We hope to suffer torment for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, and so be saved.”

In the same way the other martyrs also said, “Do what you will. We are Christians; we do not offer sacrifice to idols.”

The prefect Rusticus pronounced sentence, saying, “Let those who have refused to sacrifice to the gods and to obey the command of the emperor be scourged and led away to suffer capital punishment according to the ruling of the laws.” 

Glorifying God, the holy martyrs were beheaded, and so fulfilled their witness of martyrdom in confessing their faith in their Savior.”

text via Gabe Bogdan, via Public Domain

May 23 2013

Romanian West Coast Youth Convention, Here We Come!

image

It is an honor to be invited to serve in the West Coast Romanian Youth Convention.

Delight in Truth will participate in leading worship as well as holding an apologetics seminar on the pro-life position.

May God receive all glory unto Himself.

May 22 2013

The Degeneration of Modern Worship Music

What is happening to worship music in the last 1o years?

Many modern worship songs are no longer about bringing praise and glory to God.

Many modern worship songs are no longer about theological truth taken off the pages of Scripture.

Unfortunately, much of modern worship music is a copy-cat of the tunes and cliché phrases in current pop music.  Thanks to Gabe Bogdan, check out the worship song below:

“I can feel your presence here with me

Suddenly I’m lost within your beauty

Caught up in the wonder of your touch

Here in this moment, I surrender to your love”

That is a far cry from theologically correct worship as in the song “Lord I Lift Your Name on High” from just 25 years ago:

“You came from heaven to earth 
To show the way 
From the earth to the cross 
My debt to pay 
From the cross to the grave 
From the grave to the sky 
Lord, I lift Your name on high”

Even without hearing the “lost within your beauty” song, it reads much like a teen pop song, the kind that rolls at 140 bpm and sets the stage for lust…

Speaking of lust… Let us define lust…Webster’s dictionary defines lust as “intense or unbridled sexual desire.” Then what would be the purpose of the following lyrics in Jesus Culture’s “I am in love with you” song?

“Everyday my heart is in lust for You, So I will abandon myself to You”

Such songs do not describe the “Holy, Holy, Holy” God of Isaiah 6, but a god of lust, a god of personal relationships, and a god of emotions.  That is not my God.

The Triune God of the Bible will not receive the worship of “strange fire” brought about by compromising the message of praise and worship with lyrical content from the world.

Instead we will continue to delight in songs such as this one:

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

image credit: metrolyrics.com

May 21 2013

Keep Oklahoma in Prayer Tonight

Children pulled out the rubble dead.

Many pulled out alive.

Many missing.

I tried to tune out the terrible news, a typical suppressive defense mechanism that many of us employ in trying to stay sane.  Than the article stated that there are dead children.  Missing children.

One cannot but image oneself in that situation.  Trying to find your children in the rubble.

An AP photographer wrote graphic details about taking pictures of children being rescued and passed from arms to arms.  Oklahoma trauma center pictured as a disaster zone.

Why does this happen so often?  Natural disasters, tragedies, shootings, epidemics, struggle to survive?

As Christians we turn to the Word of God for answers.

We find this in Romans 8:

18I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21thath the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

As we pray for the victims let’s focus on this message of Truth.  Creation is subjected to fall, as humanity is subjected to sin.  But it does not end there.  If it were to end there we would be the most wretched people alive.

There is a hope in Christ, a hope of Redemption that goes beyond this temporary groaning of Creation and Flesh.

Keep Oklahoma in prayer tonight.

photo: FoxNews

May 20 2013

France’s Moral Revolution Not Enough to Stop Gay Marriage

The two largest rallies in the history of France occurred this year as folks came out in an attempt to sway the government against approving gay marriage and adoption.  They dubbed it France’s Moral Revolution.  Each rally had over 1 million participants, with one rally estimated at 1.4 million.

Despite the voice of the people, France’s constitutional court approved a pro gay-marriage and adoption bill that has already passed through parliament.  The president is expected to sign it in into law.

2.4 million demonstrators with “1 Father, 1 Mother = That’s Marriage” and “Father, Mother, Children, It’s Natural!” slogans were not enough to sway the progressive French legislature and courts.

This is hardly surprising.

This is proof that what the Bible is telling us is true.

Biblical commands on the issue of life and lifestyle which stood the test of time, are now trampled under the banner of love, acceptance, progress and enlightenment.  Apostle Paul warned us about this degeneration in one of his famous lists in 2 Timothy 3:

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money,boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power.”

This is a normal progression of social degeneration.

It will continue until the coming of our Lord, and it tells us that His return is that much closer.

Despite this development, the Church will continue to proclaim the Gospel and biblical truth.

image credit: Angela Fallentine

May 18 2013

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit Follows Conversion

Conversion and baptism in/with the Spirit are two glorious but separate events. 

What is the biblical/historical proof for this?  

It is found in the book of Acts.  Let us look at the five baptisms with the Holy Spirit described there and conclude that the people who received this empowering experience were already renewed.

1. Pentecost

  • The disciples had already made Christ the center of their lives, and they were illuminated by the Holy Spirit to believe in the risen Christ when Jesus breathed on them the Holy Spirit ( John 20:22).  Their baptism in the Spirit came 10 days after Jesus was lifted up to heaven as they were obeying His command to wait for it.

2. Samaria 

  • Philip preached the Gospel to the Samaritans and they believed and obeyed by getting baptized in water. 
  • Peter and John visit the Samaritans and the baptism with the Spirit is given subsequently 
    • Acts 8:14-17 “When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit,16because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.”

3. Saul

  • Saul had a dramatic conversion event on the road to Damascus, and after three days of fasting and praying he is baptized/filled with the Holy Spirit
  • Acts 9:17 “Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.””

4. Cornelius

  • the Bible calls him righteous.  To achieve such standing one has to have a renewed nature.
    • Acts 10:22 “He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people”
  • Cornelius needed correct theology and Peter is used by God to deliver it.   During that visit, Cornelius is baptized with the Holy Spirit.

5. Ephesus

  • Following Apollo’s preaching, the Ephesian disciples believed and were converted to Christianity.
  • They were believers, they were Christians but were not baptized with the Holy Spirit
  • Paul visited subsequently and baptized them in water in the name of Jesus after which they received the baptism in the Spirit
    • Acts 19:6 “When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.”

These five accounts show that conversion is not the same spiritual or temporal event as the baptism with the Holy Spirit.  

The baptism with the Holy Spirit is an empowering, post-conversion experience that elevates the believer to become an effective witness for God (Acts 1:8)

image credit

May 17 2013

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit Is a Commandment

image

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit as a separate event from conversion is a commandment in the book of Acts.

Which makes it anything but an optional thing.

Jesus commanded a number of things to His followers among which are the baptism in water, communion with bread and fruit of the vine in His remembrance, and baptism with the Holy Spirit.

Here is the command given to His disciples before His ascension:

“4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

These verses contain an emphatic statement: “he ordered them.” When the Creator of the universe gives an order there is no room for debate. The same order applies to Christians today, in addition to the other commandments that Jesus gave His disciples.

The reason for this commandment is obvious throughout the book of Acts as the Holy Spirit’s supernatural work is critical for effective evangelism, power over demonic forces, and sanctification of the believer.

One cannot be an effective witness for God without the filling with the Holy Spirit:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8

The born again believer must pursue the filling with the Holy Spirit, must earnestly desire the gifts of the Spirit, and must effectively use this empowerment for spreading the Gospel.