Tag Archives: Jesus

Apr 13 2013

Suppressing the Truth About Modern Infanticide

The trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell who is accused of killing late-term babies who survived abortions is not receiving mainstream media coverage due to spiritual reasons more than political reasons.

To date, out of all the major news outlets, only the slightly more conservative Fox News has covered it.

Why?

Our godless modern society is tacitly approving Gosnell’s actions.  Abortion is the outcome of self-idolatry which is rampant in our culture.  It so happens that a baby interferes with the interests of the self, and in their mind killing the baby solves the problem.

So they suppress the truth in order to avoid the guilt and the conviction that comes along with acknowledging the truth.

The heathen would rather have a Gosnell-type decapitating a crying 28 week GA baby and suppressing news of the event, then ensuring justice for the murder of that innocent baby!

We know it is so because the Word of God tells in Romans 1:18 that they “suppress the truth by their wickedness.”

The latest ungodly argument is that Gosnell proves the need for abortion in our society.  The liberal left is arguing that abortion must be done ‘right’ to avoid another Gosnell scenario.

To them I say, that committing a crime at home or abroad does not change the fact that it is a crime.  Killing a 24 week baby in-utero or outside the uterus is a mere technicality! Shame on them!

This is happening because they do not know that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Life.  They do not know that God is pro-Life.  They do not want to know that Jesus died so we may have life, and abundant life!

Even though the truth is suppressed, we must fight on to share the truth and the gospel.

image credit

Mar 30 2013

Who Raised Jesus from the Dead?

The straight forward answer is that God raised Jesus from the dead as Acts 2:24 states: “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”

But I love the trinitarian implications found in Scripture with respect to Christ’s resurrection.

Most references to God raising Jesus up refer to God the Father.  Even the mockers testified truth when they said in Matthew 27:43: “He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” The Father-Son relationship was validated by the resurrection, and God the Father proved to be faithful in resurrecting Jesus.

Scripture also gives us evidence that Christ’s power was involved in the resurrection, as Jesus is the Second Person of the Trinity.  In John 11:25 Jesus makes the powerful statement “I am the resurrection and the life,” assuming to Himself the power to life.  Jesus also said in John 10:17-18, “I lay down my life that I may take it up again…  I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

The Father has assigned the task of life to the Son.

The Holy Spirit is also closely implicated in the greatest and most important event to ever grace the face of the universe.  Romans 1:4 says that Jesus “was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead.”  And Romans 8:11 makes it clear that the work of the Holy Spirit in bringing us to life is similar to the work of resurrecting Jesus: “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”

The Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit have achieved the greatest and most glorious act in this work of redemption when Jesus was resurrected.

And we rejoice as we look forward to God resurrecting up His saints in a similar fashion!

image credit

Mar 29 2013

Theology 101: Did Christ Descend Into Hell Prior to Resurrection?

There is a heretical view of Christ’s atonement that encapsulates a theory commonly referred to as Ransom Theology or Ransom Theory, which states that Christ paid a ransom to Satan in His death in order to buy the rights to save humanity which has fallen captive to Satan.

Throughout the ages, this view became increasingly recognized as heretical as it is readily apparent that Satan is himself a rebel who cannot hold any claim on humanity, and therefore God does not owe him anything but eternal punishment.

The problem is that certain peripheral aspects of Ransom to Satan Theory have persisted to this day in some denominations.

Some hold that after His death on the cross, Jesus descended into hell to proclaim victory (possibly evangelize) to those who perished in ancient times, based on 1 Pet 3:18-20

“18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 20 because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah…”

This view is not acceptable for the following reasons:

1. Christ’s work of redemption was finished on the cross for EVERYONE to see: God the Father, angels, heavenly creatures, humans, demons, and Satan.  In John 19:30, Jesus proclaims in the final seconds of His life: “IT IS FINISHED.” There is no other work to be done for proclamation of victory or redemption.  Heaven and hell were witnesses.  There is no need for Christ to descent into hell for any proclamation or evangelism.

2. When Jesus died on the cross, He went straight to the Father.  Again, in the final seconds of His agony, Luke presents the following:  “Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last (Luke 23:46).

3. A descend by Christ into hell opens the door to heresy.  Proclamation of victory or evangelism in hell presents similar ideas to purgatory and possibility salvation of unrepented sinners after death.  This is against sound Christian doctrine which views death as a final decisive event with respect to outcome of salvation or damnation.

So what did Peter mean when he said that Christ went to proclaim to the “spirits in prison?”

A close examination of 1 Peter 3 shows that the context of this affirmation is linked to the preaching of Noah in the pre-flood era.

Here is the ESV commentary explanation:

a. Peter calls Noah a “herald of righteousness” (2 Pet. 2:5 ), where “herald” represents Greek kēryx, “preacher,” which corresponds to the noun kēryssō, “proclaim,” in 1 Pet. 3:19

b. Peter says the “Spirit of Christ” was speaking through the OT prophets ( 1:11 ); thus Christ could have been speaking through Noah as an OT prophet.

c. The context indicates that Christ was preaching through Noah, who was in a persecuted minority, and God saved Noah, which is similar to the situation in Peter’s time: Christ is now preaching the gospel through Peter and his readers (v. 15 ) to a persecuted minority, and God will save them.

Christ finished His work on the cross and did not need to descend into hell for any further work.

He said it “IT IS FINISHED.”

And it was finished.

Mar 28 2013

Father, the Hour Has Come…

“When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.”

“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

In the moments and minutes before His arrest, Jesus delivers one of the most amazing passages found on the pages of Scripture.

The glory of God is evident as central in this prayer.

But also central is the subject of Christ’s sacrifice: God’s children.

Because of this prayer the love of God is in us, and Christ is in us via His Holy Spirit.

As we celebrate the Lord’s Supper tonight, let us not forget that Christ lifted us up in prayer in the last hours of His life.

image credit

Mar 26 2013

Medical Perspective on Christ’s Death

It is commonly taught that the victim of crucifixion would die from asphyxiation.  Many of those crucified would live three or more days before their neck muscles would no longer be able to support the 12 lbs (5.5 kg) weight of their head.  Airway obstruction subsequently would set in and the victim would suffocate to death.

Such a patho-physiologic event is sometimes ascribed to the death of Jesus.

However, biblical narrative and medical correlation would indicate that Jesus’s cause of death was multifactorial, and that He died suddenly from an acute internal event and not suffocation.

But first let us review some of Christ’s stresses and injuries that set up his unusually quick death on the cross.

1. Less than 18 hours before his death, the physician and evangelist Luke tells us that Jesus was in extreme physical and psychological anguish: “being in an agony, He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat became like great drops of blood.” (Luke 22:44)  Luke may be referring to the phenomenon of hemohydrosis where sweat glands may bleed under extreme stress, just like in the case of coagulation disorders.  This may be indicative of the extreme level of stress the Savior was under as He was approaching the time of God’s wrath being poured on Him.

2. Jesus probably walked 2-3 miles between various places (trials and questioning) in the 12 hours prior to crucifixion, likely without hydration.

3. Jesus received blows to the face and His body as part of being mocked (Luke 22:63-65).

4. Friday morning before being delivered to be crucified, Jesus was severely flogged (John 19:1). This was a Roman judicial penalty where the victim was beat with a multi-lashed whip containing embedded pieces of bone and metal.  As the blows landed on Jesus’s back and thighs, the whip ripped into skin, subcutaneous tissue and muscle, tearing blood vessels and nerves in the process.  This particular event weakened the Savior tremendously due to blood loss and severe pain.  Exposing His tissues on a cold early morning also initiated hypothermia which led to coagulation defects and further loss of blood.

5. The severe beating and blood loss likely led to orthostatic hypotension (low blood pressure when standing) as Jesus was unable to carry the crossbar of the cross (75-100 lbs) and was forced to walk or perhaps drag Himself on Via Dolorosa.

6. At this point, even before crucifixion, Jesus was in critical medical condition.  An older man with medical issues would have died by now.  Even by modern medical standards, a 33-year-old healthy man would likely have to be taken to the operating room for wound debriment, tissue reconstruction, fluid resuscitation, warming, and blood transfusion.  All this followed by a long recovery in the intensive care unit with possible complications of infection and kidney failure.

Up to this point Jesus suffered severe trauma and was in dire need of resuscitation.  In this critical state He is delivered up for crucifixion.

It was the custom for nails to be driven in the hands (wrists) and legs of the victim during crucifixion which compounded blood loss.  In the case of Jesus, the hemorrhage became critical as His wounded back was pressing and rubbing against the tree.  As a trauma victim who sustained significant hemorrhage, Jesus became very thirsty and cried: “I thirst.”  They offered Him an analgesic consisting of wine and myrrh, but He refused.

This brings us to the climatic event.  What exactly caused Jesus’s death?

Biblical narrative demonstrates that Jesus had a sudden death, and not a prolonged period of suffocation as was the case in most crucifixions.  All four Gospels present Jesus as crying out with a loud voice (in the case of John, He says: “It is finished”) and immediately dies.  This is unlikely to be a death from asphyxiation.

There is no evidence in the narrative of the Gospels that in the short time Jesus was on the cross (less than 6 hours) He was suffocating.  On the contrary, despite His weakened state, we see Him conversing with various people while on the cross.  This is strong evidence that He was able to maintain a patent airway up until His last breath!

It is more likely that Jesus died of a sudden internal catastrophe. The highest ranking possibility is a lethal arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm) potentially caused by electrolyte disturbances from severe dehydration and hemorrhage.

Others have postulated a tension hemothorax (accumulation of blood around one lung) which led to an acute drop in blood pressure and immediate death.  This diagnosis may be supported by the blood that flowed from the Savior’s side after His spearing.  Red blood flowed from His side (settled red cells), followed by serum (clear fluid that may look like water) which is found at the top of any settled blood sample that does not circulate.

Other possibilities include a trauma-induced tear in one of the atria of the heart leading to cardiac tamponade (blood around the heart), or perhaps a sudden pneumothorax (dropped lung).

All of the above descriptions would correlate well with the Gospel accounts of a sudden death after what appeared to be a loud statement by Jesus.  A prolonged dying process by suffocation can thus almost be ruled out.

Whatever the exact pathologic event was that caused the Savior to give His last breath, one thing remains certain.

He died with certainty.

And this is important because His death made His resurrection a truly miraculous event, the greatest event in the history of the universe to date!

For a JAMA article on the scourging and crucifixion of Jesus, click here

Mar 25 2013

Was Jesus Too Harsh in Cursing the Fig Tree?

As we progress through Passion Week, I cannot help but to ask this question about the events which took place on Passion Monday.

Jesus was returning to Jerusalem the day after His triumphal entry, and the Bible tells us that he went to look for fruit in a fig tree but He found none.

“When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.”” Mark 11:13-14

At first glance one may be shocked at the fact that Jesus was looking for figs when it was not the season for figs as Mark states.  Do we have an illogical God? Why would Jesus look for fruit in this fig tree before its season?

The answer lies in some simple facts about the fig tree and its season of fruit.

1. The season for collecting figs began right after Passover, so they were just about to enter the season.  For that reason alone figs should have been present on the tree.

2. The fig tree produces its fruit before its leaves.  The fact that the tree was full of leaves indicates that fruit should have been present.

3. A clue is given in Mark 11:13 that attests to the expectation of the presence of fruit: “And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it.” The sign was the fact that the tree was in leaf.  The expectation is that the fruit must be present, hence the logical action to look for figs.

Everything that Jesus said and did had deep meaning, and such was the case with the cursing of the fig tree.

First, there is symbolic meaning here about those who appear to have the fruit of the Spirit in their lives, but they do not.  The result of hypocrisy is the presence of leaves not fruit.  Leaves are merely the advertisement for fruit in the case of the fig tree.  This must be a stern warning to all believers that if we have the Holy Spirit in us, we must also have the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit to bless others with it.

Second, the fig tree is a metaphor for the nation of Israel in the Old Testament.  The cursing of the fig tree may very well represent the judgement of God upon Israel for their fruitless faith or lack of faith. Israel was an idolatrous nation which repeatedly rejected God despite miraculous interventions by God on their behalf.  Even their godliness in the time preceding the coming of Christ was an empty exercise in ritualism and legalism.

Jesus cursed the fig tree because it did not produce fruit at the appropriate time.

But in the new covenant He sent us the Holy Spirit who lives in us… and if He lives in us we must produce fruit, because He will return one day and He will seek the fruit of His work.

And that glorious work we celebrate this Passion Week.

image credit

Mar 19 2013

The Importance of Jesus’s Predictions

› He foresaw that his death would be by crucifixion (John 3:14, 12:32).

› He predicted that the disciples would find a unridden colt when they entered the town (Luke 19:30).

› When the disciples entered Jerusalem that last Thursday, he predicted they would meet a man with the water pitcher who would have a room for them to
meet in (Luke 22:10).

› After three years of waiting, he knew the exact hour of his departure out of the world (John 13:1).

› Jesus knew that he would be betrayed, and who would betray him, and when it would happen (John 6:64, 13:1; Matthew 26:2, 21).

› He knew and predicted the fact and the time of Peter’s three denials (Matthew 26:34).

› Jesus predicted that the disciples would all fall away and be scattered (Matthew 26:31; John 16:32; Zechariah 13:7).

› Jesus prophesied that he would be “lifted up from the earth” (John 12:32). That is, he would not be stoned but crucified—not by Jews but by Romans.

So the decisions of Pilate and the Jews of how to dispose of him were a fulfillment of his prediction.  He makes all these predictions, according to John 13:19, so that we would believe he is God, that what he says about himself is true.

In other words, Jesus is saying, “If you are struggling to believe that I am the promised Messiah, that I am the one who was in the beginning with God and was God (John 1:1), that I am the divine Son of God, who can forgive all your sins and give you eternal life and guide you on the path to heaven, then I want to help you believe. And one of the ways I am going to help you have well grounded faith is by telling you what is going to happen to me before it happens, so that when it happens, you will have good reason to believe in me.”

from Love to the Uttermost by John Piper

Mar 18 2013

And Now, Father, Glorify Me…

We are quickly approaching the Passion Week which is the most important time period in Christendom, culminating with the en-bloc event of death and resurrection of Christ, the greatest event to grace the face of the universe.

Without the death of Christ there is no atonement, there is no substitution, there is no forgiveness of sin.  And without the resurrection of Christ there would not be any Christianity.

This Man left His mark on human history like none other.  Even secular folks will agree with that.

But this Man was infinitely more than just a mere man.  He was divine.  He was God Himself, the Son of God.

We know that Jesus spent long periods of time in prayer communicating with the Father, and in John 17 we are given a glimpse, a revelation, a majestic treat of  the content of one of His prayers.  This special prayer occurred Thursday night of Passion Week, before Jesus went into Gethsemane where His arrest happened, and one day before his death.

He started the prayer with the final motive and outcome of the entire chain of events which would take place, God’s glory: “Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.”  John 17:1

The culmination of God’s redemptive plan brings Him the most glory via a most unlikely path, the death of the Son of God followed by His resurrection.  Such a method is contrary to any human approach.  That is why God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, and God’s ways are not our ways…

Things that Jesus communicates to the Father in this prayer are incomprehensible for us.  Attesting to His divinity, Jesus says: “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” John 17:5

The same glory that will unfold in His death, resurrection, ascension, and return, the Son already had with the Father before the institution of time and the foundations of this world came to be!  This concept alone, under the revelation of the Holy Spirit, should make every Christian bow down in their spirit and worship God because He left that ultimate glory to come and die in our place!

But this is not the end of the story of glory…

Apostle Paul tells us that we will be glorified with Him, not because of us, but because He is in us: “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Col 1:27

As we approach Passion Week, meditate on Christ’s unimaginable glory and the fact that He, by His grace will share it with us one day.

Mar 16 2013

Rick Warren and the New Pope

Super popular Saddleback mega church pastor Rick Warren has become a punching bag for mainstream evangelicals for the things he says in the TV media (which absolutely loves him) and social media.

Warren is famous for making controversial remarks on homosexuality and gay marriage which disappointed many conservative Christians.

In his prayer at the presidential inauguration in 2008 he showed his true syncretic colors when he called Jesus by the unbiblical and false name, the prophet “Isa,” which is the non-diety entity found in Islamic scripture.

Here is the latest puzzling tweet from the ecumenical pastor:

“Join me today in fasting and prayer for the 115 Cardinals seeking God’s Will in a new leader.”

This is coming from an evangelical leader.

Does that mean he thinks that the pope really is The Holy Father, God’s representative here on earth as sustained by Catholic doctrine?

Has Rick Warren asked himself how many of those 115 cardinals were perhaps involved in the sex abuse scandals which have been rocking the Catholic Church over the last couple of decades?

Does Rick Warren agree with the Catholic Church doctrines on salvation by works and by beatitudes, transubstantiation, purgatory (salvation after death), and many other heresies?

Does Rick Warren really think that the 115 cardinals are fulfilling God’s will in this process of electing a pope?

Is Rick Warren really an Evangelical?

Or is he a wolf in sheep’s clothing?

Mar 13 2013

The Promise of Prayer

I will pray for you.

I will keep you in my prayers.

You are in my thoughts and prayers.

You are in my thoughts.

There is a spectrum of promises in the above statements from a very strong statement like “I will pray for you” to a much weaker declaration “you are in my thoughts.”

These statements have become clichés in our godless society and I have seen even secular people make them.  We have arrived at a point where such promises have lost their values because people may not follow through on these difficult to fulfill promises.

So we water them down.  We go from promising to dedicate time in prayer for someone to promising to think about someone.

I would like to warn Delight in Truth readers to guard your promises carefully, and not make the promise of prayer if you know you cannot keep it.  Prayer is not something to be taken lightly.  Prayer is antithetical to everything that makes up the carnal man, and that is why prayer is not easy.

When you promise to pray for someone, you promise to engage in a spiritual battle on their behalf, and it is a great thing when you follow through on it.  When you pray for someone you are interceding for them, and it literally means you are standing in the gap for them in prayer.  Paul confirms this in Ephesians 6:18 where he talks about  “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints…”

And when you do follow through on your promise to pray you must remember the all-powerful Intercessors you have on your side!

  1. Jesus Himself our LORD and savior is the ultimate intercessor, and the best thing you can do is to lift up your subject to Jesus.  As a man you cannot be an effective advocate in prayer without Jesus.  I love how Isaiah presents Christ as the final intercessor to the Father: “He [the LORD] saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him.  Isaiah 59:16
  2. The Holy Spirit is also your intercessor and ally in prayer and will sustain you as you pray for someone.  My favorite chapter in the Bible, Romans 8, provides amazing Scripture about the Holy Spirit helping us in prayer: “26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

Prayer is spiritual warfare and it is not easy, but when we have Jesus and the Holy Spirit as intercessors, we can become effective intercessors ourselves for the those who need us to pray for them.

We must take the promise of prayer for others very seriously and ground ourselves in the teaching of Scripture that Jesus and His Holy Spirit will intercede for our prayer subject!

image credit