As I was preparing to write this article, I looked over at my wife who was holding our youngest son who is now seven months old. As I watched them I began to think of Mary holding Baby Jesus so long ago. What a joy she must have had as she realized she was not holding just any baby, but the promised Messiah Himself.
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She had been told about Him before He was even born. “And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” (Luke 1:31-33)
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What a privilege it must have been to be able to give birth to the Lord and to raise Him from a little baby. No wonder both the angel and Mary’s cousin Elisabeth said that she was blessed among women.
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The words of the angel leave no doubt that Mary was a wonderful woman. “And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” (Luke 1:28)
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Though Mary was a wonderful woman, some have raised her much higher than she deserves, even suggesting she was sinless and saying that she provides for our salvation along with Christ. Such teaching is blasphemy, for Jesus Himself said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
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Some may argue that by trusting in Mary, they are only trusting her in addition to Christ, but Acts 4:12 makes it very clear that there is no one else to trust other than Jesus Christ when it comes to salvation: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
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Even Mary’s own words show that she was not depending on her own righteousness but on God Himself. “And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.” (Luke 1:46-47)
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So if Mary isn’t our co redeemer with Christ, why did the angel say that she was highly favored and blessed among women? The answer is easy. It was a wonderful honor for her to be able to give birth to God in the flesh. It was something no other woman would get to do, but that did not mean that Mary was the only woman in history that was highly favored or blessed by God.
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In fact, hundreds of years before Mary another woman was also praised for the important role she played in God’s plan. “Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent.” (Judges 5:24)
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Though Mary and Jael were both significant women in God’s plan and both were blessed to be used of God, neither of them can help us into heaven. There is only one mediator between God and man, and that mediator is Jesus Christ, not Mary or any other clergy for that matter. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” (1 Timothy 2:5)
Friday, December 31, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
The Miracle of the Virgin Birth
Christmas has become a time to celebrate the eternally existing God coming to earth as a little baby born in Bethlehem. “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” (Micah 5:2)
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We know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but how was the everlasting God conceived into a human mother? One of the miracles of Christ’s birth is that He was born of a virgin. Sadly the whole concept of the virgin birth has been challenged by Bible critics. For example they have pointed out that the word that was translated virgin can simply mean a young woman. Linguists could defend the choice of the word “virgin” to describe Mary, but even without that debate, the scripture is very clear that she was in fact a virgin when Christ was born.
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Consider Matthew 1:18, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.” Notice that before she had even been with Joseph, she was with child. In fact, when Mary was told she would have a baby, she was confused. “Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” (Luke 1:34) She had not been with Joseph or any other man for that matter. “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35)
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The Holy Spirit came upon Mary, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ entered her womb. Soon He was born, and grew into a man. This was a fulfillment of the prophecy that God would be with us. “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (Matthew 1:23) These verses prove not only the virgin birth, but also the deity of Christ (that He is God).
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Joseph took Mary to be his wife because an angel had explained to him about this virgin birth, and he did not come unto her until after Christ was born. “And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.” (Matthew 1:25) Mary later had other children. “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.” (Mark 6:3) Joseph did go on to raise Jesus as his own son, but Luke makes it very clear that Joseph was not His biological father. “And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,” (Luke 3:23). In fact, earlier in Luke 2:43, Luke refers to the parents of our Lord as Joseph and his mother, not father and mother.
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So why does all this matter? Adam was the first man and all men since Adam, with the exception of Christ, have had a human father. Sin has passed on all men from their fathers. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” (Romans 5:12) Adam’s sin did not pass on to Christ though, because His father is God, not a descendant of Adam. Therefore Christ is perfectly sinless- not just in deed, but in position. That perfect righteousness of Christ, allowed Him to pay for our sins. “Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” (Romans 5:18)
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As you celebrate Christmas, understand that the virgin birth allowed God to be born into this world in perfection so that He could pay for your sins. If you have not trusted Him, what better time of year to give your life to Christ?
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We know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but how was the everlasting God conceived into a human mother? One of the miracles of Christ’s birth is that He was born of a virgin. Sadly the whole concept of the virgin birth has been challenged by Bible critics. For example they have pointed out that the word that was translated virgin can simply mean a young woman. Linguists could defend the choice of the word “virgin” to describe Mary, but even without that debate, the scripture is very clear that she was in fact a virgin when Christ was born.
-
Consider Matthew 1:18, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.” Notice that before she had even been with Joseph, she was with child. In fact, when Mary was told she would have a baby, she was confused. “Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” (Luke 1:34) She had not been with Joseph or any other man for that matter. “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35)
-
The Holy Spirit came upon Mary, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ entered her womb. Soon He was born, and grew into a man. This was a fulfillment of the prophecy that God would be with us. “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (Matthew 1:23) These verses prove not only the virgin birth, but also the deity of Christ (that He is God).
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Joseph took Mary to be his wife because an angel had explained to him about this virgin birth, and he did not come unto her until after Christ was born. “And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.” (Matthew 1:25) Mary later had other children. “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.” (Mark 6:3) Joseph did go on to raise Jesus as his own son, but Luke makes it very clear that Joseph was not His biological father. “And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,” (Luke 3:23). In fact, earlier in Luke 2:43, Luke refers to the parents of our Lord as Joseph and his mother, not father and mother.
-
So why does all this matter? Adam was the first man and all men since Adam, with the exception of Christ, have had a human father. Sin has passed on all men from their fathers. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” (Romans 5:12) Adam’s sin did not pass on to Christ though, because His father is God, not a descendant of Adam. Therefore Christ is perfectly sinless- not just in deed, but in position. That perfect righteousness of Christ, allowed Him to pay for our sins. “Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” (Romans 5:18)
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As you celebrate Christmas, understand that the virgin birth allowed God to be born into this world in perfection so that He could pay for your sins. If you have not trusted Him, what better time of year to give your life to Christ?
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Learning Through Instruction
My favorite class in high school was industrial arts. I quickly decided that I had the confidence to put in studs and hang sheetrock, but I did not have the confidence to finish the sheetrock or to put up the fancy wooden trim at the end. Any mistakes made at that late step in the process would be very difficult if not impossible to hide without much skill.
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Several years later I was putting my basic carpentry skills to use helping on a church addition. The man who was planning to do much of the trim work ended up getting cancer and was too weak to do it. I was willing, but did not have the skills nor confidence I needed. I remembered some of the basics that I had learned back in high school about coping joints for corners and a few other tricks, but I still had much to learn.
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Fortunately my friend Gerrit, the man with cancer, was patient enough to give me instruction as I worked, and the project was completed. Without him, I don’t think I would have even attempted it. Because of his help, I can now easily put up wood trim.
Instruction about the Bible is actually a lot like my carpentry instruction. Many of us know a little bit about the Bible, but we really don’t know how to use it. We need someone to explain it to us, just like Gerrit explained the carpentry to me.
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In Acts 8:26-35, the evangelist Philip is able to do that for a man who he met on the road. The man was riding in a chariot and reading from the book of Isaiah (likely chapter 53). He did not understand what he was reading. Philip then comes along and explains to him what he is reading about.
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As a pastor, I want to do what Philip did. I want to take the Bible and explain to people what it is saying so that they can understand it. But I don’t just want to show them what it says, I want them to start to use it themselves as they begin to understand it. Just as Gerrit was faithful in teaching me how to cut and nail wood trim, I want others to be faithful in using God’s Word. I want to teach them so that they can teach others just like Paul did with Timothy. “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” (II Timothy 2:2)
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As I have talked to others, I have found that there are a few people that know their Bibles quite well, but there are also many who just know a few basic points from the scriptures. I have also found that there are a lot of people who really don’t know much at all about the Bible.
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If that is you and you want to know more, please do not feel ashamed. I think of what the man that Philip met on the road said as he was asked if he understood what he read. He said, “How can I, except some man should guide me?” Just as Gerrit guided me in my carpentry skills, it is my job to guide people in understanding what the Bible says. That is why at First Baptist in Bancroft, we study it verse by verse, as we explain it and relate it to our lives. If you want to learn more, you are welcome to visit our services or call me at my office anytime at 885-2702. I’d love to get together for a Bible study.
-
Several years later I was putting my basic carpentry skills to use helping on a church addition. The man who was planning to do much of the trim work ended up getting cancer and was too weak to do it. I was willing, but did not have the skills nor confidence I needed. I remembered some of the basics that I had learned back in high school about coping joints for corners and a few other tricks, but I still had much to learn.
-
Fortunately my friend Gerrit, the man with cancer, was patient enough to give me instruction as I worked, and the project was completed. Without him, I don’t think I would have even attempted it. Because of his help, I can now easily put up wood trim.
Instruction about the Bible is actually a lot like my carpentry instruction. Many of us know a little bit about the Bible, but we really don’t know how to use it. We need someone to explain it to us, just like Gerrit explained the carpentry to me.
-
In Acts 8:26-35, the evangelist Philip is able to do that for a man who he met on the road. The man was riding in a chariot and reading from the book of Isaiah (likely chapter 53). He did not understand what he was reading. Philip then comes along and explains to him what he is reading about.
-
As a pastor, I want to do what Philip did. I want to take the Bible and explain to people what it is saying so that they can understand it. But I don’t just want to show them what it says, I want them to start to use it themselves as they begin to understand it. Just as Gerrit was faithful in teaching me how to cut and nail wood trim, I want others to be faithful in using God’s Word. I want to teach them so that they can teach others just like Paul did with Timothy. “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” (II Timothy 2:2)
-
As I have talked to others, I have found that there are a few people that know their Bibles quite well, but there are also many who just know a few basic points from the scriptures. I have also found that there are a lot of people who really don’t know much at all about the Bible.
-
If that is you and you want to know more, please do not feel ashamed. I think of what the man that Philip met on the road said as he was asked if he understood what he read. He said, “How can I, except some man should guide me?” Just as Gerrit guided me in my carpentry skills, it is my job to guide people in understanding what the Bible says. That is why at First Baptist in Bancroft, we study it verse by verse, as we explain it and relate it to our lives. If you want to learn more, you are welcome to visit our services or call me at my office anytime at 885-2702. I’d love to get together for a Bible study.
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