Friday, June 27, 2014

2071- SNAKE ON A STICK

In John chapter 3 we read an interesting discourse between Jesus and Nicodemus- Nicodemus was a religious leader at the time of Christ.

And he came to Jesus at night- because the leaders already turned against Christ- and he probably didn’t want to be open about his curiosity.

He begins a conversation with Jesus ‘we know that you are a teacher come from God, because no man can do these miracles unless he were from God’.

How does Jesus respond?

‘Unless a man is born again- he cannot see the kingdom of God’.
This confused Nicodemus ‘how can a man be born when he is old- can he go back into the womb’?

Jesus says ‘unless a man is born of water and of the Spirit he can’t see the Kingdom’.

In Christianity we teach that man is separated from God- because of the original sin of Adam- man is born separated from God.

The only way back to God is thru a New Birth.

As the conversation continues Jesus brings up a strange incident that happened many years before- he says ‘Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness- so must the Son of man be lifted up- that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life’.

This story is found in Numbers 21- and what happened was the people were complaining about the journey they were on.

God indeed delivered them from Egypt/bondage- but the road was tough.
God provided them food from heaven- Manna- yet they missed the old days back in Egypt.

So- they complained ‘if we were back in Egypt we could eat all the good stuff’.

So- because of their complaining, God sent ‘fiery serpents’ among them- and they bit the people- and the people died.

The people cry out to Moses ‘help us- what can we do’.

God tells Moses to make a snake out of brass/bronze [a symbol of judgment] put it on a pole- and whoever is bitten- if he looks at the snake on the pole- he will live.

Jesus used this obscure story- to speak about himself.

How is Jesus like a snake on a pole?

On the Cross Jesus took the sins of the world- he ‘became sin for us’.
The snake in scripture is a cursed thing- in the garden of Eden God cursed the serpent.

So- Jesus on the Cross became sin for us- a cursed thing- and all who look to ‘the snake’ on the Cross- will live.
Jesus goes on and says the very famous words that most of us are familiar with ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son- that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life’.
He says ‘God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world- but that the world thru him might be saved’.

Man- in and of himself- cant ‘save’ himself.

The apostle Paul writes to the Ephesians and says we were dead in trespasses and sins.

But God raised us up together with Christ- he chose to bring us back to life- spiritually- and we are now alive unto God.

The term BORN AGAIN is a biblical term- used a few times in scripture- but like anything else- it also has taken on other connotations over time.

Many of the more traditional churches feel kind of turned off by it.
Why?

Because many enthusiastic converts have used the term in a way that says ‘you older traditional churches- you are not saved- you are not born again’.

This is a mistake- in my view.

Jesus said the criterion for being saved- born again- is believing in him.
Now- whether a Christian uses the actual term ‘born again’ is not really that significant.

Plus- the older churches do indeed believe in being born again- though many of the members of these churches might not be familiar with this.

The Catholic Church and others teach that babies- as well as adults- enter into the New Covenant by the Sacrament of water baptism.

During the time of the Reformation- in the 16th century- the original Protestant Reformers still stuck with the rite of infant baptism.

That is they still believed in infant baptism.

They disagreed with Rome on the actual cause of Justification- the Catholic Church said the cause was water baptism- the Reformers [Luther primarily] said it was faith [I did an entire study on this- it’s on the page section of the blog- under Protestant Reformation- Luther].

But- they did not reject infant baptism.

As a matter of fact- when an offshoot of the Protestants- the Anabaptists- began rejecting infant baptism- the reformer Ulrich Zwingli drowned them!

So- this debate has gone on for a while.

Why did the original reformers stick with infant baptism- is there any justification for it?

Some- in the Old Covenant you had the rite of infant circumcision- and that was a way that children entered into the Covenant of law.

So- many believers taught that baptism was the ordinance that can bring our children into the New Covenant.

Most Evangelicals object to infant baptism- but there is some justification for it.

The main point I would make is Jesus simply taught that all who believe in him are indeed born from God.

The apostle John says ‘whosoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God’.

James says ‘of his own will begat he us with the word of truth’.
Peter says ‘being born again- not of corruptible seed- but of incorruptible’.

I like Jesus definition of eternal life the most- he said eternal life- being born again was ‘that they might know thee- the only true God- and Jesus Christ- whom you have sent’.

So yes- in Christianity we teach that a person must be born again- the only way to experience this new birth is thru believing in God’s Son.

The death of Christ paid the penalty for the sins of man- and it is thru his death and resurrection that we can freely receive the gift of life.

Whether you were baptized as a baby- or an adult- the main point is to believe today.

That’s being born again.

John 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
John 3:2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
John 3:4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
John 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
John 3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
John 3:9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
John 3:10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
John 3:11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
John 3:12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
John 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
John 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
John 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
John 3:20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
John 3:21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
John 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
John 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
James 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
1Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
1Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
John 5:1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Ephesians 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Ephesians 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Ephesians 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Ephesians 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Ephesians 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Numbers 21:4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.
Numbers 21:5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.
Numbers 21:6 And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
Numbers 21:7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
Numbers 21:8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
Numbers 21:9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

NOTES- In the home meetings this week I covered some practical stuff- I talked about how when the people complained about being on this new journey [being delivered from Egypt/bondage] that God judged them [the snakes bit them].
In the book of Hebrews it says that they were ‘mindful’ of the old days- and wanted to go back.
I applied this to recovery- that often times when we walk a new road- out of old ways- that we feel uncomfortable at first.
In a way- we were used to the old addictions- and even though bondage is a miserable way to live- yet at times people are drawn to the old patterns- it makes them feel ‘comfortable’ again.
In one of the meetings I have a friend who used to be involved with some famous Texas gangs.

Many years with these guys.

He actually surprised me that he has been showing up on his own to my meetings.
I have known him for years- never talked to him.

But he loves the meetings- has been off of Meth for 7 months- and is a real nice guy.
Last night- before the meeting he told me he resorted to some old ways- and it just happened before the meeting.
At first I thought he meant Meth- but no- he was at the corner store- right down the block from where I live.

Some guy he didn’t know disrespected him- and he knocked him out.

Now- he felt bad- said he’s trying to get away from the way he used to be.

So- as I spoke about old patterns- and how it takes time to create new ways of thinking and acting- I felt it helped.

There was another guy in the meeting-

He cut down a tree for me a few weeks back- he does use drugs- but he’s a friend- been in my meetings and knows the bible.

I wrote about this a few weeks ago- but left out some of what happened.

He cut the tree- but never came back to finish the job.

He was supposed to cut the branches and stack them along the fence.

So- I did it myself.

The cost for the whole job was 200 [cheap- it was a big tree].

So- I could have paid half- and got away with it.

But I decided to pay the 200- and have a talk with him.

I did.

A few days later he came back- very high- and had his 2 partners.

They came to finish- they didn't know I did it- and paid anyway.

I told the guys [3 of them] ‘Don’t worry- I finished the job myself’.

One of them said ‘no- we need to finish so you can pay us the rest’.

Now- I went out of my way for these guys- and at that point I went off.

I got mad- told them ‘don’t f.. piss me off- I paid him the f… 200- now you’re getting me mad’.

The old man apologized- said ‘no- we don’t want to piss you off, I’m sorry- he lied to me’.

And they left.
The ‘tree cutter’ has been in my meetings since then- I made things right- and he is actually a good friend.

So- we have a tendency a times to ‘go back to Egypt’ but God has a new journey for us- much better than the old one.

The term anabaptist was used to describe and define certain Reformation-era Christians who rejected infant baptism in favor of believer's baptism.
Since many of them had been baptized in their infancy, they chose to berebaptized as believing adults. Hence, their enemies called them anabaptists -- "re-baptizers."
Being labeled anabaptist was neither complimentary nor safe. In fact, for a time it was a sure death sentence.
Even though we now embrace that term as part of our identity, it really is an inaccurate term to describe the original Anabaptists. They never considered that any rebaptism took place -- they outright rejected and refuted the entire concept of infant baptism. To them, infant baptism would have been an oxymoron. They would have consideredinfant and baptism mutually exclusive.
The differences between the Anabaptists and the Magisterial Reformers lay much deeper than any outward sign, including that of baptism. The Anabaptists were earnestly concerned with the restitution of the true church on an Apostolic model. The Anabaptists considered the state churches beyond reformation.
Here are a few additional tidbits about the Anabaptists:
  • The era of the 16th-century Protestant Reformation in Europe spawned a number of radical reform groups, among them the Anabaptists. These Christians regarded the Bible as their only rule for faith and life. Because of their radical beliefs, the Anabaptists were persecuted by Protestants as well as by Roman Catholics.
  • The evangelical and non-revolutionary Anabaptists of Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands, were a trial to the leading reformers because of their radical views on the nature of the church and of the Christian ethic.
  • There is no single defining set of beliefs, doctrines, and practices that characterizes all Anabaptists.
  • Contemporary groups with early Anabaptist roots include the Mennonites, Amish, Dunkards, Landmark Baptists, Hutterites, and various Beachy and Brethren groups.
  • Anabaptists have been characterized historically by a love for the Word of God, and by a strict demand forholiness of life.
In her study, Anabaptists: Separate by Choice, Marginal by Force, Elizabeth Scott notes:
  • The Anabaptists of central Europe evolved in a time of social and religious chaos, developed unique ideas concerning the church and state, and retained a wildly radical view of society.
  • The teachings and way of life of the Anabaptists, according to the Anabaptists themselves, were merely ways of trying to reinstate the true church, a church of true believers. It did not seem this way to the Magisterial Reformers or to the Roman Church, however. It was those very teachings and acts that made the Anabaptists into the object of numerous persecutions at the hands of both church and state.
  • The historiography of the Anabaptists...is largely hostile to them and their teachings. It remains one of the largest problems in modern scholarship to separate the hostility of their biographers from the circumstances of Anabaptist existence.
  • The impulse to join and remain within a society of martyrs is certainly hard to pinpoint.
  • In their earliest years, many of the Anabaptists were followers of Zwingli in Zurich.
  • Their unique model of what Church and society could become, if politics and fear were placed as subservient to love and community, stand as witness to the possibilities of a voluntary church, and the possibilities of a free society.
Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia (copyright 1993, 1994) notes in part:
During the 16th-century Reformation in Europe, the Protestant Anabaptist, or Christian Brethren, movement flourished in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and other countries. The basic belief of the Anabaptists was in adult baptism, but they also supported the separation of church and state and voluntary church membership. While there was no direct development from the Anabaptists to the growth of the Baptist churches in England, it is very likely that the latter were influenced in their beliefs and attitudes by the continental Brethren.

NOTE- Many years ago I took a trip to Geneva Switzerland- I stood by a statue of Zwingli- right next to a famous river. I noted ‘wow- a statue of Zwingli’! He responded ‘yeah- he drowned the Anabaptists in this river’. Oops.

Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to scroll down on the timeline [FaceBook#] - I have posted lots.










No comments:

Post a Comment