TO GOD BE THE GLORY-
https://youtu.be/oy6XffCE58w To God be the glory
ON VIDEO-
.Alternative Christianity’s?
.Baptized ‘last one’
.Cop or mob?
.Holy ground
.Wind blown bible
.Robin Williams
.Carpe Diem
PAST POSTS [verses below]
JAMES-2015-VIDEO LINKS INCLUDED
JAMES 1
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/5-28-15-james-intro-chapter-1.zip
Try and watch this video- I cover lots of stuff
that place this letter in context for this study. [ Read acts 10,11,15,
Galatians 1-2]
Intro-
This letter was written by James- the brother of
Jesus.
He was one of the main church leaders at the
church in Jerusalem- we read about him in Acts chapter 15.
This [Acts 15] was the first church council in
the history of Christianity.
I already taught the book of Romans written by
the apostle Paul.
And as we read the New Testament in context- we
can see the reason why James penned this letter- and addressed it to Jewish
believers.
Paul was the most influential missionary in the
early church- he established most of the gentile churches we read about in the
bible [Rome being the exception].
He also wrote most of the letters that make up
our New Testament.
His main teaching was Justification by faith.
There was a division we read about in the bible-
between some of the Jewish believers at Jerusalem- and the churches Paul was
planting [the church council mentioned above- was convened over this issue].
This division was based on the teaching of Paul-
and some Jewish believers in Jerusalem accused Paul of rejecting the Mosaic
Law.
Paul defended himself in the letters of the New
Testament [Romans/Galatians] and even talks about his visits to the leaders at
the church in Jerusalem.
Now- in this context- it seems fitting for James-
the main church leader of the Jewish brothers- to ‘set the record straight’.
And to write his own letter- showing the
importance of GOOD WORKS- and even saying ‘see how a man is justified/saved by
works- and not by faith alone’.
The higher critics of Christianity [who you have
heard me talk about in recent videos] will teach that James and Paul ‘taught
different theologies’.
I do not
agree with them.
But- our bibles are an early collection of the
Real Time things that were taking place in the early church.
At the time these men were writing these letters-
they were not writing them as a complete canon [book] - but were writing them
as you or I would write a letter to another person.
In the wisdom of God- I think it is possible for
these men to have seen different aspects of the manifold wisdom of God- and
maybe they were not fully seeing the other writer’s point of view.
To me- this would not be a criticism of the canon
of scripture- but it would show us that God used these men- thru their
experiences- and yes- even disagreements- to write the letters that make up our
bibles-
And in time- they would indeed become the
official teaching of the church-
Embracing a broad range of Divine Revelation-
that in the end- does NOT CONTRADICT itself- but instead makes a complete work-
which we call the bible.
This letter is short- and packed with short
verses of great wisdom.
It is the only New Testament letter that falls
into the category of Wisdom Literature-
Meaning a particular genre’ of writing- like
Proverbs in the Old Testament.
Because of this- I am going to post each chapter
of the letter during this teaching- for those of you who have never read the
bible all the way thru-
I want to challenge you to read these short
chapters over the next few weeks.
I will comment and add historical stuff in this
teaching- like I did in the other recent studies.
But most of all- read each chapter for yourself-
ask God to give you wisdom- and apply the instruction of this letter to your
life.
It is a very practical- straight forward teaching
that comes to us from the brother of Jesus himself.
As I have been commenting on the other writings
that did not make it into our bibles- like the Gnostic gospels-
One of the reasons these extra biblical writings
have so much appeal-
Is because they claim to have other teachings-
from/about Jesus- that are not in the bible.
For those of us who reject these other writings-
as canon-
The letter of James kind of fills the void of ‘we
want to know more about what Jesus taught’.
This would be the letter to read- because James
grew up with Jesus- in the same home.
He was the oldest sibling of the Holy Family-
And he was not a follower of Jesus until after
the resurrection of Christ.
He was one of the witnesses Jesus appeared to
after his resurrection [Paul told us this in Corinthians].
So- if anyone has any ‘secret insight’ into the
other stuff Jesus taught- it would be James.
END
NOTES-ACTS 10,11,15.
GALATIANS 1,2.
James 1-
James 1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord
Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
James
1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;James 1:3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
James 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
James 1:7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
James 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
James 1:9 Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:
[parts]
at all. Locke, Hume and others
simply believed that thru human logic and reason people could arrive at a sort
of naturalistic belief in God. This would form the basis of Deism, the system
of belief in God but a rejection of classic Christian theology. Benjamin
Franklin and other founding fathers of our country were influenced by this
style of belief. Now, getting back to the Greeks. Paul says ‘God destroyed the
wisdom of this world’. What wisdom is Paul talking about? The
enlightenment philosophers of the 18th
century had nothing on the Greek philosophers going all the way back to a few
centuries B.C. Plato, the Greek wrestler turned philosopher, had one of the
most famous schools of Greek philosophy. At the entrance of the school the
words were written ‘let non but geometers enter here’. Kind of strange.
Geometry simply meant ‘form’ in this use. Most of the great theoretical
physicists were also great mathematicians [Einstein]. The Greek philosophers
were seeking a sort of ‘unified theory’ that would explain all other theories
and bring all learning together under one intellectual ‘roof’. Sort of like
Einstein's last great obsession. The Greeks actually referred to this great
unknown future ‘unifier’ as ‘the Logos’. Now, some atheists will use this truth
to undercut the New Testament. They will take the common use of these words
‘The Logos’ and say that Johns writings [Gospel, letters] were simply stolen
ideas from Greek philosophy. This is why believers need to have a better
understanding of the inspiration of scripture. John’s writings were no doubt
inspired, he of course calls Jesus the ‘Logos’ [word] of God. But he was simply
saying to the Greek/Gnostic mind ‘look, you guys have been waiting for
centuries for the one special ‘Word/Logos’ that would be the answer to all
learning, I declare unto you that Jesus is this Logos’! So eventually you would
have ‘the wisdom of the world’ [both Greek and enlightenment and all other
types] falling short of the ultimate answer. They could only go so far in their
journey for truth, and ultimately they either wind up at the foot of the Cross
[the wisdom of God] or the ‘tree of the knowledge of good and evil’. God said
this ‘tree’ [sources of wisdom and knowledge apart from God] would ultimately
lead to death if not submitted to ‘the tree of life’ [the Cross]. You would
have some of the enlightenment philosophers eat from this tree all the way to
the ‘death of God’ movement. Man in his wisdom would come to the conclusion
that ‘God is dead’. If this is true, then the slaughter of millions of Jews is
no moral dilemma. If God is dead then man is not created in his image, he is
just this piece of flesh that you can dispose of at will. To all you
intellectual types, it’s Okay to have a mind, but you must love God with it. If
all your doing is feeding from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you
will surely die.
(1142) MAN, GODS UNIQUE CREATION- Okay, we already saw how
God made the animals and fish and birds, but when he describes mans creation he
shows us that it is unique. Out of all the other created things, man alone is
in ‘Gods image’ and bears his likeness. Man is a moral being with a built in
conscience, he has the capacity to know God and live with him forever. This is
the basis of the Judeao Christian value on human life. Those religions who
believe in the Genesis account of creation, see man as having special value.
The Darwinian worldview [social Darwinism] sees man as a simple blob of
meaningless flesh, no different than the other life forms along the line. I
always found the atheists reasoning to be a little illogical; they will argue
that they are the real intellectuals, the so called ‘brights’ [a recent term
they have come up with to describe their group]
[parts]
Some theologians
feel that Paul is a little too loose with these free comparisons that he seems
to ‘pull out of the hat’, for the believer who holds to the canon of scripture,
it is the Word of God. ‘Being made so much better than the angels…but unto the
Son he saith “thy throne O God is forever and ever, a scepter of righteousness
is the scepter of thy Kingdom”. Here Paul introduces another theme that will be
seen thru out this letter. The superiority of Jesus over angels. Why is this
important? Most believers know that Jesus is greater than angels, don’t they?
Here we see why context is important to understand this letter. In Jewish
tradition it is believed that the law was given to Moses by God thru the mediation
of angels. Some say ‘well, we don’t use Jewish tradition, we use scripture’.
First, Paul used anything he could to win the argument. Second, if we believe
Hebrews is an inspired book, then when we read later on that the law given thru
angels received a recompense if broken, then right here you have scripture
[Hebrews] testifying that God did use angels to ‘transmit’ the law to some
degree. Now, why is it important for gentiles to see this? Well it really
isn’t! But it is vital for a first century Jew to see it. If Paul can show that
Jesus is greater than the angels, then he is beginning to make the argument
that the New Covenant is greater than the Old.
Here is the
context. Moses law is highly revered in the first century Jewish community, so
here Paul says ‘how much better is the law/word given to us from Gods Son’.
Since Jesus is much better than the angels, therefore pay closer attention to
the words spoken thru Gods Son, he is greater than the angels! ‘But to which of
the angels said he “sit at my right hand until I make thy enemies thy
footstool” we end chapter one with the theme of Jesus being better than the
angels, yet in chapter 2 something funny happens, Paul will make the argument
of Jesus being “a little lower than the angels” lets see what this means.
(947) 1ST CORINTHIANS
3:11-23 Paul teaches that once the foundation of Jesus is laid, that no other
foundation can come in and replace it. Remember, Paul is speaking about a
spiritual foundation. He is not building ‘a literal building’! I know we know
this, but for some reason modern church planters can’t seem to break the
mindset of having a building ‘to do church’. Now we begin to get into some
doctrine. I believe Paul begins a New Testament doctrine here that could be
called ‘the sin unto natural death’ or the judgment of a believer when he falls
into open sin and rebellion and refuses to repent. Now, I have looked at this
doctrine from different views over the years. I try not to allow my own leaning
towards reformed theology to effect me. But I have come down on the side of
‘eternal security’ in viewing these verses. Paul teaches that even though the
foundation of Jesus is laid, it’s still possible to build a life of worthless
things upon it. He says ‘if any man defiles Gods temple, him will God destroy’.
This same language will be used in chapter 5 ‘deliver the sinning brother to
satan for the destruction of the flesh so the spirit may be saved’. Paul also
uses the term again here in chapter 3 ‘yet he will be saved as by fire’. Also
in chapter 11 ‘for this cause many sleep [physical death] and are sick among
you’ he uses this as a judgment that came upon them for their abuse of the
Lords table. So reading this in context it sure seems that Paul is saying ‘if
you, as a believer, allow yourself to fall into sin in such a way that you are
doing permanent harm to the temple [which he describes as their bodies, both
individually and corporately] then God will destroy you’. This seems to fit all
these other verses. The apostle John also speaks on the ‘sin unto death’ [which
I see as physical death] in his letter. He says ‘if any
(986)CORINTHIANS
12: 8-10 this section deals with the various gifts of the Spirit. The list is
not exhaustive, Paul speaks in Romans and Ephesians about other ones as well.
Instead of diving into a definition for each gift, lets look a little at the
various ‘modes’ and characteristics of the Spirit of God. In revelation we have
a scripture that many seem to stumble over, it says ‘the 7 spirits of God that
are before his throne’. Some associate Isaiah 11 with this. In Isaiah 11 you
can find 6 distinct characteristics of the Spirit of God, some see 7. Or you
could say ‘God has 7 actual Spirits’. Does God have 7 spirits? Or 25 or 10,000?
God is the creator of all spirits. He is the Father of lights! In revelation
you have Jesus holding the ‘7 stars’ in his hand, which are said to be angels.
Then you have the ‘7 angels of the 7 churches’. I showed you before why these
angels are not ‘Pastors’ they are angels! [You can find the post somewhere
under END TIMES STUFF]. Revelation has 7 seals, bowls, candlesticks. The book
is a prophetic book that has angels revealing and operating and functioning.
The 7 spirits before God’s throne are probably the 7 angels spoken about in the
book. Hebrews says the angels are ‘ministering spirits’. Well let’s get off the
rabbit trail. In Isaiah 61 we have the famous verses that Jesus read and
applied to himself in the New Testament [Luke 4]. Jesus opens the scroll and
reads about the Spirit of God upon him, the eyes of everyone in that place were
fixated on him. Notice how both in Isaiah 11 and 61, one of the main purposes
of the anointing was to administer justice to the poor and oppressed. Much of
Evangelicalism has opted out of this responsibility. There was an overreaction to
the social gospel of the late 19th, early 20th century.
The social gospel had a tendency to overemphasize good deeds, without focusing
on conversion. But the Fundamentalist movement of the 20th century
neglected the social justice aspect of the kingdom, thank God for the Catholics
who picked up the torch. The point today is the purpose of the gifts, which we
will get into tomorrow, is not simply for self glory and edification. Or should
I say the purpose of the anointing. Jesus made it very clear that his mission
involved justice for the poor and oppressed, he did not limit his ministry to
‘the church’.
(991)1ST CORINTHIANS 12: 8-11 Instead of giving
you my definition for each one of the gifts of the Spirit, let me just give you
a sense of where I’m coming from. Over the years I have learned the normal
Pentecostal understanding of these gifts. I also have learned the
‘anti-Pentecostal’ view. I take a little from each camp. The strong Pentecostal
view usually sees all the gifts as ‘supernatural’ I do too! But to them this
means the gifts of Wisdom and Knowledge can’t be ‘regular wisdom or knowledge’.
Okay, so what are they? Some teach that the ‘word of wisdom’ is simply a
prophetic word about future stuff. The ‘word of knowledge’ is simply prophetic
insight into ‘past stuff’. To be honest I have no idea how people come up with
stuff like this [well, actually I do have an idea]. I see Paul as operating in
a strong gift of knowledge, though Paul was trained and had a good education,
the Spirit took all of his ‘head knowledge’ and quickened it. I see James as
having a strong gift of wisdom, his epistle is the only New Testament work
considered to be part of the corpus of wisdom literature. Of course the gifts
of healing[s] and prophecy are supernatural, but wisdom and knowledge can be
‘supernatural’ without having to fall into some prophetic type category. If
it’s wisdom and knowledge from God, then it is supernatural! I have known
Pastors who had the gift of wisdom, sometimes they would come to the same
conclusions as me, but they took a different route to get there! They might not
have ‘seen’ all the knowledge portions of scripture that I saw, but the wisdom
they operated in caused them to arrive at the same place. Some teach that after
the Spirit fell on the church at
[parts]
(1174) Almost
finished with Noll’s book [scandal of the evangelical mind] and thought it time
to comment. The book was published in 1994 and I realize a lot of water has
gone under the bridge since then. Noll brings out great points; he shows a
fundamental weakness in American evangelicalism because of the way the movement
shaped a sort of anit intellectual way/thought pattern of viewing the world and
society. He really takes the dispensational wing of the church to task,
frankly, I was surprised how willingly he dismantled many of their belief
systems. I agree with him on this issue, but was surprised that a very popular
book would go this far [and still be nominated book of the year by Christianity
today- back in 1994!]. I think an area of weakness in the book is Noll’s ‘over
association’ of young earth creationism with the Seventh Day Adventist church,
and his repeating of the charge that creationists [and fundamentalists in
general] are practicing a form of ‘modern Manichaeism’. He basically links an
‘anti material spirit’ that was seen in the early Christian heretics
[Gnosticism, Docetism and Manichaeism] and applies this to the views of
creationists and their so called unwillingness to allow the facts from nature
speak for themselves. I wrote the note ‘way too much’ a few times when reading
the book. I think he’s basically mistaken on this, many early Christian
thinkers did hold to a young earth view, and they were the same thinkers who
rebuked these cults who rejected the natural world as evil. Overall the book is
a worthwhile read, it exposes the weakness of the fundamental/evangelical
movement to ‘think Christianly’ about the world and society around them. Too
often believers think ‘thinking Christianly’ means introducing bible verses into
the conversation, this is not what Noll is speaking about. He shows the
fundamental error that arose during the modernist/fundamentalist debates of the
19th/20th centuries, and how this caused the church to
accept modes of thinking and learning that were disconnected from the fathers
of these movements. For instance, Jonathan Edwards, who is considered to be the
greatest homegrown thinker of the American experience, he embraced an
acceptance of the natural sciences as a way to learn more about the ways of
God. True studies of the earth and universe and things in the world were
accepted as a means of God communicating truth to his people thru the ‘book of
nature’. Noll shows how the fundamentalist movement came to reject this
willingness to look at the natural world and learn from it. Thus his overstated
charge of Manichaeism, a group that saw the natural world as evil. A blind spot
of Noll is his seeming belief that the majority of all Christians/scientists
accepted as fact the old earth views of the Geologic table and the other
sciences that arose at the time [like evolutionary theory]. He paints a picture
that says ‘see, most believers were open to learning from science back then,
but the fundamentalist movement and the rise of creationism side tracked the
church’. This is simply not true. Many scientists and Christians did not accept
the science of an old earth and the interpretation of the geologic table. Many
fathers of the church accepted a young earth view [Noll's creationism] since
the beginning of church history. Though Noll quotes saint Augustine in his defense of thinking
critically, yet Augustine himself believed in a young earth. He actually
believed God made everything in an instant and the 6 days of Genesis 1 were
symbolic, that God used the ‘6 day framework’ to show us his creative acts. The
point being, Augustine’s spiritualizing of the days of creation did not make
him an old earth believer! So there were a few things like this that I take
issue with, overall I think every evangelical/protestant believer would benefit
from reading the book. Noll’s challenge to the evangelical church to ‘think
Christianly in all areas of life’ is a needed rebuke to many in the church.
Noll is correct in showing the weakness of the American protestant church and
her basic disdain of intellectual learning, thinking that higher learning in
and of itself is a bad thing. This has fostered a community of believers that
has cut itself off from the basic institutions that effect society as a whole
[the research universities being one example]. If Christians shy away from the
natural sciences and the reality that even unbelievers have at times revealed
to us true things thru these studies, then we are going down a road that will
eventually cut our influence off from the broader society at large.
(1149) Just started reading Luke, in chapter one we see the
story of the birth’s of John and Jesus.
We see the dual ways that God works. In John’s birth the angel appears to his
parents and reveals that Elisabeth will get pregnant, though she and her
husband are old. She has been unable to have children and they have prayed for
kids. God does it thru a miraculous intervention and reveals it thru an angel.
The same angel appears to Mary and tells her she will have Jesus, Mary asks
‘how can this be, I know not a man’. It’s almost if she was looking at the
miraculous situation of her cousin and the fact that God allowed her to get
pregnant, but yet there were natural means that God used. John’s parents did
sleep together and God gave them the child; miraculous in that Elisabeth was
beyond the age of kids, but also a natural explanation can be seen. So Mary
must be thinking ‘now Gabriel, I do realize you are an angel and all, you have
a pretty good prophetic track record when it comes to announcing births; but
you must understand there is only so much God can do, if you don’t know yet,
I’m still A VIRGIN!’ The fact is that
both John and Jesus births were considered miraculous, the fact that a natural
explanation could be attributed to the process with John, this did not mean
that there had to be a natural explanation to all miraculous births! As we just
came off a series of posts on creation and science, I want to overview a few
things when it comes to the miraculous. First, the act of creation itself is a
tremendous miracle that can never be fully explained by naturalistic means.
Hebrews says ‘by faith we understand the worlds were framed by the word of God’
there are things that God does, that often can not be explained thru science. Though
we try and make a noble effort to use the tool of science to argue for the
reality of God, yet we don’t want to fall into the trap of Mary, who thought
‘how can this be?’ It ‘can be’ because God said it can be! God’s creative power
causes things to be! There is a danger of skepticism creeping into the ranks
when we try and affix a scientific explanation to all the aspects of creation,
the fact is the actual act of God bringing things into existence by his spoken
word is a mystery that can never be fully explained
[parts]
If you read the Prophetic Praise/prayer of Mary- found in
Luke- you see the Hope of Israel- for the coming of a deliverer who would save
the people of God from their oppressors [remember what I said- in the videos-
about Christ/Messiah- like the judges of the Old Testament- they came to
deliver the people from oppressive rule].
We call this prayer of Mary- ‘Mary’s Magnificat’ [Latin for
‘my soul magnifies the Lord’]- she is the chosen one- to have the promised
child.
The prophet Malachi spoke about a Forerunner- one who would
come before Christ-
The bible refers to him as Elijah- who would prepare the way
for Christ.
Jesus tells us that John the Baptist was the fulfillment of
this prophecy.
John makes the great declaration ‘Behold- the Lamb of God
who takes away the sins of the world’.
REPENT- AND BE BAPTIZED- ALL OF YOU
John’s ministry was- well- rough.
Jesus said ‘what did
you go out to see- some timid guy dressed in expensive clothes? No- but a
prophet- and more than a prophet- this is the one spoken about who would
prepare the way’ [these are my own paraphrases- I’m writing them ‘on the fly’-
when I do this I’ll try and copy the exact verse at the bottom].
It’s significant that John- In his first prophetic
announcement of Christ- ‘sees’ a LAMB.
Remember what I said when teaching the book of Revelation-
that the apostle John [not the same John] also saw a LAMB [They were both
functioning in a prophetic/apostolic role when they made these proclamations-
remember what I said in our videos? How the church is a spiritual temple- built
on the foundation of the apostles and prophets- meaning their teaching- the
things God revealed to them- so they SEE Jesus as the Lamb- because this
kingdom will be established on the Death and resurrection of Christ- note in
the scriptures I pasted at the bottom- How the Lamb is ‘the light’ of this
city- how the revelation [understanding] of Jesus as the final Lamb sacrifice
is indeed the foundation that the Apostles/Prophets built the church upon]
Luke 1:47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
Luke 1:48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Luke 1:49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
Luke 1:50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
Luke 1:51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered
the proud in
[parts]
RENAISSANCE STUFF -
The renaissance was the
13-14th century revival of culture and learning that was lost for
centuries- It began in Florence Italy.
The catch phrase for it was ‘Ad Fontes’ meaning ‘back to the sources’- both in
philosophy- as well as in Christian learning.
This began a revival of studying the Greek New testament again
from its original language.
The Catholic Humanist- Desiderius Erasmus [15-16th
century] - re introduced the New Testament in the Greek version [He was
referred to as a Dutch renaissance Humanist- as well as a Catholic Priest and
scholar]
Now- Erasmus was a critic of the Church- like Luther- but chose a
‘middle road’- he did not join the breakaway Protestant Reformers- but chose to
stay within the fold of Rome- while speaking out against the abuses he saw.
But his first Greek translation of the New Testament did indeed
set a spark- because it allowed the Priests to see the bible in its original
language.
And Luther was actually teaching this book of Romans to his
students in Germany when the Reformation began.
Today the Catholic Church [as you can see in the official
Catechism that I have been posting] does indeed teach the bible as God’s Word.
The divisions between Protestants and Catholics are many- but they
did agree that the bible was the Word of God.
Some Protestants do not know this- they think the church holds
Tradition higher than the bible.
No- the church does believe that God speaks both thru tradition-
and scripture.
They see the tradition of the church as simply another means by
which God uses the church [Magisterium] to explain scripture- but the Catholic
Church does not elevate tradition over the bible.
And indeed- it was a catholic scholar- Erasmus- who introduced the
first Geek version of the New Testament.
NOTE- Erasmus disagreed with Luther on the doctrine of Predestination-
which I covered in the last video. Luther was for it- Erasmus was what we would
call ‘Free Will’.
In his writings- which were very influential- he wrote in Greek
and Latin- the language of the elites.
He did this on purpose- for his target was the influential leaders
of the Church.
He rejected offers of money- because he did not want to align
himself with any particular movement- so he could be an independent writer with
no strings attached.
He had many criticisms of the Catholic Church- and was very
influential for the later reforms- those we see at the Council of Trent [Though
the church criticized him- they said he ‘Laid the egg that hatched the
Reformation’].
He taught that the church/priests/popes should be the servants of
the people-
He rejected the idea that the Priests/leaders made up the ‘whole
of the church’- but he believed all believers made up the true church.
Erasmus was a firebrand in his own way- rejecting the language
that Luther and some of the reformers used [they were vulgar at times]-
Luther respected the works of Erasmus- he thanked Erasmus for
debating with him on the nature of Justification by Faith-
He disagreed in the end- but said this debate was at the heart of
the gospel- and was glad that Erasmus was willing to engage.
RENAISSANCE ARTISTS-
The famous renaissance artists- DaVinci- Michelangelo- Raphael-
used their artwork as a form of knowledge- the images taught things- they were
not just paintings.
DaVinci’s most famous work was his painting on the ceiling of the Sistine
chapel in the Vatican.
It took him 4 years to complete.
The renaissance period- from about the 13/14th century
to the 17th- [though there was a sort of Renaissance that took
place- yes- in the Islamic world before the European Renaissance] was marked by
what we term Humanism.
Today we associate this term with ‘secular Humanism’ which often
has a bad connotation- especially among Christians.
But it meant something different back then.
It was a new focus on breaking the limits off of man- and for man to
excel in knowledge and skill- and to see man as having value.
There was somewhat of a break away from the church in a sense- in
that the church and its teachings were not the only source of wisdom for man.
But- Jesus himself taught that ‘the Sabbath was made for man- not
man for the Sabbath’- so- the Humanist spirit- elevating the value of man- does
have a Christian basis in my view.
Leonardo daVinci [15/16th century] was what we refer to
as a true Renaissance man- meaning his knowledge was in many fields- not just
art.
He actually considered himself a sculptor first- then an artist-
though he is most famous for his Fresco mentioned above.
1989
The first work of the grace of the Holy Spirit is conversion, effecting
justification in accordance with Jesus’ proclamation at the beginning of the
Gospel: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”38 Moved by grace, man
turns toward God and away from sin, thus accepting forgiveness and
righteousness from on high. “Justification is not only the remission of sins,
but also the sanctification and renewal of the interior man.”39 (1427)
1990
Justification detaches man from sin which contradicts the love
of God, and purifies his heart of sin. Justification follows upon God’s
merciful initiative of offering forgiveness. It reconciles man with God. It
frees from the enslavement to sin, and it heals. (1446, 1733)
1991
Justification is at the same time the acceptance of God’s righteousness through
faith in Jesus Christ. Righteousness (or “justice”) here means the rectitude of
divine love. With justification, faith, hope, and charity are poured into our
hearts, and obedience to the divine will is granted us. (1812)
1992
Justification has been merited for us by the Passion of Christ who
offered himself on the cross as a living victim, holy and pleasing to God, and
whose blood has become the instrument of atonement for the sins of all men.
Justification is conferred in Baptism, the sacrament of faith. It conforms us
to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just by the power of his
mercy. Its purpose is the glory of God and of Christ, and the gift of eternal
life:40 (617, 1266, 294)
But now
the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law, although the law
and the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in
Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: since all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God, they are justified by his grace as a
gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as
an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s
righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former
sins; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that
he justifies him who has faith in Jesus.41
1993
Justification establishes cooperation between God’s grace and man’s
freedom. On man’s part it is expressed by the assent of faith to the
Word of God, which invites him to conversion, and in the cooperation of charity
with the prompting of the Holy Spirit who precedes and preserves his assent: (2008, 2068)
When God
touches man’s heart through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, man himself is
not inactive while receiving that inspiration, since he could reject it; and
yet, without God’s grace, he cannot by his own free will move himself toward
justice in God’s sight.42
1994 Justification is the most excellent
work of God’s love made manifest in Christ Jesus and granted by the
Holy Spirit. It is the opinion of St. Augustine that “the justification of the
wicked is a greater work than the creation of heaven and earth,” because
“heaven and earth will pass away but the salvation and justification of the
elect... will not pass away.”43 He
holds also that the justification of sinners surpasses the creation
VERSES-
1Corinthians 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the
gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye
stand;
1Corinthians 15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory
what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
1Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which
I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1Corinthians 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again
the third day according to the scriptures:
1Corinthians 15:5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the
twelve:
1Corinthians 15:6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred
brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some
are fallen asleep.
1Corinthians 15:7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all
the apostles.
1Corinthians 15:8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of
one born out of due time.
1Corinthians 15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not
meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
Corinthians 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies
under his feet.
1Corinthians 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is
death.
1Corinthians 15:27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But
when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted,
which did put all things under him.
1Corinthians 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him,
then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under
him, that God may be all in all.
Proverbs 6:20 My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake
not the law of thy mother:
Proverbs 6:21 Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them
about thy neck.
Proverbs 6:22 When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou
sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
Proverbs 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light;
and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
Joshua 5:1 And it came to pass, when all the kings of the
Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the
Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters
of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that
their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the
children of Israel.
Joshua 5:2 At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp
knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.
Joshua 5:13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that
he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against
him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto
him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
Joshua 5:14 And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the
LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship,
and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant?
Joshua 5:15 And the captain of the LORD's host said unto Joshua,
Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy.
And Joshua did so.
But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. Rom. 2:29
Luke 3:21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass,
that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
Luke 3:22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a
dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved
Son; in thee I am well pleased.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and
with his stripes we are healed. Is.53:5
And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God:
and this is that spirit ofantichrist, whereof ye have heard that it
should come; and even now already is it in the world. 1Jn. 4:3
4 Now the
Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the
faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2 Speaking
lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
3 Forbidding
to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be
received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
1 Tim.
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of
naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted
word, which is able to save your souls. Ja. 1:21
But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. Rom. 2:29
And he
said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
Gen. 32
facebook.com/john.chiarello.5
Note- Please 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.#
No comments:
Post a Comment