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Tag Archives: Jesus

WHAT KIND OF MAN?

10 Wednesday Apr 2019

Posted by Ron Thomas in Sound Doctrine

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healing, hope, Jesus

What kind of man is Jesus? He was no ordinary man, that is for sure. Yet, He came to this earth to endure the life ordinary men must live. Ordinary men are both those who are dressed in rags and those dressed in the finest of clothing, to say nothing of those in between. Jesus was no ordinary man, but He became ordinary for you and me.

Isn’t it good that He did? For certain! When there is one of us that struggles with sin, never thinking we are going to be able to overcome, is it not good that to Him each can turn? When there is one of us that struggles with the weight of the world against us (as we view the world), is it not good that to Him one can turn and see that He, too, struggled? When there is one of us that is lonely beyond measure, is it not good that to Him one can turn and find comfort and companion as each reflect on His time in the Garden of Gethsemane?

Jesus was able to sleep in a boat when the Sea around Him was tumultuous; the disciples were greatly afraid, even awakening Jesus to ask Him if He cared. Jesus cared, and in His answer to those who awoke Him He asked, “Where is your faith?” Seems a strange question, I suppose, but in fact it’s not strange at all. Perhaps in this question, the answers to man’s greatest struggles are found.

Where is your faith? My faith is in my inability to do as I know I should and to do as I know I want to. Is that not the problem? My faith is in me, or not in me (if you will). Because one’s faith is in self, the eyes of focus have been taken off Jesus. Yet the Holy Spirit exhorts that we are keep our eyes tuned straight ahead. The writer of Hebrews wrote, “Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (12:1-2, ASV).

Reflecting on the examples in Hebrews 11, the Holy Spirit said we should also reflect on them. One reflects best, in this circumstance, when one’s eyes are taken off oneself and places it on something else, namely, those who have walked ahead of us. We should also make a conscience decision to lay aside the weight that easily sets us back. How does one do that? To begin, get on your knees, then (second) remove your eyes off the object that tempts you; thirdly, most importantly, let each of us look unto Jesus. Not only because He is there to help us, but also because He is the author of salvation. This means we have come to understand that there is nothing in me that can make things right, but I can turn to Him who is the essence of right and know that He already made things right. What He requires of me is trust and obedience (cf. Luke 6:46).

Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God’s throne. What kind of man is Jesus? He is no ordinary man; He can tame the Sea, He can heal a demon-possessed person, He can overcome the academics of His day, He is the one who values one human soul over a heard of life-stock, He can tell a lonely and sinful woman to “sin no more.” He is the Lord!

While people fear the unknown and the world of demons, the demons fear the Author of Life.

Jesus is the man!

 

The Reason for the Season

24 Monday Dec 2018

Posted by Ron Thomas in Uncategorized

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Christmas, Jesus, reason for the season

In the minds of many folk at this time of the year, there is significance to the December 25th date. It does not matter if you tell them the Scriptures do not speak of any special-remembrance to the date of the Lord’s birth. What matters to them is that “the reason for the season” is a time to remember the Lord’s birth, coupled with gift-giving.

Perhaps we can resist that and be accurate in doing so, or we can take a different approach and move (teach) people from where they are to where they should (or could) be in their own understanding. This is my approach.

The text of this article comes from Matthew 27:27-31, Jesus was mocked by those who sought His death. I readily admit there is nothing in the text of Matthew 27:27-31 that lends itself to the Christmas season, but that is my point. Though I will speak against the “reason for the season” approach that most take, my primary focus is in telling others why Jesus came and the humiliation He suffered for having done nothing wrong, not even a single thing!

Jesus walked on the earth teaching the Father’s command to a people (the nation of Israel) steeped in rebellion to His revealed word. The Israelite nation would have, and did, reject the notion they were in rebellion to the Almighty’s exhortations as revealed in Scripture. Yet, Jesus, time and time again pointed out and demonstrated that is exactly what was occurring with them. More than that, though He pointed out their rebellion, it was only a part of His message. The other part was that He (Jesus) was the fulfillment of prophetic Scripture declarations. For instance, He said: Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished (Matthew 5:17-18, ESV).

This was more than the people of the nation wanted to hear, especially the religious leaders. Consequently, the leaders set themselves to be against Jesus. There were opportunities get Him, but they could not pull it off. Finally, they were able to arrest Him and put Him on trial. They did not realize that this was all a part of God’s plan. For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him (Acts 13:27).

Jesus stood before Rome’s governmental representative in the text of Matthew 27:27-31. The people in that court-setting looked at Jesus and with disdain mocked Him as they rejected His mission and message. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head (Matthew 27:28-30).

Jesus came to this earth to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10), but the lost did not recognize their very-bad-standing in the Lord’s presence. Consequently, they rejected Him and His message. Because they failed to understand and most of the people living to day have failed to understand – the reason for the season is lost on everyone. What is the reason for the season? The reason for this season and every season of the calendar year is for the Christian to live and preach Jesus.

Here you have it.  RT

 

Jesus Was Wrong!

14 Monday Sep 2015

Posted by Ron Thomas in Uncategorized

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commands, earning, Jesus, salvation, theology, works, wrong

It is a tremendous shame that Jesus was so wrong (!) in giving the answer He did to the one who inquired of Him what he must do to enter into God’s kingdom (Mark 10:17-22)! Can you imagine Jesus being so mistaken to answer this way? Yet, He had to be if the norm of Protestant theology holds the day in religious thinking. Jesus told him to keep the commandments. This, however, means that one “works” his way to heaven and, a form of legalism. As we know, Jesus just had to be wrong about that!

Of course, Jesus was wrong about nothing, and especially about how one makes an entrance into the heavenly kingdom. That which is wrong and those who are wrong are the subscribers to such thinking! Protestant theology teaches that if one obeys God’s commands, that in obeying God’s commands, any and all commands, there is an effort at working or earning one’s salvation. Completely ludicrous!

In proper biblical theology, when one obeys God, then the one who obeys is motivated to obey as a result of the love in his (her) heart. This is the very idea undergirding Paul’s words to the church in Rome when he wrote, “But thanks be to God, that, whereas ye were servants of sin, ye became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching whereunto ye were delivered” (Romans 6:17, ASV, emphasis added, RT).

In Mark 10, Jesus told the inquirer that to enter into heaven one must obey what is learned in the Ten Words (ten commandments), and in each of these commands, Jesus said, there was a “do not” five times, and a “do” one time. It was not, and it is not, a matter of earning anything, but it is a matter of loving the Lord enough to hear what He said and to comply with His desires.

 

26 Reasons Why Jews Don’t Believe in Jesus (2)

07 Monday Sep 2015

Posted by Ron Thomas in Uncategorized

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26 reasons, Asher Norman, Jesus, Jews, Messiah

With the introductory article before us, I want to offer a few words of reflection. I think it is reasonable and responsible for a Christian, especially a preacher, to consider what an unbeliever offers and to counter his ideas, if the idea proffered cannot be sustained. The apostle Paul would go into the synagogue each Sabbath day and reason with the Jews (Acts 17:2-3). Before I started to work on this project I am not so sure I would have had much success in reasoning with a Jew; as a matter of fact, I think I would have done poorly. Because I saw myself failing, I took a different route in studying the Scriptures. The route was not different per se, but only different with an emphasis on Jewish thinking.

It is my intention to give thorough attention to the words of Asher Norman, and to offer a critique of his book. The format I will follow is simple. I will, with bold letters, incorporate the objections. Following these objections I will systematically answer the substance of the objection with whatever explanation Mr. Norman offers.

 REASON 1: Christianity is not ‘completed’ Judaism, and the two religions are not theologically compatible.

First, the nature of salvation for the Jew and then for the world (pp. 3-4).  “…the Jewish Bible has no concept that the Messiah ben David is coming to die for our sins, to ‘save’ us, or to do any of the things that Christians attribute to Jesus” (p. 4). In connection with this, “According to the Jewish Bible, God judges Jews by the 10 categories of 613 laws of the Torah and God judges Gentiles by the 7 laws of Noah” (p. 3). Michael Brown identifies these laws of Noah as the laws found in Genesis 9:1-6. They are the forbiddance of blasphemy, idolatry, sexual immorality, murder, robbery, eating a portion of a living animal, and, in a more positive vein, the establishment of the courts of justice.[1] I did not find this information in the Rabbinic commentary Chumash. I wish Mr. Norman would have given this information in text rather than assert it without support. It was in another book that I found what these “7 laws” are. In any case, the 7 laws, we are told, are for those who are not Jewish.

This sub-point offered as a buttress fails in two areas. First, the Scripture passage referenced by Michael Brown speaks nothing of the “laws of Noah” given to non-Jewish people. Brown writes, “[t]hese laws, derived from the rabbis from Genesis 9:1-6 in particular are considered to be universal in nature” and forbidding (p. 17). In fact, notice what the Chumash says with regard to Genesis 9:7-18, “God established a covenant with Noah and his descendents, and all living beings, until the end of time…After a rainstorm, which could have been a harbinger of another deluge like that in Noah’s time, the appearance of the rainbow will be a reminder of God’s pledge never again to wash away all of mankind in a flood” (Chumash 41-42).

It would seem to me to be reasonable for the Chumash to have said something relative to the Gentiles and the so-called 7-Laws, yet I was able to locate nothing in that particular section of Scripture and thoughts relative to it. This is not to deny that Jewish theology teaches such, but it is to deny that one does not find it within the text of Genesis.

Second, giving thought to Messiah ben David “coming to die for our sins,” note the words of the prophet Isaiah from the Jewish Publication Society (JPS) translation:

Isa 53:1 ‘Who would have believed our report? And to whom hath the arm of the LORD been revealed? Isa 53:2  For he shot up right forth as a sapling, and as a root out of a dry ground; he had no form nor comeliness, that we should look upon him, nor beauty that we should delight in him. Isa 53:3  He was despised, and forsaken of men, a man of pains, and acquainted with disease, and as one from whom men hide their face: he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Isa 53:4  Surely our diseases he did bear, and our pains he carried; whereas we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. Isa 53:5  But he was wounded because of our transgressions, he was crushed because of our iniquities: the chastisement of our welfare was upon him, and with his stripes we were healed. Isa 53:6  All we like sheep did go astray, we turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath made to light on him the iniquity of us all. Isa 53:7  He was oppressed, though he humbled himself and opened not his mouth; as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before her shearers is dumb; yea, he opened not his mouth. Isa 53:8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away, and with his generation who did reason? for he was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due. Isa 53:9  And they made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich his tomb; although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.’ Isa 53:10  Yet it pleased the LORD to crush him by disease; to see if his soul would offer itself in restitution, that he might see his seed, prolong his days, and that the purpose of the LORD might prosper by his hand: Isa 53:11  Of the travail of his soul he shall see to the full, even My servant, who by his knowledge did justify the Righteous One to the many, and their iniquities he did bear. Isa 53:12  Therefore will I divide him a portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the mighty; because he bared his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

I offer Isaiah 53 from the JPS to make a hermeneutical point. Note the masculine pronouns above. These pronouns refer to a person, a male. This is not without significance. The rabbis, however, do not interpret the pronouns that way. How do the rabbis interpret them? “Isaiah continues his prophecy of Chapter 52, describing the surprise of the nations when they see how Israel will be exalted in the End of the Days.” (Artscroll 401).[2] Thus, “he” is interpreted to refer to “Israel.”[3]

This will not stand, however. The effort to justify this hermeneutic is based on Isaiah 41:16 where “Jacob” clearly and contextually refers to the nation (cf. 41:14-16). There is nothing in Isaiah 52:13-53:12 corresponding to 41:14-16 that supports this same interpretative maneuver.[4]

Not only does the language of Isaiah 53 give clear indication of the suffering servant referring to a man (a specified “suffering servant,” not a nation), the wording of Isaiah 53 also gives clear indication that “suffering servant-man” takes upon himself much of the anguish that belongs to “every man.” He has born our griefs, carried our sorrows, wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, by his stripes we are healed, and the iniquity of each is laid upon him (53:4-6).

While the language of Isaiah 53 might allow for the interpretation of the suffering servant to forgive sins, even with regard to the interpretation of “nation,” Jewish theology does not so interpret it.

The perspective of Jewish theology and forgiveness for sin is achieved in that “God Himself gave His Torah to the Jewish People which provides for atonement for sin and the means to achieve the World to come” (p. 4). In other words, forgiveness is achieved when one turns his (her) attention to a study of the Torah and reforms his own life. Within this answer is God’s plan for atonement – all without the blood of the Messiah.

A key term here is the phrase the “Jewish Bible.” We know that in the Torah one can learn how to have sins atoned – this is through blood of animal sacrifices (cf. Leviticus 1:4). Jewish theology believes in man’s free-will, and with this free-will he is inclined to do evil or do good. If in his inclination to do evil he wants to change, it is through Torah study that he learns what change (or changes) to make. In this light, the atonement gained under the teaching of the Mosaic Law is in animal sacrifices and the Day of Atonement (Yon Kipper) – which is another animal sacrificed. Blood of particular animals must be used in conjunction with one’s obedience for atonement to be “procured.” However,

For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; (Hebrews 10:1-5, ESV)

Article (2) in this series

 

[1] Michael Brown, Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus: General and Historical Objections, volume 1, p. 17, Baker, 2000.

[2] The Later Prophets: Isaiah. The Artscroll Series. Edited by Rabbi Nosson Scherman. Mersorah Publications, Ltd. 2013.

[3] Rabbi Shimon Schwab comments, “According to most commentaries, this reference to a single person is a composite prototype of the totality of all tsaddikim throughout the galus…The Jewish nation is referred to as a single person, and all reference to it are in the singular” (585).

[4] In Isaiah 41, the Holy Spirit clearly makes use of the masculine pronoun to refer to a plurality of people. “But thou, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed [descendents; NKJV] of Abraham My friend” (Isaiah 41:8, JPS). “Ye are My witnesses, saith the LORD, and My servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He; before Me there was no God formed, neither shall any be after Me” (Isaiah 43:10). In 43:8, a plurality is in view, the same with verse 9, and thus verse 10. Again, the context makes this clear. In the passages referenced to support this hermeneutic (the two above; 44:1, 21; 49:3), the language of those contexts do not correspond to the language of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 52:13-53:12.

 

 

Jesus, Wine, and Cana

16 Monday Mar 2015

Posted by Ron Thomas in Uncategorized

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Cana, Jesus, wedding, wine

It is argued by some that because Jesus made wine in Cana, people are “authorized” by the Lord to drink alcohol beverages today. Most often, what is in view would be social drinking or having alcoholic beverages at home. Those who think along this line will concur that drunkenness is sinful, but social drinking is not.

Yet, as one looks at the text of John 2 there is hardly any justification for such a position. The wedding in Cana was a joyous occasion and one where food and drink was provided. The drink in John 2 is wine. The word wine is from a Greek word (oinos) that simply means a beverage that comes from the vine. There is nothing within the word that suggests alcoholic content.

The beverage of the occasion was gone (or nearly so) when Jesus was asked to get involved; He did so, turning water into wine. In 2:10, the “master of the feast” was impressed with the flavor of the wine now to be served, and he said as much. It is from this verse that some think the wine was of alcoholic content when we read “when the guests have well drunk” (NKJV). The NIV reads “after the guests have had too much to drink.” The NIV gives an inebriated sense to the passage, while the NKJV does not.

It can be sustained that the NKJV is more accurate than the NIV in its rendering. What the ruler of the feast was pleased with was the flavor, the quality of the drink in comparison with the beverage initially served. There is nothing in the verse that speaks to the alcoholic content of the beverage and, besides, if the people were “already drunk,” then what contribution did Jesus make to their “sobering” up with this first miracle at Cana?

Give it up for food

13 Friday Feb 2015

Posted by Ron Thomas in Uncategorized

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food, Jesus, spiritual food, temptations

When the Lord was in the wilderness, after His baptism, the environment was conducive to intense temptations. The choosing of this environment we are not told why, though many plausible reasons have been given us why the wild was the where Jesus was tempted.

Though the location might be considered irrelevant, the kind of temptation that Jesus endured was not. Jesus was tempted in particular areas and with intensity that we can relate to, though I dare say the intensity Jesus faced is not our own. Whether or not the intensity of Jesus’ temptation was as strong as ours, the point is that which Jesus faced, we also face.

In the answers given by Jesus, let us learn that these need to be our answers to the temptations we also experience. Before one might think of these scriptural answers as simplistic, be sure to reflect on the substance of Scripture given by the Lord to Satan.

For instance, think about one of those answers Jesus gave Satan when Satan tempted Him with turning stones into bread (food). One might reply against the adequacy of this answer because of the perceived disconnect between food to sustain in the here and now while God’s word is not something one can physically eat. “How does this help?” someone might reply!

When your physical food is gone (and one day it will be), then to whom do you turn for strength to sustain. If one gives up the Lord word for food, then for what other immediate “need” will one compromise the Lord’s way? This gets to the very substance of who we are. In the context of Deuteronomy 8 (which I encourage you to read), the Lord gave exhortations toward remembrance and forgetting. When the focus is on one’s need, then the Lord is forgotten. Have we put emphasis on our very needs, or is emphasis on Him who really sustains when life’s experiences forgetting?

Jesus and Pointless Suffering

29 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by Ron Thomas in Uncategorized

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cancer, innocence, Jesus, pointless suffering

Currently, I am reading a book on apologetics; a book that seeks to address some of the objections that skeptics make to God, Christ and Christianity. One problem that continues to plague apologists (defenders of the faith) is the idea of “pointless suffering.” Pointless suffering is a perspective that says there is no point to one’s suffering if he is innocent of any wrong. If this occurs (and it does), then it must be the case that God does not exist. How could a loving God allow pointless suffering to exist in the lives of people when He is powerful enough and, supposedly, a God of love to eliminate it? Since it exists, then God must not be loving, or powerful enough to remove suffering (especially what is considered “pointless” suffering); thus, the God one reads about in the Bible does not exist!

For some there are no easy answers to this objection. For others the objection is not an objection at all, but just another made-up reason for why some don’t want to believe in God. However one might approach this topic of discussion it is wise to recognize that pain and suffering is quite a troubling topic for some.

Suffering in this physical world is “just the way it is;” there is no real way to avoid it. If one has great success at avoiding most, it will be the case that some suffering will be experienced (if it has not already been). Generally, suffering is the result of choices made. I chose to hurry up and get home; I was pulled over for speeding. I must suffer the aggravation of loss of money and embarrassment. One chose to frolic with one of the opposite sex, and a jealous husband is all-prepared to make it right! The guilty one (or ones) suffer through moral failings and even, potentially, physical pain. You chose to go sky-diving, and though you were trained properly, at your landing, you came down very hard and suffered serious injury. We understand suffering in these contexts.

But what about the little girl born into the world with cancer? What did she do wrong, or what choice did she make? How does one address this? Anguishing questions to consider.  The only adequate answer I can give is a biblical one; in fact, it is an example. “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:21-23, ESV).

When Jesus lived He lived in such a way that can be described in no other way than a perfect, sinless life. He had no moral failings, He made no poor choices, but He suffered much at the hands of people for no other reason than that He faithfully executed the Lord’s will for His own life, teaching others to do the same. Did Jesus suffer “pointlessly”? Looking at the above passage one can see the approach the Lord took, thus, the answer is no.

The comparison of the two are not the same, one might object. There is a dissimilarity, but there is much that is similar. In both cases, suffering occurred; in both cases, suffering was experienced by one who was (or is) innocent, and in both cases, the solution to getting through must be the same.

If the solution is inadequate what would you offer as an alternative?

Initial Notes on Surah 2 (Qur’an)

01 Saturday Nov 2014

Posted by Ron Thomas in Islam, Muslim, Qur'an

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Bible Law of Moses, Jeremiah, Jesus, Surah 2

It is my goal to read the Surah via three different translations and to consider the remarks presented by these translators especially in relation to what the Bible actually teaches. In other words, what does the Qur’an say about what the Bible teaches? Does it assert something the Bible does not? Does the Qur’an misuse the Bible?

I have three varied translations of the Qur’an with comments by various Islamic scholars. They are Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Maulana Muhammad Ali, and Muhammad Asad. On occasion, in addition to these, I will reference other Islamic sources.

*************

Surah 2 is the longest Surah in the Qur’an, with 40 sections, 286 verses (Yusuf). One might compare it with Psalm 119 in the Bible. Yusuf said this Surah “sums up the whole teaching of man” (Yusuf 16), wherein creation, Abraham, Israel, Jesus, jihad, and other things are mentioned. Maulana, however, has a different summary perspective on the Surah: “[t]his chapter deals mainly with the Jews and their contentions against Islam…” (6). Maulana gives a summary to the chapter he mentions the 13th section; “The thirteenth states that the former scriptures are abrogated and a better and more advanced code is given in Islam, the religion of entire submission” (p. 6).

My plan, with regard to this Surah, is to write in accordance with the 40 sections as it might pertain to the Bible. There is no way to adequately address the many things contained in the Surah in brief (or short) articles; I hope to adequately address the significant points in a number of articles.

Let me begin by addressing Maulana’s words concerning abrogation. During the times of the Old Covenant, the Lord made clear on at least two occasions (more than that actually) that the Law of Moses was but a temporary law and when a prophet came along to assert and sustain that point, the Israelites were to hear.

“The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers–it is to him you shall listen– just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ And the LORD said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?’– when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him” (Deuteronomy 18:15-22, ESV).

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:31-34, ESV).

There are some points of emphasis for us in this. First, God’s prophet was going to be able to sustain any point he makes authoritatively. This stands to reason. Before one should be expected to accept something contrary (in part or in whole), there needs to be a [the] recognized authority behind that demand. Second, what the Lord gave Moses was (by God’s design) temporary, and the Lord made this clear in His words to Jeremiah. To these two quick points from the above reading is now added a third concerning the New Covenant. In Jude 3 one reads, “Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (ESV).

Not only was the law temporary, but the law (Galatians 6:2; James 1:25) given by the Lord is permanent and final. Thus, anything contrary to this, especially since the Lord gave no forewarning of such a change, means that Islam and the Qur’an is not from God, but from some other source (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

JESUS

29 Wednesday Oct 2014

Posted by Ron Thomas in Uncategorized

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Jesus, resurrection, Son of God, virgin birth

Some things the Scriptures teach with regard to Jesus. First, He was born of a virgin to Mary and Joseph. Second, He lived until about His 33rd year before life was taken from Him. Third, while He walked on this earth there was not a single thing He did, not a single thing He thought that can remotely be called sin (Hebrews 4:15). Fourth, He came into this world as God’s Son (John 1:1-3, 14), lived in total as a man, but while as a man, He was divine (heavenly), deity (God; John 5:18; 8:58). He lived on this earth to benefit man (Philippians 2:5-8), and this was and is man’s redemption (Romans 3:21-25). After being killed by both the Jews and Rome, three days later He was resurrected from the dead, ascending into heaven (Romans 1:1-4). This is who we worship.

The Qur’an’s Surah 1, Prayer, and Jesus

21 Tuesday Oct 2014

Posted by Ron Thomas in Qur'an

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

islam, Jesus, Muslim, prayer, Qur'an

This article is a brief contrast between two modes of prayer: that which originates in Islam and that which originates from the mouth of Jesus.

There has been (and continues to be) a significant battle between Islam and Christianity in religious ideology. I will begin a study of this battle in the sacred books that produce each. I am quite familiar with the New Testament Scriptures, thus, it is my plan to study the Qur’an in relation to the New Testament. I have been fortunate to purchase and access three varied translations of the Qur’an with comments by various Islamic scholars. They are Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Maulana Muhammad Ali, and Muhammad Asad. On occasion, in addition to these, I will reference other Islamic sources.

Surah 1 is the very foundation, or essence of Islam. In fact, it is identified that very way by Yusuf; the “Essence of the Book”, teaching the “perfect prayer” (footnote 18). The focus of the prayer is on “Allah” (the Islamic name for God) and his attributes of mercy and benevolence; this essence or foundation is the “guide to one’s life.” There are seven verses in the Surah 1 prayer, and these seven verses are recited continually, “being essential to every prayer” (Mauluna), no matter how many prayers are offered or in what context. Maulana said: “Its oft-repeated seven verses constitute the prayer for guidance of every Muslim at least thirty-two times a day and, therefore it has much greater importance for him than the Lord’s prayer for a Christian” (Maulana, introductory remarks, p. 1).

Obviously, it is a good thing that religious people put emphasis on the necessity of prayer, but is a memorized, even rote prayer a good thing? According to one Islamic scholar, to appeal to God for one’s personal needs would be to miss the point of prayer (at least in this Surah). In the “Introduction” to the first Surah, he leaves one with the impression that it is not worthy of Him to listen to our vanities; rather, we should pray to Allah and exalt him, not appeal for our needs (Yusuf, p. 13).

In contrast to this, notice what the Lord Jesus said to His disciples when He taught them to pray. First, note the personal relationship that the Father desires to have with His child: “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:6, NKJV). Second, though the Father knows all, it is not vain repetitions that He wants, but a heart-felt expression of one’s needs/desires “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.” Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:7-8). Third, note the form of the prayer: it is one that addresses the Father of all life; His name is to be hallowed. Moreover, the Lord’s kingdom is to be the kingdom of the individual man (cf. Colossians 3:16; Luke 17:21), as well as the collective body of the saints. The influence of righteousness is great in this regard. In complete contrast to the Muslim perspective, the Father wants His children to depend on them for daily needs and showering mercy. With these thoughts in mind, read what Jesus taught:

In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matthew 6:9-13, NKJV).

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