O Timothy April 2011 - Way of Life Literature

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W A Y O F L I F E L I T E R A T U R E Cars atop 3 story buildings after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. prophecies of the future. One was the prophecy of the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, which was fulfilled 40 years later in A.D. 70 at the hands of the Roman Tenth Legion under general Titus. Jesus prophesied that “there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down” (Mark 13:2). Some of the stones that were pulled down were thrown off the Temple Mount and were unearthed in recent times along the Western Wall where they can still be seen today as mute witness to the fact that Jesus knows the future. In another prophecy, Jesus said that one of the signs of the end of the age will be “earthquakes in divers places” (Matthew 24:7). The most recent fulfillment of that prophecy was the earthquake that devastated northern Japan last weekend and brought this economic powerhouse nation to its knees in a matter of moments. Many thousands are dead; a modern port city was washed out to sea; four nuclear reactors were damaged, and one has exploded. The nation has been reduced to rolling blackouts to conserve power. Its powerful train system is at a standstill. Its leaders have stated that they are facing the worse crisis since World War II. The Japan earthquake is only the latest in a series of “earthquakes in divers places.” Some 40,000 died in in South Asia in October 2005; 220,000 in Indonesia in 2004; 31,000 in Iran in 2003; 13,000 in India in January 2001; 17,000 in western Turkey in August 1999; 10,000 in Latur, India, in September 1993; 50,000 in northwest Iran in June 1990. According to Bible prophecy, all of these are mere previews of what is coming. A future earthquake will cause every island to sink and the mountains to fall (Revelation 13:11-18). The good news is that no person living today has to go through the terrible future judgments. We are still living in the era of “good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people” (Luke 2:10), which is the gospel that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose the third day to offer eternal salvation to whosoever will repent and receive Him as Lord and Saviour. The Bible says God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezek. 33:11). It is His gracious will, rather, that all men be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4; 2 Peter 3:9). POPE SAYS JEWS NOT GUILTY OF JESUS’ DEATH (Friday Church News N o t e s , M a r c h 1 8 , 2 0 1 1 , www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In a new book Pope Benedict has exonerated Jews of the responsibility for Jesus’ death. In the second volume of “Jesus of Nazareth,” the pope blames Jesus’ death on the “Temple aristocracy” rather than the Jewish nation as a whole. Jewish leaders have responded enthusiastically. Elan Steinberg of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors, said, “This is a personal repudiation of the theological underpinning of centuries of anti- Semitism” (“Pope Book Says Jews Not Guilty,” Reuters, March 2, 2011). The anti-Semitism and hatred of the Jews on the part of the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox, the Lutherans, and others was a sin and a great reproach upon the cause of Christ. The Catholic Crusaders slaughtered Jews, and this type of thing has ruined “Christianity” in the minds of vast numbers of people. What they don’t know, of course, is that the Crusaders were not Bible-believing Christians. They were religious nuts enflamed with popery! Anti-semitism aside, the Bible plainly states that it was not merely the Jewish Temple leaders who condemned Jesus; multitudes of Jews were in fervent agreement. It’s absolutely true that “the chief priests moved the people” (Mark 15:11), but that does not absolve the Jewish nation of rejecting its own Messiah when He had fulfilled every sign prophesied in Scripture. When Pilate tried to calm the Jewish crowd and release Jesus, they “cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him” (Mark 15:14). They went even further. The Bible says, “Then answered ALL THE PEOPLE, and said, His Blood be on us, and on our children” (Matthew 27:25). Further, the Jews continued to hound and persecute Christ’s followers like the Paul wherever and whenever and however they could. We need to see this thing through God’s eyes, not through the eyes of the Jews or the Pope or the news media. Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, the promised Messiah. He was born in the right place, at the right time, in the right way. He spoke the right words, did the 18 1 Timothy 6:20,21
W A Y O F L I F E L I T E R A T U R E right miracles, showed the right fervency for God’s law and the right compassion for the souls of men, died the right way, and rose from the dead the right way. There is more and better evidence that Jesus rose from the dead than there is for any event in ancient history, and His resurrection proved beyond doubt that He was who He said He was, and that is the eternal Son of God, the Creator, the only Lord and Saviour. The Jews definitely crucified Christ, but not only the Jews. The Roman Empire crucified Christ in the person of Pilate and the Roman soldiers, but even more than that, the whole world crucified Christ, because it was for every man’s sin that He died. It was in fulfillment of the great prophecy of Isaiah 53. “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 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” (Isaiah 53:4-5). The words “we” and “our” here refer both to the Jews and also to the sinners of the whole world. THE FASTEST FLOWER IN THE FOREST (Friday Church News Notes, March 18, 2011, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from Creation Moments, February 4, 2011: “The peace and serenity of North America's spruce forests is occasionally broken by little other than the rustle of a deer passing by. At least that's what most people think. In truth, there are things going on which would cause us profound wonder. The bunchberry dogwood flower stands only about one-tenth of an inch tall. Scientists knew that the flowers opened explosively. The flowers do this to propel their pollen further. The scientists decided to find out precisely how fast the flowers really opened. So they decided to tape a flower opening with a high speed camera that is capable of taking 1,000 pictures a second. But the camera proved to be too slow. It was only with a camera that takes 10,000 pictures a second that they could clearly see what was going on. They saw that the petals opened, and in a separate action, the stamens unfold so fast that they catapult pollen into the air. All of this happens in four tenths of a thousandth of a second. That's more than a hundred times faster than a chameleon's tongue captures lunch. The stamens unfold so fast that they subject the pollen to 2,400 times the force of gravity. There are no limits to the wonders God can conceive and create. His greatest wonder is His mercy which resulted in forgiveness and salvation.” EVANGELICALS AND MORMONS TOGETHER (Friday Church News N o t e s , M a r c h 1 8 , 2 0 1 1 , www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Prominent “evangelical” leaders are meeting with Mormons in Salt Lake City for a “dialogue” in search of better understanding. The evangelicals include Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals; Richard Mouw, president of Fuller Seminary; and David Neff, editor-in-chief of Christianity Today. Anderson said, “We hope this time of dialogue with LDS leaders will deepen our understanding of the Mormon faith and contribute to the ongoing work of evangelicals in Utah” (“Evangelicals, Mormon,” Christian Post, March 10, 2011). This is a continuation of something that began several years ago. In November 2004, an “Evening of Friendship” at the Salt Lake Mormon Tabernacle featured some e v a n g e l i c a l s s e e k i n g a b e t t e r understanding of and relationship with Mormons. Ravi Zacharias, the main speaker, was joined by Richard Mouw, Craig Hazen (a professor at Biola), Joseph Tkach, Jr., head of the World Wide Church of God, and CCM musician Michael Card. In the Deseret Morning News, Card was quoted as saying that “he doesn’t see Mormonism and evangelical Christianity as opposed to each other; they are more like the two ends of a long thread -- part of the same thing.” Mouthing the CCM ecumenical philosophy he said, “The older I get, I guess the more I want to integrate everything. I think it’s more important to be faithful than right” (Nov. 16, 2004). The 2004 event and the most recently dialogue were sponsored by Standing Together Ministries, which was formed in 2001 by “evangelical” preacher Greg Johnson, who has conducted “dialogues” with Mormon professor Robert Millet. Johnson is a radical ecumenist. His web site says, “We affirm that there is one Church in Utah that meets in various locations,” and, “Unprecedented unity will contribute to healthier local churches and transformed lives by the thousands.” The first “ministry focus” listed is “Uniting the Body.” Johnson was instrumental in getting Craig Blomberg of Denver Seminary and Steve Robinson of Brigham Young University together to “dialogue” and to produce a book entitled How Wide the Divide, which concludes that the divide between Mormons and Bible-believing Christians is not as wide as formerly thought. We wonder what it is about Mormonism and its false gospel and false christ that these evangelicals don’t understand. We are also puzzled at why they are dialoguing with heretics when the Bible states that we are to mark and avoid them, turn away from them, and reject them (Romans 16:17-18; 2 Timothy 3:5; Titus 3:10-11). The apostle Paul wasn’t much of a dialoguer. He called false teachers “dogs” and “evil workers” (Phil. 3:2). Of those who pervert the gospel he said, “Let them be accursed” (Gal. 1:8, 9). H e c a l l e d t h e m “ e v i l m e n a n d seducers” (2 Tim. 3:13), “men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith” (2 Tim. 3:8), “false apostles, deceitful workers” (2 Cor. 11:13) Beware of modern “evangelicalism.” BROTHER CLOUD IS THE ONE WHO HAS BEEN SHOT IN THE WEST COAST MUSIC AFFAIR (Friday Church News Notes, March 18, 2011, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Not only do I have the right Scripturally to give a warning about the promotion of “adapted” CCM music at an IB school that is influencing people all over the world, I have a responsibility before God to do so. The only authority I need is 2 Timothy 4:1-2. “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” There is no limit placed on my preaching, except that it be done in the Spirit of God by the Word of God. I can reprove and rebuke wherever and whoever and whatever and whenever, in season and out of season. So can Paul Chappell and every other Godcalled preacher. Take my preaching ministry, for example. I have a very public ministry that influences many people (a half million downloads of my sermons and videos, for example, and 1 Timothy 6:20,21 19
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