Four Essential Beliefs About God (Part 2)

Yesterday and today marks our fifth time with Eric Wright, a retired pastor and missionary who lives not too far from us. Eric is the author of about a dozen books in different genres, including inspirational, doctrinal and  fiction. His website is at Country Inspiration. We’ve taken what was a longer article and split it up, over yesterday and today. To read these on his site as one continuous article, click the header which immediately follows.

Celebrating the Attributes of God – Essential Beliefs

THE MERCY OF GOD

David Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Canada from 2007 to 2014, died recently. At age 3 he contracted polio and throughout his life struggled with accessibility challenges, a cause he promoted. His obituary states that the life he and his wife Ruth Ann built together for their family was a testament to their faith in God and love for one another in spite of all challenges. It was appropriate that he, as a Christian, championed the cause of those often forgotten. Christians have been and should always be at the forefront of those showing compassion and mercy.

In our meditations on the goodness of God, we note that throughout the Scriptures, God spoke of his compassion for orphans, widows, and all those who were poor or oppressed. “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor’” (Zechariah 7:9,10).

God’s mercy is his goodness and love, his pity and compassion expressed to those who are in misery or distress irrespective of what they deserve. The fall in the Garden of Eden introduced chaos into the world and especially into human society. As a result, many fall victim to the consequences of those who act contrary to the ten principles (ten commandments) that define human flourishing. We need but look around us in the world to see the catastrophic effects of evil on people without number.

From the very initiation of the church, Christians have been at the forefront of demonstrating mercy. Read the Gospels and note how Christ demonstrated mercy. Read Acts 6 and note the distribution of food to widows in the early church. Read of Paul’s collection for the relief of the famine-afflicted in Palestine. It has continued thus through the ages from the care of plague victims, the founding of hospitals, the teaching of literacy, the establishment of schools, colleges and universities, the founding of the hospice movement, rescue missions in our cities, and other examples too numerous to mention.

The Western Church gets a lot of flack, and there are many causes for concern. But it isn’t condemned when it shows mercy. Lord, help us to be merciful. “Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7).

THE LONG SUFFERING OF GOD

Good parents look back over their child-rearing years and wonder why they didn’t have more patience with the minor faults of their children. Sure, they wanted them to grow up perfect. But in most cases, they now view them with pride. They turned out well.

We may look back over the way our heavenly Father has been patient with us. Haven’t we often disappointed him? Haven’t we often made the same mistakes, committed the same sins again and again? God shows his love for us in being longsuffering.

Longsuffering is a facet of God’s goodness in which he shows patience and forbearance with the continued disobedience of his creatures. The whole of Old Testament history testifies to God’s goodness moving him to delay judgement on rebellious Israel. In spite of repeated warnings from prophets his people were slow to repent.

When Moses came down from the mountain with the tablets of the ten commandments, he saw Israel dancing around a golden image and committing immorality. In anger, Moses threw down the tablets. God felt great wrath towards them but relented of the judgement he was going to rain down them. Instead he had Moses prepare two new tablets. The LORD came down in a cloud proclaiming “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” (Exodus 34:6,7). And so Moses prayed; “Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin” (vs.8).

Paul urges us not to be stubborn and judgmental towards others thinking we are so much better than them. “Do you think you will escape God’s judgement? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you towards repentance?” (Romans 2:3,4) Peter writes, “Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation” (2 Peter 3:15). Without God’s forbearance, we would have no hope of being saved from our sins.

Let us celebrate God’s longsuffering and forbearance. And if we have unconfessed sins let us hasten to the mercy seat in confession and repentance. I’ll continue this series on God’s attributes in subsequent posts.

Four Essential Beliefs About God (Part 1)

We are back once again with Eric Wright, a retired pastor and missionary that I have the privilege of knowing personally. Eric is the author of several Christian books of different types, including inspirational, doctrinal and fiction. You can learn more at Country Inspiration. We’ve taken what was a longer article and split it up, with Part 2 running tomorrow. To read these on his site (with pictures) click the header which immediately follows.

Celebrating the Attributes of God – Essential Beliefs

At a time when professing Christians are fuzzy about their beliefs, we need to re-affirm what must be believed by all who claim to be Christians. God exists. He has revealed himself as recorded in the infallible Word of God and in Christ, the incarnate Word, the Son of God. As Christians we affirm that God is a spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. Let me continue with these meditations.

THE JUSTICE OF GOD

Like others we lament the injustice we see all around us in the world. But Asaph, the author of the 73th Psalm, after crying out to God about the prosperity of the unjust, realizes that he missed the first step in dealing with injustice. The place to start is with our own hearts.

He cried, “when my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant” (Ps. 73:21,22). He realized that he had failed to keep his heart pure and free from bitterness, anger, and self-righteousness. Jesus taught, “Blessed are the poor in spirit…the pure in heart.” Instead of being self-righteous we need to realize that “there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not” (Eccl. 7:20, KJV). That includes us.

After confessing his bitterness, Asaph remembered more of what he had forgotten. Although a victim of injustice, he forgot that “I am always with you: you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you…God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Ps 73:23-26). The only way to live in an unjust world is to walk daily in fellowship with God. And to remember that if we have found mercy at the cross, Jesus walks with us and will never leave us.

If we are to walk with God, we must also understand God’s treatment of the unjust. We must remember that justice delayed is not justice denied. Delay reveals the weeping heart of God who longs to hear the repentance of the wicked in order to offer them mercy. This was Jonah’s complaint with God. He didn’t want to go to Nineveh of offer mercy so he fled. But when he did preach in Nineveh and they repented, Jonah was angry. Why? He wanted Nineveh destroyed. He complained to God, “I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” (Jonah 4:2).

Clearly, like Jonah, we need a heart change toward the unsaved even those especially unjust. Old Testament history tells us that every wicked people from the Canaanites through Assyria, Babylon, Rome, Greece and Medo-Persia were judged by God—in their time. In Romans 2:4-6 Paul warns people not to ignore or despise God’s patient kindness and tolerance towards those who do evil. Sigh. So many of our problems with life are due to our impatience. (Jan 13, 23)

THE GOODNESS OF GOD

We enjoy things that are good and usually avoid what is bad. Depending upon your preferences, what you view as really good might be a luscious, ripe peach, a perfectly blended coffee, or a tantalizing steak. We might enjoy the beauty of an amaryllis or a stroll along a sand beach. Where do all these good things come from? From God.

God has been doing good since he created the universe. In fact, he said of his creation, “It was good.” In our studies on essential beliefs, we come to a consideration of God’s essential goodness, a very rich attribute. His goodness includes his love, mercy, longsuffering, and faithfulness. First consider the perfection of his character that moves him to deal bountifully with all his creatures.

David writes, “The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made…The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time” (Psalm 145:9,15). Jesus explains that God’s goodness is poured on the whole world, irrespective of men’s goodness or evil. “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matt. 5:45). Paul explained to the idolatrous men of Lystra who worshipped Zeus and Hermes, that it was the living God “who has shown you kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he fills your hearts with joy” (Acts. 14:17).

The God we worship has been good to the earth in making us stewards of rich ecosystems where we can flourish. We can savor diverse fruits and vegetables, enjoy beautiful flowers and plants, rest beside sparkling rivers, lakes, and oceans, and marvel at the diversity of creatures in the air, on the land, and in the sea. We can discover amazing natural medicines and utilize a multiplicity of natural elements.

We cannot deny that mankind has not treated these ecosystems with the care they deserve. And yet, God continues to deal bountifully with mankind. Why? Because he is good.

Lord, help us to daily give thanks for your abundant goodness knowing that “every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights.”

This devotional concludes tomorrow, or click the header to read both parts now at Eric’s site.

The Gospel: Definition and Goals

^{NIV Jn. 5:39} You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, ⁴⁰ yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

Today’s teaching is from Christianity Today’s Skye Jethani who also edits the blog Out of Ur.

Call and Response: An Affirmation of Faith

For many readers here, catechism is a foreign word.

Dictionary.com defines it as:

Ecclesiastical .

a.

an elementary book containing a summary of the principles of the Christian religion, especially as maintained by a particular church, in the form of questions and answers.

b.

the contents of such a book.

I remember hearing about my Catholic friends — the ones who did not go to Roman Catholic schools — having to go to church on Saturday mornings for catechism classes. More recently, I’ve heard of LDS (Mormon) kids who must be at their local house of worship at 6:30 AM for similar types of instruction.

But probably the most interesting form of catechism is that practiced by the Reformed Churches before congregants in their early teens undergo “Profession of Faith;” the equivalent of Confirmation in Episcopal or Catholic traditions. This instruction consists of learning the Heidelberg Catechism which is written in a style similar to the Hebrew form of instruction,  done as a series of questions and answers. In the denomination’s hymnbook, The Psalter, the questions and answers appear in the form of readings that, properly used in worship services, reiterate the teaching throughout adulthood.

1  Q. What is your only comfort in life and death?

    A. Tha I am not my own

      but belong —

             body and soul

             life and death —

      to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.  …

6. Q. Did God create man so wicked and perverse?

     A. No

           God created man good and in his own image,

           that is, in true righteousness and holiness,

           so that he might

                  truly know God his creator

                  love him with all his heart,

                  and live with him in eternal happiness

          for his praise and glory.

No study of the notion of catechism is complete without a mention of the idea of creed.

noun

1.

any system, doctrine, or formula of religious belief, as of a denomination.

2.

any system or codification of belief or of opinion.

3.

an authoritative, formulated statement of the chief articles of Christian belief, as the Apostles’ Creed,  the Nicene Creed, or the Athanasian Creed.

A year ago, in preparation for introducing the song Creed by Rich Mullins, we talked about the elements of a creed as containing the non-negotiables of the faith. Today we’re re-introducing the song Yes I Believe by John Blake. Although it does use a sort of call and response lyric that is so appropriate to the content, it is more a song of proclamation or affirmation.

The Nuances of Grace and Resurrection

This story is widely blogged:

In What’s So Amazing about Grace?, Philip Yancey recounts this story about C. S. Lewis:

During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith.

They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death.

The debate went on for some time until C. S. Lewis wandered into the room. “What’s the rumpus about?” he asked, and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity’s unique contribution among world religions.

Lewis responded, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.”

After some discussion, the conferees had to agree.

The notion of God’s love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seems to go against every instinct of humanity. The Buddhist eight-fold path, the Hindu doctrine of Karma, the Jewish covenant, and Muslim code of law—each of these offers a way to earn approval. Only Christianity dares to make God’s love unconditional.

While I like the story, had I been present, I would have challenged the notion that other religions have verified accounts of resurrection. One of the other things that sets Christianity apart is the evidence for the resurrection; evidence which forms the themes of countless books on Christian apologetics.

But where I want to go with this today is this: If you think about it, grace and resurrection are somewhat similar ideas. The DNA present in the concept of grace is embedded in the concept of resurrection, and the DNA of resurrection is embedded in the concept of grace.

Both represent a ‘pass’ if you will.

I sin, but forgiveness is made available by the grace of God.

I die, but in expectation of being raised to eternal life just as Christ conquered death.

I avoid having to perform acts of penance or go through acts of contrition in order to recover my spiritual dignity; I simply need to sincerely ask God’s forgiveness, it is a gift from God, not involving effort or earning.

I avoid having to wonder if my remorse was sufficient, I can receive assurance from God’s Word that my transgressions are forgiven, because he is ever-faithful and ever-just.

I avoid a meaningless death, but die knowing that this is not the end; that death itself is a gateway to something greater that God has in store; something my eyes have never seen, my ears have never heard, my imagination has never conjured up.

Now, some will argue that avoiding the consequences of sin and someday experiencing the reality of victory over death is really the same thing; and I would agree. The two are linked.

But imagine — and you don’t have to — a belief system that includes both grace and resurrection. Why would you look anywhere else?

The Greatest Sermon Ever Preached – Part Two

“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is a sermon written by American Christian theologian Jonathan Edwards, preached on July 8, 1741 in Enfield, Connecticut. Like Edwards’ other sermons and writings, it combines vivid imagery of Hell with observations of the world and citations of scripture. It remains Edwards’ most famous written work, and is widely studied by Christians and historians, providing a glimpse into the theology of the Great Awakening of c. 1730–1755… 

Edwards was interrupted many times before finishing the sermon by people moaning and crying out, “What shall I do to be saved?”. Jonathan Edwards’ sermon continues to be the leading example of a Great Awakening sermon and is still used in religious and academic studies. Although the sermon has received criticism, Edwards words have endured and is still read to this day, over 270 years later.~ Wikipedia

This is the second half of a page devoted to Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God on Dane Gardow’s website, TruthSource.  Be sure to read part one first.  The language is different, so take it slowly.

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Application

The use of this awful subject may be for awakening unconverted persons in this congregation. This that you have heard is the case of every one of you that are out of Christ. — That world of misery, that lake of burning brimstone, is extended abroad under you. There is the dreadful pit of the glowing flames of the wrath of God; there is hell’s wide gaping mouth open; and you have nothing to stand upon, nor any thing to take hold of; there is nothing between you and hell but the air; it is only the power and mere pleasure of God that holds you up.

You probably are not sensible of this; you find you are kept out of hell, but do not see the hand of God in it; but look at other things, as the good state of your bodily constitution, your care of your own life, and the means you use for your own preservation. But indeed these things are nothing; if God should withdraw his hand, they would avail no more to keep you from falling, than the thin air to hold up a person that is suspended in it.

Your wickedness makes you as it were heavy as lead, and to tend downwards with great weight and pressure towards hell; and if God should let you go, you would immediately sink and swiftly descend and plunge into the bottomless gulf, and your healthy constitution, and your own care and prudence, and best contrivance, and all your righteousness, would have no more influence to uphold you and keep you out of hell, than a spider’s web would have to stop a falling rock. Were it not for the sovereign pleasure of God, the earth would not bear you one moment; for you are a burden to it; the creation groans with you; the creature is made subject to the bondage of your corruption, not willingly; the sun does not willingly shine upon you to give you light to serve sin and Satan; the earth does not willingly yield her increase to satisfy your lusts; nor is it willingly a stage for your wickedness to be acted upon; the air does not willingly serve you for breath to maintain the flame of life in your vitals, while you spend your life in the service of God’s enemies. God’s creatures are good, and were made for men to serve God with, and do not willingly subserve to any other purpose, and groan when they are abused to purposes so directly contrary to their nature and end. And the world would spew you out, were it not for the sovereign hand of him who hath subjected it in hope. There are the black clouds of God’s wrath now hanging directly over your heads, full of the dreadful storm, and big with thunder; and were it not for the restraining hand of God, it would immediately burst forth upon you. The sovereign pleasure of God, for the present, stays his rough wind; otherwise it would come with fury, and your destruction would come like a whirlwind, and you would be like the chaff on the summer threshing floor.

The wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed for the present; they increase more and more, and rise higher and higher, till an outlet is given; and the longer the stream is stopped, the more rapid and mighty is its course, when once it is let loose. It is true, that judgment against your evil works has not been executed hitherto; the floods of God’s vengeance have been withheld; but your guilt in the mean time is constantly increasing, and you are every day treasuring up more wrath; the waters are constantly rising, and waxing more and more mighty; and there is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, that holds the waters back, that are unwilling to be stopped, and press hard to go forward. If God should only withdraw his hand from the flood-gate, it would immediately fly open, and the fiery floods of the fierceness and wrath of God, would rush forth with inconceivable fury, and would come upon you with omnipotent power; and if your strength were ten thousand times greater than it is, yea, ten thousand times greater than the strength of the stoutest, sturdiest devil in hell, it would be nothing to withstand or endure it.

The bow of God’s wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and justice bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise or obligation at all, that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood. Thus all you that never passed under a great change of heart, by the mighty power of the Spirit of God upon your souls; all you that were never born again, and made new creatures, and raised from being dead in sin, to a state of new, and before altogether unexperienced light and life, are in the hands of an angry God. However you may have reformed your life in many things, and may have had religious affections, and may keep up a form of religion in your families and closets, and in the house of God, it is nothing but his mere pleasure that keeps you from being this moment swallowed up in everlasting destruction. However unconvinced you may now be of the truth of what you hear, by and by you will be fully convinced of it. Those that are gone from being in the like circumstances with you, see that it was so with them; for destruction came suddenly upon most of them; when they expected nothing of it, and while they were saying, Peace and safety: now they see, that those things on which they depended for peace and safety, were nothing but thin air and empty shadows.

The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours. You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment. It is to be ascribed to nothing else, that you did not go to hell the last night; that you was suffered to awake again in this world, after you closed your eyes to sleep. And there is no other reason to be given, why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but that God’s hand has held you up. There is no other reason to be given why you have not gone to hell, since you have sat here in the house of God, provoking his pure eyes by your sinful wicked manner of attending his solemn worship. Yea, there is nothing else that is to be given as a reason why you do not this very moment drop down into hell.

O sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in: it is a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath, that you are held over in the hand of that God, whose wrath is provoked and incensed as much against you, as against many of the damned in hell. You hang by a slender thread, with the flames of divine wrath flashing about it, and ready every moment to singe it, and burn it asunder; and you have no interest in any Mediator, and nothing to lay hold of to save yourself, nothing to keep off the flames of wrath, nothing of your own, nothing that you ever have done, nothing that you can do, to induce God to spare you one moment. — And consider here more particularly,

1. Whose wrath it is: it is the wrath of the infinite God. If it were only the wrath of man, though it were of the most potent prince, it would be comparatively little to be regarded. The wrath of kings is very much dreaded, especially of absolute monarchs, who have the possessions and lives of their subjects wholly in their power, to be disposed of at their mere will. Prov. 20:2. “The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion: Whoso provoketh him to anger, sinneth against his own soul.” The subject that very much enrages an arbitrary prince, is liable to suffer the most extreme torments that human art can invent, or human power can inflict. But the greatest earthly potentates in their greatest majesty and strength, and when clothed in their greatest terrors, are but feeble, despicable worms of the dust, in comparison of the great and almighty Creator and King of heaven and earth. It is but little that they can do, when most enraged, and when they have exerted the utmost of their fury. All the kings of the earth, before God, are as grasshoppers; they are nothing, and less than nothing: both their love and their hatred is to be despised. The wrath of the great King of kings, is as much more terrible than theirs, as his majesty is greater. Luke 12:4-5. “And I say unto you, my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that, have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom you shall fear: fear him, which after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell: yea, I say unto you, Fear him.”
2. It is the fierceness of his wrath that you are exposed to. We often read of the fury of God; as in Isa. 59:18. “According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay fury to his adversaries.” So Isa. 66:15. “For behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.” And in many other places. So, Rev. 19:15, we read of “the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” The words are exceeding terrible. If it had only been said, “the wrath of God,” the words would have implied that which is infinitely dreadful: but it is “the fierceness and wrath of God.” The fury of God! the fierceness of Jehovah! Oh, how dreadful that must be! Who can utter or conceive what such expressions carry in them! But it is also “the fierceness and wrath of almighty God.” As though there would be a very great manifestation of his almighty power in what the fierceness of his wrath should inflict, as though omnipotence should be as it were enraged, and exerted, as men are wont to exert their strength in the fierceness of their wrath. Oh! then, what will be the consequence! What will become of the poor worms that shall suffer it! Whose hands can be strong? And whose heart can endure? To what a dreadful, inexpressible, inconceivable depth of misery must the poor creature be sunk who shall be the subject of this! Consider this, you that are here present, that yet remain in an unregenerate state. That God will execute the fierceness of his anger, implies, that he will inflict wrath without any pity. When God beholds the ineffable extremity of your case, and sees your torment to be so vastly disproportioned to your strength, and sees how your poor soul is crushed, and sinks down, as it were, into an infinite gloom; he will have no compassion upon you, he will not forbear the executions of his wrath, or in the least lighten his hand; there shall be no moderation or mercy, nor will God then at all stay his rough wind; he will have no regard to your welfare, nor be at all careful lest you should suffer too much in any other sense, than only that you shall not suffer beyond what strict justice requires. Nothing shall be withheld, because it is so hard for you to bear. Ezek. 8:18. “Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity; and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet I will not hear them.” Now God stands ready to pity you; this is a day of mercy; you may cry now with some encouragement of obtaining mercy. But when once the day of mercy is past, your most lamentable and dolorous cries and shrieks will be in vain; you will be wholly lost and thrown away of God, as to any regard to your welfare. God will have no other use to put you to, but to suffer misery; you shall be continued in being to no other end; for you will be a vessel of wrath fitted to destruction; and there will be no other use of this vessel, but to be filled full of wrath. God will be so far from pitying you when you cry to him, that it is said he will only “laugh and mock,” Prov. 1:25-26, etc. How awful are those words, Isa. 63:3, which are the words of the great God. “I will tread them in mine anger, and will trample them in my fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.” It is perhaps impossible to conceive of words that carry in them greater manifestations of these three things, viz. contempt, and hatred, and fierceness of indignation. If you cry to God to pity you, he will be so far from pitying you in your doleful case, or showing you the least regard or favour, that instead of that, he will only tread you under foot. And though he will know that you cannot bear the weight of omnipotence treading upon you, yet he will not regard that, but he will crush you under his feet without mercy; he will crush out your blood, and make it fly, and it shall be sprinkled on his garments, so as to stain all his raiment. He will not only hate you, but he will have you in the utmost contempt: no place shall be thought fit for you, but under his feet to be trodden down as the mire of the streets.
3. The misery you are exposed to is that which God will inflict to that end, that he might show what that wrath of Jehovah is. God hath had it on his heart to show to angels and men, both how excellent his love is, and also how terrible his wrath is. Sometimes earthly kings have a mind to show how terrible their wrath is, by the extreme punishments they would execute on those that would provoke them. Nebuchadnezzar, that mighty and haughty monarch of the Chaldean empire, was willing to show his wrath when enraged with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; and accordingly gave orders that the burning fiery furnace should be heated seven times hotter than it was before; doubtless, it was raised to the utmost degree of fierceness that human art could raise it. But the great God is also willing to show his wrath, and magnify his awful majesty and mighty power in the extreme sufferings of his enemies. Rom. 9:22. “What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction?” And seeing this is his design, and what he has determined, even to show how terrible the unrestrained wrath, the fury and fierceness of Jehovah is, he will do it to effect. There will be something accomplished and brought to pass that will be dreadful with a witness. When the great and angry God hath risen up and executed his awful vengeance on the poor sinner, and the wretch is actually suffering the infinite weight and power of his indignation, then will God call upon the whole universe to behold that awful majesty and mighty power that is to be seen in it. Isa. 33:12-14. “And the people shall be as the burnings of lime, as thorns cut up shall they be burnt in the fire. Hear ye that are far off, what I have done; and ye that are near, acknowledge my might. The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites,” etc. Thus it will be with you that are in an unconverted state, if you continue in it; the infinite might, and majesty, and terribleness of the omnipotent God shall be magnified upon you, in the ineffable strength of your torments. You shall be tormented in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and when you shall be in this state of suffering, the glorious inhabitants of heaven shall go forth and look on the awful spectacle, that they may see what the wrath and fierceness of the Almighty is; and when they have seen it, they will fall down and adore that great power and majesty. Isa. 66:23-24. “And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. And they shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me; for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched, and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.”
4. It is everlasting wrath. It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God one moment; but you must suffer it to all eternity. There will be no end to this exquisite horrible misery. When you look forward, you shall see a long for ever, a boundless duration before you, which will swallow up your thoughts, and amaze your soul; and you will absolutely despair of ever having any deliverance, any end, any mitigation, any rest at all. You will know certainly that you must wear out long ages, millions of millions of ages, in wrestling and conflicting with this almighty merciless vengeance; and then when you have so done, when so many ages have actually been spent by you in this manner, you will know that all is but a point to what remains. So that your punishment will indeed be infinite. Oh, who can express what the state of a soul in such circumstances is! All that we can possibly say about it, gives but a very feeble, faint representation of it; it is inexpressible and inconceivable: For “who knows the power of God’s anger?”

How dreadful is the state of those that are daily and hourly in the danger of this great wrath and infinite misery! But this is the dismal case of every soul in this congregation that has not been born again, however moral and strict, sober and religious, they may otherwise be. Oh that you would consider it, whether you be young or old! There is reason to think, that there are many in this congregation now hearing this discourse, that will actually be the subjects of this very misery to all eternity. We know not who they are, or in what seats they sit, or what thoughts they now have. It may be they are now at ease, and hear all these things without much disturbance, and are now flattering themselves that they are not the persons, promising themselves that they shall escape. If we knew that there was one person, and but one, in the whole congregation, that was to be the subject of this misery, what an awful thing would it be to think of! If we knew who it was, what an awful sight would it be to see such a person! How might all the rest of the congregation lift up a lamentable and bitter cry over him! But, alas! instead of one, how many is it likely will remember this discourse in hell? And it would be a wonder, if some that are now present should not be in hell in a very short time, even before this year is out. And it would be no wonder if some persons, that now sit here, in some seats of this meeting-house, in health, quiet and secure, should be there before tomorrow morning. Those of you that finally continue in a natural condition, that shall keep out of hell longest will be there in a little time! your damnation does not slumber; it will come swiftly, and, in all probability, very suddenly upon many of you. You have reason to wonder that you are not already in hell. It is doubtless the case of some whom you have seen and known, that never deserved hell more than you, and that heretofore appeared as likely to have been now alive as you. Their case is past all hope; they are crying in extreme misery and perfect despair; but here you are in the land of the living and in the house of God, and have an opportunity to obtain salvation. What would not those poor damned hopeless souls give for one day’s opportunity such as you now enjoy!

And now you have an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, and stands in calling and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners; a day wherein many are flocking to him, and pressing into the kingdom of God. Many are daily coming from the east, west, north and south; many that were very lately in the same miserable condition that you are in, are now in a happy state, with their hearts filled with love to him who has loved them, and washed them from their sins in his own blood, and rejoicing in hope of the glory of God. How awful is it to be left behind at such a day! To see so many others feasting, while you are pining and perishing! To see so many rejoicing and singing for joy of heart, while you have cause to mourn for sorrow of heart, and howl for vexation of spirit! How can you rest one moment in such a condition? Are not your souls as precious as the souls of the people at Suffield, where they are flocking from day to day to Christ?

Are there not many here who have lived long in the world, and are not to this day born again? and so are aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and have done nothing ever since they have lived, but treasure up wrath against the day of wrath? Oh, sirs, your case, in an especial manner, is extremely dangerous. Your guilt and hardness of heart is extremely great. Do you not see how generality persons of your years are passed over and left, in the present remarkable and wonderful dispensation of God’s mercy? You had need to consider yourselves, and awake thoroughly out of sleep. You cannot bear the fierceness and wrath of the infinite God. — And you, young men, and young women, will you neglect this precious season which you now enjoy, when so many others of your age are renouncing all youthful vanities, and flocking to Christ? You especially have now an extraordinary opportunity; but if you neglect it, it will soon be with you as with those persons who spent all the precious days of youth in sin, and are now come to such a dreadful pass in blindness and hardness. — And you, children, who are unconverted, do not you know that you are going down to hell, to bear the dreadful wrath of that God, who is now angry with you every day and every night? Will you be content to be the children of the devil, when so many other children in the land are converted, and are become the holy and happy children of the King of kings?

And let every one that is yet out of Christ, and hanging over the pit of hell, whether they be old men and women, or middle aged, or young people, or little children, now hearken to the loud calls of God’s word and providence. This acceptable year of the Lord, a day of such great favour to some, will doubtless be a day of as remarkable vengeance to others. Men’s hearts harden, and their guilt increases apace at such a day as this, if they neglect their souls; and never was there so great danger of such persons being given up to hardness of heart and blindness of mind. God seems now to be hastily gathering in his elect in all parts of the land; and probably the greater part of adult persons that ever shall be saved, will be brought in now in a little time, and that it will be as it was on the great out-pouring of the Spirit upon the Jews in the apostles’ days; the election will obtain, and the rest will be blinded. If this should be the case with you, you will eternally curse this day, and will curse the day that ever you was born, to see such a season of the pouring out of God’s Spirit, and will wish that you had died and gone to hell before you had seen it. Now undoubtedly it is, as it was in the days of John the Baptist, the axe is in an extraordinary manner laid at the root of the trees, that every tree which brings not forth good fruit, may be hewn down and cast into the fire. Therefore, let every one that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the wrath to come. The wrath of Almighty God is now undoubtedly hanging over a great part of this congregation. Let every one fly out of Sodom: “Haste and escape for your lives, look not behind you, escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed.”

Dealing with Myths about the Authenticity of Christianity

This post is all too short, and Chris Brooks, the blogger at Homeward Bound hasn’t posted anything since this appeared in July; however, I still thought it was a good resource for getting us all thinking about dealing with this particular objection to Christianity when it comes up.  It appeared under the title Jesus & Myth.

Did the New Testament writers borrow from ancient myths in creating stories about Jesus?

It’s a charge that comes and goes over the years. If you haven’t heard it lately, you probably will soon. It goes something like this:

There have been stories about (semi-)divine men who came to earth, died, and were resurrected for thousands of years. The religions based on their worship even included baptism and a special meal. Early Christians simply borrowed elements from those religions to create stories about their own christ.And a lot of that is almost true. Almost. The collected wisdom of Christendom on the topic seems be:

1) The similarities between these ancient stories and Christianity are exaggerated and the differences are minimized.

For example, “resurrection” in these stories didn’t really involve dead people getting up and walking around or it wasn’t permanent. For instance, Osiris’ dismembered corpse was reassembled, but he remained in the underworld. And their resurrection stories were tied to cyclical fertility/harvest rituals; they weren’t once for all time events.

Likewise, “baptism” meant being bathed in blood from a freshly killed animal. Calling that baptism is stretching the term beyond recognition, and it’s something first century Jews wouldn’t have found at all interesting.

2) The real similarities are datable only to after Christianity appeared.

These “mystery” religions were still around at and after the time of Christ. If the similarities (e.g., communion) only appear in the historical record in the second or third century, which way did the borrowing go? The other way, obviously, as our traditions can be dated from the first century.

3) Post-exile Jews were the last people we’d expect to absorb or syncretize with another religion.

They were really, really opposed to allowing their religion to be corrupted by outside influences after that whole Babylon thing (c.f., Maccabean rebellion). That’s not to say it could never happen, but it does mean the evidence has to be really solid for it to be believed.

So did early Christians borrow myths from other religions to create a Christ they could worship? The evidence does not support that hypothesis.

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Other resources:
The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel (Zondervan)
Jesus and Other Myths (Video)

Related articles:
The Resurrection: A Story No One Would Make Up
Pagan Virgin Births

~Chris Brooks