In my recent times of meditation, I've been mulling on the subject of temptation. Why are we tempted? Why are we the target of Satan's demonic assault? After all, we have no power or authority on our own, so why the barrage from our enemy? I was quickened in my spirit with these thoughts:
We face strong temptation in our lives because it’s not about us. Temptation is an assault by the demonic powers on their rival kingdom of Christ. That’s why (much to our chagrin) our salvation doesn’t curtail the force of temptation, but usually increases it. You see, when we invite The Spirit of Christ to live in us, they will come looking for us; for we now have the power of the One on who they appropriate all their fury.
Satan and his cohorts want to destroy the likeness of the crucified One that they see established in us (1 Pet. 4:14; Rev. 12:17). As Christians, we become their targets because of our close resemblance to our Brother, Jesus Christ.
All of us, whether born-again or not, bear some likeness to Jesus because we share with Him a human nature, the image of God. As we come to find peace with God through our acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Savior, we begin the transformation of being conformed more and more into the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29). The demons clamor and howl in the increasing glory of His light, and they’ll attempt, with even more impetus and motivation, to put it out of their sights.
Satan will do anything that he can to destroy the kingdom of God. Thus the reason for our temptation and the assault of the enemy on our lives.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Biblical Urban Legends
Urban legends (also called urban myths). Dictionary.com defines them this way: a modern story of obscure origin and with little or no supporting evidence that spreads spontaneously in varying forms and often has elements of humor, moralizing, or horror.
Those of us who are entrusted with the task of expositing the Scriptures in a local church (I pastored for several years) must take care to verify our sources, illustrations, and stories. No matter how helpful an illustration may be, it is dishonoring to God if it is untrue.
Here are a number of urban legends (most of them, I have expounded) that get repeated in sermons. Some are more pervasive than others, even appearing in commentaries and scholarly works.
1. The “eye of the needle” refers to a gate outside Jerusalem.
“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God,” says Jesus in Mark 10:25. Maybe you’ve heard of the gate in Jerusalem called the “eye of the needle.” The camel could pass through it only after stooping down and having all its baggage taken off.
The illustration is used in many sermons as an example of coming to God on our knees and without our baggage. The only problem is… there is no evidence for such a gate. The story has been around since the 15th century, but there isn’t a shred of evidence to support it.
2. The high priest wore a robe with bells on it when entering the Holy of Holies. Those listening on the outside could hear when the high priest stopped moving. A rope was tied around his ankle so that others could drag him out of the Holy of Holies in case God struck him dead.
Various versions of this claim have been repeated by pastors and Bible teachers, but it is a legend. It started in the Middle Ages and keeps getting repeated. There is no evidence for the claim in the Bible, the Apocrypha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Josephus, the Talmud, Mishna or any other source. Furthermore, the thickness of the veil (three feet) would have precluded the possibility of a priest being dragged out anyway.
3. Scribes took baths, discarded their pens, washed their hands, etc. every time they wrote the name of God.
As a way of getting across the reverence of the Jewish and Christian scribes toward God, preachers like to describe the honor given to God’s name. Unfortunately, there’s no evidence that scribes did these sorts of rituals every time they came across the name of God.
4. There was this saying among the sages: “May you be covered in your rabbi’s dust.”
This is one of the most pervasive and fast-spreading stories to flood the church in recent years. The idea is that as you walked behind your rabbi, he would kick up dust and you would become caked in it and so following your rabbi closely came to symbolize your commitment and zeal. Joel Willitts explains:
This is powerful stuff isn’t it? Well the only problem is that it just isn’t true… The context in which it is given in Mishnah (Aboth 1:4) is expressly not what is assumed by those who promulgate this idea.
5. Voltaire’s house is now owned by a Bible-printing publisher.
Voltaire was famous for saying, “One hundred years from my day there will not be a Bible in the earth except one that is looked upon by an antiquarian curiosity seeker.” There is a myth out there that within 50 years of Voltaire’s death, his house was owned by a Bible society that used his own printing press to make Bibles. Sounds like a great story, but it’s not true. Regardless, Voltaire’s prediction of the demise of the Bible was vastly overstated.
6. Gehenna was a burning trash dump outside Jerusalem.
I’ve used this illustration many times. But there isn’t evidence to support this idea. Still, because it seems like a reasonable explanation for the origin of the Hinnom Valley as “hell,” commentators and preachers have accepted it. It’s possible that the verdict may still be out on this one, but not if Todd Bolen is right:
“The explanation for the ‘fire of Gehenna’ lies not in a burning trash dump, but in the burning of sacrificed children. Already in Old Testament times, the Valley of Hinnom was associated with the destiny of the wicked. That the valley was just outside the city of Jerusalem made it an appropriate symbol for those excluded from divine blessing.”
7. NASA scientists have discovered a “missing day” which corresponds to the Joshua account of the sun standing still.
Please don’t repeat this myth. There has been no “missing day” discovered, and the legend has been circulating longer than NASA has been in existence, with different scientists playing the part.
To anyone who has ever heard me espouse any of these urban legends, I ask you to forgive me. My intent was not to mislead or fabricate. I failed to do my own research as to the validity of these statements. Blessing to you and yours.
Those of us who are entrusted with the task of expositing the Scriptures in a local church (I pastored for several years) must take care to verify our sources, illustrations, and stories. No matter how helpful an illustration may be, it is dishonoring to God if it is untrue.
Here are a number of urban legends (most of them, I have expounded) that get repeated in sermons. Some are more pervasive than others, even appearing in commentaries and scholarly works.
1. The “eye of the needle” refers to a gate outside Jerusalem.
“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God,” says Jesus in Mark 10:25. Maybe you’ve heard of the gate in Jerusalem called the “eye of the needle.” The camel could pass through it only after stooping down and having all its baggage taken off.
The illustration is used in many sermons as an example of coming to God on our knees and without our baggage. The only problem is… there is no evidence for such a gate. The story has been around since the 15th century, but there isn’t a shred of evidence to support it.
2. The high priest wore a robe with bells on it when entering the Holy of Holies. Those listening on the outside could hear when the high priest stopped moving. A rope was tied around his ankle so that others could drag him out of the Holy of Holies in case God struck him dead.
Various versions of this claim have been repeated by pastors and Bible teachers, but it is a legend. It started in the Middle Ages and keeps getting repeated. There is no evidence for the claim in the Bible, the Apocrypha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Josephus, the Talmud, Mishna or any other source. Furthermore, the thickness of the veil (three feet) would have precluded the possibility of a priest being dragged out anyway.
3. Scribes took baths, discarded their pens, washed their hands, etc. every time they wrote the name of God.
As a way of getting across the reverence of the Jewish and Christian scribes toward God, preachers like to describe the honor given to God’s name. Unfortunately, there’s no evidence that scribes did these sorts of rituals every time they came across the name of God.
4. There was this saying among the sages: “May you be covered in your rabbi’s dust.”
This is one of the most pervasive and fast-spreading stories to flood the church in recent years. The idea is that as you walked behind your rabbi, he would kick up dust and you would become caked in it and so following your rabbi closely came to symbolize your commitment and zeal. Joel Willitts explains:
This is powerful stuff isn’t it? Well the only problem is that it just isn’t true… The context in which it is given in Mishnah (Aboth 1:4) is expressly not what is assumed by those who promulgate this idea.
5. Voltaire’s house is now owned by a Bible-printing publisher.
Voltaire was famous for saying, “One hundred years from my day there will not be a Bible in the earth except one that is looked upon by an antiquarian curiosity seeker.” There is a myth out there that within 50 years of Voltaire’s death, his house was owned by a Bible society that used his own printing press to make Bibles. Sounds like a great story, but it’s not true. Regardless, Voltaire’s prediction of the demise of the Bible was vastly overstated.
6. Gehenna was a burning trash dump outside Jerusalem.
I’ve used this illustration many times. But there isn’t evidence to support this idea. Still, because it seems like a reasonable explanation for the origin of the Hinnom Valley as “hell,” commentators and preachers have accepted it. It’s possible that the verdict may still be out on this one, but not if Todd Bolen is right:
“The explanation for the ‘fire of Gehenna’ lies not in a burning trash dump, but in the burning of sacrificed children. Already in Old Testament times, the Valley of Hinnom was associated with the destiny of the wicked. That the valley was just outside the city of Jerusalem made it an appropriate symbol for those excluded from divine blessing.”
7. NASA scientists have discovered a “missing day” which corresponds to the Joshua account of the sun standing still.
Please don’t repeat this myth. There has been no “missing day” discovered, and the legend has been circulating longer than NASA has been in existence, with different scientists playing the part.
To anyone who has ever heard me espouse any of these urban legends, I ask you to forgive me. My intent was not to mislead or fabricate. I failed to do my own research as to the validity of these statements. Blessing to you and yours.
Friday, April 22, 2011
The Sixth Day
It was day six of creation. God hand-formed man into His image. Behold the man. Adam. The very first of the human race. His irresponsible choice plunged the entirety of human kind into the powerful stronghold of sin and death. Fast-forward to another sixth day. It's Friday. Pilate, the prefect of the Roman providence of Judea, stands beside Jesus and declares, “Behold the Man!” Jesus. The “second Adam”. The perfect human being, whose sinless life will reverse the curse of sin and death. Behold the Man who will make payment for our sin. Behold the Man who will appease the anger of a holy God. Behold the Man, our Messiah and Lord! Behold the Man. Savior and God!
Pitch-black darkness has invaded Jerusalem. An eery hush falls through the valleys that surround the hill, Golgotha. A loud cry pierces the deafening silence. Beaten beyond human recognition and wearing thorns for a crown, Jesus cries from the cross. "Tetelesta!" (translated, "It is finished!”). His work was complete. It was on the sixth day that God had completed his creation work. Now Jesus has finished His work. The Lamb without spot or blemish has died as our sacrifice. The victory cry from was cross echoes through the ages, “It is finished.” The sacrifice has been accomplished. And God, who had turn His back on Golgotha's stage, saw that it was good. Sin's hold has been broken. We can be free.
Good Friday musings. Just pondering out loud.
Pitch-black darkness has invaded Jerusalem. An eery hush falls through the valleys that surround the hill, Golgotha. A loud cry pierces the deafening silence. Beaten beyond human recognition and wearing thorns for a crown, Jesus cries from the cross. "Tetelesta!" (translated, "It is finished!”). His work was complete. It was on the sixth day that God had completed his creation work. Now Jesus has finished His work. The Lamb without spot or blemish has died as our sacrifice. The victory cry from was cross echoes through the ages, “It is finished.” The sacrifice has been accomplished. And God, who had turn His back on Golgotha's stage, saw that it was good. Sin's hold has been broken. We can be free.
Good Friday musings. Just pondering out loud.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
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