Chapter 4

Hi Everyone

Well it has finally happened.  Today I had an uninterrupted block of time several hours long while sitting on the verandah at Darrell and Anne's house in Withcott with my laptop on my knee. 
It has been so long since this has happened - with coffees, boats, trips to Queensland, coffees, boats, afternoon snoozes, coffees, etc. occupying my days - getting a slab of time available for writing has been difficult.  (Retirement is soooooo busy)

As a result of today's miracle, I have finally completed the first draft of the next chapter, which I began writing in February 2011, and has not been touched for 6 months.  phew .....

  

It is hiding in the usual spot.

http://users.ncable.net.au/~barrytatt/c4.pdf 

for those with failing memories.  :-)

I will leave it up there for a month or so.  You will need the password grace3 to open it.

If you can spare me the time, I would love you to read it and give me your harshest feedback.

You are my only reviewers and editors - so questions, comments, criticisms, requests for more information, and plain old, "I just don't like this paragraph because ..... " statements will be most welcome.

Love and blessings to you all,

Barry

How Do Unbelievers Get Saved?

Recently I was asked, "Could you help me through the scriptures with how the unbelievers will be saved?"
I have replied and thought I would share the reply with you for your consideration and feedback.

I am happy to journey through the Scriptures with you on this, although I have to admit, before we commence, that there are not too many clues in the Scriptures about HOW God does most things, including the saving of unbelievers, whether they are on this planet, or have left it.
In many cases we know WHAT he does/did, but not HOW he does/did it.
For example,
We know that God implanted Jesus into the womb of the virgin Mary, but no clues are given about how he did it?
We know that Jesus turned water into wine, but no clues are given about how he did it?
We know that Jesus raised the widow's son in Nain from the dead, but no clues are given about how he did it?
You and I received faith in God and Jesus' sacrifice for our sins, but I, for one, cannot explain HOW we got that faith?

We, as the creatures, will never understand how he, the Creator, does such things, unless he tells us, or we make guesses from clues sprinkled through the Scriptures.

So let's start with the WHAT, about the fate of those who leave the planet as unbelievers, which is well documented in the Scriptures.
Col 1 : 19 - 20 :   God will reconcile all things, in heaven and on earth, to himself.  The same sacrifice of Jesus that got you and me reconciled to God will reconcile the rest of his creation.
2 Cor 5 : 19 :   God is no longer counting our sins against us - any of us.
1 John 2 : 2 :   Jesus paid for the sins of the whole world.
1 Tim 4 : 10 :   God will save all people, not just believers.
Romans 11 : 32 :   God will have mercy on us all.
Ephesians 1 : 10 :   The end result will be the unity of all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

HOW God will save unbelievers beyond their time on this planet is just as difficult to explain as the HOW he saves those who become believers while still here (people like us).
We are made aware of our sin, God's provision for dealing with it, and his being reconciled to us.
God gives us the faith to believe these truths, as Jesus draws us to himself.
We respond by confessing our faith in Jesus and his completed work for us.
We are reconciled to (at peace with) God, and express our appreciation and devotion.
This happens in a multitude of ways and circumstances and places - it's all God's doing and timing.

Those who leave this planet as unbelievers will be reconciled to God through a similar series of "steps" that converted unbelievers experience in their lifetime here - awareness, faith, drawing, confession, reconciliation, appreciation and devotion.
Here are my guesses .....
Because God is already reconciled to these unbelievers when they show up before him, they will discover that God holds nothing against them and does not need to be feared (because of the completed work of Jesus in dealing with their sin).
Believing these truths will be easy in the presence of Jesus; they will be drawn to him, confessing their conviction that he is their Lord and their God.
This will happen far too late for them to experience governing with Christ and previous believers in the kingdom age, but will carry them reconciled into eternity.

So what clues have I based these guesses on?
One way or the other God's plan (the WHAT above) must be fulfilled.  [ Psalm 135 : 6 ;  Isaiah 46 : 9 - 11 ]
Jesus came into the world to save it, not judge it, and he is the same yesterday and today and into the ages.  [ John 12 : 47 ;  Hebrews 13 : 8 ]
God is already reconciled to all of us and holds nothing against us.  [ 2 Cor 5 : 19 ]
The experience of Thomas.  [ John 20 : 24 - 29 ]
Jesus' parable of the prodigal son and how his loving and merciful father dealt with him.  [ Luke 15 ]

Well, that's where I'm up to on this topic.  What are your thoughts?
Blessings, Barry

Do you lovely bloggers have any thoughts on this?  I'd love to explore this with you too.
Blessings, Barry

Is Jesus Only the Savior of Believers?

One of the most interesting positions taken by many Christians is that Jesus Christ is their Saviour ONLY when they believe that he is.

To generalise this position .....  a fact is only true when we believe it is true .......
For example, centuries ago most of the world believed that the earth was flat.  Although this belief had an important influence on the people of the time, especially on ocean-faring merchants and sailors, it had no bearing on the actual shape of the earth, on the facts.
In other words, beliefs can never determine facts.  Rather, facts must already be true (in existence) before they can be the subject of belief.

Now let's consider the facts about Jesus and salvation.

For God was pleased to have all his fulness dwell in him (Christ), and through him (Christ) to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
[ Col 1 : 19 - 20 ]

God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them.
[ 2 Cor 5 : 19 ]

These are the facts.  Whether they are believed or not will not alter them.

As Jesus himself said, " I will draw all people to myself."  [ John 12 : 32 ]
He is the Saviour of the world, of all people.  That is a fact.

So what role does belief play?
Firstly, there is the obvious one .....

Those who believe in the Son of God (Jesus Christ) accept this testimony (of the facts about Jesus).  Those who do not believe God have made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 
[ 1 John 5 : 10 ]

Secondly, the one where people have been led astray by poor English translations .....

And this is the testimony: God has given us life in the ages (NOT eternal life), and this life is in his Son.
Those who have the Son have this life; those who do not have the Son of God (Jesus Christ) do not have this life.
[ 1 John 5 : 11 -12 ]

And that is another fact.  Believers have life in the ages (the current age and those ages still to come), while unbelievers wait until the ages are completed for their "drawing to Jesus" to occur.

All will be reconciled to God eventually, but there is something special for believers - they will rule (govern) with Christ in the ages.
The Apostle Paul hints at this in his encouragement to Timothy .....

That is why we labour and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Saviour of all people, and especially of those who believe.
[ 1 Tim 4 : 10 ]

Believing doesn't alter the facts; but believing the facts about Jesus and salvation has special (first-fruit) benefits.

Blessings, Barry.

Dreams and Visions

One of Jesus' promises that I love to quote is recorded in John 12: 32.

"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."

Some interesting stories are coming out of the Middle East at the moment demonstrating one of the ways Jesus is doing this.
Muslim believers from this area of the world are frequently telling how they came to Christ through dreams and visions of Jesus.
They are saying things like .....

I was content.  I was a Muslim, and all of a sudden I get this dream about Jesus and he loved me and said, "Come, follow me."

God is at work in these Muslim communities in a way that missionaries over the years have never seen before.
While the cost of converting from Islam to Christianity is terribly high in Muslim countries, imprisonment or death for most, increasing numbers of Muslims are coming to Jesus.
Just like you and I were - called and drawn.

I think we are living in exciting times.
Blessings, Barry

Salvation Appeals

Sorry for the drought in posts recently.

Was out of town for a week watching grandchildren dancing in an eisteddfod, which was wonderful, but have also been revamping a couple of the earlier chapters of the book.  O the joys of writing for an unknown audience on a controversial and emotional topic !!!

Thank you so much for the feedback on the chapters that I've shown you. 

Your comments help me to think outside the mental box I occupy while I'm writing, and enable me to be more considerate of the positions that may be held by some of my potential readership.

Here's today's thought.
In evangelistic or gospel meetings, what can you remember of salvation appeals or invitations given by the preacher?
I'm guessing you haven't heard one like this.

You are forgiven.
If you've never done this before .....
I invite you to come forward and thank God for his goodness and love.

Just in case someone gets upset about such a "tactic," be ready to remind them that 2 Cor 5 : 19 says

God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting people's sins against them.

BTW, if you do ever hear a preacher doing this, please let me know.
I would love to spend some time with him/her.

Back to the revamp.  Blessings, Barry

The Story in a Nutshell

At the beginning of Chapter 4, in a section called "The Story in a Nutshell," I have tried to paint a quick picture of the state we humans are in before introducing Jesus as the Saviour of the World.
I found this a tough task.
Would you please look at it and tell me if/how I can improve it while remaining fairly brief?
Thanks, Barry.

God created mankind in his own likeness.
He did this to produce an extension of his divine family that would be responsible to govern the earth for him.
This adventure began with Adam, and his wife Eve, in the Garden of Eden.
You can read about their story in the early chapters of Genesis, the first book in the Bible.

Although the Garden was a perfect, heavenly paradise, it provided a very sheltered life for Adam and Eve.
They could “only” experience the peace and joy of living in harmony with God under his loving care and provision.
They had no idea what the full scope of life had the potential to offer.
They certainly had no idea how well off they were as they had nothing with which to compare their idyllic lifestyle.

God provided a tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the Garden knowing that given the choice, Adam and Eve would want to experience its “benefits.”
God told them to avoid this tree, so that when they did touch it, their disobedience would automatically trigger the destruction of their intimate, dependent relationship with him.
They were subsequently removed from their Garden Paradise and given the responsibility of negotiating the outside world of good and evil and providing their own food, shelter and creature comforts.

In that separated state in the outside world, Adam and Eve gave birth to our fallen, human race.
Consequently, all of us have been born into this world separated from God and with a likeness to God that is barely recognisable any more and with little or no interest in governing God's earth for him.
So we start out experiencing what life without God is like, and serving our own interests and governing our own little worlds for our own selfish ambitions.

Because God planned for all this to happen, he also planned to bring it all back into order and have his original purpose and plans achieved.
God's plan, designed before the world even began, was to save us from our God-separatedness (called death in the Bible) and from our inherited Adam-likeness.
This saving would restore us to our original, dependent relationship with God and to our ordained state of God-likeness.

And Jesus Christ, God's first born Son, was and is the key to both of these restoration projects, as we shall see in the next few pages.

Blessings, Barry

Funerals

I have attended more funerals in the last two years than I have in all the previous years of my life. (We have so many relatives and friends down here who are/were a bit older than us.)

And I have been fascinated with the content of the funeral services.
Although these funerals have been for a mix of believers and not-yet-believers, their themes have not been that much different.
In all cases, two points have come across quite strongly.

1.  All those whose bodies we buried were expected to go to heaven and be re-united with their loved ones, who had likewise gone to heaven before them.
No mention of hell, or punishment, and certainly nothing about everlasting punishment.
It didn't matter who the deceased was, or who was conducting the service, no-one was even considered a possibility of missing out on heaven.
Universal salvation was the standard, unchallenged theme.

2.  All were expected to have gone to heaven immediately.  They were all "in a much better place now."
No mention of going to Hades, or to hell, or waiting for a resurrection, or any other delay or stopover on the way.
Immediate, conscious transition from here to heaven was a given.

When I questioned one Christian celebrant who had led the service for a not-yet-believer about these themes in his service, he said that he didn't care "which route anyone took to get to the post office."
I quietly marvelled at his inference that everyone was eventually getting to the post office, one way or the other.
And this from a man whose personal beliefs for such non-believers include everlasting punishment in hell after waiting somewhere for a damning appearance before a "just" God at the Great White Throne.

It seems that the standard church system message is taught and encouraged in church circles, but a more loving, gracious, comforting message is given to grieving relatives and friends at gravesides.

Which reminds me of the testimony I recently read of a Palliative Care Pastor in the United States.  He said that the people who showed the most fear when approaching death were Christians, who feared they might not have done enough to avoid everlasting torment in hell.
( Wow, hasn't that statement a load of issues to deal with? )

So if you want to hear the best sermons preached, avoid church and attend funerals !!

Blessings, Barry

Atheists Understandably Confused

Found this poster on an atheist website today.  The URL for the poster was:
http://www.thinkatheist.com/photo/satan-more-powerful-than-god?

The text of the poster says,

    “Why Satan is more powerful than God.

    Because of original sin you will go to hell.

    However God desires that all men be saved.

    In effort to save many from death and hell God spent several thousand years developing a plan.

    This plan involved a miraculous birth, 33 year life, and horrific death of His Son.

    But this plan of salvation only provides salvation for a lucky fraction of all mankind who hear and believe.

    All of this in an attempt to undo what Satan accomplished with a single conversation…and it isn’t working.

    Christians actually believe this !!

    They believe that Satan is either much more powerful or much more intelligent than God.”

Atheists can see how stupid the mainstream Christian view is, even though mainstream Christians can't.  Fancy calling that Good News and being able to keep a straight face !!

Barry

Who's Un-Biblical ?

I recently had a conversation with a local church leader about "my un-biblical views" that God is the Saviour of the world and that all will eventually be reconciled to him.
It was suggested that I should not be expressing these ideas around the church as they were unsettling other members, causing division and undermining the leadership.
Phew!

In my devotions this morning, I began reading John's letters and soon bumped into one of my favourite verses.
Speaking about "Jesus Christ, the Righteous One", the Apostle John says that .....
"He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world" [1 John 2 : 2  NIV]
The Message puts John's statement this way .....
When he served as a sacrifice for our sins, he solved the sin problem for good - not only ours, but the whole world's. [1 John 2 : 2  MSG]

How clear is that?
Yet, most of mainstream Christianity, and particularly its leadership, proclaim that the perfect and supreme sacrifice of Jesus will leave the great majority of his creation totally unaffected as it rushes headlong toward eternal torment and destruction.
And, by the way, while being carefully supervised by the God of love.

All this just reinforces what I decided some time ago - my views are more un-churchical than un-biblical.
It's getting more and more difficult to keep attending church and keep smiling.
If only those pastor/shepherds would care enough for me to show me the errors of my ways and put me on the right path, instead of just telling me to be quiet.

..... still looking for a good church .....

Blessings, Barry

What We Learn from the Costa Concordia

I gave you this one yesterday by email, but thought it was worth putting on the blog.

Because each new post or comment on the blog is sent to all of us by email to keep us in touch with what is being added to the blogsite, you will have a double up in your email INBOX,  Sorry.  Barry

In the largest passenger ship loss since the Titanic, 33 of the 4,252 passengers and crew of the Costa Concordia perished. The captain of the ship was arrested on preliminary charges, including manslaughter.
Despite the fact that some 99.2% were saved, it remains a tragic loss of life. Every life on board the ship was of unique value, and their individual death is a great tragedy.

Just the other day, my dear friend and brother, Jim Burson, shared with me an astute illustration spawned by this cruise ship incident.

"There was a large passenger ship with a thousand people on it. The captain assembled all passengers and announced to them, 'The ship is about to sink, but I have GOOD News. Fifty of you will be able to make it to dry land.'

"This is the 'Good News' of traditionalism, but I contend that it is not 'Good News' at all. For the nine hundred and fifty who are about to perish, it certainly is not 'Good News.' For those fifty who will not perish, it is not 'Good News,' because they likely will leave behind children, wives and husbands. Most of all it is not 'Good News' to the captain because he knows it was his responsibility to assure the well-being of his passengers."

Here is what we learn from the Costa Concordia: the captain is always responsible for his ship – and all under his care. Any loss is unacceptable, even .8%. This is even truer concerning the Sovereign of the Universe. He is responsible for all He has made – for His entire creation – and He emphatically declares Himself to be the "Savior of all men" (I Timothy 4:10).

In effectually discharging His responsibility God sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to "take away the sin of the world" (John 1:29), proclaiming Him to be the actual "Savior of the world" (John 4:42).

In spite of all of this, Christianity has the faithless audacity to bring an indictment against God: the vast majority of His creation will be eternally lost, and His Son will utterly fail, being guilty Himself of dereliction of responsibility for His Saviorhood.

Our Lord Jesus Christ "came to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10), and He Who leaves the 99, tirelessly and unfailingly will "go after that which is lost, until He finds it" (Luke 15:4). Some of Christianity would have the nerve to suggest that only a fraction will eventually be saved. However, if Christ's rate of salvation was that of the Costa Concordia's – 99.2% – He would be an utter failure, as He was not declared to be the "99.2% Savior of the world."

Salvation is not the responsibility of the crew or passengers, but of Salvation's Captain (the "Captain of their salvation" – Hebrews 2:10, KJV) – the successful "Savior of the WORLD." He, and He alone, will see to its full and complete accomplishment. The Good News is that the ship Salvation is in unwaveringly capable hands. Father and His Son are in absolute control.

Rest, and enjoy the cruise.

Clyde L. Pilkington, Jr.  

You'll have to excuse the American spellings in most of these quotes, but it is truly amazing how many people have held this "universalist" position, in one form or another, over the centuries.

Since discovering all these authors I have been tempted several times to stop writing my book as it has all been said before, but I am definitely continuing, as my presentation will be much "lighter" and more geared to 'the man in the street' than most of the books and sites I have discovered.


Blessings, Barry

And There's More ......No Timeframe (almost)

Another interesting thing about the Law of Redemption is that there is virtually no time-frame applicable to the people involved.
The law does not say that a person must be redeemed immediately by the close relative, or even within a set time of being sold. 
Any point within the period of bondage is an appropriate time for a person to be redeemed.

But there is one time factor that overrides everything else, supersedes all redemption laws.
It is the Law of Jubilee.

Count off seven sabbath years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbath years amount to a period of forty-nine years.
Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land.

Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each of you is to return to your family property and to your own clan.
The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines.
For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields.
In this Year of Jubilee everyone is to return to their own property.
[ Lev 25 : 9 - 13  NIV ]

On this occasion, once every 49 years, all debts were cancelled and all people returned to their own land.
The application of this law prevented debts continuing for ever (which plagues modern society) and prevented everlasting punishment for sin.
This is God's grace in action - in the LAW!
And who said grace was only a New Testament concept?

And for the person sold to a foreign master and unable or unwilling to be redeemed?

Even if they are not redeemed in any of these ways, they and their children are to be released in the Year of Jubilee, for the Israelites belong to me as servants.
They are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
[ Lev 25 : 54 -55  NIV ]

There are no debts and no debtors in the land after the Jubilee.
Everyone is free.

It shouldn't be hard to see the application of the Jubilee to the plight of the world - of those who can't or won't be redeemed by their close relative Jesus.
The creation's jubilee is coming.
Every thing and every one will be set free.

As Peter says

Heaven must receive him [Jesus] until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.
[  Acts 3 : 21  NIV ]

And Paul

For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

[ 1 Cor 15 : 22  NIV ]

The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
[ 1 Cor 15 : 26  NIV ]

and Jesus 

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

[ John 8 : 36  NIV ]

No-one remains a debtor to Satan at the Jubilee of God's creation.  Wow !!
G.R.A.C.E. is what I call it.

Blessings, Barry

More Leviticus Thoughts

Some more thoughts on the speck of gospel gold we found in Leviticus 25 : 47 - 55.

It seems that there were some choices available to the "players" in the redemption game.
The rich foreigner, the one sold and the close relative all had decisions to make.

The rich foreigner, or creditor, could choose whether to enslave his debtor or not, or whether he would just give him more time to pay his debt.
He does not have the option, however, to decide whether or not to allow the slave to be redeemed (provided that the proposed redeemer is a close relative and has the required payment.)

The one sold, or debtor, could choose whether to allow his close relative to free him or not.
He may think he is better off with the master he has, than working for an unpleasant or over-demanding or less generous relative.

The close relative, or redeemer, could choose (providing he had enough money) whether to redeem his kinsman or not.
Although the redeemed would be required to now work for him, he may decide that is not good value for the money he might invest.

All of them have choices they can make, but only within the limits imposed by a greater law, called the Law of Jubilee.
(We'll discuss this greater, over-arching law in the next posting.)
So each of them has "limited freewill" - a brilliant oxymoron I just love to toss into these discussions.

In the broader picture, the application of Israeli life is most interesting.
As Paul suggests, what happened to them is a model or example or pattern for what God is doing universally.

The rich foreigner is Satan who has placed all of mankind into bondage to himself.
He had the choice whether to do this or not, but clearly he chose to capture Adam and all of his "estate."
He also has no choice but to free those in bondage, when the close relative redeemer arrives and pays the price.

The debtor is mankind, some of whom have chosen to be redeemed by their brother, and others who cannot or will not be redeemed.
Those who have chosen to be redeemed are required to serve their redeemer instead of their task master, their creditor.

The close relative is Jesus, who did choose to redeem all who were in bondage to Satan.

The story of the Old Testament and New is much the same.
The same God of grace operates consistently through all the ages - which is a bit of a surprise for many people.

Blessings, Barry

Leviticus has Specks of Gospel Gold?

Most of us view Leviticus as a boring, irrelevant read.
And so it is - if you read with your spiritual antenna dismantled.
But look what I found in Chapter 25.  The Law of Redemption.

There are several aspects to this law, but verses 47 - 55 really caught my attention.
Let's start with verses 47 - 48.

If a foreigner residing among you becomes rich and any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to the foreigner or to a member of the foreigner's clan, they retain the right of redemption after they have sold themselves.
One of their relatives may redeem them.
[ Lev 25 : 47 - 48  NIV ]

Does this look very exciting to you?
Just hang in there - I think this might sneak into Chapter 4 in the book eventually.

Notice that a wealthy friend or some other well-to-do citizen can't redeem the sold person, only a close relative can.
That's the law - God's law.

Now what does that have to do with us?
Have you ever wondered why God came to this planet as flesh and blood to redeem us, rather than as an angel or in some other spiritual form?

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might ....... free those who all their lives were held in slavery .....
For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way .....
[ Hebrews 2 : 14 - 17  NIV ]

He came as the fully human Jesus so that he would qualify as a close relative of those he came to rescue.
God lives by his own law.
He could not rescue us any other way.
Only a close relative could demand the release of those sold in debt or poverty or slavery.

Hallelujah!  Isn't that something?
Blessings, Barry
(I'll post some more on the remaining verses soon.)

The Law of Gravitation

(Haven't decided whether to put this into Chapter 1 - "God Loves Us" or into Chapter 4 - "Jesus is the Saviour of the World".  As always your opinions, views, criticisms are most welcome.)

I enjoy reading science. 
Although my science degree (from 50 years ago) is in Physics, I like to keep in touch with where mankind is up to in appreciating and understanding God's wonderful creation in other areas as well - like chemistry, biology, geology and astronomy.
So please indulge me and let me digress a little to talk some science.

Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation states that any two objects exert a gravitational force of attraction on each other.
The direction of that force is from the centre of one object to the centre of the other.
The size of the force is determined by the size of the objects and their distance apart.
For any two particular objects the force on one is the same as the force on the other, but the effect of that force will be more visible on the smaller object.

Let me illustrate by considering the earth and me.
We attract each other with a force of about 800 “force units” (in the metric measurement system).
If I step off the top of a building, remove the “obstacle” between me and the earth, this force causes us to come together quite rapidly. 
But which one of us does the moving?
The force of 800 force units is not enough to get the earth moving towards me, but it sure moves me towards the earth.
So, small objects will move towards, and may eventually collide with, large objects because the force of attraction between them gets the smaller one moving more easily.

So why this digression?
I knew you'd be wondering by now.

I see the law of love working in the same way as the law of gravitation.
They are both universal laws put in place by God - one in the physical realm and one in the spiritual.
In the universal law of love, God is the big object and mankind is the small one. 
There is a love force of attraction between God and us whose direction is from the centre or heart of God to our centres or hearts.
That force is always acting so that when obstacles between us and God are reduced or removed, we will start moving towards God - and will eventually meet him, be united with him.

Jesus referred to this when he said that he would draw all people to himself.
It might take a while, it might need lots of obstacles to be removed, maybe reduced bit by bit, but eventually all people will meet him and be united with him.

Love to hear from you on this (or anything else for that matter)  Barry

Evolution is Deadly

In Chapter Four of THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT GOD I talk about Jesus being the Saviour of the world.
In discussing this, I assume the position that sin is a fact and that a Saviour is therefore necessary.

My recent thinking about atheism and evolution have made me realise that a growing proportion of people do not make these assumptions. 
Why not?

The TV vision of the recent London riots and associated criminality alone should give everyone a clue that sin is rampant in our world.
Yet, many are still blind to its existence or its relevance to their lives.

One of the reasons for this, I believe, is the growing saturation of our secondary science curricula and media presentations with evolutionary indoctrination.
Here's a simple example.
In our monthly RACV magazine, a medical doctor writes a column on some aspect of public health.
In this month's edition, he was promoting the health virtues associated with swimming and began the column entitled "In the Swim" with "Once we were fish and then most of us stopped swimming."
No wonder hordes of us believe the evolutionary story is true.

Even many Christians think that evolution is only a side issue and can be believed alongside their basic Christian beliefs.
But consider this .....
If evolution is true then
  there was no Adam and Eve created by God,
  there was no original sin in the Garden,
  there is no need for a Saviour,
  there is no need to be reconciled to God.

And being unreconciled to God is the definition of death - no life ..... in the kingdom.
But Christian faith leads to life, life in the kingdom age, so how can these two positions be compatible?

I am going to try to work this in to Chapter 4 in some way - not as a major point but as a passing comment to get readers to think a bit about this area while they are reading about Jesus being the Saviour of the world.
Any comments good people?
Barry
 

The Parable of the Surf Beach

Australia has superb surfing beaches.  As well as the excitement of riding the white caps to shore there is also a dangerous undertow or rip lurking beneath them to avoid or overcome.

Lifesavers patrol our beaches, mark the safest sections in which to swim and surf, and stand ready to save any who ignore the markings, become injured or fall victim to the outgoing undertow.

The beach, its waves and undertow, the surfers and lifesavers form a neat picture of God's purpose to bring all of his creation to unity under the leadership of Jesus Christ.

Imagine the picture.
The water is littered with surfers on their boards, having left the shore some time earlier.  Some are on the way in, some are sitting waiting for a good wave, some are just enjoying the view, some are paddling around, some are even heading out toward the open sea.
But eventually, at the end of the day, all of them return to the beach.

There are no options in the game plan.  All go out to sea and all come back to shore.
But what happens during a day's surfing?

Some surfers immediately catch their wave and come straight to shore.  Some choose to ride their wave more adventurously - changing direction, even going backwards at times, through the tube, up on the crest, lost in the foam, but eventually arriving "home".
Others fall from their wave or miss it altogether and have to wait for another.

Regardless of the variety of maneuvers or choices made by each surfer, the waves continue to travel towards the shore and all surfers will eventually arrive there too.
The natural rhythm of the ocean, the unchanging laws of nature, guarantee that!

So how does this picture demonstrate God's purpose in the world?

The surf is the world.  The beach is home, the final destination of every person in the world. 
The surfers are God's offspring, littered all over the world.  Some catch waves that take them to Jesus in their lifetime, others take longer having missed waves or not been in the right place to even see one.
The lifesaver on the beach is Jesus who is watching with great interest and compassion as his creation rides the waves and battles the rips of the world.

God's unchanging purpose for all of his creation is to bring everyone home.  We can't avoid it. It's the natural rhythm of the universe. Regardless of the choices we make, the number of waves we miss or ignore or fall from, eventually one of them will bring us to shore.

All of us?  What about the surfer who is injured, becomes exhausted, is totally captured by the rip and driven out beyond the breaking waves, or just never sees a wave?
The lifesaver comes to the rescue.  He brings to shore those who can't or won't get there themselves.  That's what he's there for.

He may even have to fight with them, overcome them, to bring them to the beach. Jesus once said he would even "drag" people home.

Jesus is God's lifesaver.  Jesus describes his role in the parables about the lost sheep and lost coin in Luke 15.  A sheep and a coin that are lost with no hope of returning home under their own steam are rescued by their owners.  

No-one will drown while Jesus is on duty in the lifesaver's box!  All of God's creation get home one way or the other.
Barry

God's Determination to Save the World

Have you ever thought about how determined God is to save the world?

Jesus made an amazing statement while talking about his upcoming death.

He said, "But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."
And John, the gospel writer who recorded what Jesus said in John 12 : 32, explained, "He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die."

So Jesus was predicting that he would die on a cross, and in doing so, would draw all people to Himself.

Let's examine the word "draw" in Jesus' statement.
It is translated from the Greek word "helkuo", which appears several times in the original (Greek) New Testament of the Bible.
But just look how it is translated in some of the other verses where it appears.

John 21 : 11 describes the last stage of the miraculous catch of fish after the resurrection of Jesus.
"Simon Peter went aboard and dragged (helkuo) the net ashore full of big fish, a hundred and fifty-three in all; even though there were so many, still the net did not tear."

Acts 16 : 19 describes Paul and Silas being brought before the magistrates in Philippi.
"When her owners realized that their chance of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged (helkuo) them to the authorities in the public square. "

Acts 21 : 30 describes the arrest of Paul in Jerusalem.
"Confusion spread through the whole city, and the people all ran together, grabbed Paul, and dragged (helkuo) him out of the Temple. At once the Temple doors were closed."

I think you will agree that translating "helkuo" as "drawing" would be far too timid in these verses.  The much better translation of "helkuo" is definitely "drag".

So let's put it into our original Jesus verse.
"But I, when I am lifted up from the earth (crucified), will drag (helkuo) all people to myself." 

Jesus sounds pretty determined to me.  I can't imagine He won't succeed with that sort of determination.  How about you?
Barry

The kingdom as yeast

It's amazing to discover that when we keep God's ultimate purpose for the world in mind, we begin to see so many bits of Scripture that are aligned with that purpose.

Take the little one verse parable in Matthew 13 : 33.  He told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened."  [ESV]

If you've done any bread-making you would have seen for yourself how the small amount of yeast you add to the mixture eventually spreads through the whole batch of flour. 

And Jesus says that this is a picture of the kingdom of heaven. 

What other purpose could he have possibly had in mind for telling this one-sentence parable?  None that I can see.

He was telling us that the kingdom eventually spreads through the whole world, through everything, and God will be all in all in the end, just as he purposed. [see 1 Cor 15 : 28]

Let me rattle on.  I have no basis for this next bit other than an imaginative mind.
Why 3 measures of flour, and not another number??

There are three "occasions" for the kingdom (the rulership of God) to be seen.
1.  Jesus' life, ministry and resurrection on the earth.
2.  Us, the firstfruits of the crop, ruling and reigning with Christ in the kingdom age after the first resurrection.
3.  The main harvest, the vast multitudes at the Great White Throne who are to be judged and cleaned up after the second resurrection being made ready to step into eternity.

The kingdom (leaven) will have eventually worked its way through the whole lot of us by the end of the ages.

Isn't that really good news from a little one-liner?  Barry

Jottings from John

Since John the Apostle was referred to as "the disciple whom Jesus loved", and the one who even leaned back against Jesus while they were reclining at the table during an evening meal, it seems reasonable that John knew Jesus very well, and probably better than most others.   What John had to say about Jesus is therefore worth noting. 

Let's look at some of John's jottings that might confirm our view that the scope of Jesus' ministry was all encompassing, universal in every way.

John's opening description of Jesus states that the purpose of his coming to earth was so that all might believe, and to achieve this, Jesus, the true light, would give light to everyone who comes into the world.  "There was a man sent from God whose name was John.   He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.   He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.   The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world."  [John 1 : 6 - 9  TNIV]

John (the Apostle) quotes John (the Baptiser) as recognising Jesus and the extent of his ministry the moment Jesus approaches him to be baptised in the Jordan river.   "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"  [John 1 : 29  TNIV] 

He repeats this description of Jesus himself in at least two places in the first letter he wrote to the churches he over-sighted.  "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world,"  [1 John 2 : 2  TNIV]  and "we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world."  [1 John 4 : 14  TNIV]

In a previous paragraph of the same letter, John declares that the reason Jesus came to earth was "to destroy the devil's work."   [1 John 3 : 8  TNIV]

The Samaritans, who were introduced to Jesus by the woman at the well, also recognised that Jesus "is the Saviour of the world."  [John 4 : 42  TNIV]

It seems there was no doubt in John's mind about the nature or extent of the mission of his friend, Jesus.  He was to reverse everything the devil had done by dying for the sin of the world and saving everyone who was to be or would become a part of it.

It is also worth mentioning that In his Gospel, John records Jesus' celebrated arrival in Jerusalem just before the last Passover Festival he celebrated on earth.  While predicting his death and explaining the way he would die, Jesus said, "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."  [John 12 : 32  TNIV]

That sounds pretty inclusive and universal too, doesn't it?

Barry