The Resurrection is Confirmation of Justification

     It is a nearly impossible for any student of the Bible to adequately explain the title in 700 words, but here goes. 

     According to Scripture sin is universal, i.e. everyone is guilty and a single sin will separate a person from God.

 

     “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”  Romans 3:23

     In addition to that truth, man is absolutely incapable of righting himself. Man has a problem.

     “…knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law…for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.”  Galatians 2:16

     ‘Justified’ means to be declared righteous in the eyes of God.  Justification is a gift bestowed by God to fulfill that which man was created to be.

     God’s gift does what the law could never do.

     “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed…”  Romans 3:21

     The purpose of the law was to reveal God’s standard of righteousness.  Though a man’s conscience provided some guidance, there were many aspects of God’s law that natural man didn’t recognize as ‘sin.’ 

     Even after God’s law was revealed, it was absolutely impossible for man to completely abide by it.

     God’s righteousness and justice are two of His immutable attributes and He requires the same standard of all men.  Therefore when a man is declared righteous he attains spiritual union with God and likeness of His character.

     God provided what man needed but couldn’t provide for himself.

     “…being justified freely by His grace through the redemption…in Christ Jesus…”  Romans 3:24

     Redemption is a wonderful word, rich in meaning.  It means deliverance from servitude because of a ransom paid; in the present context deliverance is from the power and consequence of sin.

     Paul then explains the price, or ransom, paid for one’s deliverance.

     “…Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness…”  Romans 3:25

     ‘Propitiation’ does in fact mean ‘mercy seat’ which was the covering of the Ark of the Covenant.  It was on the mercy seat that the blood of the offering on the Day of Atonement was sprinkled which was proof an offering had been slain.

     Jesus was in fact, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

     ‘Faith’ exercised by the believer is the grounds by which one receives justification.  Faith always means to take God at His word.

     “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…”  Romans 5:1

     ‘Peace’ is that which arises from being reconciled with God.  The enmity has been removed by the death of Jesus Christ.

     Being reconciled to God also delivers the justified from God’s required wrath.

     “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath…”  Romans 5:9

     ‘Saved’ is salvation from eternal death, sin, and its punishment.  It further means to give eternal life.

     ‘Wrath’ is God’s divine judgment required by His holiness to be inflicted on the unredeemed, i.e. those who attempt to attain righteousness by deeds of the flesh.

     The sum of the matter?

     “…It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.”  Romans 4:24-25

     The vicarious sacrifice of Christ was transferred to the account of all who believe God raised Him from the dead.  Christ’s death was payment for our sins, and He was raised as proof that our justification was a done deal!

     He paid a debt He did not owe; I owed a debt I could not pay…

     Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection results in newness of life and are wonderfully portrayed in the sacrament of baptism.

     “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.  For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection…”  Romans 6:4-5

     Happy Easter!

     There! 700 words.

     Share your thoughts walt.thrun@gmail.com

    

Iran's prewritten history (Continued)

     Then when Ezra returned to Judah to rebuild the temple, he was met with Persian disdain once again.  Ezra had been given permission by Cyrus to return to Judah but when the Persian overseers in Judah got wind of the plan they were not pleased.

     “Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the LORD God of Israel, they came…and said to them ‘Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do…’”  Ezra 4:1-2

     Of course they had no intention of seeking Israel’s God.  They were seeking a way to sabotage the rebuilding of the temple.

     Zerubbabel and Jeshua immediately saw right through the scheme.

     “You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God; but we alone will build to the LORD God of Israel…”  Ezra 4:3

     The Jew’s inspired response caused their enemies to do everything in their power to thwart the project.

     “Then the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah.  They troubled them in building, and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia…”  Ezra 4:4-5

     And then later when Nehemiah and his company returned to Judah to rebuild the walls and streets of Jerusalem, they also experienced Persian resistance.  As soon as they crossed over to the west of the Euphrates River, the Persian governors rose up against them.

     “When Sanballat (Persian Governor) and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel.”  Nehemiah 2:10

     Tobiah the Ammonite was a descendant of Lot’s son Ammon via an incestuous relationship.

     Therefore, throughout Old Testament history, there has been animosity between Iran (Persia) and God’s people, the Israelites.

     Persians are also referenced in the New Testament. 

     “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.’”  Matthew 2:1-2

     The wise men from the East were magicians from Persia.  Do you suppose they knew Jesus was the one Nebuchadnezzar dreamed about 600 years earlier who would crush the gentile world kingdoms?

     Note the phrase, ‘we have…come to worship him.’  It brings to mind the words the Persians in Judah spoke to Ezra when they learned he had returned to rebuild the temple, i.e. ‘…for we seek your God as you do.’

     Iran (Persia) will play a profound part in future history. 

     “Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.”  Revelation 16:12

     The ‘kings from the east’ were spoken of by the Prophet Ezekiel.  Ezekiel spoke of gentile nations that God would draw into Israel and then let them destroy themselves.  He first mentions those from present day Turkey and then he identifies several other nations with animosity towards Israel.

     “I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army…a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords.  Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them…”  Ezekiel 38:4-5a

     Their fate is described in detail in the latter part of chapter 38.

      Then the Apostle John reiterates Ezekiel’s prophecy in Revelation 19 and adds details to the end of those nations that came against Israel.

     So Mr. President, do you think it is in the best interest of America to seek a covenant with Iran whose stated goal is to totally destroy Israel?

     Recall God’s words to Abraham, i.e. ‘I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you.’  Will aligning with Iran be a blessing to Israel or a curse?

     Inasmuch as the end has already been written Mr. President, don’t you think the wisest strategy is to simply align our priorities according to what has been blatantly revealed?

     Share your thoughts walt.thrun@gmail.com

  

    

Do we really want a covenant with Iran?

     Iran was formerly Persia and the Bible refers to that nation as Persia throughout their history and future.

     Persia is located east of Iraq and east of the Euphrates River.  This area is presently the hotspot of the world and will continue to be through the end of this age.  In a very short time prophecy will be history.

     Recall the entire Bible is the fulfillment of the covenant God made with Abraham approximately 4,000 years ago.

     Abraham was called by God to leave the land of the east and journey to a new land west of the Euphrates River.  Abraham’s nativity was between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, i.e. the present country of Iraq.  It is difficult to positively identify the borders between ancient Babylon and Persia.

     “And Joshua said to all the people, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel:’ “Your fathers…dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and they served other gods.  Then I took your father Abraham from the other side of the River, led him throughout all the land of Canaan…”’”  Joshua 24:2-3a

     Now recall that Abraham sent Ishmael and his family back to the east which included Arabia and points further east.  There was continued enmity between Abraham and his descendants and ‘them of the east.’

     Biblical prophecy and history reveals that the Babylonian kingdom was supplanted by the Medes and Persians in approximately 535 BC.

     Judah had been deported to Babylon beginning in 605 BC.  God had sent the young Hebrew Daniel to Babylon to write world history in advance from there.

     In the second year of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, he had a dream which only Daniel could interpret.

     “You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! ... and its form was awesome.  This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver…”  Daniel 2:31-32a

     Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that he was the king of gold and the next kingdom consisting of silver would be the Medes and Persians.  The Persian kingdom would be followed by the Greeks and then Rome.  But we’ll concentrate on the Persian Kingdom in the present context.

     It is significant to note the future of the foreseen world kingdoms.

     “You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet…Then the iron, the clay, the bronze the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found...”  Daniel 2:34-35a

     The four kingdoms defined by metals with decreasing atomic weights (but with increasing brittleness) followed the Egyptian and Assyrian for a total of six.  The seventh and final world kingdom has been identified in previous columns.

     The major point in the preceding Scripture passage is when Christ returns to earth He will totally obliterate the final world kingdom, which will include Iran (Persia), and there will be no trace of that kingdom or previous gentile kingdoms.

     Animosity between Iran and Israel has prevailed through the ages.

     Such hatred and persecution was confirmed when a remnant of Jews returned to Judah after their Babylonian captivity to rebuild their temple and city.

     Their odyssey actually began while still in the Persian capital, Shushan.  Esther was a young and beautiful Jewish lady who was raised by her uncle Mordecai.  Also living in Shushan at that time was a man named Haman, an Agagite of the family of Amelek who were enemies of the Jews since the time of the Exodus.  Amelek was a grandson of Esau and the progenitor of the Amalekites. 

     Haman was promoted by the Persian king Ahasuerus to a position of great power in Persian’s capital city.  It became known to Haman that Mordecai would not bow down to him and ‘Haman was filled with wrath.’

     “But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone…Instead Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus – the people of Mordecai.”  Esther 3:6

     Persian genocide of the Jews was the plan, but history revealed how Haman’s plan backfired.

     To be continued.

Share your thoughts walt.thrun@gmail.com

Is our President a Christian?

     Governor Scott Walker was asked recently whether he thought the president was a Christian.  He answered appropriately that it was not up to him to judge the president’s Christian faith or the lack thereof.

     Since then many have offered opinions on the subject stating that the president’s actions and ideology identify his mindset.  That is Biblically correct.

     On the Sermon on the Mount Jesus did moreover explain how to tell if a person is true of false, i.e. authentic or imitation.  A person does in fact reveal himself/herself by what they say and what they do.

     “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.  For every tree is known by its own fruit.”  Luke 6:43-45

     The next thing then, is to identify examples of ‘bad’ fruit.  For that we’ll refer to the Apostle Paul.  In his letter to the Christians in Rome Paul listed numerous acts and practices that are condemned.  We’ll list a small portion of them that tend to focus on one’s political ideology and personal benchmark for their perceived standard of justice.

     “…murder, strife, deceit…proud, boasters…undiscerning, untrustworthy…”  Romans 1:29-31

     Let’s take them one by one.  The Greek for ‘murder’ in the present context means ‘slaughter’ or ‘cut to pieces.’  Some would say that defines late term abortions.

     The next one is ‘strife’ which in the Greek means ‘contention,’ or ‘love of strife.’

     Then there is ‘deceit’ meaning ‘craftiness,’ ‘bait,’ ‘guile,’ or ‘despiteful.’

     ‘Proud’ means ‘arrogant’ while ‘boasters’ defines those who wrong others for the pleasure the affliction brings. 

     The ‘undiscerning’ describes those lacking understanding while ‘untrustworthy’ describes those whose word cannot be trusted as truth, or one who goes back on his word.

     Equally significant is the following verse in the foregoing Roman passage.

     “…Who knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”  Romans 1:32

     Paul is saying that no one is totally innocent of all the condemnable actions or practices that he lists.

     In other words if a government leader, in any branch of government, votes for or approves legislation or issues executive orders to protect those who break God’s laws; such a proponent is just as guilty as the one who actually breaks any of the specific laws listed.

     There is, however; a Biblical principle that came to light recently that many believe the president can relate to.

     “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, and do good to those who hate you…”  Matthew 5:43-44

     Jesus succinctly summarized the mindset of one who claims to love Him, i.e. a Christian.

     “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”  John 14:15

     Even before the Israelites entered the Promised Land Moses told them in advance not only what they would do, but what they would think.  He told them that they would insist on having a king.

     God already had that planned and He would provide a king in His timing.  The king that God would choose would be one of their brethren; he could not be a foreigner.  In other words he must have the same ideology, values, and agenda as outlined in God’s word. 

     The king should not depend on a strong defense for protection nor trust in national coalitions.  His trust should be placed in the One who appointed him.

     In addition:

     “Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites…and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren…”  Deuteronomy 17:18-20

     Notice, the same law would apply to the priests and the king. 

     The sum of the matter?

     “Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”  Matthew 7:20

Share your thoughts walt.thrun@gmail.com