Hymns of the Faith - Holy, Holy, Holy

What is happening to the great hymns of the Faith? It seems they are becoming less common in favor of contemporary songs. Don't misunderstand. There are many modern praise and worship songs that are of great value; there should always be new songs written for the Church, as long as they are scriptural. But we shouldn't neglect those old familiar hymns that are so rich in theology. Noticeably missing are songs which make reference to the cross or the blood of Jesus Christ or those which mention our sin and depravity. Yes, even our worship is affected by the mentality of removing the "offense of the cross" from our churches. (Galatians 5:11)

I have decided to occasionally post various hymns which point us back to the cross. Here's the first one; others can be found at Blue Letter Bible. This is one we sang today at my church. Enjoy...

Holy, Holy, Holy

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Who was, and is, and evermore shall be.

Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!

The Word of God (part 3)

Go to Part 1.....Go to Part 2

The Sufficiency of the Word

Many Christians hold that the Bible is authoritative and infallible, but we often fail to realize that the Bible is also completely sufficient. Now I realize that you can't use the Bible to understand how to build an internal combustion engine or how to design a web page. What I mean about sufficiency is that we can rely on the Bible for everything that we need for salvation and living a holy life.

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue... (2 Peter 1:3)

Too often we say we trust God for everything we need, but when hard times come we seek out the help of men. Don't misunderstand me. It is perfectly alright to seek counsel from people:

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise. (Proverbs 12:15)

We just need to make certain that their advice is biblical:

For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. (Proverbs 1:29-31)

One of the most blatant ways we refuse God's counsel is in the area of so-called "mental illness." While I accept the fact that our physical brain can become ill or damaged and thereby cause negative affects upon the mind, it is quite an assumption to say that our non-physical minds can become ill. If our brains have problems, medical doctors can use various techniques to cure those problems. But when our minds have problems (such as anxiety, depression, fear, etc.), where do we turn. We should realize that these are spiritual problems which need spiritual solutions. Even physical problems can have a spiritual aspect to them; they can even be directly caused by Satan:

So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. (Job 2:7)

So where do we turn for those solutions? Many people turn to psycotherapy for relief. But Christians need to realize that the founders of psychotherapy were godless, antichristian, humanists. We are strongly warned against taking advice from such men:

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. (Psalm 1:1-2)

Martin and Deidre Bobgan have noted the denial of the sufficiency of the Bible among "Christian psychologists": "Sadly the AACC [American Association of Christian Counselors] does not believe in the sufficiency of God’s Word when it comes to problems of living generally taken to a psychotherapist."* This is because there is no school of thought in psychology that can be clearly identified as Christian or biblically based. "Christian psychology" is based on the same techniques used in Freudian, Jungian, Rogerian, and other psychologies. Instead we need to turn to the Lord as the psalmist says--

Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies. (Psalm 60:11-12)

--realizing that we have spiritual enemies as well.

The Cross is the Only Answer

We must always turn to Jesus Christ and trust in His finished work on the cross. "...he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed [the word 'stripes' is singular in the original language, designating a specific wound, i.e. His death]... Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin... for he shall bear their iniquities... he hath poured out his soul unto death... he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." (Isaiah 53:5, 10, 11, 12) Our healing is included in the atonement, and this includes our spiritual healing. Jesus quoted from Isaiah:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." (Luke 4:18-19)

Let us not rely on man to solve our problems. Let us come to Christ.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

*For more on the subject of psychology, go to PsychoHeresy Awareness Ministries.

**I am not a doctor, and I would never recommend that anyone stop taking any medication which was prescribed for depression, anxiety, or any other condition. This is something people should discuss with their doctors as stopping certain medications could have very adverse consequences.

Go to Part 1.....Go to Part 2

The Resurrection and the Atonement

Tomorrow is Easter. Many will be celebrating the resurrection of Christ. But did you ever stop to think that the resurrection would not have been possible without the atonement. Don't misunderstand me; without the resurrection, "we are of all men most miserable." (1 Cor. 15:12-23) But without Christ's atoning death on the cross, there never would have been a resurrection. Jesus Christ went to the cross to atone for all sin (1 John 2:2). He became a sacrifice for sin and bore our sins for us (Isaiah 53:10; Hebrews 9:28). He was made a curse for us because "cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree (Gal. 3:13)" And since "the wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23), every sin had to be atoned for so that God would be justified in resurrecting Christ. Of course there was never any question about the outcome, because the plan of redemption was foreordained before the foundation of the world (1 Pet. 1:18-20; Hebrews 4:3).

Sadly many professing Christians are celebrating the resurrection without affirming the atonement (some aren't even acknowledging the resurrection). Some may do this out of willing ignorance, but many are simply not hearing their pastors preaching on the atonement. This simply shouldn't be so. But Paul told the Corinthians, "...I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." (1 Cor. 2:2)

Lighthouse Trails Research has a good post on this sad subject: "Celebrating the Resurrection, but Denying the Atonement"

This Easter, let us not forget what makes our salvation and our hope of resurrection possible:

1 Cor. 15:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; (2) By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. (3) For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; (4) And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.

Resting on the Rock

Exodus 17:10-13 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. (11) And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. (12) But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. (13) And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

This passage comes immediately after the account of the Lord's producing the water from the rock. We've already seen how the rock typified Christ. This theme runs consistently throughout the Bible. It has been said that Amalek could represent our sin nature which is not removed when we are saved, but it should be dormant, so to speak. "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof." (Romans 6:12) If that is true and we follow the model, we notice that Moses was able to produce a superficial victory for a period of time, but eventually he became fatigued and dropped his hands, and Amalek prevailed (the sin nature becomes active when we trust in anything but Christ and Him crucified).

But look at the solution. Moses sat upon a stone. Figuratively speaking, he was resting upon Christ, the Rock of his salvation. Aaron, Israel's first high priest, held up one of Moses' hands; he can easily be seen to represent our High Priest, Jesus Christ. The other hand was held by Hur, which some have said could represent the Holy Spirit. (I'm not sure how they come to this conclusion, but it would be consistent with the model.) Notice that in this situation, Moses is doing absolutely no work. He is simply submitting to the help of all involved. Of course he could refuse the help and try to do it on his own, but the result would eventually be defeat.

Let us learn this important lesson. We must always rest on the fact of Christ's finished work on the cross. Anytime we depend on our own efforts, the result is failure.

For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. (Hebrews 4:10-11)

When Can a Christian Judge?

The topic of judgment seems to be a widely misunderstood one in the contemporary Body of Christ. I myself have experienced some confusion concerning when and what it is appropriate to judge. Most Christians probably know Matthew 7:1 -- "Judge not, that ye be not judged." -- and Matthew 18:15 -- "Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone..." There is a very popular notion today that promotes the idea that we should never say anything negative about anyone or anything. (First of all, negative and positive have nothing to do with it; what should matter to us is the truth.) This idea is, I think, is based mainly on these two verses. Yet we are also told:

• Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. (John 7:24)
• Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. (1 Cor. 14:29)
• Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? (1 Cor. 6:2)
• Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? (1 Cor. 6:3)

It is evident that there are times when it is appropriate and necessary to judge a matter and other times when we are forbidden to judge. Most of our admonitions to judge actually involve discernment. This is something that is very much lacking in the Church today. But we are told in Hebrews 5:14 that we need to have our senses exercised to discern both good and evil by being skilled in the scriptures.

Every believer needs to diligently study this for themselves, but here are a couple of points I have come up with:

• We shouldn't judge motives; we cannot know a person's heart.
• We should judge doctrine. So while we shouldn't judge a preacher or teacher, we can and should judge and correct their doctrine if it does not align to the Word of God. (2 Tim. 3:16-17)
• There are times when people should be mentioned by name as in the case of someone teaching false doctrine. Paul named names in 2 Tim. 2:17-18. He also rebuked Peter publicly (Galatians 2:11, 14).

For a much more in depth look at this subject, I recommend Pastor Bob DeWaay's article "Discernment in an Age of Deception".

The Word of God (part 2)

Go to Part 1 ..... Go to Part 3

In the last post, we saw that the apostles took special care to use the Word of God in evangelizing. The reasons for this are very important:
1. We are born again by the Word of God. (1 Peter 1:23)
2. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. (Romans 10:17)
3. The preaching of the cross is the power of God for those who are saved. (1 Cor. 1:18)

We often want to evangelize the lost by various methods which we think will "appeal" to them and "attract" them to Christianity. In doing so we are placing our faith more in our own abilities, and to be blunt, it is dishonest to do so. Instead we should believe what the Bible itself has to say about it. In Luke 8:4-15, Jesus told the people a parable about a sower who went out to sow his seed. His seed fell on different types of ground, each with different results. When His disciples asked Him about the meaning of the parable He answered, "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God." (Luke 8:11) Paul used a similar example in 1 Corinthians 3 when he said, "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase." Previously in verse 2 of that chapter, he said, "I have fed you with milk..." 1 Peter 2:2 also says, "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby."
So we can see that it is important to proclaim "all the counsel of God" (Acts 20:26-27) and let God do His part of convicting and drawing. Again it comes down to the fact that "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)
We see over and over again throughout the Bible that the emphasis is on the Word.

And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. (Luke 4:3-4)

For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. (1 Peter 1:24-25)

Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. (Proverbs 30:5-6)

It is also imperative to note the warnings the Bible gives against altering God's Word:

Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. (Deuteronomy 4:2)

For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Revelation 22:18-19)

But perhaps the greatest exhortation one could be left with is the fact of just how high God elevates His own Word through the psalmist David:

Psalm 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

Go to Part 1 ..... Go to Part 3

The Word of God (part 1)

Go to Part 2

I believe it is time for us to return to a sincere reverence of the Word of God. I want to show some examples of how the Scriptures are being trampled and perverted, but first I want to explore the importance of taking the Bible seriously. To begin, I want to make a point of saying that having faith in the Bible as the Word of Almighty God is not a blind leap in the dark. On the contrary, Biblical faith is based on verifiable facts and reasonable logic. The Lord said through the prophet Isaiah, "Come now and let us reason together..." (Isaiah 1:18) The apostle Paul had the custom of going into the synagogues and reasoning with the Jews out of the scriptures (Acts 17:2). Later I may look at specific examples of the evidence upon which we may base our faith, but for the purposes of this piece, we can work with the assumption that the Bible is divinely inspired.

This fact alone (that we hold in our possession the very words of God) should cause us to catch our breath and realize that we need to take it very seriously. But what does the Bible itself have to say about it? First of all, realize that Jesus Christ is given the title "the Word" by the apostle John (John 1:1-2, 14; Revelation 19:13). Secondly God created the universe by His Word.

By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth." (Hebrews 11:3)

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. (Psalm 33:6)

In fact "the Word" (i.e. Jesus Christ) created the universe "by the word of the LORD" (Colossians 1:13-16).
Jesus displayed His power simply by His word:

Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground. (John 18:4-6)

The apostles were careful in using the Word of God to evangelize instead of carefully devised schemes and methods:

And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. (Acts 8:25)

Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also. (Acts 15:35)

And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures. (Acts 17:2)

In the next post, I will look more closely at this point.

Go to Part 2