It's Not Mother's Day Yet, but . . .

You've got to hear this. Turn up your sound...

Iran, Carter, Ground Zero, Columbia, and Common Sense

Okay, this is going to be easy to understand. Mahmoud Adinijad (spelled wrong? who cares. We'll call him "president Tom" as labeled by others), the leader of Iran is coming to America on September 24th.

He would like to go to Ground Zero and announced that he plans to do so, even though the NYPD refused him a tour.

Jimmy Carter is in the news today saying that Iran presents no present threat to Israel.

Columbia University has invited President Tom to speak when he comes.

NOW FOR THE COMMON SENSE:

President Tom is a nazi. He hates Israel and wants to wipe it out. He hates America and wants us dead too for we are "zionist infidels."

He should not go to Ground Zero. IN fact, we shouldn't allow him in the country unless we detain him in Guantanamo when he gets out. He is Hitler all over again. Should Hitler be running around spreading his hate for Jews?

Jimmy Carter, like when he was president, has no idea which way the wind blows. Ignore him.

Columbia University, like most Ivy League schools these days, is more marxist than American and can't understand why inviting President Tom to be their guest is an insult even to themselves. Ignore them too.

Thus endeth the lesson.

Not So Good for China...

When I traveled in China, one of the things that impressed me most was the modesty of the women. They dressed to be pretty, to be sure, but they did not dress in the tight shirts and low cut blouses of the American fashion industry. It was remarkably relaxing to not have to be confronted with all the details of every female body that walked by.

Unfortunately, I saw on the news today that Beijing is opening its first Hooters. I want to go on record to say that Hooters is not a place for Christians. I know, I sound legalistic on that, but seriously folks, think about it. The name has nothing to do with owls. Furthermore, tight shirts and hot pants are there for one reason: to entice men's imaginations towards women that are not their wives. The fact that our society tolerates a place with such a name is to our shame. But, in America, we are used to it, and not surprised.

But in China, it is a huge step down. "Sex sells" is what Madison Ave, NY, knows. I guess they are learning it in Beijing. May the gospel go to the people faster than the marketeers.

Thoughts?

God's Crushing Hand of Love

Okay, leadership Principle 1: God chooses leaders for His Kingdom --men do not.
That was last week.

This Week is leadership Principle 2: God breaks the leaders He calls.

Any thoughts?

You Were There

We All Were There. Just a few short years ago . . .

This is Cool

Following the Leaders!

People are sheep, and I mean that in the best sense of the word. We are followers. But, as followers, that means that we are also leaders and influencers. We all must follow someone. There is much buzz on leadership in the Christian world and many conferences and books on how to lead. If you read a few of them, and I have, you can gain some insight, but you can also become confused and even intimidated! There are so many opinions and so many skills, it would take a computer to keep up!

What are your thoughts on leadership? What makes a good leader? Are you one? Would you rather follow? If so, what do you look for in a leader?

Caution: I am preaching a series on leadership in the Bible. Anything you say, might end up in a sermon! :)

Who Is Israel?

Someone has raised a question about something called "Replacement Theology." I must admit, I don't like the label, for it is hard to categorize. So I'm going to set the label aside and talk about the issues involved.

The question is this, "How does the Church relate to Israel?"

To answer this question, let me first establish that there are two Israel's in the Bible. There is what we call "ethnic Israel" and then there is "spiritual Israel." Ethnic Israel is constituted of those who were born into Judaism or converted to Judaism. Spiritual Israel are those who are Jews in the heart. This distinction is clearly in the Scripture:

[Romans 9:6-8 6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; 7 nor are they all children because they are Abraham's descendants, but: "THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED." 8 That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. ]

Paul makes a distinction between Israel by birth and Israel by faith, or by promise. This is what we term "spiritual Israel."

Now, here is the issue at hand: What is the Church? Is it Spiritual Israel? Or is it a strictly Gentile institution? Or a mix?

Before answering, let's survey the theological landscape by describing the two polar positions that address this question. On one end is an extreme form of what is called "covenant" theology. On the other end is an extreme form of what is called "dispensational" theology. (By the way, I am not saying that those who hold these "extreme" positions are extremists or wacky --only that their position could be described as the polar opposite of the other. There are various views within both Covenant and Dispensational theology with are short of these poles).

First the extreme of Covenant position. This is what is often described by it's opponents as "replacement" theology. This belief says that ethnic Israel, because of her unbelief, has given up the position of being God's chosen people, and the Church has replaced Israel and receives all its promises. In the future, there is no special plan for restoring ethnic Israel.

Now, the extreme Dispensational position. God always saves by faith but interacts with man differently in different times (or "dispensations"). God saved through Ethnic Israel in days past. Now, in the New Testament times, God is saving through the mainly gentile organization known as the Church. The Church and Israel are completely separate entities. When the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled, God will remove the Church by the rapture, and leave only ethnic Israel to represent Him. At that time, ethnic Israel will return to Him by faith, and will usher in the millennial Kingdom following the 7 year great tribulation. This thousand year kingdom will feature redeemed ethnic Israel, but the church will be in the heavenlies, enjoying the presence of God, and will unite with ethnic Israel at the end of all things.

These are the two poles. Most all prominent Covenant and Dispensationalist theologians do not hold to the extreme positions, but drift somewhere towards the center.

What should we believe?

We embrace the doctrines most which we wrestle with he longest. With this in mind, I urge you to wrestle with the issue on your own. Let me also add that neither view makes one a heretic. This debate is common in our day, and is much dependent on future prophesy of the end times --and future prophecy is always dicey. I would suggest that we ought to hold our positions based on Bible study, not dogmatic stubbornness, and we ought not break fellowship with Christians over this issue.

I'll put forward my view below.


I am toward the center. I believe that ethnic Israel has not been "displaced" nor "replaced." The time will come, at the end of all things, during the Great Tribulation. In fact, I believe that all Jews at the end of time will turn to Christ in faith and that will usher in the end of all things and the millennial kingdom will soon follow.

However, I do not believe in the dispensational timing of the rapture of the church because I do not believe that the church is completely separate from Israel. There is nothing in the scripture that indicates a secret return of Christ to steal away the Gentile church before the tribulation period. This doctrine arises solely from dispensational reasoning.

I do believe that the Church is spiritual Israel, but doesn't "replace" (to use the loaded term) ethnic Israel. Why? Because of the New Testament teachings on the relationship between Gentiles and Ethnic Jews. A good study of Romans 9-11 tells the story.

Paul teaches that all who believe in Jesus are sons of Abraham by faith.

[Galatians 3:7-9 7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. 8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU." 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer. ]

That means that Gentile believers are members of Spiritual Israel. No where in the Bible does Paul nor Jesus speak of the church as distinct from Israel. In fact, the language of the Bible speaks of Gentiles entering into Israel. Gentiles are the "wild olive branches" that are grafted into the olive tree which is Israel. In another place, Paul says this:

[Ephesians 2:11-13 11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called "Uncircumcision " by the so-called "Circumcision," which is performed in the flesh by human hands-- 12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ]

Paul is clear that by faith, Gentiles become part of Spiritual Israel. No where does he say, "Gentiles become the Church, and ethnic Israel are true Israel."

So then, the Gentiles join spiritual Israel. And that collection of people, Gentiles who are citizens of spiritual Israel, become the Church, built on the foundation of the prophets (old testament) and the (apostles) New Testament (Ephesians 2:20). So we see a continuity between Old and New Testament. The Church does not replace ethnic Israel, but it is the expression of True Israel, or Spiritual Israel.

What about ethnic Israel? Are they without the promise? Not at all:

[Romans 11:1-2 I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? . . . . ]

God loves ethnic Israel and has remembered His promise to them. Those who think that God is done with them are mistaken. In fact, the reason why ethnic Israel does not yet believe is so that we Gentiles can become "sons of Abraham" by faith. Look at this text:

[Romans 11:12-15 12 Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be! 13 But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. 15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? ]

Note that last phrase. Ethnic Israel will have a day of "acceptance" by God, and it will result in "life from the dead." What can this mean except that ethnic Israel will return to God, ENTER INTO THE CHURCH WHICH IS SPIRITUAL ISRAEL, by believing in Jesus, and usher the resurrection of the dead? This is what I believe.

One more text:

[Romans 11:25-26 25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery-- so that you will not be wise in your own estimation-- that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved;]

God has brought a hardening on ethnic Israel so that the Gentiles can enter spiritual Israel. But that hardening will go away at some point of time (the end of the "time of the Gentiles") and all Israel will be saved. This means that ethnic Israel will embrace the Savior.

A final note. There is a strong resistance by many to embrace this plain teaching. On the Covenant side, I can't help but wonder if, historically, pride or anti-semitism might have influenced theology (not to say that those who hold such a view today do so for such reasons). On the Dispensational side, there is a strong love for the extra-biblical doctrine known as the pre-trib rapture. To give up the idea the church and Israel are completely separate would mean letting to of the pre-trib rapture.

Do I believe in the rapture of the church? Of course I do! "We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, the twinkling of an eye." The question is when. I believe the rapture happens at the end of the tribulation, and like a Roman General, calling out his people from the city before the triumphal entry, the Lord will return with the sound of a trumpet (not secretly) and with a shout, and we will all, Jew and Gentile believer, meet Him in the air, and come in to usher in the millennial kingdom.

Well, that's it.

From China

Questions? Comments? I'm in China in this pic. I won't say where. It is a Buddhist Monestary.

Of Dogs and Men

Here's the deal. John O Neal is dead because he put himself in traffic in order to save his dog. My hope is that he died by accident, not realizing his danger, and that if he did, he would have let the dog die instead of dying himself. Read the story here.

We cannot know what he was thinking in that last moment. However, I am certain of this: a large percentage of people in our country will think and say that even if he knew he was risking his life, what he did was good and heroic, on par with saving a human being.

Such sentiments reveal a bankruptcy of common sense due, I believe, to being cut off from God-based thinking.

The Judeo-Christian God, the One of the Bible, paints a picture of man as being the crowning achievement of Creation. All creatures are under his dominion, for his pleasure, and for him to rule. Of course, God, being good, expects man to be responsible, to care for the growing things of the earth in a way that shows respect for their maker. Destroying the beautify of a forest or a mountain, or wiping out entire species of animals would be thoughtless, and thankless towards God. Likewise, cruelty to animals who are helpless and dependent on our oversight would also dishonor God, as we are the only creatures capable of morality and should therefore not seek pleasure from enjoying the pain of another.

That said, God makes it clear that the land is there for us to manage for OUR benefit. We can eat the food, tend the garden, cut down trees here and plant them over there. We can eat the animals, wear their skins, etc. Dogs and cats are indeed unique gifts to mankind as they both can be domesticated and serve man without eating him or going to the bathroom in the house (if trained). We should treat them with respect because of their maker.

But a dog's life never, ever, ever rises in value to that of a man. Ever. Why? Because, according to the Bible, man was made in the image of God in a way that dog was not. Furthermore, man is to rule over the animals, and not vice-versa. This way of looking at human life has revolutionized history, planted the seeds that ended slavery, brought the idea of equality of all under the law (women, children, minorities, etc), and the idea of human freedom being given to each one by God Himself. No doubt, fallen man doesn't administer this high ideal as consistently as God intends, but man is at his best when he begins by embracing the ideal.

Our society no longer is taught such things. Instead, the difference between an animal and human is minimized by many. Some will read of John O Neal and think him noble if he laid down his life purposely for his dog. Such people do not realize that they are not elevating the value of the dog, but reducing the value of the man. I would hope that John O Neal was careless, foolishly so, rather than that he laid down his life for a dog.

"Let Us make man in Our image" is God's view. Let's stick with that. Thoughts?