Forgiven Forever

Biblegems #40

Is it true that, as followers of Jesus, when we forgive someone of an offense against us personally, God will not hold that offense against that person on Judgment Day?

Judgment Day is when unbelievers stand before the God of the universe and are judged according to their actions in this life (Rev. 20:11-14). These are people who have died without the saving grace of Jesus, and therefore their names are not written in the Book of Life, and they will spend eternity in hell (Rev. 20:15). But before they meet this terrible future, God reviews their lives in order to show that His Judgment is just and fair.

Jesus taught in Matt. 6:14-15 that if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. This means, at least in part, that forgiveness of a sin cancels out that sin.

Jesus taught this specifically in Matthew 18. In that chapter sin and forgiveness are both framed in the context of eternity. If your hand or your foot causes you to sin cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.

In verses 23-35, forgiveness is portrayed through a parable as the cancellation of a debt. When the king in the parable forgives the debt, the effect is a total cancellation. Nothing is held against the indebted servant whatsoever.

However, when the forgiven servant has the opportunity to cancel a much smaller debt owed him, the servant demands payment in full. As a result, the servant’s forgiven debt is re-instated by the king and the servant delivered to be tortured (Gk,: basanistais). Jesus then concludes the parable by emphasizing its point: This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart (35).

The point is clear—sin has eternal consequences, and so does forgiveness. When we truly forgive someone who has offended us or who has wronged us, their debt to us is completely cancelled. How terribly unfair it would be if the person owing the debt to the servant in the parable should have his debt cancelled, only to discover at a later date that the king expects the debt to be paid to him anyway!

But Jesus does not even suggest that. Instead, His parable focuses on the fact that a forgiven debt is completely cancelled.

Actually, the entire context of Matthew 18 demonstrates how sin has eternal consequences (6-9), and that when the Church disciplines someone for unrepentant sin that too has eternal consequences (15-18). As He says in verse 18, I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

He then applies the same principle to forgiveness (19-22), giving the parable of the cancelled debt as illustration (23-35). In fact, Jesus’ famous statement—…if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them (Matt. 18:19-22)—is specifically related to the eternal effectiveness of Church discipline and forgiveness.

Forgiveness is a powerful act of grace. When we forgive someone for a personal offense, that offense is cancelled—now and forever.

The Bible & Tattoos

Biblegems #39

Tattoos are all the rage. Men and women, young and old, non-believer and Christian—everybody’s doing it. A young Christian man I know wants a tattoo with a strong Christian theme. His rationale? He wants to use it as an invitation to explain it’s meaning as an avenue for sharing his faith in Jesus Christ. But before he does it, he wants to know what God wants.

There is only one verse in all of Scripture which specifically addresses the practice of tattooing. The Lord says in Leviticus 19:28, Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD. As always, context here is very instructive. Equally instructive is the lack of other teaching in Scripture concerning this practice. It is always unwise to build a doctrine on the strength of one verse.

For the context, we must begin with the verse itself. Unlike the ten commandments which give unconditional instructions and prohibitions, the proscription against tattooing in Leviticus 19:28 has to do with marking or cutting the body as part of a spiritual ritual in memory of someone who has died. This was a very common practice, along with cutting one’s flesh as an emotional expression of grief.¹ God’s instruction to the Israelites was designed to set them apart from the way the cultures around them either abused their bodies or decorated their bodies as a way of remembering loved ones who had died. God’s people were to be different, using their bodies to glorify God rather than memorialize the dead (see Lev. 21:11; 22: 4; Num. 5: 2; 9: 6, 7, 10; 6: 6; Deut. 14: 1).

The command against tattooing is actually just one of many examples given in Leviticus 19 of ways in which the people of God are to set themselves apart from the ungodly cultures around them. God’s Word to His people is be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy (Lev. 19:2).

This is the true message to God’s people for all time: Be like God, not like the rest of the world—in this case, in the way you treat your body. As Paul says in Romans 12:1, Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

The question for the believer today, as it has always been, is one of holiness: Will tattooing your body set you apart as a child of God or identify you more with the ungodly of the culture in which you live? Will tattooing your body be holy and pleasing to God—a spiritual act of worship?

Ultimately, this becomes a very personal matter between the believer and God. Leviticus 19:28 provides an example from everyday life in ancient Israel on how to treat your body in a way holy and pleasing to God that would mark you as a believer. Every generation has its own challenges in how to live as God’s children in the world without being mistaken for being just like the rest of the world.

Personal holiness is the response of an obedient heart lived out in the actions of an obedient life.

¹ Commentary on the Old Testament, electronic version, by C.F. Keik & F. Delitzsch, Hendrikson Publishers, 2006. In loc.

Salvation In The Old Testament

Biblegems #38

In light of John 14:6, which says: "Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" — how can the people of the Old Testament be given eternal life?

The key to this puzzle lies within Jesus’ own words, where He refers to Himself as “I am.” In John 8:58, Jesus declares, …before Abraham was born, I am. The Jews He addressed that day understood perfectly that by using that phrase He was claiming to be the very same God whom Moses encountered at the burning bush (Ex. 3:1-15). There, God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Ex. 3:14).

Jesus in the New Testament is the great I AM of the Old Testament. Jesus could say to Thomas in John 14:6, No one comes to the Father except through me, because Jesus and the Father are one. As He says in the very next verse, If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him. Those who put their faith in the I Am of the Old Testament put their faith in Jesus—before He was revealed in the flesh.

Jesus’ revelation of Himself as the I AM is sprinkled throughout the gospel of John, often with direct allusions to His presence among the people of Israel in the Old Testament:

“I am the bread of life…” “I am the bread that came down from heaven” (the manna in the wilderness, Ex. 16:13-34—John 6:35, 41, 48, 51).

“I am the light of the world” (the light of creation, Gen. 1:3-4—John 8:12).

“…I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world” (John 8:23).

“…if you do not believe that I am… you will indeed die in your sins” (John 8:24).

“When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am…” (raising the snake on a pole in the wilderness, Num. 21:7-9—John 8:28).

It was as true in the Old Testament as it is in the New Testament that “…it is by grace you have been saved, through faith” (Eph. 2:8). That faith was always a matter of putting one’s entire trust in the One True God, as He revealed Himself prior to the final and perfect revelation in human form. As it says in Hebrews 1:1-3:

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through

the prophets at many times and in various ways,

but in these last days he has spoken to us by his

Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and

through whom he made the universe. The Son is

the radiance of God’s glory and the exact repre-

sentation of his being, sustaining all things by his

powerful word.

"Bound" And "Loosed"

Biblegems #37

One biblegems reader asked for an explanation of the following verse:

“I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 18:18).

The following two verses augment and expand Jesus’ teaching in verse 18:

“Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” (Matt. 18:19-20).

The word translated “bind” from the Greek NT means “to bind, be in bonds, knit, tie, wind.”¹ To “loose” means to “break (up), destroy, dissolve, (un-)loose, melt, put off.”²

The ideas intended by these picturesque words are that believers in Jesus have been given authority by Him to forgive someone who offends us with such effectiveness that God Himself will count that offense as having been completely withdrawn, no longer to be considered as an offense. The forgiveness is “binding” for all eternity. By the same token, if we withhold forgiveness for an offense, understanding that God’s glory and will is better served by His judgment being “loosed” upon a person, then all restraints against God’s judgment are “dissolved” or “put off.”

A good example of believers exercising authority in Jesus’ name to “loose” God’s judgment upon someone is found in Acts 13:8-12. Here, A false prophet named Elymas persistently tried to prevent the apostle Paul from leading the proconsul of Paphos to faith in Jesus. Finally, Paul used his authority in Jesus and said:

Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord (Acts 13:11-12).

The context of Matthew 18:18 deals with forgiving or not forgiving someone who has sinned against you (18:15-35). So this is not a carte blanche permission slip from Jesus giving His followers authority to bind or loose whatever they feel like whenever they feel like it. God is not a dispenser of our whims, or even of our human sense of justice. That is why Jesus goes on to say in verses 19 and 20 that two or three believers are better suited to discern what God’s will is than a single person acting alone. Indeed, to ask for something “in Jesus’ name” means to ask for something already approved by Him.

1 Strong’s Greek Dictionary of the New Testament, Public Domain, Electronic text downloaded from the Bible Foundation e-Text Library: http://www.bf.org/bfetexts.htm Hypertexted and formatted by Oaktree Software, Inc. Greek text added by OakTree Software, Inc. Version 2.4

2 ibid

Did God create Hell?

Biblegems #36

Today’s question is, ‘Did God create hell?’

I suspect that behind the question is another question—“If God did create hell, why?”

Most English translations of the Bible loosely use the term “hell” to frequently translate the Hebrew word “Sheol” and the Greek words “Hades” and “Tartarus.” For example, in 2 Pet. 2:4 “Tartarus” (trans. “hell”) is not hell at all, but a holding area for rebellious angels awaiting the Day of Judgment and their final condemnation to hell. And in Luke 16:23, “Hades,” mis-translated “hell,” actually refers to the realm of the dead who are also awaiting the Day of Judgment. “Hades” is roughly equivalent to “Sheol,” the Old Testament Hebrew term for the realm of the dead.

Hell, according to Jesus, was prepared specifically as a final punishment for the devil and the angels with him who rebelled against God early in creation history. Unfortunately, as Jesus indicates in the following passage, there are many human beings who will also be cast into this eternal fire that was never designed for them: “Then he (Jesus) will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41).

The Bible describes hell as a lake of burning sulfur, where the fire never goes out. The “beast” and the “false prophet” of the book of Revelation are thrown alive into this lake (Rev. 19:20), where they are joined a thousand years later by the devil. There they will all be “tormented day and night for ever and ever” (lit., “into the ages upon ages”)—a hyperbole for eternity.

Some claim that while the fires of hell may be eternal, those who enter there are annihilated, not imprisoned. In other words, the fire is eternal, but the torment is not. This, however, contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture: And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever (Rev. 20:10). Not only is the fire eternal, but the suffering is as well. The “second death” is not a synonym for ceasing to exist. The sad truth is that this is a place of unending torment (Rev. 19:20).

Hell is not only described as an eternally burning lake of fire, but is expressly referred to as “the second death” (Rev. 20:14). It earns this moniker because here death itself will be destroyed: Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14-15).

It is from this horrible end that Jesus came to rescue mankind. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16-17).

Music In Worship

Biblegems #35

Question: Could you address the historical / biblical role of music in worship?

The subject of music in congregational worship is huge, and there is no way it can be adequately covered in a 500-word Biblegems blog. So this article will be longer than most, yet still insufficient to cover the topic adequately. But I will attempt to present some highlights, which will hopefully spur interest in additional personal study.

As part of the Protestant Reformation, worship music composed by Martin Luther often took non-musical liturgies originally composed in Latin and translated them into the common language (German). He then put them to music, sometimes applying them to a familiar tune used by the Catholic church, sometimes using a Gregorian chant style, sometimes creating his own original melody, and often utilizing popular German folk tunes that the people already knew. To use a contemporary phrase, his desire was to make the music of worship “user friendly” to the people of his day.

In contrast to this, John Calvin, a contemporary of Luther’s, did not approve of Luther’s creative approach to church singing, but believed only Scripture put to music, with no harmony and no instruments, was appropriate for congregational worship. He was apparently unaware of the rich biblical heritage and instruction regarding the use of musical variety and creativity in worship.

Biblically, the purpose of corporate singing in worship is to provide an avenue or channel for people to enter God's presence—heart, soul, mind, body and spirit—in both reverential awe and joyful adoration.

Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs (Ps. 100:2).

Music stirs the emotions. It is supposed to, even in a worship service—perhaps, especially in a worship service. An important aspect of this is the use of musical instruments together with vocal praise:

Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD (Ps. 150:1-6).

In the New Testament, God’s Word says we are to… Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord (Eph. 5:19; cf. Col. 3:16). The verb “to speak” (laleo) refers to singing as well as speech, and even is used of the sound created by instruments. So the Bible is telling us to fill our times together with all different kinds of music—psalms, hymns, and songs. (Arndt & Gingrich’s Greeek / English Lexicon, in loc.)

Music was an important part of New Testament worship, both congregationally and spontaneously (Matt. 26:30; 1Cor. 14:26; Acts 16:25; Rom. 15:9). “Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” actually allude to types of music practiced by the early Christians.

“Psalms” refers to the Old Testament Psalms, which were integrated with Christian worship from the earliest days. The verb “to make music” (Eph. 5:19) is psallo, from which we get our English word “psalm.” Literally, psallo means “to pluck,” a reference to stringed instruments or praise songs to the accompaniment of stringed instruments. (Ref., EBC, Frank Gaebelin; Arndt & Gingrich’s Greeek / English Lexicon).

“Hymns” (‘’umnos: “songs of praise”) was a term used in pagan worship to praise some god or cultic hero. Christians adopted the word to describe songs that exalted the name of Jesus or God. Examples appear in the both the Old Testament (Ps. 40:3) and the New (Phil. 2:5-11).

“Spiritual songs” (odai pneumatikai) is a term intended to distinguish Christian music from secular music that may have sounded very similar. The term odai (“songs”) originally referred to secular music. The New Testament adopted the term to refer to songs of praise to God or Christ. “Spiritual songs” can also designate spontaneous singing in the Spirit.

Much of what the Church today considers “hymns” were once the “spiritual songs” adopted from the secular music styles of the day. “There Is A Fountain” and “Yesterday, Today, Forever” are both prime examples of 18^th-19^th century English & American traditional / folk styles that have been immortalized in our hymnals. The well-known Christmas carol, “Go, Tell It On The Mountain,” is an African American Spiritual of the same period. “O Sacred Head Now wounded” comes from the “Baroque” style of the 17^th century, while “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” reflects the classical musical style of the 18^th century. “What Child Is This” was taken wholesale and adapted from the Medieval folk song “Green Sleeves.”

Music in worship has always reflected the cultures and styles in which believers have found themselves. Worship music has been the music of the people because it is the music these people grew up with, knew and loved. What could be more natural—or spiritual— than to “baptize” the music of their time with their newfound love for Jesus?

God desires that worship be heart-felt and sincere, not defined by human traditions (old or new) that reduce worship to liturgical patterns (or the lack thereof) or styles or instruments or language preference:

The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men (Is. 29:13).

Some forms of music and types of instruments are especially well suited for arousing emotions of excitement, joy, adoration, directing those emotions to God. Worship music in Bible times included a great variety of instruments: Horns (Da 3:5, 7, 10), Cymbals (1Chr. 15:19, 28; 1Cor. 13:1), Flutes (Gen. 4:21; Dan. 3:5, 7, 10, 15), Gittiths, possibly a stringed instrument (Ps. 8; 81), Harps (1Sam. 10:5; 16:16, 23; 1Chr. 16:5), Lyres (1Chr. 16:5), Pipe (1Sam. 10:5; Is. 30:20; Dan. 3:5, 10, 15), Sistrum (2Sam. 6:5), Tambourines (i.e., drums with bells. Ex. 15:20), Trumpets (Josh. 6:4) and Zithers (Dan. 3:5, 7, 10, 15). All of these and more provided a lively, energetic background to the crescendo of praise pouring from the hearts and lips of God’s people.

The sheer volume of voices and instruments can stir the emotions and elicit a sense of awe appropriate to engaging people in the worship of God:

Four thousand are to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the LORD with the musical instruments I have provided for that purpose (1 Chr. 23:5; 1 Chr. 23:5).

It is with such vibrant, loud and exciting music that the saints of all the ages will gather around the Throne of God and of the Lamb, declaring their love and adoration throughout eternity:

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns (Rev. 19:6).

Dinosaurs On The Ark?

Biblegems #34

One young lady recently asked, were dinosaurs on the ark?

The first question that needs to be asked is, what, technically, is a dinosaur?

Today, most scientist agree that the term “dinosaur” generally refers to a variety of extinct, land-based reptiles whose limbs extend beneath the body, like that of a crocodile. Many were very large, some quite small. Most of these scientists also adhere to the theory of evolution, and so would assume that dinosaurs existed between 230 million and 65.5 million years ago. According to that point of view, dinosaurs were extinct long before humans came on the scene.

Biblically, of course, dinosaurs and humans did coexist. In fact they were both brought into existence on the sixth day of creation (Gen. 1:25-27). Roughly 1,600 years later the Flood inundated the entire earth, and nearly all land based animals and mankind were annihilated, including the dinosaurs. However, God had Noah bring onto the ark representatives of every “kind” of animal, including dinosaurs, along with the eight people of Noah’s family.

The term “kind” in the Bible refers to living creatures of the same type. Dinosaurs would be considered one “kind” of animal. So it was not necessary for the ark to have carried several variations of dinosaur, such as a brontosaurus or tyrannosaurus. It is certainly possible that a flying pair of dinosaurs were aboard the ark in addition to those that walked on the ground. It is also quite possible that infant dinosaurs of the larger variety were aboard.

What we do know for sure is that some dinosaurs were on the ark, because Scripture itself gives eyewitness accounts of humans interacting with them long after the Flood had receded (Job 40: 15-24; Job 41:1), and art work from post-Flood human settlements portray a great number of dinosaurs. Well known and respected historians and travelers such as Herodotus, Marco Polo and Alexander the great reported sightings of dinosaurs. And several Native American tribes have left oral and cave art records of interaction with dinosaurs, especially a giant flying reptile they call the “thunderbird.”

Most dinosaurs, of course, perished in the Flood. Those that did travel on the ark would have found it extremely difficult to survive in the radically altered landscape of the post-Flood world. Gone were the vast plains of tropical vegetation and the green-house-like conditions maintained by the pre-Flood water canopy around the earth. The Ice Age that followed the Flood would have wiped out many dinosaurs that struggled to breed and survive.

Eventually, dinosaurs became extinct, with the slight possibility that an extremely small number have continued to breed and may exist to this day in remote jungles, the ocean, or deep places in some large fresh water bodies where local inhabitants claim to encounter them.

The fossil remains of dinosaurs and the artwork and oral history of ancient peoples are a great testimony to the authority and accuracy of Scripture. God has left His signature upon the canvas of creation. The whole earth is indeed full of His glory!