There’s a wide-spread theology, influenced by 16^th century theologian John Calvin, which teaches that regeneration (spiritual rebirth) precedes faith. The dogma says that men are so morally depraved that they are incapable of faith until the Holy Spirit first works a miracle on the heart, regenerating it. Well-known, self-proclaimed Calvinist, R.C. Sproul, affirms this idea in his book, What is Reformed Theology?, saying, “[U]nless we first receive the grace of regeneration, we will not and cannot respond to the gospel in a positive way. Regeneration must occur first before there can be any positive response of faith” (p. 186, emp. added).

This doctrine is false. The Bible clearly teaches that faith is produced from hearing the gospel (Rom. 10:17; 1 Thess. 2:13). “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation …” (Eph. 1:13). The gospel is the “power of God unto salvation” (Rom. 1:16). Howbeit, if Calvin was right, the gospel can do nothing for salvation; only the Holy Spirit’s miraculous work on the heart can. It may be argued that the gospel does produce faith after the Spirit regenerates the mind, but the point remains the same that the Spirit’s regeneration is the primary enabler of faith, and without it the gospel can do nothing—ever. The power of God unto salvation, according to this view, is the miraculous operation of the Spirit; not the gospel.

However, there are arguments often used to support this error. Three of which we will examine here.

DEAD MEN DON’T REVIVE THEMSELVES
In an article titled “Regeneration Precedes Faith,” Dr. Sproul asserts,

“The reason we do not cooperate with regenerating grace before it acts upon us and in us is because we cannot. We cannot because we are spiritually dead. We can no more assist the Holy Spirit in the quickening of our souls to spiritual life than Lazarus could help Jesus raise him for [sic] the dead” (par. 8, emp. added). 

This is a common comparison. A lifeless body cannot respond to help, and supposedly, because a sinner is “dead” in sin (Eph. 2:5), he, just as a cadaver, is entirely unable to respond to God in faith; therefore, the Holy Spirit must regenerate the lifeless soul and enable faith.

The problem is apparent, and simple reasoning brings the parallel to ruin. A corpse can do nothing. It cannot think, read, talk, walk, eat, pat its head while rubbing its belly, or anything else, but the spiritually dead can do all these. The mental faculties of a physically living man are still intact even while he is dead in spirit. As a matter of fact, those who are spiritually dead, “walk” in sin (i.e., practice sin, Eph. 2:1 – 2), but a corpse cannot walk in anything. It cannot practice anything. No, not even sin! Using this comparison, one could just as well argue that once a person dies spiritually, they can no longer commit additional sin—no more than could Lazarus in the tomb! This analogy presents “spiritual death” with a meaning it does not contain in the scriptures.

The truth of the term is simple. To be “dead in trespasses” is to be separated from God by having sinned against Him (Isa. 59:1 – 2), and thus to be saved is to be “quickened together with Christ” (Eph. 2:5 – 6), having those sins forgiven. Spiritual death is disunion with God due to the condemnation of sin; not a spiritually unresponsive soul, as Calvin’s theology claims. The dead-body analogy must be rejected.

LYDIA’S OPEN HEART OPERATION
The Acts 16:14 account of Lydia’s conversion to Christianity allegedly cries Calvinism. Edwin H. Palmer, in The Five Points of Calvinism, claims,

“Not only is man unable to do the good by himself, he is not even able to understand the good. He is as blind as Cyclops with his one eye burned out. Lydia, for example, heard Paul preach Christ at the riverside of Philippi. Only after the Lord opened her heart was she able to give heed to what was said by Paul (Acts 16:14). Until then, her understanding was darkened, to use Paul’s description of the Ephesian Gentiles (Eph. 4:18)” (emph. added, p. 15).

It is astounding that Palmer and many others have argued this idea from this verse. It is nothing but an assumption that Lydia was incapable of understanding the preaching of Paul, and it is further assumed that the “opening” of her heart was God’s removal of this inability. The text neither says nor implies any of this. Palmer reads these ideas “into” the verse.

Consider that in Acts 26:18, Jesus told Paul that He was sending him to the gentiles to “open their eyes” (Acts 26:18), and we know Paul did this through preaching. He was in the synagogue, “disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God” (Acts 19:8), and again, “There came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus …” (Acts 28:23). To “open” people’s eyes is the same as “opening” their heart—it is to enlighten them to the truth of the gospel. Remember, Lydia “heard” Paul preach. Not only did Lydia have the ability to understand the gospel, she did understand it and was convicted by it, and hence “attended” unto what Paul spoke. The Lord opens a person’s heart, not by a total take-over of the Spirit, but by the persuasion of the gospel.

CANNOT COME UNLESS DRAWN
A popular “proof-text” for the pre-faith-regeneration position is John 6:44 where Jesus says, “No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him….” Dr. Sproul argues this “drawing” is the regeneration of the Spirit(What is Reformed Theology, p.155 – 158), and thus nobody can come to Christ (i.e., believe on Him) unless regenerated first.

Sproul labors much in his text to substantiate this idea, but to no avail, because Jesus elaborates in the next verse: “It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.” This is Jesus’ explanation of how God draws. Through hearing and learning? But hearing what?

“[H]ow shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:14 – 17).

It is evident that God’s draw is not a miraculous regeneration imposed upon the sinner, but instead, it is the persuasion power of His word. In fact, Paul tells us that the gospel is God’s call to the sinner: “Whereunto he [God] called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 2:14). Men are taught by God through His word, and if they “hear” it, i.e., believe and learn, they come to Christ in faith. In John 6, Jesus’ audience had previously heard His preaching, but did not believe as they should have (6:36); they were more interested in selfish gain (v. 26). Furthermore, the Jews had the Old Testament scriptures, but those who failed to “hear” and “learn” from them did not believe Jesus, as He attested, “For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?” (John 5:46 – 47). The only way for people to believe in Christ is to learn from the gospel. This is how God draws.

Calvinism denies the gospel’s role for producing faith. God to this day is surely opening hearts and drawing souls by the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Article by: Andrew K. Richardson

Christ’s power over death is proven by His glorious resurrection. His power over death was the ground upon which faith and confidence in Jesus are established, both then and now. On three distinct occasions preceding His resurrection (possibly more–Lk. 7:22) His power over death is displayed and the defeat of death presaged. Let us briefly look at each instance in order to establish a foundation for the reality of the resurrection of Christ.

Lazarus
John 11 details the marvelous story of Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, and a beloved friend of the Lord. While away from Bethany, immersed in His work, Jesus receives word that Lazarus is sick. The illness contracted by Lazarus was serious, so much so, his family sent word to Jesus to hasten to help, even though it was a two-day journey for Jesus to Bethany. In speaking of this sickness Jesus said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby” (v. 4). This appears to be an enigmatic statement. Lazarus was so seriously ill his family felt Jesus must be informed and His help sought, yet Jesus says it “is not unto death.”  Anyone who is seriously ill understands the solemn reality of death. However, in this instance, this illness, although it takes the life of Lazarus, was not for the purpose of death, but rather for “the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby” Jesus knew beforehand the ultimate outcome of this grave scenario.

Jesus informs the disciples that Lazarus is sleeping. Thinking of bodily rest, they misinterpret The Lord’s words. It does the body well to rest and they were content for Lazarus to receive his portion. So Jesus is forced to be blunt with the disciples: He tells them “Lazarus is dead.” (v.14). Still wrapped in their carnal thinking they missed the true intentions of their Lord. Jesus tells them, “Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep” (v. 11). Even after the plain remark declaring Lazarus’ death they did not understand what Jesus was about to do.

One point, which is often overlooked, should capture our attention. When one analyzes the timing of the events a noteworthy lesson can be gained. A little analysis shows that about the time word reaches Jesus, Lazarus dies. After Jesus receives the news, “he abode two days still in the same place where he was.” (v. 6). It was also a two day journey back to Bethany. For we read in verse 17, “he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.” When Jesus tells them to remove the stone Maratha was concerned for, “by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.” (v. 39). Historically, there was a rabbinical tradition about the dead. D. A. Carson records, “…there are sources attesting the rabbinic belief that the soul hovers over the body of the deceased person for the first three days, ‘intending to re-enter it, but as soon as it sees its appearance change’, i.e. that decomposition has set in, it departs. At that point death is irreversible.” Regardless the truthfulness of this view, the fact that some believed such an idea, elevates the raising of Lazarus to a unique level of wonder.

Martha’s reaction also underscores the reality of Lazarus’ death. Probably due to her deep grief, Martha misunderstood Jesus’ remark when He said, “Thy brother shall rise again” (v. 23). Martha thought he was referring to the general resurrection: “Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (v. 24). Then, Jesus tells them to remove the stone, and Martha became concerned that the public would see and smell the decomposing body of her brother. Pointing out the importance of recognizing the death of Lazarus, Daniel King notes,

John places emphasis upon the certainty and actuality of the death of Lazarus. He was not only dead, but he had been in the tomb for four days. His body had already begun to deteriorate, and so if the sepulcher was opened the odor would be obvious at once. As the sister of the deceased, she did not want his memory to be desecrated by this invasion of his privacy. The circumstances of this miracle made it impossible to attack on the basis of the type of evidence present at his death.

Jesus, calling to remembrance His earlier statement, puts the event in focus,

“Jesus saith unto her, “Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?’ Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, ‘Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.’ And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, ‘Loose him, and let him go’” (vv. 40-44).

Through the power of His spoken word, in a loud voice, Jesus says, “come forth”. With that cry, Lazarus, who has been dead for four days, comes back to life.

Jarius’ Daughter
The story of Jarius’ daughter is found in Matthew 9:18-26, Mark 5:21-43 and Luke 8:40-56. Jarius was a ruler of the synagogue, probably the synagogue in Capernaum. This was a prestigious position and indicates Jairus was an important man in the community. As pointed out by Heibert, he would have been “responsible for the arrangement for the various parts of the synagogue worship service.”

Jarius sought out Jesus and “besought him greatly.” The term besought is defined by Thayer as, “to beg, entreat, beseech.” It was the condition of his daughter than led to him seek Jesus and beg for His help. For his daughter, “lieth at the point of death.” (v. 23). A father’s love for his little daughter compelled him to exhaust all options in finding help. He willingly left his daughter’s side, even as she hovered at the point of death, to seek out Jesus. Jesus agrees to go, however something happens along the way—Jesus is touched. He stops His progress toward Jairus’ house and asks who touched Him. The delay must have been frustrating for Jarius, for time was of the essence, and his little girl needed of the healing hand of the Master.

The delay proved to be everything Jairus had feared it would be, for someone comes from Jarius’ house declaring, “Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?” (v. 35). Hope died with the damsel and there is no need to trouble Jesus any further. In regards to saving the girl, Carl Johnson writes, “The messengers who have come from Jarius’ house have evidently given up all hope of saving the girl and have concluded that any further disturbance of Jesus is futile. This statement is also evidence that the power to raise the dead has not yet been attributed to Jesus. There has been only one instance of Jesus’ raising the dead prior to this time, and it has not been in the Capernaum district (Lk 7:11 ff).”

Mark chapters 4 and 5 are powerfully unique. The display of power by Jesus recorded in these chapters will forever be etched on the minds of His disciples. If they doubted who Jesus was or did not have a proper understanding of Him, they would fully comprehend who He is by the time these events are completed. In 4:35-41, Jesus displays His power over nature by calming the storm; 5:1-20 displays His power over the demonic realm by casting out Legion (many demons); now Jesus is showing His power over life, health and death. He healed the woman with an issue of blood (5:25-34), but most significantly He is going to the home of Jarius to raise his daughter back to life.

Jesus found a chaotic scene upon arriving: weeping and wailing and shedding of tears for the loss of a young girl. Jesus has everyone put out—only the parents with Peter, James and John are allowed to go in where the body lies. Jesus says, “Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.”  (v. 41). Heibert states, “The impact, both for the girl and the witnesses, was immediate. For the Lord of life, there was no struggle to overcome death such as the prophets of old experienced.” Upon the power of His spoken word the young girl immediately gets up. Jesus proves He is Master and Lord over life by raising this damsel from the dead.

Widow’s Son at Nain
Making His way to the city of Nain, Jesus is confronted with a funeral procession. Friends and family are bearing the body of a young man to the tombs. This was the only child of a certain woman, and to complicate matters she was a widow. Life for a widowed woman with no family would have been extremely difficult during this time. Thus, when Jesus saw her, “he had compassion on her, and said unto her, ‘Weep not’ ” (v. 13). Jesus characteristically had empathy and pity for this woman. Upon comforting this woman Jesus “…came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, ‘Young man, I say unto thee, Arise’ “ (v. 14). Upon the powerful words of Jesus this man “that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother” (v. 15). Once again, Jesus speaks with authority and the dead respond to His command. As this boy sets up he begins to speak, thus no doubt exists that he is alive again! It is the sheer power of Jesus on display over death itself!

Conclusion
The stories of Lazarus, Jarius’ daughter. and the widow’s son at Nain, show the power of Jesus Christ over death. Jesus does not just claim to have power over death: He proves He does with a mighty demonstrations, restoring three individuals to life. In all three cases, Jesus was moved with sympathy toward those who lost love ones. However, in the process, Jesus accomplishes something else—they could “see the glory of God” (Jn. 11:40). More importantly, Jesus lays a foundation, one which, because of His display of power over death, provides confidence in His own resurrection. When the angel proclaimed, “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee” (Lk 24:5-6), there was no reason to doubt the authority of Jesus to conquer death.

Article by: Brad Shockley

“If Jesus really is the Christ, the Son of God, just show us a sign,” cries modern society. Seeking a sign, a common request, was one which even the religious leaders of Christ’s day demanded: “…Master, we would see a sign from thee” (Mt. 12:38). The reality is, they did not need to see a sign, for they already had been exposed to many. Matthew chapters 8 and 9 are full of powerful examples of Jesus displaying His Deity. Consider the following:

• 8:1-4 – Jesus cleanses a leper.
• 8:5-13 – Jesus heals the centurion’s servant.
• 8:14-17 – Jesus heals many.
• 8:23-27 – Jesus calms a storm.
• 8:28-34 – Jesus cast out demons
• 9:1-7 – Jesus heals a paralytic.
• 9:18-26 – Jesus heals a women with an issue of blood as well as brings Jarius’ daughter back to life.
• 9:27-31 – Jesus gives two blind men their sight.
• 9:32-33 – Jesus cast out a demon allowing a mute man to speak.

Even if the religious leaders were not eye witnesses to some of these events, they could not have escaped their notice. Thus, when they ask for a sign Jesus responds, “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Mt. 12:39-40). The only sign they will receive is the sign of Jonah—a clear reference to His resurrection.

 The Resurrection Foretold
The Messianic prophecies are powerful signs proving Jesus is who He claimed to be. We enjoy reading notable prophecies concerning His death, however, we must not overlook the prophecies concerning His resurrection, which at times are in the very same passages!

The renowned prophet Isaiah penned these inspiring words in chapter 53:

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But 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 (vv. 3-5).

This is a familiar and beloved passage, however, continue reading and carefully notice verse 10: “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.” It did not please God to watch His Son suffer on Calvary’s cross, however, it was necessary to complete the grand scheme of redemption. It does, however, please Him to delight in the benefits derived from the pain, suffering, shed blood, death, burial and resurrection. The forgiveness of sin, salvation, reconciliation and redemption are wonderful things worth more than all this earth holds. It was all possible because His days were prolonged. His resurrection changes everything!

The psalmist writes a beautiful, yet heart wrenching, foretelling of the Lord’s suffering. In the 22^nd Psalm, perhaps the most underappreciated of all the Messianic passages which deal with His pain and anguish, he speaks of the Lord being poured out like water, bones out of joint, heart like wax (vv. 14-15). Later in the same passage he writes, “My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever. All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee (vv. 25-27). One cannot be fully satisfied nor properly praise the Lord without a proper understanding of God’s great plan. In this prophetic passage he speaks of the future of humanity and the great compassion and grace they will enjoy from God. This was fully accomplished by His resurrection from the grave. His reign, made possible by His triumph over death, is a blessing for all humanity. Tesh and Zorn write, “It should not be thought strange, however, that the psalmist should anticipate the universal reign of the Lord. He recognized that the God in whom he had trusted is the living God (in distinction from all others that are called god), and consequently the God of all creation. The psalmist could only hope that all peoples might come to known such deliverance as he had experienced and thus be encouraged to seek God also and to join in praising him.”

The psalmist also wrote, “Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (16:9-11). This, arguably, is the strongest of all prophetic passages for the resurrection of Christ. The point David is making is crystal clear: not only does he have confidence God will not abandon him in death, he points to a greater hope enjoyed by us today—His resurrection! Eddie Cloer provides remarkable insight to this psalm, as he writes,

“David may be writing an expression of trust in God for the indefinite future, but the Holy Spirit is uttering through him a prophetic portrayal of the greatest event of all time: Jesus’ bursting forth from the dead. The Christ will not be left in the grave (or Sheol). He will not remain dead, nor will His body stay in the grave long enough to undergo decay. The deeper meaning of this psalm is realized by the unbroken fellowship Jesus has with God and His release from death’s grip in that tomb outside of Jerusalem.”

Peter, in his sermon on the day of Pentecost, quotes this prophecy to emphasize the resurrection of Christ. Peter preached,

“Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance” (Acts 2:24-28).

The emphasis, not only of Peter, but of all the apostles’ preaching, was the resurrection of Christ. This aspect of the gospel is the fundamental fact that makes Christianity unique and of supreme significance. It is this action that makes Christianity real and alive.

The Apostle Paul, at the synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia, after the reading from the Law and Prophets, preached a beautiful exhortation showing Christ is the fulfillment of the prophets. He reaches the climax of his sermon with the following words, “…that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38-39). What a comforting conclusion to reach, however, one should not miss the focus Paul places on Christ fulfilling the resurrection prophecies. Consider the following statements and the prophecies to which they refer:

1. “And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,” (v. 32). Fulfillment of Genesis 3:15, 12:3, 22:18.
2. “God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee” (v. 33). Fulfillment of Psalm 2:7.
3. “And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.; But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.” (vv. 34-35, 37). Fulfillment of Isaiah 55:3 and Psalm 16:10.

Paul, well studied in the Law and the Prophets, uses his training and education wisely to convince his audience of the resurrection of Christ.

New Testament Foretelling
In the New Testament, Christ, despite the obtuseness of His disciples in failing to fully understand and appreciate His words at the time, provided several predictions of His resurrection. In one such instance the Jews had turned the temple into a place of commerce. In what should have been a solemn place of worship, greed reigned and unethical business practices were the rule. Jesus rebukes them for such behavior, and after the disciples remembered the words of the psalmist, the Jews proposed a question, “What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?” (Jn 2:18). The response, “Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body” (Jn. 2:19-21). To the Jews the only things they could comprehend were material in nature, and their actions proved this was the case. Gazing on the beauty of the temple complex, they scoffed at Jesus’ words, knowing it would take much longer than three days to set the massive stones of which the temple was constructed. However, Jesus was teaching a spiritual lesson: it was His body to be raised. The temple was as nothing compared to His resurrection from death and the establishment of His church.

Upon Peter’s confession, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt. 16:16), Jesus takes the opportunity to prepare His disciples for the coming events. “From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day” (Mt 16:21). In plain language, Jesus points out the core components of the gospel. As plain as the teaching was, the disciples missed the point. It is as if all they heard was “suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed”. For Peter courageously proclaims, “Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee” (Mt. 16:22). If Peter had grasped the entirety of the statement he would not have reacted so defensively. If he would have realized the teaching about the resurrection perhaps his response would have been different.

Conclusion
Despite all the prophecy and the teachings of Jesus, very few seemed to fathom the reality of the event or even accept its possibility. After the resurrection the women “departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy” (Mt. 28:8). The disciples, upon receiving word of the empty tomb from the women, took the news “as idle tales, and they believed them not.” (Lk. 24:11). When the group was together and saw Jesus they “were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit” (Lk. 24:37). On the road to Emmaus, the conversation centering on the events of the Passion and empty tomb, the two men were dumbfounded when presented with the evidence. Jesus had to instruct them: “O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Lk. 24:25-27).

Article by: Brad Shockley

The above title is suggested by the incident recorded in Num. 21:4-9.   The children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years and this incident took place toward the end of that experience.  In fact, the time period is thought to be around the 38th year after they had left Egypt.  That helps us to understand the frame of mind that the people were in.  After requesting permission to pass through Edom, which they were denied, they were forced to go around the land of Edom.  Num. 21:4 says, “And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.”  This is what led the people to speak some harsh words against God and Moses, and they were going to be severely punished for it.

Have you ever heard the expression, the “myth of nostalgia”?  This is where someone longs for the “good old days,” but they have a distorted picture in their mind of how things really were.  Unfortunately, Israel was often plagued with this malady.  Time and again they complained against God, longing to return unto Egypt because they had forgotten how terrible their existence was while in bondage to Pharaoh.  Here’s what Num. 21: 5 records, “And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?  For there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loathes this light bread.”  This was a terrible indictment against God because they were calling into question His faithfulness and saying that His provisions for them was inadequate.

The point is that they were an unbelieving and ungrateful group of people and God has finally run out of patience with them.  That’s when the Bible says in Num. 21:6, “And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.”  To me, this is horrible to even think about; to be invaded by poisonous snakes that are coming at you from every direction.  Please notice that Israel wasn’t attacked by just a few snakes.  No, it was a stampede of venomous vipers that lead to the deaths of “much people.”  What a horrible and frightening experience that must have been!

Finally, they confess to Moses, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.”  Moses goes to God on their behalf, but their prayer isn’t answered in the way they were hoping and expecting.  Instead of removing the snakes from their midst, God provides them with a means of salvation.  Listen to what Num. 21:8 says, “And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole: and it shall come to pass, that everyone that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.”  That’s exactly what Moses did!  He made a serpent of brass and put it on a “pole.”  This refers to a flagstaff or standard that lifted up the brazen serpent so that it could be seen by all the people.  We might say that it was their point of contact to God’s deliverance from death.  Num. 21:9 assures us, “. . . and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.”

What a story!  It is one that invokes terror, amazement, and an appreciation for God’s grace.  But did this incident really occur or is it just a Jewish fable?  The most definitive answer to that question is found in John 3:14-15, where Jesus said, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”  Jesus obviously believed in the historical accuracy of this incident, and He is letting us know that there are some great spiritual truths to be learned from it, even teaching us about the redemptive work of our Savior upon the cross.  Let’s dig a little deeper into this story and notice some things we learn from it.

THE “BITE” OF SIN
First of all, just as those serpents infused poisonous venom into their victims, we today need deliverance from the poisonous venom of sin.  Remember that it was sin (unbelief and ingratitude) that brought about this disastrous circumstance.  Likewise, all of us have been “bitten” and poisoned by the bite of sin.  Rom. 3:23 affirms that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”  Sin is like a fiery serpent in that it poisons our soul and brings with it death.  Rom. 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Let’s talk about this idea that they were “fiery” serpents.  Some say to this day there is a large, deadly snake that lives among the rocks and bushes of this region.  They are marked with fiery red spots and wavy stripes.  They may look pretty to the eye, but it’s almost like nature’s way of saying, “Beware.  Stay away!  You don’t want any part of this.”  Also, it is said that when this kind of snake bites you, the victim feels like he has fire rushing through his veins and he suffers with a great burning sensation.  When you stop to think about it, that’s the way it is with sin.  The devil makes it look as appealing as he can, but the bite is deadly and eventually leads to the eternal fires of hell (Matt. 9:44).

Notice that God did not remove the snakes, but He gave them a means of salvation and deliverance. Likewise, God does not remove from us temptation and the presence of sin, but he has provided us with a means of salvation whereby we can be forgiven and escape the consequences of sin.

TYPE AND ANTI-TYPE
That brazen serpent on a pole was a type of Jesus Christ.  Or perhaps it is more correct to say that it was a type of His redemptive work upon the cross.  Remember that Jesus declared, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.”  We may wonder about this because we know that the serpent has long been a symbol of the devil himself.  When Satan conversed with Eve in the garden of Eden, he appeared to her in the form of a serpent.  Also, Rev. 12:9 identifies “that old serpent” as the devil.  This brings up the question of how that brazen serpent in the wilderness could have foreshadowed the lifting up of Christ upon the cross.

Let’s consider some things that should help us in our understanding about this.  To begin with, please observe that it was a replica of the deadly serpent that Moses raised on a pole.  “Make thee a fiery serpent,” Moses was told, “and set it on a pole.”  What did that mean?  It meant that on that pole was a representation of the very thing that had brought death into their midst.  We should see in that a picture of what happened when Jesus was nailed to the cross.  Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be the righteousness of God in him.”  Notice what Paul did not say– He did not say that Jesus was made to be a “sinner”; neither did he say that Jesus was made to be “sinful.”  However, Paul did say that He was made to be “sin” for us.  That surely means that He became our sin-bearer upon the cross. In His death He bore the penalty of our sins and died in our stead.  As Gal. 3:13 declares, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree.”

Also, think about how the cure for their snake bite was another snake (on a pole).  In other words, the very thing which brought them death also brought them life.  Likewise, the very thing which brought Christ death (the cross) is what brings spiritual life.  Jesus promised in John 12:32, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”  John went on to explain in verse 33, “This he said, signifying what death he should die.”  When Jesus was lifted up upon the cross, it was as if He was suspended between heaven and earth, making it possible for Him to reconcile man unto God.  That makes it very clear that the sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross is our only hope of salvation.

Another parallel to consider is how there was only one snake (on one standard) that could save the people.  Moses was not to raise up twelve snakes on twelve poles for the 12 tribes of Israel.  No, there was only one snake, on one pole, for all the people! Likewise, it is only by the redemptive work of Christ that we can be saved.  Since He is the world’s only Savior, that’s why we must look to Him with trusting faith.

LOOK AND LIVE
In this story we see the look of faith.  I am calling this sermon, “Salvation On A Pole,” but surely you realize that the serpent made of brass was not a cure for a snake bite (in and of itself).  No, it was actually the power of God that gave them life, but it was faith that gave them access to that power.  God’s promise was, “And it shall come to pass, that everyone that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.”  However, that “look” was motivated by faith!  That has to be the case because simply looking at something made of brass will not cure a person of a snake bite or any other malady.

Furthermore, we are not seeing in this story an example of faith only.  Consider the words of Jesus in John 3: 14-15, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”  By using faith in connection with this incident, it is clear that the Lord is talking about an active faith or one that leads to action.  Let me illustrate the point by imagining that an Israelite has just been bitten by one of those fiery serpents.  Can you see him in your mind’s eye?  Picture him there lying on the ground, with his face toward the earth, and he’s saying to himself, “I believe in the promise of God.”  He really believes in his heart that he can look on that brazen serpent and live, but suppose that he never actually does it.  Instead of acting upon his faith in obedience to the command of God, he just keeps staring at the ground.  Is that Israelite going to be saved by his faith alone?  Obviously, the answer to that question is no.

No wonder James 2:24 says, “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.”  The truth is that people today are not looking to Christ in trusting faith if they are not willing to obey the gospel.  Yes, we are justified by faith (Rom. 5:1), but the Bible shows that it is an obedient faith that leads to salvation.  Gal. 5:6 states that what avails with God is a “faith which worketh by love.”  We also read of “the obedience of faith “ in Rom. 16:26.

INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY
Each person who was bitten by one of those fiery serpents had to look for himself.  This was not something that could be done by proxy, but each Israelite was responsible for his own actions.  So it is with the sinner today!  Have you obeyed the gospel?  Have you done what the Lord requires you to do to be saved?  You must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (John 3:18); you must repent of your sins (Luke 13:3); you must confess that “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (Acts 8:37); you need to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins (Acts 2:38).

THE URGENT NEED
What will it take for people today to have a sense of urgency about their salvation, bringing them to repentance now?  Does God literally have to send snakes into our midst to humble us before Him?  Is that the kind of thing that it takes for people to get serious about their relationship with God?  Surely not!  Instead, it should be the “goodness of God” that lead us to repentance (Rom. 2:4).  God’s love and grace should provide us with all the motivation we need to live for Him.  That love, grace, and mercy is best seen in the lifting up of our Savior upon the cross of Calvary!

Article by: Billy Dickinson

Infant Baptism
Since faith, repentance, and confession are conditions preceding New Testament baptism, infants are excluded (Mk. 16:16; Acts 2:38). Infants do not have the mental capacity to believe in Christ, they cannot repent, for they “have no knowledge of good or evil” (Dt. 1:39), and they cannot confess their faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Consequently, the practice of infant baptism is unknown to Holy Scripture.

The practice of infant baptism began as a consequence of the doctrine of original sin. This doctrine teaches that children are born with the guilt of sin and are depraved in nature. The doctrine is first hinted at by Irenaeus (ca. A.D. 140-203), a second-century theologian in Gaul.

Tertullian (ca. A.D. 160-220) is the first to actually formulate the doctrine of original sin. He taught that every soul inherits Adam’s guilt and is therefore is under condemnation and is punishable for that inherited guilt.

Cyprian while bishop of Carthage (248-258) enlarged upon Tertullian’s concept. He declared that even though an infant had committed no actual sin, it needed forgiveness for inherited sin, and that forgiveness was received in baptism. He was the first to approve infant baptism, but he did not urge it.

The doctrine of original sin, however, was not generally accepted at the time and accordingly infant baptism did not become a common practice. It is logical for these two doctrines to rise and fall together. If children are innocent there is no need for baptism, but if they are in sin, baptism is the remedy.

However, while Tertullian formulated the doctrine of original sin, he rejected the practice of infant baptism. He writes:

 Let them come while they are growing up; let them come while they are learning, while they are being taught to what it is they are coming; let them become Christians when they are susceptible of the knowledge of Christ. What haste to procure the forgiveness of sins for the age of innocence! . . . Let them first learn to feel their need of salvation; so it may appear that we have given to those that wanted (On Baptism Vol. 3, 678).

Origen (ca. A.D.185-254), another post-apostolic writer, declares:

 Little children are baptized for the remission of sins. Whose sins are they? When did they sin? Or how can this explanation of the baptismal washing be maintained in the case of small children, except according to the interpretation we spoke of a little earlier? No man is clean of stain, not even if his life upon the earth had lasted but a single day” (Vol. 9, 484).

The practice of infant baptism did not become common until the fifth century, after the writings of Augustine popularized the theory of original sin. Renowned historian Philip Schaff, a member of the Reformed Church, and a strong pedo-baptist advocate, admits that “adult baptism was the rule, infant baptism the exception” until the church was fairly established in the Roman Empire. He points out that Augustine, Gregory Nazianzen, and Chrysostom had “Christian” mothers, yet these men were not baptized until early manhood (210).

H. A. W. Meyer (1800-1873) was one of the most prominent commentators produced by the German Lutheran Church. He thus had no intrinsic bias against infant baptism, yet in his commentary on Acts (16:15), he wrote:

The baptism of the children of Christians, of which no trace is found in the N.T., is not to be held as an apostolic ordinance, as, indeed, it encountered early and long resistance; but it is an institution of the church, which gradually arose in post-apostolic times (312).

The Purpose of Baptism
While departures from the Bible pattern for the mode of baptism (immersion) and the subjects of baptism (penitent believers) began taking place soon after the establishment of the church, there existed a remarkably consistent agreement among those professing Christianity concerning the meaning and purpose of baptism for 1500 years—up to and including Martin Luther himself. At the beginning of the 16^th Century, most everyone who professed Christianity, including the Catholic Church, agreed that baptism was a condition of salvation, and that it was the point of transition from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light.

While the Catholic Church regarded baptism as essential to salvation, it also designated baptism a “sacrament.” The word cannot be found anywhere in the Bible, but is used to refer to rituals that channel God’s grace automatically—independent of faith or repentance in the recipient.

Around 1520, however, Roman Catholic Huldreich Zwingli began a radical revision of the popular meaning and purpose of baptism. Zwingli launched the Swiss Reformation in Zurich about the same time Martin Luther was doing the same thing in Germany. Zwingli’s work was cut short by his untimely death in 1531, but the basic elements of his thought were adopted by John Calvin, who took over the reformation work in Switzerland, operating out of Geneva. The general system of theology and church practice thus begun by Zwingli and worked out by Calvin goes by the name “Reformed.”

Reformed theology exhibited in Presbyterian, Baptist, and Wesleyan traditions defines baptism as a symbol that signifies a person has been saved, but has nothing to do with effecting that salvation. Baptism is commonly described as an “outward sign of an inward change,” but nothing more. Zwingli argued, “Salvation precedes baptism which symbolizes it.”

It is incredible that Zwingli and his contemporaries could repudiate 1500 years of consensus belief that baptism is essential to salvation, replace it with the radical belief that baptism has nothing to do with salvation, and have that belief prevail in most Protestant churches until this day.

While the Catholic and Reformed churches have agreed recently to accept each other’s positions on the meaning of baptism (Christianity Today, April 2013, p. 12), the Lord’s church cannot accept either of them.

We cannot accept the Catholic designation of baptism as a sacrament—one of seven sacraments they believe is essential to salvation. They apply the Latin phrase, “ex oper operato,” to sacraments and it implies a goal can be obtained by virtue of performing the ceremony. In other words, you can save a person by baptism whether faith, repentance, and confession accompany the baptism or not.

Zwingli was correct in rejecting this doctrine. He said that in this matter of baptism, all the (Church) Fathers were in error because they have ascribed to the water a power which it does not have and which the apostles did not teach. They thought the water itself effects cleansing and salvation.

Peter very clearly shows that baptism’s saving power is not through some physical property in the water itself. It is not just a matter of using water to wash dirt off the body, nor does the water function as a cleanser for the soul in some metaphysical sense (1 Pet. 3:21). The saving power comes from God alone who saves us by the blood of Christ when we come to Him in faith, repentance, confession, AND baptism.

However, we cannot accept the Reformed Churches position on the meaning of baptism either—that baptism is merely a symbol of salvation, but has nothing to do with salvation itself.

It is true that baptism has multiple symbolical meanings. It is a symbol of washing (Acts 22:16; 1 Cor. 6:11; Eph. 5:25-26; Heb. 10:22), death, burial, and resurrection with Christ (Rom. 6:1-4; Col. 2:12), re-clothing (Gal. 3:26-27; Col. 3:9-10), incorporation into Christ (Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27; 1 Cor. 12:13; Acts 2:41), and new birth (Jn. 3:4-5). Baptism, however, not only signifies all of the above conditions, but it is actually the point at which all of these things are bestowed. Baptism is not only a sign of these things, but it is a true means of receiving them (Gal.3:27; Eph. 1:3).

Conclusion
The disparate beliefs of the Catholic Church and the Reformed Church dominated the religious world at the beginning of the 19^th Century when the Restoration Movement was taking shape in America.  The men that led the movement were convinced the only way the religious world could unite was to abandon all man-made traditions and base unity upon the Word of God alone. Slogans that characterized the thinking of the day included, “Where the Bible speaks, we speak, where the Bible is silent, we are silent,” “Call Bible things by Bible names,” “You must have a ‘thus saith the Lord’ for every belief and practice.” Beginning in the 1820s men such as Alexander Campbell, Barton W. Stone, Walter Scott, and Raccoon John Smith began preaching the doctrine of baptism for the remission of sins just as it was preached by the apostle Peter on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38), and they began baptizing people by the thousands. Those who have caught the vision of these Restoration preachers and who desire to be true to the Bible itself have continued to preach the ancient gospel throughout the world.

Article by: Carl Johnson

Psalm 119 consists of 176 verses, the longest of any in the Bible, and it proclaims the glories of God’s word.  Matthew Henry wrote that “this psalm may be considered as the statement of a believer’s experience,” meaning that David had experienced in his own life the need and importance of divine revelation.  Another source described it as “the Christian’s A-B-C of the praise, love, power and use of the word of God . . . for here we have set forth in inexhaustible fullness what the word of God is to man, and how a man is to behave himself in relation to it.”  When the Psalm is read, it is discovered that almost every verse in it mentions the word of God (with only four exceptions).

Using different terminology to describe various aspects of God’s word, David speaks of law, testimony, judgments, statutes, commandments, precepts, ordinances, etc., providing us with one of the greatest tributes ever written to God’s expressed will.  Surely one of the most beautiful statements made is found in verse 18: “Open thou my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.”  Notice that David did not ask for a plainer law, feeling that it was something beyond his comprehension, but his desire was to have a heart that was open and receptive to the truth.  After all, he didn’t want anything to hinder him from beholding those “wondrous things.”  He went on to write, “Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.  The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple” (verses 129-130).

The truth is that Bible reading and studying the Scriptures involve an exercise that is both exciting and profitable!  When people look upon it as being boring and a waste of time, it shows that they lack the understanding that David came to possess in his life.    His attitude was, “O how love I thy law!  It is my meditation all the day” (verse 97), but what about us?  If that is not our practice, it shows that we don’t love God’s word like the “sweet psalmist of Israel” (2 Sam. 23:1) did, indicating a failure on our part to appreciate what we have been given.   Let’s notice three specific areas where those “wondrous things” can be found.

THE WONDERS OF DOCTRINE

There are great doctrinal truths that are treated in God’s word, revealing things that need to be understood about God and our relationship to Him.  When he expressed his desire to “behold wondrous things,” it’s interesting that David used the term “law” in that statement.  Do you find that shocking?  While liberals seem to hate the very concept of law itself, even denying that we are under any kind of law today, David spoke of “wondrous things out of thy law.”  Another statement found in Psa. 19:7, for example, is representative of the whole revealed will of God– “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.”  This can be viewed as a general reference to the rule of God for the conduct of man, being “perfect” in its ability to guide and give us the understanding we need in spiritual matters.

Certainly the Law of Moses itself, which David lived under, contained many “wondrous things.”  God being the author, it was “the law which the Lord had commanded by Moses” (Neh. 8:14).  Paul informed the Galatians that “the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Gal. 3:24).  Think of all the beautiful types, figures, and shadows that gave a picture of the coming Savior, helping us to understand who He was and what His heavenly mission accomplished.  There is a lot that we can learn from the Old Testament about God’s view of justice, holiness, righteousness, and other things.  No wonder Paul wrote in Rom. 15:4, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”

One of the purposes of the law of Moses was to bring to man a consciousness of sin (Rom. 3:20), but it’s in the New Testament scriptures where the true remedy for sin is explained in clear and precise terms.  God’s word declares many wondrous truths– the grace and love of God, what one must do to be saved, the forgiveness of sins through the blood of Christ, what happens after death, the reality of heaven and hell, the second coming of Christ and the judgment day, the resurrection of the dead, and on and on it goes.  No other book but the Bible can give you the information you need to these and other Bible topics!  It can still be said today in all truthfulness, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psa. 119:105).

THE WONDERS OF PRECEPT

God’s word not only tells you what you need to know, but it also obligates you to live a certain way (bringing blessedness and dignity into your life).  Using this term at least 21 times in this psalm, David said, “Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way” (verse 104).  This word involves the idea “to take notice or care of a thing; to attend; to have respect to; to appoint; to visit.”  It has reference to God’s commandments that take notice of our way, having respect to the whole of our life and conversation.  You might say that they “visit” us in all the concerns and duties of life.  God’s word is life-changing and practical because it deals with matters that affect both time and eternity.

Instead of despising God’s standard of conduct, we should have David’s godly attitude– “Behold, I have longed after thy precepts; quicken me in thy righteousness” (verse 40).  There are many wondrous precepts in God’s word that bless and enrich our lives because they show us how to have supreme love for God and a right relationship with our fellow-man (Matt. 22:36-40).  Instructions given on topics like marriage, parenting, morality, money, and health (respecting our bodies) have both earthly and eternal consequences.  As Paul wrote in 1 Tim. 4:8, “For bodily exercise profits little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”  Someone compared it to a tea bag: “The longer the tea bag sits in the cup of hot water, the stronger the tea becomes.  The longer you steep yourself in God’s word, the stronger you will become.  And the stronger you become, the more blessings you will receive.”    That leads to our final point . . .

THE WONDERS OF PROMISE

Think of all the wonderful promises made to us in God’s word!  Being the believer that he was, David declared, “Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word” (verse 114).  Since Peter described them as “exceeding great and precious promises” (2 Pet. 1:4), that certainly fits the idea of something being “wondrous.”   The reason we can hope in God’s word is because God is faithful and always keeps His promises (Heb. 10:23).  However, we must remember that all spiritual blessings are found only “in Christ” (Eph. 1:3) and there is no promise of salvation to the unfaithful and disobedient (Matt. 7:21).

As we face the trials of life and near the end of life’s little day, the wondrous promise of eternal life is that source of great comfort unto us.  Knowing that our “labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58), we remain steadfast until we cross the river of death.  We have already noticed that Rom. 15:4 talks about the “comfort of the scriptures.”  Not only are we comforted by the assurance of our own salvation,  but we also have hope that we will be reunited with those who have died in Christ.    After assuring us that “the dead in Christ shall rise first” (before living saints at Christ’s return take their flight to glory), Paul says that we’re all going to heaven together:  “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:17-18).   Oh, what a wondrous promise!

Article by: Billy D Dickinson

The Explanation

In order to garner better understanding one must go all the way back to the beginning of time. Genesis 1 documents the origins of the physical universe. Notice very carefully the end of the first chapter, And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Gen 1:31). God’s creation was perfect, it could not have been better. Clearly, God did not create pain and suffering at the inauguration of existence.

In chronicling God’s six days of creation, Moses reveals that humanity is His crowning jewel (Gen. 1:26). At this junction we should ask the age old question, the time-worn question of all the philosophers: “Why am I here?”  What is God’s greatest desire for us? Jesus, God incarnate, said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.” (Mt. 22:37-38). The very essence of our existence is to love God.

In order for humanity to express authentic love to Him, we were created with the ability to choose. Free will is our own unique ability to control our decisions. God did not create and program us to do precisely what He wants, for then we would be nothing more than robots. Instead, He allows us to express our love and emotion to Him. Lynn Gardner, in his work, Where Is God When We Suffer, wrote,

God made human beings in His image with the ability to understand, the ability to choose, and the ability to love. Without free will the concepts of morality and love lose their meaning. God did not create amoral programmed robots but persons made in His image. In giving human beings free will, God risked rejection. However He offered a choice so that love for Him would be genuine and not coerced.” Love that is not genuine is not love.

In answering the question, “Why did God create free-will creatures?” Cottrell explains,

The Bible does not give an explicit answer to this question. We infer from other teaching in Scripture that God’s chief purpose and desire were to have creatures who would love, serve and glorify him of their free choice and not by coercion or manipulation. We infer this, for example, from the fact that the first and greatest commandment is that we should love God with all our hearts and minds (Mt. 22:37). The fact that this is the most important thing that we can do suggests that it is what God desires from His creation more than anything else. Giving His creatures free will was a necessary means to this end.

In introducing the free will position, Jack Cottrell stated,

The most we can say is that in the world that God created, evil was a possibility but not a necessity. This is an old, old view in Christianity, the one Hick calls the Augustinian view. It is usually called the free-will defense. It says in essence that God created the world with neither moral evil nor natural evil existing in it. But He did create free-will beings for whom moral evil was a possibility. In the exercise of their freedom these beings introduced moral evil into the world, with natural evil following from it as its consequence.

Fulfilling God’s greatest desire requires that humans have the ability to independently think and choose. Thus, God did not create pain and suffering, rather, humanity, through an original bad choice, and afterwards a plethora of bad decisions in every generation, opens the door to suffering.

The Answer

God provides the greatest response and assistance for our pain and suffering—His Son, Jesus Christ! Ironically, it is through the suffering of Christ from which we can be alleviated from all of ours. The prophets, in what seemed at the time to contradict the nature of the Messianic King, foretold the horrible pain, suffering and death Christ would endure.

In Psalm 22, an under-appreciated yet remarkable psalm, the psalmist paints a prophetic picture of the suffering of Christ. Consider the following passages: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?” (v. 1). “But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people” (v. 6.) “All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him” (vv. 7-8). “For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet”(v. 16). “They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture” (v. 18).

The familiar Messianic prophecies found in Isaiah 53 detail the rejection of Christ, the bodily pain He would suffer, and of His death among thieves:

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not” (v. 3) “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But 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” …”and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (v. 12).

The New Testament affirms Jesus is the Suffering Servant of whom Isaiah prophesies. Phillip, in his conversation with the Ethiopian Eunuch, began teaching Christ from the very prophecies we have discussed, “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.” (Act 8:32-33). A synoptic study of the gospels vividly presents Jesus in this light. Peter indicates the life Christ lived was in accordance with and fulfillment of the prophets,

Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow” (1 Pet 1:10-11).

For over three decades, Jesus carried these thoughts with Him, knowing they would all culminate at Golgotha.

The suffering of Christ assures us that all will be well. The author of Hebrews said, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:15-16). For a Christian, help in a time of need, can be found through the grace of Jesus Christ. Forgiveness of past sins and the hope of life eternal, where suffering is nonexistent, is the true beacon of light to help through life. It is all possible because Jesus faced the same trials we face. In his work on Hebrews, Mark Bailey writes, “…regardless of how high Christ is exalted, He still sympathizes with all Christians because He has experienced the same trials and the same temptations, the same desires and appetites, of all mankind. Jesus’ suffering and sinlessness is the ground of a Christian’s confidence in Him.”

The ultimate deliverance from suffering is found in eternal salvation. Jesus left the splendors of glory, occupied an earthly tabernacle of flesh, and willingly gave His life. Paul eloquently states,

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:6-8).

Through Jesus, through His suffering, we can be delivered from ours. As the inspired writer states, “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him” (Heb. 5:8-9).

Not only is the best guide for overcoming pain and suffering found in Jesus Christ, it is the only one. The agnostic and atheist have no explanation. They have no answer for the dilemma of pain and suffering. It is an understatement to say their view is one of despair. Jesus, His life and work, allows eternal joy and deliverance from pain and suffering. Although unpopular, John records Jesus speaking of His exclusive nature, “…I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (Jn. 14:6). It is in Jesus, and only Jesus, that true satisfaction is discovered. The only fountain of help and comfort in distress is found in our Savior. Paul wrote, “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God” (2 Cor. 1:3-4). As already noted, Paul mentions the anticipation of eternity, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Rom. 8:18). Perhaps the clincher, arguably the single greatest philosophical statement ever made, was penned by Paul, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Phil. 1:21).

Article by: Brad Shockley