McGee, J. Vernon: Thru the
Bible Commentary. electronic
ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson,
1997, c1981, S. 5:75
[Collective disagreement
regarding Jesus' resurrection]
"I think it is even dishonesty
of mine to challenge you guys
into a no-win situation, no
matter what."
The
majority of scholars agree that
Jesus rose from the dead.
Dr. Gary Habermas is a foremost
authority on the resurrection of
Jesus. A question was
posed to him: "In one of
your books you mentioned that
75% of scholars accept the empty
tomb tradition in the gospels as
historically true. Do you have
the source for that?..."
See:
The complete text of Q & A.
Evidence for the Resurrection
Considering that the evidence
points to the fact that Jesus
rose from the grave, why don't
you believe he did? What
evidence would you accept?
"Well my friend, Paul did lie
a few times."
There
is no evidence that Paul, the
apostle lied. He was known
to be reputable. He was
circumcised the eighth day, of
the stock of Israel, of the
tribe of Benjamin, a Jew of
Jews; concerning the law, a
Pharisee; concerning zeal,
persecuting the church;
concerning the righteousness
which is in the law, blameless
(Phil 3:4-6).
"What kind of hope do you
want, to rise too?"
That is
the Christian hope. The
power that raised Jesus will
raise us from the dead.
One man could make this claim,
the God-man, Jesus. He
proved it by rising again.
"This is conditional
servitude to God."
We are
honored to be servants of the
Lord. Because of Christ's
sacrifice, we can live with him
forever. We will be
praising him just as long.
"Why should we all die in our
sins?"
The
wages of sin is death (Ro 6:23).
"God has provided the Law to
be observed. If you do break any
of the commandments of the Law,
not everything is lost.
According to Isaiah 1:18,19, we
still can set things right with
God by contrition and
obedience."
The law
is a ministry of death (2 Cor
3:7). The law was given
for the lawless (1 Ti 1:9). It could
never save you.
Come now,
and let us reason together,
saith the
Lord: though your
sins be as scarlet, they
shall be as white as snow;
though they be red like
crimson, they shall be as
wool [Isa. 1:18].
"God is
saying to Judah, “Do not
force Me to render sentence.
Settle your case out of
court.” In Matthew 5:25 the
Lord Jesus said, “Agree with
thine adversary quickly,
whiles thou art in the way
with him …”—don’t wait until
he takes you to court. God
says that He has a secret
formula, a divine alchemy, a
potent prescription, a
powerful potion, a heavenly
elixir that will take out
sin. It is not a secret
formula like the newest
bomb, but it is more potent.
You will find it in Isaiah
53 as the One who was more
marred, who suffered more,
who died differently, who
was wounded for our
transgressions. Because He
paid the penalty, the Judge
is able now to extend mercy
to us. The blood of Jesus
Christ, God’s Son, keeps on
cleansing from all sin.
This is
God’s charge against His
people, and this is the
basis on which they may turn
to Him. If they will turn to
Him, He will preserve the
nation—He will give them
almost one hundred
years—then if they don’t
turn to Him and change their
ways, He will send them into
captivity.
We see an
application of this to our
own country. In my beloved
country I see political
anarchy. It is obvious to
most of us that men cannot
solve the problems of this
nation, and certainly not of
the world.
The
historical Gibbon gives five
reasons for the decline of
the Roman Empire in his
book,
The
Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire.
As the first step towards
decline, he lists the
undermining of the dignity
and the sanctity of the
home, which is the basis of
human society. The second
step includes higher and
higher taxes, and the
spending of public money for
free bread and circuses for
the populace. The third was
the mad craze for pleasure
and sports becoming every
year more exciting, more
brutal, and more immoral.
The fourth step was the
building of great armaments
when the real enemy was
within: the decay of
individual responsibility.
The fifth was the decay of
religion, fading into mere
form, losing touch with
life, and losing power to
guide the people.
You see,
a nation’s decline begins
with spiritual apostasy,
which is followed by moral
awfulness, and results in
political anarchy.
Is there
spiritual apostasy in this
land of ours? Every informed
Christian is aware that
modernism has taken over
most of the great
denominations of America
today; and, in this dire
day, modernism, by its own
confession, has failed. Dr.
Reinhold Niebuhr, one of the
mouthpieces of liberalism,
is quoted as saying that
liberal Protestantism has
been inclined to sacrifice
every characteristic
Christian insight if only it
could thereby prove itself
intellectually respectable,
but that liberalism finds
itself unable to cope with
the tragic experiences of
our day.
I find in
my file an interesting
article clipped from the
Wall
Street Journal
several years ago: “What
America needs more than
railway extension, western
irrigation, a low tariff, a
bigger cotton crop, and a
larger wheat crop is a
revival of religion. The
kind that father and mother
used to have. A religion
that counted it good
business to take time for
family worship each morning
right in the middle of wheat
harvest. A religion that
prompted them to quit work a
half hour earlier on
Wednesday so that the whole
family could get ready to go
to prayer meeting.”
America’s problem is the
same today; it is a
spiritual problem.
Dr.
Albert Hyma, when he was
professor of history at the
University of Michigan in
Ann Arbor, said, “The United
States of America in the
past fifty years has been
dominated to a large extent
by persons who do not
understand the spiritual
heritage bequeathed by their
own ancestors.” Dr. J.
Gresham Machen said,
“America is coasting
downhill on a godly
ancestry, and God pity
America when we hit the
bottom of the hill.” Friend,
we have hit the bottom of
the hill, but God is saying
to us, “Come, let us reason
together, though your sins
be as scarlet, they shall be
as white as snow.” There is
a way out for America, but,
if we go the same direction
as other nations, our time
is limited.
Aaron
Burr was a grandson of the
great Jonathan Edwards, who,
upon an occasion, conducted
meetings at Princeton, where
Aaron Burr was a student.
There was a great spiritual
movement in the school. One
night Jonathan Edwards
preached on the subject,
“The Mastery of Jesus.”
Aaron Burr was deeply
stirred, and he went to the
room of one of his
professors to talk to him
about making a decision for
Jesus. The professor urged
him not to make a decision
under any sort of an
emotional appeal, but to
wait until after the
meetings were over. Aaron
Burr postponed making a
decision and went on to
murder a great American and
to betray his country. When
he was an old man, a young
man came to him and said,
“Mr. Burr, I want you to
meet a Friend of mine.”
Aaron Burr said, “Who is
he?” The young man replied,
“He is Jesus Christ, the
Savior of my soul.” A cold
sweat broke out on the
forehead of Aaron Burr, and
he replied, “Sixty years ago
I told God if He would let
me alone, I would let Him
alone, and He has kept His
word!”
There is
a way out for America, and
there is a way out for you
and for me. Someone has
stated it this way:
Philosophy says: Think your
way out.
Indulgence says: Drink your
way out.
Politics says: Spend your
way out.
Science says: Invent your
way out.
Industry says: Work your way
out.
Communism says: Strike your
way out.
Fascism says: Bluff your way
out.
Militarism says: Fight your
way out.
The Bible says: Pray your
way out, but
Jesus Christ says: “I am the
way (out) ….”
After the
Lord brings His charges
against Judah and offers
them salvation and a way out
of their trouble..."
McGee, J. Vernon:
Thru the Bible
Commentary.
electronic ed.
Nashville : Thomas
Nelson, 1997, c1981,
S. 3:192-193
Response to comment
[from other]:
"Can you name some
of the apostles, who
saw the risen
Christ?"
Saw Christ in
the flesh. Lu
1:2; Ac 1:22;
1Co 9:1; 1Jo
1:1.
Witnesses of the
resurrection and
ascension of
Christ. Lu
24:33-41,51; Ac
1:2-9; 10:40,41;
1Co 15:8.
The apostles:
1. Simon Peter,
fisherman, the
brother of
Andrew
John 1:40
2. Andrew,
fisherman, the
brother of Simon
Peter
John 1:40
3. John,
fisherman, the
brother of James
Matt. 4:21
4. James,
fisherman, the
brother of John
Matt. 4:21
5. Philip, who
introduced his
friend Nathanael
to Jesus
John 1:43
6. Nathanael,
also called
Bartholomew
John 1:45
7. Matthew, tax
collector, also
called Levi
Luke 5:27
8. Thaddaeus,
also called
Judas or Jude
Matt. 10:3
9. James the
Less, son of
Alphaeus,
possibly the
brother of
Matthew
Matt. 10:3
10. Simon the
Zealot, member
of a radical
Jewish party
Matt. 10:4
11. Thomas, a
twin
John 11:16
12. Judas
Iscariot, the
traitor
John 6:70
13. Matthias,
elected to take
Judas Iscariot’s
place
Acts 1:26
14. Paul,
apostle to the
Gentiles
Rom. 11:13
15. Barnabas,
Paul’s first
missionary
companion
Acts 13:2
16. Silas,
Paul’s second
missionary
companion
1 Thess. 2:7
17. James, half
brother of
Christ and head
of the Jerusalem
church
Gal. 1:19
Can you
tell me
what
"other"
means?
Response
to
comment
[from a
Jew]:
"[Acts
21:19–21]
[Acts
21:22–26]
[Acts
21:27–28]
[Acts
23:6] [1
Cor.
15:32]"
And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs [Acts 21:19–21].
"The Jews twisted a little what Paul was actually doing. Paul did not really teach the things that they claimed he was teaching.
We come now to another interesting passage about which good Bible expositors offer different explanations. Was Paul out or in the will of God when he went to Jerusalem and took a Jewish vow that evidently involved a sacrifice?
The believers here in Jerusalem speak of the thousands of Jewish converts to Christ. These Jews who had found their completion in Jesus Christ had not forsaken the Mosaic Law. However, they could not insist that Gentiles must come urider the Law. On the other hand, Gentiles could not insist that the Jews forsake the practices of the Law—provided they were not trusting it for salvation. Those who insist that the grace of God did not force the Gentiles to keep the Mosaic Law seem to forget that the same grace permits the Jew to continue in its precepts if he feels it is the will of God.
For example, we know that Peter had eaten nothing contrary to Mosaic Law until he visited Paul in Antioch. Also, Jewish believers had an abhorrence of eating anything that had been sacrificed to idols. This did not bother the conscience of the Gentile. However, if the eating of such meat offended the conscience of another believer and caused him to stumble, then it was wrong. Paul makes it very clear that meat does not commend us to God. “But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse” (1 Cor. 8:8).
Paul also wrote that if a person was brought up under certain customs, the grace of God allows him to follow those customs after he has accepted the Lord Jesus as his Savior. “But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches. Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? Let him not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God. Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called” (1 Cor. 7:17–20).
Paul applies this principle in winning people for Christ. “For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you” (1 Cor. 9:19–23). I do not think that we should criticize Paul for what he does here in Jerusalem. Grace permitted Paul to take a Jewish vow to win the Jews. If he had been a Gentile, it would have been questionable for him to adopt a foreign custom.
With that as a background, we understand Paul’s action."
What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.
Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.
Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them [Acts 21:22–26].
"Now what should Paul do? He has arrived at Jerusalem and has been given a royal reception by the church. He has given them the gift from the gentile churches. They have listened to his report and rejoiced in the way God has saved the Gentiles. Now they turn to Paul and tell him that there are thousands of Jews in Jerusalem who are trusting Christ and have accepted Him as their Messiah and Savior. None of them want to have a division in the church. There is only one church of Jesus Christ, not a Jewish church and a gentile church. A Jew who comes to Jesus Christ does not stop being a Jew. So they say to Paul, “Look, you are a Jew. That is your background. And you want to win the Jews for Christ.” Paul says, “I sure do!” So they say, “Since you are a Jew, it wouldn’t hurt you to go with these four Jewish men who have made a vow. They have shaved their heads and are going into the temple. Would you go along with them?” Paul says, “Sure.”
Paul didn’t take this vow because he was commanded to do so. He took this vow because he wanted to win these people.
Friend, you don’t have to take a vow. But if you want to take a vow, you can. If you want to shave your head with a vow, that is your business. If you want to take a vow and let your hair grow long, that is your business. It is all right with the Lord. Under grace you have a right to do these things. Under grace you have the right to make a vow if you want to do so—just so you understand that you are not saved by what you do but by the grace of God."
And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him,
Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place [Acts 21:27–28].
"As mobs generally do, this mob acts on assumption and misinformation."
But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question [Acts 23:6].
"We are getting more of Paul’s background. His father had also been a Pharisee, probably a wealthy and influential man.
Paul uses the discord between two parties to further his own defense. The issue here is not the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is simply that the Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead and had this hope, while the Sadducees did not. So Paul turns the trial into a theological argument between the “fundamentalists” and the “liberals.” That is easy to do. There never has been a time when you couldn’t get these two groups at each other’s throats! That is what Paul is doing here."
If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we die [1 Cor. 15:32].
"Paul asks, “Why should I be put in a lions’ cage for my faith in Christ if Christ did not rise from the dead? I am identified—I am baptized—into His death. I am identified as a dead man because I am joined to a living Christ.” Being identified with Christ in His death and resurrection is a tremendous fact! Let’s not reduce it to some little water baptismal service that would be meaningless.
If Christ is not risen and if the dead will not be resurrected, then we might as well adopt the hedonistic philosophy of the Epicureans who say, “Let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we die.”"
McGee, J. Vernon: Thru the Bible Commentary. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1981, S. 5:77
"How about the sacrifices of the other thousands of Jews crucified
just like Jesus? Unless you think Jesus was the only Jew crucified
by the Romans. Read Josephus and you will change your mind."
The Romans were known for their brutality.
The Jewish religious leaders by no means helped Jesus to get a fair
trial. In fact, they wanted Jesus' bones broken to expedite
his death on the cross (Jn 19:36). But God would not allow
this (Ps 34:20).
Have others suffered in this fallen, sinful
world? Yes. How many men lived a perfect life that
neither you nor I could live and were murdered for it (2
Co 5:21; Heb 4:15; 7:26; 1 Jo 3:5)? What is it about
Jesus that provokes such hatred?
"[The wages of sin is death (Ro 6:23).] "Wrong! Death is the
wage of being born. [Whether] we sin or not we will all die."
We are born under one man, Adam (Ge
3:6,7; Ro 5:12). Death in our world is the result of
sin (1 Cor 15:56). All men are conceived and born in sin (Ge
5:3; Job 15:14; 25:4; Ps 51:5). We must be born again
under one man, Jesus (Ro 5:15). Life comes only from him (Jn
14:6). Although we are born under the curse of this world, we
are responsible for our own sin (1Ki 8:46; Ec
7:20). Any honest person admits that he is a sinner in
need of a savior (1Jo 1:10).
There is no sense blaming God (Ge
3:12; Jer 7:10) or others (Ge 3:12,13; Ex 32:22-24) for sin in the
world.
"[The law is a ministry of death (2 Cor 3:7). The law was given for
the lawless (1 Ti 1:9). It could never save you.] "Are you
sure? Break the law and you will find yourself in court to be
condemned. Observe the law and you will be saved even to appear
before a court of law."
Christians are to obey the law (Pr
16:7). But make no mistake. God remembers every sin (Re
18:5) and he will punish the man who rejects love and forgiveness
found in Christ (Isa 13:11; Am 3:2).
"What Jesus meant to the Samaritan woman is that salvation from
further catastrophic events like the one of the Flood, was of the
Jews..."
Jesus helped this woman to understand that he
was the water she thirsted for. Salvation comes only through
him. There will not be another flood on the earth
(Gen. 8:20, 21; Isa. 54:9). Next time the earth
will be destroyed through fire (2Pe 3:7,10,12).
When you get into the boat by faith you are safe from the
water (only 8 did). When you are covered by Christ in faith,
you are safe from the next world disaster.
There
cometh
a
woman
of
Samaria
to
draw
water:
Jesus
saith
unto
her,
Give
me
to
drink
[John
4:7].
"This
woman
is
obviously
a
dissolute
woman.
I
think
she
is
probably
as
common
as
pig
tracks.
She’s
rude
and
immoral.
We
would
call
her
today
a
hussy
or a
broad,
if
you
please.
What
a
contrast
she
is
to
the
man,
Nicodemus,
we
saw
in
the
preceding
chapter.
And
notice
how
differently
our
Lord
deals
with
her.
With
Nicodemus,
a
man
who
was
religious
to
his
fingertips,
our
Lord
was
harsh
and
blunt,
but
see
how
gentle
He
is
with
this
woman.
He
asks
a
favor
of
her.
He
appeals
to
her
sympathy—He
is
thirsty
and
asks
for
a
drink.
What
condescension
on
His
part!
He
is
the
Water
of
Life
and
He
asks
her
for
water."
McGee, J. Vernon: Thru the Bible Commentary. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1981, S. 4:389
[Personal vs. Collective salvation, Genesis 8:22]
God will keep his promises to Israel but each
person must come to Christ alone. It is difficult and few find
salvation (Mt 7:14).
While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease [Gen. 8:22].
It has been suggested that the Flood was so extensive that it tilted the earth. As you know, the earth is not straight on its axis. We are off center, if you please. The magnetic center is different from the center on which we are revolving. Something happened somewhere along the line, and it is the belief of many that this is when it took place. Because the earth revolves like that, that gives us our seasons. It is sort of going around like a wobbly top. You remember that when you were young and would spin a top, the top would run down and get wobbly. That is the way the earth revolves today, and as a result we have the seasons.
Prior to the Flood, man learned the three R’s: (1) Rebellion against God was realized—it came right out in the open. (2) Revelation from God was rejected by man. Noah’s witness did not reach them. (3) Repentance was absolutely repudiated; there was no return to God at all. Men refused the refuge that God provided, and for 120 years Noah had no converts. These are the three R’s. Men led in rebellion, they rejected the revelation, and there was no repentance on their part.
Now as this man Noah comes forth from the ark, he stands in a most unique position. He stands in the position of being the head of the human race again—the same position Adam had. It is said that we are all related to Adam, but we are closer kin than that: we are all related in Noah. In one sense, Noah is the father of all of us today.
McGee, J. Vernon: Thru the Bible Commentary. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1981, S. 1:ix-46Response to comment [from a Christian]: [Law not for the Christian]
By "the law" here, I am referring to the civil law. I should clarify that. Thank you for pointing that out.
I agree with you wholeheartedly. Jesus fulfilled the law that man could not (Mt 5:17). We have been given a new commandment to love our God and our neighbor (Mt 22:35-40). Love fulfills God's law (Ro 13:8,10; Ga 3:10; Jas 2:10).
"The text is only too clear. Jesus said that salvation is from the Jews. (John 4:22) By rewriting his words to change from the collective into the individual, you are only promoting Replacement Theology."
That is true. Salvation is of the Jews. Salvation came through Israel but they rejected their Messiah (Jer. 31:31–33). I agree with you--replacement theology as taught by Roman Catholics is false (Rom. 11:11–20). Israel is still special to God and he is not finished with her (Is. 27:12; Jer. 16:15, 16).
6:14–16 Motive of the true teachers
Paul moved from the crucified Christ to the “new life” (5:6; cf. 1 Cor. 7:19; 2 Cor. 5:17). For Paul to call Christians the “people of God” is his final blow against the Judaizers. Some believe that Paul was distinguishing two groups of believers in Galatians 6:16—believing Gentiles and Christian Jews (“people of God”). It seems unlikely that Paul would distinguish two branches of Christianity in light of his remarks about the Gentiles being heirs of the promise by faith (cf. 3:7, 14, 29; 5:6; 6:15).
Hughes, Robert B. ; Laney, J. Carl ; Hughes, Robert B.: Tyndale Concise Bible Commentary. Wheaton, Ill. : Tyndale House Publishers, 2001 (The Tyndale Reference Library), S. 586Response to comment [from a Jew]: "...lies of the anti-Semitic Hellenistic Gentiles who wrote the gospels."
Wasn't the hatred the other way around? Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to a feast. The Jews condemned Jesus for eating with less desirables (Lk 5:30). Matthew showed love to Jews (Ac 1:14).
Was Mark anti-Semitic? "These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision [Jews] ; they have proved to be a comfort to me (Col 4:11)."
Luke, was a constant companion to Paul, a Jew of Jews. [Ac 20:6-21:18; 2 Tim. 4:11]. Luke is referred to as "beloved physician” (2 Tim. 4:11).
Jesus asked John to care for his mother (a Jew) [John 19:26, 27]. John encourages Paul; He, James and Cephas go to the Jews while Paul goes to the Gentiles (Gal. 2:9). If John was intolerant, it was against false teaching not Jews (Mk 9:38).
Salvation is
of the Jews