Deeper Conference 09

The Deeper Conference is coming back to Woodstock, Ga on September 11th and 12th. I can't wait. I was able to attend the very first one last year and went out with the first 500 group too. What a blast, shout out to Marcus Pittman! I learned so much and met some great friends being there. More than anything I'm really looking forward to hearing Mark Cahill speak this year. I was able to hear him in a church a few months ago and I was able to speak with him shortly after. What a generous man. He gave our evangelism team two cases of his books to pass out and didn't ask us for a penny.

Christian apologetics has become so interesting to me. I want to know how to defend my faith, another reason I can't wait for the conference is.....Ravi Zacharius! This man is one of the most brilliant Christian apologists that I have ever heard. Can't wait. I'll post pics and updates after the conference is over.

Book of the Dead/ 10 Commandments

This past weekend with a few friends of mine we hit the streets of Chattanooga to share our faith with the people downtown. I had some great conversations and learned quite a bit. During one such conversation someone made the claim the Ten Commandments were copied from an ancient Egyptian text called “The Book of the Dead”. After asking him to verify his resources I thought I would spend some time to research this myself so I could be prepared to give an answer on this topic should it come up again. (1 Peter 3:15)

 

According to Wikipedia:

"Some historians....have argued that the Ten Commandments originated from ancient Egyptian religion, and postulate that the Biblical Jews borrowed the concept after their Exodus from Egypt. Chapter 125 of the [Egyptian] Book of the Dead (a.k.a. the Papyrus of Ani) includes a list of things to which a man must swear in order to enter the afterlife. These sworn statements bear a remarkable resemblance to the Ten Commandments in their nature and their phrasing.....The Book of the Dead has additional requirements, and, of course, doesn't require worship of Yahweh."

 

The writings that I researched were from Chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead. I will concede that a few of the concepts are the same, but not anywhere close to how the Ten Commandments are stated.

 

As I read Chapter 125 I could only find some, not all, of the concepts that could be found in the Commandments. Let me say this again..What the Book of the Dead states is not even close to the Ten Commandments when it comes to wording. Nowhere near. The following ones are:

 

6^th Commandment – You shall not murder

7^th Commandment – You shall not commit adultery

8^th Commandment – You shall not steal

9^th Commandment – You shall not lie

 

For us to be intellectually honest we must also take note that they are just as many Commandments not listed:

 

1^st Commandment – You shall have no other Gods before me. (The ancient Egyptians believed in many gods – Polytheism)

2^nd Commandment – You shall not make a graven image (Why? Because ancient Egyptians made all types of idols from the many gods that they worshiped)

3^rd Commandment – You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain

4^th Commandment – Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy (nothing is mentioned about the Sabbath in the Book of the Dead)

5^th Commandment – Honor your father and mother

10^th Commandment – You shall not covet

So we can tell just by reading the list above that there appears to be just as much in common as there is not. This is simply an attempt to discredit the Bible, a weak uninformed attempt I might add.

 

Why would the Book of the Dead have anything in common with the 10 Commandments?

That is an easy question. If anything the Book of the Dead verifies the Bible. The Bible states that God has written His law on the heart of every man. Everyone knows that certain things are wrong. We know it is wrong when we lie, cheat, steal, or commit adultery. You don’t have to have an ancient Egyptian writing to tell you that. Do you?

 

Romans 1:14,15 - For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them

 

If you are ever confronted with this argument I would suggest asking the following questions:

• What evidence do you have for that?
• Where did you get your information from?
• What chapter in the Book of the Dead does this appear in? (If they truly haven’t researched this I doubt they will even know)
• What Commandments are wrote about and which ones are left off?
• The Book of the Dead also states the following:

  I have not held back the water when it should flow.
  I have not diverted the running water in a canal.
  I have not put out a fire when it should burn

  So, tell me…What does that have to do with the 10 Commandments?

This is just a quick way to give an answer to someone who many try to back you up against a wall. When you ask the questions above be prepared to give them the answers if they do not know. Most people who will bring this up to you have seen a video on YouTube or have been told second hand. I doubt they have researched it themselves or have any evidence to back it up.

Is there more revelation to come?

Could the canon be opened with more revelation to be added?

That is primarily a theological question to which I can only give a theological answer.

2 Peter 1:3 - seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

This verse at the beginning of 2 Peter speaks of grace and peace being multiplied to us and knowledge of Jesus our Lord. This grace and peace is being multiplied in the fact that He has by His divine power granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness. Now I ask the question “Is there something missing in Scripture that is necessary for life and godliness?” Could Peter say these things if there was a lack or a deficiency that needed to be made up? But that is not all look at Jude 3

Jude 3 - Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints

Once for all delivered to the saints. In fact the literal reading would be “The once for all delivered to the saints faith.” Now what is that faith? What is the content of that faith? Is there something that the scriptures don’t tell us about that faith? I don’t believe so.

Hebrews 1:1 - God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,

Now the point of that being that God’s way before to speak to His people was through prophets but now a final and complete revelation has come in the person of Jesus Christ. Now you may say – What a minute! What about Paul’s writings and Peter’s writings and Hebrews coming after Jesus. That is true, but what is the content of their revelation? The content of their discussion of revelation is Jesus Christ.

If there was to be anything more it would be about Jesus Christ and Him only because He is the final revelation and nothing other than that.

I then have to ask the question “Could there be anything more than what has been revealed?” Why would God wait? This is what the Bible calls the end times and we know how swiftly God put together the New Testament. Roughly over a period of over 55 years...

Everything that has been offered as being a continuation or addition to the canon of Scripture has always failed the test that the early church utilized. Everything that man has come up with to attempt to add to the canon of Scripture has always taught something contradictory to what was already there. This includes the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price and other LDS scriptures. The Jehovah’s Witnesses are guilty of the very same thing with their so called on-going revelation of God from the Watchtower and/or Governing Body.

Enforced thought is a dangerous phenomenon.

An atheist might say to you:

Atheist: Your thoughts and your faith have been enforced on you or brainwashed you. You’re only saying these things to me about your religion because you have been programmed to do so.

Christian: But you as an atheist have that in your own world view. Your Materialistic-Naturalism reduces your brain function and all logic out of it to chemical reactions. You are forced to say what you are saying right now because of chemical reactions in your brain. As an atheist you can’t get around from this. If your brain function is nothing more than the result of evolutionary processes and natural phenomena through electrical chemical processes in your brain then you simply respond to stimulus and the environment that you are in. Your brain is just reacting a certain predictable way through your senses. So, you are forced according to your worldview to be guilty of the very thing that you are accusing me of.

Are there two Jehovahs?

One of the things that I like to do with Jehovah Witnesses when they come to my door is ask them if I could use their Bible to show them something that I want them to teach me about.

I will say to them “I read some verses and when I read them I found them very intriguing and interesting. It’s almost confusing but I think I know what’s going on but I would like to see what you think about it.” Be honest! Don’t lie or try to be deceptive here. Just ask them the straight forward question. Most of the time they will politely respond…"Sure!"

Use their Bible (the New World Translation) and go to Genesis 19:24

24 Then Jehovah made it rain sulphur and fire from Jehovah, from the heavens, upon Sod´om and upon Go·mor´rah.

How many Jehovah’s are there? There are two. Now that can throw a monkey wrench into things!

You can also go to Amos 4:10,11 in the New World Translation

10 “‘I sent among YOU people a pestilence in the nature of that of Egypt. With the sword I killed YOUR young men, along with the taking captive of YOUR horses. And I kept making the stink of YOUR camps ascend even into YOUR nostrils; but YOU did not come back to me,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.
11 “‘I caused an overthrow among YOU people, like God’s overthrow of Sod´om and Go·mor´rah. And YOU came to be like a log snatched out of [the] burning; but YOU did not come back to me,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.

God is speaking in this passage. When asking a Jehovah’s Witness about these passages from their own Bible more times than not they will look at you and ask, “Are you trying to show me the Trinity?”

Simply respond with, “You got the Trinity out of that?”

This is just a small way to plant a seed of Truth to many Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Jesus Christ's Limited Atonement?

Have You Died?

Romans 5:15-18
15 - But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

16 - The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.

17 - For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

18 - So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.

Let me ask you a trick question. Have you died? Yes. As a Christian you have died.

Romans 6:8 –Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,

Colossians 2:20 - If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as,

Colossians 3:3 - For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

2 Timothy 2:11 - It is a trustworthy statement:For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;

So, as a Christian you have died. We are not talking about a physical death here but a spiritual one. Whenever we have any Scriptures that talk about any dying in relationship to Jesus, in relationship to His atonement, or in relationship to the cross, in any way, it is only speaking of believers. You never have an unbeliever dying with Christ. You never have an unbeliever dying to the principles of the world. This just refers to the Christians.

2 Corinthians 5:14 - For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;

Who is the all who died? The Christians. He died for all, therefore all died. Who is the all that died? Only the Christians. Now you might be saying, “Hold on! You’re playing word games.” No I am not. Let me ask you this question. Does God know everyone? No, He does not know everyone.

Matthew 7:23 - "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

Romans 8:29 - For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;

See the ones foreknown are the predestined ones. The text does not say that He looked into the future to see who was going to pick Him and then He picked some of them. It does not say that. God foreknew the predestined ones. It is the exact same group. So, when God says that He knows someone it means they are saved. When He says He does not know them it means they are lost. This is how God uses the term.

What I am trying to illustrate here is that if we are going to use the term correctly we have to see how God uses the term in His Word. We must also look at the context and usage to see what is going on.

Now you know that the Greek term “agape” means divine love right? Nope, not always.

Luke 11:43 - "Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the chief seats in the synagogues and the respectful greetings in the market places.

The word love is the Greek is “agape”. So, does it mean divine love? Does this really make any sense? “Woe, to you Pharisees because you divinely love the front seats.” Huh? So here it simply means that their love was a love, complete, given over to feeling. Then it would fit the context of what the scope of the Scriptures was talking about.

The reason I’m trying to illustrate this is words mean what they mean when God defines them not the way we presuppose a word should mean.

For example, “all the world” means everybody who has ever lived. Right? I just don’t think so.

Colossians 1:6 - which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth;

“All the world”. Really? What about Australia? Japan? Canada? Of course not. So, “all the world” doesn’t mean every single individual because it simply just can’t! Words mean what they mean…in context. What we need to do is look at how words mean, what they mean, the way they are being spoken, and the context of what they are being spoken of.

2 Corinthians 5:14 - For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;

What does this mean when it says all died? The only way to look at that and to know it is by going through the Scriptures and seeing how it is used. All died, it is reference to the believer and their relationship to Christ. So, when Paul says Jesus died for all therefore all died, you either have Universalism, which cannot be true because Matthew 25:46 and Revelation 21:8 clearly refute that. Or the word all is only in reference to the believer. There is no other way around this. We must remember that the Bible interprets the Bible. Again, only the Christians have died in reference to Jesus Christ. Unfortunately some Christians think the Bible is always very easy to understand.

God's Sovereign Election

"Rebekah's children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad--in order that God's purpose in election might stand: not by works, but by Him who calls--she was told, 'The older will serve the younger.' Just as it is written: 'Jacob I loved--but Esau I hated.'" Romans 9:10-13

Jacob supplies us with the clearest and most unmistakable illustration of God's sovereign election to be met with in all the Bible. The case of Jacob gives the most emphatic refutation to the theory that God's choice is dependent upon something in the creature--something either actual or foreseen--and shows that the eternal election of certain individuals unto salvation--is due to no worthiness in the subjects--but results solely from God's sovereign grace. The case of Jacob proves conclusively, that God's choice is . . .
entirely sovereign,
wholly gratuitous,
and based upon nothing but His own good pleasure.

The God of Scripture then, is the God who chooses one--and passes by another. He is the One who exercises and exhibits His own sovereign will. He is one who shows Himself to be the Most High God, ruling in heaven and earth and disposing of His creatures according to His own eternal purpose. He is the One who singles out the most unlikely and unworthy objects--to be fashioned into vessels of glory. Yet, He is the One who necessarily always acts in harmony with His own divine perfections.

Election is not as some have supposed--harsh and unjust--but is a most merciful provision on the part of God. Had He not from the beginning, chosen SOME to salvation--ALL would have perished! Had he not before the foundation of the world chosen certain ones to be conformed to the image of His Son--the death of Christ would have been in vain, so far as the human race is concerned!

Reduced to its simplest terms, ELECTION means that God chose me--before I chose Him. Our Lord said, "You have not chosen Me--but I have chosen you." (John 15:16) We love Him--because He first loved us. Election means that before I was born, yes, before the foundation of the world--I was chosen in Christ and predestined unto a place in God's family! Election means that we believed--because He made us willing in the day of His power. Election then,
strips the creature of all merit,
removes all ground of boasting,
strikes us helpless in the dust,
and ascribes all the glory to God!

Jehovah's Witnesses and Colossians 1:15

Inevitably when witnessing to any Jehovah’s Witness the deity of Christ will come up. This is a crucial topic for us to share with the Witnesses because the Watchtower teaches their students the Jesus is Michael the Archangel. Having witnessed to many JW’s over the past two years I thought I would share some of my knowledge and pass on some witnessing tips that I have learned from the MacArthur Study Bible. One of the main verses that any Jehovah Witness will go to is Colossians 1:15. So let’s take a closer look to know how to answer the JW’s challenge to this verse (1 Peter 3:15).

Colossians 1:15 - He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

image of the invisible God

The Greek word for “image” is eikon, from which the English word “icon” derives. It means, “copy” or “likeness”. Jesus Christ is the perfect image – the exact likeness of God and is in the very form of God (Phil 2:6, John 1:14, John 14:9) and has been so from all eternity. By describing Jesus in this manner, Paul emphasizes that He is both the representation and manifestation of God. Thus, He is fully God in every way. (Col 2:9, John 8:58, 10:30-33, Heb 1:8)

the firstborn over all creation

The Greek word for “firstborn” can refer to one who was born first chronologically, but most often refers to preeminence in position, or rank (Heb 1:6, Romans 8:29). In both Greek and Jewish culture, the firstborn was the ranking son who received the right of inheritance from his father, whether he was born first or not. It is used of Israel who, not being the first nation, was however the preeminent nation (Exodus 4:22, Jer 31:9). Firstborn, in this context clearly means highest in rank, not first created (Psalm 89:27, Rev 1:5) for several reasons…

1. Christ cannot be both “first begotten” and “only begotten” (John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9)
2. If Paul was teaching that Christ was a created being, he was agreeing with the heresy he was writing to refute.
3. It is impossible for Christ to be both created, and the Creator of everything (Col 1:16, the very next verse!)

Thus, Jesus is the firstborn in the sense the He has the preeminence and posses the right of inheritance “over all creation” (Heb 1:2, Rev 5:1-7, 13). He existed before the creation and is exalted in rank above it.

Winter Jam 2009 and Downtown Outreach

This past Friday night our group went out to the Winter Jam 2009 concert. I must admit I was a bit uncertain about how we would be received while we were out witnessing at a Christian concert. My plan was simple to ask the Christians there some basic theology questions and see how they responded. Some replied with some very simple yet firm answers to these questions, while a few of them could have used a basic introduction course in Christian theology.

Keith Higgins from SavedFromWhat.org came up from Atlanta to join us at the concert and also to participate in our downtown outreach.
Keith and I spent most of our time passing out hundreds of Gospel tracts out to the crowds and asking Christians that were in line some basic questions. Questions like…

1. Is the Bible inspired by God? Does it contain contradictions or errors?
2. Is Jesus God?
3. If I am a good Muslim can I still go to Heaven?
4. If you were going to witness to me how would you do that?

Most of the people took the Gospel tracts from us with a smile and said thank you. Keith was even able to do a few open-air sessions in which he asked the Christians to make sure their “calling and election was sure”. Afterward we had a few concerned people come to us and ask us why we were witnessing at a Christian concert. We assured them that we didn’t have any problems with the concert or the music but we have a concern that not all who profess Christ there were saved. Most people seemed to understand but still disagree with our method. One guy even asked Keith if he had heard of Way of the Master!

After most of the people flooded into the arena we took off and headed for the downtown area. One thing I have learned about living in the south is that just about everybody thinks they are saved. So many people that you talk to seem to have the right answers because they know the “Christian terminology”.

I spoke to many people while downtown that night. One group of teenagers claimed that they tell God they are sorry so it’s ok and they are saved. I tried to reason with them by showing how telling a judge you are sorry doesn’t do any good, because the law has been broken and justice must be served. Two of them stormed off, but they third stayed for another minute and told me he would think about what we talked about.

While Keith was preaching open-air downtown I noticed another group of young people that seemed to be getting a laugh as they walked by so I stopped them and we began to chat. As I took them through the commandments it seemed that they had a problem with the Sabbath. I’m pretty sure they were just playing “Let’s stump the Christian”. They all claimed to be Christians..only God knows their heart.

When talking to professing Christians I have found the following questions to be effective:

1. Do you know the Lord?
2. Is Jesus precious to you?
3. Do you read your Bible every day?
4. Are you born again?

Below are some pics of our outreach. God bless!

I'll Deal With God When I'm Older...

You may not get the chance. God may just lose patience with you and end your life. Perhaps you don’t think He would do such a thing. Then read Genesis 38:7 to see how God killed a man who was wicked. Jesus told of a man who boasted that he had so many goods that he would have to build bigger barns. God called the man a fool and took his life that night. Those who say they will repent in their own time lack the fear of God. Their understanding of His nature is erroneous. If they caught a glimpse of His holiness, His righteousness, and His consuming justice, they wouldn’t trifle with His mercy. Such arrogance needs to be confronted with the thunders of Mount Sinai. He is not wise who thinks he can outwit his Creator, enjoy a lifetime of sin, and repent at the last minute. Deathbed repentance is very rare. God killed a husband and wife because they told a lie (Acts 5:1–10). He lost patience with them. Most people think that God’s patience is eternal. It evidently is not.

The Bible says that it is through the fear of the Lord that men depart from sin (Proverbs 16:6). If they don’t fear God, they will be complacent about their eternal salvation (Matthew 10:28).

See also http://www.carm.org/40_objections/40-3.htm#_1_26

Check out Carm.org

This is a great site for research on tough Christian issues. Be sure and check out the "Bible Difficulties" section. Tons and tons of great information!

Great Analogy from John MacArthur

I have found this analogy to work great when witnessing to people who intellectually know the truth about Jesus but refuse to accept it. I took this analogy from John MacArthur’s Bible commentary on the book of Hebrews. (pg. 86)

Let’s say if there was a fire in a hotel and you are on the tenth floor. Because there is a net below, the firemen are yelling, “Jump.” But you do not jump. You hesitate. You are well aware of the danger and know the net is your only way of escape; but you do not act on what you know is true and necessary. You might be concerned about saving some of your possessions, or perhaps you think that somehow you can find another way out. You might also be afraid of being hurt from the fall. Some might even be concerned about how they would look while jumping – afraid of embarrassment. But the point is this: simply knowing about the danger and knowing about the way out of it will not save you. If you do no jump you will die. When your very life is at stake, nothing else should matter.

Which Is More Complex?

A. Mount Rushmore





B. A 747 airliner







C. An iPod





D. A worm


Ask any scientist which one out of those four is the most intricately designed and they will always tell you the worm. If Mount Rushmore had a designer, if the 747 had a designer, if the iPod has a creator and designer, but the worm happened by chance over time? What? That doesn’t make sense. If the first three things had a creator and a designer then the worm would have to have a greater creator and designer than the others could ever dream of having.

The sun, the moon, the stars, the ocean, the sand, your DNA – 3 Billion pieces different than mine. If there was a creator for the worm then there must be a creator of this universe.

How Has God Revealed Himself To You?

1. Generally, through Creation
Romans 1:20 - For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
2. He has also done that through the conscience that we each have
Romans 2:15 - since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.)
3. He has done it specifically through the Scriptures
Psalm 18:30 - As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
4. And most specifically through the person of Jesus Christ
Jesus is the Son of God, was born of a virgin, died on a cross, rose from the dead and He coverts the hearts of those who repent and put their trust in Him and demonstrates that He is the true God.
1 Tim 3:16 - And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

The Bible was written by man.

The next time you hear this, ask the question: “who did you expect to write it? The Bible tells us, in II Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” Generally speaking, if we were to use a text that was for correction and reproof, yet required correction itself, it would no longer be worthy for utilization of correction and reproof. Nevertheless, when a person makes this claim, they are inferring the Bible is full of errors. Ask them to show you where. It is at this point where it is always beneficial to have a Bible on you that you can hand to them in order for them to show you the errors. Due to the nature of this bold stance in accordance with I Peter 3:15, you must therefore, saturate yourself in the scriptures and study the seemingly difficult passages within the Bible. These are the areas where the objector will aim first. A good website to study Bible difficulties is www.carm.org .

Witnessing Tips

What if someone says that they’ve never lied, stolen, lusted, blasphemed – if they deny having any sin at all?

Ask the person if he has kept the first of the 10 commandments. Has he always loved God above all else- with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). If he says that he has gently say, “The Bible says that there is non that seeks after God (Romans 3:11). Nobody, except Jesus Christ has kept the first of the 10 commandments. One of you is lying – either you or God – and the Bible says that is it impossible for God to lie (Heb 6:18, Titus 1:2)