May 13 2014

Does God Want you to be happy?


I do believe God wants you to be happy. And, he wants you to have joy. (One definition of joy is “extreme happiness”. But I don’t think God is for your happiness in the way you might expect. We Americans hold happiness in a high place. Our founding document enumerated our God-given rights as “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”.

So a fair question could be “What makes you happy?”. In the context of the Constitution, some of the things the framers believed would make people happy were the freedom to worship as they wished with no government interference. And they believed it would make people happy to own their own land and homes, to own businesses, to go and come at will, the freedom to speak their minds, etc. In this context happiness is a result of “happenings”. American citizens have the right to work toward the state of happiness. If things are good we are happy. If circumstances are not as we wish we are not happy. It’s the way we are. And those things change. When I was a kid we were dirt poor. The middle class was a few rungs on the social and economic ladder above us. But we were happy. No one told us we shouldn’t be happy so we were. Our vision was limited. Trust me, a bedroom that is below freezing in the winter and an outhouse instead of indoor plumbing would no result in my happiness today!

Does God want all of your happenings to roll out in ways that result in your happiness? No. I think God has a different idea about how happiness is achieved. It seems to me that in the Bible there is no happiness if there is no corresponding holiness. I could list many Bible characters whom I am convinced had joy and happiness but their “happenings” were not the kind that would produce joy in the average church member.

John the Baptist comes to mind. This was the birth announcement to his father given by an angel.

 “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit,even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared” (Luke 1:13b-17)

The most obvious thing about this remarkable text is that John the Baptist was hand-picked by God! “He will be great before the Lord”, “…will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb”.

After some time in the wilderness, not exactly in the lap of luxury, John began his ministry. He was the forerunner for the Christ. John was a man of God calling on folks to repent and all the while making clear that compared to the one who would come (Jesus) he was nothing. What about John’s happiness? I believe he died a happy man, a man full of joy and deep settled peace. His fearless heralding of the truth got his head cut off!  Not a preferred “happening” for most of us.

Don’t expect to have sustained happiness if you are unholy. The “Name it and Claim it” guys and gals on TV often miss this. Sometime read the last section of the very familiar 11th chapter of Hebrews. The list there of the lives, and the end of the lives, of some of God’s best saints in chilling.

God wants us to first find our satisfaction in knowing him, in trusting Christ, and in following his way. Those who own this course of living are not ruled by the happen stances of daily life but by the promises and power of God. If you want to be happy, if I want to be happy, I must learn and practice this word, ‘Surrender”. You and I must cease and desist doing things our way, investing in temporary pleasure, gathering things, in favor of simply giving ourselves and our happenings fully to the Lord who is our only sure source of joy and happiness. Deeply connected to him, the Life, is where true satisfaction is found. Your life might not end well. Your friends or family might disappoint, but above it all is a God who loves you and wants you to be happy…on his terms.

Royce Ogle
Monroe, LA

May 2 2014

Have you received the word?


Isn’t is odd how you can read passages in the Bible, for years, and suddenly see something you had before overlooked? Recently as I was reading through Acts I noticed some reoccurring phrases that for some reason my mind had up to then simply dismissed. Those phrases are, “received his word”, and “received the word of God”. This experience is sort of like detectives I see on TV who work “cold cases”. An ambitious detective will pull the files of an unsolved crime and begin sorting through and analyzing all of the evidence in that file. Many, many times I have either seen on TV or read in the news about some case forgotten long ago that was solved because someone cared enough to give the evidence another critical look and the detective saw something others had overlooked time and time again. I don’t ever remember anyone discussing the appearance of these phrases, “received his word” and “received the word of God”, as they appear in Acts 2, 8, and 11.

Each time they appear they have a specific meaning, and the same meaning, that I think gives the texts some needed context that is not there if they are ignored. The first appears in Acts 2. Every church of Christ member knows part of chapter 2 very well and most Christians know parts of it, but maybe not this part of it.

The setting is a festival in the city of Jerusalem in the first century. It is Pentecost and seven weeks since Jesus rose from the dead. Pentecost was a Jewish holiday/festival celebrating the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. The scene was alive with celebration as people from all across the known world converged on Jerusalem to observe Pentecost, to renew old acquaintances, and likely even to see family. This festival had been celebrated for many years and people knew what to expect, it was a good time! But this year, this Pentecost, things would be very different. They were there to celebrate Law but God was about to lay some Grace on them.

When the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples the scene was so boisterous and noisy and the followers of Jesus so out of the ordinary that many people took notice and were sure those men had just had too much wine and were drunk. Not the case! Peter stood up and gave an explanation. “These men aren’t drunk as you think, it’s early in the morning”. He announced that a prophecy was being fulfilled before there very eyes. It as from Joel concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit and the results of that coming. He concluded the quote with these words, “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts 2:21) Then Peter starts preaching about Jesus quoting David and making the case that Jesus had been raised from the dead and was indeed the Christ of God they were looking for. He put the blame for the crucifixion of Jesus squarely on them! 

Upon hearing this shocking news, these Jews asked, “What shall we do?”  Then comes the familiar text of Acts 2:28, “ And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Many people evidently stopped reading there. A doctrine of salvation has been built largely upon this one verse and in the minds of many it trumps all others. As one man recently put it, “Any verse of Scripture that seems to contradict Acts 2:38 is “iffy” “. Well, I suggest that since Peter didn’t stop there we shouldn’t either. 

Peter first said “repent”. This is important. “Repent” of what and how? Well, repent of your unbelief! You have rejected Jesus the Christ, the Messiah of God and had him killed, Peter accused them twice of the murder of Jesus. After they were convicted of their sins and convinced of the truth about Jesus (“cut to the heart”) they first needed to repent of their unbelief and believe what Peter had preached. And they did. They “received the Word” Peter preached. Salvation is by grace through faith and these men obviously repented and believed and then were baptized. It is always that order, repentance and faith in Jesus first, and then baptism. The Bible is very clear about this. Notice in Acts 2:41a, “So those who received his word were baptized”.  Those who received his word were those who had believed Peter’s preaching, the prophecy of Joel and of David. They had repented of unbelief and had put their faith in the Christ. That is what it means to “receive the Word”.

One other important thing before I leave chapter 2. Peter told those who listened that the promises he gave were to “everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself” (Acts 2:39b) . There are two things to take note of  in this 2nd chapter of Acts. First, Peter preached to everyone who had ears. And so it is with us. We are to herald the good news about Jesus to anyone and everyone possible. We are to peach to the whole word, every creature! There is no doubt about that. But, what is just as true is that not everyone will repent. Not everyone will “receive the Word”. Not everyone will believe on Christ. Not everyone will be baptized. The ones who will “receive the Word” are those whom the Lord our God calls to himself. Not one more and not one less. This truth is repeated over and over in the Scriptures.

” So those who received his word were baptized..” Acts 2:41a

Now lets look at Acts chapter 8. Phillip travels to Samaria and preaches Christ to the people. And, the Bible says “the crowds with one accord paid attention to what Peter was preaching. There were unclean spirits coming out of people, others were being healed and many believed on the  Lord and were baptized. One man was mentioned by name for he was a hard case I suppose, but God saved him too. A man named Simon had the attention of the people for a long time. He practiced magic and people feared him. But he too believed after hearing Phillip preach the kingdom of God and about the Christ. God meets people where they are and saves who he will, the down and out, the rich and the poor at his discretion.

The story continues that when the church leaders at Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria “had received the word of God” they sent Peter and John to minister to them. It’s the same story as Acts 2. Someone preaches Christ, some repent and believe “receiving the Word”, and are baptized. The narrative is a bit different here in chapter 8 in that the Samaritans did not receive the Holy Spirit until Peter and John came and laid hands on them. So we might not want to be so rigid about using Acts 2:38 as a blanket, once size fits all promise, it clearly isn’t. In Acts 2 Peter preaches, they repent and believe (received the Word) and were baptized and I’m sure they received the Holy Spirit as Peter said. In Acts 8 Phillip preaches, the people believe (receive the Word) and are baptized and don’t receive the Holy Spirit. Then as we will see later in Acts when Peter preached to Cornelius and his folks they too believed and while Peter was preaching Christ they received the Holy Spirit. An unusual set of facts. Why did God do it this way? I don’t have a clue! I only know he did it. What is common in all three cases is that the people heard Christ preached, they “received the word” and were then baptized.

“Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God…” Acts 8:14a

Now to chapter 11. Peter has had a vision, three times, that convinced him that God loved Gentiles as much as Jews and that he should go to them with the gospel. You can read the story in Acts 10. It was after his sermon about Jesus, and after they had received the gift of the Holy Spirit that Peter asked (my paraphrase..) “Can anybody think of a reason why we shouldn’t baptize these people? They received the Holy Spirit just like we did when we believed!” So Peter baptized them. It is worth mentioning that Peter ended his sermon with this sentence. “To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:43) This was true in Acts 2, in Acts 8, in Acts 10, and in Monroe, Louisiana today. I can think of no reason to try to qualify these words of the Apostle Peter to our ancient ancestors, the first Gentiles to be saved by grace.

The story continues,this was a huge deal! A few days ago a Jew wouldn’t even speak to a Gentile and now they are calling them brothers and baptizing those who believed the gospel. Chapter 11 begins with the apostles and brothers hearing that the Gentiles also “had received the word of God”. There is that phrase once more. The text says “…the Gentiles also had received the word of God”. Also? Yes, the saved Jews, Peter and the other brothers and Apostles were saved the same way as the Gentiles, they “received the Word of God”. They accepted it by believing it!.

In Acts 11:4-17 Peter carefully detailed the story of his going to the Gentiles and what happened when he preached the gospel to them. When Peter finished you could have heard a pin drop. They were completely silent for a time. And then they gave glory to God! That section ends with these words,  “And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” (vs 18b) Remember earlier how God calls some to himself? He also gives repentance to those he calls. The Bible is clear about this. Some he hardens and some he softens. He is God and can do what he will. It is repentance that leads to life. Unless a person repents of his or her unbelief, receiving the Word by faith, that person will remain alienated from God.

“Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.” Acts 11:1

We Christians are to publish the Word of God across the world to every person possible. The gracious offer of the gospel from God is addressed to “whosoever will..” Some of those to whom we preach Christ will “receive the Word”, only some of them, not all, will repent of their unbelief. There is someone there, someone yonder, who waits to hear and receive the Word of God. They will not hear until we tell it.

Royce Ogle
Monroe, LA

 

Apr 17 2014

The Resurrection of Jesus is not optional


Three days from now Christians around the world will celebrate Easter Sunday, the day of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. As that day approaches I have been thinking about that hope filled event and the promise I have from God that is rooted firmly in that first resurrection so many years ago when the followers of Jesus found an empty tomb.

It is almost unthinkable that anyone who calls themselves “Christian” would do so while at the same time vehemently denying the bodily resurrection of Jesus. I have personally communicated with at least two such people. One of them a church of Christ preacher, the other a badly deceived man who believes little about the Christ yet is a member in good standing in a church of Christ and is referred to as “brother” so and so by others. Can a person really be a Christian and deny that Jesus was raised from the dead? No.

The Apostle Paul both in his letter to the Romans and in his first letter to the Corinthians makes clear the importance of the resurrection of Jesus. First, in the Corinthian letter. In what is without question one of the most clearly stated definitions of the gospel in the Bible Paul wrote these words.

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,  and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.  Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.  Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.  Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. (1 Corinthians 15:1-8)

There is nothing more important than the gospel of Christ!  Paul first reminds the Corinthians of the gospel he preached to them, that they had received it, they were standing in it, and were being saved by it. (the proof of course is that they were holding fast to the gospel, had they not been their faith would not have been genuine) There are many things in the life of a follower of Jesus and in the life of a local church that are extremely important, however, there is not anything more important than the good news about what Jesus accomplished for sinners! Churches that keep the gospel up front and center do well. Those churches that don’t keep the gospel first don’t do so well.

Notice that there are three key parts to the gospel Paul preached. 1. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. 2. He was buried. 3. He as was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. This is important! If you take away the resurrection component you have nothing! Try sitting on a stool with two legs! Just so, a gospel without the resurrection of Jesus is no gospel (good news) at all! Paul went to great lengths to assure his readers that indeed Christ did rise from death.

Faith in Christ is useless if there was no bodily resurrection! Paul defends his resurrection teaching in the most certain terms possible!

 “if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.  We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope  in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Corinthians 15:14-19)

See what Paul said: 1. If Christ has not been raised my preaching and your faith is a sham! 2. If Christ has not been raised I am misrepresenting God! 3. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 4. If Christ has not been raised those who died with faith in Him have perished! 5. Of all people we are to be pitied if Christ has not been raised. That is some pretty serious stuff!

Jesus’ resurrection was a “bodily” resurrection! Unbelievers parading as theologians and preachers will concede some sort of resurrection but not a bodily resurrection. They will cite 1 Corinthians 15:44 and ignore many, many other passages that are very clear about Jesus resurrected body.

It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. (1 Corinthians 15:44)

In this passage Paul simply was giving a contrast between the natural body we are born in and the glorified body we will some day have like the body of Jesus.  He was not saying that Jesus’ resurrected body was some sort of smoky vapor or some ghostly thing that sort of comes and goes. No, the earlier section of chapter 15 makes clear his meaning of the later verses.

” and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.  Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.  Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” (1 Corinthians 15:5-8)

Now we are talking here of evidence that would stand the scrutiny of a court of law. Eyewitness testimony is powerful! He appeared to Peter then to the twelve Apostles, then to over 500 “at one time”, and then to Paul himself. This Jesus was a real man! He was recognizable, he bore the scars of his crucifixion! Make no doubt about it, this Jesus who was crucified and buried was raised from the dead in a body! It was a glorified body, a body that would not die ever again, but none-the-less a real touchable body. For goodness sake, he walked with his friends, he appeared in a locked room with them, and he ate with them. The last time I checked, spirits don’t eat!

Now for the text I promised from Romans. This is where the rubber meets the road so to speak.

 “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Romans 10:8-10)

How clear can a truth be? It matters not how long a person has been a member of a church, or a preacher, or a missionary, if that person does not believe God raised Jesus from the dead he is not a Christian. There is no Christianity without the resurrection of Jesus from the dead! It is not up for debate, it is not optional!

But Jesus was raised from the dead! And we believe that with all we are and know that He was the first of many. who like him will be raised to never die again. All of us are tying to live as long as we can. We take medicine, go the doctor when we think we should, and some folks eat a certain diet hoping  to put off dying as long as possible. But, all of us will die unless Jesus returns first. But we need not fear death at all! Because he lives, we too shall live with him and as long as he lives and that is forever!

On Sunday, rejoice when songs about Jesus being raised from the dead are sung! Because of his life we have life and have it eternally! He arose, thank God He arose!

Happy resurrection day!

Royce Ogle
Monroe, LA

 

Mar 23 2014

Nuggets of Fudge – Reading the Bible Usefully


Of all the people I know, no one better exemplifies the Christ-life than my dear friend Edward Fudge. Those who know Edward will all agree that he is a Jesus-man. He is a gospel machine! One of the reasons I love Edward is that he keeps Jesus at the center of his teaching and living. Observing his life is a vital lesson on how to live and love for Jesus. And, Edward is also a Bible-man! He loves the Word of God and has studied many years mastering Greek and practicing that biblical language with a friend so he could better know what the Bible is actually saying.

With this introduction I gladly present a brief study on reading the Bible from Edward Fudge.

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For the person who follows Jesus, his body and blood are bread from heaven, the food of eternal life (John 6:48-58). This metaphor emphasizes the necessity of maintaining spiritual union with Jesus so close that his life sustains and nourishes us. But next to Jesus himself, the Scriptures are surely the best soul-food available here on earth. Here are three practical, scriptural pointers to help us maximize the blessing received whenever we read the Scriptures.

1—Begin with prayer. It often goes unstated in our humanistic culture, but Christianity is a supernatural way of life. Academic study, original languages, and all sorts of study “aids” can assist understanding when properly used, but none of those things can begin to substitute for divine revelation. Whenever we open the sacred writings, let us pray–as the Book of Common Prayer puts it–that God will enable us to “hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them” (John 6:45; Luke 24:45; Col. 1:9; 2 Tim. 2:7).

2–Keep Jesus Christ central. Scripture’s very purpose is to lead us to him (John 5:39-40; Luke 24:47; 2 Tim. 3:14-17). To miss Jesus is to miss the point of the Bible. Randy Millikan, a physician and cancer researcher, and one of the best Bible teachers I have known, delights to say: “Begin anywhere in the Bible and head straight for the cross.” Ask yourself and God how your passage points to Jesus Christ.

3–Remember that the purpose of your reading is not information for its own sake but spiritual transformation. We cannot stop with knowing, but go on to doing and being. Jesus came to make disciples, not scribes. On the last day, God will not ask how many biblical facts we can recite. Read with the intent of becoming more like Jesus (Matt. 7:24-27; Matt. 11:25-26; Col. 1:9-11).

EdwardFudge.com is Bro’ Edward’s website.

gracEmail is one of Edward’s greatest ministries. Click on the link to read past gracEmails or subscribe to have one of his brilliant studies, or personal notes of interest about his life and family, or ministry, delivered to your inbox 3 times each week, free of charge.