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‘And to die is gain’

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Paul’s desire was ‘to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far’ (Phil 1:23).

That sparkling Puritan, Thomas Watson, writes:-

To a believer death is great gain. A saint can count what his losses for Christ are here—but he cannot count how great his gains are at death…Death to a believer is the daybreak of eternal brightness. To show fully what a believer’s gains are at death, would be a task too great for an angel; all hyperboles fall short of it; the reward of glory exceeds our imagination.…

How can heaven and hell co-exist eternally?

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How can heaven and hell possibly co-exist everlastingly (asks Philip Edgecumbe Hughes)?  Would this not be incompatible with the redemption achieved by Christ?  For,

  • Christ “has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Heb 9:26; 1 John 3:5);
  • through his appearing death has been abolished (2 Tim 1:10);
  • in the new heaven and the new earth, that is, in the whole realm of the renewed order of creation, there will be no more weeping or suffering, “and death shall be no more” (Rev 21:4).
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Ryle and Ritualism

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Throughout his long ministry, J.C. Ryle (1817-1900) had to defend evangelical (that is to say, gospel) truth on a number of fronts.  One of these concerned the threat posed by the Ritualism of the Anglo-Catholic movement.

Ian Farley reports that in 1877 Ryle identified five key teachings of the Ritualists:

  1. They seek to turn the Communion Table into an ‘Altar’ and the Lord’s Supper into a ‘Sacrifice’ and encourage the idea of a real material presence of Christ’s body and blood, under the forms of the consecrated bread and wine.
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Discussion Starters, Gen 3

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1. What, would you say, are the main things that Adam and Eve learn here about God, Satan, and themselves?

2. This chapter gives some account of how the human race fell into sin. Looking at the world around us, what evidence do you see that humanity is, in fact, a fallen race?

3. Verse 15 is regarded as the very first promise of the Messiah. What does it tell us about Christ?

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Equal, but different

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Egalitarians often complain: ‘When you complementarians claim that women and men are “equal but different”, you really mean “unequal and different”.’

This is a charge that must be taken seriously.

But what says Scripture?

In Gen 2:18, ‘the woman is called the man’s helper; not the other way around. From a fair reading of Genesis 2, it doesn’t seem that male-female roles are reversible.’ (Kostenberger, AJ & ME, God’s Design for Man and Woman.

In their commentary on Genesis 2:18, Bruce Waltke and Cathi Fredricks, while affirming the essential equality of the man and the woman, suggest that role of the latter as ‘helper’ to the former does imply a certain structure of relationship.  …

Apostolic messages: their content elements

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In his book Tell the World (Evangelical Press, 1981), Eric Wright summarises the content elements used for the Christian message in the book of Acts.  It raises the question of which aspects of Scriptural teaching we emphasise (or even mention) today.

About GodAbout manAbout Christ
God of covenant and Israel (10)Ignorance. (3)Connection with John the Baptist. (2)
God's decree (purpose, plan, ordination, pre-destination, etc.) (8)Sinfulness. (5)Related to OT promises. (9)
Holy and glorious character.
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Discussion starters, Lk 7:18-35

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1. What kinds of doubts do you sometimes have about Jesus and who he is?

2. What can you say about how some of those doubts have been resolved?

3. If you could ask Jesus a question right now, what would it be?…

Pauline descriptions of hell

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Douglas Moo observes that in most English versions, the word ‘hell’ is not found in Paul’s writings.  That is because he never used either of the two words usually translated ‘hell’ – gehenna and hades.

So what language does the apostle use concerning the fate of the wicked?  They are, in order of frequency:-

  1. “Death,” “die” (usually apothn’skō, thanatos; Rom. 1:32; 5:12, 14, 15, 17, 21; 6:16, 21, 23; 7:5, 9, 10, 11, 13, 24; 8:2, 6, 13; 1 Cor.
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Did he really say that?

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Shared recently on Facebook was an image of Pope Francis and the following quote, attributed to him:-

It is not necessary to believe in God to be a good person. In a way, the traditional notion of God is outdated. One can be spiritual but not religious. It is not necessary to go to church and give money — for many, nature can be a church. Some of the best people in history do not believe in God, while some of the worst deeds were done in His name.
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Apostolic terms for the Christian message

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In his book Tell the World (Evangelical Press, 1981), Eric Wright summarises the terminology used for the Christian message in the book of Acts.  To my mind, this terminology contrasts markedly with that of our own day, where (I suggest) the Christian message is most popularly referred to as ‘sharing the love of God’.

TermFrequency
Jesus, or Jesus the Christ, or the whole message of his life, or the name of Jesus Christ, etc.16
The Word of God, or the Word of the Lord13
The gospel, the good news9
The way, way of the Lord, way of salvation9
The hope of Israel, the things announced beforehand, the good news of the promise, etc.
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