A note on the kingship of Jesus from the Puritan Thomas Watson.
‘Jesus Christ is of mighty renown, he is a king;
1. He has a kingly title. ‘High and Lofty.’ Isa 57:15.
2. He has his insignia regalia, his ensigns of royalty; corona est insigne regae potestatis [a crown is the symbol of royal power]. He has his crown; Rev 6:2; his sword, ‘Gird thy sword upon thy thigh;’ Psa 45:3; his sceptre, ‘A sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.’…
The Israelites have been camped out on the eastern side of the river Jordan. Now, things have moved on:-
*they have crossed the Jordan, and entered the Promised Land ch 3.
*as a memorial to this momentous event, they have set up at Gilgal a stone memorial, ch 4
*the males have been circumcised at Gilgal, ch 5.
Now we reach 5:13-6, and the account of the conquest of Jericho. I wonder how Joshua and the Israelites must have felt as they faced the prospect of attacking this city, with its seemingly impregnable walls, its fast-shut gates, and its fighting men inside? …
Anyone who is a parent can remember the time when they set out with the family on a long car journey. You have travelled no more than five minutes, when a little voice starts singing out from the back of the car, “Are we nearly there?”
In the earlier chapters of the Book of Joshua we have seen the Israelites camped over on the east of the river Jordan. We have watched them send spies into Jericho, and we have observed Rahab and her family being rescued from the destruction that was to befall the city of Jericho. …
Charles Simeon (1759 – 1836) exercised an influtential evangelical ministry centred on Cambridge, England.
…‘The Conversion of the Jews was perhaps the warmest interest of his life, in the way of extended religious enterprise.’ He actively promoted the work of the Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews. On hearing of a Jew who had recently embraced the Christian faith, he wrote, “O that the whole nation might remember themselves, and turn to the Lord!”
‘Literally to the last the thought of the recovery of Israel to the divine Messiah was on Simeon’s heart.
The cults and their adherents can teach a number of valuable lessons to those of us who regard ourselves as orthodox Christians. For example:-
1. The importance of having strong convictions.
2. The importance of knowing the Scriptures.
3. Zeal for witnessing.
4. Use of the printed page.
5. Strong sense of urgency.
6. Large role assigned to laypeople.
7. Sense of dedication.
8. Definite techniques for witnessing.
9. Willingness to endure ridicule.
10. Promotion of good health.…
Some general principles for approaching or responding members of cults:-
1. Genuine love.
2. Humility.
3. Recognise lessons to be learned from the cultist.
4. Knowledge of the teachings of the cult.
5. Positive testimony to the truth of God’s Word.
6. Face the question of the source of our authority.
7. Present the evidence for the major doctrines of the Christian faith.
8. Follow up contacts.
9. Keep on praying.
(A.A. Hoekema, The Four Major Cults)…
The general characteristics of the cults may be set in summary form as follows:-
1. Exaggerating one part of Christian faith at the expense of other parts. Eg Christian Science and its emphasis on healing.
2. Over-emphasising the Old Testament at the expense of the New Testament. Eg Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christadelphians, Mormons and Seventh Day Adventists.
3. Seeking for greater assurance in the religious life than Christ actually offers. Eg Spiritism, with its attempt to get proof of life after death.…
The appeal of the cults may be summarised as follows. They offer:-
1. warm and brotherly fellowship.
2. a centre of integration and personal fulfilment.
3. a sense of security.
4. an outlet for the drive towards intensity and radicalness in the religious life.
5. specific instruction on practical matters.
(A.A. Hoekema, The Four Major Cults)…
David Pawson, in his book Defending Christian Zionism, asserts that there are not one or two, but five covenants in the Bible. They are: 1. Noahic, 2. Abrahamic, 3. Mosaic, 4. Davidic, and 5. Messianic. Pawson asserts, quite properly, that the New Testament only ever refers to the Mosaic covenant as ‘old’ and therefore replaced by the ‘new’ (Messianic) covenant (Luke 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25; 2 Cor 3:6; Heb 8:8, 13; 9:15; 12:24). As Grudem explains (Systematic Theology, p521), ‘the Mosaic covenant was an administration of detailed written laws given for a time to restrain the sins of the people and to be a custodian to point people to Christ (Gal 3:19, 24).’…
I’ve blogged quite a bit recently on the delicate but important subject of Israel. Much of what I’ve written tends towards the conclusion that the ‘Christian Zionist’ position cannot be supported from Scripture. That is to say, the Bible does not, in my view, teach that Jewish people have a God-given right to return to the land of their ancestors and re-establish the nation-state of Israel with Jerusalem as its capital.
It’s distressing to note how vitriolic the debate sometimes gets. …
