[By Elizabeth Prata]

The global church is bloated with counterfeit Christians

Posted on May 8, 2017May 8, 2017 by elizabethprata

On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:22-23).

A few days ago I’d mentioned I had heard a song from 1964 by the Sego Brothers and Naomi called Sorry, I Never Knew You. In the song, a man was dreaming that he was standing before Jesus on Judgment Day and to his shock, he was placed on Jesus’ left. He heard Jesus say to him, “I never knew you.” It was the first Gospel song to sell 1 million copies.

Link to song

The verses in Matthew, to me, are some of the most haunting and devastating prophecies in the Bible. Prophecy is surer than a promise, it will happen. On that day many people who claim to be Christian but are not will try to prove it to Jesus by recounting their deeds in His name, but sadly, they were self-deceived and will be sent to the Lake of Fire for eternal torment instead.

The problem of professing Christians who do not actually possess Him is significant. The global church is bloated with counterfeit Christians, some of whom know they are false and gleefully upset whole families and sneakily pollute their church. (Titus 1:11, Jude 1:4). Others have only a dim clue they are false but never repent or even try to seek him, perhaps lazily believing their deeds will be enough to get them to heaven instead of repentance and faith. Others have no idea at all they are on the broad path to destruction.

External Christianity, professing Christianity possesses millions of people who feel like Christians, who have been induced into thinking they are Christians, who live with the hope of entering heaven and escaping hell, but will find at the end that they were wrong. There are millions of people who claim to believe in Jesus, who use His name who call Him “Lord,” who say they believe in Him, expecting heaven, only to receive hell. John MacArthur

Occasionally someone asks me about their faith as a Christian. They’re doubting. They ask questions or share concerns about the genuineness of their faith. Sadly, I hear others responding to doubters superficially, saying that the doubter should dismiss these doubts out of hand, because ‘it’s just satan messing with you.’

While that certainly could be the case, sometimes the person really isn’t saved. They’ve become genuinely worried when they perceive a major difference between their ‘walk’ with Jesus and others’ walk with Him. These queries should be taken seriously, very seriously. Not everyone who professes faith possesses the Spirit.

RC Sproul often speaks of the difference between a mere profession of faith, and the possession of it. The key is assurance. In this article titled “Faith and Fruit”, Sproul says,

One thing that is sometimes neglected in the discussion of spiritual growth is the fact that the assurance of our salvation contributes mightily to our maturity. If we have a proper understanding of assurance, it becomes an impetus for holy living. When we know that we belong to Jesus, our love for Him motivates us to obey His commands and thus we increasingly display the reality of salvation.

In the final analysis, any assurance we have of salvation is grounded in the person and work of Christ. By His life, death, resurrection, and intercession, He has demonstrated His full ability to save His people. We are justified because of His righteousness, and so the confidence we have in our salvation is not ultimately a confidence that we have in ourselves but a confidence that we have in the Savior.

Despite this fact, an important existential question remains. If true faith is the instrument by which the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us, how do we know that we have true faith? How do we know that we are not only professing faith but also possessing it?

There are several evidences of true faith. One of the most important is whether or not we have love for Christ at all in our hearts.

Dr Sproul continues with other pieces of evidence. It’s a good article, and short.

In the weeks after I was first saved, I was convinced that I could grow just as much by watching TV preachers and not have to go sit in a congregation. I’d never attended church in my 42 years of life (except for a wedding, baptism, or event as a visitor) and I definitely didn’t want to start. So I stayed at home for almost a year and watched Joel Osteen.

In 2004 he was at the height of his popularity. He was in the throes of buying the Compaq Center which would host the tens of thousands of people that flocked to his church. I liked Osteen for three reasons.

1. He made me feel good.
2. I was fascinated with his rhetorical ability. As a rhetorician and an academic I was interested in how he held an audience week after week, and how he continually crafted his 28-minute ‘story arc’ so perfectly
3. All those tens of thousands of people could not be wrong.

Someone gave me a Bible, thankfully, and once I began comparing what Osteen said with what the Bible said, it was game over. The Spirit exposed Osteen to me as a liar.

But back to the numbers. Many people think that because a church is large or that so many people attended the Crusade and “came forward” or so many youths were saved at camp etc. that these numbers are evidence of genuine conversion. Not so! Quite often, it’s the opposite. (Luke 6:26). I remember a few years ago when John MacArthur hosted the Strange Fire conference. This was a conference designed to scripturally expose practices that are misleading hundreds of millions of people.

Tim Challies live-blogged the conference. He shared the numbers. One objection to the conference was that it was making a big deal of only a small part of the movement, the so-called lunatic fringe. Not so, Challies said.

[Naysayers claim] This issue is only true of the extreme lunatic fringe side of the movement. MacArthur believes that this statement is patently untrue. There is error in this movement all the way through it. 90% of the movement believe in the prosperity gospel. 24 to 25 million of these people deny the Trinity. 100 million in the movement are Roman Catholic. This is not characteristic of the fringe. This is the movement and it grows at a rapid rate.

I want to turn back to Matthew 7:22-23, the verse where Jesus said ‘many will say to me, Lord, Lord…’. I looked up the word “many” in the Greek. In this verse, by Strong’s Greek Dictionary, it is the word polloi, main word polys.

polýs – many (high in number); multitudinous, plenteous, “much”; “great” in amount (extent).
4183 /polýs (“much in number”) emphasizes the quantity involved. 4183 (polýs) “signifies ‘many, numerous’; . . . with the article it is said of a multitude as being numerous” (Vine, Unger, White, NT, 113,114) – i.e. great in amount.

Do you see the issue??? ‘Many’ is an exceedingly great number! A great quantity. It’s not just the jungle tribesman who will be rejected, not just the militant atheist. It is possibly the woman sitting next to you in the pew! Maybe the youth who served on all the committees! Hopefully not the long-term deacon!

I’m not saying that we should go around looking askance at every person in the church, suspicious of their faith or standing before Jesus. I am saying that first, the issue is so much bigger than people think. Hundreds of millions of professing Christians on this earth at this very moment think they are going to heaven but they are not. How much do you have to hate them to let them keep thinking that? It’s one great, biblical reason that the Strange Fire conference was loving.

And second, if a person comes to you unsure of their faith, don’t dismiss their concerns. Really come alongside them and delve. Sit down, listen, and love them. If they wonder and they trusted you enough to come to you, then it’s a serious conversation that needs to be had.

Third, if you have known a sister or brother a long time and there does not seem to be any fruit whatsoever, and instead you see a long-term pattern of rebellion of one kind or another (they promote strife, they gossip and slander, they refuse to submit to their husband, etc) then if you have a good relationship with that person, and there seems to be a good moment to sit down over coffee, gently bring up the issue. The book of 1 John is helpful here.

Remember the word polys. ”Much in number, emphasizing the quantity involved. We love Jesus and have no issue with His right to reject whom He will reject and judge those whom He will judge. It will be a glorious moment of vindication where we can praise Him in His final victory over His enemies. However, while we are still here on earth, we love and care for our neighbors. What a devastating moment if the Lord says “I never knew you.” But what a glory to His Spirit if you have helped a person examine their faith, discipled a wobbler, prayed for a person of whose faith you were unsure, and on the Day they come out the other side and are placed on Jesus’ right! Oh what a day that will be.

——————————–

The Tree of Life

Posted on May 6, 2017May 6, 2017 by elizabethprata

I like trees.

They’re majestic. They’re interesting. They’re helpful to the environment. They provide a home for birds. They provide scenes for artists. They enhance the view.

The Bible mentions many trees. Acacia, myrtle, juniper, cedar, cypress, chestnut, olive, almond, fig… The list goes on.

There are references to trees as a metaphor for strength and for prominent men (Psalm 1:3) or as a symbol of evil (Psalm 37:35).

Of all the trees mentioned in the Bible there is one pre-eminent tree. The Tree of Life.

Tree of Life
The meaning of “the tree of knowledge of good and evil” in the Eden narrative is not as clear as the meaning of the “tree of life.” Direct allusions to the tree of life are found in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Significantly, in the book of Proverbs the tree of life is like a symbol:

• of knowledge (Prov 3:18);
• of righteous fruit (Prov 11:30);
• of accomplished desires (Prov 13:12);
• of a wholesome tongue (Prov 15:4; Marcus, “The Tree of Life,” 117–20).

Baez, E. (2016). Tree of Knowledge. Lexham Press.

The New Testament contains four references to the tree of life, all of which appear in Rev 2 and Rev 22. In this eschatological context, the tree of life functions as a future source of healing and immortality for the faithful.

In Revelation 2:7 and 11, the saints who emerge victorious in Christ through testing are promised the tree of life (Rev 2:7) and deliverance from the second death (Rev 2:11). Osborne argues that in this context, the tree of life symbolizes the cross, which makes access to God and eternal life possible (Osborne, Revelation, 124, 563). Similar imagery is attested elsewhere in the New Testament (e.g., Gal 3:13). Tree of life imagery also serves as a polemic against the Greek Artemis fertility cult of Ephesus, where her temple was a “tree shrine” in which she symbolized life (Osborne, Revelation, 124).

The final chapter of Revelation ties the tree of life back to the garden of Eden as “a picture of forgiveness and consequent experience of God’s intimate presence.” This chapter uses language and imagery of early Jewish literature (Beale, The Book of Revelation, 234–35).

Faro, I. (2016). Tree of Life. Lexham Press.

The tree of life used to be in the Garden of Eden. (Genesis 2:9). Where is it now? In the paradise of God- AKA heaven. (Revelation 2:7b, 19)

It is an actual tree. Will the tree of life be a palm tree? A new kind of tree humans have never seen before (except Adam and Eve)? I am very much looking forward to seeing this tree.

Spiritually, our precious Savior is a Tree of Life (John 14:6). In only Him is life. Praise God for sending His Son. He is the tree of life, in whom we are rooted, in whom we grow, and in whom we shelter.

End of the Week Encouragement

Posted on May 4, 2017May 4, 2017 by elizabethprata

1 Thessalonians 5:1-9: Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.

We will not be surprised. The Lord is gracious and kind! Therefore we are alert, looking for our Redemption and mindful of the lost state of our brothers. Prophecy should spark us to fervency of faith and greater hope.

Have you had a good week? Yes? Praise Jesus! No? Then praise Him anyway! We have another week to witness, and to share the Gospel with people in our lives. I pray that He will shine His light through me even more brightly this week than the week before so that when people see me, they really see Jesus’ glory.

Ephesians 4:13 says, Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:… won’t that be a wonderful moment when we ALL worship Him in unity and perfect wholeness of the Body!

It is my opinion that God is slowly but surely removing protection from the world, and He is upsetting our self-satisfied equilibrium by demonstrating we can only depend on Him. But no matter what your interpretation is of worldly events, ultimately, we all know God is sovereign. He owns the world and the people in it. (Psalm 24:1).

Ezekiel 39:28 – Then they will know that I am the LORD their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind.

Is this a prophecy that has been fulfilled? Or is it one to come? It is one to come, and is related to the last days. Matthew Henry comments:

This is the conclusion of the whole matter going before, and has reference not only to the predictions concerning Gog and Magog, but to all the prophecies of this book concerning the captivity of the house of Israel, and then concerning their restoration and return out of their captivity. 39:23-29 When the Lord shall have mercy on the whole house of Israel, by converting them to Christianity, and when they shall have borne the shame of being cast off for their sins, then the nations shall learn to know, worship, and serve him. Then Israel also shall know the Lord, as revealed in and by Christ. Past events do not answer to these predictions. The pouring out of the Spirit is a pledge that God’s favour will continue. He will hide his face no more from those on whom he has poured out his Spirit.

Today would have been my father’s 84th birthday. He died suddenly and instantly in an automobile crash two-and-a-half years ago. He had never been born again. He personally believed his eternity was settled, because God does not exist. ‘He is a crutch for the witless, an opiate of the masses’ he told me many times. That is not true, as Christians understand. However, for all those people who wonder, who question, who say that they will wait until later to settle their after-life issues: you never know when it will be your time to meet your maker!

Hay bale kills ELO member

A giant bale of hay has killed a founding member of the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) band after it tumbled down a hill and crashed into his van. Cellist Mike Edwards, 62, died after the 600 kg (1,323 lb) bale rolled down a steep field in Devon, southern England, smashed through a hedge and careered on to the road. He died instantly in the freak accident on Friday afternoon.

DO NOT WAIT! Settle your sin account with Jesus now. Eternity is long!

discernment, Uncategorized

Mail Call #8: How much should “associations” factor into my assessment of whether a teacher is false or not?

Posted on May 3, 2017May 3, 2017 by elizabethprata

Mail call! Another question from a reader.

A woman asked me recently whether she should read a certain book because the preface to the book was written by a false teacher, though the book itself was written by a solid teacher.

I’m glad that people are aware that associations can harm a reputation and can also be an indicator of future doctrinal problems in a leader or teacher. Associations do matter.

The pure and the polluted share nothing in common ultimately. And the people of God cannot form intimate relationships with those who don’t belong to God. All relationships like that are superficial. You cannot make a meaningful relationship with an enemy of the gospel. They live in a different world with a different and completely hostile and antagonistic leader. Separating from Unbelievers part 1

I posted an essay not long ago covering the event when Moore went on Joyce Meyer’s television interview show. The two women praised each other. Moore-Meyer is a bad association, one of many that Moore has shown (also associating with Jen Hatmaker, Victoria Osteen, Joel Osteen, etc) in spiritual endeavors.

Billy Graham used to associate with Popes in spiritual endeavors and praised them as brothers, that was another bad association among many that Graham has shown. His son Franklin hosted a Crusade where he’d invited a Catholic Bishop to give the opening prayer.Ravi Zacharias also went on Joyce Meyer’s interview show and praised her as a good Bible teacher. Dr David Jeremiah frequently appears on TBN channel flogging prosperity Gospel with other heretical Prosperity ministers during their annual beg-a-thon, also a bad association. So yes, when we see these teachers are associating with, praising, and not rebuking these false converts, it is a concern and often very telling as to the state of their heart and mind. We should not partner with people who abuse the Bible, twist God’s word, and distort the Gospel. As Michelle Lesley wrote this week, when she assesses a Bible teacher, one of the factors she looks at is that

She cannot currently and unrepentantly be partnering with or frequently appearing with false teachers in violation of 2 Corinthians 6:14 ff.

First of all, look to see if the pairing is a spiritual endeavor. If Beth Moore and Joyce Meyer ran into each other at the beauty salon and posed for a photo for a customer there, that would not be an association we would want to use as an assessment criterion. They would in that hypothetical case just being mannerly. The key is, are they pairing up in a spiritual endeavor?

Here, Ravi Zacharias appears on Joyce Meyer’s TV show,
and says that God is doing great things like Meyer on television.

And second, when we look at a leader or teacher’s associations, don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. We have to take a prayerful & measured look when we’re looking at secondary circumstances like who is hanging around our author or preacher or teacher. Please allow me to share two examples from my own life.

One example is the Drive By series by Todd Friel. Todd Friel is the speaker on Wretched Radio and Wretched TV. He has a number of series where guest speakers give a 5-10 minute lecture on the series topic, whether it’s the Holy Spirit, or Discernment, or Marriage, etc. On one of the series, I believe it was Drive By Theology, pastor RW Glenn was a featured speaker on a number of the lectures. It turned out later that Glenn had been an adulterer the whole time and was eventually fired as pastor. Afterward, if a person was looking at the list of speakers on Friel’s DVD and saw Glenn’s name listed, on a DVD about the theology of all things, they might say, “I’m never going to listen to Friel again, he has bad associations!” That would be hasty because it was not known to Friel at the time that Glenn was sinning. He has since not been invited to participate in any further DVDs.

I have a thick heavy book called the Art & Craft of Preaching. It contains essays and interviews about how famous or well-known pastors prepare their material. I bought it ten years ago. Since then, several of those pastors have apostasized. Men like Rick Warren, Bill Hybels are listed in the table of contents alongside good men of faith like Alistair Begg and John Stott. Would I refuse to have anything more to do with Alistair Begg because ten years ago he participated in a book with pastors who later became heretics? No. It may be very likely that Begg didn’t know the full list of the men what would be in the book, or it was not known that ten years later several of them would become heretics.

So be careful and not superficial. Look at
–at patterns
–over time
–repentance

We don’t make a superficial decision based on one instance, that would not be fair. YOU wouldn’t want someone to make a decision about you based on one error or one circumstance where we don’t have all the facts. In the second case, you look over time. Is the person constantly having bad associations? Do ALL this teacher’s books have a heretical person introducing it? Is she continually saying things that are not in the word or is always twisting the word? Is she sliding down a slope? Or was her partnering with a false teacher only one instance?

John MacArthur on unequally yoked:

The issue here is linking up with an unbeliever, side by side, under the same yoke, pulling the same furrow, in the same direction, with the same goals and objectives. Now, that might mean a partnership in a common business — if it is likely that the nature of your partnership will lead to compromising situations down the road when your worldviews collide.

Beyond all that, however, the primary application of 2 Corinthians 6 is with regard to spiritual enterprise. The primary warning is to never link up with an unbeliever in spiritual pursuits.

discernment, Uncategorized

Does your phone bless or curse those around you?

Posted on May 2, 2017May 2, 2017 by elizabethprata

If you’ve ever been around people who drink alcohol, and you’re not drinking, you know how their increasing lack of sobriety looks and sounds. The person drinking thinks they are still in full possession of all their faculties, but to the sober observer on the sidelines, the story is completely the opposite. It’s a stark and un-pretty picture.

I used the drinking analogy to set up my main point. There are a lot of people who don’t drink, but it seems that there are few people who don’t have a cell phone anymore. I am one. I don’t have a cell phone, a smartphone, a mobile device, tablet, iPad, or portable technology of any kind. I am the one on the sidelines, watching the rest of the world get drunk on cell phone checking. It’s a stark and un-pretty picture.

Never was the rising cell phone addiction so prevalent than when I went into the fray last weekend to do some street photography. Athens, GA is a college town, and very liberal. As with most cities, there are fringe characters, weird dressers, buskers, hucksters, panhandlers and regular folks ambling along the bustling streets. I went into the city on a Friday afternoon after school and was there until about 5:30 or 6:00. I was observing and photographing long enough to watch the night city come alive. The buskers set up, and panhandlers claimed their spots, and the frat boys began roaming the bars in packs. Time to go.

I went home and began processing my pics. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. ALL my photos contained a plethora of people either looking at, dialing, or speaking on their phones. The ones who didn’t, had a phone in their hand. Period.

It was a warm and bright spring day. The trees and flowers were blooming. The skies were vivid azure and the sun was glowing with long shadows, making dappled leaf patterns on the sidewalks. The shops were open and the al fresco cafes were inviting. There was plenty to look at and notice, but one would think all that was invisible with a number of passersby who were enthralled with the tech world of their two-inch smartphone screens.

I’m old enough to have been an adult when cell phones came in. I remember walking down city streets all over the United States and the world, enjoying the day, people watching at the cafe. I’d enjoy the clouds, muse on people’s fashion choices, admire the architecture. Most of all, I’d talk to the person I was with, sharing these thoughts and observations and listening to theirs. We created common memories and enjoyed our shared experience.

Those says seem gone.

Author Tony Reinke expressed his concerns with the technological age epitomized by the smartphone in his book 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You. In his book he writes of concerns wth technology creating the Age of Distraction, but he also tempers his concerns with ideas and strategies to steward our time well and use the technology instead of it using us.

He wrote,

We check our smartphones 81,500 times each year, or once every 4.3 minutes of our waking lives, which means you will be tempted to check your phones three times before you finish this chapter.

My time photographing the street activity in Athens seems to bear this out. I stood in one spot for about ten minutes and this was the scene.

Concerns are with any device that distracts us from engaging with God’s world and His people. In fairness, Reinke also said this about cameras, which I think can be applied to philosophies about any device-

If the cameras in our pockets mute our moments into 2-D memories, perhaps the richest memories in life are better “captured” by our full sensory awareness of the moment- the later written down in journal.

Smartphones are here to stay. That ship has sailed. What we’re left with is not that we use our phones but how we use our phones. A title (I think) Westminster Books used in reviewing Reinke’s book was, “Is your phone a blessing or a curse to those around you?” For me, they are a curse.

Justin Taylor at The Gospel Coalition writes that Reinke’s book blurb convicted him. Nate Claiborne at Christ + Pop Culture wrote

Whether for advances in productivity (thanks to apps like Things and Evernote) or the pull of imminent distraction (thanks to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter being accessible at all times), my daily life is no longer the same. Rather than treating technological advances as givens, we ought to think about the good as well as the potential bad they bring.

You can find this Tony Reinke book at Westminster Books, and elsewhere.

prophecy, Uncategorized

One of Jesus’ titles is “The Coming One”. He IS coming again. Are you ready?

Posted on April 30, 2017April 30, 2017 by elizabethprata

In listening to John MacArthur’s series in Revelation, this sermon yielded some glorious truths, once again. The sermon is titled The Certainty of the Second Coming. Now, we all know Jesus is coming to earth again. This time He will not be a meek servant, but a powerful judge. But do we know just how certain His coming is? How often the Bible makes reference to it? We don’t hear the Second Coming preached much, or spoken of often. But it is the next prophetic event on the calendar (along with the rapture, which will happen just prior). Here is an excerpt from the sermon:

“The Coming One” was a title for Messiah. “The Coming One” was a special name for Messiah. In fact, back in Matthew we have an interesting reference to it. I’ll just read it to you. In Matthew, John the Baptist was in prison and he sent word by his disciples to Jesus. And they said to Him, “Are You the Coming One?” You see, the Jews all knew that the Coming One was a Messianic title. Jesus is the Coming One. That same verb, erchomai [???], that means “coming,” is used directly or indirectly with reference to Christ nine times in the book of Revelation. Seven of those nine times it is the words of Jesus Himself, referring to Himself as “the Coming One.”

This book, then, is about the coming of the Coming One. And the present tense indicates to us that He’s already coming, so that we have this sense of expectation that leads John to say, “Look, He is coming,” as if we are to be living in eager expectation. This, again, is the great heart of the book [of Revelation].

For every time the Bible mentions the first coming of Christ, it mentions the second coming 8 times. For each time the atonement is mentioned once, the second coming is mentioned twice. Jesus refers to His second coming 21 times, and over 50 times we are told to be ready for His return.

Over 50 times we are warned to be ready for His return? Wow. Yet for all the lack of preaching and teaching on it, one would think it is not important. But it is highly important. I recommend MacArthur’s series in Revelation. My personal opinion is that his best book has been Because the Time is Near, an overview of Revelation.

Through death, rapture, or Judgment, you will meet Him. Are you ready?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Further Reading

Alistair Begg/Truth for Life Devotional: Be Ready

Ligonier Devotional: Discerning the Signs

Grace to You Article: Marks of a Committed Christian

discernment, Uncategorized

Brass in the Bible, and brassy, brazen women

Posted on April 29, 2017April 29, 2017 by elizabethprata

Did you ever think about brass? Looking at some of the items in the Bible more closely is enjoyable. Linen, pomegranates, ants, and palm trees have all been examined on this blog. Soon it will be fishing boats. Today I’m interested in brass.

My interest was piqued when I was listening to a John MacArthur sermon on Revelation 1. As an aside I’d like to add a personal note. I’ve listened to Dr MacArthur’s sermons on the eschatological passages and I have researched his doctrinal stances on eschatology. I have of course also studied the eschatological doctrines myself directly in the Bible, and have listened to many other men preach on them. I believe Dr MacArthur is the most solid and biblical. Here, he preaches “Why every Calvinist should be a Premillennialist” and explains all the main eschatological viewpoints, biblically. He is firm but graceful on his pre-tribulation stance because it’s biblically rooted (a stance to which I hold and I believe to be the only correct one).

In the sermon, Dr MacArthur was going through the vision given to John of Patmos in Revelation 1:12-14.

“His feet were like burnished bronze when it has been caused to glow in a furnace.” What is that? Red hot. You’ve seen metal in a furnace, glowing, burning brass, or bronze. By the way, as a footnote, all of the temple and all of the tabernacle furniture that was in any way used in a sin offering was always brass. When you see brass in this situation, you know it has something to do with sin. And here you have feet glowing hot…very clear reference to judgment.”

Then MacArthur said,

By the way, as a footnote, all of the temple and all of the tabernacle furniture that was in any way used in a sin offering was always brass. When you see brass in this situation, you know it has something to do with sin.

Hmmm. Immediately I thought of the verse in 1 Corinthians 13:1 where Paul said,

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

The Greek word used in the verse for gong is brass. Now, not every biblical mention of brass is a symbol of sin. Brass instruments are mentioned. Bronze statues are made. Bronze tools are helpful. Alternately, the Calf the Israelites made was golden, not bronze. However, the bronze serpent called Nehushtan became an idol that had to be destroyed.

While brass or bronze in the temple is not used in a positive sense, now that I think about it, culturally, brass is not positive much either.

The word brazen means acting or done in a very open and shocking way without shame or embarrassment, to face with defiance or impudence —usually used in the phrase brazen it out

If someone calls you brazen, it’s not a compliment. For women, it’s even worse. A cultural epithet feminists continue to try and twist into an accolade is “the brassy woman.” This 2014 Elle Magazine article titled “Is it Really Okay for Women to be Brassy?” looked at one famous brassy woman and her life and death, comedienne Joan Rivers.

In all of the glowing memorials of Joan Rivers, who died last week at 81, she is lovingly referred to as “brassy.” And comedy, it seems, has begun to embrace the Schumerian vulgarity in all women. But, does society really, truly love a brassy gal? …

In nearly every piece of writing on the life and death of Joan Rivers, she is referred to as such. Her admirers say “brassy” like it’s a good thing. That wasn’t always the consensus.

The halfhearted answer in the magazine article is that it’s kind of OK to be brassy, but the biblical answer is, no. Though the article calls brassy women “assertive” and “confident”, brassy women are more like the aforementioned clanging brass and clanging cymbal- just noise without music. Think of women who are or were considered brassy, Joan Rivers, Mae West, Chelsea Handler, Sarah Silverman. Now think of women who have never been called brassy, Jennifer Aniston, Olivia De Haviland, Meg Ryan. The former are profane, vulgar, and loud. The latter are demure, self-possessed, and dignified. Who would you rather be around? Which woman possesses the more biblical definition of womanliness?

Fun fact: If you mix other metals with copper, you get bronze and brass. Bronze is a mixture of about 90% copper and 10% tin. It’s darker than copper, and the color is less warm. In fact, bronze turns green when it oxidizes. Dark bronze can look almost chocolatey.

Take 70% to 85% copper and mix it with zinc, and you get brass. It’s a yellow-gold color. So how do you tell brass and gold apart? Brass is slightly darker and duller; gold is lighter and shinier. … An easy way to see if something is gold or brass is to use a magnet. Brass will attract the magnet, but gold won’t. If something says “K” or “karats,” it’s gold. Gold is also about twice as heavy as brass.

The brass implements at the temple were used just outside the holy of holies. Inside the holy of holies, was gold. For example, the bronze laver in which to wash and purify from sin before tending to priestly duties is a case in point.

The Bible is precise. The Holy Spirit inspired the men to write what they did for a reason, even down to the kinds of metal God chose to use for various items for various reasons. It would be fun to study the refining process, which metals are composed of how much dross and the biblical uses of various metals.

In High School I took “Shop.” One of the projects we did was working with metal. I made an iron capital E, similar to the large capital letter “M” that Mary Tyler Moore had on her apartment wall in the old TV show. Though the half semester course was over 40 years ago, I distinctly remember excitedly donning all the safety gear and carefully pouring the liquid metal into my mold. I could hardly wait until the item cooled. It came out great!

I was amazed by the beauty of the molten metal, the glowing colors and the gracefulness of how it poured. I was satisfied to learn how it changed from solid to liquid to solid again. Metal is beautiful and interesting. I lost my ‘sculpture’ long ago, I wish I hadn’t.

Brass, bronze, brazen. Think about it. Would you rather be “good as gold” with a “heart of gold”? Or a “brassy women” who is “bold as brass”?

**Ed Note: even searching for examples of “brazen women” to use in this essay yielded many sites and photos of women toting guns (as in criminals like gun moll), being profane and immodest, and/or involved in public sex or known for “confident” sexuality. I rest my case.

————————————-

The LORD is Creator and Commander of the animal kingdom

Posted on April 28, 2017April 28, 2017 by elizabethprata

The Lord in His power directs every atom, every person, every angel, every demon, and every animal on earth (and in heaven). He created all and He is in control over all.

Not that He makes humans like robots, but His providence sees to it that His will and His plans are carried out. I enjoy pondering His power over His creation, don’t you? There are many verses that speak to this fact. Here are a mere few that demonstrate His sovereignty.

“The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters” (Psalm 24:1-2).

“Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (Psalm 90:2).

“He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17).

One demonstration of His power is His control over the animals. Let’s take a look.

The most obvious one is His control over animals when He sent them to Noah to board the ark.

Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. (Genesis 6:20).

In Exodus, He sent the plagues of flies, gnats (Exodus 8:16-19), frogs (Exodus 8:1-15) and killed all the cattle- except the ones who belonged to the Hebrews. Lest someone believe that it was an accident, the Bible declares that the LORD did it.

And the Lord did so. There came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants’ houses. Throughout all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by the swarms of flies. (Exodus 8:24).

EPrata photo

And the next day the Lord did this thing. All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one of the livestock of the people of Israel died. (Exodus 9:6).

Prophet Elijah was fed by ravens.

And the word of the Lord came to him: 3 “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” (1 Kings 17:2-4).

Lest anyone think it was an accident, note that the LORD “commanded” the birds to do this. It was His will and desire that this should occur. And it did.

In Numbers 22:28 He made a donkey speak. What I found funny was that Balaam argued back. He was arguing with a donkey! He didn’t say, “Hm, this donkey which I have ridden all my life and it never spoke before, suddenly began acting strangely and then it talked to me. It must be the LORD.’ No, Balaam said he was so mad at the donkey he would like to kill it. The donkey then pleaded his case. A strange scene, for sure. But the LORD made the donkey speak. Once again, He is in control.

Of course one can think of the bears God sent to maul the taunting youths, the great fish He sent to swallow Jonah, the lions’ mouths he closed in the lion’s den for Daniel, the ram he sent to Abraham caught in the thicket atop Mt Moriah, and many other instances of how the LORD used animals to fulfill His will.

In the New Testament, He made the fish overload the disciples’ nets so much that their net broke. (Luke 5:6). In Matthew 17:24-27 he put a drachma coin into a fish’s mouth. He will call the birds of the air to the Great Supper of God. (Revelation 19:17).

EPrata photo

God communicates with His creatures. He cares for them. They indicate that there IS a Creator as a product of God’s creative energy and will.

I enjoy thinking about the sovereignty of God through these topics. His created order, the world, and heaven contain animals of which he creates, communicates with, and cares for. They do what He wishes and they even give praise to their creator. (Psalm 148:10-13).

We can do the same.

EPrata photo

encouragement, Uncategorized

Throwback Thursday: If We had X-ray Vision, what would Sin Look Like?

Posted on April 27, 2017April 27, 2017 by elizabethprata

This was first published in January 2014 on this blog.

—————————
When satan was created, He was the most beautiful angel. Ezekiel 28:12 says

“Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord GOD: “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.”

Inside or out, satan was not only beautiful, but he was the very seal of perfection. But it didn’t last. Though he was created perfect, one day, unrighteousness was found in him.

You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you.” (Ezekiel 28:15)

Initially, sin might look beautiful but the more a person becomes trapped in it, the less beautiful it seems to them and the more they are eternally destroyed.

The woman may be beautiful, and the sin so enticing, Proverbs 5:3 says,

For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil.

But the end of it all is is hell.

In the end she’s as bitter as wormwood and as sharp as a double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps head straight for Sheol. (Proverbs 5:4-5)

But sin at first has to look great, and not like ot really looks, or else no one would engage in it.

How does sin really look? Remember Superman’s X-Ray vision?

THIS is what sin might look like. Here is the Old Man. Once so beautiful and shining, it is what satan’s soul looks like. Eve thought the fruit looked good and a delight to the eyes, (Genesis 3:6) but shortly after all it had brought was pain and bondage (Genesis 3:16). If we had X-ray vision and could see beyond the enticing surface, this is what we would see:

“Sin”, collage on handmade paste paper, by EPrata

O, would that sin looked like this to our eyes, then we would not be so attracted to it! And sadly, horrifically, it is what us inside us. This ugliness is what Jesus sees when He looks at a non-believer. Lovingly, He still died for us.

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

However, being that sin is so gross and deadly, it makes the triumph of Jesus all the more glorious. Where satan is all-darkness that fools us into thinking it is light, Jesus never had one blot, one lie, one corrupt thought, one serpent slither. Not once, not ever. He IS the Light!

God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)

If we had X-ray vision looking at Jesus, our eyes would see only glory upon glory, shining like the sun. He is a prism of Light, reflecting throughout all the universe and into the eternity we will share with Him! When He looks upon a believer He sees that same righteousness-

For He has made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Don’t be fooled by the initially enticing beauty of sin. It is gross, destructive, horrible. Put on your X-ray vision to see beyond the surface lie. Run from it toward Jesus who set us free from its bondage, and gave us the Spirit’s vision to see through its enticing spoils. Satan’s offerings are nothing. Jesus is our all in all.

discernment, Uncategorized

I’m not broken

Posted on April 26, 2017April 26, 2017 by elizabethprata

Do you hear a lot of conversation these days involving the word ‘broken’ and ‘brokenness’? I do. It is the newest trendy word.

Words matter. They present reality, create meaning, knit a cultural understanding. Words matter.

The Lord revealed Himself to us by His Word. He IS the Word made flesh. He could have revealed Himself to us in pictures, symbols, or any other method. He chose the Word.

We will be judged by our words. Jesus said, “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:36).

Words matter.

In Genesis 11:1 we read, “Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.” In Genesis 11:7 God said, “Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” [Literally, ‘one lip’].

How did the LORD choose to restrain man? By confusing their languages. He will reverse that on His Day. Zephaniah 3:9 has the prophecy-

“For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the LORD and serve him with one accord.” [literally, “one lip”].

Words matter.

Christians speak the one language of faith. Or we are supposed to, anyway. The Bible clearly explains the important concepts by which we live and construct meaning. They are in words, and the words are: sin, wrath, grace, sanctification, justification, imputation, atonement, good, evil … & etc. When we speak them to each other the meanings of these words should be clear to Christians. When we say, “I am a sinner” we know what we mean. When we say “God is good” we know what is meant by it. “I’m a depraved sinner” is understood. We should be ‘of one lip.’ But we’re not. By dropping and substituting words commonly understood for millennia, we are creating new understandings of the basics of the faith.

In today’s example, no longer are we sinners. We’re ‘broken.’

Brokenness the way it’s used nowadays does not mean what you think it means. In this piece by The Gospel Coalition, the opening paragraph succinctly describes my concerns with the increasing use of the word ‘brokenness.’ Unfortunately, the rest of the essay goes on to state the exact opposite of my point here today, so I don’t endorse the article.

In Christian circles, much has been made of brokenness, vulnerability, and authenticity in recent years. Some have expressed concern that these ideas have been overemphasized while holiness has taken a backseat. Brokenness in this context has tended to be of a faux variety. Much of it amounts to a confession of socially acceptable sins and mommy bloggers making messiness cool.

How does using brokenness the trendy way it is being used in Christian circles underestimate sin’s power? Brokenness evokes minor imperfections, not depravity. It removes the impetus from the sinner as the one performing the sin. We’ve gone from ‘I am a depraved sinner in need of grace’ to ‘I’m broken through no fault of my own and I need a heavenly butler to fix me’.

These mommy bloggers with messy lives authentically telling you about their brokenness are no different from the Pharisees who lengthen their tassels or make long prayers with long faces in order to show they are good.

Showing you are ‘bad/broken’ is no different than the Pharisees showing they were ‘good’. It’s still ‘look at me’. The result is the same also – hypocrisy.

“Maybe wholeness is embracing brokenness as part of your life.” Ann Voskamp, The Broken Way.

Maybe NOT. When we display our shining faces and our heavenly glow, we are demonstrating His victory to the world. Embracing brokenness is not displaying a victorious life.

And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. (Matthew 6:16).

I do not know where these women are getting all this brokenness from, because before we’re saved, we’re not broken and in need of a little fix, as Lysa Terkeurst seems to think-

Brokenness where we are split open. Redemption where God knits us back together. Lysa TerKeurst

Before salvation, we are whole. Wholly evil, wholly depraved. We function unbroken and unabated in a cursed world where we fit in perfectly fine. After salvation, we are not fixed (as is the opposite of broken.) We are made a new creation. It’s not that our thoroughly depraved soul is dented and needs pounding out and fixing like a car mechanic doing body work on a bumper or a little knitting and voila, we’re fixed. We are so thoroughly evil that we must be made a new creation. So after salvation, nothing is broken then, either.

We’re not supposed to promote our brokenness by mooning around with a long face, writing endlessly about how broken we are. Personally, I believe doing so is an insult to Jesus, who saved us perfectly. Lest someone think I am being heartless, I do know that both before salvation and after salvation, we grieve, are bereft, lonely, sad, melancholy, stricken, and all the rest. Life hurts. It really does.

If ever there was anyone who had cause to call himself “broken” it was Paul. He was betrayed, abandoned, imprisoned, shipwrecked, beaten, lonely and even at one point “despaired of life”! He wrote in 2 Corinthians 1:8,

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.

Broken! For sure! But did he write anywhere in the Bible that we should dwell in our griefs? Wallow in brokenness? Embrace it? Never! What a ghastly thought! He wrote,

But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. (Philippians 2:18).

In whatever circumstance Paul found himself in, he urged rejoicing in the Lord. He never urged his people to wallow in brokenness. He never even said that as grief-stricken as he was at times that he himself was ‘broken.’

Sisters, we are not broken. If the current trendsetters using the word mean broken as in prior to salvation, well, before salvation we’re evil and depraved sinners who have no chance to please God, not broken. After salvation, we are a new creature, not broken.

If the trendsetters using the word broken to indicate a certain emotional state, well, call it what it is. Grief, broken-hearted, depression, melancholy, annoyance, overwhelmed. That’s OK, we all feel those things at times. But again, that’s not being broken. And in any case, as Paul said, rejoice, sisters, rejoice! Mooning around with a long face as a broken individual doesn’t earn you any points with Jesus. He said as much regarding the Pharisees, as I stated above.

If you’re sad, depressed, rejected, melancholy, whatever it is, rejoice! I know it’s hard. I’m not making light. But watch the words you say (and sing, and write). Saying that you’re broken is insulting to Jesus and unnecessarily transforming the Christian vocabulary into something trendy and indistinct.

I’m not broken. Are you?