What Does the Scripture Say?

As a family, we have been reading through the Gospel of Luke recently and we just read through the portion where it records our Lord’s birth. One thing that struck Christy and me was when the angel of the Lord delivered a message to both Zacharias and Mary, they each responded with a question.

Lk 1:17-20 “It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.” The angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. “And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”

Lk 1:31-35 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.

As the text shows, Zacharias was rebuked for his question, but Mary was not. It seems to me that the question from Zacharias betrayed a heart of unbelief. If I could paraphrase, “I’m going have a son? Yeah, right. I don’t think so. I’m way too old. Give me a sign! How will I know this for sure?” It seems that an angel from the Lord was not enough of a sign for him.

But as we look at Mary’s answer, again if I can paraphrase, “Oh yes, I believe everything you are saying. But I have a question, I know this will come about just as you say, but how since I have not known a man? I believe God will do as He says, but wonder fills my mind as I know that I am a virgin.” Her answer was filled with belief and trust in the Lord’s word.

I also love Mary’s final response “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” It’s so beautiful. It is how we should respond to every command and nudge from the Lord. We would do well to memorize this and utilize it in our lives. So we see both faith and obedience in Mary’s life. I think that there was a cause and effect relationship there. Because Mary had faith in God’s word, she was compelled to obey the word of the Lord. Let us also keep that relationship in view, we need to have faith before our obedience is pleasing to the Lord.

As Christians we need to walk by faith, not by sight. Our obedience flows from trusting in God’s promises and believing His warnings. If we really trusted in God’s word, we would know that “He is for us, not against us”, that “He causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him”. I would agree with the statement that the root of all sin is essentially unbelief. Let us look to Him and His word to strengthen our faith. “Lord increase our faith!” so that we may glorify You all our days.

I’ve attached some notes from JC Ryle on Luke 1 related to these passages. They are very encouraging, please click below to read them. May the Lord bless you all!

Watch as Joel Osteen (America’s pastor) hems and haws, shucking and jiving while denying the exclusivity of Christianity. Jesus said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” Jesus also said in Luke 13:5 “unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Notice that technically speaking Joel Osteen didn’t really say anything wrong. Once again we see that there are sins of commission and sins of omission. The caller (and Larry King) was asking about the reality that if any individual (in general) does not believe in Christ, will they die in their sin (and go to hell)? Joel Osteen sidesteps the issue and states that he is not the one to judge each individual whether a particular individual is going to hell or heaven. And that is true, we cannot know definitively whether a particular person is going to hell or not because we cannot know the heart in an absolute way. But the Scripture gives us the freedom (and responsibility) to tell others that people in general (and even a particular individual) is going to burn in hell if they don’t repent and believe in Jesus.

Joel’s answers also are very ambiguous toward the end. God’s Word is authoritative and gives us the authority to say that any true atheist is going to hell, that any person who does not repent and believe will go to hell. That is not on our own authority, that is what God has stated. To be wishy washy about that truth is to deny God’s authority, not our own. It is a false humility that comes off as gracious, but in reality is deadly.

Thankfully God has raised up some to present an accurate view of the gospel on national television.

Praise the Lord that John MacArthur stands up for the truth of the gospel. Thankfully he has more fear of God than fear of man. However, notice that again, it is the idea that “Christianity is true for me, but it doesn’t have to be true for you” that prevails. Why is it so difficult to tell people that unless they repent of their sins, they will burn in damnation and hellfire? That Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. May the Lord give us the boldness and sensitivity to dying souls to proclaim to them the one and only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of the Bible come in the flesh, Jesus Christ.

Some folks might think that I am bold, but I know better. Most of us would also think that the apostle Paul was one of history’s boldest Christians, yet in Ephesians 6:19-20 he says this, “Pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

It seems that even Paul had the temptation to shrink back, to let the fear of man override his fear and love for God. I also would ask for prayer like Paul did. I see the many times when I should have been bold for Christ but did not. May we all walk by the Spirit (by grace through faith) and be emboldened by His moving and by His Word to preach the message of saving grace, of grace alone, of imputed righteousness to a generation that is perishing all around us.

This guest blog is brought to you tonight by Christy.
 
Today was our dear sister Carol’s celebration service.  She went to be with her Lord on Monday after battling stage 4 liver cancer for 6 months.  It was a time as pastor Holt said of rejoicing at her going home to be with the Lord and a time of grieving because we will not see her again this side of heaven.  There was a wonderful time of testimony to the transforming power of God’s saving grace in her life.  The Holy Spirit led the service with lots of sharing from numerous people that Carol had an impact on.  I think the main thing that stuck out in my mind was how honoring to the Lord the whole service was.

We received a wonderful portrait of Carol through knowing her and the testimonies of those she impacted.  Carol came to know the Lord later in life and after years of running the household handed over the reigns to her husband.   This was not easy to do for she was a very strong woman who was quite capable I’m sure.  Once confronted with the Lord’s pattern for women she humbly sought to surrender to His will and deny her own will.   Her husband Bob shared about her desire to be conformed to the woman God wanted her to be and her desire to share with younger women.  Carol home schooled their three children, two of whom went on to attend West Point just as their father and grandfathers had done.

As their son Brett shared, his mom really sought to live excellently for the Lord and passed that on to her children, never letting them get away with doing things other than excellently. He also shared a time when his mom said that she would never let go of him even though he wanted to go the other way.  He was able to lay next to his mom several weeks ago and tell her that she had fought hard for them, and although not able to say much at that point she whispered out “yes, I fought hard.”

Carol had a wonderful time of training her daughter Mandy for her future as a wife and mother.  Mandy shared that she sometimes wondered why she was still at home, what the Lord’s plan was.  She now sees that she was at home to learn and grow close to her mom, she only had 5 years with her from when she graduated high school.  She shared that she hoped that she could be half the wife and mother as her mom was.  Chad shared the never-ending love his mother had for all of them and her strong spirit.  It was touching what each shared regarding how special she was.

The thing I take away is what kind of testimony will I have?  Will I hear “well done my good and faithful servant” as I’m sure that Carol heard?  She certainly did a lot in the time the Lord gave her on earth.  I want to leave a sweet fragrant aroma of Christ to those around me, my husband, children and others that the Lord puts in my path.  Our time here on earth is indeed short in comparison to eternity, even if we are given 80 years. 

Pastor Holt shared a wonderful story of a couple down the street from him missing out on getting the house they now live in (which is a wonderful house to home church in!).  The couple told him that they really liked that house on the cul-de-sac and hoped someday it would be theirs but missed out on buying it, why? Because he said they later told him they waited too long.  Will we miss out on the mansion that the Lord has prepared because we waited too long?  Whatever our age I pray we commit to Him our lives by repenting of our sins and living totally for Him.

This is the latest book I’m reading. 

It will be my second time through. The author is Lou Priolo who also wrote a book called “The Complete Husband“. The first time I read the book with my children in mind. This second time I will definitely have myself in view. The author actually suggests that you read it twice, but with the reverse order of the perspectives I just gave. It’s a great book that starts with the focus being on parents. What are we parents doing that might instill anger or provoke our children to anger, even accidentally? Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a worldly book that blames parents for all problems in a child (i.e. the victim mentality). He understands the biblical doctrine of sin, that children are born with it and have a propensity to stay in it. But there is much truth in the idea that many times our children are like ‘mirrors’ (mirrors of their parents). 

What is difficult to discern for me is where I may have a sinful habit pattern and it gets passed on to my children but in a different form. So now they are exhibiting the same type of sin that I have, but in a different form or outward act. So we have to look beyond the external acts or words and get to the attitude and heart of the problem.

Out of the mountains of issues that I have (let’s just call them what they are ’sins’) anger and self-control are two. I catch myself trying to teach my children to have self control (i.e. control their anger) when right in the midst of it I also am struggling. I find myself trying to teach my children how to deal biblically with anger and I am the one who needs to listen most. Please pray for me in this area. Pray that I would have self-control and patience.

Dr. Jobe Martin told me something a long time ago that has stuck in my head. He said that just about every sin can be boiled down to either pride or selfishness. That’s seems pretty true when I think of my own sins. Take my sin of anger: basically it’s pride in the sense that I think I deserve better than this situation is giving me. It’s also selfishness because I’m thinking of my own comfort and time rather than what is best for others, specifically my children. Of course I (we) don’t think about those things consciously while we are in the midst of our sin. But that’s where Scripture and our daily abiding in Christ (walking in the Spirit) comes in. The Holy Spirit will bring those truths to my mind/heart which causes me to repent in the middle of my anger and gain self-control (have patience). Don’t get me wrong, I’m not some ogre that rages out of control against my family, I’m just calling a spade a spade. Even a little bit of anger (if not ‘righteous anger’, which is few and far between) is still sin.

Prayerfully the Lord will use the biblical principles expounded in this book to bring to my remembrance His Word in the daily milieu of life. If you are interested you can click HERE to read the first 7 pages of “The Heart of Anger” on Amazon.com. I am grateful for any prayers you can offer up to our Lord on behalf of myself and my family. May the Lord bless you all as we seek to honor Him by exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit in self-control.

P.S. This is Christy speaking now.  For those of you thinking Tony is a raging angry lunatic, forget it.  He is patient, kind and tender.  Anger isn’t merely called anger when it explodes out of somebody.  What about a little bit of unrighteous anger or impatience?  I think we all need to deal with that “little” bit of anger that pops up probably daily for most of us.  What about when we’re driving and someone isn’t going quite fast enough for us?  Or what if your little one interrupts a project you’re working on and you get frustrated (angry).  Let’s not find different words to call what is really anger.  I think this book zeros in on bringing out what Scripture says about anger.  It also encourages the reader to pray and ask the Lord to help us demonstrate self-control and deny ourselves.  Don’t we all needs this throughout the day? 

Like many of you, I have found great blessings in listening to the Word of God. Before I was even a Christian, I remember a believer giving me Alexander Scourby reading the King James Version on tapes. I also remember that Christy and I couldn’t make out what the man was saying at all! Either, it was his accent, the olde English, or the fact that spiritual things are spiritually discerned (most likely the latter) but we just didn’t “get it”.

How ironic now that God has saved me and given me His Holy Spirit to understand the things of the Lord that the old Scourby rendition of the King James Version is one of my favorites. I usually use the New American Standard Bible as my primary Bible and thus actually have listened to the NASB on tape more than the KJV, but I love both!

Here are some sample chapters of the different versions of the Bible. Here’s a tip, the person reading the Bible can make it or break it. In other words, some readers don’t know how to use inflection correctly or just plain read very well. Some renditions sound like it’s the first time the man’s ever read a Bible. Others sound like they have been reading it for decades. To me, Scourby does the best at “expository reading” (i.e. giving the sense of the Scripture simply by reading it correctly).

Alexander Scourby has the best KJV rendition, hands down. It can come in either voice only or dramatized. Personally I like the voice only. You can actually listen to the entire Bible online for free by going here http://www.audio-bible.com/bible/bible.html

For NASB, Steven B. Stevens does the best (he reads the 1995 updated edition). He does a pretty good job at expository reading. If you must hear the 1977 NASB, Red Jeffries does that version (but personally I think it sounds like it’s the first time he ever read the Bible).

If you use the NIV, there are numerous readers available. One fairly new and popular rendition is by Max Mclean. He actually uses a ’stage’ voice to read it so that it is very dramatic. Personally, I think he doesn’t emphasize the right words or syllables many times. Plus I don’t use the NIV all that much anyways, mainly for comparative analysis.

Listening to the Word of God is great for the soul and great for memorization as well. Most of you know that I only drive about 10 minutes to work each day (each way), but you’d be surprised at how much Word you can get through when you do that 5 days a week. I’d encourage you to get a copy of the Word in audio format (whether CDs, tapes, MP3s) and be blessed! By the way, I have three brand new NASB NT tape sets if anyone wants one.

If you were interested in buying some audio Bibles, here’s one place that sells them all. http://www.biblebible.com Also www.christianbook.com might have them all.

Below are samplings of the various versions. Enjoy! May the Lord bless this listening to His Word!

Alexander Scourby reading Philippians 1 in the KJV
Alexander Scourby reading Philippians 1 in the KJV

Steven B. Stevens reading Hebrews 3 from the NASB
Steven B. Stevens reading Hebrews 3 from the NASB

The ‘dramatized’ Scourby reading Acts 19 from KJV
The ‘dramatized’ Scourby reading Acts 19 from KJV

Max McLean reading Romans 10 from the NIV
Max McLean reading Romans 10 from the NIV

Here’s an article that Beth Briggs wrote up recently. It came out of her experience witnessing to her Jewish neighbors. Cincinnati has a fairly large Roman Catholic population and non-Catholics who need the gospel may have an unbiblical perception of who Jesus really is. Here’s an excerpt from the article which you can read HERE:

Jews generally assume all Gentiles worship the same “Jesus.” Many see no distinction between Catholic, Protestant, cults, etc., and think Christians are born that way. Sadly, the Jews’ concept of “Jesus” is based on images, a man they’ve seen either hanging on a cross or in the shadow of his predominant “mother.” In their perception, “Jesus,” rejected his Jewish heritage, if he had any, to “convert” to this Gentile religion.

May the Lord continue to bless you all as you rest in His finished work. Thanks to the Briggs for their tireless outreach to the Jewish community around them. Please pray for a Jewish man named Bart and his family that the Briggs have been witnessing to. Thanks.

Ps 116:15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.

Beloved friends and family, our dear friend Carol has gone home to be with the Lord this morning. She was a strong witness for Jesus Christ in her talk and her walk. Praise God that she is in a better place now. 2 Cor 5:8 tells us that for the Christian “to be absent from the body, is to be at home with the Lord”.

Though she and we are rejoicing with her as she is with the Lord now, we also grieve because of our great loss here and now. Please continue to pray for Bob, Chad, Brett and Mandy. Especially pray that this would draw Chad to a godly sorrow that leads to true repentance. Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant the Wetherill family peace in this and every circumstance. The Lord be with you all.