Vote Early, Vote Often!

Posted on November 4, 2014 by Dale Babinsky under Article

I remember an old joke about Election Day and the Chicago way, which said to get out there and vote for the candidate of your choice from just one political party. The fake advertisement ended with an admonition to vote early and often. Today, many are turning out at the polls to vote for their choice candidates for sheriff, school boards, state and national congress, and judges. We as Americans have a long history of democracy and having our say in who our leaders are going to be.

In the Lord’s kingdom, however, that is not the case. We already have a head of the kingdom, and that is our King. He is our Lord as well as our Savior, and He does not have to run for office or have our vote of approval to continue His reign. We are told that Jesus will continue to reign over His kingdom until the end of time, when He delivers the kingdom up to His Father (1 Corinthians 15:24). We are told that Jesus is the head of the body, the church (Ephesians 5:23). It is that spiritual kingdom that He has reigned over ever since He ascended back into heaven and took His place at the right hand of the Father (Heb. 1:1-4; Psalm 110:1-4).

As such, it is not up to us to decide who the ruler will be. It is not up to us to decide who will sit in judgment over us. It is not up to us to decide which religious practices we are to perform and which we are not to partake in. God makes those decisions, and His kingdom is not a democracy. Thus, we do not have the right to pick and choose and make decisions about that which God has already legislated.

As we exercise our freedom to have a voice in our government in the political arena this day, let us not forget that in matters of religion we do not get to make those same decisions. Let us look to the author and finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ, as our leader, shepherd, ruler, savior, friend, judge, and advocate!

Does Moral Law Demand a Moral Lawgiver?

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Dale Babinsky under Christian Evidences

Have you ever wondered about how we know what is right or what is wrong? For instance, in most of the civilized societies around the world it is illegal and considered immoral to murder another person, or to steal from them. How is it that different groups of people, separated by geography, all came to the same realization that these activities are wrong?

Perhaps the sense of right and wrong is nothing more than the majority opinion within these civilized societies. Most people just think that these activities are the wrong thing to do. Is that it? If that is the basis for right and wrong, then what if a society decided by a vote that it was okay to kill off people from a certain race? Or that it was okay to enslave people who have a different skin color? Would the majority approval for such behavior make that behavior “right”?

It would seem clear that just because a majority of people say that something is right does not make it so. The civilized society of Nazi Germany made the determination that it was “right” to try to exterminate the Jews as a lesser race. While much can be said for how they arrived at that conclusion, at this time let us just notice that they felt they were right in what they were doing. At their war crimes trials after World War II many Nazis claimed that they were simply following orders and obeying the laws of their land. However, the prosecutors appealed to a higher law, a higher power, which made what these men did clearly wrong.

Where did that higher law come from? It had to have come from God. Since mankind is not capable of determining what is right and what is wrong on their own (Jeremiah 10:23), then a simple majority vote is not sufficient. In the argument of morals many will say something like, “who are you to decide what is right and what is wrong?” They are correct in that statement. It is not up to you and me to decide what is right and what is wrong. That is up to God, and He has specified right and wrong within His moral law. Paul said that he would not have known sin (what was wrong) without the law of God (Romans 7:7).

Since we as humans lack the authority to mandate moral law, let us then turn to God and to His law to determine what is right and what is wrong. Let us then speak with regards to morals as God’s word directs us to (1 Peter 4:11).

Blisfull Ignorance

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Dale Babinsky under Article

Perhaps you’ve heard it said that ignorance is bliss, or that what is not known cannot hurt us. The idea is that if we do not know that something can hurt us, then we will have no need to worry about it. Therefore, we can be blissful and happy. But how does this play out in reality?

Do you know how fast you were going?

We can be ignorant of the speed limit and drive as fast as we wish. Will our ignorance of the law be a viable excuse when the police officer pulls us over? Ignorance of the law will not stand up as a defense. If we ignore the speed limit, we will pay the price (fine) for that ignorance. We can be ignorant of the fact that the stove top burners can hurt our hand. Here again, ignorance will not keep us from coming to harm if we place our hand on a lit stove burner.

Many in our world today act as if they can be ignorant of God and His requirements, and yet all is well. They go on in blissful ignorance with no care for their future state. And, indeed, we may see many people who live this way and nothing bad ever befalls them. Have they somehow found a path that circumvents God’s requirements? Is there bliss in their ignorance?

God paints a different picture of ignorance and a lack of knowledge concerning Him. The prophet Hosea spoke for God and lamented the fact that His people were being destroyed by a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). Paul writes by inspiration to the Romans that God’s power and divine Godhead are evident in the creation, such that they (those who ignore God and walk in ignorance) are without an excuse (Romans 1:18-20). When Paul stood on Mars’ hill in Athens and addressed the Greeks, he stated that in times past God may have winked at man’s ignorance, but now calls on all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30).

We can ignore God. We can make that choice. We can claim ignorance is bliss. However, ignorance of the law is no excuse. Ignorance can bring us great harm. Jesus declared that His word would judge us in that last day (John 12:47-48). Therefore, we must know what His word says for us to do. God desires that all men seek Him out, repent of what is wrong in their lives, and live in obedience to Him. That is the true path to bliss. Are you truly blissful this day?

Great Discoveries

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Dale Babinsky under Christian Evidences

In 1492 Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue with three ships from Spain. It was his plan to prove that the earth was round, and to find a better trade route to the East Indies than traveling overland through Asia. We all know what happened. Columbus landed in the Americas, discovered the New World, and the rest, as they say, is history.

While this was an important discovery, and one that has had a profound effect on modern history, there was another discovery made almost 500 years later that is even more profound. In 1947 a young shepherd boy stumbled into a cave in Qumran on the NW shores of the Dead Sea and discovered jars full of ancient manuscripts. Among these manuscripts there were found to be copies of the Hebrew Old Testament.

What makes the discovery of such importance? Prior to this time, the oldest manuscripts of the Hebrew Old Testament were dated from the 10^th century A.D. These manuscripts found in the caves of Qumran were dated from the 2^nd century B.C. to the 1^st century A.D. That makes them about 1,000 years older than any known Old Testament manuscripts at the time. Many of those who do not believe in the inspiration of the scriptures had made the argument that the Bible was corrupted by man over time and could not be relied upon to be accurate in our modern age. However, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls showed just the opposite. The modern Hebrew text was shown to be extremely accurate in comparison with these much older manuscripts.

This discovery in Qumran is important because it shows that God’s word has been preserved and has not been contaminated by man. Therefore, we can trust that the Bible today is still the word of God that He intended for man to have and obey.

Hammer Away

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Dale Babinsky under Article

My last remodeling project got me thinking. As we were going through the process of deconstruction and trying to be careful to limit the amount of scratches and bruises, I began to think about installing the new floor. You see, when we undertake any project where we are going to be using a hammer and nails it has our full attention. We don’t want to slip up and hit our fingers or worse yet, pierce our flesh with a nail by mistake.

Now think about Christ and what He did for us. He had the power to stop anyone from doing any harm to His body, but He did not exercise that power. At any time during His mockery of a trial, the scourging of His body, or the nailing of His body on that cross of Cavalry Jesus could have simply said the word ‘stop’ and could have brought His torture to an end. Concerning His life, Jesus said “No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father” (John 10:18 NKJV).

No one had the power to take Jesus’ life unless He allowed it. The amazing thing about His love for us in that Jesus allowed those Roman soldiers to take His life. At a time when we were without hope, at a time when we were still sinners, Christ died for our sins (Romans 5:8). We work hard to make sure that we don’t slip and allow a nail to poke us in the hand by mistake, but Jesus allowed them to drive large nails through His flesh on purpose. It is hard to comprehend just what Jesus suffered on our behalf. So then, are we allowing that sacrifice to have an impact on how we live our lives?

Kingdom Come?

Posted on September 30, 2014 by Dale Babinsky under Article

Many of us are looking forward to Jesus’ return with great anticipation. Regarding that return, there are many who expect Christ to set up an earthly kingdom and reign from Jerusalem for 1,000 years. Indeed, later this week a new movie based on the popular “Left Behind” series opens in theaters, which espouses this idea of Jesus’ coming kingdom. Is this really what the Bible teaches, or is it just good fiction? Let us look at just a few scriptures to ascertain the answer to that question.

Long ago Joel prophesied that in the last days God would pour His Spirit upon mankind (Joel 2:28ff). In Acts 2, Peter makes mention of Joel’s prophecy and says that they were living in those last days that Joel was referring to (Acts 2:16-21). So we know from this that the last days began some 2,000 years ago on that day of Pentecost. Additionally, we see that Jesus told those who were listening to Him that some of them would not experience death until they had seen the kingdom come with power (Mark 9:1). Just prior to Jesus’ ascension He told His disciples to tarry in Jerusalem until they received power from the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5). About a week later, they received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. Therefore, they received the power when the Spirit fell upon them. When the power came the kingdom came.

Furthermore, in reviewing Daniel 2, and the explanation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, Daniel describes four earthly kingdoms. The first of these is Babylon, followed by the Medes and the Persians. Later would be the Greeks and then the Roman Empire. Then Daniel states that in the days of those kings God would set up a kingdom that would never be destroyed (Dan. 2:44). This is further confirmation that the kingdom would be established during the days of the Roman Empire and was also fulfilled on the day of Pentecost as described in Acts 2. Just as Jesus told Pilot, His kingdom was not of this earth but that it was a spiritual kingdom (John 18:36).

So then, what do we learn by putting some of these scriptures together? We see that there were some who lived 2,000 years ago that were not going to die before the kingdom came with power. We see that power came when the kingdom was established on the day of Pentecost, and we see that the kingdom is a spiritual kingdom which is the church. Christ came to seek and save the lost and to add them to His kingdom, the church, and He was successful in that mission. Therefore, the kingdom that we are to seek entry into has been established for the past 2,000 years, and it is the church which Jesus built (Mat.16:18).

Peace and Safety

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Dale Babinsky under Article

Last week my family and I traveled to our nation’s capital on vacation. While we were in D.C., a man jumped the fence and attempted to gain entry to the White House. It was not me. However, it made us think about the security measures we did see while in Washington. At most of the museums and monuments, there were security screenings and metal detectors in an effort to make us all feel safe.

That feeling of safety is something we all crave, especially in our modern world. News of attacks and planned attacks seem to dominate the news. And while the extra security measures are necessary to try to prevent further attacks, do they really make us feel safe? When the security guard is talking to his buddy about last night’s game instead of watching the x-ray monitor, do you really feel safer?

While we may never be at peace or feel that we are completely safe in a physical sense in this world, there is a peace and safety that comes from the Lord. This peace allows us to pillow our heads at night and sleep, without having to worry about what will come in the night. As David wrote, “I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8 NKJV).

If we are in a right relationship with God, if we are in obedience to His will and His word, if we have put our trust in Him, then we can have peace. We have a peace of mind, even if we don’t live in a world that provides us with much hope of physical safety (John 14:27). We can have that peace, because we know that if anything happens to this earthly body, our eternal soul will be in the hands of a God who loves us. If you want that peace too, you can have it by seeking God and obeying what He has told us to do.

Judge Not?

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Dale Babinsky under Article

Let us take a moment to consider one of the most misquoted scriptures in the entire Bible, which is in the book of Matthew. Here we read,

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you (Matthew 7:1-6 ESV).

Many will read this passage and immediately say that we are not allowed to make any judgments, based solely on the first verse of Matthew 7 (Judge not). Is this what Jesus is really saying? Are we to make no judgments at all based on this? If, however, we read the rest of the context of this passage, we will find that Jesus is instructing us to not make any rash or unrighteous judgments. Notice that Jesus tells us to first take care of our own affairs (take the log out of your own eye first), before we take the speck out of someone else’s eye. It is important for us to realize that He does not say that we should not remove the speck from our brother’s eye. We need to be able to see clearly in order to do that so that we will judge with righteous judgment. Elsewhere Jesus tells us, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment” (John 7:24).

We should also take special notice of verse 6 of Matthew 7. How can we be sure to not give to the dogs that which is holy, or to cast our pearls before swine, if we do not make some sort of judgment about our audience? Perhaps we could think of it this way. Suppose that we came upon a woman with a flat tire along side of the road, and we stop to help. Why did we stop? Did we make a judgment that she is not capable of fixing the problem herself? What if we come to a dark alley and decide not to venture that way? Did we judge ourselves as ‘better’ than that alley? You see, we make dozens of judgments everyday, and there is nothing wrong with that as long as we are judging correctly.

Much Ado About (Next to) Nothing

Posted on September 9, 2014 by Dale Babinsky under Christian Evidences

In the news this week is a story about the “God particle” that scientists and evolutionists are eagerly anticipating will help them to understand the origin of the universe. This surfaced in the news this week, because of the preface to a new book by famed physicist Stephen Hawking. He warns that the experiments in particle collision to try to ‘recreate’ the God particle could lead to a cataclysmic catastrophe that we would never see coming. Hawking warns that a vacuum caused by the particle could lead to a sudden collapse of time and space.

Not to worry, though, as additional scientists point out that the collider to cause this catastrophe would have to be larger than the earth. In the “current economic climate” this is seen as something that would be impossible to construct. Really?! One wonders where they would build this experiment that would have to be larger than the earth (anyone have a few acres they could contribute?).

The idea of the “God particle” was first conceived by British scientist Peter Higgs in the 1960’s, and was ‘discovered’ in 2012. Scientists believe that this particle creates an invisible energy field that causes small particles to gain mass and shape as they pass through the field. Let’s break that down. What they are looking for is a force that would cause small particles from the Big Bang to grow in mass (size) and that would shape them into planets, stars, comets, asteroids, etc. Um, have you heard of God?

What most people will fail to realize is that this does not explain the origin of the universe. Where did the small particles come from? Where did the initial energy and material come from to create the supposed Big Bang? Evolutionary ‘scientists’ can kick the can down the road as far as they like, but they still cannot answer these fundamental questions about the origin of the universe and all that is in it. True scientific laws of nature show that matter could not have been created out of nothing, without some sort of supernatural direction. Therefore, they are arguing against science.

In the news article the statement is made that this “God particle” has been confirmed by recent scientific discovery, but then there is a statement that scientists do not fully understand it all yet. So which is it? Have they really discovered something? How can they claim to have discovered something that gives them understanding, and then turn around and say that they still don’t understand it? Their argument would seem to beg the question.

As for the potential destruction of the planet by the “God particle,” the question would be who is it that holds the future of the universe in their hands? Is it the population of a small, seemingly insignificant planet when compared to the vastness of the universe, or an all knowing, all powerful God, who created it all (Gen. 1:1; Psalm 19:1; Heb. 1:3)? God has said, “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease” (Gen. 8:22 NKJV). It is God who is in control. It is God who has made all that is seen and unseen. It is God who will decide when the end will come (Mat. 24:36).

Baptized in the Spirit. . . A Closer Look

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Dale Babinsky under Doctrine

In Acts 2 we see the account of the birth of the church when the Holy Spirit fell on the apostles and they were filled with power (Acts 2:1-4). Many have looked at this passage and are not sure, however, of whether the Spirit fell only on the apostles, or if He fell on the 120 mentioned previously (Acts 1:15). So then, who did receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2? Was it the 120 who were in the upper room when the replacement for Judas was chosen, or was it just the apostles?

First let’s examine who was given the promise of the Holy Spirit by Jesus. When Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5, 8) and to baptize them in it, to whom was He speaking? In order to find the antecedent of them, we need to look back at Acts 1:2. Here Luke tells us that the them in this context are the apostles that Jesus had chosen. Therefore the promise of Jesus to send the baptism of the Holy Spirit was given to the apostles. They were the ones to receive the promise and watch Jesus ascend into heaven (Acts 1:11).

Second let’s examine the time frame with regards to the promise and the coming of the Holy Spirit upon them. After witnessing the ascension of Jesus into heaven, the apostles traveled a ‘Sabbath day’s journey’ (fixed at 2,000 cubits or roughly 1,000 yards) back to Jerusalem. Thus they would have arrived back in Jerusalem on the same day in which Jesus ascended and met with the others mentioned in the upper room there (Acts 1:12-17). Since we see that Jesus was with His apostles for 40 days after His resurrection (Acts 1:3), and since we know that Jesus was in the tomb for 3 days, we can accurately calculate that it had been 43 days since the death of our Lord on the cross when this event with the 120 in the upper room takes place. Since we also know that there are 50 days between the Passover (time of the crucifixion) and the day of Pentecost, we can see that this meeting took place one full week prior to the day of Pentecost. The importance of the calculation of the days is that it shows that the narrative of the 120 in the upper room was not on the same day as Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit fell upon the apostles.

Third let’s examine the event of the Holy Spirit falling upon them on the day of Pentecost. In looking at Acts 2:1-4 the Bible tells us that they were all together in one place (it does not specify where that place is – upper room, temple, marketplace, etc.). The Holy Spirit fell upon them and they began to speak in tongues. Again we need to find the antecedent of them and they in this passage. This is found by looking at the last verse of Acts 1. Here we read that the lot fell upon Matthias and he was numbered with the other eleven apostles. This is to whom the they at the beginning of Acts 2 is in reference. They were the 12 apostles and it was upon them that the baptism of the Holy Spirit was given, fulfilling the promise made by Jesus in Acts 1:5, 8.

Through the rest of the book of Acts we can see that the apostles had the ability to heal sickness, cast out demons, and transfer spiritual gifts by the laying on of their hands. Once the apostles passed from this life, however, those spiritual gifts and that miraculous ability also passed away. The working of miracles to confirm the word of God had accomplished the task given to them, mainly to confirm that the words spoken by the apostles and prophets were true and were from God (Mark 16:20). We today have the written word, which we can read and examine to see that these things are so.

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