Tag Archives: Salvation

Baptized in the Spirit. . . A Closer Look

Posted on by under Doctrine

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     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.

A Longer View

Posted on by under Christian Living

Robin_Williams     Robin Williams is dead at age 63.  It was not heart disease, or cancer, or any of what we normally consider to be the ‘big’ causes of death.  By all appearances Robin just wanted out.  It is a sad thing when someone reaches that point in their life that they just don’t think that they can continue in it any longer.

Depression is a serious health issue.  Perhaps one way to battle this disease is to have a longer view on life.  Oftentimes it is easy for us to get caught up in the day to day trials of this life, where even the small things become insurmountable in our eyes.  Take Robin’s case, for instance.  Many of us would look at Robin’s career, fame, and fortune and think that he was a person who ‘had it all.’  But for Robin, the pressure to succeed and remain at the very top of his game apparently became too much for him to deal with as his career was beginning to wane (according to the news reports on the morning of August 12, 2014).

Having that longer view of life helps us to see that even though we have trials and difficult things to deal with while we are on this earth; there is a better world to come.  Understanding that there is a God who loves us, who wants us to come to Him, who wants us to obey His will for us, should give us the necessary hope to be able to tackle our daily struggles.  Paul had this longer view.  Consider all that Paul had to go through in this life,

From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.  Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches (2 Corinthians 11:24-28 NKJV).

And yet Paul’s attitude about all those trials was that they were but a light affliction to be endured for a short time (2 Corinthians 4:17).

Knowing that as a child of God that we have a better hope, a hope of what is to come when this life is over, can help us to navigate the troubled seas that we have to face while we are in this body, this tent as Peter calls it (2 Peter 1:13-14).  Let us always look to God for strength in times of trial and trouble.  Let us always try to keep that long view.  Let us have that goal of heaven in our mindset, in order to help us deal with life’s problems.  Let us never become discouraged to the point of thinking we have to end it all.

God Wants You!

Posted on by under Article

 

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I can remember being in school gym class as sides were being chosen for a game of kick ball.  Everyone wanted to be picked first to be on the best team.  No one wanted to be picked last, because if you were last, you were not really picked.  As one of my classmates aptly pointed out, being the last player chosen meant that team ended up with you by default.  They did not choose you.

How comforting it is to know that if we are obedient to God’s word that He has chosen us for salvation.  There is no pecking order, and God has not ended up with us by default, but we were chosen by Him to be His children.  Consider what Peter writes in saying,

“Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. . . But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:4-5, 9 NKJV).

God has chosen those who will obey Him to be His own special people, a royal priesthood, a chosen generation.  He has chosen us to be His, and He has chosen us for His own special mission.  That mission is to proclaim the praises of the One who has called us out of the darkness and into His marvelous light.

God wants you, but you have to come to Him in simple obedience of His word, as a living stone or living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2) in order to be accepted by Him.   Are you a member of that chosen generation?  Are you one of His own special people?  Are you a part of that royal priesthood?  If not, why not?

God Gets “Historical”

Posted on by under Article

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A man was talking to his friend and he said that every time he and his wife have a disagreement, she gets historical.  His friend tried to correct him by asking if he meant to say that she gets hysterical.  The man said that he did not misspeak, but that his wife gets ‘historical’ by bringing up everything that he ever did!

In 2 Kings 21 beginning in verse 10, it appears that God is getting ‘historical’ with the kingdom of Judah.  Manasseh, who committed a great deal of evil in the sight of the Lord (2 Kings 21:1-9), has caused the nation to commit the sin of idolatry.  Indeed, Manasseh is said to be worse than the Amorites that God removed from the land prior to the Israelites inheriting it (2 Kings 21:10).  Because of the sins of Manasseh and the kingdom of Judah, God is going to cause them to go off into Babylonian captivity for a 70 year period of correction.  God had a tremendous amount of patience with Israel, but now that patience is up. Israel’s winepress is just about full, and there will be no way to avert what is to come.  God says, “they shall become victims of plunder to all their enemies, because they have done evil in My sight, and have provoked Me to anger since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day” (2 Kings 21:14b-15).  God gets ‘historical’ in that He reminds them of how long their transgressions against Him have been building.

Our God is a God of patience (Romans 15:5) and of longsuffering (1 Peter 3:20).  God waits upon man to turn his life around and to come to Him (2 Peter 3:9).  However, there is a limit to God’s patience.  We only have this life in which to come to God and have our sins washed away and removed from our record through the act of baptism (Acts 2:38; 22:16).  If we want to make sure that God is not historical with us on Judgment Day, then we need to make sure that we do what He said to do.  If we will simply obey Him, God will blot out our sins and will remember them no more (Heb. 8:12; 10:17).

Who is This Jesus?

Posted on by under Christian Evidences

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People may often wonder about Jesus and who He really was.  It has been said by some that Jesus was just a good man, or that He was only a prophet, but that He was not the Son of God.  What evidence do we find in God’s word about who Jesus really was?  When Jesus and His disciples approached the region of Caesarea Philippi He asked them what the people thought about who He was.  They answered Him that some thought that He might be John the Baptizer, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.  However, when He asked His apostles who He was, “Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’” (Matthew 16:16 NKJV).

How did Peter know who Jesus really was?  One reason is that Peter had been travelling with Jesus for some time and had seen the things that Jesus was able to do.  Some of what Peter had seen is recorded for us in Matthew chapter 8, which chronicles several of the miracles of Jesus.  In this chapter we can see that Jesus exhibited power that mere men or prophets simply did not have.  Specifically, there are 5 such miracles that demonstrate the power of Jesus over several aspects of life.

The miracles of Jesus in chapter 8 of the book of Matthew include the following:

  1. The healing of the leper (Mat. 8:1-4), which demonstrates Jesus’ power over the seen or external world.  All could see that the leper had the disease, but no one else could have healed him other than God.
  2. The healing of Peter’s mother-in-law (Mat. 8:14-15), which demonstrates Jesus’ power over the unseen or internal world.  She had a fever, and while others may be able to tell by her demeanor that she was ill, none but God could see the internal cause of the fever.
  3. The healing of the centurion’s servant (Mat. 8:5-13), which demonstrates Jesus’ power over time and space.  It was not necessary for Jesus to travel to the centurion’s home to heal the servant, He was able to do it from a distance.  This shows that Jesus had a power that mortal man does not posses.
  4. The calming of the storm at sea (Mat. 8:23-27), which demonstrates Jesus’ power over nature.  No mere man could have accomplished this feat as even His disciples exclaimed, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” (Matthew 8:27b).
  5. The casting out of demons (Mat. 8:28-32), which demonstrates Jesus’ power over the spiritual realm.  Again this shows that Jesus was more than a man and that He really was the Son of God.

We see that the purpose of miracles was to confirm the message that was spoken (Mark 16:20).  Therefore, it is not unusual that Matthew shows these 5 miracles here in chapter 8 as Jesus has just finished delivering the Sermon on the Mount (Mat. 5-7).  Indeed, at the end of that great sermon the people realized that Jesus was not like other men.  “And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Mat. 7:28-29).  Thus the miracles of Jesus help to prove to us just who He really is, that being the Son of God and a member of the Godhead.

Do You Know Where You are Going?

Posted on by under Article

Image            Growing up we were fortunate to be able to travel different places each summer on vacation.  I can remember sitting in the back seat of the family vehicle with the road map so that I could track where we were and how much further we had to go.  I also remember that each year my father would ignore my advice about where to turn to get to our destination, even though I was proven to have been correct the year before.  You see, my father had a problem admitting he was lost or asking for help.  He much preferred to drive around the same block aimlessly than to actually ask for directions or admit that he made a wrong turn.

Many of us are the same way.  We know that something is not right about the direction we are traveling in life, but we never think to consult the road map to find our way back.  Well, there is hope, because in God’s word we find that Jesus has provided us with the perfect road map for our lives.  “Jesus said . . . ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’” (John 14:6 NKJV).  It is important for us to consult regularly with our Gospel Positioning System (GPS) so that we will be able to reach our intended destination.  God’s word will provide that all important guidance that we need in order to live our lives in a way that will lead us to salvation.

We will also find that there are times when we need to stop and ask for directions.  Think about the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:30-34, who admitted to Philip that he needed help in understanding the scriptures.  He had come to a passage in Isaiah 53 and wondered if the prophet spoke concerning himself or some other person.  He was not too embarrassed or afraid to ask this question of Philip.  He had a desire to know the truth, and so he posed this question.  We likewise should not allow fear or potential embarrassment to stop us from making sure that we have a good grasp of God’s word.  After all, we need to know where we are going and how to get there.

A Quiet Life

Posted on by under Christian Living

quiet lifeIn this day and age we see and hear much on the TV, the radio, and on the internet regarding our political leaders on both sides of the aisle. Most of the time, the information is a negative comment or complaint about one party or the other. While our politicians may leave much to be desired and give us many opportunities to complain, the question we should ask is are we praying for these people?

To understand why we should pray for them we should look into God’s word. Paul writes that we are to pray for all men, but then calls special attention to kings and all who are in positions of authority (1 Timothy 2:1-2). God’s divine directions are that we are to pray for our leaders. The admonition to pray for all men (1 Tim 2:1) and to pray for our enemies (Mat. 5:44) would mean that we are to pray for those politicians that we do not agree with as well. This may seem like a hard thing to do, but as with all of God’s commands there is a purpose to this instruction.

We are to pray that our leaders will follow God’s plan so that we may live a quiet and peaceable life (1 Tim. 2:2). We may think that we have extraordinarily bad rulers, and that there is no way that we can pray for immoral leaders. However, consider that Paul is writing to Timothy at the time of the Roman Empire, which reached new heights of decadence, idolatry, and immoral living.

If Paul, Timothy, and those first century Christians could pray for the Roman Emperors, certainly we can do the same for our leaders today. If we want our leadership to improve, if we truly want to live a quiet life at peace with those around us, then the solution needs to start with each of us doing our part to pray for all leaders.