Scofield Ministries

Ask Dr. Couch (#336)

2012-01-29T08:00:00.002-06:00

Dr. Couch, is 1 Corinthians 1:7-8 about the second coming of Christ or is it about the rapture of the believers just prior to the terrible Day of the Lord, the coming Wrath?

ANSWER: I believe it is about the rapture of the church for the following reasons: (1) Paul says the Corinthians, and us as well, are "awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ" (v. 7). Notice that we (also the Corinthians) presently waiting for this next event, which would be the rapture. Many things must take place before His second coming. (2) Verse 8 from the Greek text better reads: "Who shall also in the future establish (bebaioo) you with absoluteness (finality) in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Verse 8 has a similar ring to 1 Thessalonians 3:13: "So that He may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness at (the time of) the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints." 1 Thessalonians 3:13 is without doubt a rapture passage.

God's work in us will go all the way until the rapture in which we meet the Lord in the air. Paul shows this when he writes: "God is faithful through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Cor. 1:9).

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#335)

2012-01-28T08:00:00.001-06:00

Dr. Couch, what do you think of pastors who change their theology away from the Bible, and politicians who are also wishy-washy in order to attract a vote?

ANSWER: Proverbs 24:21-22 speaks about that: "Do not associate with those who are given to change, for their calamity will rise suddenly, and who knows the ruin they will receive from the Lord and from the king?"

The Rabbinical Targum renders the "those" as fools! The Rabbinical commentary on Proverbs adds: "This is about all kinds of light-hearted people departing easily from sound religious and political principles."

Makes you think about what is going on today! Right?

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#334)

2012-01-27T08:00:00.001-06:00

Dr. Couch, I have heard people use Proverbs 24:10-12 as referring to abortion. Is this true?

ANSWER: The passage is not about abortion directly but the principle in these verses would certainly fit. Verse 10 reads: "If you are slack in the day of distress, your strength is limited." Or, if you do not respond to issues when things are tough, then your strength, your inner resolve, is weak. Verse 11 seems to add to the thought: If you see injustice and evil taking place in which people are dying (children are being aborted), and you do not respond, or "Hold them back," then you are guilty in letting them go to slaughter.

Verse 12 says there will be a price to pay. "If you say, 'See, we did not know this.' Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts? And does He not know it who keeps your soul? And will He not render to man according to his work?"

I believe the issue of abortion is part of what will bring a judgment against the Western world, and of course America. Our nation will be held accountable. Expect a judgment soon concerning this issue and concerning homosexuality!

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

LIMITED OFFER

2012-01-26T12:14:00.001-06:00

We have for a limited time, several scholarships to receive our GATHERING STORM CDs for six months FREE. Next month you could be listening to some of the best Bible teachers in the country explain the Word of God. First come, first served! Send us your name and address quickly. One of the best CD studies ever! --Dr. Mal Couch

Send your name and address to: Scofield Ministries, 120 CR 3222, Clifton, TX 76634 or send your name and address in an email to: drcouch@scofieldprophecystudies.org.

Ask Dr. Couch (#332)

2012-01-26T08:00:00.001-06:00

Dr. Couch, a lot of younger educated Evangelical women seem to have bought into the philosophy of feminism. How do we address that with them?

ANSWER: You are correct, and I have addressed this issue from time to time. Many are unfortunately brainwashed by the culture and don't even know it. They think that to have worth they must have a profession. To care for and raise the children is no longer a calling and a great responsibility. Nor do a lot of women see themselves as a "help and support" to their husbands, as Genesis mandates. I know that there can be occasions when a woman may have to work (though some will disagree with me on that), still the Word of God points to the high calling of wife and mother, and puts this before anything else in the area of responsibility.

The Bible seems to assume that even in Paul's day, women were tempted to short change their womanly calling of wife and mother. There are qualities and characteristics that are given to women which are priceless, and the Scriptures spell them out. Women, especially younger women, have to be taught these things. And how a woman presents herself is not simply a cultural mandate, it is a spiritual calling.

Those of you who are reading this need to ponder: What would happen if I mentioned this Q&A to my wife? More than likely she would fight you (or with Paul and me), again, because she has been brainwashed! My counselor wife, Dr. Lacy Couch, has a theory that comes from years of experience counseling women. Many women do not like themselves in their role as a woman. Many women think that what a man does is more glamorous and exciting, so they want to do manly things and hang around in the company of men. They want to be "one of the guys." Too, some simply want to show that they can do some of the things that men have traditionally done just to show that they are equal to the same task. They have joined the sisterhood just to make a point.

Every Christian woman needs to read what Paul says about her position as a Christian woman. She needs to ask, "Do these qualities characterize me?" A woman needs to read 1 Timothy 2:9-15; Titus 2:1-8. Many passages of Scripture address what men are to be like but these two passages especially are aimed at women. If your wife resists, she is not treating the Word of God as authoritative and applicable to her as a woman, wife, and mother.

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#331)

2012-01-25T08:00:00.001-06:00

Dr. Couch, I have been reading about the Messianic Jewish movement and about how they believe in Jesus. But it seems many put their allegiance in following the Law of Moses. What can you say about them?

ANSWER: There is an explosion of Messianic assemblies here in this country, in Europe and even in Israel. For this I am most grateful. But many groups are not well taught dispensationally. They place themselves under the Law, feeling they have to culturally keep it as Jews. Where there are good dispensational instructors and teachers, this is not happening. In other words, they have a theological problem, and many do not realize their deficiency in this area.

There are certain passages of Scripture they need to thoroughly study: Acts 15 and the Jerusalem Council, the entire book of Galatians, and specific passages such as Romans 3:21-31; 4:13-15. However, what often happens is that the Messianic Jews will argue with these portions of Scripture. Some even go so far as to say that Paul was mistaken in his theology!

If you are confused, I hope you study through these verses, let them speak to you, and take them at face value.

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#330)

2012-01-24T08:00:00.001-06:00

Dr. Couch, I hear a lot of flattering words and great speeches full of pomposity! Certain Christian leaders make you feel that they are going to change our world by their awesome speeches. What do you think of them?

ANSWER: We are into the apostasy of the church, and because this is so, spiritual departure will grow and grow, though "religion" will flourish. And only those who know the Word of God will be able to discern what is really happening. The others will be fooled and led astray.

Psalm 12 speaks to what is taking place now. The psalm warns that the faithful will disappear from the scene but among the "sons of men" there will come those who "speak falsehood to one another" (v. 2). They will use flattering lips and have a "double heart," that is, they will believe one thing but speak something else. God will judge those who "speak great things" (v. 3), and who say, "With our tongue we will prevail" (v. 4a). "Our great speeches and our lips, they are the lord over us!" (v. 4b). This psalm also says the wicked "strut about" and their vileness "is exalted among the sons of men" (v. 8). People rush to them and hang on every word and thought they utter.

Today, people are not able to properly discern the lie from the truth. Our Evangelical brothers listen to the "big" preachers and their flattery words. Thousands are following New Age deception. But few will turn about because they have no solid understanding of the Word of God. It no longer is being taught with clarity and soundness from the pulpit.

Thanks for bringing this up.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#329)

2012-01-23T08:00:00.001-06:00

Dr. Couch, morally America seems to be sinking deeper into the slime. What is going on?

ANSWER: Once our nation departed from the Word of God, the inventions of the evil heart and soul began to rule. And in my opinion, there is no turning back. Everyday I see television commercials that are becoming more and more evil! If the commercials are vile and gross, what must the programs be like? Prepare yourself for the filth to pile higher and higher with this fall's programming offered to the public. Because they have been raised on television, our younger generation is wallowing in evil. Thank the Lord that this may not be happening to all of them, but the numbers are growing. Even our Evangelical crowd, all the way up to the thirties, are not able to discern what is taking place within their own hearts. And because the Scriptures are not taught in the average church, their hearts and souls are no longer being fortified with the truth. Oh, they may have a lot of shouting, prancing, emotional outbursts, but this does not substitute for the line upon line teaching of the Scriptures.

It is my opinion that spiritual, moral, and social anarchy is not far away. Because our licentiousness is combined with our social freedoms, this is giving birth to a deadly brew of evil that will destroy our culture.

I cannot help but be reminded of Proverbs 28:4-5. The verses read:

Those who forsake the law
praise the wicked, but those
who keep the law strive with them.

Evil men do not understand justice,
but those who seek the Lord understand
all things.

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#328)

2012-01-22T08:00:00.001-06:00

Dr. Couch, Christ said in Matthew 5:42 that we should give to someone whatever they ask of us, and "do not turn them away who wants to borrow from you." Would this include giving to them things that would hurt them, drugs, liquor, or whatever?

ANSWER: Well, of course not. And that is assumed in the larger context of these verses called the Sermon on the Mount. The larger context is established in verse 16 where Christ said "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

Doing "good works" and not "evil works" is what the Lord is talking about. To give something harmful to someone would be evil and not good! It is assumed also in the passage that the asking for help is in reference to a true need and that the person is asking for assistance with all sincerity. He needs honest charity. But it is also important to note that he is not simply "a taker." He is willing to borrow and even able to return what he has borrowed.

In working with people the Bible is assuming we are using common sense and discernment in what we are doing. We are supposed to note the character of the borrower and not simply doing what our Federal government does today—"Come one and come all! We're going to just give it all away in our socialistic government handout!"

In our present socialistic system in America, we are practicing SYMPATHETIC HUMANISM! That is, we are not requiring responsibility. This all started under President Lyndon Johnson who created what is known as the Entitlement Program. He gave billions away for women who had children out of wedlock, and free housing. This removed responsibility from a certain segment of our society. It also allowed them to stop working and it enabled them in their sin. Unmarried women started having more and more children, and, the men involved, had their sexual "fun" without being responsible! "Have all the illegitimate children you want! The government will pay for it all!"

We are to be BIBLICALLY HUMANISTIC when there is a genuine need and when the person is truly helpless. That is not the case today. It has been documented that most of the homeless are not really homeless. They honestly want to live on the streets and be irresponsible. They like that life-style and would have it no other way. But they want the freebies and not be held accountable.

It takes a proper judgment call to discern when there is a real need and when you are simply dealing with takers!

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#327)

2012-01-21T08:00:00.000-06:00

Dr. Couch, some argue that the rapture of the church will take place on Pentecost because that is when the Holy Spirit came upon the church in Acts 2. What is wrong with that position?

ANSWER: The pouring out of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 first of all has to do with the launching of the New Covenant, which will benefit the church, though the New Covenant is promised for Israel. The New Covenant replaces the dispensation of the Law of Moses. The Spirit of God is the sign that the New Covenant has come. He is the Activator of that Covenant.

That the New would replace the Covenant of Moses (the Law) is spelled out clearly in Jeremiah 31:31-37. "I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt [the Mosaic Covenant]." Peter then quotes all of Joel 2:28-32 to show that what was happening in Acts 2 had to do with the launching of that New Covenant. "I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind …" (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17).

It is important to note that Acts 2 is not a "fulfillment" of Joel 2 but a launching of the New Covenant. It will be fulfilled with Israel when God works again in the dispensation of the Kingdom, when the Jews come home to the Holy Land and believe in Jesus their Savior and their King.

The church presently benefits from the New Covenant. It is now in operation but not completed in the sense of being fulfilled and finalized. Note that all Peter says is "This is that." He does not say "This is a fulfillment of …" Neither does he say that what was happening was but "an illustration" of the New Covenant, as some of my theological buddies say.

That the church benefits from the New Covenant is alluded to in three places in the NT. Paul says that the circumcision of the heart is "by the Spirit, not by the letter [of the Mosaic Law] …" (Rom. 2:29). And he says again in 7:6 that "we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter [of the Mosaic Law]." Then in 2 Corinthians 3:4-8 he writes that we in the church dispensation now are "adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter [of the Mosaic Law], but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." Note he does not say "fulfillment" nor that it happened in Acts 2 as some kind of illustration! But he does show how presently the church is benefiting by it.

The problem has been that many older dispensational teachers confused what was happening in Acts 2 as first and foremost for the church. This is not true. Some went so far as to say there were two New Covenants, one for Israel and one for the church. They were extremely conscious about not mixing the church and Israel But, in my opinion, they went too far to make their point.

The New Covenant has been launched, the church presently benefits by it, but it will be finally fulfilled in the Kingdom when the nation of Israel accepts Christ as Savior and King. This will be the work of the Holy Spirit, and not (obviously) the work of the Law!

This is not a co-mingling of Israel and the church. The two entities are still distinct and separate.

To summarize: Acts 2 is about the launching (not fulfilling) of the New Covenant. It contrasts with and replaces the Mosaic Law. The church presently benefits from that New Covenant, and, it will have its ultimate fulfillment in the Kingdom.

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#326)

2012-01-20T08:00:00.000-06:00

Dr. Couch, is the Day of Christ the rapture of the church? It seems to be.

ANSWER: Yes, the expression Day of Christ, used in seven references in the New Testament, is about the rapture of the church. Sometimes this fact is overlooked. But the contexts of each passage make that clear. The expression is found in: 1 Cor. 1:7-8; 5:5; 2 Cor. 1:14; Phil. 1:6, 10; 2:16.

Scofield has an excellent note on this subject in his Study Bible. He writes:

The expression "the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, identified with His coming (1 Cor. 1:;7), is the period of blessing for the Church beginning with the rapture. This coming day is referred to as "the day of the Lord Jesus" (1 Cor. 5:5; 2 Cor. 1:14), "the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6), and "the day of Christ" (Phil. 1:10, 2:16). "The day of Christ" in all six (seven) references in the NT is described as relating to the reward and blessing of the Church at the rapture.

The expression "The Day of the Lord" has to do with the tribulation and the seven year period of the wrath of God upon the sinful and rebellious world, which I believe we are coming close to. However, the rapture of the church must come first. If we are getting close to the Day of the Lord, we are getting close to the rapture of the church, the Day of Christ!

Coming before that is what the Bible describes as the apostasy of the church. And I think we are already moving into that time known as the falling away from THE TRUTH, and from THE FAITH, spoken of by both Paul and Peter. Peter warns about the apostasy, the day coming "when false teachers will arise among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves, ... and because of them the WAY OF THE TRUTH will be maligned" (2 Pet. 2:1-2). And Paul adds that the time will come when the congregations "will not endure sound (healthy) doctrine (teaching); but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own lusts; and WILL TURN AWAY their ears from THE TRUTH, and will turn aside to MYTHS (Lies)" (2 Tim. 4:3-4). We're arriving at this point now!

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#325)

2012-01-16T08:00:00.000-06:00

Dr. Couch, does 2 Corinthians 1:20 relate in any way to the last part of Revelation 19:10?

ANSWER: Yes, I thank it could, at least to some degree. Revelation 19:10b reads: "For the testimony of [about, concerning] Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." And, 2 Corinthians 1:20 reads: "For as many as may be the promises of God, in Him they are yes; wherefore also by Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us."

Thomas writes on Revelation 19:10b: "He who has the spirit of prophecy will convey Jesus' testimony. … In essence, this statement means that the testimony given by Jesus is the substance of what the Spirit inspires Christian prophets to speak." This has to do with the prophets of Scripture, probably Old as well as New Testament. It is not about the average Christian being a divinely inspired prophet giving prophetic messages.

The promises of God are in Him, in Jesus. He is the Amen, the Verily! The Right On! Revelation 3:14 also calls Christ "the Amen"! On 2 Corinthians 1:20 Hodge writes in His 2 Corinthians commentary:

The promises of God are amen in Christ, because He is the sum and substance of them. … We say Amen, it is even so, to all God had promised, when we come to know Christ. … We Christians render a glad assent to the promises thus ratified in Christ. … In Christ, therefore, the promises were fulfilled. … To receive God's testimony concerning His Son, to say Amen, and to believe, all mean the same thing.

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#324)

2012-01-15T08:00:00.000-06:00

Dr. Couch, everyone I know realizes that something is happening in America that will lead us to destruction. I agree with all that you say on the Scofield website. I know you are correct when you point out that the coming fall of this country will be because of sin. The Bible speaks to what is going on today. Do you agree?

answer: Yes. The Scriptures point out that a nation will not get away with moral corruption, especially in the corruption that ends in gross homosexuality. Read Deuteronomy 32:28-33.

This section begins by pointing out that a nation will fall that refuses Godly counsel, and has lost its understanding of what is right and wrong (v. 28). The wise that possess understanding are gone (v. 29a). But what is most interesting is the fact that that nation can no longer discern the future. "Understanding is gone that they would discern their future!" (v. 29b). For that wayward nation, it will be so bad that one soldier is able to chase and put to flight "a thousand" or even two warriors can "put to flight ten thousand" because God, their Rock, has sold them into slavery with "even their enemies will be judging them" (v. 30).

But it gets worse! What they produce will be like planting vines, "the vine of Sodom, and from the fields of Gomorrah" (v. 32a). "Their grapes are grapes of poison, their clusters are bitter. Their wine is the venom of serpents, and the deadly poison of cobras" (v. 32b-33). Homosexuality will come forth like the clusters of grapes!

America exports Hollywood evil and gross sin! We are now beholding to the world. We no longer lead the nations! We must print billions of dollars each day in order to pay our national deficit. Many groups have found ways to steal from the government. Many couples live together, and are not married, with the woman having a child in order to get government support. Illegal foreigners who are women come across our borders in order to have a child. Then they are able to be given citizenship and abuse our laws. Fifty percent of our teens have a social disease. Filth from Hollywood tempts our children but school teachers are told they cannot speak of what is right or wrong. They cannot speak of morality!

In my opinion we are into the first stages of the apostasy. And the world is dictating even to Christians what they should be doing morally.

There is no turning back!

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#323)

2012-01-14T08:00:00.000-06:00

Dr. Couch, does Luke 17:21 say that the kingdom is here already, dwelling within the believer? And does this substantiate the argument of the Progressive Dispensationalists of their kingdom view: "Already but not yet," that is, that the kingdom is here within believers even though the historic kingdom is also supposed to be set up some day?

ANSWER: Oh, heavens no! Their view will not fly in any form or fashion! The messianic kingdom will be actual, historic, and a specific event that unfolds in time. To fully understand Luke 17:21 you must tie it together with 10:9, 11. In my Luke commentary on 17:21 I write: "in every reference to the arrival, or the coming of the kingdom in the Gospels, the verb is in the Perfect Tense. In Luke the NASB translates 10:9, 11 correctly: 'The kingdom of God has come near you." It has come up to the present, up to the moment, but it has not been inaugurated. 'It has been on its way, and it has arrived, but it has in no way begun!'" "Has come" is egiken in Greek and is from the verb engizo. It is a Perfect Active Indicative and this verb form is used almost always to convey the idea that the kingdom is presented but not inaugurated or fulfilled. That is, the "coming" of the kingdom has reached a finished state. If the Jews had repented as a nation, in theory, the kingdom would have started. Of course the God in His Prescience knew they would reject it! "It has finished coming" but is not necessarily now in operation. There is a cogent reason that the Perfect Tense is used so consistently when discussing the kingdom arrival. Dana & Mantey, the great Greek grammarians, write: "It is best to assume that there is a reason for the Perfect [Tense] wherever it occurs."

In the Greek text of 10:9, near is the Preposition epi with the root idea here of upon. The point is that the kingdom has made its arrival because the King is present, but this does not mean that the kingdom has started. "The kingdom of God is resting over you Pharisees but has not begun!" It is impossible that the idea of 17:21 would be that the kingdom is now operating within believers. Christ is talking with the Pharisees who, for the most part, were not true believers!

The BKC says:

Some feel that the force of the expression is "within your possession or within your reach," Jesus' point was that He was standing right in their midst. All they had to do was acknowledge that He is indeed the Messiah who could bring in the kingdom—and then the kingdom would come.

In the book The End Times Controversy (eds. Tim LaHaye & Tommy Ice) I wrote:

Based on the grammar and context of a given passage, engus may simply mean that something is coming near, approaching, or being brought near. But does this guarantee that the referred-to event will take place immediately? If John the Baptist and Christ said the "kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2; 17; 10:7), is it inherent in the verb that the kingdom will come right then? Could the kingdom be near or certain but not actually arrive because of some other factors? As well, could the verb tens simply be telling us that that the kingdom is certainly on its way? Could it be that the Jewish rabbis understood that the kingdom would not be announced yet, not arrive because the nation of Israel was unworthy — that it was not inaugurated because of the sins of the nation? Can it be shown by the writings of the church fathers that they understood this problem? The church fathers indicate that the kingdom was yet to arrive—perhaps in their day, or beyond.

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#322)

2012-01-13T08:00:00.000-06:00

Dr. Couch, I appreciate your many short teachings about the sovereignty of God. As I read I find more and more such statements about God's absolute providence in Scripture that I had never noticed before. I found a statement just yesterday in 2 Kings that was fascinating. Thanks for sharing this with us on the web.

ANSWER: Yes, 2 Kings 10 tells us just who is in charge in this world. I used to ask my students: "Who is in charge?" And, "Who do we think we are?" By the way, this is not popular today as our churches go into the apostasy. We think we are in charge, and, humanism is now replacing God as God

Hezekiah prayed before the Lord in regard to the evil of king Sennacherib of Assyria. He pleaded for God to hear his petition: "O Lord, … see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God" (v. 16). "O Lord our God, I pray, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that Thou alone, O Lord, art God" (v. 19).

God responds to Hezekiah and says, "Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard you" (v. 20). The Lord then reminds the pagan king that He put into place a plan that started to come about that He declared long ago. God said to Sennacherib: "Have you not heard? Long ago I did it; from ancient times I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass" (v. 25). The Lord then adds: "I know your sitting down, and your going out and your coming in, and your raging against Me. … I will put My hook in your nose, and My bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way which you came" (vv. 27-28).

God knows before hand, and God plans before hand! He is in charge of history even though it seems as if mankind is sovereign! People are not really in charge. God is

Thanks for your comments
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#321)

2012-01-12T08:00:00.000-06:00

Dr. Couch, what do you think of those who are civil libertarians who advocate the position that we should make drugs and prostitution legal so that government can cut costs and the police can get on with other more important things?

ANSWER: You know what I would think! Paul says in Romans 13 that God ordains government for what is good not to maintain what is evil. In my opinion we are going into the apostasy, both of the church and the world. The crush is coming and it will get worse just before the rapture of the church, though I absolutely believe in the imminence of His coming. The Lord knows when that will be; we do not

Sin and humanism is coming forth like never before. There is no stopping as to what is now going on. People have said, "Oh, it has always been said that we are in the end times!" Yes, but Israel was not back in the land! That is the key to understanding the fact that we are moving to the end of days!

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

THE HARRY POTTER STUDY BIBLE

2012-01-11T08:00:00.000-06:00

Southern Baptist pastor Jared Moore has written a study guide to the Harry Potter movies and books. Moore, is a graduate of Liberty University, a conservative school started by Jerry Falwell. I knew a few years back that Liberty would go liberal. While this does not prove the same it shows that the graduates are not getting the biblical education they should be receiving in order to properly defend the faith from error. And Harry Potter is the epitome of witchcraft error!

The book is actually called "The Harry Potter Bible Study." It is published by the Associated Baptist Press, and while there are some conservative warnings in the publication this is only half true. There are many things in the booklet that are spiritually misleading to youngsters. The Harry Potter series represent the "unfruitful works of darkness." Children should not be exposed to any of the material that can be so seductive. This is further a picture of the sign of the times! --Dr. Mal Couch (1/12)

CATHOLICS ARE AFTER EPISCOPALIANS

2012-01-10T08:00:00.000-06:00

The Catholic Church is reaching out to married Episcopalians to get them into the Catholic fold. While they cannot be priests they can become members of the Church. The reason this is happening is because the Episcopalians are becoming so liberal and the Catholics are saying, "See, we are still conservative and you can feel comfortable here with us!"

This is like the wolf in the sheep's clothing. They are getting new members, and the Episcopalians don't see the snare awaiting them. This new approach and program is called "The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter." The concerts will be full-fledged Catholics, expected to pray to the Pope and to oppose contraception and abortion. They will be allowed to preserve revered verses from their Book of Common Prayer.

This is a giant step toward a one world religion, driven by the Catholic Church. --Dr. Mal Couch (1/12)

Ask Dr. Couch (#320)

2012-01-09T08:00:00.001-06:00

Dr. Couch, does it not seem that the Lord's anger is growing against an evil and sinful world?

ANSWER: Absolutely! And, in my opinion, we are moving towards the final days so quickly it makes our head swim! Our younger generation of Christians do not see what is happening. You can see it even in their belief system. They may be born again but they are absorbing the attitudes and thought forms of our evil culture. They do not discern where all of this is going. Statistics show that the Y generation of Evangelicals are turning liberal. For example, more and more of them do not think that abortion is so bad, and they are shifting rapidly to the left in their politics. They have little understanding about wisdom, maturity, and experience. They will select leaders who will be blind guides of the blind!

As we dispensationalists and premillennialists knew years ago, that without solid teaching and doctrine, this younger generation would turn against Israel. They are biblically ignorant and like it that way! They are extremely ignorant about biblical prophecy and what the Lord says about the final days. They are spiritually asleep as to where all of this is going!

But back to your question, yes, I believe we're rapidly moving into the final days with evil compounding itself. This will lead us to the judgment of the wrath of God, even though the Lord on a continual basis pours His anger out on the world. Because of sin, God "makes the nations great, then destroys them; He enlarges the nations then leads them astray (America?). He deprives of intelligence the leaders of earth's people, and makes them wander in a pathless waste. They grope in darkness with no light, and He makes them stagger like a drunken man" (Job 12:23-25).

Psalms 7:11 says: "God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation [against the world] every day." Even though His mercy is always available in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, that truth, that message, is being more and more ignored and repudiated!

Our evil world does not understand what is coming. In Proverbs 28 we read: "Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand all things" (v. 5). Other verses in this chapter seem to speak of our times. "He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination" (v. 9). And, "An arrogant man stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the Lord will prosper" (v. 25). In 1 Thessalonians 1:10, the Greek text says that the wrath of God is on its way! And the verse could read that Jesus, IS our Deliverer who will deliver us out from (ek) that wrath that will nearly destroy the world. Paul is here speaking about the rapture of true believers!

In my opinion the dispensation of mercy and grace is almost over. Those who trust Christ will be taken out of here before the Day of the Lord arrives! I believe we are now coming into the period known as the Apostasy.

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#319)

2012-01-08T08:00:00.001-06:00

Dr. Couch, have you noticed that there seems to be more cruelty to animals these days reported in the news?

ANSWER: Yes, indeed, I have! And most of it is coming from "foreign" cultures coming into this country who virtually torture their animals, especially those to be eaten, such as goats, chickens, etc. It absolutely makes me sick! These people do not come from either a Calvinistic-European or Judeo-Christian culture. They are cruel at heart and lock up their animals in small cages without water or food. And then they slaughter them in their bathtubs, throw out the skin and bones, and make their grounds and yards very unsanitary. While there has always been animal cruelty from pagan minded people, this seems to be growing worse in America because of the invasion of different societies.

Thank the Lord that some cities have inspectors who can even lock up those who are the most cruel.

Proverbs 12:10 says: "A righteous man regards the life of his animal; but (even) the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel." The great Puritan and English writer Joseph Parker writes in his 1891 commentary on this passage: "A righteous man knows the feelings of animals. He gives them credit for feelings; he does not look upon them as merely so much animated matter, but as standing in some relation to himself, but the wicked man becomes so debased as to lose all sense of distinction. His senses into the most utter severity and cruelty of nature."

The Mosaic Law says that one should not be so cruel as to keep the ox from eating the grain that he is grinding for his master. "You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing" (Deut. 25:4). That would be a form of torture and cruelty. And Christ added: "What man shall there be among you, who shall have one sheep and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out?" (Matt. 12:11).

Putting all these verses together we find a pattern of how to property treat one's animals. But there are those who do not know the Scriptures and have cruelty in their hearts.

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#317)

2012-01-07T08:00:00.001-06:00

Dr. Couch, should believers listen to secular music, and especially country music?

ANSWER: I have found that you can start a fist fight among Christians over music, to listen or not to listen to this or that! The problem is we have to be careful falling on one side or another—legalism or license. To me the key word is: discernment, discernment, discernment! There is a lot of good and acceptable music created by the secular world that we can all listen to. And personally, I don't think it is that difficult to discern what is acceptable or not.

Many do not know it but Dr. John F. Walvoord just loved jazz music! Now my taste does not run in that direction but it did for him. And I'm sure he did not listen to "trashy" jazz music. Knowing him, I'm sure he practiced discernment.

I can remember the day when country music was clean. A lot of the songs talked about sin and restitution. Many country pieces spoke about the Lord. And TV country music programs always closed with a hymn. But then the demons were let out of the pit and country music joined other forms of expression and became totally filthy. So there are many pieces of country music, and other types, that are just plain filthy and without a doubt are corrupting those who listen to it.

Television has also hit the bottom. Be prepared every fall season to be filled with even more forms of sin. The producers now know that there is no one out in TV land who will stop their march into the open visual expression of dirt.

By the way, Christian TV is getting awful itself. It is moving rapidly into programs that deal with Gnosticism and mysticism. Satan is indeed alive and well in our culture. I believe we are now moving rapidly into the predicted Apostasy spoken of by Paul. He wrote: "For the time will come when they will not endure "healthy' doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate to themselves teachers in accordance to their own lusts; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to lies" (2 Tim. 4:3-4).

I believe we are there!

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#314)

2012-01-05T08:00:00.001-06:00

Dr. Couch, in R. C. Sproul's book The Last Days According to Jesus, he argues that the meeting with Christ in the air (1 Thess. 4:17) is an expression used of a Roman general who returns in triumph to a given city. The general waits outside the city until the people are ready to "meet" him. How do we answer this?

ANSWER: My answer is "So?" The context of the passage is clear no matter how a given word is used in some secular historical narrative. You need to quote all that Sproul writes on this issue in his lightweight book on pages 168-69. I have never seen a Bible teacher so confused and unclear as he is on this subject. To get rid of prophetic fulfillment he suggests that this rapture passage is but "apocalyptic imagery." He quotes several preterists to try to argue that way. He says, "The rapture imagery may have been designed to communicate that the people of Christ would join him in his triumphant return. The rapture imagery may be symbolic in this sense, in terms of what the rapture represents. But the rapture imagery is not symbolic in the sense that the rapture is altogether invisible" (p. 169).

Thus, he teaches an invisible rapture of the church? What in the world did Sproul just say?

What amazes me is that many Bible students do not want the solid grammatical goodies that explain the Bible. They run to a Sproul who is terrible confused. On this meeting I write in my technical Greek commentary (The Hope of Christ's Return, AMG, p. 128) on 1 & 2 Thessalonians:

Going up into the sky, into the air (aera), is an unmistakable description. Jesus is not coming down to establish His kingdom nor to judge men on earth. The Church saints are going upward. The reasons seem to be clearly stated in 5:9—to escape the coming wrath or Tribulation that falls upon the earth. "To meet" is actually a prepositional phrase—"into [eis] a meeting" (apantesis) with the Lord. The word implies a nonhostile meeting, a civic, public welcome to rulers upon their arrival at a city (Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament). It means also a "going toward."

On 1 Thessalonians 4:17, I further write: "Paul sets forth the results of the miracle of the Rapture. In Greek it reads, 'And so always [pantote] together with the Lord, we shall ourselves be [eimi, present middle indicative].' 'This rapture of the saints (both risen and the living who are changed) is a glorious climax to Paul's argument of consolation. … This is the outcome, to be forever with the Lord.'" (A. T. Robertson)

This is quoting the great grammarian A. T. Robertson who does not hold to the rapture in the same sense as I do, but he still calls 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 a rapture passage. Remember in chapter 5 the apostle tells us the reason for the rapture. The judgment of the Day of the Lord is coming (5:1-4) and the church escapes that terrible period of wrath poured out on the world by the Lord. "For God has not destined us for wrath but for obtaining deliverance through our Lord Jesus Christ" (v. 9).

I keep wondering what is wrong with the anti-rapture people. All of this is so plain and simple. What is their problem? I have come to a conclusion with two answers: (1) they are deep in their souls anti-Semitic because after the rapture comes the tribulation and then the restored Davidic Kingdom, and (2) the anti-rapture people have a fear of what is coming upon the earth. I can find no other reasons why they "protesteth so much" against the plain and obvious teaching of Scripture!

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

THE GOVERNMENT CLOSING US DOWN

2012-01-04T08:00:00.000-06:00

In New York State the Department of Education is no longer allowing religious services to be held in schools or community facilities such as government supported housing projects. Such services have been very successful in stopping crime in such places. This will probably spread from State to State. It reminds us of how Nazi Germany slowly put the clamps on churches and caused the them to bow down to the government. Things are happening more quickly than we can imagine! We must change the government in Washington or we are all doomed as to the ministry of Christ.

Be prepared for rough times coming! --Dr. Mal Couch (1/12)

RUPERT MURDOCH OWNS ZONDERVAN

2012-01-03T08:00:00.000-06:00

His company that turns out porn material now owns Christian publishers Thomas Nelson and Zondervan! As well, the subsidiary, HarperCollins Publishers. These publications used to be owned and operated by Christians but no more! "Madness" and evilness is driving the money that causes such companies to be sold to the devil. Where will it end?

Ask Dr. Couch (#315)

2012-01-02T08:00:00.000-06:00

Dr. Couch, you really have a great and informative website. I know you've had great experiences and outstanding training from some of the great dispensational giants of the past. What wisdom can you share from studying under those men?

ANSWER: I have been exceedingly blessed to study under the most Godly and wise dispensational leaders of a past generation. Your question is good because I think that God places us in positions where He wants us to be in order that we may learn from those who have gone before. I've always told my students that we are like links in a chain. Someone has strengthened us and in turn we are to strengthen the generation that comes after us. To your question: What did I learn from them?

1. I learned that when I was sitting under their teaching I did not appreciate what I was getting. It was only later that it dawned on me of the blessings I received.

2. In being taught the dispensational nature of the Scriptures, years later I was able to confirm that what they gave me was correct and right! I received the tools to find out what was correct. I always say dispensationalism is not simply a system. The Word of God IS dispensational!

3. I never believed what a great Bible teacher taught me simply because he said it. I realized that I could look at truth on my own and confirm the rightness of it.

4. I realized that the great Bible teachers of the past were not perfect. I could see years later that on minor details I disagreed with a few things they taught. But minor differences of opinion do not matter. I realized that what I received in the overall scheme of things was absolutely correct.

5. The four areas of knowledge that changed my life were: (1) hermeneutics, (2) heavy and comprehensive systematic theology, (3) Hebrew, and (4) Greek. On both the undergraduate and graduate level I probably received more Greek than anyone you may know. The same can be said of systematic theology. Many of my classmates threw away their language skills when they left seminary. I did not. I continue to study both Hebrew and Greek each week. I am not a fast reader but hopefully I try to be thorough in my translation work. Now none of this blessed exposure made me a genius. (I actually learn slowly!) I really consider myself fortunate and humbled. I feel blessed each day for what I received going through three graduate schools. But the tools were given to me that have made me thoroughly appreciate the Word of God. I see Christ more clearly, and I see the Plan that the Lord is unfolding in the Bible!

I also had in college and various graduate schools large chunks of history and church history. This gave me the ability to compare and contrast what I see happening in the world today and in the life of the church.

We cannot move forward without knowledge, but at the same time, God is not impressed with all that we have learned. He is testing us by faithfulness and obedience.

The men I was blessed with as my instructors did not play the intelligentsia card. They desired to be thorough, yes, but even more importantly, they wanted to be clear as to what the Word was saying.

The greatest concern I now have is for men who are forty years of age and younger. In my opinion, they are not receiving the classical education I was blessed with. They are getting more of philosophy and less and less of systematics and of the biblical language. For so many their courses in theology do not have a dispensational base. But too, they have a different mind-set about the world and the Word of God. I sense a slippage away from revelation. They are not seeing what I see! I see many who look down at classical dispensationalism. They want to be accepted by the covenant theologians. They are not willing to remain "basic" and simple in teaching God's Word. They pride themselves in academia but this does not impress the Lord!

I don't know if what I've written above helps but I trust that it will. I feel sorry for those of you who want more because I believe that solid teaching, as I measure teaching, is quickly slipping away!

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch (1/12)

Ask Dr. Couch (#313)

2012-01-01T08:00:00.000-06:00

Dr. Couch, could Isaiah 3:1-12 be speaking about Israel during the Day of the Lord?

Yes, in fact the passage is speaking about not only what will come on Israel but upon all the Gentile nations. The full context actually begins in chapter 2 where God tells Isaiah what "will come about in the last days" (v. 2). The passage starts out describing the coming of the Messiah bringing a worldwide peace, at which time "Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war" (v. 4). But before His reign of peace begins there will be a judgment upon the world and upon Israel. "For the Lord of hosts will have a day of reckoning" (v. 12). As mentioned in Revelation 6, men will go into the caves of the rocks" because of the terror of the Lord. "He arises to make the earth tremble" (v. 19). People will hide "Before the terror of the Lord and the splendor of His majesty, when He arises to make the earth tremble" (v. 21).

This of course is the Wrath of God, the Day of the Lord, the seven year Tribulation period!

I believe what God says next about what will be happening with Israel will also be happening among the Gentile nations. Culture and society will be turned upside down. "The capricious children will rule over [the elders], and the people will be oppressed" (3:4-5). "The youth will storm against the elder" (v. 5). Homosexuality will be in openly practiced, as it is now. "The expression of their faces bears witness against them. And they [will] display their sin like Sodom; they will not even conceal it. Woe to them! For they will have brought evil on themselves" (v. 9).

But look what will happen among the women of the world! "Their oppressors are children, and women [will] rule over them. O My people! Those who guide you lead you astray, and confuse the direction of your paths" (v. 12). Because of this, God will bring a harsh judgment upon women (vv. 16-24). He will bring diseases upon them and "He will make their foreheads bare" (v. 17). But because of the terrible things happening to women, because they have destroyed God's natural order of the sexes, they will seek safety in the company of men. "For seven women will take hold of one man in that day, saying, 'We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach'" (4:1).

On 3:12, Unger writes, the reference to women "perhaps means weak, effeminate men, or men dominated by vain women such as those described in verses 16-26, leading them astray and confusing the direction of their paths (9:16; 28:14-15)."

Thanks for asking. And I do indeed believe we are coming into such days, though the rapture of true believers will take place before this terrible period falls in its full strength on the world. [Pastors, please share this with your church.]

Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#312)

2011-12-31T08:00:00.000-06:00

Dr. Couch, what does Romans 11:9-10 mean when it speaks about the table of the Jews becoming a trap?

ANSWER: Paul is pronouncing judgment upon the Jewish people for their blindness and rejection of Christ. It is often taken that their table (of blessing and plenty) has turned against them and become a table of punishment. Paul is actually quoting Psalm 69:22-23, and Unger has a most interesting and different take on that passage.

Verses 22-28 deal with the judgment of Israel's Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. They are applied to the temporary setting aside of Israel during this present age (Rom. 11:9-10), but will find full application to all the enemies of Christ and His people (Israel as well as the Gentiles) when their wickedness comes to full fruition under the Antichrist during the Great Tribulation and is ripe for judgment. Then Christ will not assume the character of the suffering Savior, but the character of the avenging Judge, and His people's prayers will reflect His just judgment upon sin and sinners (cf. Gen. 15:16; Lev. 18:24; Luke 18:7-8).

"Their table" represent the Jews' high religious privileges reflected in their sacrificial system (Psalm 23:5). Their "peace" (Psa. 69:22) becomes a trap (which is in the plural in the Hebrew), which Unger believes refers to the sacrificial peace offerings. Perversely rejecting the One and only Sacrifice, the whole Jewish sacrificial system became a trap to ensnare them in ruin. In other words, what was meant to be a blessing to them, the Messiah, became a judgment. Judicial blindness overtook the Jews (Isa. 6:10; Rom. 11:8, 25) and Israel's loins have been shaken in fear and suffering throughout the age (Deut. 28:63-68).

I hope this helps. Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#311)

2011-12-30T08:00:00.000-06:00

Dr. Couch, someone told me that 2 Chronicles 20:11 is an important verse because it says that the Land of Promise, the Holy Land, is God's particular possession. Is this true?

ANSWER: The word is "possession" (ya-rash) which is in the hiphil form which means "to make someone to possess." This is the only place in the OT where the Holy Land is called God's possession. He has given it to the Jews, "Thou hast given us as an inheritance." There are many other indicators that show it is His land but given to Israel. The land does not belong to the Arabs or to the church! It has not been taken away from the Jews. The Jews will someday have their eyes open and call upon the Messiah to save them. They will dwell in the Land in peace when He returns!

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#310)

2011-12-29T08:00:00.001-06:00

Dr. Couch, what is the difference between a Bible Church and a Baptist Church?

Traditionally, Bible churches focuses on the verse by verse exegesis of the Word of God from the pulpit. Simply put, that means a clear explanation of the Bible. It means, "Let the Bible speak for itself." As with many denominational congregations some Baptist churches may have a Baptist agenda rather than simply letting the Scriptures speak!

Many independent Baptist churches, especially in the South, may be dispensational, premillennial, and hold to the scriptural teaching of the rapture of the church. But this is certainly not true of all of them. Few Baptist churches have elder leadership, which is called for from Scripture. They only have deacon boards. (I don't understand this. I don't know how they avoid the elder requirement! You need to get my book from me: "Biblical Theology of the Church" [Kregel])

Some Baptists argue, "Well, the pastor is our elder!" Wrong! They miss the fact that every time elders are mentioned they are seen as "plural". Some Baptists still think the Baptist church was founded by John the Baptist. Some hold to closed communion for their congregation only. Neither view is biblical! Some teach that baptism is tied only to the local church. This too is not biblical otherwise the Ethiopian servant could not have been baptized.

Many Bible churches are now moving into the Emerging Church format and no longer exegete the Scriptures. They do not see (as they used to) the "teaching" (not preaching) of the Scriptures as their main task. They did in my day, and that is what I continue to do at the Clifton Bible Church in Clifton, TX. They are slipping to the left with hot rock music, plays, skits, devotional messages, moving women into key positions, etc. The pastors see themselves as coaches, facilitators, group leaders, but no longer as strong and determined exegetes of God's Word.

I just heard about a "big" seminary leader in a school in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area who was attending a Bible church that is rapidly moving into the Emerging Church direction. When asked about it he answered, "Well, we're just celebrating Jesus!" What in the world does that mean? The word "celebrate" is an idea created by liberal churches. This shows you how he is being influenced in the wrong direction.

I no longer trust a church simply because it says it is a Bible church. They now are few and far between. The newer ones are products of our independent seminaries, of which almost all of them have moved to the left!

We are now into the apostasy of the church. It will only grow worse! The apostasy becomes full blown just prior to the rapture of true believers to be with the Lord, before the terrible seven year tribulation strikes the earth.

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#309)

2011-12-28T08:00:00.001-06:00

Dr. Couch, I do not see many premillennialists writing about the history of Bible interpretation, but I see a lot of the covenant advocates doing this. Can you help?

I can see you have not purchased some of my books that really deal with this issue nor have you read some that have already been written by others. To be quite frank I find it just the opposite. I know none in the allegorical camp who can really hold a candle to their view from a historical point and make any sense.

There are three books that you need:

1. Dr. Pentecost's Things to Come (Zondervan) has an extensive chapter on the history of interpretation. Excellent!
2. You need my Introduction to Classical Evangelical Hermeneutics (Kregel) that goes even deeper than Dr. Pentecost on some very important historical points.
3. And, you need my Dictionary of Premillennial Theology (Kregel) that covers the writings of Philo, Origen, and Augustine on this subject.

(Click Here to order from me directly)

Reading my Dictionary no one could be foolishly tempted again to believe in allegorical, fuzzy, non-literal interpretation. I have all of the interpretation volumes by the allegorical guys. None of them are consistent with their own principles and views. They have to fudge somewhere along the line, and of course they do that when it comes to "trying" to interpret biblical prophecy. I really don't see how they can live with themselves and look themselves in the mirror in the morning! They really are intellectually dishonest!

What I still do not understand is why most people do not see through their inconsistent theories. I really believe deep down many people do not like the idea of a Jewish kingdom that is yet to come. They are anti-Semitic at heart!

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#308)

2011-12-27T08:00:00.000-06:00

Dr. Couch, what do you think of Pastor John Hagee's remark that God used Hitler to cause the Jews to return to the Holy Land? I understand he was under pressure to "repent" of that statement.

ANSWER: That statement was not original with Hagee. It has been an old belief of the Jews in Israel for sixty years. I had Jews tell me that on many of my trips to Israel. "God used Hitler to drive us back to the Land."

I am fed up with us being so weak in resolve that we back down from truth when the world squawks or yells when we say something that it does not like. God is using the evil of men as He pleases. He is the author of His own history. He is not impotent or passive. He brings the storms for judgment and uses men as He wishes to get things accomplished for His purposes. If you do not believe such sovereignty passages I suggest you read Job 12:13-25.

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#307)

2011-12-26T08:00:00.001-06:00

Dr. Couch, I have always thought that God did not hear the prayers of unbelievers unless the lost is calling out to God for salvation. How can we explain that the prayers of Cornelius were heard?

ANSWER: Cornelius was "saved" in OT terminology, though he nor his family had yet heard of Christ. Many true believers may never have heard of the salvation in Christ but they were godly and righteous in the way of the OT. Cornelius was one in the transition from OT thinking to the message concerning Christ. We will see him and others from the OT economy in glory! Acts 10:22 says of Cornelius: "He was a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, was divinely directed by a holy angel to send for you (Peter) to come to his house and hear a message from you."

Because he had seen the angel (v. 30), Cornelius assumed that Peter was another angel from God and fell before him thinking he was other worldly! (vv. 25-26).

Peter makes it clear that Cornelius' prayers were heard and answered (vv. 31-32). Because of Cornelius' spirituality and Peter's message, everyone who heard the message were baptized by the Holy Spirit. While I believe Cornelius was already saved (in OT terms) he too received the Spirit.

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#305)

2011-12-25T08:00:00.000-06:00

Dr. Couch, I hear a lot today about women being leaders. Does the Bible confirm this idea?

ANSWER: Feminist driven women today will drag out the story of Deborah from the book of Judges to try to prove that they should be pastor(ettes) and leader(ettes), but that argument will not fly. While it was true that there was a dearth of men who were spiritually qualified, the fact of her taking the role of a judge is an exception in Scripture and not the norm.

She was not a military leader as some try to claim. Barak was her general who led the armies in combat. He was a bit weak kneed in that he wanted her to go with him for spiritual support to fight and defeat Sisera (Judges 4:7-9).

The rule is that male leadership is meant to guide the churches, but I see more and more Bible schools and seminaries having conferences to train women in "leadership." Our military schools claim they are training women to be military leaders, but the elephant in the living room that no one speaks about, is that women cannot really lead men. It takes men to lead men! The Pentagon lies to us and tells us they are not putting women in combat positions but the reality is they are! Women are trained as jet fighter pilots, etc. I heard one misguided military girl say, "I feel it is my duty to defend my country!" Wrong! It is her duty to raise godly children and make a wonderful warm home for family spiritual training. It is the duty of the men to defend both home and hearth!

In Scripture, young men are told to "be subject to your elders" (1 Pet. 5:5). Young men are wild horses and need the firm guidance of older men as roll models and as those who exercise their authority in reigning in the waywardness of the young.

As long as the churches follow the dictates of the culture and what is politically correct, spiritual failure will only increase in the life of the Evangelical community.

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#304)

2011-12-24T08:00:00.001-06:00

Dr. Couch, I have friends that believe the entire Abrahamic Covenant is for both the Jews and the Church (Gentiles). They use Genesis 17:4-5 and Romans 4:18 where Paul quotes Genesis 15:5. How do you answer?

ANSWER: Genesis 17:4-5 reads: "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you. And you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. … I will make you the father of a multitude of nations." Paul quotes this in Romans 4:18: "[Abraham] believed in order that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, 'So shall you descendants (seed) be.'" In the last part of the verse Paul is quoting Genesis 15:5.

The argument is that since the Gentiles are Abraham's children spiritually speaking, they too inherit the land promises. But that will not fly!

The Gentiles get in on the "blessing" aspect of the Abraham Covenant as shown in Genesis 12:3: "And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." But the land is not promised to the church or to Gentiles. First of all, this covenant is God's covenant ("My covenant," 17:4) made with Abraham and his descendants (physical seed, v. 7). Gentiles get in on the blessing aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant by faith not by being of the physical seed of Abraham. Paul writes "Also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all" (Rom. 4:16b). "Be sure that it is those who are of the faith who are sons of Abraham" (Gal. 3:7). "Those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer" (v. 9). And, "In Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (v. 14).

The land promises come only to the physical descendants of Abraham. The Lord said this to Abraham five times in Genesis 17:6-10. The after you in these verses is a reference to his physical progeny or descendants through the flesh. And that has to do with Isaac and not with Ishmael as said to Abraham: With Sarah's son, "you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, for his descendants after him" (v. 19).

1. "I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants (seed) after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you" (v. 7).
2. "I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land of your sojourning, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God" (v. 8).
3. "This is My covenant, which you shall keep between Me and you and your descendants after you; every male among you shall be circumcised" (v. 10).

Gentiles nor the church receive the land promises. End of discussion!

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#302)

2011-12-23T08:00:00.000-06:00

Dr. Couch, what is going on in the world today?

ANSWER: Everything is happening that I was teaching some forty years or more ago. Dispensationalists certainly do not know the timetable of the rapture or the tribulation but we can look clearly at the Bible and see patterns being formed that are there in Scripture. We are now in the period of the dress rehearsal, the prelude, the forming of the storm clouds that will soon overshadow the world and bring on the tribulation, the terrible wrath of God.

But of course, the church will not be here. It will be raptured away before the wrath comes. See 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 5:1-9.

Note how the world is interlinked together more than ever before. And everything is aiming at the Middle East and Israel. The economic and energy crisis will at some point bring the world to the brink in which the people of earth will all together seek earnestly for a strong man to get them out of the mess.

America could fall much quicker than we can imagine. And selfishness and greed will be the catalyst. The average American family owes over $15,000 in credit care debt. One woman interviewed, owes over $80,000 and pays $600 each month on interest. There is no way the country will get out of that mess. Trillions of dollars are now owed on credit cards. In some places food costs have risen some 80%.

The Word of God gives the full scope of doctrine, including the larger picture of history. We would be smart to pay attention!

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#301)

2011-12-22T08:00:00.000-06:00

Dr. Couch, I have been told that every time one sees the word "saint" in the Bible, Old or New Testament, it has to do with the church saints, or all the saints of Scripture, both Jewish saints and church saints. What do you say?

ANSWER: Wrong! The Bible makes it clear that there are saints in different dispensations but they are not all balled up together into one big lump. In the OT there is a family of words that come from the Hebrew word kah-dohsh that can be translated "holy," "saint," "sanctified." In all cases when applied to people it would be to the Jewish people, though maybe there would be an instance or two in which it would apply to some faithful Gentile. But that Gentile would be living in OT times and the reference would certainly not be about the church, the spiritual body of Christ.

In Daniel 7, "saint" is used seven times with the reference to the citizens of the coming messianic kingdom. Our poor Covenant theological guys would see kingdom as the church but of course they would be wrong, as usual! In 7:18 it says the saints "will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come." And in verse 22, the same thing is said. Now it would not make sense to say the saints "take possession of the church"! The Covenant guys are not very good observers. They bring their theology to the verses instead of allowing the verses to create their theology!

In verse 25 it says that the antichrist (the other horn who comes out of the ten) "will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One." This happens in the tribulation and the church saints have already been raptured. So this is not referencing church saints, however, could it be referring to Jewish and Gentile saints during that seven year period of wrath? If so, we would simply label them together as "tribulation saints."

Yet, more than likely, saints here are Jewish believers. This is what Daniel would have in mind in the context in chapter 7 of Daniel. But too, note that verse 25 says the antichrist will "wear down the saints of the Most High." This fits perfectly with Revelation 12 where it is stated that Satan pursues the woman, who in John's illustration, is the nation of Israel which gives birth to the "child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron" (v. 5). It is said further that Satan goes off to make war with the woman "and with her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus" (v. 17). This Revelation 12 scenario fits perfectly with Daniel's reference to the "saints" whom the antichrist attempts to pursue and wear down, destroy.

On Daniel 7 and the reference to "saints," Unger writes: "The ultimate outcome, reflected in the fifth Kingdom (the Millennium), will be that 'the saints of the Most High' (vv. 22, 25, 27), that is, the saved Jewish remnant that will pass through the Great Tribulation shall take (receive) 'the kingdom', according to the covenants and promises made to Israel in connection with it."

In summary, there are (1) OT saints, (2) church saints, (3) tribulation saints (whether Jew or Gentile). OT saints nor the tribulation saints are seen as being in the church, the spiritual body of Christ. The body of Christ is a unique entity of both Jew and Gentile, which has a special place and a special mission in this dispensation.

Thanks for asking. Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch (#300)

2011-12-21T08:00:00.000-06:00

Dr. Couch, my church never teaches about the end times. The pastor says he believes in Bible prophecy but never reveals to us scripturally the doctrines of the coming rapture of the church or the tribulation. What should I do?

ANSWER: I would leave that church. I am finding that many pastors are lulling the people to sleep. They want to give only the positive. They need to discuss the issue with the Lord. HE is the One who gave us the revelations of what is yet to come. One pastor said recently "I don't want to give all that prophetic teaching, the doom and gloom, to my congregation. I want to give them only hope!" The backdrop of hope is the truth about what is going to happen that is bad. But too, all prophecy is not doom and gloom. It is about the blessed hope, the return of Christ for the church, and the blessedness of the kingdom following the end of the tribulation.

There are dozens if not hundreds of verses our people need to hear about God's future judgment upon the world in the tribulation. The tribulation is about His wrath upon a disobedient world. Isaiah writes in 13:11-13:

I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud, and abase the haughtiness of the ruthless. … Therefore I shall make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken from its place at the fury of the Lord of hosts in the day of His burning anger.

And in 26:21:

For behold, the Lord is sure to come out from His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.

What could get more plain as is in Jeremiah 25:30-32?

"Therefore you shall prophecy against them all these words and you shall say to them, The Lord will roar from on high, and utter His voice from His holy habitation; He will roar mightily against His fold (even the Jews). He will shout like those who tread the grapes, against all the inhabitations of the earth.

" A clamor has come to the end of the earth, because the Lord has a controversy with the nations. He is entering into judgment with all flesh; as for the wicked, He has given them to the sword," declares the Lord.

Thus says the Lord of host, "Behold, evil is going forth from nation to nations, and a great storm is being stirred up from the remotest parts of the earth."

On these terrible verses in Jeremiah 25 Unger writes:

God is pictured as a judge. He has a controversy with the nations and pleads with all flesh, slaying the wicked with the sword. … The coming great tribulation is prophetically unfolded as a great whirlwind raised up from the remotest parts of the earth with evil spreading worldwide. The frightful carnage is pictured extending from one end of the earth to the other.

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch

2011-12-20T08:00:00.000-06:00

Dr. Couch, I'm convinced. From much that you've been writing I see the error of amillennialism and covenant theology. Where can I read more on how all that heresy began?

ANSWER: I suggest three sources, or study the teaching of three individuals in church history. (1) Philo, (2) Origen, and (3) Augustine. They are the ones who influenced the church the most by their writings on allegorical interpretation.

The sources would be Bernard Ramm in his book Protestant Biblical Interpretation. Read pages 24-38. Read also on Catholic Allegorism (pp. 38-45). Also study the section on the Syrian School of Antioch (pp. 48-50). Antioch was most influenced by the early prophets and probably Paul as mentioned in the book of Acts. They maintained and taught the literal approach to Scripture for generations. Ramm writes "The result of these principles [developed in Antioch] was some of the finest exegetical literature of ancient times." And the literal interpretative school at Antioch, especially in "The commentary of Theodore [of Mopsuestia] on the minor epistles of Paul is the first and almost the last exegetical work produced in the ancient Church which will bear any comparison with modern commentaries."

Check out the three names of the men mentioned above in my Dictionary of Premillennial Theology (Kregel). I also wrote a chapter on the Antiochian School as well.

Read also what I wrote on these men in my interpretation book Classical Evangelical Hermeneutics (Kregel). The allegory and destructive hermeneutics of these men greatly influenced Catholic and then Reformation thinking in their spiritualizing especially biblical prophecy. I really do not think most allegory and amillennial guys know the origin of their own system. They are great quoters but terrible interpreters. They are unable to think textually and biblically.

I quote Trigg who shows the foolishness of Origen in his interpretation on Matthew 24 and the issue of the return of Christ. Trigg points out that Origen, on the two men laboring in the field, believes this "represents good and bad influences on a person's will." How dumb!
And I quote on Origen the great church historian and Lutheran amillennialist, Philip Schaff, when he has to admit that "His allegorical interpretation is ingenious, but often runs far away from the text and degenerates into the merest caprice." I conclude in my book, "amillennialists continue to utilize a system of interpretation that is textually and historically at odds with the normal reading [even] understood by the early church."

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch

2011-12-19T08:00:00.000-06:00

Dr. Couch, where did baptism come from?

ANSWER: The idea of “the washing” comes from the washings from the OT. The water did not actually spiritually cleanse one, but it was a picture of such a cleansing. There are two words used in the OT context. The Greek word used in the LXX was baptizomai and the related word bapto. The baptismal work of the Holy Spirit is prophesied in Ezekiel 36:25. This is tied in to the coming of the New Covenant that was made for Israel, based on the death and the sacrifice of Christ. The New Covenant would replace the Law Covenant. See Jeremiah 31-on.

Ezekiel 36:25-27 is tied together: “I will sprinkle (“slosh” zarach) clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols” (v. 25). Physical water does not make one spiritually clean. The verses go on and say, “And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes …” (v. 27). “And you will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers …” (v. 28). The great Jewish/Christian scholar Dr. Charles Feinberg (who was one of my profs in grad school) writes: Ezekiel 36:25 “is a parallel to Jeremiah 31:31-34. … This is the coming of the Holy Spirit upon Israel in the future. … The gift of the Spirit is frequently connected with the coming of the new economy (dispensation) for Israel (see 39:29; Isa. 44:3; 59:21; Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2:16 f.).”

This is the spiritual baptism carried out by the Holy Spirit as mentioned by Christ. It launches the New Covenant that was first for Israel but would be applied to the church. The church does not fulfill the New Covenant but presently benefits from it. Israel under the dispensation of the kingdom will in the future fulfill the New Covenant when the Jewish people come to Christ in the land. We are not now in the kingdom! The New Covenant was ratified by Christ’s death and launched at Pentecost, and will be fulfilled when Israel is back in the land and trusting in their Messiah!

Keep the dispensational lines straight and the Bible will all come together. Mix up the dispensations and you have chaos, and, you’ll get rid of Israel and certainly not understand how the Word of God goes together! Only dispensationalists have it right. The covenant guys have it all wrong and they allegorize and spiritualize the great prophecies of Scripture. They are into replacement theology and get rid of Israel just like the Catholic Church does.

Thus, the idea of a washing comes from the OT. But that washing is symbolic of the washing of the Holy Spirit, a baptism! This is what truly saves one, based on faith in Christ. Water baptism does not save! It is but the sign of the spiritual work and the spiritual reality carried out by the spiritual washing, and the union that follows with Christ, all done by the work of the Spirit.

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch

2011-12-18T08:00:00.000-06:00

Dr. Couch, Acts 22:16 seems to say that water baptism “washes” away our sins. How do you answer?

ANSWER: To understand 22:16 you have to start with 3:19. 3:19 reads, speaking to the nation of Israel: “Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away (blotted out, ‘exaleipho’), …” Repent and return are both Second person Plurals, Aorist Imperatives. Or, “All of you repent and all of you return [back to God] [with the result that] your sins will be blotted out (wiped away).” “Wiped away” is an Aorist Passive Infinitive. Or, “Your sins will be acted upon, blotted away, by God”—“They are to be acted upon by the Lord. He will cause them to be gone!” This is based on their repentance and their returning to God! Of course the message they are to believe in is the fact that “Christ should suffer” [for you], and this “He has thus fulfilled” (v. 18).

This idea then is picked up and applied to Paul here in 22:16. Ananias tells Paul that “it was appointed for him to know God’s will, and to hear an utterance from His mouth. Because he was to be a witness for Him to all men of what he has seen and heard” (v. 15).

22:16 reads from the Greek: “Having gotten up, you are to be baptized yourself, and yourself have your sins washed away, and called yourself upon His name.” All of these verbs show parallel action going on at once. The Middle Voice is used continually, “yourself.” They are all Aorist Tenses. It is all happening at once. 3:19 certainly clarifies what is happening in 22:16. Baptism alone could not be saving Paul or any Israelite, and no other passage would give that idea.

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch

2011-12-17T08:00:00.000-06:00

Dr. Couch, is the rapture in Matthew 24:40-42? Many of the well-known dispensationalists think so.

ANSWER: Heavens no, it is not! I know all the men you mentioned, and I knew the two that have passed on. Remember, they have (and had) a right to be wrong! (By the way, we're talking about the "one taken, one left" verses.)

The clear proof that this is not the rapture is that it is repeated in Luke 17:36-37. There, the disciples asked the Lord, "But where [are they taken] Lord?" He then gives a chilling answer: "Where the body is, there also will the vulture be gathered" (v. 37). In other words, these taken will be the unfaithful servants who will be taken out, when the King comes, and executed. This is what Christ says in the Matthew context. He says in the context of that statement: The unfaithful servant will be taken "and shall [be] cut in pieces and assigned to a place with the hypocrites; weeping shall be there and the gnashing of teeth" (v. 51). THAT IS NOT THE BLESSED RAPTURE!

Besides, after Christ had said in Matthew 40-41 "One taken and one left," He then added in verse 42, "Therefore be on the alert for you do not know which day your Lord is coming." The "you be on alert" is not the church but the Jews who are living when He returns as king. He is coming back here in this context as "The Son of Man" (v. 44) which is a messianic title about His kingship. It is found in Daniel 7. This "one taken, one left" statement is about His return as king, it is not about His headship over the church, nor about His coming for His church. Keep the lines straight. Use good OBSERVATION, OBSERVATION, OBSERVATION!

The one left is the faithful servant who was anticipating the coming of the king; the one taken is the one taken before Him and judged because he did not believe that his Lord was going to come back. That is the case today of many Jews. They are not expecting the coming of their own Messiah! Christ is not discussing the church; He is discussing the kingdom and His return as king, not His return to gather away the church saints!

(Boy, that is so easy! What is wrong out there in the church hinter-land?)

Sloppy interpretation always amazes me!

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch

2011-12-16T08:00:00.002-06:00

Dr. Couch, it seems as if the post-tribers are against the rapture doctrine because they say that Psalm 110:1 teaches that Christ remains in heaven until His enemies are subdued and then He comes back to earth again. What do you say?

ANSWER: They practice what I call "wooden-headed" interpretation. The Psalm 110 passage has to do completely with the issue of His coming to earth to reign. They cannot prove by the passage that He never leaves heaven to gather upwards His church saints in order to get them out of the way for the tribulation. They have a problem, I don't! All of the rapture passages are clear. (Look in the archives in this website. I have an exegesis on almost all of the rapture passages!)

God gathers His own up to Himself. And again, don't mix dispensations. Psalm 110 has to do with His coming millennial kingdom reign. The rapture issue has to do with the church.

The post-tribers have to answer what it means when Paul says "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them (the resurrected) in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord" (1 Thess. 4:17). I can read! And I know the difference between up and down. He does not come down to reign. We go up to meet Him in the air. We take the Bible verses where we find them. We OBSERVE, OBSERVE, OBSERVE!

The reason we go up is obvious from 5:9. Paul writes, "For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." The church does not go through the wrath. And the wrath is the entire seven year period, not just the last half. We know this from Jeremiah 30:6-7. The "Birth Pangs" (v. 6) refer to "that day." And "that day" is "great" in a singular sense (v. 7). The church does not go through part, any part of, the tribulation. We are rescued from all of it! This is further explained in 1 Thessalonians 1:10: "Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come," all of it!

Only premillennialists practice good hermeneutics and sound observation. The other guys get very sloppy! And remember, when you work so hard to deny the obvious, you have a hidden agenda. What is their agenda? Usually, it is that they just don't like the doctrine of the rapture, and, they just don't like dispensationalism, though they really can't tell you why.

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

Ask Dr. Couch

2011-12-15T08:00:00.000-06:00

Dr. Couch, who were the magi? Were they "three kings of Orient"? Were they three races, as sometimes pictured?

ANSWER: We have really fouled up the magi story! First of all, we do not know that they were "three" in number; that idea comes from the fact that they brought three precious items to the baby Jesus—gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matt. 2:11). (This is a fascinating story in itself!) If anything in regard to their race, they would have been Babylonian for that is where we get the idea for the magi.

The Greek word magos in the text is plural—magoi. The word means "the great ones." The term is related to the words "majestic, magnanimous." It is referring to the astronomers, astrologers of Babylon. They probably came from Shushan, the royal city of Babylon, or, possibly from Ur.

How did they know they were seeking the King of Israel, and what was the star they saw, while they were residing in the east? More than likely they had read the cryptic prophecy in Numbers 24:17 which says: "I see him, but not right now, I behold him, but he is not near. A star shall come forth from Jacob, and a scepter shall rise from Israel, and shall crush the head of Moab." (The people of Moab were the most violent enemies of Israel at that time.)

From their vantage point, looking west, they saw the star standing over Israel. This was a miracle star that God put in the heavens to announce the arrival of His Messiah, the anointed Ruler of the world!

How did the magi find this passage? We must remember that they were astronomer/astrologers who belonged to that school in Babylon. We must also remember that Daniel (over 400 years before) was made the dean of that university when he was ruling in Babylon. We read, "King Nebuchadnezzar … promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and … over all the wise men of Babylon" (Dan. 2:48). More than likely then, Daniel placed in their library the Torah scrolls of Moses. Since these men saw the star over the vicinity of Israel, they went into the library and found the Jewish scrolls and began to read through them. When they found the passage, and put together the vision of the star, they calculated that the Messiah (the King) was born. I believe they continued to read and discovered that the One being born was the Son of God. They truly believed in Him and came to worship Him with a genuine faith and trust, not simply doing a political homage to the birth of a politician.

On Numbers 24:17 Unger writes: "The 'Scepter' envisions the Lord coming to rule the earth as absolute King and Lord (Rev. 19:16). The 'Scepter' is owned first in Zion and extends to the ends of the earth when Shiloh comes (Gen. 49:10)."

Jesus did not come to reign in our hearts! He will someday be the King ruling over Israel and over the entire world in a literal, historic way, not in some allegorical, "spiritualized" way, as the covenant guys see it. King Herod got it right. He knew that the Messiah could replace him as ruler. Even a pagan king understood literal language over what some allegorical theologians wrongly teach today!

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch

The Criteria For Canonicity of Scripture

2011-12-14T08:00:00.000-06:00

Below is a list of stated facts that give to us confirmation that what we have in the Bible is indeed the inspired Word of God. The list could be expanded but these are just some preliminary points to consider.

1. The internal evidence. So many of the books of the Bible say something like "the Lord has spoken," or "the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel ..." (Ezek. 1:3).

2. The fulfillment of prophecy. Hundreds, if not thousands of prophecies are given to us in both the OT and the NT. They can be verified and confirmed in secular history. In fact, fulfillment of prophecy is a key factor in telling us that the Bible is the Word of God.

3. The authors claimed inspiration by the Lord through His Holy Spirit. The authors then were liars or they were telling us the truth. And, we can verify what they were saying by objective analysis.

4. Most who were living when the prophets or the apostles wrote, who read what they penned, confirmed the authority of the authors and their statements. I know of no occasions when they said with meaningful evidence, "These men are liars and are not telling the truth!"

5. The Lord over and over said that He was speaking through the authors, and dictating to them His message that He wanted us to receive. This is either true or false.

6. Even the statements of nonbelievers often tell us what was being written was indeed true and could be relied upon. For example, the testimony of Nebuchadnezzar: "I Nebuchadnezzar praise, exalt, and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, ..." (Dan. 4:37).

7. The confirmation of individuals, or of kings and priests, following several decades or more after a certain book had been written (such as Daniel). No one was recorded saying: "What was written X number of years ago is all a lie!"

8. The preservation and the handling of the biblical texts. They were kept with care (for the most part) and were meticulously copied and preserved.

9. Few, if any, claimed that what had been written some years earlier, had contradictions and mistakes. Instead, the manuscripts were held in high esteem, because of their accuracy and fidelity to truth.

10. The high views expressed in the Bible books in regard to the standards of morality, truthfulness, spirituality, and revelation of the nature and the works of God.

11. The consistency of doctrine in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. There are no contradictions that can stand up under honest scrutiny. The writings of the Bible hold up as to the nature of man, the nature of God, His character and all other doctrines that were given forth in the scriptural writings.

12. The contrast of what the Bible teaches in comparison with other religious writings. Other religions cannot come close to the fidelity and spiritual nature of the Bible—for example, in comparing the writings of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, etc. In other religious writings, God, or the gods, is degraded, fictionalized, presented as immoral in character, and not worthy of study!

13. Preservation of the biblical texts. No other ancient manuscripts have been preserved in such detail as the Word of God. While there are transmission issues to be studied, still what we have in the manuscripts cannot be matched by the writings of other religions. Secular or historical manuscripts are but patchwork in comparison to the Bible.

Preservation of the biblical manuscripts must be considered. There is a reason that the texts were kept with such care over the centuries, and that would be the fact that so many people realized that the Bible was not simply an ordinary collection of religious works. They stand out far beyond all other manuscripts of antiquity.

14. The attitude of Christ toward the Bible—it was given by inspiration from the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it was to be accepted as His divine authority for truth.

15. The authors of the Bible were said to be the holy prophets and holy apostles who set forth the inspired Word.

16. While there were a few throughout history who denied the inspiration of the Bible, most of the criticism came late—mainly during the last three hundred years. During the age of skepticism, critics denied the work of God in history. God has not revealed Himself in written revelation, they argue. The Bible is only a naturalistic book, full of errors and mistakes, they claim, though without provable, objective factual evidence.

Critics must objectively and convincingly refute these points in order to debunk the Bible and substantiate their claim that it is not the Word of God. Skepticism cares not for truth, its presuppositions found in its own reasoning is sufficient to make its claim.

A complete study of history, and a thorough examination of the internal claims and evidence within Scripture, flies in the face of critical objections!

-- Dr. Mal Couch

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!

2011-12-13T08:00:00.000-06:00

54 struggling African nations have had a quick negative response to President Obama's equal rights policy toward homosexuality. These backward nations are more moral than America! They understand the sinfulness of this practice and outlaw homosexual activity. They say "Homosexuality here is taboo, it's something anathema to Africans, and we see it as abhorrent in every country on the continent that we can identify."

Secretary Clinton and Obama are pushing legally to make it a universal acceptance of this practice worldwide in order to placate the homosexual crown. What an irony! These poor nations see morally more than our own President does! Destruction is certain to come upon this nation! --Dr. Mal Couch

The Natural Proofs of God's Existence

2011-12-12T08:00:00.001-06:00

Philosophy of Religion

For generations rational philosophers have attempted to give certain natural arguments for the existence of God. This was a humanistic effort to arm-wrestle objectors into accepting a kind of logical proof of the truth about God's being. But the heart and mind of the lost is so tenacious that such arguments fall on deaf ears.

However many Christians have felt the rational proofs were worthy of consideration. The problem is that such so-called evidence may well speak to the mind of a believer in Christ, but it makes no headway with those who are rebellious sinners. These standard "proofs" are as follows:

The Ontological Argument. Anselm, along with Descartes, argues "man has the idea of an absolutely perfect being; that existence is an attribute of perfection; and that therefore an absolutely perfect being must exist."1 The idea is that God exists in the human mind, and since He does, this must be a logical demonstration that He is! This view can be summed up, "I have an idea that there is a God, therefore I have an experience of God."
The ontological argument in theism consists in a course of reasoning from God as the absolute First Cause of all things to the things He has caused-specifically, the inherent idea that God exists. God is recognized as the Creator of the human mind in which this conception of Himself is found. The fact of the existence of God is involved in this congenital idea.2

The weakness of this view seems obvious. The evil mind of man can conjure up all kinds of views about the nature of God, thus the idea of God (or gods) is but an invention of man's imagination.

The Cosmological Argument. This view would say that all existing things in the world should have an adequate cause; and if so, the universe must have an adequate cause too, a cause that is indefinitely greater. However, the evolutionists argue against such a view and say that all things come into being by natural-chance forces. To them, the cosmological argument means nothing can be ruled out and rejected. "The argument does not necessitate the assumption that the cosmos had a single cause, a personal and absolute cause, -- and therefore falls short of proving the existence of God."3

It is true, however, that the heavens declare the glory of God (Ps. 19:1-6). This creation should be a convincing revelation. The wonder of creation is seen everywhere. Such a revelation should raise questions in the minds of human beings. But because of sin such "facts" are rejected, distorted, or ascribed to some other cause rather than the handiwork of an all-powerful personal God.

The Teleological Argument. Berkhof explains, "The world everywhere reveals intelligence, order, harmony, and purpose, and thus implies the existence of an intelligent and purposeful being, adequate to the production of such a world. ... It is superior to the cosmological argument in that it makes explicit what is not stated in the latter, namely, that the world contains evidences of intelligence and purpose, and thus leads on to the existence of a conscious, and intelligent and purposeful being."4 Some argue that this only suggests a Mind that is in control of the world processes. The skeptics would simply call this the Force!

The apostle Peter does not hesitate in telling us of the First Cause of creation: "By the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, ... But the present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men" (2 Pet. 3:5, 7). Peter not only described the first cause of creation, but he makes the issue relevant to the issues of the existence and the judgment of human beings.

The Moral Argument. Liberal theology is attracted to this view because it recognizes "a Highest Good and [man's] quest for a moral ideal demand and necessitate the existence of a God to give reality to that ideal."5 The Holocaust and the killing of millions of Jews during World War II has a blunting effect on this positive argument. One could use the same logic to argue that God is evil because one sees continually in this world the Lowest Evil! From a natural, observational viewpoint, this argument only brings confusion, and is easily shot down by the critic and skeptic. "While this argument does point to the existence of a holy and just being, it does not compel belief in a God, a Creator, or a being of infinite perfections."6

The Historical Argument. Also known as the Ethnological Argument, this view holds all peoples of the earth have some sense of the divine, a spark of truth that indicates God exists. So the argument goes, if the nature of people leads to religious worship, that is only explained by a "higher Being who has constituted man a religious being."7 The evolutionist would not agree with this view. He would simply point to the superstition of human beings for wanting a Higher Power to give answers to existence.

It is true the apostle Paul argues that nature gives a universal witness to God. In fact, he says "that which is known about God is evident within" men, "for God made it evident to them" (Rom. 1:19). He adds that God's invisible attributes and eternal power, and divine nature, "have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse" (v. 20).

However, such knowledge does not drive men to God.

Conclusions

Berkhof notes:
In evaluating these arguments it should be pointed out first of all that believers do not need them. Their conviction respecting the existence of God does not depend on them, but on a believing acceptance of God's self-revelation in Scripture. If many in our day are willing to stake their faith in the existence of God on such rational arguments, it is to a great extent due to the fact that they refuse to accept the testimony of the Word of God. Moreover, in using these arguments in an attempt to convince unbelievers, it will be well to bear in mind that none of them can be said to carry absolute conviction. ... They are important as interpretations of God's general revelation and as exhibiting the reasonableness of belief in a divine Being.8

Ryrie adds:
We must not forget that the majority of people who have ever lived have rejected the revelation of God through nature, and that rejection has come with scorn and deliberate substitution of their own gods. They have condemned themselves, and when God rejects them, He does so justly.9

Chafer well summarizes:
The natural man who does not receive or know the things of God (1 Cor. 2:14), has in all ages sought to answer the problem of a visible universe and by his efforts has unceasingly proved this divine estimation of his limitations to be true. It may be difficult for the spiritually enlightened mind to comprehend the fog of confusion in which the often sincere but unregenerate men are plunged. ... However, they have formulated certain general lines of philosophy, and these, like the false religions of the earth, bespeak the spiritual limitations of fallen man.10 -- Dr. Mal Couch

________________

Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994), 26.
Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, 8 Vols. (Dallas: Dallas Seminary Press, 1976), 1:158.
Louis Berkhof, 27.
Ibid., 26-27.
Ibid., 27.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid., 27-28.
Charles C. Ryrie, Basic Theology (Chicago: Moody, 1999), 38.
Lewis Sperry Chafer, 1:162.

The Catholics and England

2011-12-12T08:00:00.000-06:00

King Phillip of Spain wanted to do his missionary work and return England to the Catholic Church, destroying the work of the Reformation in that country. He prayed continually for God to help him defeat Sir Francis Drake's little fleet whereby he could then invade that nation. He assembled the Armada with a fleet of very large ships that would face off Drake's limited and small battle wagons.

There is no question that God in His sovereignty destroyed the Spanish Armada and spared England. His providence brought about a miracle that is one-of-a-kind in history. Here are some specific things that the Lord did to defeat the ships of Spain:

Before the conflict began Drake was able (1) to destroy the material by which the Spanish built the staves and casks for storing water and food for their fleet. The casks were inferior and leaked, pouring forth the needed water and spoiling the food supply. (2) Drake's fleet was made up of smaller ships that could maneuver and turn more quickly with the wind. The Spanish galleons were larger and more cumbersome and less able to turn when in combat with Drake's swift, little ships. Drake could move in and out among the Spanish fleet thus more easily destroying them while on the run with the wind.

The sailors of the Spanish fleet were (3) multi-national and thus were not able to communicate with each other very well, whereas the English navy was made up of all Englishmen who could speak more distinctly with each other while in combat. The British navy was more professional and had trained well together. They (4) could load and reload their weapons rapidly. It took about four minutes for the Spanish to load their canons while the English could do so in about one minute's time. The English ships (5) rode low on the water-line and therefore were much harder to see in order to hit them with canon balls where the water would pour in. The Spanish ships rode higher on the water and were easy targets for the English gunners.

The Spanish ships were (6) crowded and therefore had a lot of diseases running rampant throughout the crew. The Spanish sailors (7) had no beds or hammocks to sleep in. They had to "sleep by the guns" with the deck wet. Most of the Spanish sailors had no blankets. They lived miserably on board their ships! The English sailors slept high and dry in warm hammocks.

When the Spanish Armada moved north to Calais and put into port, (8) they were trapped when Drake attacked with eight fire ships that moved in and out of the fleet, causing havoc among the sailors and their vessels. The Spanish fleet (9) was not supplied with enough ammunition, gun powder and canon balls, to fight the English. This caused many Spanish ships to sail limited in their attempt to attack the English fleet.

When the Spanish fleet moved into the English Channel, heading for England, (10) God sent a terrible storm that scattered the ships and sunk many. The English considered, rightly so, this as the miracle of miracles that really destroyed the Spanish fleet along with their plans for invading Britain. (11) Out of 128 Spanish ships, only half were saved when the battle was over.

To escape the English, the Spanish fleet circled England and passed by the shores of Ireland and Scotland. Many of the Spanish galleons (12) were wrecked on the coast with thousands of the sailors killed by the people living on the coast. Only a handful of Spanish sailors ever returned back to Spain.

Since God is the God of all of history, His providence brought on this victory for the people of the Reformation who lived in Reformation England. Many of the people of England brought their faith to our American shores. America became Reformation and Protestant and not Catholic! We are indebted to the Lord for stopping the intentions of the Catholics who wished to return the English people back to the Mother Church! —Dr. Mal Couch

Napoleon and the Jews

2011-12-11T08:00:00.000-06:00

Napoleon was changing the face of Europe. He was for the common man the hero of the western world, supposedly bent on removing or tempering the monarchies of various countries and bringing in a form of Republicanism. But he certainly was not a purest and illustrated that fact when he proclaimed himself as the Emperor of France. Many lost faith in this supposed benevolent dictator and conqueror!

But the relationship Napoleon had with the Jews is fascinating. In 1806 he summoned a grand Sanhedrin to meet in Paris. He called for the chief Rabbis from across Europe (mainly from France, Germany, and Italy), to assemble to hear his desire to bring them liberation. He was confident that he could surmount all obstructions against this people and bring them into the light of liberation. But actually, he planned to bend Judaism to fit his purposes.

At the meeting he asked the Rabbis to ponder twelve questions and bring back the answers. If they answered his questions in a positive way, Napoleon thought he could change the way Europe dealt with the isolated Jews. The next year the great Sanhedrin re-assembled and gave him his answers. Part of what he wanted to hear was that the Jewish people were willing to abide by the laws of the countries they lived in, though they would retain their Rabbinic courts for religious purposes. They would also have to agree that this great Sanhedrin would be the one and only legal tribunal for their religious decisions.

This Sanhedrin would be the central controlling body over Jewish affairs. It would appoint Rabbis, urge obedience to national laws, urge Jewish military service, order prayer for the welfare of the kings of various nations, control the lending practices of the Jewish bankers, and promote a kind of public education for the various Jewish communities.

But Napoleon’s plans backfired. The Jews across Europe sensed a trap. The mass of Israelites were by no means inclined to merge their hopes in the destinies of the French Empire and the nations it controlled. The Jews would not exchange "Zion and Jerusalem for Paris," so the saying went!

But as some of the Rabbis said, there would be "infidel Jews" who would succumb to this impious flattery. They were Jews who ignored their own Bible and traditions and desired to be part of the modern new world order. On the 15th of August, the Emperor’s birthday, these "secular" Jews blended the image of Napoleon and his wife Josephine with the name of Jehovah and elevated the imperial eagle above the representation of the Ark of the Covenant in the synagogues.

Most of the Jews were still hoping for the coming of the Messiah and the liberation from the hatred of the Gentile world. To return to the Promise Land was also the hope that filled the hearts of most Jews at that time. As rightly they should, they looked for the coming of the Messiah and the establishment of His worldwide earthly reign from Jerusalem. They, as dispensationalists do today, held to a premillennial coming of the Son of David from heaven!

But there were the compromisers and the disbelievers!

The orthodox said, "No Jew, who really adhered to the faith of his fathers, could for a moment tolerate such audacious adulation to the world, which in effect placed the Creator and the creature (i.e. Napoleon) on the same level."

Napoleon’s plan for uniting the Jews and bringing them into acceptance by the Gentile world failed. It was said that many of the Jews clung to a word of prophecy from Numbers 23:9 which read: "Behold, [we are] a people who dwells apart, and shall not be reckoned among the nations."

But there were the compromisers and the disbelievers!

For about this time, many of the Jews were rushing toward modernity and the inclusion of themselves with the Gentile cultures. Many changed their dress, changed their names, and wanted professions that made them a part of the society. This assimilation increased in momentum and continued right on up until the time of Hitler. But the Jews could not escape. Their assimilation and love of the world could not save them. The worst persecution would fall upon them when 6 million died during World War II. -- Dr. Mal Couch

The Blessings of the Battle of Omdurman

2011-12-10T08:00:00.000-06:00

Not knowing history, many today do not realize it but in 1898 Africa was temporarily saved from radical Islam by the Nile battle of Omdurman. This city was on the banks of the Nile River some distance from the sixth cataract inland on that great body of water.

In 1884 General Cyrus Gordon, the great Christian and Bible reading British General, was slain on the steps of his headquarters at Khartoum. Thousands of frenzied Muslim dervishes stormed his building. He stood before the Muslims defiant knowing that as a believer in Christ he would die a martyr's death at their hands. This revived fanatical group of Muslims wanted to conquer Africa and the entire world for Allah.

The leader of the dervishes was the Mahdi, the Muslim "messiah" who was a charismatic prophet that would conquer the world either by submission or by the sword. Everyone must submit to him and Allah. But Christian England stood in the way. (Many orthodox Muslims today are looking for the "savior," the Mahdi who will be the conqueror of the world for Allah!)

In 1898 by cool and calculated planning the English began to assemble a large army to avenge the blood of General Gordon. General Horatio Herbert Kitchener knew that the Muslim army had its headquarters on the bank of the Nile in the city of Omdurman just across from Khartoum. His army would be large and well equipped with Sudanese and Egyptian soldiers and other Africans who agreed with the British that this may be one of the final opportunities to stop the Muslims from slaughtering so many Africans and placing so many others under the sword blade of forced conversion. Conversion by the sword was their practice! (It is true however, that the Muslims let many survive if they made no disparaging remarks about Islam. But if they converted to Islam, or were born into the faith, and then left it, they could die!)

This large army set out from Cairo. A railroad was constructed southward as far as possible to take up troops and supplies. And five new river gunboats were sailed or "dragged" up the Nile to lay siege against Omdurman when the time was right and the attack begun. The Grenadier Guards, kilted Highlanders, and the 21st Lancers made the journey up river. The new Muslim leader, the Khalifa, was waiting with thousands of dervish troops in the city.

The British opened up the battle by a bombardment of canon fire from the gunboats. 5,000 African troops of the elite Camel Corps charged the dervishes. The battle was a clash of modern British weapons, but also of spears and swords. Towards the climax came the last great cavalry charge in history. The 21st Lancers charged into the dervish troops five men deep to bring about a terrible slaughter that would be used providentially to stop the inroads being made by fanatical Islam. A future world leader survived that terrible cavalry charge. A young office by the name of Winston Churchill, weighed in on his horse with pistol blazing. Many of the enemy fell in front of him.

As all oriental potentates, the Khalifa, rode on a donkey among his troops before the attack telling them that the Mahdi and the Prophet Mohammed came to him during the night promising them victory and a quick rise to paradise if they died. He added that the legions of hell would tear to shreds the spirits of the defeated Christian infidels. But victory would be theirs, paradise would be theirs, their fame would live forever. Though the masses of Muslim dervishes had heard this before they lurched forward onto the field of battle to defeat Christianity.

Thousands and thousands of the dervish forces perished in about two days time. Only a small number of the British and their allies died. At least for awhile, Islam would be blunted, at least the fanatical branch that was bent on making converts by the sword. And for some years afterward English missionaries would be free and continue to work in Africa with some semblance of safety. -- Dr. Mal Couch

The Jews and the Civil War

2011-12-09T08:00:00.000-06:00

The largest ethnic group fighting for the Confederacy during the Civil War was the Jews. It is estimated that 10,000 fought for the South. This included first through the third generations, and many old Jewish families from both the Sephardic and the Ashkenazic branches of Judaism. Jews had lived in Charleston, South Carolina since 1695. By 1800 the largest Jewish community was here. The oldest synagogue in America was in that city—Beth Elohim. By 1861, a third of all Jews in America lived in Louisiana.

It was stated by one Rabbi that only in the South were the Jews afforded such an opportunity to be completely equal. To show respect, General Robert E. Lee allowed Jewish soldiers when possible to celebrate all holy days. Unfortunately, Generals Grant and Sherman issued anti-Jewish orders.

One of the most respected officers for the South was General Abraham Myers, an 1832 West Point graduate and classmate of Lee. The city of Fort Myers was named after him. Another Jew, Major Adolph Proskauer of Mobile, Alabama, was wounded several times. One officer said of him: "I can see him now as he nobly carried himself at Gettysburg, standing coolly and calmly at the head of the 12th Alabama amid a perfect rain of bullets, shot, and shell. He was the personification of intrepid gallantry and imperturbable courage."

From North Carolina, six brothers from the Cohen family fought in the 40th Infantry. The first Confederate Jew killed in the war was Albert Lurie Moses of Charlotte. All-Jewish companies were formed from about six Confederate cities.

Many Jews became renowned after the war. Moses Jacob Ezekiel became a world famous sculptor. Judah Benjamin was the first Jewish senator and later declined a seat on the Supreme Court. He was educated at Yale. During the conflict he became the Confederacy attorney general. Physician Simon Baruch from Germany, became the surgeon general of the South. He received his medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia. If a band struck up "Dixie," Dr. Baruch would jump up and give the Rebel yell! He let loose the yell even in the Metropolitan Opera House! His son Bernard became one of the most successful financiers of the twentieth century. He became an adviser to presidents from World War I to World War II and became a confidant of President Franklin Roosevelt.

Today there is very little left of the "Jewish South." Most do not know of the contribution that large community played during those troubled times. -- Dr. Mal Couch

What it means to believe in Christ

2011-12-08T08:00:00.000-06:00

The gospel is "good news," but it is personal good news. Christ did something specific on the cross for the individual. Unless the offer of redemption is personalized, one does not become a child of God.

The Bible describes two kinds of faith or belief. (1) The intellectual brand that truly may know certain facts but those facts are not appropriated to the individual personally. The apostle James writes that the satanic forces of the underworld have this kind of belief. "You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder" (James 2:19). (2) Then there is saving faith that appropriates and takes personally the fact of Christ’s sacrifice for one’s personal sins. The writer of Hebrews goes to the heart of the matter:

For indeed we have had good news (the gospel) preached to us, just
as they (the Jews in the wilderness) also; but the word they heard did not
profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. For we
who have believed enter that rest, …" (Heb. 4:2-3)

There is always the temptation to add something to the offer of salvation. Salvation offered by Christ is not cheap. It cost Jesus a terrible death on the cross because of my sins. But all we can do as human beings is trust that sacrifice, the transaction, which has a very personal component to it. God made the good news simple and basic for me personally. I must trust what the Lord did through His Son.

Unfortunately, Roman Catholics believe that Christ died for the Church. There is rarely the statement of personal acceptance of what He did at the cross. Catholics believe they must add good works to His beginning of justification, and even with all the personal efforts in trying to complete salvation, they never really know if they are saved. This is not "good news." The Catholic system plants doubts and fear and adds self-effort in striving to "become" saved by human engineering!

But there are some Protestant groups who do the same. They add to salvation and to the gospel message: good works, water baptism, and sometimes even church membership in their group. This puts the gospel into a framework of exclusivity. You must do this or that to please God or you are not saved!

The rejection of the simple offer of salvation generally can be described as "the evil of an unbelieving heart" (Heb. 3:12). Heart usually implies emotions. But there is more. In other words when one trusts Christ, the emotions are involved (not emotionalism) but also a conscious acceptance of the Lord’s work on the cross. The mind and the soul are responding to what He’s done for us!

That belief for a human being is the major issue (the only issue) for salvation and for becoming a child of God. This is found in so many passages of Scripture. Of course there is John 3:16:

"So thus, definitely loved (Aorist Tense) The God the world, for this reason the Son, the unique born One, [God] gave in order that everyone (pas), the one who is believing into Him, should not himself be destroyed (apolumi, Aorist, Middle, Subjunctive), but (in contrast) should be having (echo, Present, Active, Subjunctive) life eternal."

You cannot squeeze any other requirement into this passage for becoming saved. The verse makes it clear that salvation is (1) by believing, (2) plus nothing else! Belief equals eternal life.

Salvation then is by grace through faith, not through works. "We maintain then a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law" (Rom. 3:28). And, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness" (4:3; Gen. 15:6).

Do not make the gospel complicated. Do not require more for becoming a child of God than the Lord does. God does not have a check list in heaven to test that one has said everything exactly perfect when coming to Christ for salvation. The Lord understands! However the main concern is that there are those who repudiate some facet of the gospel, making that fact trivial or unnecessary as to what constitutes salvation.

In working with many people who have been born again, I have never seen them deny, malign, or make light of all of the factors we have discussed in these essentials. As new born babes they embraced enthusiastically the essentials that make up the gospel message when those essentials were explained to them.

But be careful of the wolves. There are always those who would destroy the simplicity of the salvation message. May these essentials on what constitutes the gospel be a meaningful and helpful reminder to you of God’s graciousness in the plan of salvation.

Complete Justification by Faith

2011-12-07T08:00:00.000-06:00

There is no gospel without the truth of justification by faith. Some have problems getting their hands around this subject. Many do not fully understand what the doctrine is all about. Justification (dikaioo) carries the idea of being completely acquitted of sin before the bar of God. The Lord imputes (puts to our account) the very righteousness of Christ. Therefore God sees us clothed in His righteousness not our own. Paul saw the things he had accomplished as dung "in order that (as he said) I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law" (Phil. 3:8b-9). Salvation he adds, "is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith" (v. 9b).

The words justification and righteousness are really one word. "Justification" is generally the word as a verb; "righteousness" is the noun. We do not earn this justification, it is imputed, imparted to us as a free gift based on our trust in Christ.

The Roman Catholics teach that by faith one starts the justification process or that it is but the first stage towards salvation. A person then must complete justification by works, by self efforts. But the Scriptures teach that it is a completed work in that only God could accomplish such acquittal because of the work of Christ on the cross.

To be legally acquitted, or justified, is an Old Testament concept. The key verse has to do with Abraham in Genesis 15:6. Abraham believed what God had promised and God in turn then saw him as one legally acquitted in His sight. "Abraham believed God and He counted it to him for righteousness." Even Abraham and all the Old Testament saints would be justified only by the forward coming work of Christ on their behalf on the cross. In prophecy Isaiah 53:11-12 says, "My Servant (the coming Messiah) will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. … Yet He Himself will bear the sin of many, and intercede for the transgressors."

Christ illustrated this justification in His story about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in Luke 18:10-14. The self-righteous Pharisee thought he deserved the favor of God by his good deeds but then reasoned that the Lord would look down with disfavor on the Tax Collector. But it was the Tax Collector who confessed his sins. Christ said the Tax Collector "went down to his house justified rather than the (Pharisee)." When the Tax Collector cried out "God, be merciful to me, the sinner!" he was claiming the grace of God as exemplified in the Mercy Seat in the temple.

In my Luke Commentary I write,

"Paul says that God ‘justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus’ (Rom. 3:24). Now in the church age, this happens by direct trust in Jesus, the object of faith, because of His finished work at the cross. Paul says that we receive ‘the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ [meant] for all those who believe’ (Rom. 3:22)." (p. 178)

It may be said that justification is the cornerstone of salvation and the gospel. This is certainly indeed "good news." God through His Son has done it all for lost sinners.

This justification is complete and whole. We are seen as righteous as the Son of God by the fact that this righteousness has been put to our account. Whom God saves and justifies cannot be "un-justified". As with the Pharisee in the Luke 18 story, we have a choice to "be trusting in ourselves" or trusting in the finished work of Christ! Trusting Him gives eternal life and this truly is good news—the gospel!

The Resurrection of Christ

2011-12-06T08:00:00.000-06:00

There is no gospel without the truth about the resurrection. This is a cardinal doctrine of Scripture. It will be the Lord Jesus who will give new life not only to the church saints but those who have died as believers in other generations of the past.

The believers in the Old Testament and the saints in the New Testament knew well that there would be a resurrection of those who trusted in God. Great passages such as Job 19:25-27 give strong confirmation as to the resurrection. The verses read: "Though my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God; … my eyes shall see and not another." Daniel adds to this: "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt" (12:2). To make certain that Daniel understood that he too would come forth from the grave, the angel Michael who was speaking to him added: "You will enter into rest and rise again for your allotted portion at the end of the age" (v. 13).

At the death of her brother Lazarus, Martha said to Christ, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day" (John 11:23). Jesus then made it clear that He Himself would be the One who would give the power to the resurrection, for both the Old Testament saints and the believers in the coming church age. He said: "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die" (v. 25).

There are two main Greek words used for the concept of the resurrection. One is anastasis. ana=up, and stasis=to stand. Or, "to stand up." Another word is exanastasis. It comes from three words: ex=out, ana=up, and stasis=to stand. Or, "To come forth and stand up." It is found only in Philippians 3:11: Paul says, I am "being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the ‘coming forth and standing up’ from the dead."

The word "resurrection" is used fifteen times in the Gospels. The Gospels were still part of the Old Testament dispensation. This tells us the doctrine was well believed and taught among the Old Testament believers.

In the New Testament doctrine of the resurrection as it relates to church saints, Paul makes it clear we in this economy have a connection with Christ that grants us new life in Him. He says, "We have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection" (Rom. 6:5). In Paul’s definition of the gospel he said: "I delivered to you (in this gospel I preached) as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:3-4). There can be no gospel without these three main components! Because of His resurrection, and because we are now in Him, we have the guarantee of the same new eternal life.

The apostle Peter makes a direct connection between the idea of being born again, with the necessity of the resurrection. He writes, "According to His great mercy [He] has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Pet. 1:3). By this, and through the resurrection, we are given "an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you" (v. 4). Our imperishable inheritance is because we are now related to the Holy One and now receive eternal life and an eternal new body because of His work on the cross!

It must be remembered that there is also a resurrection for judgment of the lost and the wicked. Daniel mentioned this (Dan. 12:2) and so did Christ in John 5:29.

While I do not agree with everything Dr. Norman Geisler publishes, I think he has written the defining volume on the resurrection entitled: The Battle for the Resurrection published by Thomas Nelson. I believe the book is presently out of print but I urge those interested to try to obtain a copy.

Concerning the resurrection mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15, Dr. Dan Mitchell writes in his commentary: "The third truth of the gospel is ‘He was raised’ (v.4). Paul uses the aorist tense to speak of Christ’s death and burial as singular events. Now he uses the perfect passive tense to stress abiding results. Elsewhere Paul uses similar language to speak of God’s miraculous power in the performance of the resurrection (Acts 13:22, 30-37; Rom. 4:24-25)." Mitchell lists fifteen points that are highlighted about the doctrine of the resurrection in his textbook. Mitchell’s discussion on 1 Corinthians 15 is outstanding! The book is: (Mal Couch, Ed Hindson, gen. eds., The Book of First Corinthians [AMG Publications, 2004])

To tamper with the doctrine of the resurrection is to destroy the full definition of the gospel. Without the resurrection there is no gospel!

The Cross of Christ

2011-12-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

The cross is central to the message of the gospel. There are some who are now teaching a "cross-less" salvation. I need to make this clear. They believe Christ’s death on the cross is essential but that one can be saved without a reference to His work on the cross. The cross is not something magical but it was the instrument used to crucify the Son of God by which He died for sinners. If the human mind can defuse the idea of the cross, it will do so. One wonders why someone would want to downgrade or make little of the idea of the cross.

One cannot speak of the death of the Lord for sin without referring to the cross. But there must be something going on in the mind of those who may make it somewhat insignificance. I sense there is an agenda that could lead to a distortion of Jesus’ sacrifice for sinners.

The empty cross became the most important logo for Christianity. This is because of the teachings of Paul about it. He writes "For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Cor. 1:18). It was an offense that was supposed to discredit the early church (Gal. 5:11) and some tried to escape the fact that they would be persecuted for it (6:12). Paul said that he could only boast in the cross of Christ (v. 14). Christ has reconciled both Jew and Gentile together "in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity [between the two]" (Eph. 2:16). Christ did not humble Himself to just any form of death, but He became "obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Phil. 2:8).

In Paul’s day there were many who claimed Christ as Savior but the apostle wept at the fact "that they are enemies of the cross of Christ" (3:18). The Lord’s blood spelt down the cross and by this, Paul says, we have "peace through the blood of His cross" (Col. 1:20). The cross was used to inflict the most terrible of deaths, but the Lord "endured the cross, despising the shame" (Heb. 12:2). The cross is the central thought of the apostle when he thinks of the death of Christ. Paul wrote "For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2).

The death of Christ on the cross is central to our message of salvation. It is not a rabbit’s foot or something magical or mystical. But the Lord’s death was destined to be on a cross and that cannot be left out in the message of the gospel.

Christ – A Substitute for Sinners

2011-12-04T08:00:00.000-06:00

There is no gospel without the substitutionary work of Christ on the cross. He took the place of sinners under the wrath of God. This was predicted by the fact that an innocent animal had to die to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve following their disobedience to the Lord’s command to not eat of the forbidden fruit. The Lord slew an animal and "made garments of skin FOR Adam and his wife, and clothed them" (Gen. 3:21). The FOR implies clearly a covering. Their nakedness somehow exacerbated the issue of sin.

The doctrine of substitution is graphically explained in Isaiah 53 and pictorialized in all the sacrifices proscribed throughout the Old Testament. The Messiah, the Servant of God, "will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. … He will pour out Himself to death. … He will [bear] the sin of many, and intercede for the transgressors" (Isa. 53:11-12).

In the Old Testament the word most used to describe the work of the animal sacrifices is the word atonement. The idea comes from the Hebrew word kapher meaning "to cover." The animal sacrifices only covered sins for one year then had to be repeated the next. In actuality these animal sacrifices were but signs, pictures, projected pictures of what Christ would someday do in the future on the cross. They really were not efficacious. God was not really interested in the blood of bulls and goats (Heb. 10:4-6; Psa. 40:6-8). God was looking forward to the death of His Son for sinners! But with Christ’s sacrifice there would be no atonement but a final, complete and finished work, by Him, Israel’s Messiah, that once for all settled the issue of sin.

Unfortunately, there are various bogus or half-true theories of Christ’s sacrifice. There is the (1) "Ethical atonement" view that just kind of "solved" the problem of sin; the (2) "Payment-to-Satan view that would cancel out any claim the devil may have on human beings, the (3) "Recapitulation theory" which states that Christ simply did what Adam could not do and so satisfied God, the (4) "Commercial theory" that says God’s honor had been injured by sin and now Christ simply restored that honor by living a perfect life, the (5) "Moral Influence view" that states Christ primarily demonstrated the love of the Lord in such a way as to win sinners to Himself, the (6) "Duns Scotus view" that says the heavenly Father could have used anyone, even an angel, to die for sins. There are many other theories but they are all lacking in what the Bible says about the sacrifice of Christ for sinners.

Paul states the work of Christ plainly when he writes, "Christ [is] our Passover [who] has been sacrifice" (1 Cor. 5:7). Peter puts it succinctly when he writes, "For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit" (1 Pet. 3:18). Sinners who trust in Christ are "being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3:24). And, "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:3b).

Christ’s substitutionary work on the cross is absolutely essential for the gospel. Without this there is no salvation!

The Son of God – God Incarnate

2011-12-03T08:00:00.000-06:00

There would be no gospel if our Savior was not the impeccable righteous Son of God.

Jesus Christ could not save us if He were just another human being. He would be part of the sinful race, and if He tried to die in my place under the wrath of God on the cross, He would simply be dying for His own sins! The wonder of wonders—Jesus Chris is fully man (without sin) and fully God. He is the God/Man! He, the second person of the Trinity, took upon Himself flesh in order to participate in the human race. The proof of His uniqueness is His virgin birth. The sin nature was not passed down to Him because He had no human father. Mary gave Christ His humanity; but He was mysteriously birth by the work of the Spirit of God. He was conceived in the womb of Mary but the active agent in that conception was the Holy Spirit. The angel told Mary, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35).

Recently, a Bible church pastor made the comment that Christ did not sin but that He could have! In my opinion this is almost heresy and it certainly does not reflect an understanding that Christ is actually God, the second person of the Trinity—and God cannot sin! This pastor’s statement tells me volumes about the theological training he did or did not receive!

The Scripture tells us: "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15). Note that He was tempted many times, in many ways ("in all things") yet He was without sin (in the singular), meaning He did not have the sin propensity, as in the imputed sin transmitted through Adam.

Hebrews further tells us, Christ was a high priest who was "holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners" (7:26). Paul adds that God made Christ "who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21). And, Christ in His very nature is "the Holy and Righteous One" (Acts 3:14). He is the One "who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth" (1 Pet. 2:22; Isa. 53:9).

Jesus Christ then is not simply a "way-shower," a good prophet, a great philosopher and teacher. He did not die simply a martyr’s death, the death of a contrary political leader, or one who was just misunderstood by His people. He was perfect in His nature and perfect then in His activities while on earth. No one else could substitute for sinners under the wrath of God. By His death, and by the faith of the recipient of His work on the cross, sinners are declared justified and exonerated from sin.

Paul Enns well writes:
Christ’s divine nature was impeccable. Although Christ had two natures, He was nonetheless one Person and could not divorce Himself of His deity. Wherever He went, the divine nature was present. If the two natures could be separated then it could be said that He could sin in His humanity, but because the human and divine natures cannot be separated from the Person of Christ, and since the divine nature cannot sin, it must be affirmed that Christ could not have sinned. (Moody Handbook of Theology, p. 237)

Only God, God the Son, because of His holiness, could save His own creatures. He bore the wrath for sin. This is an extremely important component of the gospel! Anything less is not the gospel.

The Issue of Sin

2011-12-02T08:00:00.000-06:00

The gospel is the good news (uangelion) that God has saved, spared, delivered, rescued us from sin that has entrapped and snared us. Salvation is distinctly a rescue operation from the power and the penalty of sin. And sin is "the missing the mark" (hamartia) with the results that men have fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). This implies that human beings can no longer measure up to who God is. Sin then will keep a person from the presence of the Lord, and even more, that person must die because God cannot tolerate sin in His universe!

Any presentation of a gospel message that ignores the problem of sin, is not the gospel of Scripture. "What are people being saved from?" must be part of the mix. It is a key component of what the gospel is all about. Just as there can be no "Christ-less" gospel, there can be no removal of the problem of sin from the presentation of the gospel. There are those who want to proclaim a "positive" gospel that paints over the subject of sin. It is an effort to avoiding something unpleasant and negative. But this is a modern secular psychological ploy to simply use a salvation vocabulary with SIN, one of the key ingredients removed from the formula and from the definition.

John the Baptist made it clear that Christ came to "take away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). John alludes to Isaiah 53 that tells us why the Messiah must die. Isaiah says the Suffering Servant must die "for our transgressions" (53:5a) and be "crushed for our iniquities" (53:5b). The lost require a "healing" (53:5c) because like sheep they have "gone astray" (v. 6). "But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him" (v. 6b). Notice that the Messiah will be dying for iniquities (plural) and for the principle of sin in the singular, iniquity (v. 6b). The penalty of sin must fall upon the Messiah. He will bear the iniquities of sinners, but in doing so, as God’s Servant, He "will justify the many" (v. 11). In doing this He will have to die (v. 12) and intercede for the transgressors (v. 12b).

One cannot understand the full implications of the story of the Fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve, without understanding the consequences of sin. Sin entered into the world through Adam’s transgression which then brought on death (Rom. 5:12). The wages of sin is death (6:23), Christ died for sins (1 Cor. 15:3), and gave Himself for our sins (Gal. 1:4). By His blood shed on the cross, we now have forgiveness of sins (Col. 1:14). And finally the last book of the Bible tells us that Christ’s blood "washed us from our sin" (Rev. 1:5).

Though there is much more that can be said about sin and its relation to the gospel in defining it, 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 gives many of the required components. On the issue of sin these verses tell us "that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures" (v. 3). There can be no understanding about the gospel without fully understanding why Christ died—to save us from our sins! Secular psychology has put a coat of paint over the subject of sin. It has almost been removed from the language of evangelism. And it has been removed as part of the problem of how and why the believer struggles today.

The gospel is about Christ saving us from both the penalty and the power of sin. The substitutionary work of Christ upon the cross is infinitely perfect in its sufficiency. Therefore the sinner who trusts in Christ not only is forgiven, but he is even justified forever (Rom. 3:24). God has never treated sin lightly. Forgiveness may impose no burden on the sinner, but he is forgiven and justified only because the undiminished divine penalty has been borne by Christ (1 Pet. 2:24; 3:18).

The Death of the Doctrine of Sin by Dr. Mal Couch

2011-11-30T08:00:00.000-06:00

All of the collective evil in the universe is described by the biblical noun sin (hamartia). From this word we come to the study of sin, hamartiology. Sin is difficult to describe from the human standpoint because only the results can be observed. Sin then is an attitude, a state of being that can be classified as rebellion, first and foremost against God. The state of sin then produces sins that translate into rebellious acts against God and others. Sin is the overwhelming cause of all that is wrong in the universe and in the sphere of humanity.

Harmartia basically means to miss the mark. Since all are sinners, humanity misses the mark of God’s standards and glory. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). In other words, human beings cannot measure up to God or His divine requirements. The world is in trouble and cut off from its Creator! But how did it get into this mess? And, if God is sovereign, why did He allow sin to enter into the universe? The Scriptures give answers, though because of the finite mind of human beings, they are difficult to fully comprehend.

Sin and God’s Decree

The Scriptures tell us, "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons" (Deut. 29:29). When pondering the mystery of sin in the universe, there is much that is hidden from the limited human mind. Why did God allow sin? Could He have prevented the fall of Lucifer or Adam? Is sin greater in power than God?

Much cannot be answered when thinking about such eternal, weighty matters. But the Bible makes it clear that there is a master plan that is summed up in the word decree. The Scriptures speak of a single decree under which are an infinite number of commands given by the Lord. He has chosen to unfold time and history chronologically, but He sees all things as a complete whole and may carry out, as He wishes, His program from beginning to end. This includes the outworking even of sin.

When God made Lucifer, did He not know that this angelic being would revolt and carry off with him a host of angelic beings? The answer of course is yes. Then somehow in the deep recesses of providence, sin and rebellion is no accident to God. Neither did it destroy a plan conceived in the heart of the Lord.

The Word of God speaks of a single degree. God "has made a decree which will not pass away" (Psalm 148:6); and, "The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation" (33:11). Though in Ephesians 1:11 the context is about predestination, Paul gives a general principle when he says that salvation comes about "according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will." All things would certainly have to include all things, somehow even evil!

If God is in absolute control of all things, how can created beings still be held responsible? Though this is difficult to reconcile, the Bible clearly proclaims both to be true. Though this is an inscrutable mystery, everything is working out according to God’s purposes. Isaiah writes that the Lord is "declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure" (46:10).

The Origin of Sin

Sin began with the rebellion against God by the angelic host in eternity past. In two cryptic passages of the Old Testament the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel give a pre-historic view of the fall of Satan and the angelic realm. Isaiah 14:12-21 and Ezekiel 28:11-19 give the ancient account of the revolt of Lucifer and a innumerable company of other angelic beings from the domain of God.

Isaiah 14:12-21

After a poetic taunt against the sovereign and king of Babylon and that empire’s system of evil (Isa. 14:4-11), the prophet Isaiah seems to suddenly goes beyond his words of judgment and speaks of another being, a creature that is other-worldly and existing far-higher beyond the historic events in Babylon.

A heavenly creature called "the star of the morning" and "son of the dawn" or Lucifer, plummeted from the throne of God and came into the realm of earth, whereby he "weakened the nations" (v. 12). With five boastful "I will" statements this angelic being sought to place himself above other angels in order to make himself "like the Most High" (v. 14).

For these proud efforts to dethrone God, he was cast from the heavenlies to the earth. This fall made the earth tremble and, in the course of history, would shake nations and kingdoms (v. 16).

The title of this being is Lucifer, the "star of the morning," of whom Archer writes is the Roman name for the morning star. At dawn this star disappears "before the far greater splendor of the sun. This title is addressed to the king of Babylon … as a representative or embodiment of Satan, who is regarded as the power behind the king’s throne. The titanic pride and ambition expressed in verses 13, 14 are out of place on any lips but Satan’s."1

Ezekiel 28:11-19

What is happening in this passage is similar to the Isaiah passage. Ezekiel’s prophetic words in 28:1-10 addresses a human sovereign and tyrant, the king of Tyre, but verses 11-19 go far beyond the worldly king to one who was "full of wisdom and perfect in beauty … in Eden, the garden of God" (v. 13). This personality was "the anointed cherub" (v. 14), who was "blameless in your ways from the day you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you … and you sinned" (vv. 15-16). This angelic being was then cast forth from the presence of God (v. 16) and someday he will be judged and will be no more (vv. 18-19). Commenting on verses 11-19 about Satan, Unger writes

Such terminology is most inappropriate from the lips of the Lord
concerning a fallen man, who at best was but a pagan monarch.
The expression, however, is filled with meaningful truth when
applied to the greatest angelic being in his original unfallen state.
This great passage is of tremendous import, recording the origin
of sin and Satan and the character and panoramic career of the
greatest of the angels. … This revelation is made under the king
of Tyre because of the very close connection between human
government of the fallen world system and Satan and the powers
of darkness as the superhuman agencies, who are the real actors
behind the scenes.2

Revelation 12:1-17

Jesus seems to refer back to the events of the fall of Satan (Luke 10:17-20). When the seventy disciples returned with the report, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name" (v. 17), He quickly responds to them by adding, "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning" (v. 18). In the grammar it is better to translate Christ’s words as they are in an imperfect or past tense. "I saw Satan fall …"

This same historic past seems to be in Revelation 12:1-17. Chapters 12-15 give the reader a reprieve from the ongoing hammering of the judgments falling in the earth. The author John the apostle pauses in his prophetic chronology to tell of other important events that parallel his central narrative. Chapter 12 then speaks of the fall of Satan from heaven and his pursuit through history of the woman, Israel, and her male child, the Messiah (vv. 5-6).

Verse 4 goes on and describes the fall of Satan ("the star of the morning") in eternity past. Then verse 9 addresses his accelerated activity on earth at the midpoint of the Tribulation. Morris writes, "the remarkable vision seen by John in this chapter looks back first of all to the very beginning of earth history, then races forward to the time of Christ and finally to the events still to be consummated in this final period. This review was necessary for John (and for us) to comprehend the full significance of the great sign about to be unveiled."3

Revelation 12 sets up the great and terrible satanic conflict between Christ and the Devil that so dominates the history of the heaven and the earth. The climax of this comes in the Tribulation where Satan accuses the saints before God (v. 12), but the time will come in the Tribulation when he will be "thrown down" (v. 10). Being cast to the earth, he will persecute believers in an attitude of "great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time" (v. 12).

Fall of Adam

The Genesis 3:1-19 account of the sin of our first parents, has left awesome scars of judgment upon the human race. From this passage the doctrine of the Fall originates. The story is true though it certainly is probably abbreviated and compressed. Innocence is the best way to describe the moral and spiritual state of Adam and his wife Eve before chapter three. They had not sinned and "were not ashamed" of their nakedness before God (2:25). Satan using a serpent as an instrument to beguile, "deceived Eve by his craftiness" (2 Cor. 11:3).

In contrast to what the Lord said to Adam in 2:17 about not eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Satan told Eve (1) she would not die, (2) that her eyes would be opened, "and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (3:5). Eve saw the food was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise (v. 6). Eating of the tree, she shared the food also with Adam (v. 6b). Though Eve was emotionally quite or extremely deceived (1 Tim. 2:14), the apostle Paul makes sure it is understood that Adam was simply deceived though through him sin, with its rebellion, entered into the world and would be passed down through his posterity (Rom. 5:12-19).

The work of Satan is the machination of deceit. The story makes it clear that it was not simply an animal that came to Eve, but the destroyer of souls whose evil inspires the most wicked lusts and designs of men. Though we may not fully understand the importance of the forbidden tree, God must have certainly had His reasons for the prohibition. Can human beings, even our first parents, completely trust the wisdom of the Creator?

Here is the root of all man’s intransigence: the revealed will of the
all-wise, all-powerful, loving God is impugned by unreasoning
arbitrariness being attributed to God. Man is asked to be a judge of
God! Man is asked to become his own god.
The effectiveness of Satan’s method lies in the appeal to base
carnality. Already are evident the proofs of success. First a
question to arouse doubt, then appeal to a supposed sense of
deprivation, finally an awakening of the sensual appetites were
effective to bring on the failure of Adam and Eve in their probation.4

The Central Issues Concerning Sin

Pride, disobedience, rebellion, and ingratitude seem to be at the heart of sin.

When the Lord God confronted Adam and Eve, He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" (Gen. 3:11). Adam quickly placed the blame of the sin of disobedience onto Eve and said, "The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate" (v. 12). When the Lord asked Eve, "What is this you have done?" she also responded by deflecting her own guilt and said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate" (v. 13).

It could be argued that pride became the root of disobedience and rebellion. Both Adam and Eve seem to be saying that they know better than the Lord in the issue of the prohibition that He placed upon them.

The apostasy of man is his fall from the obedience owed to God,
or a transgression of the law of God. … The first motion and step in
this disobedience was the disordered desire for some superiority
due to pride of mind. So that she might obtain this superiority—
God’s prohibition being laid aside in her unfaithfulness—[Eve]
willed to test the forbidden fruit to see if it would confer such
superiority. … Therefore the gravity of this sin, containing not
only pride, ingratitude, and unfaithfulness, but also a violation of
a most sacred oath showed, as it were, a general profession of
disobedience.5

Though Satan is a superior being to Adam and Eve, he was not the compelling cause of their sin, though he certainly was involved in placing before them the temptation. No one, even on this side of the fall, can say "the devil made me do it." Despite the power of sin even now in the children of Adam, personal responsibility looms large in human affairs. However, it is true that the devil is called "the tempter" (Matt. 4:3).

Biblical Words for Sin

Old Testament. There are at least eight key words that describe sin. One of the most common is chata, used over 500 times. The word is the equivalent of the Greek word hamartano and means to miss the mark. The word pictures the shooting of an arrow that falls short of the target. The word implies both a passive and an active idea. To miss the mark means that one has come short of what is right but also has fallen into rebellion, gross evil, idolatry, or ceremonial sin. Some important passages: (Exod. 20:20; Judges 20:16; Prov. 8:36).

The Hebrew word ra can refer to breaking or ruining something. It is often used to describe overt wickedness, an action that is injurious, as well as something that is simply morally wrong (Gen. 3:5; 38:7; Judges 11:27). Pasha means to rebel or transgress (1 Kings 12:19; Isa. 1:2); shagag is used to describe a staggering drunkard or a sheep going astray. It implies that the one going astray knew what was commanded in the Law (Lev. 4:2; Num. 15:22). Taah is a sin that, though not accidental, implies the person may not have realized its full scope. (Num. 15:22; Psa. 58:3; Isa. 53:6; Ezek. 44:10, 15)

New Testament. There are about twelve main words describing sin. Hamartia is the most common and is used over 200 times. The word was used in the Greek games to mean that one had fallen short of a target with an arrow or javelin. Poneros implies gross moral sin, even sexual deviation. It is even used of the demons whom are described as evil spirits. (Luke 11:26; Acts 19:12; Rom. 12:9; 1 Thess. 5:22)

The adverb kakos is often used to describe physical badness, even disease (Mark 1:32). It then is applied to the issue of moral evil. (Rom. 12:17; 13:3-4, 10; 16:19; 1 Tim. 6:10) There is also the word adikia (unrighteousness, Rom. 1:18); anomos (lawless, iniquity, 1 Tim. 1:9); paraptoma and parabates (transgression, falling away, Rom. 2:23; 5:15-20; Gal. 6:1; Eph. 2:1; James 5:16). Hypocrisis "incorporates three ideas: to interpret falsely as an oracle might do, to pretend as an actor does, and to follow an interpretation known to be false. … False teachers of the end times will interpret falsely and pretend to be what they are not, and many will follow their teaching (1 Tim. 4:2). Hypocrites first deceive themselves into making wrong right; then they deceive others."6

Conclusion. (1) Sin involves pride and arrogance. (2) It is an attitude and also an action that has to do with disobedience, revolt, and rebellion. (3) It goes against instructions, commandments, and laws. (4) It has many forms and shades of expression. (5) It almost always involves actions that harm others. (6) Finally, sin and the sins that follow are ultimately against God!

The Response of God to Sin

Because of the holiness, righteousness, and justice of God, He must respond with judgment against those who sin, and, who by nature are sinners.
Because of His love for humanity, God made a provision for mercy and redemption by the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross for humanity. And,
even the devil and his angels will face a final judgment and an eternal punishment and separation from their Creator.
Ultimately, sin will be finally judged and eradicated from the universe.

The Scriptures are replete with passages that speak of human responsibility and a judgment against sin. That judgment would include both a progressive physical death and a spiritual separation from a righteous God. Adam was told that if he ate of the forbidden tree, "you shall surely die" (Gen. 2:17b). The Hebrew text reads, "dying you shall die," and, "you [shall] return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (3:19b). A curse would fall also upon everything, even nature, "Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you" (v. 18a).

Judgment then would touch all human beings as people began to multiply on the face of the earth. Ezekiel says, "the soul who sins will die" (Ezek. 18:4). Paul writes, "the judgment arose from one transgression … by the transgression of the one [Adam], death reigned through the one" (Rom. 5:16-17).

In an extremely important but cryptic passage, Genesis tells us, "the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them" (3:21). God Himself slew an animal and covered their nakedness. Though today we do not fully understand the implications of Adam and Eve being without covering before they sinned, their perceiving their own nakedness after their sin played a role in their guilt. God slaying the animal was prophetic of the fact that something innocent died as a substitute and a covering for sin. This of course was pointing to the substitutionary death of Christ.

Like a sacrificial lamb Jesus was "pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities" (Isa. 53:5). Christ’s death would be a just satisfaction with God for sin. By faith, humans could be legally acquitted before the bar of God! "But God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him" (Rom. 5:8-9).

Jesus said there is an eternal damnation and fire reserved for the first rebellion of Satan and the fallen angels (Matt. 25:41). Along with the beast or antichrist, and the false prophet of the book of Revelation, Satan will spend eternity in "the lake of fire and brimstone" (Rev. 20:10). Knowing that "he has only a short time" (12:12) to practice his evil, Satan will intensify his activity with "great wrath" during the seven year Tribulation period. But to no end; his fate, and the fate of the "angels who did not keep their own domain … is sealed under darkness for the judgment of the great day" (Jude 6)!

After the final judgments, eternity begins in which the Lord on His throne says, "Behold, I am making all things new" (Rev. 21:5b). This includes the new heavens and new earth where there is "no longer … any death; [and] there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away" (v. 4). In this blessed and glorious eternal state there will be no more sin (v. 27; 22:15). God the Father, and Christ the Lamb of God, will be the personification of the temple, the throne, and the lamp to illumine eternity (21:22-22:5). Sin and its universal destruction will be done away with.

Imputation of Sin

The apostle deals with the positive doctrine of the imputation of the righteousness of Christ to the account of the believer in Romans 4:1-11. But he also quotes Psalm 32:2 where king David writes of the blessedness of forgiveness. "How blessed is the man to whom the does not impute iniquity" (italics mine). Here David implies that sin is indeed imputed to one’s account unless he is blessed with the forgiveness and mercy of God. In verse 1 he writes, "How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered."

In Greek, logizomai is the word that means to impute, put to one’s account. In Romans 4 Paul puts a twist on the subject and shows how the righteousness of Christ is imputed when one accepts Him as his Savior. But many verses still imply imputation of sin.

Some of the other most important passage on this subject are found in Romans 5 where Paul writes, "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned" (v. 12), and, "By the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one" (v. 17a). Finally, "So then as through one transgression [Adam’s] there resulted condemnation to all men" (v. 18).

Both imputation of sin to the human race and imputation of the righteousness of Christ for the believer are judicial issues. God declares the children of Adam guilty because of "the principle of sin" by which the race was polluted.

Some have raised the question, is it fair for God to condemn all humanity because of the sin of Adam? Though we may attempt to argue with that view, the fact is all human beings are sinners. King David seems to imply that he came about as a sinner from the moment of his physical conception. He writes "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me" (Psalm 51:5). Paul seems to add to this when he says the lost are "by nature children of wrath" (Eph. 2:3). He confirms this when he goes on and says with David, "There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands (spiritual things), there is none who seeks for God; … there is none who does good, there is not even one" (Rom. 3:10-18; Psalm 14:1-3).

Paul clearly is saying that there are none that have it within their nature to be righteous. Everyone grows up a sinner because of inherent sin. However, the apostle goes on and makes certain we understand that all men will practice sin when he says, "all sinned" (Rom. 5:12b). Looking to such acts, he writes further, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (3:23).

Other verses add to this: "There is no man who does not sin" (1 Kings 8:46); "There is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins" (Eccl. 7:20); "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way" (Isa. 53:6); "For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. And there is no one who calls on Thy name" (64:6-7a).

While theologians have argued for generations whether sin is imputed originally through Adam, or simply an accumulation of specific evil acts, it seems clear that Scripture is laying both charges against the human race. The clay of humanity was polluted, with the results, that people indeed sin by natural inclination.

What the Scriptures so clearly teach is taught no less clearly by
experience and history. Every man knows that he himself is a sinner.
He knows that every human being whom he ever saw, is in the same
state of apostasy from God. History contains the record of no sinless
man, save the Man Christ Jesus, who, by being sinless, is distinguished
from all other men. We have no account of any family, tribe, or nation
free from the contamination of sin. The universality of sin among men
is therefore one of the most undeniable doctrines of Scripture, and one
of the most certain facts of experience.7

Federal Headship Theory

This issue of how the human race is related to Adam and his sin, is complicated by the Federal Headship view that was espoused under the title of Federal Theology as developed by Coccejus (1602-1669), professor at Franecker and Leyden in Germany. Known as the father of Covenant Theology, Coccejus also taught that Adam stood before the Lord in Eden totally as a free agent. But since they represent all of humanity that would follow, when they sinned their guilt and depravity was passed down to their posterity. The question of unfairness arises—did God simply in an arbitrary manner input Adam’s sin to us by a judicial degree, or is their some kind of realistic or genetic passing down of the sin nature? Thiessen answers:

Both the realistic and the federal theory of the imputation of sin have
seemingly insurmountable problems associated with them; yet they also
solve certain problems. Perhaps there is a mediating position which
contains both the representative concept and the natural relationship
to Adam.8a

The Doctrine of Depravity

Sometimes this doctrine is called Total Depravity. This says that all of humanity is capable of any and all sin, though not everyone sins in an equal manner. Some people are more evil than others. And some sin in the mind and heart, though not carrying out in the open all the vice they are capable of. Thiessen writes,

Man’s want of original righteousness and of holy affections toward God,
and the corruption of his moral nature and his bias toward evil is
called depravity. Its existence is witnessed to by both Scripture and human
experience. The teaching of Scripture that all men must be born again
shows the universality of its existence.8

Hodge adds,

This universal depravity of men is no slight evil. The whole human
race, by their apostasy from God, are totally depraved. By total
depravity, is not meant that all men are equally wicked; nor that any
man is as thoroughly corrupt as it is possible for a man to be; nor that
men are destitute of all moral virtues. … The apostasy from God is
total or complete. All men worship and serve the creature [or created
thing] rather than, and more than the Creator. They are all therefore
declared in Scripture to be spiritually dead. They are destitute of any
principle of spiritual life.9

Romans 1:18-3:20 is the central passage on human depravity. The apostle Paul argues that from the creation of the world, God’s "invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen … so that [people] are without excuse" (1:20). Paul then adds that the Lord gave men over to lusts, degrading passions, and "a depraved mind, to do the things which are not proper" (vv. 24, 26, 28).

It is quite evident that many unsaved people, when judged by man’s
standards, do possess admirable qualities and do perform virtuous acts.
But in the spiritual realm, when judged by God’s standards, the
unsaved sinner is incapable of good. The natural man is enslaved to
sin; he is a child of Satan, rebellious toward God, blind to truth,
corrupt, and unable to save himself or to prepare himself for salvation.
In short, the unregenerate man is DEAD IN SIN, and his WILL IS
ENSLAVED to his evil nature.10

The Scriptures make it clear how tenacious evil really is: "Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then you also can do good who are accustomed to do evil?" (Jer. 13:23).

The Effect of Sin on Nature

The globe was made to be inhabited by earthly, created beings (Isa. 45:18), therefore when our early ancestors turned from the Lord, the planet was likewise condemned byh human presence. The ground would be cursed and would yield thorns and thistles (Gen. 3:17-19). "Creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of [God] who subjected it. … For we know the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now" (Rom. 8:20-22). More than likely the apostle Paul means by this, decay, disease, and death. But with the ultimate redemption of the children of God, someday "creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption" (v. 21).

The End of the Reign of Sin

When the one-thousand year kingdom is established, the physical earth will have a respite from the curse, though the final purge of sin will not take place until the establishment of the eternal new heaven and new earth. During the kingdom, Christ the Lord will reign in perfect judgment through the power of the Holy Spirit upon Him (Isa. 11:1-5). To some extent nature will be tamed with the result that "the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little boy will lead them" (v. 6). Some of earth’s most dangerous animals (vv. 7-8) "will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain" (v. 9a).

Though these verses describe a marvelous and blessed day for earth when Christ reigns, it is probably best to say that the cruelties of nature are controlled by His authority during this period but not eliminated altogether. That will take place as eternity begins following the final sentencing to doom of Satan, his angels, the beast or antichrist, and the false prophet (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:10), and as well, the final judgment of the lost (vv. 11-15).

With the new heaven and the new earth, biology as we know it will be radically altered. There will be no ocean (21:1), though in the new Jerusalem a single river will flow called "the water of life" (22:1). The tree of life will also be there bearing a new fruit each month (v. 2). All we are told of its significance is that it is "for the healing of the nations." Speculation about this is useless because there is so little information given on what all this means. The river and the tree are certainly supernatural and carry eternal significance that we are presently incapable of understanding.

In the eternal state, God "shall wipe away every tear from [the saint’s] eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain" (21:4). The apostle John adds, "there shall no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in" the new Jerusalem (22:3).

The Effect of Sin in History

As the tribes of the earth began to spread and grow in numbers, the sin of Adam was passed down and polluted the growing populations of human beings. Sin became rampant as indicated in Genesis 6-11. The Lord said, "My Spirit shall not strife with man forever, because he also is flesh" (6:3), and, "The wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (v. 5). This brought about "the end of all flesh" (v. 13) with the worldwide flood described in detail in chapters 7-8.

Through righteous Noah and his immediate family, God preserved a human posterity. But the issue of sin continued because of the blight on humanity from Adam. By the time of Genesis 11, people had repopulated the earth with the evilness of heart still intact. As men gathered in the plain of Shinar to build the great tower the Lord declared, "nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them" (11:6). The scattering of the tribes, and the confusion of human language by the Lord, slowed the process of evil to a degree, but certainly not in a permanent way. Unrighteousness would mushroom with idolatry and polytheism following.

Because of human intelligence, civilization would become more technical and astute with invention, art, and learning. But sin and injustice has never been abated (and then only to a degree) except when a portion of the peoples of a nation accepted Christianity. Otherwise, paganism has flourished and will only grow more intense. Nations of course are made up of individuals; and as people go morally, so the nations of the world!

The nations as systems and as populations will be judged at the end of history. The psalmist David speaks of the king-priest, the Lord Jesus, who will sit at the right hand of His Father and judge the nations. David writes, "He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath, He will judge among the nations" (Psalm 110:5-6). At the end of history, in the tribulation, the nations become enraged at the Lord (Rev. 11:18), they join forces with the antichrist, worship him (13:7-8), and then fall under the deception of the harlot (17:15). The nations are brought to their knees by the second coming of Christ when He will "smite the nations; and … will rule them with a rod of iron" (19:15).

At the end of the kingdom reign of the Lord, the nations will be populated by thousands who refuse Him as Savior and rebel against His kingly sovereignty. Satan will be released from his place of confinement, "and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth" (20:8) and come against Christ and His capitol of Jerusalem (v. 9a). The rebellious nations are finally destroyed with fire coming down from heaven (v. 9b). With this judgment, the earthly human systems of government will finally and completely end.

The Role of Satan and the Demons

Satan is called the tempter (1 Thess. 3:5), the devil who deceives (Rev. 20:10), the angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14), the liar, the father of lies, the murderer (John 8:44), the evil one (1 John 5:19), the spirit working in the sons of disobedience (Eph. 2:2), and the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4).

Other titles and descriptions of him make it clear that he is the arch-enemy of God the Father and the Son, and humanity itself. Though tempting people to sin, human beings are still responsible for their transgressions that fly in the face of the laws of God.

The fallen angels, who became the earthly demons are called "deceitful spirits," who cause apostates to pay attention to their diabolical doctrines (1 Tim. 4:1). These same beings energize the worship given to idols. Idolatry inspires people to turn from God to the dark spirit world. This is the abode of demonology.

In the tribulation demons will be extremely active in keeping the world in sin. Revelation 9:1-12 visualizes the demon locust that are propelled forth from the "shaft of the abyss" (v. 2) to torment the people of earth. A second paragraph (vv. 13-21) portrays this demonic activity in the form of horses and horsemen who both kill (v. 15) and bring plagues and fire on mankind (v. 18). Despite the serpent-like pain inflicted (v. 19), the world continues to worship demons and idols "which can neither see nor hear nor talk" (v. 20b). Though they bring harm, the demons also seem to prevent those in the seven-year tribulation from repenting of their murders, sorceries, immorality, and their thefts (v. 21).

Satan and his demonic emissaries work intently to keep the world in the clutches of sin and rebellion. This of course consigns the world to its own spiritual deprivation and prevents its inhabitants from turning to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. However, at the cross, the Lord had the final say against Satan and his demonic forces when He "appeared for this purpose that He might destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8b).

The Holy Spirit and the Conviction of Sin

The Lord told His disciples that, when the Holy Spirit came following His "going away," He "will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment" (John 16:8). The Greek word for convict (elencho) and is translated to correct, censure, rebuke, and may even have the force of to punish. John 16 then "describes the work of the Paraclete as that of the defending attorney and the prosecutor in a trial. … Jesus is in the right as the Paraclete uncovers the nature of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Through this revelation the Paraclete convicts the world."10b

Jesus adds, "concerning sin, because they [those of the world] do not believe in Me; … and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged" (vs. 9, 11). Sin, and its judgment, hangs as a thick cloud over the human race. The Holy Spirit by a subtle inner testimony, witnesses to humanity’s sinfulness, and acts of sin. He testifies of God’s demands, and "of man’s disobedience, and of the consequences of God’s broken Law. … But the Spirit speaks also of righteousness, as the result of Christ’s finished work" on the cross.10c This convicting work of the Spirit does not lead to Efficacious Grace, but is generally classified under what is termed General Grace. General Grace includes this witness and convicting work of the Holy Spirit, and, the witness "of the glory of God" in the heavens (Psalm 19:1), and the handiwork of "His eternal power and divine nature" exhibited in "the creation of the world" (Rom. 1:20). But this evidence does not bring human beings to a conviction of receiving of Christ as Savior. This coming to Christ happens by a sovereign work of efficacious calling.

The Difference Between Sin and Sins

When sin is mentioned in the singular it usually is referring to the principle of original sin and its consequences of spiritual separation and death. "Sin entered into the world, and death through sin" (Rom. 5:12). Continuing his discussion of sin, Paul refers to it as transgression (v. 15), and disobedience (v. 19). Original sin is a habitual deviation of the whole nature of an individual, or a turning away from the righteous demands of God. Because it is the corruption of the whole person, the Bible speaks of the old man (Rom. 6:6, Eph. 4:22); the body of sin (Rom. 6:6); a law of the members (Rom. 7:23); flesh (John 3:6; Rom 7:5, 18, 25).

Sins (plural) that come forth from the principle of sin are actual and they are deviations of human actions from what is right. They are also a turning aside from God (1 John 3:4). Sins come forth from original sin as an act that follows a habit, or as a person’s misdeed that flows from a fault of his nature. Sins may vary in degree and intensity and even harm done to others. Nevertheless, the slightest sin committed is still sin and deserves judgment.

With original sin, all human beings who are descendants of Adam die, because of his "one transgression" (Rom. 5:18). Likewise, "the soul who sins shall die" (Ezek. 18:4). Christ substituted for us on the cross, and under the wrath of God, to set us free from the principle of sin, and the curse of sin. God the Father "made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21). But Jesus also died for all sins ever committed. Paul writes, "For I delivered to you as of first important what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:3). Christ became a second Adam in that He brought about for humanity just the opposite of the judgment of our first parent: "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive" (v. 22).

1 Corinthians 15:22 must not be misunderstood. The apostle Paul is writing about the death sentence that came upon all human beings who are related to Adam. Only those who believe in Christ, are actually in Christ and thus made alive. Some have mistakenly thought Paul was teaching a form of universalism and saying all of humanity is actually spiritually related to Jesus. But only those who come to Him by faith are given this new life.

The Purpose of the Law

There is a lot of confusion about the Old Testament Law and its purposes. It was never given as a system of salvation but as a code of conduct. Though it was an entire body of legal demands, it was divided into three parts: (1) the moral requirements, (2) the civil rules, and (3) the ceremonial laws that governed the tabernacle and later the temple rituals. Israel was most blessed to have the Law because it was a gracious system that fenced out the paganism of the cultures of the world. In addition, the Law reflected (1) the righteous and moral nature of God, (2) His righteous demands upon His people, (3) the awful penalty for sin, as illustrated with the animal sacrifices—a sign that something innocent had to die for their lawlessness, and, (4) with the sacrifices, a way was shown how the people could achieve forgiveness and a restored relationship with the Lord.

In a prophetic sense, the Law was but "a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things" (Heb. 10:1). By this the writer of Hebrews goes on and reminds his readers that "it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (v. 4) but that sins were finally purged by the Christ who "having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God (v. 12). The Lord Jesus was the fulfillment of all the Law. He "perfected for all time those who are sanctified" (v. 14). "He takes away the first [the Law system] in order to establish the second [the way of faith alone]" (v. 9). Thus, "there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins" (v. 26b).

By the time of Christ, many of the Jewish people mistakenly thought the Mosaic Law was a way of salvation. As children of Abraham, if they kept the Law, they thought they would have eternal life. Paul acknowledges the Law is good (1 Tim. 1:18), but it becomes an instrument of judgment for those who fail to keep it—which happens to be all of humanity! The apostle James shows that the Law convicts as transgressors those who do not keep it (James 2:9b), and that if one point is broken, the transgressor "has become guilty of all [of it]" (v. 10b).

The Law is "the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth (Rom. 2:20b), but it cannot save. It reminds people they are sinners (vv. 21-22) and it speaks to all who are under it and causes them to "become accountable to God" (3:19). It reveals the absolute perfection and righteousness of God (3:21). Therefore, "by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin" (v. 20), and then "the Law brings wrath" (4:15).

Because of its heavy judgment, the Law becomes a tutor (a slave-custodian who leads the child to school) "to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith" (Gal. 3:24). God used the Law to "shut up all men under sin" (v. 22a) because it could never "impart life" (v. 21b). Shut up (sunkleio) means "to imprison, confine, enclose." The Law brings about such condemnation in order to make us plead to Christ for deliverance and salvation.

Because sin hangs so heavy over humanity collectively, and obviously over each individual as well, no one can appease God or become righteous in His sight be doing anything! Thus, by self-works or Law-keeping, no one can become legally acquitted from the charge of sinfulness before God. Paul writes, "to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness" (Rom. 4:5).

Sin and the Cross

Being helpless, human beings needed a declaration of forgiveness that only God could accomplish through the death of His Son at the cross. Paul puts the problem and the solution succinctly when he writes, "When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, [God] made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross" (Col. 2:13-14). Paul sees sin as bringing about such a divine edict and judgment against us that only an infinitely valuable price may satisfy the Lord. The price was paid for at the cross by the death of His only begotten Son.

To human reasoning, "Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness" (1 Cor. 1:23). The substitutionary death of Jesus is the only way the human sin problem could be solved. Paul emphasizes this great theological truth when he writes, "I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified" (2:2).

By seeing our sins placed on the cross, and by being aware that Christ died for those sins, we know God is "just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (Rom. 3:26b). Since Jesus was the Lamb of God taking away the sins of the world (John 1:29), the apostle carries this picture on by showing that, as a lamb, the Lord was the sin-bearer for those who would be redeemed: God "made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21). John expands on this and adds, "He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin" (1 John 3:5).

When Believers Sin

When thinking about justification by faith, one is thinking about the positional, timeless, and judicial issue of sin and salvation. Trusting in Christ as Savior is an act of trust that brings about eternal redemption. Paul again says, "being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith" (3:24-25).

However as a child of God, believers are living in time and face issues of experience and maturity. The death of Christ covers the issue of the imputed sin of Adam, and the issues of the sins of the individual. The New Testament speaks honestly about the sin of those who trust in Christ. This is why Paul urges believers, "do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts" (6:12). Yet even he fought the fight against the tug of sin. The great apostle wrote of himself, "I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members" (7:23).

Some commentators try to say that Paul’s confession is about his struggle before his conversion. But his continual use of the Greek present tense in vv. 15-25 make it clear he was alluding to his own Christian walk at the time he wrote Romans. For some reason this shocks many who believe that Paul could no longer sin. Haldane correctly observes,

If Paul had said he had no sin, he would have deceived himself, and the
truth would not have been in him, 1 John 1. 8. … In one point of view,
then, Paul the Apostle could truly say that he was spiritual; in another,
with equal truth, that he was carnal: literally and truly both spiritual
and carnal. ‘The flesh lusted against the spirit, and the spirit against the
flesh, and these were contrary the one to the other.’ … There was then,
in the Apostle Paul, as in every Christian, ‘as it were the contrary of two
armies,’ … From this warfare, and these opposing principles within no
Christian in this world is ever exempt; and of this every one who knows
the plague of his own heart is fully convinced.

The heathen confesses that he practices what he knows to be wrong,
but his inconsistency arises from the love of the evil. Paul confesses
that he does what is wrong, but declares that instead of loving the
evil, he regards it with hatred and abhorrence.11

The Final End of Sin

For believers in Christ, a final victory over sin and death is assured. Paul cries, "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 15:57). Through Him all of the evil powers and authorities in the universe are done away with. "He has abolished all rule and all authority and power" (v. 24), though this work has been completed, in time it still waits for the ultimate subjugation by the Lord (vv. 26-28).

Because of the complete work of Christ at the cross, the resurrection of the dead will be accomplished; the body is to be raised imperishable, "raised in power" as a spiritual body (vv. 42-44). Paul puts it this way: "’The first man, Adam, became a living soul.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit" (v. 44). Quoting Psalm 68:18, the apostle sees Christ as a victorious general, who "ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives" (Eph. 4:8). Paul applies this to the fact that Jesus the Conqueror over sin and death can now give gifts to His church, the body of Christ, for functioning as His emissaries here on earth during this present dispensation.

Though we see sin and evil being exercised still in time and history, the work at the cross, judged even the fallen angelic hosts. "He disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him" (Col. 2:15).

This includes the devil, the perpetrator of sin in the universe who deceived the nations. Because of Christ’s victory, he will be "thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone" (Rev. 20:10), along with the antichrist (the beast) and the false prophet of Revelation 13.

The fact of the coming of the new heaven and new earth, along with the new Jerusalem, shows that sin will be dealt the final blow. In the person of the visible second person of the Godhead, the Lord Jesus Christ, will dwell among the redeemed, "and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them" (21:3).

For now, the child of God can rest in Paul’s magnificent words: "But in all things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us" (Rom. 8:57).

Modern Denial of Sin

The world has always tried to rationalize sin away, deny its reality, and even laugh at the idea of a coming judgment for evil. But in the last two centuries, a series of sophisticated isms have become extremely more blatant in liberating humanity of guilt and the fact of sin.

Atheism. The belief that there is no God has been around almost since the dawn of civilization. Pure atheism argues that there is no creator or deity to answer to. Humanity is but an independent higher species that is animal with no dependence on a God. The basis of atheism is that an individual refuses moral accountability. David said, "The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’" From this proclamation, the fool goes on and becomes corrupt and commits "abominable deeds" (Psalm 14:1).

Evolution. The basis of evolution continues this line of reasoning. Evolution contends there is no God and life is simply a spontaneous happening of random chance that operates from natural selection. This process is blind and accidental. If all life, including human beings, has just evolved then there is no God who can demand responsibility and morality. We all simply function by the biological random roll of the dice! Sin and evil are simply the destructive side of accidental genetic or chemical forces.

Existentialism. Atheism and evolution come together in existentialism. Though there are diverse existential groups, they generally proclaim "existence simply for existence sake." We are here in this terrestrial ball, spinning in space, with no purpose. Essence and structure are irrelevant and valueless. Only the subjective really exists. There are no moral absolutes or imperatives.12

Communism. Based on economic and social evolution, communism argues for government control of wealth. Capitalism is the greatest sin that makes slaves of the masses. What is good and moral is generally determined as to how the individual conforms to a philosophy of social and economic engineering. The state determines right and wrong and sets the boundaries within which the citizen exists. Generally speaking, communism comes from the three isms mentioned above.

Secular Humanism. This is also naturalistic and evolutionary in philosophy. The highest principle is to set human beings free to be themselves without religious or moral restrictions. Any effort to impose an exclusive concept of truth and morality, piety, virtue, or justice, that violates free inquiry, is attacked and fought. It abhors doctrine, and biblical creeds. "It decries contemporary orthodox religion as ‘anti-science, anti-freedom, anti-human,’ point out that ‘secular humanism places trust in human intelligence rather than in divine guidance.’"13

Secular Psychology. The name Sigmund Freud (1856-1930) immediately comes to mind when thinking of modern psychology. Freud opened the door for other theorists who followed also followed an evolutionary and naturalistic model as to how humanity functions. Freud detested the Bible and said that religion was infantile and foreign to reality. Human history was explained by evolutionary principles rather than an unfolding divine plan. The idea of guilt and sin was a religious invention because of fear of the unknown, and because humans needed protection from aggressive tendencies. One should understand him or herself rather than focus on guilt. "Turn your eyes inward, look into your own depths, learn first to know yourself!"14

Others, such as theorist George Kelly, followed Freud’s lead. Guilt is the perception of one’s alienation from the approval of others. "For both Kelly and Freud, when we depart from the behavior that we expect from ourselves, we experience discomfort: guilt for Kelly, moral anxiety for Freud."15 Rollo Reese May added, "Guilt … results from not approaching or striving toward one’s full potential as a human," not from disobeying some external religious code.16

Right and wrong have lost their meaning because, according to
modern psychology, none of us is responsible for anything we do.
We are all victims, driven to do whatever we do by the traumas
we suffered as children. … Sin has been redefined as sickness and
the list of "mental illnesses" grows almost daily. Instead of being
held accountable and called upon to repent, the sinner is given
"therapy." Everything from disobedience to murder is excused as
some syndrome or addiction.17

Humanity, because it ignores the biblical revelation, will not of itself find the solution to the evil in the world. People left to their own sinful devices cannot, and will not, turn to Christ. "Every man’s way is right in his own eyes" (Prov. 21:2). Jeremiah well sums up the problem when he writes, "the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jer. 17:9).

_________

The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, eds. Charles F. Pfeiffer and Everett F. Harrison (Chicago: Moody, 1962), 622.
Merrill F. Unger, Unger’s Commentary on the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody, 1981), 2:1552-53.
Henry M. Morris, The Revelation Record (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale, 1983), 213.
Harold G. Stigers, A Commentary on Genesis (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976), 74.
William Ames, The Morrow of Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1968), 114.
Charles C. Ryrie, Basic Theology (Chicago: Moody, 1999), 242-43.
Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, 4 Vols. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981), 2:233.
Henry C. Thiessen, Lectures in Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990), 191.
Ibid., 2:233-34.
David N. Steele, Curtis C. Thomas, The Five Points of Calvinism (Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian & Reformed, 1963), 25.
Robert Haldane, Commentary on Romans (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1996), 302-03.
Norman L. Geisler, Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999), 234.
Ibid., 341.
B. R. Hergenhahn, An Introduction to Theories of Personality, 4th Edition (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1994), 50.
Ibid., 463.
Ibid., 566.
Dave Hunt, (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1998), 324.

8a. Henry C. Thiessen, Lectures in Systematic Theology, 189.

10b. Horst Balz and Gerhard Schneider, Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament, 3 Vol. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994), 1:428.

10c. Robert Govett, Govett on John (Miami Springs, FL: Conley & Schoettle, 1984), 245-46.

Drive Time Commentary: The Book of John

2011-11-29T16:26:00.002-06:00

Dr. Couch has completed the most detailed work on the book of John. 13 CDs for a donation of $40. This comes in an attractive album case. Send the donation to: Scofield Ministries, 120 CR 3222, Clifton, TX. 76634.

Click here to see other audio CD sets from Scofield Ministries

Our Changing Times, Apostasy, and the Soon Coming of Jesus!

2011-11-28T08:00:00.000-06:00

The Emerging Church and the advent of the Apostasy of the Church is upon us. Things will never be the same. The following teachers share their thoughts as to what this all means to you, your church, and your family.

EIGHT CDs:

Moving into the Apostasy -- Dr. Mal Couch
Dispensationalism: Centrality of Israel -- Jeff Gutterman
Covenant vs. Dispensational Theology -- Dr. Robert Lightner
Romans 8:28-29: Covenatn Hermeneutics -- Dr. Steve Spurlin
Basic Issues of Premillennialism -- Dr. Andy Woods
Normal Reading of Scripture and Progressive Revelation -- Dr. John Pappas
Reasons Why Dispensationalism is Rejected -- Dr. Raj Kripalani
The Melchizedekian Priesthood of Christ -- Dr. Tom McCall

“If the present world condition continues, which has changed drastically the last few months, it would appear that the end times is near. The rapture of the church then which comes before cannot be far away!” – Dr. Mal Couch

This study comes in an Album for only a $35 donation. Send the donation to: Scofield Ministries, 120 CR 3222, Clifton, TX. 76634.

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THE DEATH OF THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION

2011-11-27T08:00:00.000-06:00

A MUST LISTEN FOR EVERY CHRISTIAN
A Timely Set of CDs for our times

Dr. Mal Couch, and Dr. Andy Woods have completed a two part series on the urgency of our day—how our government is destroying the basis of the American way of life, and inserting socialism in the American system of governing. Dr. Couch and Dr. Woods hold their Th.M. from Dallas Seminary. Dr. Couch holds two doctorates, and Dr. Woods holds a Ph.D. and his doctorate in law. Dr. Couch also holds the MA with honors from Wheaton Graduate School.

There is nothing like the discussion you will hear on these CDs. You may want additional sets for friends or family. Please consider giving a set to your pastor.

Both CDs are yours for a donation of $12. Make your check out to: Scofield Ministries, 120 CR 3222, Clifton, TX 76634.

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Conference CDs: We The People

2011-11-26T08:00:00.000-06:00

Conference Speakers were: Dr. Andy Woods, Dr. Tom McCall, Dr. Jobe Martin, Dr. Dan Woodhead, Zok Zochart, and Dr. Mal Couch.

Fifty attendees came from as far away as Michigan and Illinois to attend Scofield Ministries' WE THE PEOPLE Conference held in Clifton, Texas at the Walvoord Study Center. Those attending expressed shock as to how far we have drifted from our Christian roots in the areas of Law and in the teaching in our Public Schools. Dr. Couch noted that this was the best Conference we have held. Those attending expressed the same.

The Conference is available on ten CDs, with a carry case album, for just $20. Make your donation check out to Scofield Ministries, 120 CR 3222, Clifton, TX 76634. We must have your order quickly because the sets will be duplicated this next week or two. Also, you need Dr. Couch's latest book THE BIRTH OF THE NATION OF ISRAEL. For a short time it will be sent to you at no cost! But let us know you want it by asking for the ISRAEL book.

ISRAELOLOGY

2011-11-25T10:24:00.002-06:00

By popular demand we have republished a limited number of our popular set that looks at every aspect of prophecy concerning the nation of Israel. Some of the most well-known Bible teachers contributed included Dr. Andy Woods. The set, included in an attractive album, is for a donation of just $35. It will give you hours of study and insights in the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation.

Act Fast! The sets won't last! Make your check out to Scofield Ministries and mail to: 120 CR 3222, Clifton, TX 76634.

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ISLAMIC TAKEOVER OF AMERICA

2011-11-22T08:00:00.000-06:00

This is the second CD of two (The Koran vs THE BIBLE) that document what is happening to our nation. You cannot mix two very distinct cultures, especially one that flies in the face of biblical Christianity. You will want to pass this on to friends. For the two CDs, just $12, or for this latest one, $10. Send donation check to Scofield Ministries, 120 CR 3222, Clifton, TX 76634.

THE KORAN vs THE BIBLE

2011-11-21T15:32:00.000-06:00

Dr. Couch has finished a CD study on the Koran as compared with the Bible. After reading the Koran through, he has isolated the most important differences that every Christian should know. There is not any study like this. It should be passed on to pastors and students of Scripture. Send a donation of $10 to Scofield Ministries, 120 CR 3222, Clifton, TX 76634.

Ask Dr. Couch

2011-11-19T08:00:00.002-06:00

Dr. Couch, is the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven the same thing?

ANSWER: Yes, they are, and I prove it in my Hermeneutic book, page 291. When Dr. John F. Walvoord saw this chapter he went silent! He realized that I had proven the point. You need my Hermeneutic volume, one of the few books on the subject. I will send it to you for $15 with the check made out to Scofield Ministries. Your $15 Donation Includes Shipping & Handling. Send your name and address to: Scofield Ministries, 120 CR 3222, Clifton, TX 76634.

Since I have so proven the point I won't repeat the information here but just to say, get the volume! The full title: An Introduction to Classical Evangelical Hermeneutics (Kregel).

To see more books from Scofield Prophecy Studies, click here.

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch (11/11)

Revelation

2011-11-18T08:00:00.001-06:00

The book of Revelation is the most fascinating book ever written. It claims to be a vision of the end of the world. The reader is swept up into another time and another place as the panorama of the future unfolds before us. This final book of the biblical record is the capstone of divine revelation. In it, God reveals the great end-times drama that leads to Armageddon and beyond.

All of us are curious about the future. There is something in human nature that wants to know what is going to happen next. God speaks to that need in our lives by revealing the future before it happens. That process is called a prophecy of future events.

The author's goal is to help simplify the message of the Revelation so the reader can easily understand it. He surveys the general content of this great book of prophecy with a view to keeping the big picture in mind, rather than being lost in all the details. This coupled with a series of study questions at the end of each chapter is designed to enable the reader to study the details of the Revelation on their own or in a group setting.

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1,2,3 John and Jude

2011-11-17T08:00:00.000-06:00

The truths in 1 John are primarily for children of God. It is a family epistle. John also gives careful attention to the believer's responsibilities to be in fellowship with God. The book has in it both positives and negatives with respect to the behavior of the child of God.

Both 2 John and 3 John have themes of love and truth. Second John seems to emphasize Christian love with its foundation in truth. Third John, on the other hand, seems to emphasize truth with its foundation in Christian love. Truth is not absent in 2 John; neither is love absent in 3 John. Rather, it is a matter of a different emphasis in these two letters.

Jude's purpose in writing was to warn his readers about false teaching and to encourage the believers to defend "the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (v. 3).

A series of study questions at the end of each chapter is designed to enable the reader to study the details of the book of Jude on their own or in a group setting.

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1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon

2011-11-16T08:00:00.000-06:00

The key to achieving success in anything is to set reasonable goals and strive to meet them. The difficulty in striving to be like Christ is that we never can be like Him—not perfectly, not until we are made new in His image in heaven. Yet, the fact that we cannot achieve perfection should never stop us from anything good. So, the real question is, how good is good enough? Any Christian who thinks he or she has nothing more to achieve in godliness and personal holiness is utterly deceived.

These books (especially 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus) are often referred to as the “Pastoral Epistles.” The name is certainly appropriate since these books provide the most thorough statement of church government found anywhere in the New Testament. Paul’s combination of personal advice and apostolic injunction have set the pattern for church government for the past twenty-one centuries.

Yet, these books are so much more than official letters on church policy. American scholar Homer Kent Jr. made a career out of studying these important letters. He summed up his opinion of them, saying, “Not only is the content rich in doctrinal and practical discussion, so pertinent to the Christian life, but the historical, geographical, and personal notices make the letters colorful and intensely human.”

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James and 1st & 2nd Peter

2011-11-15T08:00:00.000-06:00

Throughout this commentary, Dr. Baker challenges the reader to test the reality of his or her faith in Christ.

The book of James begins with a theology of suffering (1:2–12) and how faith is enhanced by trials. James also clarifies for us that genuine faith produces works, and any other kind of faith is not "saving." The opening reference to the test of faith provides the key to analyzing James. The test: Is the reader's faith a working faith?

In 1 Peter, salvation and holiness are the basis for an appeal to endure suffering. Peter also looks at the various relationships in which suffering is likely to occur (2:4—3:22): relationships with those who reject the believer, civil government, problems that will arise out of the slave/master relationship, spouses that do not believe, and finally relationships with people in general. The believer must be realistic regarding the world's animosity. A right attitude and submission to God who is sovereign form Peter's conclusion. The test: Does the reader's faith lead them to a life of holiness and trust in God that can endure persecution?

Finally, Dr. Baker points to 2 Peter as an instruction book to teach believers that they have been given a knowledge of the truth that should make it possible for them to add to their lives all the divinely-provided virtues listed in the book (2 Peter 1:3–11). The test: Does the reader believe that his or her knowledge of the truth is the essence of faith, or has the reader come to understand that this knowledge is a gateway to the Christian life that remains unopened if they do not act on what they know?

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First and Second Thessalonians

2011-11-14T08:00:00.000-06:00

How do we find hope when our world is falling apart? Every human being on earth is unique, and every person has their own struggles and trials. When trials are at their worst, when hope seems unimaginable, believers may be tempted to question the hand of providence. In the deepest of trials, they must keep walking a righteous path, and take comfort in the fact that God will make all things right. It was early on in the history of the Church, just twenty years or so after the death and resurrection of Christ, when persecution ripped Paul from his young gathering of believers in Thessalonica. Filled with anxiety and undergoing strong persecution, these believers were certainly feeling like everything was caving in around them. Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians to encourage them in their suffering, and to draw their attention to the comfort that can be found in the second coming of Christ.

With 2 Thessalonians Paul continues to remind them that Christ’s return will vindicate their place as rightful children of the living God. He corrects the false teachings of some who said that the seven year Tribulation had already begun and that the Lord’s return was so imminent that people should quit their jobs. In this commentary, Mike Stallard’s sound biblical teaching and compassionate heart combine to encourage readers to walk in righteousness and find hope in the second coming of Christ.

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Philippians and Colossians

2011-11-13T08:00:00.000-06:00

The book of Philippians is often referred to as the epistle of joy. According to Dr. Gromacki, Paul teaches that this joy comes from an understanding of who Christ is and what He has done for each believer, an emphasis on the gospel, and a proper motivation for our actions. Dr. Gromacki discusses the motivation of Paul: "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (1:21). Just as people think "golf" when the names Arnold Palmer or Tiger Woods are mentioned, so believers thought 'Christ' when the name of Paul was mentioned. Paul wanted Christ to be magnified in his body, whether through living or dying for Him. The challenge to the reader is: What do people think of when they hear your name?

Colossians contains a classic passage on the preeminence of Jesus Christ (1:14-22). Dr. Gromacki discusses the descriptive titles of Christ used in this passage: the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature, the head of the body, the beginning, and the firstborn from the dead. He is both the creator and sustainer of the universe. Both in the natural and the spiritual creations, Christ is sovereign and should have the preeminence.

Dr. Gromacki also brings out the severe warning in Colossians against unguided human intellect or non-biblical philosophy (2:8). A genuine love for wisdom should lead to a perfect love for Christ (2:3).

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Second Corinthians

2011-11-12T14:39:00.001-06:00

In Second Corinthians , Paul addresses believers as a coach, a friend, a mentor, and an apostle. He deals with them at a crucial point in the development of the Church…a point where others were trying to manipulate them as a sect of Judaism, denying the gospel of grace. Today, the struggle is not to be unique from Judaism, but to be unique among the melting pot of religions in the world. And that which sets us apart, the grace of God to send His son to die on the cross, has never been more under siege.

Paul had declared the truths of the gospel, but others came to Corinth after him and sought to undermine all he had done. The Christians in Jerusalem were in dire need of help. The false teachers were claiming that Paul was not even an apostle. Rumors and half-truths were common rhetoric. In order to defend the truth, Paul had to defend the call God had placed upon him, and all the things that call had led him to endure. Dan Mitchell brings Paul’s words into focus to challenge every believer to defend the truth, to care for those in need, and to work together in unity to accomplish the goal of presenting Christ to a dying, needy world.

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First Corinthians

2011-11-11T11:29:00.003-06:00

The moral depravity evident throughout Corinth most vividly reflected the spiritual need of that city. The debauchery of the city was so well known in ancient times that "to act the Corinthian" became synonymous with committing fornication. It was within the context of such ungodliness that Paul challenged the believers at Corinth to live as saints.

While the church today faces some new challenges, the issues of church unity, sexual morality, marriage, divorce, modesty, authority, spiritual gifts, and hope are still day-to-day problems for Christians who struggle to live clean in Corinth. Dr. Mitchell's commentary will provide guidance in overcoming these obstacles and live for Christ in a culture that is hostile to Jesus and all He represents.

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Romans

2011-11-10T08:00:00.000-06:00

The book of Romans has rightly been called "the Constitution of Christianity." In this one letter are recorded the doctrines of justification, sanctification, divine condemnation, divine election, the perseverance of the saints, total depravity, the last judgment, the fall of man, the revelation of God in nature, and so much more. In his commentary, Dr. Kroll indicates that the letter to the church in Rome was Paul's way of depositing a handbook of Christian doctrine into the capital of the Roman Empire.

No other writing has more powerfully confronted the mind of man with the mind of God. The book of Romans brought St. Augustine, Martin Luther, John Wesley, and John Calvin to an understanding of man's need for Christ's righteousness. Every argument that man can muster against the claims of God is thoroughly demolished with unanswerable logic by the apostle Paul. Sometimes these arguments seem complex and beyond our understanding. Dr. Kroll, in the clarity and succinctness he is known for on his radio broadcasts, breaks down Paul's arguments into clear, relevant points and helps the reader apply them to his or her own relationship with Christ. Study questions at the end of each chapter are designed to further clarify the teachings of Paul to individuals and Bible study groups.

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DAY OF THE DEAD INCREASES

2011-11-09T08:00:00.000-06:00

Halloween or the Day of the Dead has increased in America because of the flow of both legal and illegal folks coming in from Mexico. In border towns, the flood is unending and it brings this evil ceremony into our cities with malls and stores selling witchcraft items for purchase. In Albuquerque, such items are sold year round. Families come to the graves of their relatives and bring food for the spirits of their dead ones. If they receive the food they “treat” their loved ones, if they do not, they “trick” them with something that is bad. Our Puritan and Anglo-Saxon relatives rejected such Latin practices. Halloween was just some that was done with humor but no more! In America we are being rapidly changed from within by an invasion of cultures that are not European! --Dr. Mal Couch (11/11)

STUDENTS DROP BIBLE STUDIES

2011-11-08T11:43:00.001-06:00

Students in Atlanta Georgia no longer will be taking Bible courses for credit as they had done for many years. In one high school only fifteen students had done so recently. The school board claims it was a budget issue. When this author was attending school, over one thousand out of the two thousand students took Old and New Testament courses for credit. In Atlanta today the students claim that they have no time for electives so such studies go by the way-side. More than likely it is just plain lack of interest that keeps students from such studies. A sign of the times! --Dr. Mal Couch (11/11)

Acts

2011-11-07T08:00:00.000-06:00

As you dip your toe into the first few pages of the narrative, you just may see your reflection. Perhaps a spark of recognition will be ignited by the hesitant first steps of a fisherman who, at long last, emerges as a "fisher of men." Or perhaps by the strong, athletic stride of legs, useless for forty years, now miraculously healed. Could it be that you relate to the paralyzing chill of being called on to defend your faith before those who despise you? Maybe you recognize the initial flood of disbelief as God answers a prayer that you considered the utmost of longshots?

In a series of vignettes, or "postcards," some historical, some biographical, still others theological, Acts reveals the successes and defeats, the conquests and tragedies of the original band of Jesus' followers. In Acts we are able to share in the joy, the loss, the rejection, the confident assurance, the jealousy, the setbacks, the frustration, the passionate debate and the ultimate triumph of these pioneers of the Jesus movement. These are ordinary people who, through the power and enabling of the Holy Spirit, accomplish extraordinary things in the name of their Messiah. Steven Ger's commentary will encourage you to be a witness for Christ, like these first-century believers who boldly "turned the world upside-down" (17:6).

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John

2011-11-06T08:00:00.000-06:00

The message of the book of John is underlined by the use of two key words, believe, used ninety-eight times and life, used thirty-six times. In The Gospel of John, Elmer Towns places a particular emphasis on these words. The Apostle John wrote with a twofold purpose—as noted in 20:31—to communicate Christ through His miracles and teachings so men might, first, believe that Jesus was indeed who He said He was, the Son of God; and second, they might have eternal life because of their belief.

In twenty-four chapters, Christ's ministry unfolds, and the magnitude of His greatness is revealed through the discussion of His many appellations, including: the Word of God, the Savior, the Good Shepherd, the Bread of Life, the Servant, and the Resurrection. The truths revealed in The Gospel of John will help you to better understand what God wrought through the Savior. A series of study questions at the end of each chapter is designed to enable the reader to study the details of the Revelation on their own or in a group setting.

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Luke

2011-11-05T08:00:00.002-05:00

Special attention to Christ as the Son of Man
An accurate history of the life of Christ
A first volume of history (Acts being volume two)
The overall subject of Luke, that Christ came to save the whole of humanity, both Jew and Gentile.
Luke’s focus on the response of the religious leaders and the common man to Christ’s ministry and message
The oft-mentioned work of the Holy Spirit
Discussion of the Temple as the geographic focus in Luke’s Gospel

Series Endorsements:

"The godly men involved in the Twenty-First Century Biblical Commentary Series are dedicated to the inspiration of Scripture and to the blessed hope of the return of the Lord. Without hesitation, I commend the work for Sunday school teachers, pastors, and all interested students of the Bible."
Dr. Paige Patterson, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

"I’m honored to recommend the Twenty-First Century Biblical Commentary Series. I know I can trust the evangelical soundness and doctrinal integrity of the authors who are now laboring to give us books that will serve the cause of Christ for generations to come."
Dr. Tim LaHaye, Co-author of the Left Behind series
Sample Table of Contents:

* Presentation: The Revelation of the Son of Man
* Ministry: The Early Ministry and Miracles of the Son of Man
* Rejection: The Beginning of the Rejection of the Son of Man
* An Ending: The Final Days of the Ministry of the Son of Man
* Triumph: The Resurrection and Ascension of the Son of Man

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Mark

2011-11-04T08:38:00.002-05:00

While Matthew sets forth Christ's Majesty as King, showing that He is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, Mark's Gospel depicts Christ's Mastery as the Servant-Son of God.

Dr. McGowan observes that the gospel of Mark abruptly begins the story of the Servant-Son. A servant needs no genealogy or description of early background, but this Servant was and is the Son of God.

The most humbling act for any person is to be the servant of another. Pride and arrogance must be set aside. Yet Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords came to serve. He set aside His glory and came to dwell among men. Dr. McGowan's commentary will move your heart to service and sacrifice as you get a real picture of the Servant-Son of God.

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Matthew

2011-11-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

The Gospel of Matthew is all about the King—the King of the Jews, the King who came to die to save His subjects, the King who is coming again to establish His millennial kingdom, the King of Kings. That King is Jesus Christ. Matthew focuses on both the first and second comings of Christ, with the assurance that in both cases, indeed the King is coming!

Matthew, the tax collector turned disciple, writes to Jewish believers and unbelievers alike. For the believers, he emphasizes the legitimacy of Jesus as the long-awaited Jewish Messiah. For the unbelievers, he portrays the One who is the Savior of all people everywhere. His arguments are cogent, his style is vibrant, and his portrayal of Christ is magnificent.

He explains the character and nature of the ministry of John the Baptist as the last of the prophets. He takes us to Caesarea Philippi, a Gentile area, where Jesus announces that He will build His church, and then he lets us listen as the risen Savior challenges His disciples to “go . . . and make disciples of all the nations” (28:18–20). Charles Spurgeon said it best when he proclaimed, “Come just as you are, all guilty, empty, meritless and fall before the great King. And see if He will cast you away. Jesus is ready to pardon you . . . never tolerate low thoughts of Him. You may study, look and meditate, but Jesus is a greater Savior than you think Him to be, even when your thoughts are at their highest.”

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Inspiration and Inerrancy: God Has Spoken

2011-11-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

Dr. Mal Couch Presents convincing evidence that the Bible is the literal Word of God, the only standard for life and faith.

Understanding how the God of the universe has revealed Himself to humanity will guide the reader to a deeper assurance of faith, a bolder confidence in the teachings of the Bible, and a renewed desire to worship and serve the God of the Scriptures.

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An Introduction to Classical Evangelical Hermeneutics

2011-11-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

A set of written tools and guidelines for an accurate interpretation and understanding of Scripture. Words...grammar...syntax...context -- all of these elements form the basis for hermeneutics, the principles and practice of interpreting works of literature.

Here is a set of written tools and guidelines for an accurate interpretation and understanding of Scripture. Topics covered include: A history of interpretation and the various hermeneutical traditions in Christian history; An examination of dispensational hermeneutics in the early church; The importance of the doctrine of inerrancy in Bible interpretation; and Understanding symbols and types in biblical prophecy.

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Dictionary of Premillenial Theology

2011-10-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

More than fifty scholars combine their expertise to present a historical and topical dictionary of premillennial theology.

No personal library should be without this volume. You will find yourself referring to it over and over again. Order it today for yourself or for your friends.

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THE ANTICHRIST AND ISLAM

2011-10-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

THE ANTICHRIST AND ISLAM is a clarification and exposition of Matthew 24 and the issue of Babylon the Harlot.

A most unusual hardback study for those interested in biblical prophecy.

Just $15 per copy. Send donation checks to: Scofield Ministries, 120 CR 3222, Clifton, TX 76634.

THE COMING KINGDOM REIGN OF CHRIST

2011-10-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

This is a MUST READ! THE COMING KINGDOM REIGN OF CHRIST with Dr. Andy Woods, Dr. Paul Benware, and Dr. Mal Couch.

This volume makes the doctrine of the Kingdom make sense. The three authors show the faults of Covenant Theology and those who deny what the Bible teaches on the subject.

Just $10 per copy. Send donation checks to: Scofield Ministries, 120 CR 3222, Clifton, TX 76634.

THE NATURAL STATE OF MEN AND WOMEN

2011-10-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

God spoke to the woman (Eve) after the Fall (Genesis 3: 16) and He started with a discussion of her state during childbirth. There might have been some discomfort associated with the birth of a child in the original state into which the woman was created, but now that would be painful. Before the Fall the man was to have dominion over her and she would be comforted in that peaceful ,secure relationship. Now she would desire to usurp his leadership role.

Two Hebrew words are important for our understanding of the text: "Teshookataach" which means "to desire", and "Yemshall" which means "to rule". Both of these words appear in Genesis 3: 16 and again in Genesis 4: 7 and they have the same meaning in both verses. They indicate a desire to rule over something. In this case it is the woman who from the Fall onward has had a desire to rule over her husband. She will have a desire to control him and desire his headship. There is now a built-in conflict within the family. This came about in divine retribution because she chose to act independently from her husband and disobey God's Word. God says that He alone owns vengeance (Deuteronomy 32: 35a).

Her husband also would be a ruler over her. This does not mean a loving leadership that accompanies God's initial plan for marriage and the treatment toward her in general. His rule over her would be sinful and domineering. Later the man and the woman would have to master sin just like Cain (Genesis 4:7). Those who continued to turn away from God (like Adam and Eve did) would follow the sinful and natural inclination that God gave to the relationship. Man would dominate woman and she would resist and seek to usurp his rule. Before the Fall she was subordinate to him, but now in the fallen state God's plan for their hierarchy, their relationship would give way to competing dominance and resistance. God did provide for her though, but only to those who followed Him and kept His Word. God's plan is always best.

Because she led the first transgression (Genesis 3:6,13,16; II Corinthians 11:3; 1 Timothy 2:14) she would not have a leadership over men in the spiritual community in both Testaments. In the New Testament men are to love their wives as Christ loved the Church, He gave His life for it (Ephesians 5: 25). Additionally, she is to be subordinate to him in Christ (Ephesians 5: 22), which is a restoration of God's original plan for headship now found in the dispensation of the Church. It is only by God's grace and the Holy Spirit's leading the genuine believer that we can experience the marital relationship He intended. -- Dr. Daniel Woodhead (10/11)

Source: Woodhead, D.E. (2011) Commentary on Genesis.

The Fundamentals for the Twenty-First Century

2011-10-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

This landmark work, with contributions from thirty-four notable Bible scholars, pastors, and teachers, sets forth a distinctively biblical agenda for the Christian faith in the twenty-first century.

In the early decades of the twentieth century, a prophetic series of books took a bold stand in the debate over the essential meaning of Christianity. With the publication of The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth, a new term entered religious language, fundamentalism, which then meant an adherence to the fundamental doctrines of biblical Christianity. Nearly a century later, biblical Christianity faces similar challenges, both from within and without its ranks. The term fundamentalism and the faith it represents have been debased by cultural change, entrenched secularism, and theological confusion. This new landmark work, with contributions from thirty-four notable Bible scholars, pastors, and teachers, sets forth a distinctively biblical agenda for the Christian faith in the twenty-first century.

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The Hope of Christ's Return

2011-10-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

Premillenial Commentary on 1st & 2nd Thessalonians. The church in Thessalonica was a congregation of new believers that was impacting their world for Jesus, but their awe-inspiring love for Christ came at a terrible price. They endured tremendous trials and tribulations, to the point that many gave their lives for the gospel.

Your $18 Donation Includes Shipping & Handling. Send your name and address to: Scofield Ministries, 120 CR 3222, Clifton, TX 76634.

Blessed Hope: The Autobiography of John F. Walvoord

2011-10-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

It would be impossible to write the history of the evangelical church of the last half of the twentieth century without giving Dr. John Walvoord a prominent position. For more than sixty years he has stood, without apology, for the literal interpretation of all Scripture, particularly Bible prophecy. More than any other one man he has kept the "blessed hope" of the pretribulational Rapture alive and well.

Your $18 Donation Includes Shipping & Handling. Send your name and address to: Scofield Ministries, 120 CR 3222, Clifton, TX 76634.

Biblical Theology of the Church

2011-10-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

This extensive resource examines the doctrine of the church and offers guidance on mission, pastoral care, leadership, and government in the local church. Numerous Scripture references, practical suggestions, and discussion questions for every chapter make this work on ecclesiology perfect for both personal and group study.

With numerous Scripture references, practical suggestions, and discussion questions, this extensive resource examines the doctrine of the church and offers guidance on mission, pastoral care, leadership, and government in the local church.

Your $18 Donation Includes Shipping & Handling. Send your name and address to: Scofield Ministries, 120 CR 3222, Clifton, TX 76634.

A Bible Handbook to Revelation

2011-10-22T08:00:00.001-05:00

Leading evangelical educators combine efforts in this thorough look at the text of Revelation and the issues that most interest and trouble twenty-first century readers and students. Includes a verse-by-verse explanation and background analysis.

The book is ideal for personal study, Bible class, or Sunday school curriculum.
Your $18 Donation Includes Shipping & Handling. Send your name and address to: Scofield Ministries, 120 CR 3222, Clifton, TX 76634.

Ask Dr. Couch

2011-10-21T08:00:00.001-05:00

Dr. Couch, are there ever times we are told by the Lord not to pray?

ANSWER: Yes, there are such times. When Israel was so rebellious and sinful God told Jeremiah: "Do not pray for this people, and do not lift up cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with Me, for I do not hear you. Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?" (Jer. 7:16-17). He added: "Do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not listen when they call to Me because of there disaster" (11:14). And, "Do not pray for the welfare of this people. I am not going to listen to their cry; … I am not going to accept them. Rather I am going to make an end of them by the sword, famine and pestilence" (vv. 11-12).

The Lord added, even if Moses and Samuel interceded for them I would not respond (15:1). "My heart would not be with this people; send them away from My presence and let them go!" They will ask, "Where shall we go?" They are doomed for death, and the sword, and for famine, as well as captivity (v. 2). "I shall appoint over them four kinds of doom: sword, dogs to drag them off, the birds to eat their flesh, and the earth to devour their flesh" (v. 3). All kinds of horror will overtake them.

So with America! We are doomed for destruction. We had it all and threw it all away. To pray for America is quickly becoming a waste of time. For Israel, even if Noah, Daniel and Job were in their midst, they could only save themselves, not the people of God (Ezek. 14:14).

The Lord will reach a point when He is finished with the sins of America and will not respond to our needs. People can push Him too far with He says enough is enough! We don't think that can happen but indeed it can! We try the Lord to the inth degree and He gives up on a wayward people. We must accept His mercy NOW and not try Him forever! I believe America has almost reached this point now.

Thanks for asking.
--Dr. Mal Couch (10/11)

A Bible Handbook to the Acts of the Apostles

2011-10-20T08:00:00.002-05:00

This three-part work begins with a discussion of the major theological issues in the Book of Acts. The second section explores the person and work of the Holy Spirit. The third section presents a verse-by-verse handbook to Acts; discussing the background and significance of the people, places, and events.

Contributors to this work are Paul Benware, Mal Couch, Thomas Figart, Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Robert Lightner, Steven McAvoy, Russell Penny, and J. Randall Price.
Contributors are well-known and respected theologians from across the country Includes numerous charts and maps deals with a pivotal book in the Bible.

Your $18 Donation Includes Shipping & Handling. Send your name and address to: Scofield Ministries, 120 CR 3222, Clifton, TX 76634.

A Pastor's Manual on Doing Church

2011-10-19T09:28:00.003-05:00

This book covers every aspect of making a church work, with biblical and practical ideas for handling and solving daily problems, counseling, and spiritual issues.

The book is ideal for personal study, Bible class, or Sunday school curriculum. Your $10 Donation Includes Shipping & Handling. Call now: (254) 675-2681, email or send your $15 donation to SCOFIELD MINISTRIES, 120 CR 3222, Clifton, TX 76634

Ask Dr. Couch

2011-10-18T08:00:00.001-05:00

Dr. Couch, which Bible do you recommend, the old Scofield Reference Bible or the newer one?

ANSWER: Both are great helps for understanding the Scriptures. I lean toward the newer version because I personally knew almost all on the revision committee. They were friends of mine, and/or I worked with them at various Christian colleges and Bible schools. Get the newer version—you'll really find yourself using it a lot.

God bless. --Dr. Mal Couch (10/11)

GOING THE WAY OF THE GENTILES

2011-10-17T17:14:00.002-05:00

Ministers in our military are told not to mention the name of Jesus in their prayers. Well, guess what, the same thing is happening with the Rabbis in the Israeli military — they are not to mention the name of God in their prayers!

On Independence Day at the end of their prayers they were to only say "May the people of Israel remember!" whereas they used to say "May God remember!" (Yizkor Elohim). Secularism now rules the world. And Satan has won. --Dr. Mal Couch (10/11)

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

2011-10-16T08:00:00.002-05:00

The book is ideal for personal study, Bible class, or Sunday school curriculum. Every verse about the Holy Spirit in the Bible is commented on, from Genesis to Revelation.

The Spirit of the Living God was the creative architect in the beginning of the universe. In the Old Testament, He spoke through the ancient prophets. But at Pentecost (Acts 2), He came to guide and care for the body of Christ, the Church in the world today. Send your $10 Donation (which includes Shipping & Handling) to: SCOFIELD MINISTRIES, 120 CR 3222, Clifton, TX 76634.

Portraits of Jesus in the Gospel of John

2011-10-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

Dr. Robert Lightner, long-time friend of mine, has just completed an outstanding volume on the person of Christ as seen through the eyes of the apostle John. The twenty-nine chapters break down the life and words of Christ by subject. Some of the main chapters: Lamb of God, Savior of Sinners, The Bread of Life, Divine Shepherd, Resurrection and the Life, King without a Throne. These chapters, along with many others, give the reader just what the book promises: the outstanding biblical portraits of Christ. Send your $15 Donation Includes Shipping & Handling to SCOFIELD MINISTRIES, 120 CR 3222, Clifton, TX 76634