Priceless Eternity Blog

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Quote of the Day #196 - C. S. Lewis

A quote from C. S. Lewis:

A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word 'darkness' on the walls of his cell."

~C.S. Lewis (The Problem of Pain, Chapter 3)

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Coming Soon! Quote of the Day #197
Quote of the Day #193 - J. C. Ryle
Quote of the Day #194 - Charles Spurgeon
Quote of the Day #195 - William Gurnall
Quote Index

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Summary of Genesis 9

The era of the pre-flood world, which spanned over 1500 years, had come to an end. A worldwide flood had engulfed the planet, destroying everything and bringing in the era of the post-flood world, an era that began with eight people: Noah, Shem, Ham, Japheth, and their wives.

Genesis 9 gives us the first glimpse of life in the post-flood world. Some things remained the same; in the opening verses of Genesis 9, God repeats the command in Genesis 1:28 that he gave to Adam and Eve at creation:

And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. (Genesis 9:1)

Although some things in the post-flood era remained the same as before, there were also several changes. The relationship between man and animal would no longer be as harmonious as it once was (Genesis 9:2). Animals would now be filled with the fear of man, with good reason too— for the first time in history, God permitted man to kill animals for meat. Man was no longer required to abstain from eating meat (Genesis 9:3) so long as it was cooked (Genesis 9:4).

The beginning of the post-flood era also marked the first time that God directly told man how murderers should be treated:

Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed,
for God made man in his own image.
(Genesis 9:6)

Perhaps the biggest change that the post-flood era brought was the covenant God made with man. In His Sovereignty, the Creator of all things, God Himself, promised to man that He would never again flood the entire earth (Genesis 9:8-11). This promise, known as the Noahic Covenant, has been represented ever since by the rainbow (Genesis 9:12-17).

The world, in a sense, was cleansed by the flood. The utterly corrupt human societies that had filled the globe had been eliminated. The violence which had once filled the earth was no more. Noah and his family, however, had not been fully cleansed by the flood. Though it may have seemed as if, for a moment, the flood had brought Heaven to Earth, sin was still present in the hearts of Noah and his family. This becomes clear in the remainder of Genesis 9, which describes Noah's fall.

One day, Noah began farming. He planted a vineyard, then he made wine. And then, Noah— the man who had done so much, worked so hard, and been so mightily used by God— indulged himself in wine. Noah fell (Genesis 9:20-21).

To made a bad situation worse, when Noah was lying in his tent drunk and naked, his son Ham wronged him (Genesis 9:22-24). Scripture does not state exactly what Ham did wrong, but when Noah awoke, he cursed Ham's son (Genesis 9:24-25) and then proceeded to bless Shem and Japheth (Genesis 9:26-27). This saddening event marks the close of Scripture's account of the life of Noah.

After the flood, Noah lived 350 years, dying at the age of 950 (Genesis 9:28-29). He had been a man of obedience, and although he sinned, he was a man who by the grace of God ultimately walked by faith.

By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. (Hebrews 11:7)

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Saturday, January 21, 2012

Quote of the Day #195 - William Gurnall

A quote from William Gurnall:

Nothing should have a more powerful effect upon a saint's spirit than to consider his blissful estate in heaven as being the reward of all his conflicts here on earth. This sword should cut the very sinews of temptation and behead those lusts which defy whole troops of other arguments. How can sin co-exist with the hope of such glory? It is when the thoughts of heaven are long out of the Christian's sight, and he forgets his hope of that glorious place, that he begins to set up some idol as Israel set up the calf and worshiped it in the absence of Moses. Only let heaven come into view, and the Christian's heart will be well warmed with thoughts of it. You may as soon persuade a king to throw down his royal diadem and wallow in the mud with his robes on, as convince a saint to sin when his heart is filled with the expectation of heaven's glory.

~William Gurnall (The Christian In Complete Armor Volume One, Chapter 4, Part 2)

This quote was taken from the book The Christian In Complete Armor Volume One - A modernized abridgement of the Puritan Classic by William Gurnall, published by Banner Of Truth.

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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Christianity IS A Religion, Not Just A Relationship

Time and time again I hear Christians say something like, "I don't have a religion, I have a relationship" or "Jesus hated religion".

I understand what Christians mean when they say this. They are trying to express the idea that Christianity is different from all other religions— that Christianity isn't about doing a certain list of things or accomplishing so many goals. Christians often look at the Pharisees and call them "religious". Make no mistake about it, the Pharisees were definitely religious people. Christians, however, are also religious people, in a different kind of way.

Take a look at this passage from James:

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (James 1:26-27, emphasis added)

Clearly, in this passage, religion is not a bad thing. James is basically saying that there is a lot of false religion in the world, but true religion is this: caring for orphans and widows and keeping oneself unstained from the world.

The word "religion," therefore, can be used in a negative way and a positive way. There are many false religions, but there is one true religion. There are many man-made religions, but only one God-made religion.

It doesn't make sense for Christians to say that they don't have a religion, but a relationship. Why? Because anyone who isn't a Christian clearly recognizes the fact that Christianity is a religion— and they're right!

Some Christians seem to want to avoid using the word "religion" because of the bad connotation it has in today's culture. This argument, however, has some problems. The word "Bible" also has a bad connotation in today's culture, should we avoid using it as well? If you think about it, there are many Christian terms that have terrible connotations in today's culture, such as "holy" and "righteous".

It would be far better for Christians to abandon the phrase, "Christianity is not a religion," and instead explain what makes their religion unique. It would be better for Christians to say that they're the only ones who live out true religion. While it may be true that man-made religion is a cold, dead system of works, God-made religion is completely different. The God-made religion of Christianity is a vibrant, beautiful relationship with the Triune God, possible only because of the atoning work of Jesus Christ, the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit, and the great love of God the Father.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Quote of the Day #194 - Charles Spurgeon

A short quote of wisdom from Charles Spurgeon:

Nothing good will be done by a man who will not attempt it until everybody thinks it
is wise.

~Charles Spurgeon (God-Guided Men 3078)

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Thursday, January 12, 2012

Noah's Life And Death - Genesis 9:28-29 Bible Commentary

Noah lived for an almost record-breaking 950 years.¹ Yet for a man who lived for so long, we know so little. All that we have are a few short snapshots of his life.

The first snapshot we get is of Noah's birth. Noah was born into a world that was teeming with sin and aching from the pains of the curse. When Noah was born, his father Lamech said: Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands (Genesis 5:29). It is clear, then, that from the very beginning Noah's life was marked out for a set purpose.

Then we have nothing but silence.

Scripture tells us nothing about the next 480 years of Noah's life. We know nothing about his childhood or his young (relatively speaking) adulthood. We know so little that the most that can be said is that Noah turned to God sometime in the first 480 years of his life. This simple fact can be assumed because in the next snapshot Scripture gives us of Noah, he is 480 years of age and walking with God (Genesis 6:9).

In the 480th year of Noah's life, Scripture makes clear that the world around Noah was a complete mess. Lust controled the globe, with the sons of God at the center of it all.² The earth was completely filled with violence (Genesis 6:11). In fact, the world was in such a sinful condition that God decided to wipe out humanity. In the midst of this horrifying scene, the only relief came from one man: Noah.

When Noah was 480 years old, God, by his grace, looked upon him with favor (Genesis 6:8). Demonstrating His mercy, God commanded Noah to build an ark so that he would be spared from the coming global flood.

Scripture gives us only a fuzzy snapshot of what happened over the next 120 years. We know that Noah was building the ark and that he was a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5). We also know that the wickedness of the world did not change, and perhaps grew worse. Apart from that, we know nothing.

After those 120 years came to an end, God sent the Flood. Scripture gives us one of the most detailed snapshots of Noah's life during the year of the flood. In fact, Scripture records the exact chronology of the flood (Genesis 8:3-19).

It is after the Flood that we see the last snapshot of Noah's faithfulness. After leaving the ark, Noah built an altar to offer sacrifices to the God who had saved him. Shortly afterwards, God made the ever-famous rainbow covenant (Genesis 9:12-17).

If only that had been the last snapshot that Scripture gave us of Noah— if only the last image we had was of Noah and his three sons standing in the presence of God with a vibrant rainbow shining in the background.

Sadly, the last snapshot Scripture gives us is of Noah drunk, naked, and cursing one of his sons (Genesis 9:21). It is hardly the image we would expect from a man who did so much and lived for so long. Yet we must remember all of Noah's life, not just parts. Noah, in the bigger picture, was a man who remained faithful to God.

As the author of Hebrews puts it:

By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. (Hebrews 11:7)

We do not know how Noah died, but we do know when he died. Genesis 9:28-29 provides us with a short, closing snapshot that sums up Noah's life:

Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood. So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died. (Genesis 9:28-29)