The Sermon on the Mount Part 8

by Mike Ratliff

23 “But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise. (Exodus 21:12-25 NASB) 

19 ‘If a man injures his neighbor, just as he has done, so it shall be done to him: 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he has injured a man, so it shall be inflicted on him. 21 ‘Thus the one who kills an animal shall make it good, but the one who kills a man shall be put to death. (Leviticus 24:19-21 NASB) 

16 “If a malicious witness rises up against a man to accuse him of wrongdoing, 17 then both the men who have the dispute shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who will be in office in those days. 18 “The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is a false witness and he has accused his brother falsely, 19 then you shall do to him just as he had intended to do to his brother. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you. 20 “The rest will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you. 21 “Thus you shall not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. (Deuteronomy (19:16-21 NASB)

In the passages above, Moses was giving the Law of God to the Israelites in their dealing with injuries done by one person on one or more people in a way that would limit retribution to that which was just. Its design was to insure that the punishment in civil cases fit the crime, but were never intended to sanction acts of personal retaliation. Therefore in Matthew 5:38-42 (below) the Lord Jesus made no alteration to the true meaning of the law, but was merely explaining and affirming its true meaning. 

The Sermon on the Mount Part 7

by Mike Ratliff

12 ‘You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:12 NASB) 

2 “If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. (Numbers 30:2 NASB) 

21 “When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for it would be sin in you, and the LORD your God will surely require it of you. 22 “However, if you refrain from vowing, it would not be sin in you. 23 “You shall be careful to perform what goes out from your lips, just as you have voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God, what you have promised. (Deuteronomy 23:21-23 NASB)

For a short period of time in late 1980’s I worked in a PC/Computer store in sales. I am not a sales person, but most if not all of the other fellows I worked with were. Instead, I simply told people what the computers could do or what they could not do and tried to match them up with what the people needed. I was usually in the top two or three in sales, never number one there, but I was always number one in customer satisfaction. In fact, the only time I ever saw those customers again was if something broke or they wanted an upgrade or they brought a friend or relative in to buy a computer. However, something changed when I sold a truckload of computers to a local school. Then I did it again. Then our sales manager forced me to move to outside sales and out of the showroom. I hated it. Suddenly I began dealing with agents from companies whose whole way of doing business was based on mistrust. In fact, I had one who went out of his way to put legal pressure on us to fill contracts, et cetera. I asked the guy why he did that since I always did what I said I would do. He told me that he did that with everyone he did business with because that was how he insured that he always got things done. I told him I didn’t want his business and gave the account to another guy in our group. That was the beginning of the end of my time in marketing. Even though God provided for my family and me during that time through it, I hated it except in those early days when I was helping those people one-on-one and they were overjoyed to get it. When it became ugly I came to hate my job and God was gracious to move me back into what I really liked doing at that time, which was writing database applications.

The Sermon on the Mount Part 6

by Mike Ratliff

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 NASB)

One marker missing from “Liberal Christianity” that is one of the major elements that disqualifies it from being genuine Christianity is its abandonment of Sola Scriptura. Because of that, all of those characteristics that makes Christianity Christian are gone such as believer’s living lives of repentance such as that “living sacrifice” analogy given to us in Romans 12:1 along with how from that flows genuine Spiritual growth into Christian maturity in Romans 12:2. With little to no emphasis on genuine Biblical repentance, “Liberal Christianity” simply tries to emphasize unity, political correctness, feelings, with a spiritual hit by using spiritual formation into all sorts of mysticism, but mostly these “churches” do everything they can to appeal to the world so the leaders in those “organizations” would never preach a sermon like our Lord preached in Matthew 5, 6, & 7. Why? Because it brings people face-to-face with their sinfulness. This is offensive and since these men refuse to proclaim the real gospel message of the good news of what God has done on their behalf that they could never do for themselves, they will never preach anything to offend anyone so the descent into darkness of Liberalism just speeds up with each compromise. 

The Sermon on the Mount Part 5

by Mike Ratliff

14 “You shall not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14 NASB)

I am firmly in line with J. Gresham Machen’s assessment that “Liberal Christianity” is a different religion from Christianity. We see this in what it has abandoned in what it abhors in “Orthodoxy” that is exactly what makes Christianity “Christian.” Genuine Christianity is Christian because it is based upon the facts about our Lord Jesus and the message from him. True Christians love and respect and hold dear the same things he loved, respected and held dear, that is, God’s truth, which is called doctrine. In our day, as it was in Machen’s day, the liberals attempt to do away with what they call “dead orthodoxy” and get back to the primitive form of Christianity that the Church missed and has messed up with all its “Orthodoxy” for these last several millennia. In fact, they insist on totally “reforming” the church top to bottom without all this emphasis on the Bible as the infallible Word of God, which we call Sola Scriptura. The move towards that are seen in the teachings and sermons of men who keep moving their churches closer and closer to things such as tolerance for the “gay agenda” or “unmarried couples” or even looking the other way while their members and leaders have adulterous affair after adulterous affair.

Christianity and Liberalism

by Mike Ratliff

1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (Ephesians 2:1-10 NASB)

I spent the last several days away from email, the Internet, work, et cetera, and simply rested and spent time with family with the intent of taking up right where I left off on our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount when I returned. However, before we get back to that, I would like to share some insights from some time I spent in the solitude of study and quiet I had during my “downtime.” Part of that time was spent in reading J. Gresham Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism, which was published in 1923. I have not quite finished it yet, but I made good progress. Some of you I know have read it because you recommended the book to me. For those who don’t know, Machen’s thesis in the book was to address the encroachment of Liberal theology in his day, which was taking over the Northern Presbyterian Church in the United States to the point that the Seminary at Princeton was preparing to “liberalize.” His thesis for this magnificent book is that “Liberal Christianity” and Christianity are two different religions.

The Sermon on the Mount Part 4

by Mike Ratliff

13 “You shall not murder. (Exodus 2:13 NASB)

As I have been studying our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, I have come under deep conviction of my extreme need of grace. Oh, I’ve always known since God saved me that I was saved by grace not according to my merits or works, but as the working of the Word of God on my heart does what it is supposed to do, that is, the Law kills any bit of self-righteousness I have, stripping it away, leaving me with only the grace and mercy of God, anything else is to end up with my clothes torn, lying and weeping in dust and ashes rather than joyfully resting in my Lord.

The Sermon on the Mount Part 3

by Mike Ratliff

12 Πάντα οὖν ὅσα ἐὰν θέλητε ἵνα ποιῶσιν ὑμῖν οἱ ἄνθρωποι, οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς ποιεῖτε αὐτοῖς· οὗτος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ νόμος καὶ οἱ προφῆται. (Matthew 7:12 NA27)

12 Therefore, everything that you wish men would for you, thus also you do for them for this is the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:12 Possessing the Treasure New Testament v1)

At least a couple of times a month, sometimes a couple of times a week, I am contacted either through comments or via email from persons who at the heart are some form of “Antinomian.” No matter what flavor, they all want to say that the Christian is in no way accountable to obey the Law of God or that the Old Testament is of no value to us. Let’s see what our Lord says about that.

The Sermon on the Mount Part 2

by Mike Ratliff

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:13-16 ESV)

I finished translating Matthew 5 last night. I must say that going verse-by-verse, word-by-word through this part of our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount this way has got to be one of the most humbling and heart-rending exercises I have ever gone through. Why? Our Lord was proclaiming that his kingdom had come and that those in it would have certain characteristics and those who did not were not part of his kingdom. In other words, these verses he proclaims about us being salt and light are not parts of a sermon on how to become salt and light, but indicative statements of fact about those already part of his kingdom. Of course, there are later statements of rebuke in which he preaches about our behavior of what we are to do and not do as those in his kingdom. However, as I translated chapter 5 I did a huge self-checkup and realized how my flesh rather than my Lord rules far too much of my character.

The Sermon on the Mount Part 1

by Mike Ratliff

²³ And he went about in all Galilee teaching in their Synagogues and preaching the Good News of the Kingdom and healing every disease and every illness among the people. ²⁴ And the report of him went out into all Syria and they brought to him all those having illnesses, various diseases, suffering from torments, being demon possessed, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them.  ²⁵ And many crowds followed him from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. ¹ And having seen the crowds, he went up to the mountain. And when he sat down his disciples came to him. (Matthew 4:23-5:1 Possessing the Treasure New Testament v1)

The Jewish religious system that our Lord confronted head-on when he began his earthly ministry was one based upon the Mosaic Law, but the keepers of that Law had created oral traditions for the people to keep that were not part of the Law at all. The purpose of God’s Law was intended to show the people their inability to be what God commanded and, therefore, their need for a Saviour outside of themselves so that they would come to God. The oral traditions and the legalistic religious system, a system of works righteousness, kept that from happening because it actually created a system of works that people could actually “keep,” even though they were burdensome, but it deceived them into believing they were actually keeping the Law. We have flavors of this in our time in those religious systems that are all about “works righteousness” or “deeds not creeds.” Any religious system calling itself “Christian” that bases justification upon “works” rather than justification by God’s grace through faith is false.

Jesus’ Equality with God in Power and Authority Part 2

by Mike Ratliff

¹⁷ But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now and I am working. ¹⁸ Because of this, therefore, the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him not only because he was breaking the Sabbath, but also he was calling God his own Father making himself equal with God. (John 5:17, 18 Possessing the Treasure New Testament V1)

Earlier today I listened to a Muslim apologist on a Dividing Line podcast from last week as he attempted to show that Jesus could not be God because he never claimed deity for himself and was nothing more than a prophet. I have yet to hear any “non-Christian apologist,” while attacking the deity of Christ, attempt to address the passages we have been studying in the Gospel of John. However, they do quote a lot of liberal, so-called Christian scholars and attempt to interpret Sacred Scripture through the lens of a man-centered world-view that is slanted toward the religion to which they belong. Jesus our Lord in his incarnation was very different from how he has often been “cast” over the last 2000 years or so.

Jesus’ Equality with God in Power and Authority Part 1

by Mike Ratliff

¹⁷ But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now and I am working. ¹⁸ Because of this, therefore, the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him not only because he was breaking the Sabbath, but also he was calling God his own Father making himself equal with God. (John 5:17, 18 Possessing the Treasure New Testament V1)

In this day of man-centered religiosity that has largely supplanted much of Evangelicalism, a study on Jesus Christ as Sovereign Lord, as Messiah, as God with full authority awaiting the trumpet call for judgment to begin is not only seldom preached and taught, but would seem so out of step with the post-modern, politically-correct version of the visible church all around us. The problem is not with the truth of that message, but with the fact that much of what calls itself “Christian” in our time is not. No, these religious groups may have a “god” named “jesus,” but he is anything but the one we are reading of in the Gospel of John. No, the real Jesus deliberately confronted false religious leaders and bluntly told them the truth about himself in contrast to their apostasy.

The Beginning of Opposition to the Son of God

by Mike Ratliff

18 διὰ τοῦτο οὖν μᾶλλον ἐζήτουν αὐτὸν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι ἀποκτεῖναι, ὅτι οὐ μόνον ἔλυεν τὸ σάββατον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πατέρα ἴδιον ἔλεγεν τὸν θεὸν ἴσον ἑαυτὸν ποιῶν τῷ θεῷ. (John 5:18 NA27)

18 Because of this, therefore, the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him not only because he was breaking the Sabbath, but also he was calling God his own Father making himself equal with God. (John 5:18 Possessing the Treasure New Testament V1)

In our study of Lord’s ministry from John 1 through John 4 the response from the Jewish religious leaders has been one of reservation and hesitation as Jesus as Messiah. Most of the Jews and Galileans had a mixed response as well. However, the Apostle John records for us in John 5 the controversial incidents that caused the shift from reservation and hesitation to outright opposition. This section of our Lord’s ministry is recorded by John for us in John 5:1 through John 12:50. In this post we look at John 5:1-18.

The Challenge of Same-Sex Unions

by Al Mohler

In the world but not of the world? From the very beginning, the church has faced the challenge of responding to external events, trends, ideologies, and controversies. By definition, the church does not get to choose these challenges, but they have been thrust upon Christians by the world. The question always comes down to this: What now?

Death in Adam Life in Christ

by Mike Ratliff

16 The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”  (Genesis 2:16-17 NASB)

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5 ”For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.  (Genesis 3:1-6 NASB)

19 By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:19 NASB)

The doctrine of original sin is a vital part of genuine Christian orthodoxy. For a long time I didn’t really appreciate how important it is in our concept of the depths of our guilt before our sovereign and thrice Holy God. However, as I have become involved in ‘discussions’ with those who reject this doctrine, God has revealed to me, through my studying his Word in order to answer certain ‘arguments,’ that when this doctrine is not part of one’s theology then their concept of their salvation is more self-centered and, in some cases, is understood that one is a Christian based solely on religious acts they have done. Let’s look again at the Apostle Paul’s thesis on our salvation, which none of us deserve.

Religiosity and Unbelief

by Mike Ratliff

εἶπεν οὖν ὁ Ἰησοῦς πρὸς αὐτόν· ἐὰν μὴ σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα ἴδητε, οὐ μὴ πιστεύσητε. (John 4:48 NA27)

⁴⁸ Therefore, Jesus said to him, “Except you see signs and wonders you never believe!” (John 4:48 Possessing the Treasure New Testament V1)

In this stage of my life, God has me residing in the Kansas City area. In our city is a “church” that calls itself “World Revival Church.” It is closely associated with another “church” that was recently sued by the corporation International House of Pancakes because it used the same logo, i.e. IHOP. In any case, the people behind these “churches” advertise heavily on our local television during the evening news hour. The focus of their ads is not to come there to see God glorified or to come and learn about Jesus our Lord and Saviour. Nope, it is all about “feelings” and “being blessed” and “experiences.” I have written about them before. There are some very disturbing videos portraying “signs and wonders” on Youtube about them as well. In any case, what they promote is attending their church for the experience, to get something for self, all subjectively. Contrast that with our Lord’s own words from John 4:48 (above). 

Living Water

by Mike Ratliff

ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ· εἰ ᾔδεις τὴν δωρεὰν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τίς ἐστιν ὁ λέγων σοι· δός μοι πεῖν, σὺ ἂν ᾔτησας αὐτὸν καὶ ἔδωκεν ἄν σοι ὕδωρ ζῶν. (John 4:10 NA27)

¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me to drink,’ you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.” (John 4:10 Possessing the Treasure New Testament V1)

Sacred Scripture clearly teaches us that those who are saved by God believe in the Lord Jesus, that is, they believe the Gospel or Good News. It is good news because it comes to those who realize they are helpless to justify themselves before God who is Holy, Righteous, and Just and also know for certain that their own righteousness is as filthy rags, that is, worthless. The good news is that someone else has paid their sin debt to God for them. They are no longer hopelessly in debt to God. Of course, this applies only to those who believe. The Apostle John used several images or analogies to vividly portray what it is to truly believe in Jesus. In John 6:56, 8:31, and 15:7 he used the physical image of believers abiding or remaining in Jesus and His Word. In John 8:12 and 12:35-36, he used the analogy of believers walking in and having the light. In John 6:53-56 he gives us our Lord’s hard preaching and His own standard of eating His flesh and drinking His blood. In John 6:35, 47-48, 50-51, and 53-58 he gives us our Lord’s image of real believers eating the bread of life. In John 4:10-14 and 7:37-38, we read of real believers drinking living water. In this post, we will look at John 4:1-42. 

The True Christian Serves the Law of God with the Mind but the Law of Sin with the Flesh

by Mike Ratliff

24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. (Romans 7:24, 25 NASB)

As I thought it would, my last post, Antinomianism, caused some backlash. Every time I have posted on that topic it causes something to happen like that. I was accused of things that as far as I know are not true and was told that that article was heretical. At the opening of it I stated, “Antinomianism means “opposed to law.” Antinomian views are those denying that God’s law in Scripture should directly control the Christian’s life.” The one doing most of the accusing demanded a verse stating where God’s law in Scripture should directly control the believer’s life. The first one I thought of was Romans 7:25 (above). 

Antinomianism

by Mike Ratliff

Πᾶς ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν καὶ τὴν ἀνομίαν ποιεῖ, καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐστὶν ἡ ἀνομία. καὶ οἴδατε ὅτι ἐκεῖνος ἐφανερώθη, ἵνα τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἄρῃ, καὶ ἁμαρτία ἐν αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔστιν. πᾶς ὁ ἐν αὐτῷ μένων οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει· πᾶς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων οὐχ ἑώρακεν αὐτὸν οὐδὲ ἔγνωκεν αὐτόν. Τεκνία, μηδεὶς πλανάτω ὑμᾶς· ὁ ποιῶν τὴν δικαιοσύνην δίκαιός ἐστιν, καθὼς ἐκεῖνος δίκαιός ἐστιν· ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστίν, ὅτι ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς ὁ διάβολος ἁμαρτάνει. εἰς τοῦτο ἐφανερώθη ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, ἵνα λύσῃ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ διαβόλου. (1 John 3:4-8 NA27)

⁴ Everyone practicing sin also practices lawlessness and sin is lawlessness. ⁵ And you know that he was manifested to take away sins, and there is no sin in him. ⁶ No one who abides in him continually sins; those who continually sin have not seen him or known him. ⁷ Little children, let no one deceive you; the one practicing righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous ⁸ The one practicing sin is of the devil for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this cause the son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:4-8 Possessing the Treasure New Testament V1)

Antinomianism means “opposed to law.” Antinomian views are those denying that God’s law in Scripture should directly control the Christian’s life. Dualistic antinomianism appeared early in the Gnostic heresies as we discussed in our last post, The Word of Life. The Gnostics taught that salvation was for the soul only, making bodily behavior irrelevant both to God’s interest and to the soul’s health. The conclusion was that one may behave riotously and it will not matter. 

The Word of Life

by Mike Ratliff

Ὃ ἦν ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς, ὃ ἀκηκόαμεν, ὃ ἑωράκαμεν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν, ὃ ἐθεασάμεθα καὶ αἱ χεῖρες ἡμῶν ἐψηλάφησαν περὶ τοῦ λόγου τῆς ζωῆς – καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἐφανερώθη, καὶ ἑωράκαμεν καὶ μαρτυροῦμεν καὶ ἀπαγγέλλομεν ὑμῖν τὴν ζωὴν τὴν αἰώνιον ἥτις ἦν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα καὶ ἐφανερώθη ἡμῖν – ὃ ἑωράκαμεν καὶ ἀκηκόαμεν, ἀπαγγέλλομεν καὶ ὑμῖν, ἵνα καὶ ὑμεῖς κοινωνίαν ἔχητε μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν. καὶ ἡ κοινωνία δὲ ἡ ἡμετέρα μετὰ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ μετὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. καὶ ταῦτα γράφομεν ἡμεῖς, ἵνα ἡ χαρὰ ἡμῶν ᾖ πεπληρωμένη. (1 John 1-4 NA27)

¹ What was from the beginning which we have heard–which we have seen with our eyes, which we beheld and touched with our hands—with respect to the Word of Life—² indeed the life was manifested and we have seen it and we give testimony and we proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—³ what we have seen and we have heard we proclaim to you also that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his son Jesus Christ. ⁴ These things we write that our joy maybe made full. (1 John 1-4 Possessing the Treasure New Testament V1)

As many of you know, I have been reading The Church History by Eusebius. He was a contemporary of Constantine, but most of his history covers the time of the Apostles and spread of Christianity over the Roman world during and after their time. He brings up an interesting point about a third of the way through the book in that while the Apostles were still alive as well as those who were eye witnesses to their lives and ministries and that included those who had actually seen our Lord Jesus before his crucifixion and after his resurrection, our enemy could only successfully attack with limited success from within the Church. Heresies were easily dealt with as John did in the passage above in dealing a deathblow to the major doctrines of an early form of Gnosticism. However, after these first generation leaders of the Church died or were martyred (which was more likely), our enemy changed tactics and so began the era of wolves coming into the Church to lead astray the sheep with deadly heresies such as Arianism. What is the solution? What has always been the solution? It is the same as what the Apostle John did in 1 John and the Apostle Paul did in 1, 2 Timothy, Titus, and 1 Corinthians and the Apostle Peter in 2 Peter. They commanded leaders to teach and preach the Word. 

Those Who Have Eternal Life

by Mike Ratliff

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” (John 6:53-58 ESV) 

About 26 years ago God intervened in my life with eternal results. He called me to Himself. He regenerated me. He justified me. He sanctified me. He adopted me. He changed me forever. However, I was a baby Christian. I had only a vague concept of what God had done on my behalf. I really did not have a clear understanding of this thing we call Christianity. All I knew was that before that wonderful day I did not care too much for church. My concept of the proper Christian life was one of being religious, but that religion had to meet certain criteria. However, after God saved me, my concept changed radically. I suddenly found that I loved God and His people. I loved hearing Bible centered sermons and being in Bible study classes. I had a deep desire to know God’s will that I may obey Him in all things. However, that earlier concept of the proper Christian life was still with me. That meant that one’s religiosity was what determined one’s right standing before God.

The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up

by Mike Ratliff

νῦν κρίσις ἐστὶν τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, νῦν ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου τούτου ἐκβληθήσεται ἔξω· κἀγὼ ἐὰν ὑψωθῶ ἐκ τῆς γῆς, πάντας ἑλκύσω πρὸς ἐμαυτόν. τοῦτο δὲ ἔλεγεν σημαίνων ποίῳ θανάτῳ ἤμελλεν ἀποθνῄσκειν. (John 12:31-33 NA27)

“Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself.” And in this saying, He was signifying by what kind of death He was about to die. (a personal translation of John 12:31-33 from the NA27 Greek text)

We are in that six-day period leading up to our Lord’s last Passover feast. Of course, we know that He was also crucified just prior to the Sabbath of this week so in these last few days our Lord is done with the confrontational stands against the Jewish religious leaders. Now, He is preparing His disciples for what is coming. They still do not get it. Remember, we look at our Lord’s words of His sovereignty, His deity, and joyful submission to the authority to the Father who, in turn, joyfully gives Him all authority throughout creation because of His obedience. Yes, we see this, but remember, He had not yet gone to the Cross nor had He been resurrected. What is so puzzling to those of us who take God’s good doctrines to heart and defend His Gospel with our all is why there are so many wolves in sheep’s clothing in our time with their huge churches running amuck in the visible church causing, seemingly, much damage. What we must never forget my brethren is that our Lord has all this under control. We must stay the course in our obedience and submission to the Lordship of Christ in all things. Those who are in our Lord’s sheepfold are in no danger of being snatched away. Those falling away into apostasy were never in His sheepfold to begin with. 

The Plots to Kill Jesus and Lazarus

by Mike Ratliff

Ἔγνω οὖν [ὁ] ὄχλος πολὺς ἐκ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ὅτι ἐκεῖ ἐστιν καὶ ἦλθον οὐ διὰ τὸν Ἰησοῦν μόνον, ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα καὶ τὸν Λάζαρον ἴδωσιν ὃν ἤγειρεν ἐκ νεκρῶν. ἐβουλεύσαντο δὲ οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς ἵνα καὶ τὸν Λάζαρον ἀποκτείνωσιν, ὅτι πολλοὶ δι᾽ αὐτὸν ὑπῆγον τῶν Ἰουδαίων καὶ ἐπίστευον εἰς τὸν Ἰησοῦν. (John 12:9-11 NA27)

Therefore, when the great crowd of Jews knew that Jesus was there, they came not because of Him only, but also because of Lazarus that they may see whom He raised from the dead. But the Chief Priests took counsel that they might kill Lazarus also because of him, many were going away and believing in Jesus. (a personal translation of John 12:9-11 from the NA27 Greek text)

The hard heart that is in the darkness of unbelief simply will not believe even when given irrefutable evidence. That is what the earthly ministry of our Lord was. He fulfilled those prophecies exactly of the Messiah that were given by those Old Testament prophets that the fathers of these very men also persecuted and killed. John made it clear in the dialogues and the examples of miracles by our Lord in the face of the opposition by these men that they were without excuse. The same is true today. Christianity is not a religion based on feelings or liver shivers or whatever. No, it is based on clear, irrefutable historical evidence of what our Lord did and said. Those who hated Him killed Him, but He was resurrected on the third day and Ascended into Heaven 10 days before Pentecost. All of this was witnessed by multitudes of people and no one has ever been able to prove any of it wrong. The evidences of the truth were all from eyewitnesses. The evidences of naysayers are all from people who hate the truth who were not even there. In any case, in this post we will look at some of the events that took place in the last few days before our Lord’s arrest and crucifixion as recorded in John 11:45-12:11.