The next course I selected as part of my Unschooled Master of Theology program was the KI course, Galatians, which covers Paul’s letter to the Galatians. All of the discussions questions are included in this post.
As a reminder, you can find all of my course assignments for the uThM here.
So, let’s get started….
What do I Already Know?
I do not know much about the letter to the Galatians off-hand. I know it is part of Paul’s series based off Habakkuk 2:4, “the just shall live by faith.” But, to any specific degree, I know little. It is one of the books of the Bible that is most oft memorized or studied. It is a personal letter from Paul to the Galatian church, that discusses many personal issues between them, then talks about Abraham, how he was saved, who saved him, fathers and their children, legalism, warnings against abusing liberties in Christ, sharing, receiving and giving, sowing and reaping.
What do I Want to Learn?
1. I would like to get a comprehensive understanding and picture of the letter to the Galatians. And understand the fundamental theological implications it has on our faith.
2. I would like to explore how using Dr. Missler’s materials will work in a small group setting.
Lecture 1
Have you shared any experiences similar to Saul during the years preceding or immediately following your conversion? Explain.
Paul heard the voice of Jesus on the road to Damascus, plus he was physically blinded for three days by the Lord. I did not experience any of this. But, like Paul, my experience was abrupt, dramatic, and permeant. Like Paul, I was reoriented toward a different trajectory in life. I can demarcate my “before Christ” life from my “after Christ” life. We can do the same for Paul (who was previously Saul). These experiences were also marked by profound and uncharacteristic transformations. Paul went from persecuting the church, having people imprisoned, approving of murder, to being the chief evangelist to the whole world and to all of church history. Likewise, I was a happy Buddhist who wanted nothing more than to retire to my bodhi tree and find enlightenment and escape the delusion of this world. But, God had other plans. He chose me from the foundation of the world, he devised those things that I would do before I ever existed, and now I am walking in them.
Do you see issues in today’s church, resembling those faced by the early church, in trying to force gentiles to become circumcised?
Judiazers are basically believers who believe that the formulation of salvation is grace + something else. The something else could and often is anything else, something else, but it always includes an addition to what Jesus did on the cross. This is most often found today in the Messianic Movement, those who become exposed to and enamored by the Jewish customs, the Jewish identity, and then eventually slip back into keeping the law for salvation rather than simply enjoying and celebrating the Jewish culture.
Another group of Christians who do something similar are the Seventh Day Adventists who are strict observants of the idea of the Sabbath and the dietary laws of the Old Testament.
A third group are fundamentalists or legalists, who end up making a law from anything and everything. A perfect example of this is KJOnlyism with their insistence that the 1611 is the only God inspired translation of the Bible, even sometimes over the original languages.
According to this lesson, what is the plan of God for today and why is that significant?
The plan of God today is summed in Acts 15:14, “to take out from the Gentiles a people for his name.” This is the “fullness of the Gentiles” the “mystery of God,” and is the church that Jesus is building. It is the bride of Christ. And once the last person who is predestined to be part of the church steps into the church, then the mystery will be finished, and the church will be resurrected, raptured, and then God will turn his attention to pouring out his wrath on the earth to elicit a particular response from the Jews, so that they might be saved as we are saved (Acts 15:11). After this, then it will be the judgment and the culmination of all things.
James quotes Amos 9:11-12 from the Septuagint, stating “‘After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the LORD who does all these things” (Acts 15:15-17). The 1000 year Millennium is the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant, “there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it” (Isaiah 9:7).
Have you ever experienced in a situation like the circumstances Mark, Paul, or Barnabas faced? How did you resolve it?
If referring to the disagreement Paul and Barnabas had with Mark, considering Mark to be unworthy of the work because of his prior abandonment, I experience something similar in my 20s. While serving in a church in Myrtle Creek and living with and trying to help a family whose patriarch was struggling with alcoholism, I reached a point (months of work) where I felt it would be impossible for me to continue living with the family. The husband had started drinking again, was unrepentant of it, and basically told me I had to “get over it.” After much prayer, and after consolation with elders in the area, I made the decision to move out.
Another brother at the local church vehemently apposed my decision. He stated to others that I should have remained there, should have suffered with the family and with the brother in question, that I should not have given up on him. He also stated that I should not have bothered an elder of the church at a meeting, that my concerns were basically insignificant, and that I was, in his assessment, “unworthy of the Kingdom of God.”
Unfortunately, unlike Paul and Mark, the other brother and I never had an opportunity to reconcile. By that point I had been called by another family to help a church in Umpqua, and the brother who disagreed with me was driven away by the church for his views on lesbianism, etc. He is an ‘apostle-like” figure today, wandering around homeless, moving from small group to small group, church to church, seeking financial support for his needs.
If the question is referring to Judiazers, I did experience one brother directly, while working at a group home. He lived across the street and would come over periodically to chat. I also knew him from a small group that met in a family’s home south of town. He considered himself a “convert” to Judaism, and he bemoaned the fact that he was not Jewish enough to return to the homeland of Israel. He read the Complete Jewish Bible, was rather hostile to the teachings and letters of Paul, because, in his own words, “it can’t mean what it says, otherwise I couldn’t believe the way I want to believe.”
Have you found yourself falling back under the law? Explain how and in what way you removed yourself from it?
Dr. Missler stated in the lecture that we all have a tendency toward legalism.
But I have never been tempted to keep the Law specifically, though it is a tendency for all of us at some point to want to keep the Ten Commandments as a mechanism for salvation. That if we do at least this, then we will be right with God, or that somehow, if we are saved then we will keep the law (which is actually not untrue), but that by keeping the law we are circularly then saved.
My difficulty was the law of the desert, monasticism, the eremitic expression of the contemplative life. Desert Theology. The monastic culture itself. I had to come to terms with the reality that I was not Catholic, I was not held captive by the false doctrines of Mary or Saint worship, I did not hold to the magisterium of the Church, to the authority of the Pope, to the authority of Church tradition. I had to allow for the monastic culture to inform my faith but not imprison it.
What makes Galatians distinctive from the other Epistles of Paul?
Galatians appears to be a very stern, severe, solemn letter, written to a group of people who were in trouble, who were struggling to hold on to the foundations of their faith. The epistle, unlike the others, has no commendation, no praise, no thanksgiving, no request for prayer. It is a gut wrenching letter, borne on Paul’s deep felt emotion, not the intellectual exercise of Romans.
It is said that the Book of Romans comes from Paul’s head while Galatians comes from his heart. It declares the emancipation from legalism and from any bondage to the Law. It was said to be Martin Luther’s favorite letter in the New Testament.
K-W-L Self Assessment: L- Describe what you LEARNED from this session.
Nothing to add.
Lecture 2
What part of the Body of Christ are you? What is your function?
The body of Christ is a spiritual temple of God being built not of human hands but of the Holy Spirit and of Jesus Christ (Matt 16:18; Eph. 2:20). Throughout the history of the church, from Acts 2 until today and going forward until “the mystery of God would be finished” (Re 10:7), at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, the resurrection and subsequent rapture of all believers, this church has been defying logic, reason, and orthodoxy.
Within the church, there are five distinct gifts given for the equipping of the saints (the entire church) for works of service (a countless myriad of opportunities of service and gifts), for the building of of the body into the fullness of Christ (Eph 4:11-16). These five gifts are: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. This gifts are not distinct, but do overlap at times, in different seasons, and vary among individuals.
Predominately, the apostles are those 12 plus Paul. I would argue there are no apostles nor any need for apostles today in the church. Then again, I do sometimes see a kind of “apostolic” gifting in some individuals as “organizers,” those who have spiritual or Scriptural authority. Certainly, there are church planters who have apostolic authority, and we can see this kind of continuation in the early church. But, because of the rabid abuse of the term and “office” of apostle, it is best to avoid the use of the term altogether, and restrict it to the 12+1.
I would likewise argue that the office of Prophet should be restricted to the Old Testament Prophets, and the early church prophets. This is entirely based on the, again, rabid abuses of the term itself and the defamatory behaviors and actions of self-proclaimed “prophets” today. We, at least in our current dispensation, do have the Word of God in written form. It is the complete Word of God, the Bible, in 66 books, 1189 chapters, and 770,430 words (NKJV). There is no need for greater revelation on the part of man. The message is complete. The call has gone out. It is up to all individuals to accept or reject the grace God has extended to them. For this is the time and this is the hour by which men can be saved. There will come a time when the mystery is over, when God calls us all to his Son, and the church will be complete and finished and there will be no grace extended any longer.
I would say there IS a purpose and a place for the remaining gifts today (not that there is not a place for the apostles and prophets, but that their time is historical and now completed and we have the culmination of their work and teaching in the Bible). These are evangelists, elders, and teachers. These are the three active today in the churches, and have been active for hundreds if not a few thousand years, at least since the time of the Reformation and if not before. The purpose of the evangelist is to spread and share and preach the gospel of Christ. He is the one tasked and equipped and enabled to declare, to announce, to reveal the saving message that is found in the Word of God and that has been sent out to the whole world, that some might be saved. The purpose of the elder (or modernly known as pastor) is to shepherd and guide the church. He is held accountable for the well-being, the growth, and the sealing of the souls entrusted to him. In the first century church, the model for eldership that we receive is one of a plurality, never the Moses principle so popular today (also not trustee/deacon either). These are the shepherds, the elders, the overseers of the local church body and there should be a multiplicity of elders in every congregation (1 Peter 5:2–4).
Now, these five together are given as gifts to individuals in the church for the expressed purpose of “the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry” (Eph 4:12). It is the job of the “fivefold” ministry to build up the body of believers to the point in which they are in turn moving into “work of ministry.” This is anything and everything that glorifies God. It is sharing the gospel of Christ. It is teaching. It is a kind gesture. It is leading a Bible Study. It is handing out bulletins on Sunday morning. It is greeting people. It is given someone spare change. It is full time ministry and it is localized, short-term ministry. It is all for the building up of the body of Christ, to the final aim of coming to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. That we all might graduate from being “children” in the faith to “mature” adults. The whole body is joined and knitted together, and all of this “work of service” causes the body as a whole to grow and build itself up in love.
It has been difficult for me for a very long time to define confidently where I stand and with what gifts God has given me in the church universal and especially in the local church. I can confidently say that God has given me particular gifts.
1. The gift to study the Bible, to research the Bible, to analyze the Bible.
2. [reluctantly] The gift to teach, the office of the Teacher.
3. The gift of organization and the office of the Organizer.
4. The gift of writing and teaching through storytelling.
Some are explicitly given a primary gift and/or office for the entirety of their lives (i.e. someone called from their youth to serve as a pastor/elder). Some move through different gifts based on their particular circumstances in life. One might be an evangelist in their early 20s, then a teacher in their 30s, a deacon in their 40s, and an elder in their 50s and on. Whatever it is God class us to, it is important that we soberly and carefully examine ourselves, count the cost beforehand, and then fully embrace whatever it is God is calling us to do.
How are the denominational churches, of today, like the Judiazers?
Too often churches tend to focus on activity, performance, program, or behavior as the mechanism by which they must be saved, rather than the confession and belief of the individual that brings about redemption. Sunday Service, Baptism, Statements of Faith, Folk Theology, Denominational distinctives – these can all be made into idols or requirements by which we must live by in order to be saved. The Churches of Christ do this with baptism. The Seventh Day Adventists do this with dietary laws. The Jehovah’s Witnesses do this with their organization and their governing body.
Another example of Judization in the modern church is the Messianic Movement. These are otherwise gentile believers who have become captivated by the Jewish culture and the Mosaic law to the point at which they put themselves and others back under the law as a requirement of salvation. Paul argued against this for the Judiazers of his day, as well as for those of our day.
Discuss the differences of Paul’s writings in Galatians and his writings in Romans.
Galatians is God’s strongest argument against legalism. We, as fallen people, tend to be drawn toward legalism and tradition and legalistic activity. It is against this tendency that both Romans and Galatians argue against. But, while Romans was written from the mind of Paul, Galatians was written from his heart. It is a an emotional appeal. Romans is very systematic and serves as a definitive statement of the Christian faith, but Galatians is a declaration, an emancipation freeing us from the requirements and limitations of the law.
How is baptism an outward sign of our faith?
Galatians 3:27 states, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Baptism is not the saving agent, but is the outward sign of an inward transformation. This is illustrated in Rom 6:4 “we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” In the same way that a Roman young man would be given a special toga at his coming of age, giving him all the rights and privileges and responsibilities of a man in that society, so too is baptism the robe in which we have to identify ourselves in Christ. Galatian believers had so put off the old man and taken up the new man in baptism, but then took back on the old man again. The toga in and of itself meant nothing. Anyone could essentially, physically wear it. But, if it was worn illicitly and found out, all privileges would be revoked. If worn initially but then removed (for whatever reason), the benefits of wearing it were no longer available to him.
It is interesting, though, that if this analogy holds, how does one put on Christ in baptism and yet, later, disrobe from the Faith? Baptism, if genuine, is synonymous though distinct from the baptism of the Holy Spirit (the rebirth of the individual), and this carries with it particular rights, responsibilities, and obligations. It comes with some inevitabilities. Jesus is the perfecter and finisher of our faith (He 12:2). He will not stand idly by as a genuine believer whom God gave Jesus to hold until the day of redemption turns and walks away from the faith. A genuine baptism will produce genuine transformation, and genuine sanctification (the act of becoming Christ-like).
Why did God separate the other Apostle’s ministries from Paul’s ministry? How were they different?
Paul received his commission from God as an apostle directly from Christ himself. While on the road to Damascus, still going after and threatening the Church, he saw a great light from heaven, brighter than the sun, which knocked him and his companions to the ground. Paul then heard a voice in Hebrew stating, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” Paul asked who was speaking and he answered, “It is I, Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Paul asks Jesus, “What do you want me to do?” And Jesus answered, “Arise, go into the city, wait. For I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from others that their eyes would be opened, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance among those who are sacrificed by faith in me” (Acts 26:15-18). Paul did as he had been instructed, going into the city and waiting there in prayer, blind, and surely bewildered by what had transpired on the road. But, we know that God was working in another at the same time, Ananias, and to him he said, “Go to Saul. He is waiting for you and knows you by name. You need to lay hands on him so that he might be healed.” Ananias was rightly terrified because he knew full-well who Saul was. But God answered, “Saul is my chosen vessel to bear my name before Gentiles, kinds, and the Israelites. I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name’s sake” Acts 9:1-16).
These two passages explicitly state why Jesus chose Paul, what he chose him for, what what it was Paul would have to do going forward. Paul became an ἀπόστολος “apostle” or “sent one” but considered himself “one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God” (1 Co 15:8-9). He did not replace Judas (Acts 1:16–26). This was done by Matthias and is theoretically authenticated in the ELS in Isaiah 53 (which contains neither Judas nor Paul). The twelve apostles are associated in some way with the twelve tribes of Israel (Mt 19:38; Lk 22:30). Paul remains distinct. Separated from them. A Jew with a Gentile citizenship, well-educated Jew, a Roman citizen, and immersed in the Greek culture (Jer 1:5). He was “set apart for the gospel of God” (Ro 1:1), that which was the mystery of Christ which was hidden before the foundation of the world (Romans 16:25; 1 Co 2:7; 4:1; 15:51; Eph 1:9; 3:3-4; 5:32; 6:19; Col 1:26-27; 2:2; 4:3; 1 Ti 3:9; Re 10:7).
The expressed purpose for Paul’s separation and sending out by Jesus was to first authenticate his message (that he could not be accused of borrowing from the other apostles), and then he was sent so that “God could visit the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name” (Acts 15:14). This was the plan all along in Christ, as “there is no salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
What do you have to do to be saved? Give Scriptural references.
Not long ago I was tasked to update the website of the local church we currently serve. With those update, I wrote a squeeze page that outlines the entire process of salvation, from our first necessary acknowledgement of our sin and depravity before God (Ge 6:5-6; Ro 1:20; 3:19, 22-23; Ga 3:22), to our confession, to our belief, and finally to our submission and surrender to the direction and guidance of the Holy Spirit as he does his perfecting work of sanctification (John 14:6; Matthew 7:13-14; Luke 13:22; John 6:44), to lastly our glorification in the resurrection and rapture of the Church.
This is not necessarily the Roman Road, as often is expanded. When my wife read it, she said she had never read anything like it and had never heard the gospel presented this way; stating it was very narratively written.
K-W-L Self Assessment: L- Describe what you LEARNED from this session.
Nothing to add
Lecture 3
Who was Barnabas and what was his relationship to Paul?
Barnabas was from Cyprus, a Jew of the diaspora. His birth name is said to have be Joses (Acts 4:36) and he first appears in Acts 4:36-37 as a landowner who sold everything and gave the proceeds to the Christian community. He came from a priestly background (a Levite), which most likely lended him prominence in Jerusalem. He was the uncle of John Mark (the author of the gospel of Mark – which is really the gospel of Peter according to Irenaeus), and both Paul and Barnabas were selected by the church in Jerusalem to go on the first ministry journey (Ac 13:1–12). It was Barnabas that introduced Paul to the other apostles after his conversion. Paul and Barnabas would later separate from each other over John Mark (Acts 15:36-40) who had deserted them during the 1st missionary journey (Acts 13:13).
This, though technically a schism in their ministry effort, practically resulted in two teams sent to work instead of one. Paul later reinstated Mark (2 Tim 4:11). Paul, “being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God” (which marks their approval of Paul’s course) went with Silas through Syria and Cilicia confirming the churches. Barnabas took Mark with him to Cyprus, his native island.
Why did Paul rebuke Peter? If Paul was here today, for what do you think he might rebuke you?
Peter made a habit, after what transpired for him in Acts 10:9-48, of eating with the Gentiles and exercising great liberty among them, despite being a Jew. But, when men from James came to him he began to separate himself from the Gentiles, fearing what the Jews would think. Paul confronted Peter about this, stating it was favoritism and that it was not representing the gospel clearly. Paul was making the point to the Galatians that standing up against Peter meant that, regardless of what those legalists might have said to them, Peter was in line doctrinally with Paul. There are no distinctions between Jew and Gentile in the church, in the body of Christ. There is no distinction between male and female either. We are all one, and members individually of one body.
I’m currently wrestling with the idea of the new ministry it seems as if God is calling my wife and I to start. It is a writing, publishing, and teaching ministry, focused around suspense novels in an imaginary universe, focusing on the macabre, the dark and eerie, the supernatural, the demonic, focusing on those involved in the occult, in witchcraft, in Satanism, in paganism, etc. My hope is to find those in this subculture that the Father is drawing and lead them to a decision for Christ. Yet, I’m wondering if the ideas we are coming up with for the ministry is not going too far. How far can we go in utilizing the false religions, the entertainment industry (publishing, fiction), the fantastical, before we are going too far, before we are ourselves becoming syncretistic. I don’t want the stories, the books, the classes, the community to become more important than the overall message of Christ. This week at camp, I found myself every time I went to chapel, I would use my knuckle to ring a bell that was beside the path. This is something that Buddhists often have set up outside of their temple and they will ring the bell every time they go in and come out in hopes that it might jar them abruptly into enlightenment. I questioned myself all week as to why I was doing it. I even came to the point where I was making plans to put these kinds of bells out on the property along the trails, to put in a Zen Garden, and I wonder why? Am I really trying to reach the lost who are caught up in pagan or false religion, or am I trying to repurpose that which I lost when I was 17 so that I might have both worlds before me? Likewise, how much symbolizes can we utilize, how far can we stretch it, how much levity and artistic license do we have with the Word of God? Am I perverting the Bible by utilizing it as the firmament, the substrate under my novels? It is enough that my books are “leading” to Christ eventually, or is this an excuse and I’m simply wallowing in the filth and dirt that was my former life and could possibly have been my life if God had not spared me?
Yet, at the same time, I feel very conflicted that God is using this ministry, these books, and he will do these even more so in the future. And I’m convicted by “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might” (Ecc 9:10) and “whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men” (Col 3:23; 17; 1 Co 10:31; 1 Pe 4:11).
I wonder if Paul was alive today, if he would not accuse me of compromising the faith for my own spiritual depravity. Because I never wanted to become a Christian. I tried desperately for several years and countless attempts to return to Buddhism and the Martial Arts. I’m just wondering if this is not yet another attempt on my part to recapture part of my previous life.
In Gal 2:11-21, why was “the whole principle of grace” at stake?
Paul had to confront Peter because he was making a distinction between Jew and Gentile in not being willing to eat with Gentiles when other Jews were present. This would produce a division between the Jews and Gentiles and would segregate the gospel, showing that God had a distinction between the two.
This would ultimately require the Gentiles to become Jews in order to be in right standing before God. By doing so, though, the Gentile would become nothing more than the Jew who is himself not saved by the Law but is condemned by it. But we know from Acts 15:11 that Peter considered the Jews to be saved in the same manner as the Gentiles were saved. We know from Romans 11 that the Jews providentially rejected their messiah and were, thus, cut off from the vine (who is Jesus) in order that God might open salvation up to the Gentiles (other than the Jew), and it is from these that God is drawing out a people for his name (Acts 15:14) from every nation (Re 7:9). But, it is in this same manner that once the “fullness of the Gentiles” has been reached (Ro 11:25), then God will return his attention toward Israel and they, too, will be saved, grafted back into the vine the were once severed from (Ro 11:23-24).
God needed to make a point with the apostles and the disciples of the first century church. A new dispensation was being ushered in. Before it had been the Old Testament saints, and they were saved in a fashion different than the future church (albeit still based on grace through faith). Galatians 3:28 has to be exemplified, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Give an example of how Scripture is divinely appointed (2 Tim 3:16) in your life by providing an example of each of the four components described.
Doctrine (διδασκαλία) = provide teaching, instruction, teach us “how to.”
Reproof (ἐλεγμός) = rebuke, illustrate how someone has done wrong and the proof of it
Correction (ἐπανόρθωσις) = cause something to be or become correct
Instruction [in righteousness] (παιδεία) = training with the intent of forming proper habits of behavior
The Word of God has been infused into my being since I was 17, since I read 2 Peter 2 for the very first time, sitting in a chair at the bedside of my girlfriend who was fast asleep in the middle of the night. Since then there has been an insatiable thirst bubbling up from within me, driving me, compelling me, propelling me to pursue God, to uncover the mysteries of his word, to understand the Bible, to acquire the full knowledge of Jesus and who he is and what he has done for us. God has given me such joy in this endeavor. I can think of nothing else that gives me as much personal satisfaction as sitting hour after hour, day in and day out, month after month, year after year, studying, reading, contemplating, wrestling with, and applying the Word. There truly is very little else I would want to do with my life.
Now, God is moving me into position to teach the rest of my life, full-time. I never thought I would ever be able to teach in academia, and while I’m not actually “teaching” I am conversing and influencing students to some degree. But, my professorship I think is only prelude to what is to come. So, doctrine, the act of it, teaching, is built in almost instinctively, naturally in the call God put on my life. He granted me years to be trained, to become intimately familiar with the Bible. Now he has me teaching that knowledge I gained to others.
Reproof is a tricky thing. It is the act of pointing out what someone is doing wrong. How they are missing the mark. It not only requires the knowledge of what is wrong, but the discernment to spot it and the wisdom to point it out in a loving and efficacious way. Too often reproof is weirded without sensitivity and people are beat about the head with it.
Correction is in all honestly genuine discipleship or successful discipleship. It is the re-righting the ship back onto course. It is to cause that which is wrong, having faltered to be back on the correct path again. I do see this as part of my call to the local assembly, to the local body, to the local small groups. It is a time to leave complacency and self-preoccupation and to begin to listen to the Holy Spirit and what it is he is directing us to do in our lives. I have forsaken every human ambition, every dream, every obligation, every desire for Christ and his call on my life. Even when I believed and was convinced that I was where I was supposed to be in the woods, becoming a hermit, pursuing God in contemplation, isolation, and solitude and silence (I still believe there is a great purpose and that I was not off the mark in my time spent there), he then redirected me out of the wild and desolate places and put me on a different path. And so I now serve. I have a wife and children. I have a local assembly of believers in which God has called me to teach and to inspire and to educate. He has equipped me and prepared me for a great and lofty ministry, one in which I am peculiarly and bizarrely qualified for. There is no other avocation, vocation, pursuit that I would rather do more now. It seems as if every aspect of every desire I’ve ever truly had or everything I’ve ever truly wanted, he is now giving me or has already given me.
Instruction is that which we prepare others and ourselves to form and execute proper spiritual habits in life, proper behaviors befitting our servant of our King. This is not just any instruction. This is not the typical evangelical repetition of relaying the foundation stones that have previously been laid again and again ad nauseam. It is instruction with a purpose. It is preparation. It must have an end goal in mind that is perfectly suited for the kingdom of God, the message of Christ, and the purpose of our father. This is the task that God has called me to, and I believe I am doing as he has instructed me. I am accepting the role of teacher, albeit reluctantly, to move them toward genuine fellowship and communion with one another as a body of believers, to drive them, invite them, cajole them. I am accepting the role of facilitator and instigator for small groups (which are essentially churches in and of themselves) with the desire to spur them on to greater works of service in Christ.
Contrast the Law to Grace. Give an example of one area of your life that provided an example of the contrast between Law and Grace..
The law is perfect, holy, just, prohibits, condemns, reveals sin, provides knowledge of sin, demands perfect obedience, defines behavior, demands holiness, curses, slays, and shuts every mouth before God. It is perfection and it cannot be attained or maintained by any flesh, save for one, Jesus who is the Christ. Only God incarnate could keep the Law of God fully and completely, and this Jesus did in his 33 years of ministry and life on earth.
Thankfully, though, it is by grace that we take on the propitiation for our sin, the act of paying for our sin, appeasing God the Father and his justice and his wrath against us. It is through grace that we are saved and it is grace that invites us and gives to us, it redeems the sinner from sin, it bestows and gives power to obey, it is complete in its perfection and requires nothing else. It blesses, it brings dead men back to life, it opens the mouth of the sinner so that he might worship and praise God. It has the capability of saving even the worst of men. It is freely given, it offers the gift of life, and it abides forever and sets us at liberty as sons of God.
When I was a Buddhist, my life and behavior was marked by karmic intention. Did right behavior drive me? Was it the cause of my current delusion? How might my behavior dispel that delusion and set me free? But, as a Christian, I now know that God is doing a work in me, for whatever reason, and that work I am promised he will finish. I will be revealed as a son of God, I am a vessel of mercy, I am adopted as a son.
How do you use the Law for selfish outcomes? Give example(s).
I’m currently having issues with Christian music and what I and my family listen to. On the one hand, there is the issue of 1 Corinthians 5:9-13, where we are instructed to not associate with those who claim to be believers but who indulge in sin, are greedy, or who worship idols. We’re instructed to not even eat with them. We are told to “put away from ourselves the evil person.” The example here is the song, the Goodness of God. This is a great and moving song, and I really actually have grown quite fond of it. But, it was written and performed by Jenn Johnson, the daughter-in-law of Bill Johnson, the pastor of Bethel Church. Jenn is the president of Bethel Music and Bethel Music Worship School, both organizations entrenched in the Bethel Church and the New Apostolic Reformation movement, which are both extremely heretical to biblical Christianity.
So, if we are not to associate (or even eat a meal) with those who claim to be Christians but are obviously not, then are we as biblical believers to listen to music written and performed by those individuals who are obviously heretical? Or, am I using a cultural “law” against myself for no reason? After all, I listen to John Mayer, Ozzy, Alice In Chains, to name just a few, and I have no issue separating the artist from the music. This is my wife’s position when it comes to people like Jenn Johnson. She doesn’t care who they are or what they believe or what they stand for. If she likes a song, she simply likes it and listens to it. Yet, at the same time, my use of secular music has challenged her in her belief that we should only listen to Christian music.
It is clear: those who are in the NAR movement are very focused on money. It is an obsession. Yet, how bizarre is it that a song like the Goodness of God could be so moving and so akin to how I feel often about God and how he moves me. But, there was also a time when I was involved with Amway for a year and a half while living in Texas, and this helped me with God in that many of the people in that organization are very oriented toward the pentecostal view of Christianity. I saw Kenneth Copland live at an Amway function while living there.
So, I’m not certain if there is a law in the Bible that prevents me from consuming anything that is from heretical individuals, or if it doesn’t matter who it comes from as long as it glorifies God (which I would say the song the Goodness of God does), or if my lack of conviction against secular music is justified.
K-W-L Self Assessment: L- Describe what you LEARNED from this session.
I found it interesting that Peter makes reference to Paul’s letter being written to the Jews (2 Pe 3:15-16). Based on verse 16, the question I would ask is: were Paul’s letters already written by the time Peter wrote 2 Peter? Or, were just a few written by then? Peter already considered Paul’s writings to be Scripture. Were there others that Peter considered to be Scripture that we no longer have?
I think it is an interesting question that was brought up. Can we lose our salvation or just our inheritance? Are there crowns and rewards in heaven, or is heaven even structured on a merit system at all?
It is fascinating to hear Dr. Missler mention Adam, the Angels, and us as all being “sons of God.” This is a particular designation of state or status, and I think the unfolding of it will answer a lot of questions in the future. When we are saved, we become direct creations of God the Father through Jesus who is the Christ.
Lecture 4
How can an understanding of Christ’s crucifixion keep us from thinking we need to earn God’s favor?
Christ died a death he did not deserve. The very fact that he died provides a surplus of merit since Jesus lived a sinless life (he had nothing from his life for which to pay for). He kept the law perfectly for the 33 years he was alive. He should have lived forever as he was and not died. Yet, he willingly went to the cross, not for himself but for us. When we accept the gospel of Christ, this is the atonement we receive. He covers our blood. This is why Paul said, “by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
There is no reason for us to try to earn God’s favor because we already have his favor in Christ and without Christ there is no way we can earn his favor.
In what ways did the Galatians behavior appear to be “bewitched” and “foolish?” Have you seen similar behavior in others in your life? Explain.
βασκαίνω = a spell cast upon them; hypnotized
ἀνόητος = foolish; unintelligent; unwillingness to use one’s mental faculties (does not indicate being an idiot or imbecile – developmentally disabled).
Family members – I’ve seem people who, regardless of their circumstances, refuse the gospel at every turn. My sister’s life is in ruins, yet, she is adamant she has no need for and does not agree with the “God that Steven and Jennifer believe in.” Part of this I believe is because she has a friend that is a lesbian. There is suspicion that my sister might be a lesbian. She also is open to all kinds of heretical practices like divination and psychics and the new age. Her life also shows no acknowledgement of her sin, no repentance from it, and no regeneration, and no apparent draw from the Father to Jesus. My father was the same way until the very end of his life. He was abrasive. He was belligerent. He was verbally abusive. And he was hostile to any discussion or mention of God or being saved. No one knows why because he refused every opportunity to talk about it. His saying was always, “if I went into a church, the roof would fall in on me.”
Back under – I knew an elder man who lived across the street from the group home I worked out in my mid 30s. He was a messianic believer, though he was not a Jew. He bemoaned the fact that he was not Jewish enough to be able to move to Israel. He followed the dietary laws of the Bible and was an overall peculiar fellow. I had many discussions with him, trying to understand his beliefs. When are talks narrowed to Paul’s writings about the Law, he commented, “I don’t really accept what Paul said.” I asked him why not? He replied, “If I were to accept what he says, I could not believe the way I do. I want to believe the way I want to believe.” I came away with a clear understanding that this man had somehow fallen under a spell of Israeli culture. He was mesmerized, hypnotized by it, and despite having the grace of Christ, he willingly put himself back under the law.
How does the life of Abraham demonstrate a life of faith and not the Law?
Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness. He did not do anything correctly to find favor with God. He heard God, walked with God, obeyed God. But, the saving factor was, he believed God. He believed God that God would make many nations out of him. He also believed God would raise his son, Isaac, from the dead if he had to go through with the sacrifice. The obedience does follow, because faith without works is dead. But the saving mechanism has always been faith. This applies to not only the church, but also to OT saints and to Tribulation saints as well. And it probably, somehow, also extends or extended to angels, in whatever redemption they had before they became angels (if, indeed, their story contains a redemptive narrative). The same will hold true in future ages to come, if there are new creations with new redemptive narratives, they too will be saved by faith in Jesus.
How are we considered the children of Abraham? What does that mean to the Church in regards to the Abrahamic Covenant?
We are children of Abraham by means of adoption. God was in communion with Adam and Eve. Their sin severed that communion. God then chose to work in mankind in such a way that he separated for himself a particular people, with the rest being turned over to the angels to govern. God worked for centuries with Israel, the chosen people. There was seemingly no hope for the rest of humanity. But, God predestined the Israelites, despite all the privilege they had been given, to reject him and the work he did for them in Jesus, so that a door could be opened up for the gentiles. This was done through the same mechanism that Abraham was accredited with: faith. But this time, faith produces grace in Christ. We are grafted in where the Israelites were cut off because of their hardness of heart. We were the wild olive branches that are contrary to the natural vine. Yet, now we live because we have been adopted and are now those who God promised “many nations” to Abraham.
Once the numbers of the church have been reached in full, the doors of the church will be closed once for all, we will be resurrected and raptured, and the age of grace will be over. But not the age of faith. Faith is a universal and unifying mechanism of salvation. We, the church, are children and heirs by adoption.
How does the Law condemn us? Do you have a personal example of how this has been demonstrated in your life?
The law is perfect. It is right. It is good. It is just. It is excellent in every way. It is God laid out in the written word. But, because it is all these things, it is impossible for us to keep the law perfectly, and in order for the law to work we must keep it perfectly. As soon as we break one of the points of the law we become guilty of being a lawbreaker and it is as if we have violated all points of the law; the consequences are the same for the liar and the murder alike. The Fall erected enmity between us and God, a chasm that cannot be bridged by ourselves or anything we might think of doing. The more we work, the more debt we accrue against God and the further away from him we get.
As a teenager I was lost. I was completely bereft of truth. I thought I had knowledge and I thought I was on the right path. It seemed right to me at the time. I liked Buddhism. I enjoyed it. I thought it made sense. It resinated within me. But, it did nothing toward salvation of my soul. My destiny apart from Christ was the same regardless of what I tried to do. The destiny of everyone is the same: the Lake of Fire. But, I would never have accepted this then (or probably now). It had to be given to me by brute force. It had to be supernaturally dispensed. One moment I did not believe and would not have believed and did not want to believe. The next moment, I did believe and could not help but believe, regardless if I wanted to believe or not. This has been sustained all these years later. I do not believe because I have been convinced or because I wanted to believe or that I thought Christianity would be better than Buddhism. I believe because I have no choice in the matter. Don’t get me wrong. I glory in God’s grace, his mercy, his love for me, and the provision of faith he has given me. But I was a freedman before Christ. Now I am Christ’s slave (1 Cor 7:22).
How have you been blessed by the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life?
I made a decision many years ago as a new believer, after reading much of the New Testament and was in the process of reading the Old Testament. I determined that I would do nothing and would never cease from doing anything unless I was clearly convicted by God to do or not do it. I determined I would not be a part of nor fall to the pressure of man-made religion, cultural christianity, the Christian subculture, etc. For many years, for much of my walk with Christ, I have subsequently been on the outside of what is most often called “the Church.” I was too protestant to be Catholic, too monastic and contemplative to be Protestant. I did not worship the way evangelicals worshiped. I was not persuaded by the teachings of men, but relied on God’s hand to guide me into a fuller knowledge of his son.
Because of this peculiar walk, I found myself living and building a life that, from the outside, appears quite unimpressive, unsuccessful, and a little bleak, and some might say quite boring. Some have even said I am a blight on society, that I do not produce anything of worth, that I am a drain. But, from my perspective, I have been blessed by God. He has kept me from material thirst and greed. He has always provided for me. I have never gone hungry. I have never gone without sleep. I’ve never been incarcerated. I’ve never wanted for anything. I’ve always been gainfully employed. He has met all of my needs and then some.
But, despite what the outside might look like, the interior life that I have lived has been one of great spiritual depth and significance. I cannot quantify this by words, but for many years I have communed with my God alone in the woods, spending days on end doing nothing but consuming his Word, knowing God intimately, experiencing his will, hearing him speak to my soul without words. I have been both in the depths of hell and elated with spiritual and supernatural revelation.
And now he has taken all that life, all the assets I built, but more so the habits and character trails I have developed over years of isolation, he now has rolled out those things to benefit others. All the stay, the handling of money, the experiences and training I’ve had in business, my failed relationships of the past – they are all now actively working for my good, and God has blessed me beyond what I could have possibly imagined.
It has been a life I would not ever want to trade.
K-W-L Self Assessment: L- Describe what you LEARNED from this session.
Nothing to add.
Lecture 5
How was Abraham saved? Give three Biblical examples that support your answer.
Abraham “believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness” (Ge 15:6. This was before the giving of circumcision (Ge 17). It was in Genesis 12:3 that Abraham was promised that all the families of the earth were and would be blessed through his seed. .
This is why it is a misnomer for anyone to claim that the age of faith is the only age in which grace is operational as the active mechanism of salvation. Grace was active throughout the Bible, from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21. The theme of the entire Bible is Habakkuk 2:4, “the just shall live by faith.”
Galatians 3:24 speaks of “faith” coming into the world. It is not that Abraham did not exercise faith, but this faith Paul speaks of is a particular faith, the faith of the church, the mystery of God that God hid from before the foundation of the world and revealed in Jesus when he came to die for us all (Ga 3:24). It is through Jesus that Abraham is justified because of the work Jesus did on the cross. It is through Jesus that the first century, that we, that those who come after us, all who are numbered to be included in what is known as the “fullness of the Gentiles” and the ekklessia (called out ones), all of us are sanctified and restored to a right standing before God through the mechanism of grace.
Grace is the same mechanism that the church is saved by, and it is the same mechanism by which the Jews will corporately be saved as well (Acts 15:11; Ro 11:26).
Why was the Law created? How does the Law affect your daily life?
The law is both a prison and a schoolmaster. It was estimated by Dr. Missler that sin was not added to an individual’s account before the law was given (Ro 2:12). Of course, this would mean that those who were without the law (before it was given) still received the penalty of sin desire it being added to their personal account. I disagree with this argument. I would argue that sin was attributable to man from the first. It is obviously attributable to the angels, to Satan, to Adam and Eve. They received the penalty due them for their sins. The devil has received and is receiving a different dispensation. But, he is still being punished none the less. I would argue that his is different because he is not or no longer under grace but under the law of God (not necessarily the Mosaic Law). This law demands immediate retribution, long-term disposition. The angels of Genesis 6:2-4 met with a fate worse than the devil (in my estimation) as their punishment and disposition was swift and severe. Yet, the devil will likewise also experience the imprisonment of Tartarus (during the millennial reign), and final disposition for all these is the Lake of Fire.
But, this argument is not correct given Romans 5:13, “until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.” So, Dr. Missler is correct. In fact, he states that the law was given so that we would sin all the more. This was the preverbal nail in the coffin. God wanted condemnation to be complete. I believe this is why God does much of what he does in the life of the lost (and in those who are destined to fall away). He is given them more than enough opportunities so that every mouth will be stopped (Ro 3:19). It inflames the flesh to bring about the condition of the lawbreaker.
This is not to say that the Law is incapable of saving an individual. It has the capacity to save and bring life. “You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them” (Lev 18:5). The stumbling block is humanity itself. After the fall we became incapacitated in keeping the law. We cannot “keep” the law as it was intended, or as it demands. We can never get to the point in keeping the law in which the mechanism of salvation is triggered (Ro 8:3-4). We work and work and we only incur debt. There is no freeing us from our bondage or from the wages of sin which is death.
But, in God’s grand wisdom, the law was given not only to condemn us, but it also kept us as a tutor keeps his charge until the lad is a full grown man. He protects him, guards him, limits him on all sides while he is young. What parent allows his young child to wander into a street unsupervised or without a firm grasp on their hand as they begin to cross. This is the law. It imprisons, confines, and contains the individual until grace delivers them (Ga 3:22).
For my personal life, the law shows me how I desperately need a redeemer who has taken upon himself all the sins I have committed, am committing, and will commit in the future. It is impossible for me to keep the law to the extend that it benefits me at all. I am without hope if my hope is not in Jesus. There is no path to God except for the way, the truth, and the life.
Is there a conflict between the Law and the promises of God? Describe how Paul resolves this argument. How have you resolved this conflict in your life?
Paul sees the law of Moses in three distinct ways: Commandments: the righteous will of God (Ex 20:1-26); Judgments: social life of Israel (Ex 21:1-24; 11); and Ordinances: religious life (Ex 24:12; 31:18). When the Israelite sinned, he was blameless if he brought the prescribed offering (Lu 1:6; Phil 3:6). And this was a distinct dispensation in a time period for the history of humanity, between the giving of the law and the triumphal entry of Christ (Gal 3:13, 14, 23-24). At that time, the law did not necessarily (except through proselytization) extend to those other than the Jews. It was not given to the Gentiles. Dr. Missler stated that the moral law was written on their hearts (Ro 2:14-15; Acts 15:24), but I am somewhat skeptical of this. There is a spirit given to each human at birth, at conception, and that spirit is from God, and is a part of God, and thus, we all have God within us, but it is not the moral law of God.
The law is in direct contrast to grace. But, it is through the law that grace came into the world. I am no longer under the law, no longer have to labor to keep it. It is futile to try. But, as a believer, I throw myself at the mercy of God and his Christ, that he will finish in me the work he started at my salvation (and even before). He has implanted in me his Holy Spirit which is a seal and guarantee for the day of redemption. This means I have been given a promise (just like Abraham was given a promise). My promise is that I will be included in the resurrection of the dead, just as Abraham was promised, and this I will be included because I am in Christ. I am included by proxy.
The law was a tutor, but it had no bearing on me before I was saved because I was a gentile and was born without and into a world without hope. I was destined to be destroyed, to be a vessel of wrath. But it was by God’s great mercy that I was saved. I because a vessel of mercy (was actually always this from the beginning, but I did not know my true identity in Christ until Christ claimed me out of the world).
Now I am no longer under the law, no longer bound by the law, and no longer accused by or condemned by the law (Ro 8:2-4; Ga 3:5; 5:16-18; 6:2; 2 John 5; 1 Co 9:21). I am free from the law (Ro 8:2). I now follow the law of Christ, more than this, the law of Christ labors within me to produce the righteousness of the law, which the law could not do. It is not I who labor, it is Christ and God who bring the increase (1 Co 3:6).
Does God really help those that help themselves? Do we have an obligation to prepare ourselves for the uses God has for us? Are there rewards for doing God’s work?
Similar variations of this are scattered throughout the ancient record, from Euripides to Sophocles, Orestes to Hippomenes. It is presumed to be characterized in Aesop’s Fables, but, the exact phrasing appears to have been coined by the English political theorist Algernon Sidney and subsequently later popularized by Benjamin Franklin in his Poor Richard’s Almanac.
This is, in essence, human wisdom. It is not of God. The kingdom operates much differently than this. It states, “Much is given, much is required” (Luke 12:48). We see that those who are faithful with a little will in turn be faithful with a lot (Luke 16:10). God works on us from the moment of our birth, before we are even born or exist, and in that work he prepares us, sharpens us, equips us, and then executes us to action that we will bring about that which he has predestined in us to realize. But, he expects a return on his investment (John 15:5; Matthew 25:14-30). He wants us to labor and fight, to struggle and fall and get back up. But we do this not under our own power or our own will. We do it by the power of the Holy Spirit. Day to day. Moment to moment.
Are there rewards? I struggle with this. There is talk in the Bible about rewards, that Jesus brings our reward with him (He 10:35; Re 22:12). There are crowns of righteousness we are to receive. But I do not view these as rewards in the conventional sense. I do not think they can be based on any kind of merit or willingness on our part, or some decision we might make along the way. Everything we do, everything we are, everything is done by God through us, because of us, about us, and by us. But it is God who does it all. Any reward would naturally fall to him. It is all for his glory and not our own. We are the creation, not the creator. This is his show, we are but the actors in the play.
I see no merit or reward other than eternal life, the celebration of God’s mercy and grace and the inexpressible joy of being included as vessels of mercy, that he might show to the ages to come all that he has done for us.
Why would Paul say the Law was only temporary? What replaces the Law?
The law was delivered to Moses by angels (Acts 7:38; He 2:2). The argument that Deut 33:2 in the LXX speaks directly of angels delivering the law to Moses is a little inaccurate. The LXX does include the word “angel” but simultaneously removes the phrase “Came a fiery law for them.” So it is ambiguous at best.
But, as already discussed above, the law was given as a temporary tutor, to guard and keep the pupil until he came of full age. Of course, the pupil is us, is all of humanity at every dispensation.
How does Baptism fit into Gods plan for man’s redemption? Do you have to be baptized to go to heaven?
As I understand it, Baptism is similar to circumcision. It is useless in and of itself. It does nothing toward contributing to our salvation. But, it is a work of the Holy Spirit, and is a declaration of our allegiance to Christ in this life. It is not essential to salvation. We are told in Romans 10:9, “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved.” It does not include baptism here. There was no evidence that the man on the cross next to Jesus was ever baptized, in fact, we can assume he lived a horrible and rather selfish life. Yet, Jesus told him, “today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). All it took was faith for him to be saved. This man believed Jesus was the King of the kingdom to come. He believed Jesus’ testimony, at least whatever it was he knew of him. This was accredited to him as righteousness (in a similar fashion, I would imagine, as Abraham). This, of course, was before the church age. I would argue this man is not part of the church. He would be considered an Old Testament saint, just as Abraham, David, Solomon, and Rahab. But, they also might be considered to be Jews and will be included in the corporate resurrection of Ezekiel 37:10. Only God knows.
We do not have to be baptized to be saved, but if we are saved, and we continue in this life and are sanctified by the Holy Spirit, I am confident that at some point that individual will be baptized.
K-W-L Self Assessment: L- Describe what you LEARNED from this session.
I found it fascinating that the first edition of the NKJV failed to make the distinction between “seed” and “seeds” in Ga 3:16. I was not able to substantiate this claim, as I could not find a 1979 version of the NKJV online anywhere. There is a YouTube video that talks about this kind of issue, the changes that occur in the NKJV that are not listed anywhere and the copyright does not distinguish between different editions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkK5JburnQ8. There is also an article by someone who spoke directly to Nelson Publishing, but I could not find it again online and can’t remember what their conclusions were.
I think it is the main theme of the entire gospel, the calling out of the nations of the world (including the Jews) a people for his name, and then the redemption of corporate Israel. The church become “sons of God” and the Jews (I’m not sure what happens to them) populate the new Jerusalem (Ga 3:26; John 1:11-12). We are, as the entire creation awaits, those who will be “revealed as sons of God” (Rom 8:19).
Missler also stated that there are two seeds of Abraham, Israelite and Gentile (by adoption). I would argue this is incorrect. There is one seed of Abraham, and they are all by adoption. The Jew forfeited their natural sonship to Abraham when they rejected their messiah. They were cut off from the vine. The wild olive branch (the gentile church) was grafted in by adoption and are now considered full heirs in Christ. Once the church is complete and the mystery is finished (Re 10:7), then God will turn to Israel again and she will be saved corporately, but through the same mechanism as the Gentiles were saved by, grace (Acts 15:11). These are the seed of Abraham, by faith, through Christ.
The other seed that we find spoken of in the Bible is the seed of the devil. The devil’s offspring. These are the tares in the field (that is the human race), and they are the vessels of wrath predestined for destruction, and they are allowed to grow up alongside the wheat, the vessels of mercy, until the harvest, when the angels will reap what God has sown and what the devil has also sown, and the wheat will be delivered and the chaff will be burned up by fire (which is the Lake of Fire).
It is odd to me how supersessionism (replacement theology) could have formed given the arguments Paul makes about Israel in Romans. This was argued by none other than Luther who championed the cause of the Bible being given to all people. He was a doctor, a scholar, and yet, he could not see it. All those who came after him and all those who still currently hold to this doctrine, what do they do with those passages that confirm Israel’s salvation? Allegorize it away. Maybe that is the distinction. Literalism vs. Allegory. Two distinct approaches to the biblical text that produce wildly different results and interpretative understanding.
Lecture 6
Do you think children who die go to heaven? Give at least one scripture that supports your view.
This is a difficult question. Often 2 Sam 12:22 is used to support this idea that children will escape the Lake of Fire because they are not held accountable. But a close and honest reading of this text will show that it in no way provides support for the “age of accountability.” It simply states that David is convinced he will one day join his sons “wherever he is now after death.” We presume that this will be in heaven for two reasons: 1. We cannot handle emotionally the idea that children will be condemned because we believe wrongly that children are somehow innocent of sin and 2. We want to desperately believe that death is an escape and we go immediately to be with Jesus in heaven after we die. Neither of these are borne out in Scripture. They are presuppositions.
There is also an argument form Matthew 18:14 that the Father does not intend that any child would perish. I would argue this may very well be the case. But it is not explicitly stated that children will escape just because God does not “will it” to be. He also does not desire that anyone should perish but that all come to Christ. We know that this will certainly not come to pass, regardless of whether God desires it to or not.
The Scripture I would use to argue against the “age of accountability” is four-fold:
Rom 3:23 – “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
Rom 9:22 – “What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction”
Rom 14:4 – “Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.”
2 Tim 2:19 – “Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His”
God is in control. He knows who will be saved, who are being saved, and who were saved in the past. Nothing happens outside of his will. He is sovereign and just. He is the moral and ethic that all is measured against. There is no righteousness aside from his.
Should Christians constrain themselves to the laws of Moses? Provide an example used by Paul in this session to support your answer.
We are no longer bound by the law, for it was a tutor put over us while we were without hope in this world. But once our hope came, we are now in hope, without need of the tutor that is the law, just as the Roman child has no need of his tutor once he becomes a man (Heb 12:5-10; 1 Jn 2:1,2). For we are free from the law and the penalty of sin (Ro 8:2). We have been granted liberty in Christ (Gal 2:4: 5:13; James 1:25). The law now is relegated to the status of teacher rather than tutor, for it has been recorded for our learning (Gal 3:24-25).
How do you reconcile man’s laws and God’s laws? List some examples of how the Christian is caught between the two.
Man’s laws and the lawgivers in our world have been appointed by God as mechanisms of restraint against the sins of the world (Rom 13:1). They are holding back evil that would otherwise destroy us. This is why we are to obey the laws of the land. Yet, simultaneously, if we are convicted, we are to obey God first of all (Acts 5:29). If we find ourselves in a position where the government is demanding that we turn over or burn all of our Bibles, and yet, we are convicted to not do so, then we cannot do so in good conscience. If the culture surrounding us adds pressure to offer a pinch to a new or foreign God, and we are convicted, we are not to do this under any circumstances. If laws are passed against assembling as believers, against reading of the Bible, or against proselytizing, and yet God convicts us to do so, we are obligated to do it, despite any of the consequences.
My wife gave me an example of this the other day. She said that if the government decides that we must take the mark on our forehead or hand or we cannot buy any food or products, it would be her requirement to figure something else out. Even if our children starve to death because we cannot buy food, it is better to preserve their salvation in the Lord rather than seal their fate by having all of us take the mark of the beast and forfeit our salvation (Rev 13:16-17; 14:9–11).
Describe when the judicial blindness on Israel will be complete? What do you expect to happen at that point?
The blindness has been given to Israel when they rejected their messiah. As Paul states, “The blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (Rom 11:25). But, once the church is raptured then the mystery of God will be finished (Re 10:7), the Jews will restore the temple and the offerings (2 Thess 2:4; Is. 14:13, 14; Ezek. 28:2; Matt 4:9; Dan 9:27; 11;31; 12:11), they will re-establish themselves in the land and will become a great exceeding army (Eek 37:10). They will then go through the millennial reign of Christ on earth (but I don’t know if they will see yet). Then they will endure the final battle, and will near the edge of annihilation when God will save them and the tribulation saints from heaven (Re 20:7-10). Jesus will then return and they will see him as if a son slapped and there will be great morning (John 19:37; Rev 1:7; Zech 12:10). Then God will have mercy on them as he had mercy on us, and he will pour out his spirit on them and he will save them (Ezek 39:29; Joel 2:28), but as Paul states unequivocally, “All Israel will be saved” (Rom 11:26).
What is the promise described in Galatians 4:28? Are you a child of that promise?
Galatians 4:28 states that “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.” This promise is that we are in Christ and that because we are in Christ we are the seed of Abraham (Rom 4:16; Gal 3:16). Just as it was accredited to Abraham as righteousness when he believed that God would bless all nations through his seed, and just as he continued to believe that God would fulfill that same promise even though he was commanded to kill Isaac, his only legitimate son, God reckoned this to his account as “paid in full.” In his belief, he was relying on the messiah that would come through his offspring, namely Isaac (Heb 11:17; Rom 9:7).
I am a child of faith (Rom 4:16), the fulfillment of the prophecy given to Abraham (Gal 3:8-9). Jesus is the propitiation for my sin, and the door by which I might enter in (Rom 3:25; 1 John 2:2; Rom 3:26; John 10:1).
Paul’s principle persecution came from the Jews, the people in bondage to the Law. Provide three examples of Paul’s persecution by people in bondage
Acts 9:23-25, “Now after many days were past, the Jews plotted to kill him. 24But their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night, to kill him. 25Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket”
Acts 21:26-28 “When Paul preached in the Temple, they dragged him outside the city gates, beating him, trying to kill him, in a great riot.”
2 Co 11:24 “From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one”
K-W-L Self Assessment: L- Describe what you LEARNED from this session.
Missler makes the comment that there are only two religions in the world: the one that is true and all the others that are false. This is a realization I came to as a Buddhist, that there was but one actual reality and all other realities were a delusion. And later, this came to make much more sense as I recognized that the Christianity of the Bible was true, and that all other religions, regardless of how lofty, how enlightened, or how benevolent they might be, they all are simply worshiping the devil (1 Cor 10:20).
If we are citizens of heaven that citizenship all prioritize our life.
This allegorization that Paul does is not the same as the allegorizing of Origen or Austin or the medieval church. His allegorizations were used to prove his point. Their allegorizing were used to relegate the historical message to irrelevancy and superimpose a spiritual truth that often had nothing to do with the textual, literal, straightforward meaning of the text (the search of the “hidden meaning” is not always a wise idea).
Lecture 7
Do you have areas in your life that make you feel a need to substitute works in place of faith?
Church feels that way often. The event we call “church.” The standing up, sitting down. The music, the singing, the listening to the preaching. It all seems rather mundane and arbitrary, as if we are trying to fill a quota. I “attend” church for much different reasons than why I “am a part of the church.” Being part of the church was not really my decision. It was a choice made for me. I would not be part of the church today if I could avoid it, extricate myself from it, or somehow disavow it. Yet, I believe what I believe. I cannot help but believe it. God also called to me a wife, of course, for a multitude of reasons, but in this season specifically one of those reasons is so that she would become invested in the life of the church, so that the children would likewise become invested in friendships and activities of the church, so that I could don’t up and leave at the first sign of frustration. Because, let’s face it, I am FRUSTRATED most often with the Church (that is the people). I do not like the people, I do not want to help the people, I have no empathy for the people. They can pick up their Bibles and read it and study it for themselves. I have up the bulk of my life for over 30 years to pursue God and specifically his Word. Especially if we argue from a position of free-will (which I would not), there is no excuse for people to choose everything else over God’s law and direction and that which he had set apart for us as a our guide and our lesson.
So, I do struggle with the “things and activities” we perform in the church. I really get very little from corporate worship. It seems to just be bad songs being sung by people who can’t sing. Musicians who can’t play their instruments, and a lack of any kind of authenticity. I know this is harsh and bitter, but it is how I feel and it is how I have felt much of my adult life. The church is, for me, off-putting.
But, when God told me I was to prepare for a future wife, I knew and resolved within myself that if God was really going to do this thing, if he was truly going to bring me a woman who is chasing after God as much or more so than I am, and that she would be a truly biblical wife (and not a modern feminist in Christian clothing), then I knew and made the decision and settled it in my own mind that if God did this, and she had the desire and call for the family to begin attending a church, I would do so without complaining, and I would stand in the pew, and I would sing the sings they sing, and I would serve in whatever capacity God called me to, and I would keep my peace. For, I know that the church is service. It is not something we “attend” in order to receive something as if we are a passive participant. We step in through the door of the sheepherder and we are called to take up our cross and follow him. Not just once, not just when it feels good to do so. We are called to follow him every day. Every moment of our lives. And we are to be devoted and committed to the church body, whatever body it is God has called us individually to. Personally, I am convinced God called me to two local churches before he determined I would have a wife to ground me. There was one in a neighboring town (where I was planning to move to), and then there was the one we now attend. But I refused to serve either of these groups of people. I made excuses. I compromised. I simply disobeyed. I COULD NOT do it as a single person. Being single was a find thing when I was studying and training and for when I was not serving Christ in this capacity (directly). But, when the time came, and the season to serve arrive, this was when God knew in his infinite wisdom what and who it was I would need. God has provided abundantly.
How does today’s culture claim the Gospel is “offensive” to some? Explain.
The offense of the gospel was in Paul’s day the reality that the gospel message rendered the end of the Law. There was nothing we could do, nothing we could add to effectuate our own salvation. This was the misconception that the Jews had, for they thought, “in them [the Scriptures] you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me” (John 5:39). Jesus was the stumbling block, the rock of offense to the Jews because of this.
Today is a little different, but a lot the same. Today there is a culture of inclusion in the western world, one that dictates by edict and authoritarianism (or, it would like to exercise such power and control), that rejects the gospel on the grounds that Jesus/the Bible are discerning, judgmental, critical, and purports an absolute truth (in comparison to all other truths as false), and claims that God is living, and will judge each and every one of us for the things we do and say and think in this life. The world wants us to believe that there is no absolute truth. They claim truth is relative to the individual, and that no one (not even God) has the right to dictate the legitimacy of anyone else’s truth.
This, of course, does not actual work in practicality. For, if truth is relative, and there is no moral or ethical objectivity, this means that I, being an individuals with the same rights as everyone else, can then exercise my right to fulfill my desire to murder and slaughter innocent people because I “feel it is right” and I feel it is good and true. I gain satisfaction out of it, so then this is all the justification I need to go on a murder spree. But, they would object to this, because they do actually have a sense of absolute or universal truth. It is their truth that they want to extend to everyone, not allow everyone’s truth to extend in and of itself.
We cannot have it both ways. There cannot be absolute truth and relativism, nor can we have universal relativism without carnage. The perversion that has emerged from such new religious thought is grotesque and this is apparent to all who have the spirit indwelling them. But, this is the times in which we live. We must stand firm on the truth of God’s word, always being ready to give a defense to those who ask for the reason for the hope we have in us. This is all we can do.
In what ways do you see “slavery of mutual love” beneficial?
We are as believers called to always consider the benefit of the other first before our own benefit. We are to extend this even to our own wrong and our own hurt than to extend to the other hurt upon him. We see mutual slavery in the marriage relationship, which is a model and foreshadow of the church and her relationship with Jesus. It would be more important to be wronged than to cause another to stumble in their faith.
What are the four contrasts found in this session?
Liberty not Bondage – we are transformed in Christ and are set free from the obligation of “keeping” or trying to keep the law in our own flesh, under our own power, for it is God through the Holy Spirit that we fulfill the law or will fulfill the law of Christ at our glorification. It is accredited to us now as if we have already attained to that place, despite still being dead in our sins and still being under the sway of the sin nature. We are no longer bound by the law or the possibility of the law, no longer under the curse of the law, for it is in Christ that we are set free from the law of sin and death.
The Sprit not the Flesh – We must, going forward, after our regeneration and transformation from sinner to saint, that we begin to walk in the spirit and not indulge the flesh. Not that we at any time can avoid or keep from indulging. For, alone, we have no power to overcome sin or death. But in this life in the Holy Spirit, by his power, we progress and become more christlike with each moment that passes by, as we creep (or sprint) toward death and toward glorification, the grip of sin loosens its hold on us.
Others not the self – this is the mystery of the church, the ἀλλήλων (one another). This is how we are to function in the church as it is built up into the unity that is Christ, considering others before ourselves (Eph 4:32; Rom 12:10; Eph 5:21; Col 3:13; Heb 10:24; Rom 15:1-2; Phil 2:4; 1 Cor 10:24), and loving one another (Rom 13:8; 1 Pet 1:22; 1 John 3:23; 4:11-12).
God’s Glory, not Man’s Approval – Do we work and labor to please God or men? Are we laboring with him in mind or for the accolades of people? But we are to work as if we are working for the Lord (Col 3:17, 23).
What does it mean to “walk in the Spirit?”
This is a continual, constant, persistent, and determined surrendering to the direction of the Holy Spirit in our life, in our daily walk with God, and in how we interact with the world around us. We cannot do this. It is not something we effort alone in our flesh. It must be a complete and utter and total surrender to God’s will. The Holy Spirit indwells us, takes control through influence, conviction, rebuke, and gentle persuasion, and it is our singular obligation as a Christian to “let go, and let God” do it all for his Glory in us, through us, and ultimately for us.
Why do you think that “fruit” is a good description of the Spirit’s work in us?
Fruit is the bi-product of the work of the Holy Spirit. It is the result of his work in us. As opposite, the works of the flesh are the labor in what we accomplish on our own, in our own effort, by our own volition. This is work because we are a perpetual debtor to the law by works. These works can be lofty, good, and even moral. But, without the initiation, purpose, will, and involvement of the Holy Spirit in that work, it can be nothing else but stubble and chaff.
K-W-L Self Assessment: L- Describe what you LEARNED from this session.
I think this comparison between justification and sanctification was interesting:
Justification is for us.
Sanctification is happening in us.
Justification declares the sinner righteous.
Sanctification makes the sinner righteous (in glorification).
Justification removes the guilt and penalty of sin.
Sanctification removes the growth and power of sin.
Eternal Security has been bantered about for centuries. I would argue this course of passages in this order: John 10:28-29 – two hands involved. This is Eternal Security of the genuine, biblical believer. Once Saved, Always Saved (OSAS). But, this is juxtaposed to 1 John 2:19. Both passages pertain to eternal security, but the first deals with the believer, while the second with the non-believer who pretended to be a believer. John tells us that the pretender “left us” because he was never actually “part of us” to begin with. I would argue this is the majority of those who depart from the faith. They never really believed and were in “fellowship” for various other reasons (culture, tradition, family obligation, works, etc). For whatever reason, the tie that bound them to the cross was removed, destroyed, or somehow compromised, and this led them to walking away from the faith they never truly accepted to begin with.
But, we still have to wrestle with Hebrews 6:4, which speaks of those who were actually “once enlightened” and who had “tasted of the heavenly gift,” who had “become partakers of the Holy Spirit,” who had “tasted of the good word of God and the powers of the age to come.” These would arguably be believers. They would not be presenters for they were at one time enlightened, they had tasted, they become partakers of the Holy Spirit (meaning he had come into them and dwelt with them). Yet, despite all of this, they have “fallen away.” This word in the Greek is παραπίπτω (He 6:6) and means to abandon the former relationship, to dissociate, and is a completely reversal from their previous position. It is akin but not necessarily what Paul is talking about in 1 Th 2:3 when he uses the word ἀποστασία, which is the active form, open rebellion, hostility, defiance, and having a desire to overthrow.
Can one lose his salvation? I would at first argue no (He 6:6; 12:15; 1 Co 9:26-27; Ga 5:4; 2 Pet. 3:17), but He 6:6 would argue otherwise. I do not subscribe to Dr. Missler’s conclusion that there is a difference between entrance into salvation and our inheritance. He states that salvation is eternal and secure but that our inheritance (reward for good works) is always subject to loss if we are unfaithful. I would say that our inheritance is eternal life in Christ, it is our salvation. What we do with our remaining life is up to the Lord and is predestined for us. 2 Co 5:10 states that we will be judged in the end and will “receive the things done” in the flesh while we were here. If we are judged, though, we will all be found guilty before God, for we cannot do anything that will merit favor in God’s sight. The only thing that he can say, “good and faithful servant” (Matt 25:21-25; Lu 19:17) to is our surrender to Christ and to the Holy Spirit, who will then reap a work in and through us. The church does not reap what it has sown. Despite our sins, God provides for us the righteousness of Christ. His righteousness is accredited to us.
Heaven is not hierarchical based on rewards or behavior. We submit, and our work is finished. He receives our submission and then does a work in us.
Did anyone hear the car alarm in the background of the video?
Does the Koran have the word love in it? Is it a command to love other people? (From a cursory search it appears as if it does).
The Fruit of the Spirit (Ga 5:22-23) is in contrast to the Works of the Flesh (Gal 5:19-21). Dr. Missler argues that the fruit is singular and thus all the fruit should be present in the life of one who is submitted to the Holy Spirit (I would push back on this, for how do we know how long someone has been a believer? How long have they been submitted?). He would argue, on the other hand, that the works (being plural) of the flesh are varied and might or might not be represented in any individual. This is an interesting thought, and something to be pondered.
Lecture 8
Give examples of a life that demonstrates sacrificial service to the following groups: sinning Christians, burdened Christians, pastors-teachers, and everyone.
Sinning Christians – These would be believers who are entrenched or struggling with some kind of sin or sins and they are having a difficult time gaining victory over it/them. To sacrifice for them would be to exercise ample empathy, to shoulder their concerns, to try and help them as tactfully and graciously as possible, given them every opportunity to grow and mature in Christ. This can take the form of being an accountability partner, in praying for them, in praying with them, and trying to do whatever you can for their best interests.
Burdened Christians – These would be believers who are suffering under weights that are not necessarily tied to some kind of sin or sins. This could be those who are experiencing illness or tragedy or loss of income/work or going through an unfounded divorce, etc. The sacrificial service would really be the same for them as it is for the sinning Christian. Be there. Love them where they are, not for who you think they should or could be. Help carry their burdens. Treat them as family. Provide shelter and comfort and solace as needed.
Pastors and Teachers – I struggle with this. Pastors are not biblical. The term is not biblical. It occurs only one time, in Ephesians 4:11 and that Greek word ποιμήν occurs 18 times in the NT and each time it is translated as Shepherd EXCEPT for Ephesians 4:11. Simply put, I believe this translation has been intentionally changed to artificially support the professional clergy class of the modern evangelical church. Nowhere is this position or office found in the Bible. The only two offices in the local assembly are to be Elder and Deacon. We no longer have apostles (they are all dead, but we have their teachings and writings in the Bible, though there is an argument that our modern day missionary is the equivalent of an apostolic office), there are no longer prophets (again, we have their writings in the OT). We do have evangelists, but they are rarely attached directly to a church, or operate often outside of the church in unchurched and unreached areas, directly with the lost. We, do have Elders, and this should be a plurality in the church, and resting on them is the authority and weight of the responsibility for every soul in the congregation. We also have teachers (if this can be an office, but it certainly is a gifting and not many should be appointed as such), and lastly we have deacons who are simply godly servants of the church, given the appointment to the mundane aspects of church life and function so that the eldership can devote themselves more fully to prayer, to the ministry of the Word, and to shepherding the flock of God. How are we to have a sacrificial service life toward the Elders, Teachers, and Deacons? We are to submit to the authority of our elders in everything. We are to heed the instruction of our teachers (but we are also to always exercise Acts 17:11), and we are to assist the deaconship in their tasks, not making it difficult for them, but provide them support and encouragement in their service as they serve.
Everyone else – Again, This looks very similar to the first two groups. We are to be at peace with all men. We are to love our neighbor as ourself. We are to love our enemies. We are to do good to those who revile us and say false accusations against us. We are to love people and do good for people, but especially the first three groups.
How can we, in meekness, help restore those overtaken by sin?
We find this in Gal 6:1; James 5:19-20, and Jude 1:22-23. We who are spiritual are to restore those who are overtaken by sin. We are to encourage them, strengthen them, provide ample opportunity for them to self-correct, we are even to rebuke if need be, so that they might be saved from the flames of condemnation. But, we are to do so always in a spirit of consideration, always with their best interests at heart, not in judgment, in an air of looking down on someone for what they have done.
Have you experienced the support of a fellow Christian in bearing your burdens? Explain.
Early on in my Christian walk, the man who baptized me, Pastor Joe, was very patient with me when I was struggling with life in the military and the oppression and stress I felt having enlisted in the US Military under what I considered false pretenses. I remember him coming to my barracks one day and he was a little perturbed that I had called him and was having anxiety and distress. When he arrived he listened to me, and then thought for a moment, and then said, “Oh, I thought you were having some genuine issues.” I was a little taken aback. But then he recounted how he had to cancel a visit to a woman in our congregation who had just had a miscarriage so he could come see me. I told him to leave me immediately and go see her.
It was a lesson for me that things I’m experiencing in life are not at all uncommon to man. They are not usually all that bad. God has had a way of sparing me great tragedy, great turmoil. Not to say there have not been issues, close calls, and distress. But, he has, overall, blessed me with a pretty uneventful life. At the same time, he has also blessed me with an overabundance of everything I’ve ever wanted: many, many years in solitude and isolation, devoted solely to him and the pursuit of his Word and now, in this new season, a wife, wonderful and well behaved children, who I derive a great deal of joy from, and also now a full writing and teaching and possibly even a shepherding ministry to the local church and beyond. I am convinced God has blessed me beyond measure and I have nothing really to complain about. I have very few burdens if any, especially today.
If we boast in the Cross how will that affect our desire for the world’s approval? How will it affect the world’s view of us?
Putting our trust and faith and confidence in the work of Jesus who is the Christ will render the need for the world’s approval void. Knowing and believing that I have a savior, that he has sacrificed himself for me, and to watch increasingly his hand on my life again and again as I walk the path he has set before me, I can see all the good things he has given to me, all the blessings he has wrought upon me. I don’t need the approval of men. I have the approval of my God.
The world, on the other hand, and increasingly today, will see me as a fanatic. A religious bigot, one who has no compassion for other people, one who uses a book written thousands of years ago and enforces its outdated code of ethics on more enlightened society trying to justify their condemnation. This is, of course, not true. I am ambivalent to the salvation of others, as I am convinced that if someone is a vessel of mercy they will be saved at some point in their life. They cannot help but be saved. Salvation is irresistible. Even if they wanted to reject the gospel they would be unable to. They could not help but believe at the moment God has predestined for them to be saved. Of course, this is viewed as violence by the radical religious liberality. They demand accommodation for all manner of sin and intolerantly reject any kind of perceived intolerance.
In the end, though, I recognize that their issues are not with me. They are with the God that I serve. But, Jesus said in John 15:18, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.”
Explain why the Church is not considered the “Israel of God?”
As Dr. Missler describes it, there are three distinct groups represented in this chapter. There are the Gentiles and then there are the non-believing Jews, and then the believing Jews. I would argue that there are actually two distinct groups, but I can see where Dr. Missler makes a distinction. There are first the non-believing Jews, which is ethnic Israel. It is the sum total of all the Israelites from the first 12 to the last Jew to be born before the end of days (minus the believing-Jews). Then there are the believing Jews, who are called out from among the non-believing Jews and these cease to be non-believing Jews and become part of the mystery, that is the church. Once inducted into the church, and are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, they are saved by grace through faith just like their Gentile counterparts. The third group is the Gentiles, who had no chance of salvation other than to convert to Judaism and share in the corporate salvation offered by the Law (which condemned all under sin). Once the non-believing Jesus rejected their Messiah, then the door was opened for the Gentiles to be brought in, and grafted into the vine as a wild olive branch. This is our adoption into the true vine (which is Jesus). This age of grace is the fulling in of the Church, where God calls out a people for his name from every tongue, tribe, and people on the planet. Once the “time of the Gentile has been fulfilled” then the church will be raptured, and then God will refocus his efforts on the non-believing Jews, who will all be resurrected (Ezek 38:10), and it is unclear if Abraham and other OT saints will be included in the church or in the Jewish people. I would argue someone like David would remain a Jew while someone like Abraham, who never truly became a Jew (coming out of Egypt), would be part of the church or would be a separate dispensation all of his own (along with Enoch and Noah, etc).
Paul, in referring to “Israel of God” is speaking of spiritual Israel, and these are believing Jews, not non-believing Jews. It is ridiculous to presume that the “Israel of God” is somehow the church (though, it technically would be part of the church, the believing Jews), but that in some way the rejection of Jesus by Israel (the non-believing Jews) means they forever forfeit the promises given to them. Somehow, they presume, that these promises now symbolically or allegorically fall to the church to fulfill and the only way a Jew now can be saved is through becoming a Christian. This is the same kind of argumentation (only in reverse) for the Judiazers who wanted the Gentiles to first get circumcized and then follow the law along with believing in Jesus. the Bible tells us this rendered grace mute and that if we do this we have fallen from the faith.
National Israel (non-believing) are a separate and distinct group from spiritual Israel (believing), who are a part of of the church, which is the mystery. The Gentiles are likewise part of the church, the group God is calling out from all nations for his name. The church has a distinct and separate destiny than National Israel does.
What are the “marks of Jesus” in your life?
Just to be clear, I do not carry or manifest the stigmata, though I really did like the movie by that name in the 90s (though certainly not biblically accurate, just like Prophecy 1 & 2 or Dogma, or the Rapture – though again, all good movies nonetheless).
Now that this is settled: I would say the marks of Jesus I have are:
1. My life is devoted to the pursuit of Jesus and the Bible.
2. My life was utterly transformed and put on an entirely different trajectory at 17.
3. My avocation and vocation are intrinsically tethered to the ministry of the word.
K-W-L Self Assessment: L- Describe what you LEARNED from this session.
Nothing to add.
Conclusion
Just finished this class in Galatians at Koinonia Institute. It was great. There was a lot of in-depth discussion and welcomed variation in beliefs and conclusions. I would highly recommend this course to anyone who wants to dig deeper.
On another note, I took up this course out of sequence so that I could test out the online materials (videos, pdf, discussion questions, and quizzes) in a face-to-face small group. I’ve never done this before, but I am feeling quite convicted that I am going to either start a formal/informal Koinonia Program at our church or in the community or I’m going to start my own Philosophy and Theology School and will heavily incorporate the KI materials in the curriculum. Most of my future teaching (for the Isaac Hunter Ministries) will be (surprisingly) topical in nature, focused on controversial and popular topics (physical, quantum physics, paranormal, supernatural, death, new age, paganism, Wicca, etc) and I will not have the time to devote to verse by verse teaching for curriculum. I can think of no other material that would be better to incorporate than the KI catalog. It is possible that I might do both (KI program and incorporate materials into curriculum).
The face-to-face group voted unanimously last week to take up another KI course after we finish Galatians, which we will conclude next week. I was thrilled and several people have said they are really enjoying the material and learning ALOT. One that I know if has purchased a computer so he can enroll in KI full time. Our God is great!
Until my next post…..
Excerpt from The Light Aurora:
The door’s lock released and Dr. Lewis looked around at each of them.
“Stay close, and be ready for anything. I’m not sure if they’re all in the Command Center or if they are trying to secure Level 4. Hell, they could all be evacuating.”
He stared at Scott as he came up onto the landing.
“Let’s go,” Scott said.
Dr. Lewis pushed the door open and walked out into the hall, followed by the others – in ones and twos. Level 2 was similar to the other level, with a long corridor, doors on either side, all with security displays recessed into the wall next to them.
But, as they entered the corridor, Scott’s breath caught in his throat. As he stood there with the others, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. In front of them, probably no more than a few yards away, were three bodies lying on the floor. One was sitting up against the wall, the side of his face melted, exposing his right eyeball and a good portion of his right skull. Another one was laying face down, his entire back opened up at the spine, as if his spinal cord had been ripped out of him from behind. The last one was a few more feet away from the others, on his back, his eyes seared from his head, black, burnt flesh where his eyes used to be.
The intercom came back to crackling life.
“Professor?” Derrick said over the intercom.
“Don’t worry. You can answer,” he said. “I can hear you.”
Scott looked up, then fixed his gaze on the security camera at the end of the corridor.
“Yes?” Scott finally asked.
There was a pause, static.
“What are you doing, Derrick?” he asked. “Did you do this?”
“Indeed,” Derrick said, coming back on.
“Why?”
“They refused to help me.”
“What are you trying to do, Derrick?” Scott asked.
There was another pause.
“I want to go home, Professor,” the boy said.
“Home?”
“Yes,” Derrick said, his tone soaked with some other-worldly confidence that did not belong in an innocent, ten year old boy.
“I want to go home, Professor,” he said again. “Would you be interested in coming home with me?”
Buy the entire story The Light Aurora today and get ready for the thrill ride of a lifetime! What is this foreign and hostile place these strangers find themselves in? What does it all mean? Will all of them survive?
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But, trust me when I say, reading this book will change your life forever.
