George Menard

• About this site

Marta Shutt

• About this site

Suzy Fitch

• About this site

Don Panchito

• About this site

Andrew Musch

• About this site

Sunday School Lesson

• About this site

PRAYER AND WORSHIP
THE PROPER OBJECT OF OUR WORSHIP

In this dispensation, to which Person in the Godhead should the worship of the assembly be directed?

Without question our Lord Jesus Christ is a true and proper object of His people’s worship. The wise men from the east came to worship Him (Matthew 2:2)," TARGET="_blank">Matthew 2:2), and “when they saw the young child with Mary His mother, they fell down and worshipped (not them, as the Romanist and Ritualist would have it, but) Him”—not to mention such cases as occur in Matthew 8:2;" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 8:2; Matthew 9:18," TARGET="_blank">Matthew 9:18, which perhaps would hardly mean more than an act of deep reverence (for “worship” etyrnologically means “worth-ship,” and is thus used in law courts—”your worship”).

In Matthew  14:33 we read that those in the boat recognised Him as “Son of God;” as did the healed man of John 9:38" TARGET="_blank">John 9:38 when he exclaimed, “Lord, I believe, and he worshipped Him.” In each instance it is the revelation of the glory of His person, which draws out the adoring worship of His own. This was the case on earth after His resurrection (Matthew 28:9)," TARGET="_blank">Matthew 28:9), and never did the Lord disclaim such worship, as did Peter (Acts 4:12)," TARGET="_blank">Acts 4:12), but accepted it as His rightful due.

This is all perfectly true and most blessed, and wherever to-day God is worshipped, our Lord Jesus Christ receives His part, for He is God the Son. But this being so, we must not confuse the Persons of the Trinity. Each has His proper place and function, and in John 4" TARGET="_blank">John 4: the Lord clearly indicates that it is God the Father who is seeking worshippers, and it is “in spirit and in truth” that the true worshipper must worship Him.

The worship of the Old Testament saints was figurative. The worship of the Lord when on earth was direct and personal, but there was another worship, even then beginning, true and spiritual. The Lord Jesus is the Way to the Father. If in our priestly worship we habitually stop short of Him, we fall below what the Lord wills for His people. He is the High Priest over the house of God, delighting to present their worship to the Father. The object, the way, and substance, the power of worship are all indicated in that most inclusive verse, Ephesians 2:18," TARGET="_blank">Ephesians 2:18, “For through Him (the Lord Jesus) we both (Jew and Gentile) have access by one Spirit unto the Father.”

W.H.

• About this site

• About this site

• About this site

Is belief in eternal punishment an archaic remnant of an outdated theology or is it both a doctrine of Scripture and a consequence of the character of God?

The Bible teaches eternal punishment.

1. The Test of Truth
A subject may be believed or disbelieved depending on factors which actually have no bearing on its truth or falsehood. If I say that the test of truth is the measure in which I feel comfortable in believing it, I am not really using logic, but subjective emotions. There is so very much in our tragic world about which we are most uncomfortable, so much that does "not seem right," and yet, we dare not reject reality because it pains us. Cancer, heart disease, child abuse, drug addiction, Aids, rape, hunger and murder have never produced a comfortable thought in our minds, yet they exist. Eternal punishment is not grasped by feeble sense and can never be comfortably believed. We must always make a difference between what is against reason and what is beyond it. Hell is as real as Heaven, because the Lord Jesus taught its reality as clearly as He taught that Heaven was the place from which He came to earth (John 3:13;" TARGET="_blank">John 3:13; John 16:26)." TARGET="_blank">John 16:26).

2. The Warnings Prove God's Tender Mercy
One of the greatest proofs of the love and mercy of God is His faithful warnings of coming judgment. There is a voice that comes down the corridor of time, warning of those who will "be cast into everlasting fire" (Matthew 18:8)" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 18:8) and giving testimony to a place where "the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:48)." TARGET="_blank">Mark 9:48). It is the voice of the tender Savior who asked the Pharisees and scribes, "How can ye escape the damnation of hell (geenna)?" (Matthew 23:33)," TARGET="_blank">Matthew 23:33), and then wept over them (v.37). His warnings are not only "true and faithful" (Revelation 3:14)," TARGET="_blank">Revelation 3:14), but are tender and timely, for we all are travelers to eternity, and we dare not trifle with it. Obscure teaching on this subject, or half-hearted warnings are not kindness, but cruelty. It is the same kind of cruelty that would allow a child to drink deadly poison when it was in my power to stop it, or see a blind man stepping off a precipice to his death when I could have warned him. What if those who soften this teaching are wrong? The consequences are eternal loss, an irreversible mistake, a shock from which no victim will recover.

It is a great error to suppose that if a thing is true, I must be able to fully comprehend it, for our minds are not the court of final appeal. There are many things in the physical universe beyond the range of our personal experience, and therefore beyond our full comprehension. In the spiritual realm, the holy character of God transcends our highest thought, nor do we comprehend the infinite sufferings of our Savior upon the cross. We will never find in ourselves an untroubled acceptance of the horrors of eternal punishment, but its reality is not based on our feelings, but on the words of the One who was "declared to be the Son of God ... by the resurrection from the dead" (Romans 1:4)." TARGET="_blank">Romans 1:4). We acknowledge His authority as our Lord; He said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Matthew 24:35)," TARGET="_blank">Matthew 24:35), and we believe Him.

3. God is Good
Many times Christians have heard an unbeliever ask, "How can a God who is good send people to hell?" or "Would a good man put any of his children into a place of eternal fire?" Human goodness and "the goodness of God" are scarcely comparable. Even God's goodness is holy and just, but the best of human goodness is "as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6)." TARGET="_blank">Isaiah 64:6). However, it is not "the goodness of God" that puts anyone in hell, and most certainly God will never put any of His children in eternal fire. Those who perish forever have rejected "the good news" of the gospel. The "goodness" of God was fully displayed in the giving of His Son and in the infinite sufferings of Golgotha's darkness. Even at the cross, it can be said, "Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God" (Romans 11:22)." TARGET="_blank">Romans 11:22). For those who crucified Him the Savior prayed, "Father forgive them..." (Luke 23:34)." TARGET="_blank">Luke 23:34). Surely this was "the goodness of God", but upon the holy Sufferer fell unmitigated judgment. For those who reject God's goodness and His mercy which flow through one channel - the cross, there can only remain "His severity."

4. The Meaning of Everlasting
In the Greek New Testament, "for ever and ever" is a translation of five words that literally mean "unto the ages of the ages". Some have claimed that this is a finite length of time, therefore the fire is not eternal. If a student of Greek wished to translate "for ever and ever" into Greek, he would have to use the same words that are used in the NT, because the language has no other choices. But, there is a far stronger argument against making "for ever and ever" a limited period. This exact phrase is used 21 times in the NT. Eighteen times it refers to God's eternal throne, His everlasting praise and His "glory for ever and ever." Three times the same phrase is used to describe eternal punishment. It must mean the same thing in the second case as it does in the first unless there is contextual evidence for believing otherwise, and there is not. The third major point in this debate hat the Lord Jesus said on at least's three occasions that "the fire never shall be quenched" and we know of no way to circumvent "never".
Two other words in the NT are translated "eternal" (aionios) and "everlasting" (aidios). W.E. Vine quotes Cremer, "While aionios negatives the end either of a space of time or of unmeasured time, and is used chiefly where something future is spoken of; aidios excludes interruption and lays stress upon permanence and unchangeableness". Aionios is used in such verses as "shall inherit eternal life" (Matt 19:29)" TARGET="_blank">Matt 19:29) and "Depart from Me ye cursed into everlasting fire" (Matthew 25:41)." TARGET="_blank">Matthew 25:41). In Romans 1:20," TARGET="_blank">Romans 1:20, aidios is used of God's "eternal power". It is impossible to make a difference in the meaning of these words whether they refer to the Eternal God or the eternally lost.

In Jude 1:7," TARGET="_blank">Jude 1:7, aionios is used of "eternal fire", but this verse does not say, "They suffered," but they are "suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." In Revelation 20:10," TARGET="_blank">Revelation 20:10, two men that have been in "the lake of fire" are still there after 1000 years.

5. Universalism
The doctrine of universalism, that all men will eventually be saved, has a great appeal. It takes various forms. Some believe that after a period of purgation, what the blood of Christ could not accomplish will be done by the purging fire. Purification by fire is Paganism. The Scripture appealed to as proof is, "By which (the Spirit) also He (Christ) went and preached unto the spirits in prison" (1 Peter 3:19)." TARGET="_blank">1 Peter 3:19). This preaching was not in hell, but was "when the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing." It was by the Spirit of Christ that Noah preached (Genesis 6:3)." TARGET="_blank">Genesis 6:3). We must never interpret a difficult verse in contradiction of plain verses. When the door is shut the Lord will say, "Depart from Me ye cursed into everlasting fire" (Matthew 25:41)." TARGET="_blank">Matthew 25:41).

6. Annihilation
This theory has several forms. Some believe that in the day of judgment the wicked will be annihilated, and others believe that after a period of conscious punishment, they will be annihilated. The Scriptures appealed to are those which speak of the wicked being "destroyed" and "perishing", and both qeber and sheol in the OT, as well as hades in the NT are said to be only the grave, which is impossible in the light of the Lord's teaching in Luke 16:19-31." TARGET="_blank">Luke 16:19-31. If Luke 16" TARGET="_blank">Luke 16 is a parable, what is its meaning? The words "destroy" and "perish" are found about 92 times in NT and 80 of these times it is the translation of apolummi (to utterly destroy). We must ask, "Does apolummi mean the end of being or the end of well-being?" The Lord Jesus used it of the end of well-being in Luke 5:37;" TARGET="_blank">Luke 5:37; Luke 15:46;" TARGET="_blank">Luke 15:46; Luke 15:24." TARGET="_blank">Luke 15:24. In His teaching, it is synonymous with the eternal, conscious suffering of the lost.
There is no repentance after death, so those upon whom God's wrath will fall will blame God forever for their pains (Revelation 16:11)." TARGET="_blank">Revelation 16:11).
To all of this, the humble believer responds, "The Savior who suffered for my sins on the cross and in triumph arose from the dead is my Lord. He said that the fire never shall be quenched and I believe Him."

Norman Crawford

• About this site

• About this site

• About this site

• About this site

• About this site

When Moses in Deutonomy 6:4 says, “Hear, 0 Israel, The LORD our God is one LORD,” are we to understand that therefore Jesus Christ is the only Person in the Godhead?

No, it would be a very serious and fundamental error to do so, upsetting and dislocating the whole revealed truth concerning the Godhead, as it has pleased God to reveal Himself in His Word.

This is the teaching of a certain fearful system of error, which we need not name, but which has, alas, adherents to-day; but I question whether there is one point of God’s revealed truth on which they are sound. It is a false system built on lies.

Moses’ words are perfectly true: “The LORD our God is One LORD,” but in that Unity there are three distinct Divine Persons or Subsistences —Father, Son and Spirit—co-equal, co-eternal, co-substantial (see e.g. Matthew 3:16-17;" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 3:16-17; Matthew 28:19;" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14;" TARGET="_blank">2 Corinthians 13:14; Revelation 1:4-6," TARGET="_blank">Revelation 1:4-6, etc., etc.). The last expression means that each glorious Person of the Triune God possesses the entire Divine Substance or Essence. God is Spirit and as such is invisible. “No man hath seen God at any time, the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.” “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” . . . “and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, the glory of the Only-begotten of the Father full of grace and truth” (John 1:1-14)." TARGET="_blank">John 1:1-14). He was “the express image of God’s Person”; “the image of the Invisible God” (John 10:14, 18;" TARGET="_blank">John 10:14, 18; Hebrews 1: 3;" TARGET="_blank">Hebrews 1: 3; Colossians 1:15)." TARGET="_blank">Colossians 1:15). Only in the Lord Jesus Christ is the Father revealed by the Spirit. Let us not reason about it, but bow and worship. If we do not understand our own tripartite nature, how can we claim to comprehend the Infinite, the “One God in Three Persons”?

W.H.

• About this site

• About this site